516 THE AQUARIAN NATURALIST. 



and positively change the fate of empires by inter- 

 fering with the exploits of kings and kaisers : 



" Looking far forth into the ocean wide, 

 A goodly ship, with banners bravely dight, 

 And flag in her top-gallant, I espy'd, 

 Through the main sea making her merry flight ; 

 Faire blew the wind into her bosome right ; 

 And th' heavens looked lovely all the while ; 

 That she did seem to daunce, as in delight, 

 And at her own felicity did smile. 

 All suddainly there clove unto her keele 

 A little fish that men call REMOBA, 

 Which stopp'd her course, and held her by the heele, 

 That winde nor tide could move her thence away. 

 'Tis straunge, me seemeth, that so small a thing 

 Should able be so great an one to wring." 



Pliny descants upon this subject with his usual 

 gravity, and the reader may possibly be amused with 

 an old translation of the account given by the Roman 

 naturalist : 



" The current of the sea is great, the tide much, 

 the winds vehement and forcible; and more than 

 that, ores and sailes withall, to help forward the rest, 

 are mightie and powerfull ; and yet there is one little 

 sillie fish, named Echeneis, that checketh, scorneth, 

 and arresteth them all. Let the winds blow as much 

 as they will, rage the storms and tempests what they 

 can, yet this little fish commandeth their furie, re- 

 straineth their puissance, and maugre all their force, 

 as great as it is, compelleth ships to stand still, a 

 thing which no cables, be they never so big, and able 

 as they will, can perform. She bridleth the violence 

 and tameth the greatest rage of this universall world, 



