The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1881-11-09
WHOLE NO. 1883.
The Nixes.

The Aphroditean nature Of the
Mixes comes out in the most varie-
gated manner in German folklore.
The female Mixes strongly incline
toward the sons of men. The Was
serman tries to eDsnare maidens,
and carries them off A madi9vial
poem-"Das Meerwunder" already
refers to such Nix love. The con-
nection between the Nix world and
mankind is kept up in peculiar
manner. Often, at night, horse
man appears before the house of
midwife, and with good promises,
sometimes, also by force, conducts
her down into lake or river, so
that she might perform her Office on
the wife of a Wassermann. Many
a midwife has thus been once in the
beautiful Nix palace, and has reE-
dered helpful service to the pretty
Lady of the Waves. Does not this
sound as if the aboriginal forms of
life contained the fluid clement
from whom some scientists would
now derive the human species-were
assumed to keep mp their connec-
ton with the earth by means of the
umbilical cord? Whole Germany
was once filled with Nix and Was
sermann myths. In north and south,
in east and west, they were rife, and
even now are told in some out-of-the
way places. Many of those tales
have come down to us in rather
boorish guise. Yet, even in such
poor garb of travesty, they still be-
try great deal of their original del
icacy or they show that combina-
ton of deep feeling and of awe which
characterizes the Nix in the Pond"
one Of the most charmful tales
preserved by the brothers Grimm,
attractive both for the heart and the
mind. In outward appearance the
bewitching fays Of the flood are rep
resented, in German folklore, with
truly Teutonic traits. Yellow, curl
ing locks, and blush, sometimes
greenish-blue, eyes are.attributed to
the male Nix. Golden hair adorns
the head of the Nix woman her
eyes are water-blue, but sometimes
verge upon the gruesome. Other
wise she is of surprising beauty.
Being wholly of human shape, and
at least in the genuine and mail
loved German tale-not OF fishy
form at the lower extremities, the
wonderful figures of the deep seem
akin to mankind, which all the bet
ter explains the frequent mutual in
clination between Mixes and men.
But as water possessed cot only ben
efcent and attractive, Out also per-
nicious, destructive terrifying forces,
the myth, of course, changes 4 the
invention of its forms. he roth
er Nickel, who dwells OF ne sland
of Rugen in fishful but trolblous
lake, often swamps boats. SO also.
near Melrichstadt, the water-sprite
Schlitz- Oehrchen-Little Split-Ear-
whose name seems to have arisen
from the popular conception Of a
fish's ear, dips persons into the
stream and browns them. When 1T
Magdeburg piles were being rammed
into the river for the purpose OF
building an aqueduct, a naked man
was seen in the water who tore up
the piles, so that the structure had
to be stopped. l may add here that
very similar tales are still current in
South Wales. Through my son-in-
law, Mr.. Charles Hancock, who has
recently gathered for me, from the
lips of the people, anumber of Welsh
water-tales, have received the fol-
lowing ION the highest peak of
the Breconshire Beacons-the larg-
est mountain range in South Wales,
there is a mountain pool, fabled
to be unfathomable, and this it was
one day proposed to drain off. The
project, however, had to be aban-
doned, for, ever and anon, female
figure rose from the pool, and sitting
in an arm-chair-almost every cot
tage about here has its carved oak
arm-chair-uttered a terrible warn
ing that, if the work were continued,
she would bring about the letting
down of the waters, and the destruc-
ton of the town of Brecon. This is
very like the Madgeburg tale. y
Karl Blind, IN the Contemporary Re
rielc.