The Nineteenth Century 153 



two great holes for eyes and conchshells for eyeballs, a larger conch for a 

 nose, and a mouth slit from side to side, and filled with small yellow shells 

 for teeth. His neck cloth was a mat, with the corners of a tarpaulin standing 

 out for a coUar. He was loosely robed in a spare studding sail and his trident 

 was (of course) the shark grain. He seated himself on the windlass and the 

 sailors all made a profound obeisance to his Majesty. 



The "B'hoys" on the quai-ter deck were enjoying themselves in singing 

 "Dandy Jim" and "Old Dan Tucker," when Neptune made his appearance 

 on deck, and they all went forward to see. Just as they came under the 

 foretop Neptune in a speech was saying, "I rule on the sea, I cause the 

 winds, and I order and it rains," and the sailors in the top capsized the 

 barrel and down came a catai'act upon the B'hoys. 



It is a rule of the Sea King, to initiate all his fresh subjects by shaving 

 them with an iron hoop, having lathered them with a paint brush dipped 

 in the cook's slush barrel, but he sometimes dispenses with this ceremony, in 

 consideration of a fee of a bottle of rum. All the B'hoys but one preferred 

 to pay the fee. That one was a Mr. HaU, a ministerial student, a miserable 

 bigot, who had the chanty to teU me that I was no Christian because I 

 professed to be a Unitarian. He was a weak, conceited fool, and apparently 

 thought he was going to Calcutta to teach the Bishop. He was a teetotaller 

 from principle, and could not damage his conscience by bribing a god with 

 a bottle of rum. 



So by the command of the Sovereign of the Sea, the seamen blindfolded 

 Hall and seated him on a board laid loosely across a steep tub, half full of 

 pure sea water. One of the tars acted as barber, wlnle Neptune questioned 

 the candidate as to his former hfe, cautioning him to make true answers 

 on pain of his futvtre displeasure. "Where were you born?" but the moment 

 poor H. opened his mouth to reply, the barber lathered his lips with a paint 

 brush, and afterward scraped off the sweet scented lather with his iron 

 hoop. Then at a signal from his Majesty, the board sHpped out, and H. 

 shpped into the steep tub and the sailor[s] scrubbed and rubbed him tiU 

 their sovereign master told them to stop. Neptune then bestowed his bless- 

 ing upon the novice, with a free permit to traverse any part of his dominion 

 in future. 



When this ceremony had concluded, and the bottle of rum had been dis- 

 cussed by aU hands, they formed in procession and escorted his Majesty 

 three times around the ship, and amid the noise and confusion of three real 

 hearty sailor-hke cheers, the God of the Sea plunged into his ovwi dominions 

 and drifted astern in a blaze of iUiunination. 



Now, all this was a farce got up by the old salts on board, one of them 

 personating Neptune, and a large fender was throvsm overboard at the close 

 of the ceremony, accompanied by a number of empty bread barrels, filled 

 with oakum and ready to be ignited as they were thrown overboard. HaU 

 was, however, so weak as to beheve for a long while that it was a reality. 



