146 EMBASSY
pVssage-o¥’ sion; recurring to thein so^seldomj of'enjpyrng-a m3-1
- meniary>gleam of Happiness and independence. Sfinpj
ddneffes therfr todsub sequent! subordination- andV^pen^i
suffering: They*seldom abuse-the indulgdn-eedthus-'ah:
foWed^Wem^hand frequently tire, -an ’» Kttle time, of
what' th’eyJentered upon with:so;mucfo dagfifhess; and
eitefeivefl » be productawe.^of so much plea su re^ and,
feeling that idlemes&Geases»soon^to'be:eaSpiymeht^etarh
with ^resignation, and? re ah comfort’ ;fo:>theiirwamted<'ow
cupations. T h e amusements, o n this'Otpaisidp-jrt ednsatstedi
chiefly in dresshogbup a sailor; m£ -augqoji 'figuie eaoal;
maMyfkonnibianc^iiin the .supposed^prdpdB habit; ~q£
the isea3god* Neptune,- armed with.-a’ trident, and his:
, g aMe iltf id fip p in g withi the. element submitted to his
power. He stood ;at the ship’s head; r as i f He wereirising.
out o f the ocean, and demanded,- with an audible; vohfep
what was -the ship thus: encroaching mpon his domi-
nionS? An answerbeing given-from. the quartecrdeek;;
whins the Embassador, Sir Erasmus Gower-; the officers
andrpasiteikgeirs, all sfood, announfcingi th e /sh ip tis a n e *
- afid purport of the voyage,. Neptune, w itb h is attendants.
properly Uecoutred, stepped w ith g re a t/so leD a ^ ^ ltfe
wards thehr, and, with some Words of compliment- to.
his Excellency', presented him a fish (lately caught)/=as
part of the produce o f the d eity’s domains. His<gpd-
headlwaS treated by all w ith great respect; and becoming
offerings of silver were voluntarily made to him, for.
EMBASSY TO CHINA.
himself and his-companions, by those who had crossed
the Line before; but were exacted las a just tribute from -—
those whojattempted it for the fitsh time, under penalty
of going through -eerenfonjSes; not,a- little ludicrous, and
promotive of much; broad laughter among’ the initiated
in thojse mysteries'../ They*,concluded with a plentiful
repast, accompanied with the music o f the bagpipe,
and copious, tho not excessive,, libations of exhilarating
liquor.
I-n the neighbourhood of the Line,' av stagnated atmosphere
often suffers the equinoctial heat to act in full force
Upon thebuman.frame; but, in the.present voyage, there
was. very -little calm. The;.soutb/eistem breeze was
steady, and the weather pleasant: .yet the horizon appeared
nearer to the ey e ; and the arch-ofithe sky seemed
to form bht a small segment pf a:jearclew,> The clouds descended
to the proximity of .the oceayu; and, in several
places within sight at oncethey seemed to dip down to-
wards it, and attract a part of its, contents in the form of
water-spouts, the drops rising, apparently, and meeting
the bending cloud. All the vessels that;were observed traversing
this part of the'ocean, were traders between Portugal
and its African settlements,,on the one hand, and its
opulent colonies in the Brazils, on the other ; as if, here,
both sides of the. Atlantic, exclusively, belonged to that
crown. Few birds were seen, throughput this; passage;
and few fish were caught.. The s«ulpys enjoyed, how-'
VOL . I. U