Friday, November 01, 2019

 

I See Him Now

Herman Melville (1819-1891), "Etymology," Moby-Dick:
The pale Usher—threadbare in coat, heart, body, and brain; I see him now. He was ever dusting his old lexicons and grammars, with a queer handkerchief, mockingly embellished with all the gay flags of all the known nations of the world. He loved to dust his old grammars; it somehow mildly reminded him of his mortality.
Most people think Moby-Dick starts with the words "Call me Ishmael," but in fact it starts with the passage quoted above.



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