Washington sentinel., 1898-06-11

with violet and the hair. or what
was taken for hair, was OF a green
ish cast. Its mouth was very
small and delicately shaped, and,
although it had no teeth, it fed
with avidity on shellhsh, and drank
freely OF milk and water, which 1t
sucked through quill, showing
that It had learned to feed from
bottle.
A tiny merchild, scarcely two
feet in length, caught in 1895, was
exhibited that year at the tair at
St. German. 1t was very active
in the vessel in which 1t was kept,
fed freely on bread or small
fishes, and while feeding looked
earnestly at the spectators-a pc
culiarity that was variouslY inter
preted by those who watched It's
movements, Although a female
the features were extremely ugly,
the skin was harsh, the ears large
and the tail was covered with the
regulation scale.
The coast Oi Scotland in the
early part Of the present century
was very good fishing grounds tor
mermaids, and had it been worked
properly some fine specimens
might have been captured. AS 1t
is we are not without evidence of
good catches in that quarter.
Elizabeth Mackey, daughter OF the
Rev. DAVID Mackay, WAS very cir
cumstantial in her account OF one
that she and her cousin saw IN
1900. The face of this creature
was ga!agHlSdi an and plump; thtsf, gtf, B9se
and the cheeks bright pink. The
hair, "of a greeniSh oily cast" was
very abundant, and at times the
waves washed 1t about the Great
ure's face in a manner that seemed
to annoy her; nor was this the only
thing that caused her annoyance,
for bird hovered about her head
as though disposed to light there,
which kept her waving her long
and slender arms and well proper
toned but webbed hands to battle
its efforts. This was on the 25th
Of May, and on the 9th OF the fol-
lowing June a schoolmaster, one
William Monro, Of Truros, saw a
mermaid that resembled the above.
He had the advantage Of seeing
the figure more exposed, tor she
was seated on a half submerged
rock, engaged in the only occupa-
tion Of mermaids--that of combing
her brown locks, which fell in
waves over her rounded shoulders.
But her eyes were gray and not
blue, which raised a doubt whether
it was the same mermaid Miss
Mackay had seen some days be-
fore. When the creature saw that
she was observed by the school
master she modestlY slipped down
into the water. The Glasgow Phil
osophical Society took up Miss
Mackay's published letter, and,
after discussing it, applied to her
father for confirmation OF what she
had stated and to know il he could
give any further particulars; to
which he replied that to the best
of his knowledge and belief the
mermaid as described had been
seen by members Of his family.
In 1871 a mermaid was seen at
Kintyre, on the coast Of Scotland,
and those who witnessed its move
ments thought proper to make affi-
davit, of what had come under
n T.. -
their account is unique. The upper
part of the creature had all of the
characteristics of we'll formed and
well grown mermaid, but the scaly
tail, OF brindled or reddish gray
color, widened out at the extremity
into the form Of fan, twelve or
fourteen inches in width, which
kept up a tremulous motion save
and except when it was folded up,
and then it remained quiescent,
out for a short time. Its long anil
abundlnt hair claimed much OF its
attention, and after awhile it sailed
away and was lost to sight. On
the same coast, in 1897, a young
man was attracted to a cavern by a
screeching noise, and on looking
in was startled at the sight OF a
number Of figures staring at him
from the water-fgures halt fish,
half human, with large, beaming
eyes, streaming hair and long and
slender arms and hands. AT him
they stared, but only for a moment,
and then disappeared. The follow
ing day he discovered FIVE mer-
maids, old and young, in the same
place; the adults sleeping on the
rocks and the young playing in the
water.
Mermaids do not appear to have
favored the American coast, yet
one would suppose that they would
have found the gulf stream a de
lightful place for their gambols.
OF mermaid that was once discov-
cred in the harbor OF St. John,
Newfoundland, we have an enter
tanning account. It was seen by
Capt. Richard Whitbourne, who
described it in his book of voyages,
a pamphlet published in London
in I67z. The captain was standing
by the riverside when it came
swiftly by swimming toward him
and looked cheerfully up in his
face. at was like a woman by the
face, eyes, nose, mouth, chin, arms,
neck and forehead, and in those
parts as well proportioned. Round
its head it had many blue streaks,