30 SEA FABLES EXPLAINED. 



and ribdomcn \vcre as large as those of a full-grown 

 female," ajid, altcgetlier, 



"That sea-n\niipl-i's form of peaiiy light 

 Was whiter than the downy spray. 

 And round her bosom, heaving bright, 

 Her glossy yellow ringlets play." * 



"This creature,"" continued ]\Ir. Munro, "was apparently 

 in tlieact of combing its hair with its fingers, which seemed 

 to afford it pleasure, and it remained thus occupied during 

 some minutes, when it dropped into the sea."' The Dominie 



"saw the maiden there, 

 Just as the daylight faded, 

 Braiding her locks of gowden hair 

 An' singing as she braided,"' f 



but he did not remark whether the fingers were webbed. 

 On the whole, he infers that this was a marine animal of 

 which he had a distinct and satisfactory view, and that 

 the portion seen by him bore a narrow resemblance to the 

 human form. But for the dangerous situation it had chosen, 

 and its appearance among the waves, he would have sup- 

 posed it to be a woman. Twelve years later, several persons 

 obser\-ed near the same spot an animal which they also 

 supposed to be a mermaid. 



A ver}- remarkable story of this kind is one related by 

 Dr. Robert Hamilton in the volume alread}- referred to, 

 and for the general truth of which he vouches, from his 

 personal knowledge of some of the persons connected with 

 the occurrence. In 1S23 it was reported that some fishermen 

 of Yell, one of the Shetland group, had captured a mermaid 

 by its being entangled in their lines. The statement was that 



• John Le5"den. 



t The Ettrick Shepherd. 



