148 ScoTTISH MERMAIDS. 
One peculiar power the mermaid of Corrievrekin possessed was 
that of laying aside at will her “ scaly train ;’’? only when she did 
divest herself of it she became so wild and ungentle in her 
bearing that means had to be taken, for obvious reasons, to pre- 
vent her lover from coming into her presence whenever the trans- 
formation took place. 
Occasionally, as has been remarked, but not often, the 
appearance of a mermaid brings good fortune to those who en- 
counter her. One Galloway mermaid is related to have come 
across a youth bewailing the illness of his sweetheart, who was 
suffering from consumption. Taking compassion on him, she 
cheered him with the adjuration :— 
‘‘ Wad ye let the bonnie Mary dee i’ your hand, 
And the mugwort flowering i’ the land ?’’ 
The lover followed her advice, and the restoration of the girl‘s 
health was effected by the administration of the mugwort (which, 
it may be explained, was supposed to be especially potent for the 
cure of ailments and diseases, even casting out madness, if 
gathered on St. John’s Day). 
A similar reminder, but one which, alas! came too late, was 
given by a mermaid who rose out of the Clyde, above Port- 
Glasgow, as the funeral of a young woman who had died of con- 
sumption was passing along the high road by the side of the 
river :— 
‘Tf they wad drink nettles in March, 
And eat muggins in May, 
Sae mony braw maidens 
Wadna gang to the clay.” 
Generally when a mermaid places her knowledge at the dis- 
posal of a mortal it is in return for some service rendered to her. 
One day some Shetland fishermen out at the “haaf’’ fishing 
found a mermaid instead of a fish caught on one of their hooks. 
When dragged on board the boat she pleaded hard to be set free, 
promising in return that anything they might wish for would be 
granted them. This seemed a good enough bargain, and the 
mermaid was returned to her native element. As she was dis- 
appearing she sang :— 
‘‘Muckle guid I wid ye gie, 
An’ mair I wid ye wish; 
There’s muckle evil in the sea: 
Scoom weel your fish.”’ 
