Moby Dick

[Old Thunder]

He commenced dressing at top by donning his beaver hat, a very tall one, by-the-bye, and then -- still minus his trowsers -- he hunted up his boots.

 

[Old Thunder]

What under the heavens he did it for, I cannot tell, but his next movement was to crush himself -- boots in hand, and hat on -- under the bed; when, from sundry violent gaspings and strainings, I inferred he was hard at work booting himself; though by no law of propriety that I ever heard of, is any man required to be private when putting on his boots.

 

[Old Thunder]

But Queequeg, do you see, was a creature in the transition state -- neither caterpillar nor butterfly.

 

[Old Thunder]

He was just enough civilised to show off his outlandishness in the strangest possible manner.

 

[Old Thunder]

His education was not yet completed.

 

[Old Thunder]

He was an undergraduate.

 

[Old Thunder]

If he had not been a small degree civilised, he very probably would not have troubled himself with boots at all; but then, if he had not been still a savage, he never would have dreamt of getting under the bed to put them on.

 

[Old Thunder]

At last, he emerged with his hat very much dented and crushed down over his eyes, and began creaking and limping about the room, as if, not being much accustomed to boots, his pair of damp, wrinkled cowhide ones -- probably not made to order either -- rather pinched and tormented him at the first go off of a bitter cold morning.

 

[Old Thunder]

Seeing, now, that there were no curtains to the window, and that the street being very narrow, the house opposite commanded a plain view into the room, and observing more and more the indecorous figure that Queequeg made, staving about with little else but his hat and boots on; I begged him as well as I could, to accelerate somewhat, and particularly to get into his pantaloons as soon as possible.

 

[Old Thunder]

He complied, then proceeded to wash himself.