The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1886-02-03
A PECULIAR CUSTOM.
Ludicrous Practice In Which Many
Ocean Travellers are Compelled
to Take Part.


A Cambridge undergraduate, now on
his wav to the cape in trading vessel,
sends the following interesting commu
nication to IL, Pail Iall Gazette: One
of the Oldest customs OF the sea lately
came under my notice, and in such q
way as l am not likely to forget. As
usual after our 6 O'Clock tea, we were
seated in the saloon ENJOYING our game
of cribbage, when q blast from the fog
horn. fit to awaken the dead, put an end
to cur cards. Hur1icdly we made for
the deck, where i sight never to be for
gotten met our eyes. The evening was
dark and cloudy, the moon entirely hid.
den, but the deck was brilliantly illu-
minated with blue lights. From the fore
castle was issuing 4 procession that
battles description. First walked Father
Neptune himself, Leading on his arm his
Young and beautiful wife, Amphitrite.
Neptune was dressed in long, white
flowing robes-that IS, nightshirt:
around his head waved his gray locks,
blowing before the wind in every direc-
ton; his beard reached below his waist;
on his head he wore inter of such
tremendous size as 10 drive any bishop
wild with envy; in his hand he bore his
trident.
His wife's dress was evidently on the
plan of beauty unadorned,' for some
red paint, . small red flag, and pair
of red bathing-drawers constituted her
costume. Her faxen hair in curly
masses reached ker knees. Following
this august couple walked the hero of
the evening-the barber. Dressed all in
white, wearing hat the shape Of a
dicc-box, half white, half black, with
curly white hair and whiskers, he was
sublime; but the sublime changed into
the awful when one perceived that he
carried in his hands instruments OF tor
ture rivaling in their latent cruelty even
those of the Inquisition. Imagine stand
ing and gazing upon a bucket of flour
and water mixed to about the thickness
of liquid glue, Of which you know you
will receive large share-on your head:
Recover, Il i ven can, from that sight, and
look again. In h1isis:r his 0ih5:r band he holds 5
a razor of such magnitude that it itNs'SS4-a
not be i'll amisS for telling trees, and
think that soon that edge of rough,
rusty iron will be plowing its mcander-
ing course over your innocent jaws.
Following this torturer came two
policemen armed with cudgels and dark
lanterns Behind them crowded the
crew. In spite of the awful solemnity
of the scene, one could not but admire
the dark, cloudy sky, the sea a blaze Of
phosphorescence, the flickering summer
lightning, the grouping of the actors.
Hating before the after deck, Neptune,
in q loud voice, with such calm disre-
gard as to where he put his HIS aswould
make any classical author turn in his
grave, gave utterancc, Earring that
some of the crew of this ship is such as
ther ave not yet crossed the loine, and
bin baptoized, my sons. ham 'ere to
see them done So" Evidently Nep-
tunes intercourse with British sailors
has been to the disadvantage of his elo-
quence.
The sailors, at the finish of Neptune's
speech, checred loudly, while from their
midst stepped the two brawny police
men, one of whom was a niger from
Demerara, and seized upon /. Mean
while the torturer was not idle. He had
seated himself upon q low stool, with
his bucket before him, in his left hand a
brush like housemaid's broom, while
with his right he was sharpening his
razor on the companion-laddcr ratings.
Alas for poor T. He stood smiling be-
fore his exccutioner, who, evidently
thinking the occasion far too solemn to
smile at, put an end to his innocent
mcrriment by inserting as much as he
possibly could of his mixture into his
mouth. While he was engaged in
choking and splitting out what he could
:. the concoction, his head was being
covered to such an extent as to render
his features quite indistinguishable.
Then that awful razor came into use, its
broad. rusty edge scraping away the
dough like q plow in clay soil. But
how difficult it is 10 take the dough out
of ones eyes and mouth with a razor
blade three feet long. one can not I'M
agine till one has tried! His satanic
majesty, / mean the barber, having
scrapcd Oft ass much as pleased bl5
fancy, the the two policemen came to the
fore again, armed with buckets of cold
water. which, utterly regardless Of what
part Of the victims body received the
water, they threw in quick succession
over him.
I was the next victim, and went
through the same terrible routine; but
at last it was all over, and issued from
the cold-water cure quite ready to sec
the fun in treating the others to their
dose. 1t was !, novel experience, and
one not likely to be forgotten. Then
followed the others who had not crossed
the line, some half-dozen of them, but
two were missing. The police were
soon after them. but it was an hour be-
fore the first was found, lying under
meath the boilers in about the temper
ature of the place had wished the bar
Der in when was being shaved. All
this he endured rather than face his
shaving. or, l should say, shaving his
face. He was quickly dragged upon
the scene, and paid the penalty of his
fear by receiving a double dose. Soon
after this the other. 4 boy, was found
concealed in a sail in the rigging; he,
too, got what he deserved for trying to
escape justice After all were baptized,
we had some songs and dances, the bar
Der being especially good at the latter,
and giving US some excellent clog-danccs
and breakdowns Poor Neptune had
terrible trouble with his wife, who, sud-
denly discovering herself among q lot
of sailors, became "Skittish sh''-naturally
what woman would not? The songs