156 ANNALS OF ROGER DE HOVEDEN. 1190. suing them, in order to feed upon them. Α· person who has seen this has borne witness to the same, and his testimony is true,86 for he himself was sitting at table in a ship high out of the water, when one of these flying fish fell on the table before him. It is also worthy of remark that one of the islands in the vicinity of Sicily, which is larger than the rest, is called Mount Gebel,87 and used to burn with such an intense heat that it dried up a great part of the sea in its vicinity and burned the fish ; but it has now for some time ceased to burn, through the merits and prayers of Saint Agatha the Virgin and Martyr. For one day, when the fire was coming forth from the crater of Mount Gebel more furiously than usual, and had approached the city of Cattanna, where rests the holy body of Saint Agatha, a multitude of the pagans, flying to her sepulchre, carried her veil before them facing the fire ; on which the flames returned to the sea, and, parching it, dried it up for nearly a mile, and scorched the fish, many of which were half burnt, and there are to this day many fish there of the same kind, which are called the fish of Saint Agatha. If any of these fish happen to be taken by a fisherman, they are immediately let go, out of respect to Saint Agatha, and to the praise and glory of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is always wonderful and glorious in His saints. Accordingly, Robert de Sabul, Richard de Camville, and William de Fortz de Oleron, passing with the fleet of Richard, king of England, between Africa and Spain, after many tempests which they suffered on the voyage, arrived at Marseilles on the octave of the Assumption of Saint Mary, being the fourth day of the week. Not finding their master the king there, they made a stay of eight days, for some necessary repairs to the fleet ; after which they set out in pursuit of the king, and on the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, being the sixth day of the week, arrived at Messina, in Sicily. On the Lord's day following, Philip, king of France, arrived there, it being the sixteenth day before the calends of October ; on which, Margarete, the admiral, Jordan de Pin, and the other governors of the city, received him with all due honor, and assigned him the palace of Tancred, king of Sicily, for his abode. Now when king Richard heard that his fleet had arrived at Messina, he left Salerno on the thirteenth M He no doubt alludes to what we call flying-fish. 8 1 He probably means Stromboli.