22 To the River Plate and Back 



over head, she was flung backward and soused in the 

 tank by the minions of Neptune. The ship's surgeon 

 and the fourth officer were the next victims. They were 

 followed by others until the tank was full. Those who 

 were floundering in the bath now resolved upon reprisals. 

 The first attack was made upon the chief steward. He 

 was seized from behind and waltzed into the tub, from 

 which he emerged looking like a drowned rat. After 

 him came the barber, from whose pockets, crammed 

 with colored papers, oozed bright green, pink, and 

 yellow dye-stuff. 'Beau-ti-ful as the rainbow!' he 

 exclaimed, as he crawled out of the tank and again 

 took his place on the platform, and began to strop his 

 razor. The fun now rose to its height. One by one 

 the company of merrymakers were caught and pro- 

 testing, struggling, kicking, rolling, were brought to 

 the tank and flung over its sides. It no longer contained 

 sparkling water, but a broth of paste, paint, floating 

 wigs, and other accoutrements. Those who had met 

 their baptism in it had an hour's w^ork before them in 

 their private baths to remove the stains of their experi- 

 ence. Each reveler received a diploma, properly 

 signed and sealed by Neptune, attesting the fitness of 

 the recipient to sail ' the seven seas. ' 



The ocean is glorious, but nowhere more so than in 

 the equatorial regions. Each day of the voyage pre- 

 sented a panorama of sea and sky in which the play of 

 color and of shifting lights was dazzling. The water 

 of the deeps of the tropical Atlantic, when seen from 

 the prow of the ship, glows with color like the breast 

 of a bird of paradise. Dark purples, lapis lazuli, re- 

 splendent greens, soft reds, and rich bronzy tints melt 

 into each other and shift and change with every passing 

 cloud and every motion of the waves. The depth 



