cast a coming disaster by, as they said, a peculiar, mournful "knell" (k is sounded) or sound made by the waves as they fall on the beach.—(Rosehearty, Pittulie.) If one was drowned near the shore, the waves, as they fell, emitted the same mournful sound, till the body was found.—(Rosehearty.)
The dash of the waves on the beach is heard in certain conditions of the atmosphere several miles inland. In the parish of Keith, at least six miles inland in a straight line, the sound is at times heard, and the remark used to be made, "The sea hiz a sehr belly, it's to be coorse weather."—(Personal.)
The sound of the sea breaking on the beach in ordinary weather goes by various names:—
The knell.—(Pittulie.)
Chap.—(Macduff.)
The sang o' the sea.—(General.)
If the wind blows during night from the west or north-west, and backs during the day to south-west or south, and thus comes to blow "into the face of the wave," the "knell" is very distinct, and is heard at a considerable distance.—(Pittulie, Rosehearty.)
If "the sang o' the sea" is heard coming from the West by the fishermen of Rosehearty in the morning when they get out of bed to examine the state of the weather, whether favourable or unfavourable for fishing, it is regarded as an indication of fine weather for the day, and, accordingly, they sometimes go farther to sea.
When it is calm, sailors and fishermen whistle, for the most part softly, to make the wind blow; hence the phrases on the north-east coast—"Fussle t' raise the win'"; and "Fussle for the win'."
Another mode to make wind rise, is to scratch the mast with the nails of the fingers.[1]—(Rosehearty.)
It is a common saying among the Rosehearty fisherfolks that marriages amongst them bring stormy weather. A very common season for marrying is immediately after the herring fishing is finished—particularly if the fishing has been prosperous—that is, from the end of September till January.
When the foam on the sea in a storm retreats, or goes out—
- ↑ Mèlusine, vol. ii. c. 188, 11.
