Mother Carey is a supernatural figure personifying the cruel and threatening sea in the imagination of 18th- and 19th-century English-speaking sailors. The entity was supposed to be a harbinger of storms and a similar character to Davy Jones (who may be her husband). The name seems to be derived from the Latin expression ''Mater cara'' ("Precious Mother"), which sometimes refers to the

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...

John Masefield John Edward Masefield (; 1 June 1878 – 12 May 1967) was an English poet and writer, and Poet Laureate from 1930 until 1967. Among his best known works are the children's novels ''The Midnight Folk'' and ''The Box of Delights'', and the poem ...

described her in the poem "Mother Carey (as told me by the bo'sun)" in his collection ''Salt Water Ballads'' (1902). Here she and Davy Jones are a fearsome couple responsible for storms and ship-wrecks. In a

C. Fox Smith Cicely Fox Smith (1 February 1882 – 8 April 1954) was an English poet and writer. Born in Lymm, Cheshire and educated at Manchester High School for Girls, she briefly lived in Canada, before returning to the United Kingdom shortly before the ...

poem entitled "Mother Carey", she calls old sailors to return to the sea. The character appears as a fairy in

Charles Kingsley Charles Kingsley (12 June 1819 – 23 January 1875) was a broad church priest of the Church of England, a university professor, social reformer, historian, novelist and poet. He is particularly associated with Christian socialism, the working ...

's '' The Water Babies''. She lives near the North Pole and helps Tom find the Other-end-of-Nowhere. She is shown in one of Jessie Willcox Smith's illustrations for this book. Storm petrels, thought by sailors to be the souls of dead seamen, are called Mother Carey's Chickens. Giant petrels are known as Mother Carey's Geese. In ''The Seaman's Manual'' (1790), by Lt. Robert Wilson (RN), the term Mother Carey's children is defined as "a name given by English sailors to birds which they suppose are fore-runners of a storm." In '' Moby-Dick'', Chapter 113, Captain Ahab interrogates the blacksmith Mr. Perth about the sparks fantailing from his hammer: "Are these thy Mother Carey’s chickens, Perth? they are always flying in thy wake; birds of good omen, too, but not to all;—look here, they burn; but thou—thou liv’st among them without a scorch.”.

Ernest Thompson Seton Ernest Thompson Seton (born Ernest Evan Thompson August 14, 1860 – October 23, 1946) was an English-born Canadian-American author, wildlife artist, founder of the Woodcraft Indians in 1902 (renamed Woodcraft League of America), and one of ...

's book ''Woodland Tales'' is described by the author as a collection of "Mother Carey Tales". In his use, Mother Carey is a Mother Nature figure, the "Angel of the Wild Things", who favors the strong and the wise but destroys the weak: "She loves you, but far less than she does your race. It may be that you are not wise, and if it seem best, she will drop a tear and crush you into the dust." File:Jessie Wilcox Smith - The Water Babies - 05900v.jpg, Illustration by Jessie Willcox Smith for '' The Water Babies'' File:Harper's New Monthly Magazine Volume 104 December 1901 to May 1902 (1902) (14780164871).jpg, Illustration by Howard Pyle for

Harper's Magazine ''Harper's Magazine'' is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts. Launched in New York City in June 1850, it is the oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the U.S. (''Scientific American'' is older, b ...

, 1902

References

See entry "Mother Carey's Chickens" on p. 597 of the 1890 edition of ''

Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable ''Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable'', sometimes referred to simply as ''Brewer's'', is a reference work containing definitions and explanations of many famous phrases, allusions, and figures, whether historical or mythical. The "New Edit ...

'' published by Cassell (London). This i
available online
from the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

. The poem in question can also be found on-line, for instance i
the Lied and Art Song Texts Page
"Mother Carey"
by Cicely Fox Smith in "SONGS & CHANTIES: 1914-1916", edited by Cicely Fox Smith, published by Elkin Mathews (London) in 1919 Available on-line, for instance with Jessie Willcox Smith's illustrations a
The University of Adelaide Library
As book: Expanded quotation:

While yet a little distance from the forge, moody Ahab paused; till at last, Perth, withdrawing his iron from the fire, began hammering it upon the anvil- the red mass sending off the sparks in thick hovering flights, some of which flew close to Ahab. “Are these thy Mother Carey’s chickens, Perth? they are always flying in thy wake; birds of good omen, too, but not to all;- look here, they burn; but thou- thou liv’st among them without a scorch.” “Because I am scorched all over, Captain Ahab,” answered Perth, resting for a moment on his hammer; “I am past scorching-, not easily can’st thou scorch a scar.”

Web site: {{Citation , last=Wilson , first=Lieutenant Robert , title=THE SEAMAN'S MANUAL,CONTAINING ALL THE Technical Words and Phrases Used at Sea ... , year=1790 , publisher=Truslers , location=Clerkenwell, London. , page=71 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i59gAAAAcAAJ. Maritime folklore Witches in folklore English folklore