I will not deny that the S.B. required a good
deal of supervision; for instance, when at length allowed a little
solid food, I found that he had selected as a suitable invalid repast,
some game-pie and a strawberry ice, which had, of course, to be
sternly vetoed; he had entered, too, for every event in the ship's
sports, and though he was so weak that he could barely stand, he had
every intention of competing. I have seldom met any one with such
wonderful personal courage as that boy, and he would never yield one
inch to his enemy; the strong will was for ever dominating the frail
body.
On this voyage we had a number of young people on board who were
crossing the equator for the first time, so Neptune kindly offered to
leave his ocean depths and to board the ship in the good old-fashioned
orthodox style to further these young folks' education. Just as we
crossed the Line, the ship was hailed from the sea, her name and
destination were ascertained, and she was peremptorily ordered to
heave to, Neptune naturally imagining that he was still dealing with
sailing ships. The engines were at once stopped, and Neptune, with his
Queen, his Doctor, his Barber, his Sea Bears and the rest of his
Court, all in their traditional get-up, made their appearance on the
upper deck, to the abject terror of some of the little children, who
howled dismally at this alarming irruption of half-naked savages with
painted faces.
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