Travel Diaries and Journals

27

"Hearts of Oak" but merchant ships whether Indiamen or others are often in difficulty as to the choice of men for their crews and must often take such as offer themselves, without a possibility of ascertaining their characters, one or two of our lot were flogged for theft, and I am happy to say, flogging punishment in that ship, was only put in force for the crime of theft.

As soon as Neptune had visited all his children with those marks of fatherly affection, the procession formed in order again, passed along the quarter deck to the cuddy door where another glass of rum is given to each man belonging to it and they then disperse. The decks are cleaned up and the gun carriage restored to its proper place, but at night the gun deck was a regular scene of confusion, grog was plentyful and many of them with their noviatiation still fresh in their minds were pugnacious, and the consequence was numerous fights and a goodly show of black eyes the following morning.

In the "Asiatic Register" is an account of a lawsuit occasioned by these sports, a gentleman passenger to India on board an Indiaman told the Captain he would not submit to the usual ceremony on "crossing the Line" and demanded protection from insult. The Captain said it was a custom and he could not stop it.

"Very well" said the passenger, "I have paid you for my cabin, I shall consider it as my house no one shall enter it without my consent. I shall not pay your crew their demand, not suffer them to intrude upon my privacy on the day you think proper to give them a license to act tyranical.

"As you please" was the Captain's reply.

On the following day Neptune hailed the ship and the gentleman who had retired to his cabin