BOOK II. (_Octavo_), CHAPTER V. (_Thrasher_).—This gentleman is famous

for his tail, which he uses for a ferule in thrashing his foes. He

mounts the Folio whale’s back, and as he swims, he works his passage by

flogging him; as some schoolmasters get along in the world by a similar

process. Still less is known of the Thrasher than of the Killer. Both

are outlaws, even in the lawless seas.

Thus ends BOOK II. (_Octavo_), and begins BOOK III. (_Duodecimo_).

DUODECIMOES.—These include the smaller whales. I. The Huzza Porpoise.

II. The Algerine Porpoise. III. The Mealy-mouthed Porpoise.

To those who have not chanced specially to study the subject, it may

possibly seem strange, that fishes not commonly exceeding four or five

feet should be marshalled among WHALES—a word, which, in the popular

sense, always conveys an idea of hugeness. But the creatures set down

above as Duodecimoes are infallibly whales, by the terms of my

definition of what a whale is—_i.e._ a spouting fish, with a horizontal

tail.