now, the grand distinction drawn between officer and man at sea, is this—the first lives aft, the last forward. hence, in whale-ships and merchantmen alike, the mates have their quarters with the captain; and so, too, in most of the american whalers the harpooneers are lodged in the after part of the ship. that is to say, they take their meals in the captain’s cabin, and sleep in a place indirectly communicating with it.