M ERMAI D. 153 
on her, in a few day?, to eat and drink milk and bread, and 
fifii. The magidrates of Haerlem, in whole jurifdiftion 
the Mere was, hearing of the circumdance, commanded 
her to be lent to them. On her arrival, die was put into 
the town-houfe, and a woman was affigned to take care of, 
and endeavour to indruft, her. In a lliort time die learned 
to fpin, and would dignify by dgns that die underftood the 
meaning of the geftures (he law, and the commands die 
received, but all attempts to make her fpeak were entirely 
fruitlefs. After living among them for fixteen years, 
during which time, thoufands of perfons faw her, Hie died, 
and was permitted to receive the rites ofburial in a church¬ 
yard. Her picture was in exidence in the year 1706, and 
hung in the town-houfe of Haerlem; it reprefcnts her 
with very long black hair, a face perfectly human, as were 
her breads and domach, and the lower extremities redou¬ 
bling a very drong filh-tail. Bedides the particulars above 
related, Parival affirms that die had even received dome 
notion of a Deity ; but this confided merely in making- 
reverences to a crucifix, which die doubtlefs executed 
in imitation of her companions. 
In Pontoppidan’s Natural Hidory of Norway, alfo, we 
have accounts of mermaids ; but not more remarkable or 
any way better atteded than the above. 
More modern indances are the following: In 1613 a. 
mermaid was taken in the harbour of Cherbourg, after a 
violent dorm, and was carried by the mayor of that place 
as a prefent to the French court; but, dying, before it 
reached Verfailles, it was afterwards diown publicly in the 
dreets of Paris. 
In the year 1758, a mermaid was exhibited at the fair 
of St. Germaine’s in France. It was about two feet long, 
very active, {porting about in the veffel of water in which 
it was kept with great agility and feeming delight. It 
was fed with bread and fmall fiffi. Its pofition, when at 
red, was always ereft. It was a female, with ugly negro- 
features. The Ikin was hardi, the ears very large, and the 
back parts and tail were covered with fcales. M. Gautier, 
a celebrated French artid, made an exaft drawing of it, 
which was engraved in the Gentleman’s Magazine for 
December 1759, and which is copied on the annexed Plate, 
at fig. 1. 
But in the fame publication for May 1775, we have a re- 
prefentation and defcription of a very beautiful mermaid, 
with European features; fo that the editor gravely tells 
us, “ there is reafon to believe that there are two didinft 
genera, or rather two fpecies of the fame genus, the one 
refembling the African blacks, the other the European 
whites.” This mermaid, which was exhibited in London 
in 1775, was laid to have been taken in the gulf of Stan- 
cliio, in the Archipelago, or .fiEgean Sea, by a merchant¬ 
man, trading to Natolia, in Augud 1774. It was there¬ 
fore an Afiatic mermaid. The defcription is as follows : 
Its face is like that of a young female; its eyes a fine light 
blue ; its nole fmall and handfome ; its mouth fmall; its 
lips thin, and the edges of them round like that of the 
codfidi; its teeth are fmall, regular, and white; its chin 
well-ffiaped, and its neck full. Its ears are like thofe of 
the eel, but placed like thofe of the human fpecies, and 
behind them are the gills for refpiration, which appearlike 
curls. Some are faid to have hair upon their head ; but 
this has only rolls indead of hair, which at a didance 
might be taken for ffiort curls. But its chief ornament is 
a beautiful membrane or fin riling from the temples, and 
gradually diminiffiing till it ends pyramidically, forming 
a foretop like a lady’s head-drefs. It has no fin on the 
back, but a bone like that of the human fpecies. Its breads 
are fair and full; the arms and hands are well-proportion¬ 
ed, but without nails on the fingers ; the belly is round 
and fwelling, but there is no navel. From the waid 
downwards the body is in all refpefts like the codfiffi ; it 
has three lets of fins one above another, below the waid, 
which enable it to fwim ereft on the fea. See fig. 2. 
In the year 1794, a mermaid, as it was called, was diown 
at N° 7, New Broad Court, Bow-ftreet, Covent Garden ; 
Vot. XV. No. 1031. 
and faid to have been taken in the North Seas by Cant. 
Fortier. This nymph of the fea, a woman from the head 
down to the lower part of the waid, and a fifn from thence 
downwards, was three feet long, having ears, gills, breads, 
fins, Ihoulders, arms, hands, fingers, and a contiguous fcale 
covering the fiffi-part. A front and back view of this are 
given in the Zoologic Magazine, vol.ii. copied on our Plate 
at fig. 3 and 4. by comparing which with the preceding, 
from the Gentleman’s Magazine, it will be feen, that the 
mod driking diderence is in the formation of the arms, 
which in the latter are of the full proportion of thofe of 
an ordinary woman, whereas in that from the Zoologic 
Magazine (which we know to have been drawn from the 
fubject as exhibited) they are clofely joined to the body, 
and indeed are only fins formed like hands. See Zoologic 
Magazine, vol. ii. p. 255. and Britannic Magazine for 
Feb. 1807. p. 505.. 
The next publication of credit in which we find a no¬ 
tice relative to the mermaid is Dr. ChilhoLm’s Eday on tin* 
Malignant Fever of the Wed Indies, publilhed in 1801. 
The Dr. fpeaks of it as follows : “ I probably hazard the 
implication of credulity by the following note : In the 
year 1797, happening to be at governor Van Battenburgh’s 
plantation, in Berbice, the converfation turned on a lin¬ 
gular animal which had been repeatedly feen in Berbice- 
river, and fome finaller rivers, fiuch, particularly, as Ma- 
liaygony and Abary on the fame coad. . So many circum- 
dances, relative to this animal, were detailed by Mr. Van, 
Battenburgh, as removed much of the difinclination to 
belief I felt. This animal is the famous mermaid, hitherto 
coniidered as a mere creature of the imagination. It is 
called by the Indians mine mamma, or mother of the waters. 
The defcription given of it by the governor is as follows : 
The upper portion refembles the human figure, the head 
fmaller in proportion, fometimes bare, but oftener co¬ 
vered with a copious quantity of long black hair. The -- 
dioulders are broad, and the breads large and well formed. 
The lower portion refembles the tail-portion of a fiffi, is 
of immenfe dimenfion, the tail forked, and not unlike 
that of the dolphin, as it is ulually reprefented. The co¬ 
lour of the ikin is either black or tawny. The animal is 
held in veneration and dread by the Indians, who imagine 
that the killing it would be attended with the mod cala¬ 
mitous confequences. It is from this circumdance that 
none of thefe animals have been diot, and conlequently 
not examined but at a didance. They have been gene¬ 
rally obferved in a fitting podure in the water, none of 
the lower extremity being difcovered until they are dis¬ 
turbed ; when, by plunging, the tail appears, and agitates 
the water to a conliderable didance round. They have 
been always feen employed in fmoothing their hair, or 
droking their faces and breads with their hands, or fome- 
thing refembling hands. In this podure, and thus em¬ 
ployed, they have been frequently taken for Indian women 
bathing. Mr. Van Battenburgh’s account was much cor¬ 
roborated by that of fome gentlemen fettled in Mahaygony 
and Abary. Captain Stedman, in his Narrative of the 
Expedition againd the Revolted Negroes of Surinam, front 
1772 to 1777, (vol. ii. p. 176.) maintains, that the animal 
called a mermaid, is really and truly a viviparous fiffi, the 
female of which is furniffied with breads ; that the appear¬ 
ance of hair is a deception proceeding from a fin running- 
down the back, of a curious conftrucrion ; that the hands 
are fleffiy fins. See. But it is to be obterved, that he drew 
his information from old negroes and Indians, whofe re¬ 
marks, we may fuppofe, were not very accurate, efpehally 
as they were, whilft looking at the animal, under the in¬ 
fluence of dread. The reader may compare this witli 
lord Monboddo’s curious relations, and believe as much 
as he choofes of it; as what I have laid comes from very 
refpeftable authority, I thought it meriting attention.” 
Within thefe few years we have had, in the newfpapers, 
&c. ieveral accounts of mermaids, fo well atteded as to 
preclude all idea of deceit in the parties ; but the parties 
might themlelves have been deceived t and we are inclined 
Rt to 
