CONNECTION WITH ASTROLOGY, ETC. 135 



1st, going abroad ; 2d, on subjects of commercial specu- 

 lation ; 3d, on questions of war or peace ; 4th, on national 

 questions of interest connected with the extensions of 

 kingdoms ; and 5th, relative to riches and poverty. 



There were many curious tricks played with fish by the 

 necromancers of the middle ages, which are not known 

 now. One of the most famous of these was, that a man 

 was taken promiscuously from an audience, placed by 

 himself on a conspicuous platform, and, on the applica- 

 tion of the magician's wand, he was instantly seen riding 

 upon the back of a dolphin in the wide ocean. The 

 mode by which this was effected is now lost. The only 

 sleight-of-hand trick practised in London, in the present 

 day, is that of the bowl of fish. This is a glass bowl, 

 filled with nothing but clear spring water. A person is 

 called from the company, and requested to place a silk 

 handkerchief closely and tightly over the mouth of the 

 bowl. The necromancer then speaks, and requests him to 

 remove the silk blind from the bowl, when there are seen 

 several golden and silver fish swimming about in the water. 

 This is considered by artists as a difficult trick to play 

 off with suitable dexterity. 



On the dramas connected with fish and fishing, much 

 might be written. We have already alluded to those 

 acted in Italy in the middle ages. In more modern 

 times we find similar productions, both in this country 

 and on the continent. In some of the comic pieces re- 

 presented at the theatres of Copenhagen and Stockholm, 

 fishers are made to play a part. There is a Dutch farce 



