CONTINUED VOYAGE OF THR TWO SHIPS. 47 



is usual on such occasions) with a good glass of wine, to 

 wash away the evil effects of the cold water. 



With us, Peter Iversen and Peter Ellinger undertook 

 the parts of Neptune and the barber, and carried out 

 with great earnestness the soaping and the very mild 

 christening. At the next meal in the cabin we were 

 surprised by a poetical composition by Neptune. 



On board the Hansa the proceeding was carried out 

 much more scrupulously. Neptune came on board with 

 two followers, and addressed Captain Hegemann with the 

 question, " Any green hands on board ?" At the answer, 

 " Yes," there began a sharp examination of the " green 

 ones," Drs. Buchholz and Laube, as well as the sailors 

 Max Schmidt and Konrad Gierke. Afterwards came the 

 christening. Dr. Laube writes thus : — 



"We entered into the spirit of the fun willingly, knowing 

 that our sailors were decent fellows, and would not carry 

 things too far, even had we not entered on the ship's 

 books with them in Bremen, and become seamen. Our 

 carpenter went about the whole day with a sly, laughing 

 face, and towards evening had quite lost his usual 

 chattiness. We ourselves kept in the cabin, so as not to 

 witness the preparations. At midnight, we were called 

 on deck. A gun was fired; and as its thunder died 

 away we heard the well-known cry, ' Ship ahoy ! ' Three 

 wonderful figures climbed over the bowsprit ; Neptune 

 first, in an Esquimaux's dress, with a great white cotton 

 beard, a seven-pronged dolphin harpoon for a trident in one 

 hand, and a speaking-trumpet in the other. A tarpaulin 

 was spread on the quarter-deck, and a stool placed upon it. 

 It looked like a judge's bench. Here each of us was 

 seated with eyes bound, whil^ the masked followers of 



