THE MERMAID. 



a fish. The image of Dagon which fell upon its face to 

 the ground before "the ark of the God of Israel," was 

 probably of this latter form, for we read * that in its fall, 

 "the head of Dagon and 

 both the palms of his hands 

 were cut off upon the thres- 

 hold : only the stump (in the 

 margin, '^ the fishy part'') of 

 Dagon was left to him. This 

 was evidently Milton's con- 

 ception of him : 



" Dagon his name ; sea-monster, 

 upward man 

 And downward fish." f 



In some of the Nineveh 

 sculptures of the fish-god, 



the head of 



the fish forms 



a kind of 



mitre on the 



head of the 



man, whilst 



the body of 



the fish ap- 

 pears as a 



cloak or cape 



over his 



shoulders and 



back. The fish varies in length ; in some cases the tail 



almost touches the ground ; in others it reaches but little 



below the man's waist. 



* I Samuel v. 4. 



t ' Paradise Lost,' Book i. 1. 462. 



FIG. 5. — DAGOX. 

 From an Agate 

 Si'^net. Alneveh. 



FIG. 4. — DAGON. Aflcr Calmd. 



