The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction. Volume 17, No. 470, January 8, 1831
TextThe Naturalist
DANCING FISH—SEA-SERPENT, &c
In a paper on "Oceanic Dangers," in the United Service Journal is the following:—
There is a species of grampus from two to three tons weight, and about sixteen feet in length, that amuses itself with jumping, or rather springing its ponderous body entirely out of the water, in a vertical position, and falling upon its back; this effort of so large a fish is almost incredible, and informs us how surprisingly great the power of muscle must be in this class of animal. I have seen them spring out of the water within ten yards of the ship's side, generally in the evening, after having swam all the former part of the day in the ship's wake, or on either quarter. When several of these fish take it into their heads to dance a "hornpipe," as the sailors have termed their gambols, at the distance of half a mile they, especially at or just after sun-down, may easily be mistaken for the sharp points of rocks sticking up out of the water, and the splashing and foam they make and produce have the appearance of the action of the waves upon rocks. An officer of the navy informed me, that after sunset, when near the equator, he was not a little alarmed and surprised (because quite unexpected) at the cry of "rocks on the starboard bow:" looking forward through the dubious light (if the expression may be admitted,) he indistinctly saw objects which he and all on board took to be the pinnacles of several rocks of a black and white colour: in a short time, however he discovered this formidable danger to be nothing more than a company of dancing grampuses with white bellies: as one disappeared, another rose, so that there were at least five or six constantly above the surface!
The uncertainty attending the visual organ during the continuance of the aurora and of the twilight, must have been noticed by all those person's who have frequented the ocean. Most sailors have the power of eye-sight strengthened from constant practice, and from having an unobstructed view so generally before them; yet I have known an officer, who was famous for his quickness of sight, declare that in the evening and morning he found it difficult to retain sight for more than a second or two at a time, of a strange sail; at night, even with an inverting glass, his practised eye could retain the object more steadily.
The public were amused for some time, a few years ago, by the tales of brother Jonathan respecting the huge sea-serpent. Without at all disputing the existence of creatures of that nature in the ocean, I have little doubt that a sight I witnessed in a voyage to the West Indies, was precisely such as some of the Americans had construed into a "sea-serpent a mile in length," agreeing, as it did, with one or two of the accounts given. This was nothing more than a tribe of black porpoises in one line, extending fully a quarter of a mile, fast asleep! The appearance certainly was a little singular, not unlike a raft of puncheons, or a ridge of rocks; but the moment it was seen, some one exclaimed, (I believe the captain)—"here is a solution of Jonathan's enigma"—and the resemblance to his "sea-serpent" was at once striking.
Ice, sometimes, when a-wash with the surface of the sea may be mistaken for breakers; and that which is called "black ice" has, both by Capt. Parry and Mr. Weddell, been taken for rocks until a close approach convinced them of the contrary; and, I dare say, others have been in like manner deceived, especially near Newfoundland.
A scole of or indeed, a single, devil fish (Lophius) when deep in the water, may appear like a shoal; and I think, that of all the various appearances of strange things seen at sea, this monstrous animal is more likely to deceive the judgment into a belief of a submarine danger being where none actually exists, than any other. I have watched one of these extraordinary creatures, as it passed slowly along, occupying a space two-thirds of the length of the ship (a 32-gun frigate;) its shape was nearly circular, of a dark green colour, spotted with white and light green shades, like the ray, and some other flat-fish.
Mr. Kriukof gave a curious description to Capt. Kotzebue of a marine serpent which pursued him off Behring's island: it was red and enormously long, the head resembling that of the sea-lion, at the same time two disproportionately large eyes gave it a frightful appearance. Mr. Kriukof's situation seems to have been almost as perilous above the surface of the sea, as Lieutenant Hardy's Spanish diver's was, with the tinterero underneath!
In the History of Greenland, (which, by the by, may with propriety be called Parrynese,) I think there is a well authenticated account of a large sea-serpent seen upon the coast of that vast insular land in Hudson's sea.
Sea-Devil.—Extract from the log-book of the ship Douglas.—"Sailed May 3rd from Curaçoa. May 6th, at three P.M. in lat. 35 long. 68.40, made, as we supposed, a vessel bottom up, five or six miles distant—proceeded within forty feet of the object, which appeared in the form of a turtle—its height above water ten or twelve feet; in length twenty-five or thirty feet, and in breadth twelve feet, with oars or flappers, one on each side; twelve or fifteen feet in length, one-third of the way from his tail forward, and one on each side near his tail five feet long. The tail twenty to twenty-five feet long,—had a large lion face with large eyes. The shell or body looked like a clinker-built boat of twenty-five or thirty tons, bottom up, and the seams of the laps newly paid. There were some large branches on him. This animal was standing south-east, and in the course of Bermuda, and his velocity about two knots per hour. A vessel running foul of this monster might be much injured.—New York Paper, May 22.
Spawn of fish, minute mollusca, the small classes of squilla and cancer, are known to voyagers as causing a discolouration of the sea in particular places. Patches and lines of these are often seen within the tropics, of a brown colour, and sometimes of a yellow, and of a red shade, floating upon the surface of the ocean, which, to those unused to such sights, are considered as indications of danger beneath. I met with two patches of this description lately in the Torrid Zone, but the captain being familiar with such instances, sailed through them without apprehension. The first consisted of myriads of small orbicular medusæ, about the size of a pea, of a purple hue; the other patch of a reddish-brown colour, was produced by small mollusca, the size of a needle, and about a line in length.
The Gatherer
A snapper up of unconsidered trifles.
SHAKSPEARE.
CURIOUS SIGN
The following is on a violin maker's sign-board, at Limerick:—"New Villins mad here and old ones rippard, also new heads, ribs, backs, and bellys mad on the shortest notice. N.B. Choes mended, &c.
"Pat O'Shegnassy, painter."
W.G.C
ANCIENT PROPHECY
The author of "The Blasynge of Armes,"7 at the end of Dame Julian Berners's celebrated Treatise on Hawking, Hunting, and Fishing, has informed us that "Tharmes of the Kynge of Fraunce were certaynly sent by an angel from heven, that is to saye, thre floures in manere of swerdes in a feld of azure, the whyche certer armes were given to the forsayd Kynge of Fraunce in sygne of everlastynge trowble, and that he and his successours alway with batayle and swerdes sholde be punysshyd."
BATHOS AND PATHOS
(To the Editor.)
Perceiving that you sometimes admit curious and eccentric epitaphs into your very amusing and instructive periodical, if the enclosed is worthy a place, it at least has this merit, if no other, that it is a literal copy, from a tombstone in St. Edmund's churchyard, Sarum:—
In Memory of 3 Children of Joseph and Arabella Maton, who all died in their Infancy, 1770.
1
Innocence Embellishes Divinely Compleat
To Prescience Coegent Now Sublimely Great
In the Benign, Perfecting, Vivifying State.
2
So Heavenly Guardian Occupy the Skies
The Pre-Existent God, Omnipotent Allwise
He can Surpassingly Immortalize thy Theme
And Permanent thy Soul Celestial Supreme.
3
When Gracious Refulgence, bids the Grave Resign
The Creators Nursing Protection be Thine
Thus each Perspiring Æther will Joyfully Rise
Transcendantly Good Supereminently Wise.
W.C
THE LETTER B
"Or like a lamb, whose dam away is fet,
He treble baas for help, but none can get."
SIDNEY.
Its pronunciation is supposed to resemble the bleating of a sheep; upon which account the Egyptians represented the sound of this letter by the figure of that animal. It is also one of those letters which the eastern grammarians call labial, because the principal organs employed in its pronunciation are the lips. With the ancients, B as a numeral stood for 300. When a line was drawn above it, it stood for 3,000, and with a kind of accent below it, for 200.