"Was it that this old carpenter had been a life-long wanderer, whose much rolling, to and fro, not only had gathered no moss; but what is more, had rubbed off whatever small outward clingings might have originally pertained to him?"
Musing: Hmmm - this quote includes a reference, (had Bob Dylan actually read Moby-Dick,) he would have enjoyed. Melville creates several characters who are serial wanderers. The characters are always mysterious - even suspicious - primarily because they offer no clues as to the origin of their homeland. As Dylan himself wrote:
How does it feel, how does it feel? To be without a home Like a complete unknown, like a rolling stone