{"id":"01KG8AKVR3MNFD15JGRMFDQ3H8","cid":"bafkreibcofddicopnzoyqd4utokpglcb3tqbbhm33j7sqlzoi3oqcnuute","type":"section","properties":{"description":"# The truth of this was curiously corroborated by a rather equivocal acquaintance of mine, who, among the men, went by the name of “_Shakings_.”\n\n## Overview\nThis section of text, titled \"The truth of this was curiously corroborated by a rather equivocal acquaintance of mine, who, among the men, went by the name of “_Shakings_.”\", was extracted on January 30, 2026. It comprises lines 6697-6708 of its source file.\n\n## Context\nThis section is part of [CHAPTER XLII. KILLING TIME IN A MAN-OF-WAR IN HARBOUR.](arke:01KG8AJS2XNNYG8VJ0DMZ113C3), which is itself a chapter within a larger work. The text was extracted from the file [white_jacket.txt](arke:01KG89J19NC56FFGBCM2SWEZZY), and is part of the [Melville Complete Works](arke:01KG89HMDZKNY753EZE1CJ8HZW) collection. It follows the section titled [But perhaps the best way to drive the hours before you four-in-hand, is to select a soft plank on the gun-deck, and go to sleep.](arke:01KG8AKVR1EE1A0GG541CY37T2) and precedes another section that continues the narrative.\n\n## Contents\nThe section introduces a character known as \"Shakings,\" an acquaintance of the narrator who belongs to the fore-hold of the ship. The narrator expresses a dislike for Shakings' appearance and generally tries to avoid him. Despite this, the narrator notes that an anecdote told by Shakings, a \"holder,\" is \"well worth preserving,\" particularly due to the \"extraordinary frankness\" with which it was shared with a \"comparative stranger.\" The section sets up the forthcoming story from Shakings.","description_generated_at":"2026-01-30T20:49:49.579Z","description_model":"gemini-2.5-flash-lite","description_title":"The truth of this was curiously corroborated by a rather equivocal acquaintance of mine, who, among the men, went by the name of “_Shakings_.”","end_line":6708,"extracted_at":"2026-01-30T20:48:16.646Z","extracted_by":"structure-extraction-lambda","label":"The truth of this was curiously corroborated by a rather equivocal acquaintance of mine, who, among the men, went by the name of “_Shakings_.”","source_file":"01KG89J19NC56FFGBCM2SWEZZY","start_line":6697,"text":"The truth of this was curiously corroborated by a rather equivocal\r\nacquaintance of mine, who, among the men, went by the name of\r\n“_Shakings_.” He belonged to the fore-hold, whence, of a dark night, he\r\nwould sometimes emerge to chat with the sailors on deck. I never liked\r\nthe man’s looks; I protest it was a mere accident that gave me the\r\nhonour of his acquaintance, and generally I did my best to avoid him,\r\nwhen he would come skulking, like a jail-bird, out of his den into the\r\nliberal, open air of the sky. Nevertheless, the anecdote this _holder_\r\ntold me is well worth preserving, more especially the extraordinary\r\nfrankness evinced in his narrating such a thing to a comparative\r\nstranger.\r\n\r","title":"The truth of this was curiously corroborated by a rather equivocal acquaintance of mine, who, among the men, went by the name of “_Shakings_.”"},"relationships":[{"peer":"01KG8AJS2XNNYG8VJ0DMZ113C3","peer_type":"chapter","predicate":"in"},{"peer":"01KG89J19NC56FFGBCM2SWEZZY","peer_type":"file","predicate":"extractedFrom"},{"peer":"01KG89HMDZKNY753EZE1CJ8HZW","peer_type":"collection","predicate":"collection"},{"peer":"01KG8AKVR1EE1A0GG541CY37T2","peer_type":"section","predicate":"prev"},{"peer":"01KG8AKVR662Z7JGM1JWD4BR7Y","peer_type":"section","predicate":"next"}],"ver":3,"created_at":"2026-01-30T20:48:18.179Z","ts":"2026-01-30T20:49:49.806Z","edited_by":{"method":"manual","user_id":"01KFF5C36SQEVDHC9CBNZZJH9K"}}