Introduction 9 



source de profit," really a little business affair for the crew, tolerated by the 

 oflBcers, aiming first to screw out of the passengers enough tips to let Jack Tar 

 get some means of extra relaxation and joy out of his life of toü. This is fol- 

 lowed by long quotations from Arago and others. 



Larousse du XX" siècle ( 1928 ) and Nouveau Larousse universel ( 1948 ) 

 follow the earher edition, much condensed. 



Diderot's Encyclopédie notes it under Baptême, but goes no futher than 

 detailed description of the ceremony, quoted below under 1751. 



Much the same must be said about the other standard encyclopedias. Der 

 grosse Brockhaus ( 1932 ) gives a few lines under Linientaufe; Meyers Lexi- 

 kon enters it under Aequatortaufe; Enciclopedia italiana ( 1938 ) under Bat- 

 tesimo is fuller, admits imcertainty as to origin, nothing being known before 

 the 16th century, tells that the French call the victims "cavaliers of the sea" 

 once they have endured the test for either equator or the 23rd parallel, ends 

 by saying it is probably a breakdown or an inheritance of a forgotten religious 

 ceremony. The Spanish Enciclopedia universal ilustrada (c. 1940) gives 

 less than Larousse but more than the others, notes also the baptism of ships, 

 thinks we hear less about it now because it has degenerated into a forced 

 shakedown of passengers to pay for drinks for the crew. ( The earUest charge 

 of this kind is noted under 1709 when Johann Gottheb Worm calls it "erne 

 blosse Erfindung der See-OflBcierer, damit sie nur Geld bekommen, um vor 

 sich und ihre Leute Erfrischungen kaufen zu können." ) 



Contemporary encyclopedias in English keep safely within the clerical 

 fold when talking about baptism. Britannica in the 11th and 1953 editions 

 notes the religious rite. The American Peoples', the Encyclopedia Americana, 

 Colliers, Grolier, the only ones at my present command, follow suit. However,* 

 the first American encyclopedia,* based on the third edition of the Britannica, 

 has the following entry: 



Baptism, in the sea language, a ceremony in long voyages on board 

 merchant ships, practised both on persons and vessels who pass the tropic 

 or line for the first time. The baptizing the vessel is simple, and consists 

 only in washing them throughout with sea-water; that of the passengers 

 is more mysterious. The oldest of the crew, that has past the tropic or 

 line, comes with his face blacked, a grotesque cap on his head, and some 

 sea-book in his hand, followed by the rest of the seamen dressed like 

 himself, each having some kitchen utensil in his hand, with drums beat- 

 ing; he places himseH on a seat on the deck, at the foot of the main mast. 

 At the tribunal of this mock magistrate, each passenger not yet initiated, 



* Encyclopaedia; or, a dictionary of arts, sciences, and miscellaneous literature. Philadelphia, 

 1798, vol. 2, p. 793-794. 



