Select Literature.

Hawke's Bay Weekly Times, Volume 1, Issue 2, 14 January 1867, Page 1

Select Literature.

:t;;K ; e;': l i n e f J ;(I^mf* , i'ifteren Years of the;L ife or a Safilor,” ■-,,., J published in the South London Chronicle.

r r&Sm ? W 33 decided; as we approached the Equatpr, that, we should ' pay the ■ usual tribute to old Neptune, in -this, part of ,his wide domain, and. shave: . all the y o ungster a. we .had o n board.. .As! :we had about-fifty supernumeraries,• ofli-i >cer and menj ■ besides our own crew, the 'majority s of whom had never crossed the j the occasion promised plenty of; fun; ; and the preparations we made to carry it out were on a grand scale. The 'parties who were to act the different parte .of the programme were , picked out from ■ .among, the crew,, with to ; tlieir i (Several qualifications j-^thus, I by a-grey-headed.old tar,and Ampliitrite by a youngster.,; the doc-! •tor was a red-nosed gunner’s >mate, who '•would make you swallow pills, from a; ‘32lh shot to a common'bolus,'with perfect' 'indifference, providing you cotdd gtiip .them, down j tlieq came the barbbri a cruel ; .wretch,, armed, with; three- great razors .made ofhoup-iron, one smooth; the next terrible instrument, being very much' 'like the teeth of a- handsaw—destined to! Tuboff’6ome portions "of thecheeks of the; 'worst characters who were to"; Be shaded.! 1 > Ba^' r j^;;Jj:Mh^r^hml; : i^z'o^' I! "inwardly 'my.; lucky, stars^thsit, I! line; jahd was cpnßeqdehtly i exempted; from-. ,6liayi ug. The. policemen i were numbered .off,r thehearsiwere also; •prepared'for ; hugging Neptune’s-; favorites, the tar-barrel'was ignited the; and sent overboard lib invite! - ( '• | Shortly after'the.hansel, was put over*; x&°i!r* d *r u constructed for the I NfiP fc hh®» who; ; Was 'out. on the i -the.dark,hailed with a loud : t.TCWSftarsf •. ; J : “Ship, ahoyl” The Jr captain answered through his speaking-trumpet,— ‘ ' : 4 *Hiliba!” ! ’ - ' - : <■ 1 ' ' ;“ What;ship is that ?’* ;i ' . i "‘iAlecto.”. 7';'; ; j ? any, of .~my apprentice? ; on i i/, V 7 / 0 i-i ' ' - -'i /-.-..1 * . ; : : was produced, and Invited to come on" board to xnspectUe.same; He accordingly, came Nows,.; with; wife and. youthful, /NR-P^upe.. having long -curly; locks, .medpxQ'ut, of oakum,>-a tin crown,- and : -other-ornaments; upon -.his- persoo;"-and• a trident in hie hand, wiih ; a ( fish : vatucfcJUpon it?-and‘his 'wifekhd sorv being : suitably attired. They were met by'the -captai&faudijNeptune’e namely/'the : bears,*hd r all those 1 which.theyo were audrlttended' by the onlyTmusioiah we had inrtheitship, ; • rtheprocessionstarted’from'onb side' of the ; Nep- [ « .'--i| d^® j sW®@ ®RPRRW .liimseifliighly 1 -pleased whh theirjeondu’ttdurins the titnei Ixuain} *®®d asked wery"«affecti6ijatelv : ‘after; Bf :hi», Bocxety. \ there wouldbe.pienty' .nfcJsalfc: water,pibfl, drangltta; laftheir, grazohß, j ;«Rd forthe Xcotnfcfft!

shook hands withJflielcaptain, mounted' his ear, in whffih' e wbre-Several bottles of tlie 'whitdtbeara>*“hlehidne§sed;ih-vvell-.wakhed| Bheepskifis i -X-baok;taßt’h»ifcH , ecaßtde ) ' s tO‘ !4 ca-i ‘he. r^t u of a Jhc o^eriiog. | O.brAue J ,followipg 3 ip l and^Bprea^frpm_ onOj ofj the paddle-box to tHs hoai aipid*! s,hilMi..;thus|dr i ping,a pit, ofjsanvas.oapableof containing a s body bf abput '4oj tons*; pf; 'twelve men ait ohed. were' M i doua cheering, after'whichEe;, mpuntpd > the bridge or platform extending from one, paddle-box toffEel <stHei?,i-afid commerced! •hjs qp«rajdonsj,„the captauj being reqjfiSjedj to furnish a list of all; those- who bad^nSt 1 -prewsed dhe 0 < Line. . (fhese were. given 0 in j charge of‘the constables lo: be kept- below! ;,They)were then brought i up bliddfoldea, one atj.a time,'and placed ’ a ;shair upou the bndge.oyer.the,sailbath, and Neptune began to interrogate _thppy-j-, ~j "" , ■ “ Weir, iiiy maii, ; what is ypur name.il’’ ; r -.. The, moment the,mau.open.efl iMs mouth "to answer,' a hausepus-pill-wras i Ihirust _ into .it. by the doctor,Sunder pretence that ; he , ivas hoarse, br f sQiue,o^er^'excuse ;' at the . ear P,9- foment a. branch pipe of water, which one bf ‘ the doctors .assistants b®hi i“ widi his finger 1 oyer .the top ' of-xt; -wka ’unstopped, 1 ' ahda stream’spurted into his.mouJbh.tqw.ash the piU that is' to say, with good humor, he was pronounced • healthy, .and; comwittedntb fhe barber, ; with orders to use. Np. Nos 3 1 accoMing tq' the characterthe cap- - j'^9iS?y e hinv Tf i; a,. r gopd one,;he was' lathered with tar, soap,-.'ta-llow,-pease-soup, and other ingredients, mixed up inapot,! and then .the’ barber ' adroitly managed'- to scrape a little . off bis cheeks and introduce : it into his mouth, ears,dsc; He. Was—still ; blindfold—next pitched off the bridge into the water, where he 'had. to rhndergo -the operation of washing, apd the white bears there seized, and bugged him according to Neptune's instructions. poor fallow whq-mighfc hare .ofrendt-d tlie captain or crew on the passage out! Neptune would admonish him'; the .doctor would pronounce hioi ill from' all sorts" of diseases, and'dd&e him accordingly; the barber would declare his-beard the hardest he ever met with, and scrape him -unmercifully with No.’ 3 razor, and stuff; him with fro the intense delight, of, course, jpf/jfll those for,; whose , benefit Jthe ..funjSjgqfTjip; and when hei, is,finally cap-. ,: s®odj4 the' ike ’. fife v: bears. give affectionate hugging as to give hint'cause-fro.- remember ‘ ; old hi eptune as long, as he goes/ to sea. After passing 'through- this ordeal, they have' nothing to •do but look on and laugh at the others. When they are-all shaved, the'main brace is spliced, , and Jack enjoys himself for.the remainder of the day. rThe next morning all traces of the fun are lost, except on the poor fellows who had come under the deof unruly ] they usually -carry Nh;i3 razor oh their cheeks ; some, time after they have got the tar off; •