THE MERMAID. 187 



Amongst the famous personages with whose history men 

 were made acquainted by oral tradition was Noah. He 

 was known as the second father of the human race, and 

 the preserver and teacher of the arts and sciences as they 

 existed before the Great Deluge, of which so many separate 

 traditions exist among the various races of mankind. Con- 

 sequently, he was an object of worship in many countries 

 and under many names ; and his wife and sons, as his 

 assistants in the diffusion of knowledge, were sometimes 

 associated with him. 



According to Berosus, of Babylon, the Chaldean priest 

 and astronomer, who extracted from the sacred books of 

 " that great city " much interesting ancient lore, which he in- 

 troduced into his ' History of Syria,' written, about B.C. 260, 

 for the use of the Greeks, at a time when men were sunk 

 in barbarism, there came up from the Erythrean Sea (the 

 Persian Gulf), and landed on the Babylonian shore, a creature 

 named Cannes, which had the body and head of a fish. But 

 above the fish's head was the head of a man, and below the 

 tail of the fish were human feet. It had also human arms, a 

 human voice, and human language. This strange monster 

 sojourned among the rude people during 

 the day, taking no food, but retiring to 

 the sea at night ; and it continued for 

 some time thus to visit them, teaching 

 them the arts of civilized life, and in- 

 structing them in science and religion.* 



In this tale we have a distorted ac- 

 ne. 2. HEA, OR 



count of the life and occupation of Noah NOAH, THE GOD 

 after his escape from the deluge which f TH * FLOOD ' 



A fiorsaoaa 



destroyed his home and drowned his 

 neighbours. Cannes was one of the names under which 

 * Berosus, lib. i. p. 48. 



