Page:Letters from India Vol 1.djvu/28

 at all events, we have sailed very smoothly the last ten days, and moreover we crossed the Line at ten on Friday night. It is a great rope, you know—not one of the lines that are sent by post. Neptune hailed the ship, &c., and yesterday we all went out to see the procession, which was very well got up. Amphitrite, a very tall sailor, looked quite handsome in one of Wright’s gowns and my cap. Neptune made a speech to George, and begged to introduce his wife to us with the two babies—‘the precious pledges of our affection;’ and he gave a letter to Fanny and me, saying the weather had been so bad he could not catch us any ﬁsh, but he begged to present us with a couple of snow-birds—two white pigeons; and we all said our say, and made our little jokes, and then got out of the way as fast as we could before the shaving and ducking began. As far as sea-water is concerned, I do not see much objection to the business, if it amuses them to be tossed into a sail and half drowned, and to have engines playing on them from below, and buckets emptied on them from above; but the shaving is a horrid process, and the two or three obnoxious individuals