The Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1???-1928, 1908-02-14
/ Fables About MerzaAids.

There Is Q decided fascination
about the mermaids of isgend. Con
Eidering their traditional form It
does not seem quite certain whHth
er they can be Included among tho
flair shumanities' OF old religion.
lbut II would be extremely Interesting
to see one. In an seriousness, says
the London Globe, the truths and
poetry underlying and inherent 10
THE old myths. are well worth at
tention, but apart from these. there
lis something distinctly entertaining
lin the quasi-hissorical accounts that
we have OF mermaids and the heroic
attempts at ratipnalistic explana~
ltion. The fancy has s,rken nrner
hold on popular imagination than
many OF the old legends, OF course.
they are recognized as nor existent.
but. unlike the majority of myth
illogical beings. they are invested
colioquially with a spot of hufiior-
ous reality. One might .ln.ost think
that Autolycus recognized this In
the care he takes to impress his
hearers with the absolute yersrity
of his burlesaue story OF the flsh
that appeared on the coast
10000 fathoms above the water
and sung this ballad against tAs
hard hearts Of rEids: tits thought
she was a woman I Asked II Ii vas
true lie promptly replies; Five
Justices hands at 1t, ana mi.nesses
more than any pack ouh hold"
And the delightful rogue's array Of
evidence was really not much more
formidable than that asserted In all
sober seriousness for he alleged
appearances OF mermaids In the Mid
die Ages.
A History OF the Netherlands"
gives circumstantial account Of a
great tempest which wash ed ashore
near HARLEM Sea woman as
she was swimming about She was
captured and cleansed from the sea
moss that had grown abouther. AMI
became a hu,nanized creature, ex-
cept that she was always trying to
escape into the water. And II is
added: Many persons worthy OF
credi. have Justified in their writ
ings that they had seen her In the
sadie towne OF Haaricm." In the
sixteenth century OF Ceyion. some
sailors captured several mermen and
tnermaids." several priests and phy-
sicians testifying TO the fact, that
the latter leaving 1t on record that.
after examination and dissection.
they found that external and inter-
nal structures resemb led those OF
human beings Hudson the famous
navigator, declared that bis ships
company had seen mermaid. the
upper part of her body like wom-
an. skin very white and Icing black
hair. An old Iceland history, tells
Of one near Greenland. the neck
and head In all respects like a hum
an being" he Norwegian Bishop
who wrote In the elgth
.eenth century. records the appear
lnce OF a norman. which was de-
posed TO on oath. by the Observers
md. not to multiply quotations
proving the belief. even Of the
earned, in the actual existence Of
nermaids. Piiny asserts suthorifa-
lively that, "as for the meremaid-
ms. - II Is no fabulous tale
hat goeth of them. for locke how
'aiuters draw them: 50 they are In
eed.'
IL seems hard after all these
Feighty testimonies that we shonld
e assured that the historical mer-
maids were only dugongs Of man
ees, seals or sea Hons. especially
; some of these Interesting Great
res measures some 8 feet in length
nd are by no means attractive in
ppearanoe. Something in the share
I the head and the breast IS relief
D by the rsflonsiistic scientists a.
rpiaining the deiusion. but one n
! q loss to understand how this can
,count for the circrmstantial de
riptions that haYe come down 70
!. Coevsls Of those old writer's
I've proved 20 US BIZ their paintuEs
at they held ven much the sane
ews as 70 What constitutes fenf-
ne beauty e We haze. and ~
ould certsinly not discover in the
gong or nsnatss anything What
er to suggest IN The vers fsfnfess
gree the idea Of pretty woman.