And this:
'Long foretold, long last;
Short notice, soon past.'
These, however, are hardly superstitions, but maxims based on experience. Of the same character are the following:
'In squalls
When the rain's before the wind
Halyards, sheets, and braces mind.'
Also,
'When the wind's before the rain
Soon you may make sail again.'
And
'When the glass falls low,
Prepare for a blow;
When it rises high,
Let all your kites fly.
'A rainbow in the morning,
Sailors take warning;
A rainbow at night
Is the sailor's delight.'
The Manx fishermen have some curious sayings about herrings. Thus the common expression, 'As dead as a herring,' is due to them. They say also, 'Every herring must hang by its own gills'; and their favourite toast is, 'Life to man and death to fish.' They count one hundred and twenty-four fish to the hundred, thus: they first sort out lots of one hundred and twenty, then add three to each lot, which is called 'warp,' and then a single herring, which is called 'tally.' Before shooting the nets at sea, every man goes down on his knees at a sign from the skipper of the boat, and, with his head uncovered, prays for a blessing on the fishing. This, at least, used to be the general practice, but in how prevailing at the present day is doubtful.
The sound of the death-bell is often supposed to be heard at sea before a wreck, and this idea may be either associated with the bell-buoy which marks many sunken, dangerous rocks, or with the religious ceremonies of the old days.