106 Mb. W. Keddie on the Early History and Proceedings of the Society. 



" Reteeekd Sir, — At a meeting of the Glasgow Philosophical Society 

 held here last INIonday, the members present, on talking on the subject 

 of the Mermaid, said in the newspapers to have been seen by two ladies, 

 your daughter and her cousin, requested me to write you. As many 

 fictitious stories are vamped up with an appearance of truth in these 

 vehicles of public information, I hope you will excuse the freedom I have 

 taken in requesting you to favour me with a few lines, merely stating 

 that Miss M'Kay wrote the narrative wliich appeared in her name in most 

 of the London papers a few weeks ago. Her account of the matter is 

 wrote with much precision, and bears every mark of being genuine. 

 Several of the members above mentioned could have wished to know if 

 the animal seen took any apparent notice of those who were observing 

 it, whether it betrayed any symptoms of timidity, and the manner in 

 which it ultimately disappeared. There was also pubUshed at same 

 time a letter from the schoolmaster at Thurso. Have the goodness to 

 say if, from circumstances within your knowledge, you believe in the 

 accuracy of his statement. Our cm-iosity is much excited as to the 

 phenomenon, and you may rest assured that that is the only motive, 

 and which we plead for thus troubling you. — I am, &c., 



" J. BoAZ, Sec. PhU. Soc. 

 " Glasgow, 23c? Sept., 1809." 



"Eeat, SdOct., 1809. 

 " SlE, — In terms of your and the Philosophical Society's request, I 

 have to inform you that my daughter wrote a letter to Mrs. Innes, 

 dowager of Sandside, concerning the strange phenomenon seen near this 

 place, merely for private information, without the smallest suspicion of 

 any other use to be made of it ; but having excited Sir John Sinclair's 

 curiosity, he obtained a copy of this letter, and it seems that by one of 

 his friends it found its way to the English newspapers. Though I never 

 saw the letter either originally or in the papers, I have good reason to 

 suppose that it is a genuine document. With regard to the animal's 

 timidity, I have only to say, that two servant maids and a boy being at 

 the time down among the rocks, it was the cries of the boy that made 

 it first disappear. It soon re-appeared farther out in the sea, and 

 ultimately disappeared, after having taken its course a considerable way 

 along the shore, the spectators following, and walking on till they lost 

 hope of its coming up again. The schoolmaster of Thurso's letter is 

 also genuine, and he is a gentleman whose veracity is not to be called 

 in question. — I am, &c., 



"Datid M'Kat. 

 "James Boaz, Esq." 

 The apparition of the mermaid is recorded in Brewster's Edinburgh 



