A MARVELLOUS TALE. 497 



on the wails and forecastles, when one little fish see 

 the vanity of man ! is able to arrest and stay perforce 

 our goodly and tall ships 1 Certes, reported it is, that 

 in the naval battle before Actium, wherein Antony and 

 Cleopatra were defeated by Augustus, one of these fishes 

 stayed the admiral's ship, whereon Mark Antony was, 

 at what time as he made all the haste and means he 

 could devise, with help of oars, to encourage his people 

 from ship to ship, and could not prevail, until he was 

 forced to abandon the said admiral, and go into another 

 galley. Meanwhile, the armada of Augustus Caesar, 

 seeing the disorder, charged with greater violence, and 

 soon defeated the fleet of Antony. 



Of late days also, continues Pliny, and within our 

 remembrance, the like happened to the royal ship of the 

 Emperor Caius Caligula, at what time as he rowed back 

 and made sail from Astura to Antium : and as soon as 

 the vessel (a galley furnished with five banks of oars to a 

 side) was perceived alone in the fleet to stand still, pres- 

 ently a number of bold fellows leaped out of their ships 

 into the sea, to search after the said galley, what the 

 reason might be that it stirred not, and found one of 

 these fishes sticking fast to the very helm ; which 

 being reported to Caius Caligula, he fumed and sware as 

 an emperor, taking a great indignation that so small a 

 thing as this should hold her back perforce, and check 

 the strength of all his warriors, notwithstanding there 

 were no fewer than four hundred lusty men in his galley, 

 that laboured at the oar, all that ever they could do to the 

 contrary. This fish presaged an unfortunate event, for no 

 sooner was he arrived at Rome than some soldiers fell upon 

 him [that is, upon Caligula], and stabbed him to death, 



