This may be somewhat of the beaten track, but what if
the reference is to the Selkie people of Ireland. The
Selkies are seals who can assume a human form. As
humans, they are very beautiful, but you must hide
their skin, other wise, they will return to the sea,
never to return to shore. This may not be therefence
you're quite looking for, but I hope it's a start. I
may be able to give you more information tonight. )By
the way, seals in their ntural habitat, smell rather
fishy due to the nature of their diet, whic consist of
fish and shellfish).
--- David Wilson-Okamura <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Like most of you, I am hard at work on my paper for
> next month's
> conference; in the meantime, though, perhaps some of
> you will be able to
> spare some time for the following, admittedly
> trivial, query:
>
> In "Colin Clouts Come Home Again," 240-51, Raleigh
> explains to Colin that
> Cynthia's pastures are the waves of the sea:
>
> These be the hills (quoth he) the surges
> hie, 240
> On which faire _Cynthia_ her heards doth
> feed:
> Her heards be thousand fishes with their
> frie,
> Which in the bosome of the billowes breed.
> Of them the shepheard which hath charge in
> chief,
> Is _Triton_ blowing loud his wreathed horne:
> At sound whereof, they all for their relief
> Wend too and fro at euening and at morne.
> And _Proteus_ eke with him does driue his
> heard
> Of stinking Seales and Procpisces together,
> With hoary head and deawy dropping beard,
> 250
> Compelling them which way he list, and
> whether.
>
> My question is, why "stinking Seales"? Presumably
> they do smell a bit
> fishy. But why does Spenser single them out for
> stinkiness? Was their odor
> actually more offensive than that of the porpoises
> and the "thousand fishes
> with their frie"? Did Spenser have a bad encounter
> with a seal? Or did the
> printer misread his text? In which case, would
> anyone care to propose an
> emendation? "Slinking," in my opinion, does not
> recommend itself; "winking"
> is probably even worse...
>
>
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
> David Wilson-Okamura http://virgil.org
> [log in to unmask]
> Macalester College Virgil Tradition:
> discussion, bibliography, &c.
>
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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