CURIOUS CREATURES. 231 



" Sens have (as well as skies) Sun, Moon, and Stars ; 

 (As well as ayre) Swallows, and Rooks, and Stares ; 

 (As well as earth) Vines, Roses, Nettles, Millions, 1 

 Pinks, Gilliflowers, Mushrooms, and many millions 

 Of other Plants (more rare and strange than these) 

 As very fishes living in the Seas. 

 And also Rams, Calfs, Horses, Hares, and Hogs, 

 Wolves, Lions, Urchins, Elephants and Dogs, 

 Yea, Men and Mayds ; and (which I more admire 2 ) 

 The m'ytred Bishop, and the cowled Fryer ; 

 Whereof, examples, (but a few years since) 

 Were shew'n the Norways, and Polonian Prince." 



Was the strange fish that Stow speaks of in his 

 Annales one of these two? " A.D. 1187. Neere unto 

 Orforde in Suffolke, certaine Fishers of the sea tooke 

 in their Nettes, a Fish having the shape of a man in all 

 pointes, which Fish was kept by Bartlemew de Glanville, 

 Gustos of the castle of Orforde, in the same Castle, by 

 the space of sixe monethes, and more, for a wonder : 

 He spake not a word. All manner of meates he gladly 

 did eate, but more greedilie raw fishe, after he had 

 crusshed out all the moisture. Oftentimes he was 

 brought to the Church where he showed no tokens of 

 adoration. At length, when he was not well looked to, 

 he stale away to the Sea and never after appeared." 

 If this was not the real Simon Pure, yet I think it may 

 put in a claim as a first-class British production, and, 

 as far as I know, unique all other denizens of the 

 deep having some trace of their watery habitat, either 

 in wearing scales, or a tail. 



Following Du Bartas' idea, let us take some marine 

 animals which have a somewhat similar counterpart on 

 shore. 



Gesner gives us the picture, Olaus Magnus gives us 



1 Melons. 2 Wonder at. 



