FISHES IN MODERN FOLK-LORE. 85 



that they foretell the death of their owner by fighting 

 among themselves in their fish-ponds. Oliver Cromwell's 

 death was " foretold" by fish, and also that of Henry II. 



As barometers and weather prophets generally, fish are 

 of as much interest to the fisherman as birds, beasts, and 

 insects are to the man of woodcraft, the trapper or the 

 forester, and some of these traditions of prognostication are 

 founded upon the experiences of many generations. Thus 

 Wellsford, in his ' Secrets of Nature,' refers to several 

 which are of great antiquity, and of which the following 

 are of interest, if only as a sample of the sea-folks' weather- 

 lore : — 



" Porpoises, or sea-hogs, when observed to sport and 

 chase one another about ships, expect then some stormy 

 weather. Dolphins, in fair and calm weather, pursuing one 

 another as one of their waterish pastimes, foreshow wind, 

 and from that part whence they fetch their frisks ; but if 

 they play thus when the seas are rough and troubled, it is 

 a sign of fair and calm weather to ensue. Cuttles, with 

 their many legs, swimming on the top of the water, and 

 striving to be above the waves, do presage a storm. Sea- 

 urchins thrusting themselves into mud, or striving to 

 cover their bodies with sand, foreshow a storm. Cockles, 

 and most shell-fish, are observed, against a tempest, to 

 have gravel sticking hard into their shells, as a providence 

 of nature to stay or poise themselves, and to help weigh 

 them down if raised from the bottom by surges. Fishes 

 in general, both in salt and fresh waters, are observed to 

 sport most, and bite more eagerly, against rain than at any 

 other time." 



When they feel an earthquake, the Malagassies say " the 

 whales are turning over," or "the whales are bathing their 

 children." The serpent or dragon turning over and causing 



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