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Yet I say unto thee, if thou shouldest become a fish that swimmeth in the depths of the ocean, if thou shouldest change into a star that is concealed in the farthest heaven, my father would draw thee forth from thy hiding-place, and avenge my death upon thee when he shall learn that the earth is become my bed.
The same author went farther than any other reporter up to that time in telling a real fish story: And now it comes into my mind, I shall here insert an account of a very strange fish or rather a monster, which I happened to see in Rappahannock River about a year before I came out of the country; the manner of it was thus: As I was coming down the forementioned river in a sloop bound for the bay, it happened to prove calm, at which time we were three leagues short of the river's mouth; the tide of ebb being then done, the sloop-man dropped his grapline, and he and his boy took a little boat belonging to the sloop, in which they went ashore for water, leaving me aboard alone, in which time I took a small book out of my pocket and sat down at the stern of the vessel to read; but I had not read long before I heard a great rushing and flashing of the water, which caused me suddenly to look up, and about half a stone's cast from me appeared a prodigious creature, much resembling a man, only somewhat larger, standing right up in the water with his head, neck, shoulders, breast and waist, to the cubits of his arms, above water; his skin was tawny, much like that of an Indian; the figure of his head was pyramidal, and slick, without hair; his eyes large and black, and so were his eyebrows; his mouth very wide, with a broad streak on the upper lip, which turned upward at each end like mustachioes; his countenance was grim and terrible; his neck, shoulders, arms, breast and waist were like unto the neck, arms, shoulders, breast and waist of a man; his hands if he had any, were under water; he seemed to stand with his eyes fixed on me for some time, and afterward dived down, and a little after riseth at somewhat a farther distance, and turned his head towards me again, and then immediately falleth a little under water, and swimmeth away so near the top of the water, that I could discern him throw out his arms, and gather them in as a man doth when he swimmeth.
Then sang Harek, laughing, and ever ready with verses: "The gamecock croweth bravely, And guardeth hawk-scared hen roost; But when the sea swan swimmeth Against the shoreward nestings, There mighty mallard flappeth, And frayeth him from foray; Yet shoreward if he winneth, The gamecock waits to meet him." "That is in my favour," said Odda.
Gregory says well and rightly, that the Holy Scripture is like a water, wherein an "elephant swimmeth, but a little sheep goeth therein upon his feet." I remember a Fable, said Luther, which fitteth very well for these times, and for this purpose, discoursed of before. A Lion, said he, making a great feast, invited all the beasts thereunto, and with them also he invited swine.
For in this mountain shall the hand of the LORD rest, and Moab shall be trodden down under him, even as straw is trodden down for the dunghill. And he shall spread forth his hands in the midst of them, as he that swimmeth spreadeth forth his hands to swim: and he shall bring down their pride together with the spoils of their hands.
They haue there great store of the oyle of Tortoises, which Tortoise is a fish which swimmeth in the Sea, with a shell on his backe as broad as a target. It raineth not in this Iland but in three moneths of the yeere, from the midst of Iuly to the midst of October, and it is here alwayes very hote. Kine haue bene brought hither, but by reason of the heate and drought they haue died.
This poore fish not being able to swim fast, for he hath no finnes, but swimmeth with moouing of his taile, shutting his wings, lifteth himselue aboue the water, and flieth not very hie: the Albocore seeing that, although he haue no wings, yet he giueth a great leape out of the water, and sometimes catcheth him, or els he keepeth himselfe vnder the water going that way on as fast as he flieth.
Now I suppose that thou will want to bid Blaise farewell: yet thou must look to it that he will not deem thy farewell of great moment, since he swimmeth in florins and goodly wares; and moreover deemeth that thou wilt soon be back here."
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