SHIPPING.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume 6, Issue 296, 10 August 1865, Page 2

SHIPPING.

prscat our last, there have fepen po arrivals, and only one departure (the Sea Serpent, for Wellington); and, inconsequence, the Spit has again assumed an air of guineas Whichformspwonderful contrast tot he nnufually animated •ppaarkniie ft presented during the preceding Week. A steaujer, from the S.K., was signalled this morning, hut had not come to her anchorage up to the time of onr doing to aU prohability thp Egmont, due thip d«r. Bow Shirs oS War tar pot Gnalst».s r.n,—What an ta•Vessive apiiti-stijrlng scene must be the ceremony of christening a ship of warl We have faever witnessed it, ppt imagination pictures akage extemporised amphitheatre With heads on heads reaching to the eeillng of the loftiest BUilding in the land. In the centre of the assembled thotijhnda, the richest production of human art, a ship of war m mM JiTin# msm&m pf aa u^i!

kill la all the applied sciences, a model of symmetry, a grand and impusing tower of atrengch-eoialtLßiag the beautiful and the massive in rare proportion. As sailors, our thoughts are ailed with her pmsihl&ttualtficatioiis as a sea boat and as a fighting shfos We picture her future to our minds—the gale, the Settle, and the shipwreck—or the possible eventuality-sf -a green old age, Our cogitations are disturbed by tad arrival of the port-admiral. Opposite one bow the faaeiy-headed chief, in full uniform, takes his stand as spooler to the vessel. A brilliant staff surrounds him. Ob wio other side the bishop of the diocese in his flovriilg robes and long sleeves, takes his stand on the s«.u provided tor him. A train of full robed clergy supp ort him TliS gallant admiral in a few fitting sentences pronounces the story of the former ship of the same name, aud hopes her younger sister may emulate her deeds, and prove as great a scourge to her enemies. He concludes by hoping that as iron ships have replaced our wooden walls, so ironhearted men will he found to eclipse, when occasion serves the deeds of our old “ hearts of oak.’’ A clergyman, selected for his powerful yet melodious' voice, now pronounces a slightly altered version of the beautiful sailor’s prayer, which thrills every landsman’s heart, as apposite to the occasion. * * * Then the venerable bishop steps forward, crozier in hand, and pronounces a brief blessing. * * • Alas, hut we must confess that the ceremony we have described derives its religious character from the force of our imagination. We had always associated a “ Christening” with the forms of worship known to Christendom. But we find that in the “Christening" of her Majesty’s ships, Christian usage is wholly unrepresented. Our imaginary description is not quite pure fiction, it is “ fiction founded on fact.” The fact remains that aso called “ Christening” takes place. The fiction we built on this foundation, la that the admiral and his officers appear at ail except as spectators, aud that the clergy are even thus represented, being generally “ conspicuous by their absence." The real modv.it operandi of the" Christening" is simply tins:—A young lady selected for her social position and beauty, dyessed in the ample skirts and engaging hat -of the day, stands conspicuously at the bow of the leviathan, holding a black bottle, which is suspended by a string from the side of the ship. At the given signal she lets go the bottle and it smashes against the bow of the vessel. And the toast and water, or strong tea which it contains, runs down the ship’s side, and if the young lady has sufficient nerve she exclaims, "I name thee the Leviathan." We have been somewhat puzzled to give significancy to this act, and to explain the toast and water—good red wine it is supposed to be, but this is better disposed of afterwards at the Christening feast, We believe the rite is the product of heathen Home; that a fair young lady represents a priestess of the temple of Neptune; that the toast and water is a baptism of blood; a slight variation of the curse of Kehama should be pronounced on that occasion; and that the application of a Christian designation to a heathen custom ought to be corrected either by altering the term, or as we consider best, amending the custom. Contrast this heathen practice with the ceremonies performed on the kindred occasion in the sister service, when colors are presented to a regiment. Such an event is really accompanied by a religious ceremony, very much what our imagination falsely pictured the naval one to be.—United Service Magazine.