The daily Alaskan., 1911-08-07

-----azzs--.=.------a@s-.-- issary from the court of His Royal Marine Higbness Neptune, climbed over the bow and ip a loud voice de- handed the name of the ship and thai of her captain. Having received the Information from a spokesman Of the awestruck crew. he strode haughuly to the captains headquarters. He was of lofty stature. dignified mien. long, hair and beard, cable tow thrice around his waist, and live fish therefrom, and properly i'm, pressed with the importance of his mission. He requested of the cap tain the names of all the tenderfOoted mequatored persons on board and proclaimed in the name of his chief that unless the same accept ed the order of baptism prepared for similar occasions. they would be fol- lowed by perpetual ml de mer and all the maladies peculiar to the sea. The captain responded by informing the emissary that as far as lay in his power the mandate of his high ness should be obeyed, and appoint ed the following day at 2:S0 p. m. for the execution of the baptismal rites, at which. after accepting and quaffing mug Of foamy Pilsner he quietly withdrew and disappeared with in the depths of the sea.
 Saturday, the llth day. Of December A. D. 1909. opened auspiciously. The sunlit sky, broad expanse of slightly ruffled Java sea, and smoothly gid ing ship united to give keen delight to the senses of sight and feeling It was all dolce far nieute and tropical At the appointed hour the captain an officers and invited guests took posi- tions on a raised platform in the waist of the ship in the presence of a ter raced. expectant throng occupying every available point of vantage, even to clingins in the rigging. Soon was heard in the distance sounds like the booming of cannon. and shortly after the ship band. dressed in nondescript fantastic costume, playing a lively march. escorted Neptune in his con garb of crown, flowing beard and trident, accompanied by his suite. The grand secretary to H. R. H. was master of ceremonies, who, advancing to the sar-spangled banner draped desk. opened the proceedings by read ing from an immense volume, (the leaves of which were turned by his attendant vassalsl an address of con graduation to the captain, and intro ducuon oI his royal chiefJan, the Sea god. after which he read the names of those elegible for initiation First came the ladies who were treated with mild srrinhing of a whitish perfumed liquid drawn by an atomize rom an exaggerated nursing bottle. Then the men, without distinction, were treated, as you might say in the vulgar parlauce of the day, to a tile rough house. The barber with his wonderful paraphernalia lathered his victims good and plenty fore and aft, and with a razor of not diminutive proportions scraped the soapy depos- it from the anatomy of the struggling tenderfoot After the operation of tonsorial application, the subject Of baptismal rites was unceremonlously thrown into an adjacent tank of sea water and through the ministrations of two disrepUtable looking Fijis thor oughly soused. And so the fun went on hilariously. A posse Of police painted and adorned with feathers like the wild men of Boneo did val iant service in securing the multitude for fresh material to be offered on Nepmne's altar Away up in the top mast a line of hose had been quietly carried and from a spreading nozzle gle the unsuspecHng ouIookers below received an involuntary shower. Af- ter the completion of the ceremon- ies. Neptune withdrew to his await ing dolpbin-drawn sea chariot and faded away in the blue sea, leaving behind a handsome certificate signed in his Greek name of Poisidon, stat ing that the holder had compiled with equatorial requirements
 Never before was like ceremony performed in the presence of so distin- guished a gathering, representing all vacations. professions and easy-sreet non-producing consumers.
 GILBERT E. CHANDLER.
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