so now, Starbuck saw long coils of the umbilical cord of Madame Leviathan, by which the young cub seemed still tethered to its dam. Not seldom in the rapid vicissitudes of the chase, this natural line, with the maternal end loose, becomes entangled with the hempen one, so that the cub is thereby trapped. Some of the subtlest secrets of the seas seemed divulged to us in this enchanted pond. We saw young Leviathan amours in the deep.**The sperm whale, as with all other species of the Leviathan, but unlike most other fish, breeds indifferently at all seasons; after a gestation which may probably be set down at nine months, producing but one at a time; though in some few known instances giving birth to an Esau and Jacob:—a contingency provided for in suckling by two teats, curiously situated, one on each side of the anus; but the breasts themselves extend upwards from that. When by chance these precious parts in a nursing whale are cut by the hunter's lance, the mother's pouring milk and blood rivallingly discolor the sea for rods. The milk is very sweet and rich; it has been tasted by man; it might do well with strawberries. When overflowing with mutual esteem, the whales salute more hominum.
这时，斯达巴克所看到的，就是这般情况。原来是一条鲸太太的一大卷脐带，而那条小鲸似乎还跟它母亲连在一起。在变化多端的追捕中，这并不是罕见的事，这根天然绳子，往往一从母鲸后边脱落下来，就跟那根麻绳纠缠在一起，所以也把那只小鲸给套住了。在这个令人迷惑的大池里，好象海洋的一些极难解的秘密也向我们展现出来了。我们竟看到了小鲸在海底里的亲昵景象。（原注：抹香鲸，和其它鲸类一样（不过不同于其它大多数鱼类），一年四季都能生育。它的受孕期大概是九个月，每次只生一条小鲸；虽然偶尔也会有双胞胎。为防这样的意外事项，它们长有两只奶头，乳部的位置非常奇怪，生在肛门的两边，而胸脯却跟它隔得颇远。这种希奇的部位偶然被猎人戳到的时候，母鲸所流出来的奶和血就会使周围好几英里的海水都变了色。鲸乳芳甜浓冽，人们曾吃到这东西，据说掺上野杨梅，十分可口。鲸在彼此爱慕得情不自禁的时候，也会象人类一样接吻。）