Curses throttle thee! yelled Ahab. Captain Mayhew, stand by now to receive it; and taking the fatal missive from Starbuck's hands, he caught it in the slit of the pole, and reached it over towards the boat.
A missive is a letter or other message that someone sends. the customary missive from your dear mother. = epistle. a letter - often used humorously (lettre missive )
a written message addressed to a person or organization; "mailed an indignant letter to the editor"