THE GREAT SEA SERPENT. 249 



many of them have told me that they have frequently 

 met, in the open sea, with large Cuttle-fish from seven 

 to eight feet long, and which they were afraid to 

 attack. To sum up, it seems impossible to deny that 

 the sea conceals in its profound and immeasurable 

 valleys secrets without number. The Sea-serpent, 

 which appears about once a year, and is described as 

 having the appearance of a number of barrels joined 

 together, may perchance be a Kraken or Cephalopod. 

 What are the Sirens * — those half-women, half-fish. 



* The ancients divided the Sea-woman into two classes, — the Sirens 

 and the Nereids. The Siren is the ancient monster, with the head of a 

 woman and the tail of a fish. They were the daughters of Achelous, 

 and their names were Parthenope, Ligeia, and Leucosia. According to 

 the authors of the sixteenth, seventeenth, and even the eighteenth 

 centuries, however, the Sirens were more numerous. In 1614, an 

 English captain named John Smith saw in the West Indies a Siren, the 

 upper part of whose body was formed exactly like that of a woman. 

 She swam away with the utmost possible grace, when he saw her near 

 the shore. Her large eyes were roundish in shape ; her nose was well 

 formed, though inclined to be flattish ; her eyes were long, but of a good 

 shape ; altogether, she seemed a very pleasant-looking person, and her 

 long tresses gave her a strange appearance, which was not without a 

 certain charm. Unfortunately, however, whilst he was looking at her 

 the lovely bather turned a summersault, and Captain John Smith, who 

 was beginning to be rather smitten, could not help seeing that the lower 

 part of the creature was like that of a fish. It is true that it seemed 

 to be a fish with two tails ; but even two tails will scarcely supply the 

 place of a pair of legs. 



Dr. Kercher testifies, in a scientific report, that a Siren was captured 

 in the Zuyder Zee, and was dissected at Ley den by Professor Peter Paw ; 

 and in the same report he makes mention of a Siren that was found on 

 the Danish coast, and which learnt how to spin and foretell the future. 

 This Siren had a very long tress made of charmed locks. She had an 

 ajCcreeable face, and arms much longer than those of an ordinary man. 

 The fingers of the hands were joined by a membrane so as to resemble 



