VISIT TO SOUTH AFRICA. 19 
16th. Flying fish and many kinds of s€a-fowl appeared in great 
numbers, and on the 
17th, the captain, after many vain attempts both by himself and 
the crew, had the good fortune to catch a fish. It was an albicore, 
and had a flying fish in its stomach. Its length was about two feet, 
its colour dark green with darker stripes and spots on the back, its 
belly of the most brilliant mother of pearl, its mouth small, the body 
narrow across the back, and about six inches deep between back 
and belly, sloping off to an inch and a iialf at the root of the tail. 
The latter is vertical and forked. It had six fins, two on the breast, 
one on each side, and two dorsal fms, from which, to the root of the 
tail, six small triangular fins were placed in a row. It was caught 
with a hook baited with feathers, which the foolish gormandizing 
creature mistook and seized for a flying fish. This evenmg a new 
mainsail wa^ bent. 
ISth. We crossed the line, when the usual ceremonies took place. 
Neptune and his wife appeared m ttie persons of the black carpenter 
and the second mate, most ridiculously apparelled and painted, a 
large grain representing the trident. His aquatic majesty declared 
his great satisfaction, on being informed, that the vessel that had the 
boldness to enter his dominions, belonged to his old friends, the 
English, and kindly offered his services to initiate us into his society^, 
by shaving and sousing. The ceremony was however dispensed 
with, in consideration of sixteen bottles of hollands, to be distributed 
among the crew at a bottle a-day, lest they should be more hurt 
than benefited by the gift. The cabin-boy submitted to the o- 
peration. Being seated on a bar laid across a large tub, and la- 
thered with a composition of tar and grease, he was duly shaved 
with a piece of an iron hoop, and well soused, by three buckets of 
water poured over his head. While I was pitying him on account 
of such rough usage, he came to me into the cabin, and expressed, 
with great glee, the satisfaction he now felt, in being made a thorough 
seaman, free of all headlands, promontories, &c. whereas, before this 
initiation, freshmen must pay fines, and submit to many other 
