234 NETHER LOCHABER. 



A tolerably perfect, though, not very large specimen of the 

 sword-fish, the Xiphias gladius of ichthyologists, was cast ashore in 

 our neighbourhood during an unusually heavy midsummer gale from 

 the south-west last week. The length of the elongated snout, com- 

 monly called the sword or dagger, was two feet seven inches, a really 

 formidable weapon, with which it has been known, whether willingly 

 or unwillingly it would be difficult to say, to perforate the bottom 

 timbers of the stoutest ships, the sword in such cases luckily 

 breaking off as a rule, and thus becoming an immediate as well as 

 an efficient plug or stop-gap to the perforation. It is a more 

 frequent visitor to our shores than our natural history books 

 would lead one to believe, hardly a summer passing but you hear 

 of one or more being caught or cast ashore somewhere. This is 

 the fourth specimen that within twenty years has come under our 

 personal inspection here on the west coast. The largest and finest 

 we ever saw was captured by a well-known Fort- William fisher- 

 man, lacjc Crubach, or Lame Jack. If we well remember, we 

 think he told us that somebody gave him a sovereign for it. Its 

 flesh is said to be excellent eating, while its liver affords an oil 

 equal to eel oil in transparency, and of marvellous virtue, it is 

 said, as a medicament. The favourite habitats of the sword-fish are 

 the Sicilian and the Italian shores of the Mediterranean, where, 

 at certain seasons of the year, it is caught in great numbers, the 

 average weight being quite a hundred, and sometimes two hundred 

 pounds or more. We have it in our Common-Place Book that 

 Major Healy, of the yacht " Wildbird," informed us in Fort-William 

 (August 1869) that he had just returned from the Mediterranean; 

 had called on Garibaldi at Caprera, and dined with him on 

 potatoes and sword-fish steaks, which the gallant Major pronounced 

 excellent. We may state, as something curious, that while the 

 Major at said dinner had his choice of very good wines, with lots 

 of capital bottled "Bass" from England, the General himself 



