CROSSING THE EQUATOR. 25 
but soon recovered, and flew gaily about. 
When far out at sea, cut off from every other 
society than that of our shipmates, any guest 
from land, even a bird, is welcome. Ours soon 
became a general favourite, and was so tame, 
that it would hop on our hands and take the 
flies we offered him without any symptom of 
fear. He chose my cabin to sleep in at night ; 
-and at sunrise flew again upon deck, where he 
found every one willing to entertain him, and 
catch flies for his subsistence. But our hospi- 
tality proved fatal to him; he over-ate himself, 
and died of an indigestion, universally lamented. 
On the 11th of October we crossed the Equa- 
tor at twenty-five degrees W. longitude, reckon- 
ing from Greenwich.* Having saluted the 
Southern hemisphere by the firing of guns, our 
crew proceeded to enact the usual ceremonies. 
A sailor, who took pride in having frequently 
passed the Line, directed the performance with 
much solemnity and decorum. He appeared as 
Neptune, attired in a manner that was meant to 
be terribly imposing, accompanied by his consort, 
* The longitude is always calculated from Greenwich, in 
this work. 
VOL. 1. C 
