Robert Suggate journal and commonplace book, 1874-1878.

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those anxious to find favor in the God's sight, and the sale of indulgences went on pretty briskly either he or his ministers, or both could be bought for a price.

About ten o'clock on the evening in question Neptune hails the ship, he is supposed to rise from the ocean at the bows of the ship and by permission of the Captain or officer of the deck on duty at the time, who on this occasion falls in with the humour of the men, the following questions and answers pass

Ship ahoy What ship is this? from whence come ye and Where are ye bound?

Satisfactory answers having been given Neptune says have you any of my children on board?

Officer, Yes, I believe there are some

Neptune, I shall visit them tomorrow, Neptune is then supposed to return to his ocean home and the sailors set fire to old tubs and tar barrels filled with combustible stuff that will burn well, to accompany him on his way, and they may be seen burning for a long time on a calm evening.

The following morning which I believe was the 26th of May, opened with preparations for making us novices free of the ocean. As soon as hammocks were stowed away and decks washed, business commenced.

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The forecastle or forward part of the vessel was screened off by an old sail stretched across and where there was no admission "except on business", here the dressing and decorating of old Neptune, with his wife and child and his officers take place, he is at this time accompanied by his wife and child, but it did not eventually appear that they took any particular part in the ceremonies only as lookers-on.

We poor fellows were kept below on the gun deck whilst the preparations were going on and of course not in the most comfortable state of mind, at times however, we got a peer up the after hatchway, anxious enough to have a sight of matters on deck, and presently the procession made its appearance from behind the screen in good earnest, moving in a slow and stately manner towards the quarter-deck.

On a sort of car rigged out upon one of the quarter-deck gun carriages, and neatly covered over with flags, sat Neptune with his loving spouse Amphitrite, and between them one of the boys of the ship dressed up to represent their child.

It is by no means an easy matter to describe their dresses. They wore wigs of curbed swabs, falling in long ringlets gracefully down over their necks and shoulders, and their faces bedaubed with paint or some coloring matter, the rest of their attire was profusely ornamented with narrow strips of canvas, tied up in bows and coloured to represent ribbons.

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Their car was drawn by eight men rigged out with dresses to correspond, and ornamented with patches of tar and paint, in front of the car was led a man creeping upon his hands and knees to represent a bear, growling and making most hidious noises, and his part in the performance will be presently described.

On one side of the car walked a very important personage this was no other than Neptune's doctor accompanied by an attendant carrying his formidable shaving apparatus. The razors were made from old iron hoops, brought to an edge with a file instead of '[illegible?]'s Strap'. One of the razors greatly resembled a common handsaw with its teeth as large and as sharp. The other had teeth somewhat smaller and the third was the plain iron hoop quite smooth. The soap which these worthies intended to use was composed of tar, grease and filth of all sorts and carried in a common tar bucket which with the brush were prominent objects, one attendant also bore a huge bottle of medicine a mixture of some abominable nature as also was the composition of some pills carried in a huge box, and with the rest came another important person, the Barber, ready at the proper time to show his dexterity in the use of the above mentioned razors, and the tar brush to smear the faces of the doomed ones.

The procession, having arrived on the quarterdeck drew up to the cuddy or chief cabin door, and each man, even including the fair Goddess received a

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glass of rum, then crossing over to the starboard side of the quarter-deck they soon arrived near the scene of operations in the waist of the ship and then halted.

Neptune with the help of his attendants mounted up to a seat prepared for him on the ends of the spare booms as they lay in the waist of the ship under the 'Longboat', and his wife and child were placed beside him. Both the God and his spouse appeared to have indulged very freely with the rum bottle, their gait and movements were very unsteady, and she in particular flopped into the seat prepared for her in a very undiginified and ungoddess like manner.

One of the scudding sails had been stretched loosely from the booms to the hammock nettings and hung just in the shape of a pudding bag, and was kept pretty full of water by buckets from over the side by men stationed for the purpose, and in this sail the bear and his leader placed themselves. The doctor and Barber with their attendants were also conveniently placed to fulfil their respective duties.

The eight men who served as seahorses in drawing Neptune's car round the deck, were now transformed into constables, and furnished with their proper staves of authority. They took their stations one at each cuddy door, two at the main hatchway and one each at the fore and aft hatchways, to prevent the escape of any of their victims, whilst two others brought the poor devils up the main hatchway to go through with the ordeal, and thus in the most systematic manner was everything ordered.

Everyone now who had had the good fortune

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to have made the acquaintance of Old Neptune in some former voyage and are free of his territories, now place themselves round the main hatchway where the unfortunates must ascend to get on deck, taking care to provide themselves with anything that will hold water, buckets large and small, pots and pans[as to?] whilst [tow?] others bring up the water-engine.

And now all being in readiness the first name is called as it stands on the list, taken down the previous evening. Of course the honor of going first is given to the midshipmen being young gentlemen, several of them were quickly disposed of without their suffering much damage, as they would be sure to have supplied the God and his ministers with the proper quantum of grog. Next came the turn of the Master-at-Arms who had never been that road before. After a few more were turned off with a beating heart I heard my name called. I had given them a consideration both in rum and money and of course expected to be treated accordingly, but I confess I felt confoundingly queer, the systematic preparations for the whole affair and the ignorance of what would take place and what would be the result, and knowing that some of them were pretty nearly in a drunken state, would naturally let a dread rest on ones mind. However, two men took hold of me by the arms and led me up the hatchway by the ladder, and I soon fell- the water dashed over me with great force, and also I felt the nasty little pipe of the engine playing the water full in my face and teeth, but my eyes were bandaged so I could see nothing.