om ship-board
when no other animal life can be sighted; and thus it was, doubtless,
that their appearance suggested safe harbour, and consequent thanks to
Mater Cara, to the devout seaman.

Why the petrels are associated with storms is thus not easily explained,
seeing that they are abroad in all weathers; but a feasible suggestion
was advanced by Pennant. It is that they gather from the water
sea-animals which are most abundant before or after a storm, when the
sea is in a state of unusual commotion. All birds are highly sensitive
to atmospheric changes, and all sea-birds seem to develop extra activity
in threatening and 'dirty' weather.

There is another interesting thing about Mother Carey's chicken, and
that is, that he is also called petrel, from the Italian 'Petrello,' or
Little Peter. This is because he is supposed to be able, like the
apostle, to walk on the water, and as in fact he does after a fashion,
with the aid of his wings.

Now, St. Peter, both as a fisherman and for his sea-walking, was always
a favourite saint with sailors, and was often invoked during storms. He
was the patron saint of Cortez, as he was also of the Thames watermen.
There is an old legend that St. Peter went on board a fisherman's boat
somewhere about the Nore, and that it carried him, without sails or
oars, to the very spot which he selected as the site for Westminster
Abbey.

In the Russian ports of the Baltic there is firm belief in a species of
water-spirits called Rusalkas, who raise storms and cause much damage to
the shipping. The great anniversary of these storm-spirits is St.
Peter's Day. The John Dory is St. Peter's fish, and it is said that the
spots on each side of its mouth are the marks of the apostle's thumb and
forefinger. It was called 'janitore,' or doorkeeper, because in its
mouth was found the penny with which the temple-tax was paid. Now, St.
Peter also was the doorkeeper of heaven, and from janitore to John Dory
was an easy transition.

With fishermen, as was natural, St. Peter was held in high honour; and
in Cornwall and Yorkshire, until recently, it was customary to light
bonfires, and to hold other ceremonies, on St. Peter's Day, to signalize
the opening of the fishing season, and to bespeak luck. An old writer
says of these customs at Guisboro', in Yorkshire, that:

'The fishermen, on St. Peter's daye, invited their friends and kinfolk
to a festivall kept after their fashion, with a free hearte, and no