Traveller.

Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, Issue 411, 31 March 1904, Page 7

Traveller.

SEA SUPERSTITIONS. JSMfipT holiday time our thoughts fly ffflpy longingly to the seaside and the aOK bluu wnves breaking on the yellow sand, and it ia not surprising that some of the quaint superstitions of the sea occur to our winds—the mystic lore believed in so firmly by sailors, fiaherfolk. and all the dwellers by the mysterious Ocean, the tales of seagods and sirens, sea-fairies and mermaids, who sing with voices of unearthly sweetness to lure voyagers to a watery grave. Old legends tell ,of Neptune and Amphitxite, the Nereides and Tritons, the Kraken and Sea serpent, the Flying Dutchman, and the Phantom Ship. English sailors still believe firmly in many of these uncanny beings—to say nothing of Davy Jones, that awe-inspiring spirit, who comes to warn them of death and shipwreck, perohing ia the rigging, with blue flames darting from his nostrils, his wide mouth open to display three rows of sharp teeth, and his saucer-like eyes blazing with wrath. We. are told that 'Jones' is a corruption of the word 'Jonah, while •Davy' is the West Indian • Daily,' or 'Duppy' (4 Spirit), but why should the Hebrew prophet, rescued so miraculously from the perils of the deep, be identified with suoh a terrible and fiendish creature? A host of saints were and are invoksd by mariners—-St Nicholas and St. Michael as well as the Blessed Virgin, to whom as ' Mary, the Star of the Sea,' many seaside churches are dedicated. The long brown tangles of seaweed are called ' Oar Lady's Wraok,' and some aay that ' Mother Carey's Chickens' owe their name to the ' Mater C*ra,' for the French call these birds 'lea oieeanx de Notre Dame.' Others say Mother Carey is the German Holda, or Hulda, and quote as one of the proofs of the expression common on oar Northern and Eastern coasts in' winter,' when the snowflakes drive in across thai German Ocean, 'Mother Carey is plucking her geese,* equivalent to the German • Hulda is making her bed.' Sailors hate Mother, Carey's chickens, because these birds give warning of approaching tempest by fifing round a ship, uttering their shrill cries. The Jack Tars think they have raised the gale, and lavish abuse on the pretty creatures, who ought rather to be praised for their timely notice of danger, at the same time it is thought unlucky to kill a stormy petrel, tor they are supposed to be the souls of drowned sailors. Tneir curious habit of ekimming over the waves has gained for' them the name of 'petrel,' because they seem to walk on the water, like, the great' patron of fishermen, St Peter. Cats and children are supposed to bring good luck on a voyage, and if poor puss is ill-treated, or thrown overboard/ a storm may be expected. This ia not a very probable occurrence, tor Bailoiß are very, fond of animals, and are almost sure to treat them kindly. In s»me parts of the coast dogs are supposed to bring ill-luck to a fishing party. In Iceland they will not be taken in the beats for any consideration, and in Ireland it is thought unlucky to allow them to go near the nets or lines. If a woman, a priest, a dog, or a fox meets a party of fishermen just starting-, on an expedition, ill-luck is sure to attend the toilers of the sen, according to an Irish belief. Ia the Western Isles the party will sometimes turn back if they, meet any of these four—a redhaired woman being thought especially unlucky. Care is taken that the fishermen only enter the boat on the right side, while a live coal or sod of turf is thrown after the party as they leave the village for luck. The Irish peasant still believes firmly in the 'Merrows,' or Mermaids or Mermen. The former are said to be very beautiful, in spite of their fish-tails and scales, and many men are supposed to have married these sea-maids, who could not return to their native element'' as long as their mortal husbands kept posh - sesß.on of the little red oapß, which* enable them to dive under, the waves to their palaces, decked with coral and seashells. The Mermen are very ugly, with green hair and teeth, and red noses, and small eyes like pigs. Their arms axe supposed to be very short, like fins, and they have long scaly tails. To this day many people on the coasts of Cork, Kerry, and Galway, declare that they have often seen Merrows—probably the seals, which are still abundant on these wild shores.. Witches too, are supposed to change themselves into seals, and as these ladies are said to be very fond of wrecking ships, no wonder the; sailors and fishermen are much alarmed when they see a drove of seals playing in the witer. * ■ • The Kraken seem 3 to be peculiar to the coast of. Norway and North America, but the sea moEster that Pliny mentions as inhabiting the Straits of Gibraltar, and blocking the entrance of vessels, seems to have been a similar creature. <

The sea-Berpeat is not extinct even yet, he appears regularly with the'big gooseberry' of the ailly season. Whether then really are sea-snakes of enormous size, or whtther the supposed serpent is a mass of floating seaweed, is doubtful. In formsr times the appearance of this monßfcer was supposed to pressage misfortune. In many places it is though mast unlucky for a woman to walk over the nets laid to dry on the beach, In Ireland, however, th? only make and mend the nets,TbuT»Bte% put them out to dry. | v-— ~*, •• There are a few superstitions relating to sea-bathing, one is that three dips ehouldj,, always be taken, probably this was onem**":* ally done In honour of the Holy Trmity.W September is said to be the best.month ' in the year for bathing, owing to the; I great quantity of oil in the water from the seaweed. August, too, is a good time for bathing, and according to the old rhyme i , ; ' Those who bathe in May Will soon be laid in clay; Those who bathe in June ,'.",-: Will singa merry tune; x Those who bathe in July , : , Will dance like a fly.' The Irish say that the flat-fish, hare crooked mouths because one of-them sneered at Our Lord as he went "by the Sea of Galilee and oried 'He is but a.-.»: fisherman's soa!' and lo! the flaa's \ mouth turned in an ugly sneer, -and' has 1 been crooked ever since. ■''/-}"? DENTS. '_'.;. ;| The niceties of the English language, as S§ we have more than once remarked, are msfc decided puzzle; to native students iaV India. A Madras college invited the candidates for examination to paraphrase the sentence, • The shark is in London, and the sharks prey.' This war s :ihi£ result: 'The Biver Thames is toll of > sharks, which eat the people who fell * into it.' The Saltan of Turkey will often, whaa; • he attends a play, hand the comedian a joke of his own in the course of these*. -', formance. These jokes naturally evoke a great deal of laughter.