At the Museum of Surgeons Hall (1821)

A dugong, probably the species mentioned. CC image Gejuni.

The Mermaid. -

It was mentioned in all the Journals some time ago, that a Mermaid caught in the Indian Seas, had been brought to this country. The creature so described, and no doubt, one of the species which has given rise to so many fabulous stories, is now in the Museum of Surgeon Hall, London. It is about eight feet in length, and bears a strong resemblance to the common seal. There is also a young female, of the same species, in the same place. They belong to the class of Mammalia; the fins terminate (internally) in structure like the human hand; the breasts of the female are not very prominent, and in suckling the young, not only this appearance, but their situation on the body, must cause the extraordinary phenomenon which has led to popular belief. In other respects, the face is far from looking like [print unreadable].

Dublin Weekly Register, 5th May 1821.

The Surgeons' Hall Museums have been refurbished and look like an excellent place to visit today.

Standing up for reason

An illustration from 1817, held by the Wellcome Trust.

To the Editor of the Morning Chronicle.

Sir. -- The credulity of the good people of England has often been noticed and commented on, and many a fine fortune has been realized thereby in the hands of the acute natives of France and Italy, &c. yea, the heavy tobacco-headed German, has not failed in the business. While the facility with which the native rogues have managed to impose on their unsuspecting countrymen has been proved in but too many instances. All of these considerations seem to have incited brother Jonathan to try his hand at imposing on brother John, by getting up a monstrous composition under the name and form of a Mermaid forsooth, and impiously and impudently to attribute the abominable forgery to the Divine Being, as his handy work.

In order that you may be aware of the grounds on which I make the foregoing assertions, I have to inform you that the composition was brought from Japan (where I believe it to have been manufactured for the purpose of levying contributions from off the ignorant and unsuspecting). The lower part is a real fish (of a species found in the rivers of China and Japan) the head and shoulders being cut off and replaced by a skeleton, artificially composed, and covered with the muscles, arms, and skin, stripped from off the bust of an old Japanese woman, all which being tolerably well put together, and afterwards smoke-dried, became the "Wonderful Mermaid" now exhibiting in London.

I handled, and minutely inspected the creature, on its arrival at Batavia from Japan, and on that inspection formed my opinion as expressed above. Many blunders have been committed in the  making up of the fabric, too numerous to be here distinctly detailed, nor is it necessary, as it will be readily perceived by any anatomist if opportunity be afforted for the purpose.

I therefore assert that the thing is a composition, and if that be denied, do challenge the proprietor to submit it to be dissected  by a person or persons appointed by the Royal College of Surgeons; and if it he then found to be a real production of natuer, I will then come forward and reimburse the loss, if any, which a Jury may pronounce him to have incurred thereby..
I am, yours obediently,
"SAWNEY."

 Liverpool Mercury, 8th November 1822.

The muscles etc. of an old Japanese woman - that's a bit grim. I'd like to think not though.

Exhibition in Cape Town

The Feejee Mermaid in Boston Museum (1857) - the same creature?

The numerous relations of mariners with respect to the existence of the Mermaid have generally been deemed fabulous, but the following description of an animal of this species, comes in a shape so plausible, that there appears every probability that the narratives of sailors ont he subject of this striking resemblance of the human species, have been founded on fact:-

Extract of a letter from the Rev. Dr. Philip, representative of the London Missionary Society, at Cape Town, Cape of Good Hope, dated April 28, 1822:--
"I have today seen a mermaid, now exhibiting in this town. I have always treated the existence of this creature as fabulous; but my scepticism is now removed. As it is probable no description of this extraordinary creature has yet reached England, the following particulars respecting it may gratify your curiosity and amuse you: - The head is almost the size of that of a baboon. It is thinly covered with black hair, hanging down, and not inclined to frizzle. On the upper lip and on the chin there are a few hairs, resembling those upon the head. The ossa mallarum, or cheek bones, are prominent. The forehead is low, but, except in this particular, the features are much better proportioned, and bear a more decided resemblance to the human countenance than those of any of the baboon tribes. The head is turned back and the countenance has an expression of terror, which gives it an appearance of a caricature of the human face; but I am disposed to think that both these circumstances are accidental, and have arisen from the manner in which the creature met its death. It bears the appearance of having died in great agony. The ears, nose, lips, chin, breasts, nipples, fingers, and nails, resemble those of a human figure. The spinous processes of the vertebrae are very prominent, and apparently arranged as in the human body. From the position of the arms, and the manner in which theya re placed, and from such an examination as could be made in the circumstances in which I was placed at the time I saw it, I can have no doubt that it has clavicles; an appendage belonging to the human subject, which baboons are without.

The appearance of the teeth afford sufficient evidence that it is full grown: the incisores, being worn on the upper surface. There are eight incisores, four canine, and eight molares. The canine teeth resemble those of a full-grown dog; all the others resemble those of a human subject. The length of the animal is three feet; but not having been well preserved it has shrunk considerably, and must have been both longer and thicker when alive than it is now. Its resemblance to the human species ceases immediately under the mammae.

On the line of separation, and directly under the breast, are two fins. From the point where the human figure ceases, which is about twelve inches below the vertex of the head it resembles a large fish of the salmon species. It is covered with scales all over; on the lower parts of the animal, the scales resemble those of a fish; but on that part of the animal that resembles the human form, they are much less, and scarcely perceptible, except on a near inspection.

On the lower part of the body it has six fins, one dorsal, two ventrical, two pectoral, and the tail. The pectoral fins are very remarkable; they are horizontal, and evidently formed as an apparatus to support the creature when in an erect posture, like that in which it has sometimes represented combing its hair. --The figure of the tail is exactly that which is given in the usual representation of the Mermaid.

The proprietor of this extraordinary animal is Captain Eades, of Boston, in the United States of America. Since writing the above description he has called upon me, and I have learned from him the following particulars: - It was caught some where on the North of China, by a fisherman, who sold it for a trife; after which it was brought to Batavia. Here it was purchased by Captain Eades for 5,000 Spanish dollars, and he has since been offered 10,000 Spanish dollars for it, but refuses to part with it for that sum. Captain Eades is a passenger on board the American ship Lion, now in Table Bay; he leaves this port in about a fortnight, and the Lion visits the Thames on her passage to America, so that it will, probably, be soon exhibited in London."

In the Kentish Weekly Post, 23rd July 1822.
Is this just a long advert? It'd certainly have piqued my interest. I'd be hoping to go and see it when it arrived.

Mermaid abduction

The cover of Yevgeny Zamyatin's A Provincial Tale

A Novel Case of Abduction.

A thief, by some means, got access to the Mermaid, at Mr. Lefevre's exhibition, on the Parade, and whilst Mr. L. was delivering a Lecture on the properties of glass, succeeded in carrying her off; but was detected in passing down stairs, and the fair prize was restored to her home. It is doubted whether the delinquent may not be brought before a very high Tribunal for this offence, as the Maid is stated to be a Ward of Chancery. -- Cork Paper.

Morning Advertiser, 17th January 1824.

I'm not entirely clear about the whole 'ward of chancery' thing, but you can read about it here in Jan Bondeson's book. 
In the same paper on 27th December 1822, they report the entertainments at the Olympic Theatre. "The humourous transformation of a baloon and a salmon into a mermaid, and making it a Ward of Chancery, created the highest mirth."

Mermaid on St Kilda

Cliffs off St Kilda. CC image by Mike Pennington.

 A poor Welch seaman, who was last summer cast away in a squall on the island of St Kilda, applied to a gentleman in Ayr last week for pecuniary aid to help him on to Carnarvon. He stated in consequence of the little intercourse which exists between the island and the mainland, he had been detained there till lately, and related a variety of circumstances as to the habits and opinions of the St Kildians, which removed all doubt as to the authenticity of his story.

A belief in the existence of mermaids, it seems, is universal among this little known people, and although the Welchman at first was extremely sceptical on the subject, he was finally converted by the convincing evidence of ocular demonstration.

To secure to himself the means of a precarious subsistence he was obliged to participate in the dangerous labours of the islanders, and one day while he hung suspended over one of those dreadful precipices, from which "The crows and choughs that wing the midway air Show scarce so large as beetles" in search of feathers and birds' eggs, the staple produce of the island, his attention was drawn to the unruffled sea beneath by a strange unearthly sound, as if some monster of the deep were raising its voice in song, in mockery to the human race. At the same moment a native similarly engaged on the rocks near him, exclaimed, "The mermaid, the mermaid!" and the astonished Welchman descried on the surface of the magnificent waters a being resembling humanity; but yet so curious withal, as to start a doubt in his mind as to the reality of the vision.

The description which he gave our informant of its form and features, varied little from the accounts of other historians of veracity, who have had the luck to behold these ominous creatures. Under a very short forehead were two small round eyes, separated by a flat nose, and the cheeks, which were exceedingly broad, were split across by a mouth which nearly reached from ear to ear. The chin and neck were short, and altogether it presented that dumpy appearance which has been often assigned to the rustic maidens of the Welch mountains -- Ayr paper.

Caledonian Mercury, 19th December, 1825.

Falklands mermaid

Seal skeleton by H Zel (CC)

A South Sea Mermaid. - The following strange circumstance is mentioned in Weddell's interesting voyage towards the South Pole. If true, it supports the popular belief of the existence of mermaids:-

A sailor had been left on one side of Hall Island, one of the Falklands, to take care of some produce, while the rest of the crew were engaged on the other side. "The sailor," says Mr Weddell, "had gone to bed, and about 10 o'clock he heard a noise resembling human cries, and as daylight in these latitudes never disappears at this season, he rose and looked around, but on seeing no person he returned to bed; presently he heard the noise again, and rose a second time, but still saw nothing. Conceiving, however, the possibility of a boat being upset, and that some of the crew might be clinging to some detached rocks, he walked along the beach a few steps, and heard the voice more distinctly, but in a musical strain. On searching around, he saw an object lying on a rock, a dozen yards from the shore, at which he was somewhat frightened. The face and shoulders appeared of human form, and of a reddish colour; over the shoulders hung long green hair; the tail resembled that of a seal, but the extremities of the arms he could not see distinctly.

The creature continued to make a musical noise, while he gazed about two minutes, and on perceiving him, it disappeared in an instant. Immediately when the man saw his officer, he told this wild tale, the truth of which was, of course, doubted; but to add weight to his testimony, (being a Catholic), he made a cross on the sand, which he kissed in form of making oath to his statement. When the story was told me, I ridiculed it; but, by way of diversion, I sent for the sailor who saw this non-descript into the cabin, and questioned him respecting it. He told me the story as I have related it, and in so clear and positive a manner, making oath as to the truth, that I concluded he must have seen the animal he described, or that it must have been the effect of a disturbed imagination."

Caledonian Mercury, 24th October 1825.

.....

One day we were camping near the edge of the water separating Lindisfarne island from the mainland. It was getting dark and this eerie (ever so eerie) soft wailing, of many voices, sprang up across the water. To begin with we thought it must be a natural noise of the wind or sea. But eventually we twigged it was a colony of seals out on a sand bank somewhere. 

I'm not dismissing the tale. I mean our seals did not have long green hair. But it is true that seals can make a strange noise, at least in Northumbria. Perhaps seals make strange noises down on the Falklands. 

It's notable that James Weddell has a seal named after him, one which he saw in the Antarctic. So he did have an interest in seals. But here he doesn't seem to suggest it Definitely was one? Perhaps I should find the work from which this is extracted.

R

Even accusations of fraud can be turned to business advantage.

Advertisement - The Mermaid in the Sporting World.

So much has been said for and against this wonderful ainimal, and perhaps with a view to bring the period of dissection earlier than is intended by the proprietor, and we understand it is his determination to satisfy the public opinion on this important question, by some of our first medical men and naturalists, as soon as the bare expenses that he has incurred by bringing it to this country are liquidated, which cannot be long now, from the many hundreds of spectators that daily call to view it, among the number many of our Noble Families, it has also been honoured by visits of Royalty.

The difference of opinion is now so great, whether it will turn out a natural production or a made-up deception, that a great deal of betting has taken place on the event; and as many persons back the strength of their opinion for and against the Mermaid, the sporting men will have a fine opportunity of making a good book, as some are laying 5 and 6 to 4 on the Mermaid being a natural production, while others are laying the same odds and even 2 to 1 against it. A sporting Gentleman, who is supposed to have some concern in this Mermaid, has taken many bets and some long odds to a large amount, that it really is what is represented - a Mermaid.

It is now exhibiting at Watson's, Turf Coffee-house, St. James's-street.

Morning Chronicle, 20th November 1822.

In common with everybody else who could raise a shilling, we yesterday went to see this interesting specimen at the Turf Coffee-house, St James's-street. The visitors were too numerous to permit us to make so close an examination of it as we yet hope to do. Its head has some resemblance to that of a baboon, and there is still a remnanat of pendant hair upon it. The hands, and fingers with nails, seem perfectly human. Its mammae are small but perfect, and its lower part bears considerable resemblance to that of a salmon.

It was obtained by a Dutchman from the natives of the Molaccas, in whose possession it had been some time. It proves that they know how to preserve animals. The skin is much shrivelled, and we should say that the animal was aged, though it is not large; being with the tail straitened, not more than a yard in length.

We are told that Sir Everard home had it for some hours to inspect, and could discover nothing like deception in it. It has also been examined Mr. Brooks and other celebrated anatomists. We shall give more particulars of it hereafter. A vast number of females go to see it; but we think it right for their information, to caution them that it is, however curious, a most hideous looking animal, and its beauty has acquired no addition by the means used to preserve it in a dried state.

(True Briton).

In the Manchester Mercury, 12th November 1822.

Westmorland Gazette on a London mermaid

Another Mermaid of better manufacture than the former has just been brought to London, for exhibition. The cockneys swallowed the last tolerably for a while, we wonder how this will go down.  -- The Duke of Gloucester has been to see it!
A Swiss Giantess, is now exhibiting in London, measuring six feet five inches high, and being proportionally stout.
The cockneys we understand are flocking in crowds to see  the invisible girl at the Lower Room, Spring Gardens.

Westmorland Gazette,  26th June, 1824.

 

 

 Here's the Duke referred to.  He looks pretty wide eyed. Perhaps he was quite decent: he was all for the abolition of slavery. But he did have a nickname: Silly Billy. Perhaps that was all part of why the Westmorland Gazette thought they'd take the piss.

Mermaid court case

In the Court of Chancery, on Wednesday, Mr. Hart applied for his Lordship's injunction to restrain a Mr. Eles for removing a certain Mermaid or dried specimen, from the room in which it was now exhibiting in St. James's-street, and from selling or disposing of it. He moved upon the affidavit of Mr. Stephen Ellery, the plaintiff, who stated that in the year 1817 he became interested jointly with Eles, the defendant, in a vessel called the Pickering. The plaintiff's share was seven-eights, and the defendant the remaining one eighth; in consideration of which he was to act as master and commander of the vessel. He proceeded on a fishing expedition, and afterwards to other ports, taking up merchandize and disposing of them again, and generally carrying on a running trade. Communications were made by the defendant to the plaintiff from time to time as to the success or loss of his traffic.

Mermaid in the Musée des Civilisations de l’Europe et de la Méditerranée, Marseille. CC image Morburre.

In December, 1821, the plaintiff received a letter from him, stating that he had received a cargo at Battavia, and was coming to Europe. In January, 1822, he received another letter, informing him that the defendant had sold the ship and cargo for 6,543l. and was returning to Antwerp for the purpose, as he alleged, of soliciting a remuneration for himself and crew, for having saved a Dutch man of war. He did not go to Antwerp, but came to London. His reason for thus changing his destination was that a vessel having arrived at Battavia bringing the mermaid, or specimen, which the defendant bought for the sum of 5,000 dollars. This money had been procured from the sale of the vessel and caargo, seven-eights of which belonged to the plaintiff. Upon the defendant's arrival in London he had taken a room for the exhibition of this mermaid, and retained the possession and the profits of his traffic for his own use.

The affidavit stated that the plaintiff believed that the defendant had no money of his own, having regularly remitted his one-eighth of the profits of his traffic for the support of his wife and family. The defendant threatened that if any claim was made he would remove the mermaid, and thus the plaintiff would be defrauded of his just share of the profits. The Lord Chancellor said that whether man, woman, or mermaid, if the right to the property was clearly made out, it was the duty of the Court to protect him. He asked whether the plaintiff swore positively to his belief that it was purchased with his money.

Mr. Hart said it was so sworn, and that he believed this purchase was the motive of the defendant's return to England. No account of the profits had been given to the plaintiff. The Lord Chancellor pronounced the injunction, and directed that the service of the minutes on the servants or agents of the defendant should be good.

The Sunday Times, 24th November 1822.

Don't miss it

PD image

POSITIVELY THE LAST WEEK.

The most astonishing Phenomenon ever offered to public inspection, viz.
THE MERMAID!!
Now exhibiting at the ROTUNDA, must positively close on SATURDAY next, it being about to proceed to the Continent immediately.
Admission One Shilling British.


An advertisement in Saunders's News-Letter, 25th August 1823.

Possibly, the Rotunda referred to. CC Kleon3.

Mermaids near Padstow, Cornwall

Mermaids on the Coast of Cornwall.
From The Plymouth Journal. -- The following is an extract of a letter received on Sunday last from our Correspondent at St. Columb:-- "Within these last two or three days there have been several mermaids seen on the rocks at Trenance, in the parish of Mawgan. I will state the particulars at length, as I have been enabled to collect them, and which are from undoubted authority, and you can make what extracts you think proper. One evening this week, a young man who lives adjoining the beach at Mawgan Porth, had made an appointment to meet another person on the beach to catch sprats with him. He went out about ten o'clock at night, and coming near a point which runs into the sea, he heard a screeching noise proceeding from a large cavern which is left by the tide at low water, but which has some deep pools in it, and communicates with the sea by another outlet. He thought it was the person he had appointed to meet, and called out to him, but his astonishment is not to be described when on going up he saw something in the shape of a human figure staring on him, with long hair hanging about it. He then ran away, thinking, as he says, that he had seen the devil.

The next day, some men being on the cliffs near this place, saw three creatures of the same description. the following day five were seen. The persons who saw the last five describe them in this manner:
The mermaids were about forty feet below the men (who stood on the cliff), and were lying on a rock, separated from the land some yards by deep water; two of them were large, about four feet and a half to five feet long, and these appeared to be sleeping on the rock; the other small ones were swimming about, and went off once to sea and then came back again. The men looked at them for more than an hour, and flung stones at them, but they would not move off. The large ones seemed to be lying on their faces; their upper parts were like those of human beings, and black or dark coloured, with very long hair hanging  around them; their lower parts were of a bluish colour, and terminating in a fin, like fish. The sea would sometimes wash over them and then leave them dry again. Their movements seemed to be slow. the hair of these mermaids extended a distance of nine or ten foot.

In The Dublin Evening Mail, 9th July 1827.



The Mermaids.
We have received a letter from St. Coulumb, stating, that the persons on whose authority the appearance of the mermaids near Padstow has been asserted, continue to declare that the account in the Plymouth Journal which we copied last week, and respecting which we felt some hesitation, is perfectly correct, except that the colour of the bodies of these animals is "exactly like that of a Christian;" that one of the men did not observe that the animals had arms, but that another saw short ones, resembling fins, and that all saw the long flowing hair, &c. &c. --West Briton.

In The Globe, 16th July 1827.

Mawgan Porth. CC image Nilfanion

Exhibited Merman (and Mermaid) in Piccadilly

A.k.a. a DIY guide to making your own genuine mermaid, I think.
 

THE MERMAN.

There is a Merman now exhibiting in a lodging-house in Piccadilly, and it has followed the Mermaid from Batavia. Both were manufactured by the Japanese; both were purchased (we believe unsuspectingly) by Captains of ships, and they are alike genuine. The Mermaid was the better piece of work of the two, and if exhibited, as we mentioned at the time, as an example of the mechanical ingenuity of the curiosity-caterers in Japan, would have been praiseworthy.

The head was that of the green African monkey, the arms those of the monkey and ape, the body and tail the salmon's, the skin of which was, when fresh taken off, in a gelatinous state, then dried, fined down with pummice-stone, gummed, and laid on over the dorsal bones (of a fish) so as to display the vertebrae, and finally exposed to the air and insects, so as to acquire the discolouration and perforation of antiquity. The arms in the Mermaid being those of the ape and monkey, the nails being well cut out of birds' quills, and the whole figure was capitally managed for a show.

But not so this Merman, who is (probably as a distinction of his sex) constructed of ruder materials. The head is hideous; and if, like Cerberus, "op'ning his greedy grinning jaws," he does not "gape with three enormous mouths," he has one mouth bigger and more hideous than them all. The head is exactly that of the catfish, which is remarkable for its round head and projecting teeth (as in this figure); the distended and deformed face is an artificial mask, manufactured upon the fish-skull; but the most clumsy contrivance of all, is the hair upon the head. Now surely a Merman or Mermaid ought, were it only in common courtesy to the best authenticated accounts, ancient and modern, to have the green hair flowing in graceful curls down the shoulders, so as to permit the elegant action of throwing it aside when buffetting the "angry deep;" then we can understand Shakspeare's
"Mermaid on a dolphin's back
"Uttering such dulcet and harmonious breath,
"That the rude sea grew civil at her song."
But what will the reader think when he is informed that the Piccadilly Merman has a fine well-brushed head of hair, rising perpendicularly from the crown of the head in the newest Dandy fashion?

It is soft and downy, resembling in length the best muff fur - it is in fact, nothing more nor less than the thinner coat of hair of the young fox or jackall, the colour almost that of the common animal, light reddish brown with a gray root. We imagine they are not much in the habit in Japan of seeing the seal or other marine animals which are tufted with hair, or they would have seen that such hair is long and fibrous, and from the nature of the element it lives in, always clinging along the skin, and in its growth and texture bearing no resemblance to that of land animals. It would have been just the same trouble to have manufactured the one hair as the other, and there is no doubt that the Japanese will improve upon the model.

The arms are entirely artificial, and in that respect the Merman is very inferior to the Mermaid. If anyone will take the trouble to observe the articulation of the shoulders, they will see a very imperfect imitation of the ball and socket, and then again, the fingers at the palm of the hand; on the back, the shape and flexibility of the fingers is given, but no so in the inner side, there is no attempt made there to define the shape which gives to them the lateral or circular motion, or for lodging the tendons of what are called "the flexor muscles." These fingers could not bend - they want all the beautiful mechanism of anatomy: the Japanese must also improve in that science, before they send us another Merman.

As to the shape of the rest of the body, it is that of the common salmon, or cod-fish, the skin of which, a good full grown scaly one being procured, is exposed to the process of drying and darkening as we have already mentioned; it has not been fined down as in the Mermaid, and therefore the wrinkles are coarser, and the vertebrae (the regular fish-bone) not so well displayed; the skin, has, however, collapsed sufficiently upon the bones to give the full outline.

The tail of the Mermaid is coiled up, to give the figure a capacity for moving perpendicularly in the water; through a mistake the Merman's finny extremity has only the common fish's tail, and is only capable of lateral motion: so that, supposing this figure to have life, the impulse of its motion must be horizontal - its face being thus downwards in the water, its eyes become useless, and deprived of exposure to the rays of light; perhaps the laws of nature differ, however, for Mermen. Let some intelligent Merman  resolve this optical axiom.

This is our opinion of the Merman, but every spectator can judge for himself. We are not unaware of the danger of opposing the "well-authenticated accounts" of Mermen and Mermaids, from the "wilde or sauvage man in the sixt yeare of King John's raigne at Oreford, in Suffolk," caught by the fishermen "in theyr nettes," and a full account of whom will be found, and how he ultimately "fledded secretlye to the sea, and was never after seene nor hearde off," in The Gentleman's Magazine for 1762, down to the "syren  or mermaid," shown "sporting about in the vessel of water at the fair of St. Germain's in the year 1758, (see The Gentleman's Magazine for 1759); but we still want to have better evidence of the fact. We know there are affidavits in abundance to verify "sights" seen at moonlight upon the ocean; and a black man who waits upon the Merman in Piccadilly, has lately sworn before the Lord Mayor, first (and we are glad to hear it) that "he was educated in the Christian religion," and secondly, that about 20 years ago, he saw (not this animal, but ) "an animal alive at Manilla, which was called a Mermaid," that it was kept at the Governor's house, but "its distressing cries" induced him, after three days' keeping, to put it back into the river, and restore it to its natural element.

It is somewhat singular, that it was left to the poor black man, after a lapse of years, to remember what must have been known at the time, according to his statement, throughout the whole Philippine islands, but which was not sooner brought to light; and yet we do know that Sir Joseph Banks took great pains by an extensive correspondence throughout the world, to investigate all the rumours and affidavits of these Mermaids, and was, after a laborious inquiry, satisfied that their existence must be consigned to the imagination of poets.

Barnum's mermaid

The exibitor of this Merman states the probable retreat of the Mermaids to be "in the most remote and fathomless depths of the sea." This is as it should be - Poets make ghosts "choose the darkest part o' th' grove," and say of "the ugly subjects" of night, that -
"Asham'd and fearful to appear,
"They skreen their horrid shapes with the black hemispher."
The witches of old, too, before "ill tongues" which are now upon the Mermaids were upon them, always performed their incantations by night. We agree in the propriety of having a "fathomless abyss" for the Mermen. 

The exhibitor is quite shocked at the idea of being called upon to expose the figure to dissection, "merely to gratify idle wanton curiosity;" but he declares, "that so soon as a moderate sum is realized by the exhibition, he will offer it to the faculty, to add the final proof of its genuineness, and thus show that Mermaids and Mermen  form a part of the creation." The time of this dissection will never come; in the interim, why do not some of the ingenious pupils of Mr. Brookes construct a Mermaid from some of the ample materials in his museum, which would bear dissection? Why are Captains of ships stopped in their voyages at Batavia, by the Japanese mermaid-agents, and poor natives brought from the Philippine islands to make affidavits of what they saw 20 years ago, for a commodity, which if the experiment be made, can, from our better knowledge of anatomy, be made cheaper and more perfect at home?

From The Times, June 26th, 1824.

Mermaid near Rothsay, Isle of Bute

The following appears in a Glasgow paper:-- "A Gentleman, on whose veracity we can rely, informs us, that, as he was passing along the east coast of Bute, within a mile of Rothsay, on Wednesday last, betwixt two and three o'clock, along with two other persons, they saw, within one yard of the shore, one of those animals, so long considered fabulous - a mermaid - combing her fine black locks with the utmost deliberation, and apparently quite unconscious of the presence of more civilized beings! What rendered the occurrence more extraordinary, was the appearance, in the vicinity, of another large sea monster, having a body resembling that of a man, but with the head of a brute; and which disappeared whenever three Gentlemen came in sight!"

In the Morning Post, July 25th 1826.

Herbert James Draper's 'Ulysses and the Sirens'

Mermaid exhibited in London in 1822 denounced

From the Hereford Journal, 4th December 1822.

THE MERMAID.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE HEREFORD JOURNAL.
SIR--

On my arrival in London, I hastened to see the so-called Mermaid. My mind had been made up on the subject, but I was determined to have ocular proof of the conclusions I had formed. This compound organic form is the very personification of ugliness. The capitol, that of an Ape, (the long armed Baboon,) exhibits in its cerebral developments, the full measure of animal propensities, while its frontispiece is singularly void of the organs of intelligence.

The first thing which struck one was the utter incongruity of the piece. --The fish part should have been at least quadruple the size it is, for such a superstructure. -- It is therefore the "Discordia rerum non bene junctarum." Fairburn has published a print of this non descript by Cruikshank -- it possesses however this important fault, the fish part is here in some conformity with the superimposed mass - a condition totally overlooked in the thing itself.

The history of the Brute is not very credible. It was found cast on shore on the north of China, after a storm, by some Malay fishermen, and was purchased by its present possessor for £1,200 at Batavia. The exhibitant told me, he conceived that were it artificial, the artist would have endeavoured to make the thing more sightly.

Now it occurs to me that it is perfectly of a piece with the conduct and character of the inmates of China. They are exceedingly fond of monstrous shapes. The Baboon seems to have been purposely put to a 
violent and cruel death in order to obtain this hideous caricature.  [some mad ranting]

It appears to me most strange that Dr. Phillip should have so committed himself with respect to this incongruous compound, and equally so that Dr. Reece Price should have sanctioned the belief of its being  a natural producion, by his opinion. it has been even said that Sir Everard Home conceded as much; but I cannot believe it, Sir E. is much more cautious than this amounts to.

That the fabric is neatly put together, must be freely admitted; but I am confident that I can trace the curved lines of its junction in a great part of its circumference; and this with the naked eye, for a lens is of little use (though also employed), seeing the hideous form is encased in glass; nay more, I egregiously deceive myself, if I did not perceive two or three of the stitches by whic it has been sewed together.

The continuation of the vertebral joints under the membrane of the simia is sufficiently ingenious, and may startle, prima facie; but the cutis seems to have been merely thrown back for the introduction beneath it of the vertebra of the fish part. [some more exuberant ranting follows]

I have the honour to be, Sir,
Your most humble Servant,
J MURRAY
Hereford, November 30, 1822.

The 1822 sensation

Exhibition of a Merman.

On Saturday, notwithstanding the rain, upwards of 150 distinguished Fashionables visited the Exhibition of the Merman, among whom were -- His Royal Highness the Duke of Gloucester, the Dukes of Rutland and St. Albans and parties, the Marquis and Marchioness of Stafford and friends, the Marquises of Huntly and Cholmondeley and parties, the Countess Dowager of Cork and party, Lady Pulteney and party, Earl and Countess Howe and party, Earl of Falmouth and party, Lords L. Gower and A.  Hamilton and parties, &c. -- It has been announced that the Tickets dated the 19th will be received all this week.

Morning Post, June 21st, 1824.

From John Platts' 'The Manners and Customs of All Nations' (1827).

There is a Merman now exhibiting in a lodging-house in Piccadilly, and it has followed the Mermaid from Batavia. Both were manufactured by the Japanese; both were purchased (we believe unsuspectingly) by Captains of ships, and they are alike genuine. The Mermaid was the better piece of work of the two, and if exhibited, as we mentioned at the time, as an example of the mehanical ingenuity of the curiosity-caterers in Japan, would have been praiseworthy.

The head was that of the green African monkey, the arms those of the monkey and ape, the body and tail the salmon's, the skin of which was, when fresh taken off, in a gelatinous state, then dried, fined down with pummice-stone, gummed, and laid on over the dorsal bones (of a fish) so as to display the vertebrae, and finally exposed to the air and insects, so as to acquire the discolouration and perforation of antiquity.

The arms in the Mermaid being those of the ape and monkey, the nails being well cut out of birds' quills, and the junction of the neck to the monkey's skull being neatly inserted, the whole figure was capitally managed for a show. But not so this Merman, who is (probably as a distinction of his sex) constructed of ruder materials. The head is hideous; and if, like Cerberus, "op'ning his greedy grinning jaws," he does not "gape with three enormous mouths," he has one mouth bigger and more hideous than them all. The head is exactly that of the catfish, which is remarkable for its round head and projecting teeth (as in this figure); the distended and deformed face is an artificial mask, manufactured upon the fish-skull; but, the most clumsy contrivance of all, is the hair upon the head. Now, surely, a Merman or Mermaid ought, were it only in common couresy to the best authenticated accounts, ancient and modern, to have the green hair flowing in graceful curls down the shoulders, so as to permit the elegant action of throwing it aside when buffetting the "angry deep;" then we can understand Shakespeare's 
"Mermaid on a dolphin's back
Uttering such dulcet and harmonious breath,
That the rude sea grew civil at her song."

But what will the reader think when he is informed that the Piccadilly Merman has a fine well-brushed head of hair, rising perpendicularly from the crown of the head in the newest Dandy fashion? It is soft and downy, resembling in length and texture the best muff fur - it is, in fact, nothing more nor less than the thinner coat of hair of the young fox or jackall, the colour almost that of the common animal, light reddish brown with a grey root. We imagine they are not much in the habit in Japan of seeing the seal or other marine animals which are tufted with hair, or they would have seen that such hair is long and fibrous, and from the nature of the element it lives in, always clinging along the skin, and in its growth and texture bearing no resemblance to that of land animals. It would have been just the same trouble to have manufactured the one hair as the other, and there is no doubt that the Japanese will improve upon the model.

The arms are entirely artificial, and in that respect the Merman is very inferior to the Mermaid. If anybody will take the trouble to observe the articulation of the shoulders, they will see a very imperfect imitation of the ball and socket, and then, again, the fingers at the palm of the hand; on the back, the shape and flexibility of the fingers is given, but no so in the inner side, there is no attempt made there to define the shape which gives to them the lateral or circular motion, or for lodging the tendons of what are called "the flexor muscles." These fingers could not bend - they want all the beautiful mechanism of anatomy: the Japanese must also improve in that science, before they send us another Merman. 

As to the shape of the rest of the body, it is that of the common salmon, or cod fish, the skin of which, a good full grown scaly one being procured, is exposed to the process of drying and darkening which we have already mentioned; it has not been fined down as in the Mermaid,  and therefore the wrinkles are coarser, and the vertebrae (the regular fish-bone) not so well displayed; the skin has, however, collapsed sufficiently upon the bones to give the full outline. The tail of the Mermaid is coiled up, to give the figure a capacity for moving perpendicularly in the water; through a mistake the Merman's finny extremity has only the common fish's tail, and is only capable of lateral motion: so that, supposing this figure to have life, the impulse of its motion must be horizontal - its face being thus downwards in the water, its eyes become useless, and deprived of exposure to the rays of light: perhaps the laws of nature differ, however, for Mermen. Let some intelligent Merman resolve this optical axiom.

This is our opinion of the Merman, but every spectator can judge for himself. We are not unaware of the danger of opposing "well-authenticated accounts" of Mermen  and Mermaids, from the "wilde or sauvage man in the sixt yeare of King John's raigne at Oreford, in Suffolk," caught by the fishermen "in theyr nettes," and a full account of whom will be found, and how he ultimately "fledded secretlye to the sea, and was never after seene nor hearde off," in The Gentleman's Magazine for 1762, down to the "syren or mermaid" shown "sporting about in the vessel of water at the fair of St. Germain's in the year 1758, (see The Gentleman's Magazine for 1759); but still we want to have better evidence of the fact.

We know there are affadavits in abundance to verify "sights" seen at moonlight upon the ocean; and a black man who waits upon the Merman in Piccadilly, has lately sworn before the Lord Mayor, first (and we are glad to hear it) that "he was educated in the Christian religion," and secondly, that about 20 years ago, he saw (not this animal, but) "an animal alive at Manilla, which was called a Mermaid," that it was kept at the Governor's house, but "its distressing cries" induced him, after three days' keeping, to put it back into the river, and restore it to its natural element.

It is somewhat singular, that it was left to the poor black man, after a lapse of years, to remember what must have been known at the time, according to his statement, throughout the whole Philippine islands, but which was not sooner brought to light; and yet we do know that Sir Jospeh Banks took great pains by an extensive correspondence throughout the world, to investigate all the rumours and affidavits of these Mermaids, and was, after a laborious inquiry, satisfied that their existence must be consigned to the imagination of poets.

The exhibitor of this Merman states the probable retreat of the Mermaids to be "in the most remote and fathomless depths of the sea." This is as it should be - Poets make ghosts "choose the darkest part o' th' grove," and say of "the ugly subjects" of night, that--
"Asham'd and fearful to appear,
They skreen their horrid shapes with the black hemisphere."
The witches of old, too, before "ill tongues" which are now upon the Mermaids were upon them, always performed their incantations by night. We agree in the propriety of having a "fathomless abyss" for the Mermen.

The exhibitor is quite shocked at the idea of being called upon to expose the figure to dissection, "merely to gratify idle wanton curiosity;" but he declares, "that so soon as a moderate sum is realized by the exhibition, he will offer it to the faculty, to add the final proof of its genuineness, and thus show that Mermaids and Mermen  form part of the creation." The time of this dissection will never come; in the interim, why do not some of the ingenious pupils of Mr. Brookes construct a Mermaid from some of the ample materials in his museum, which would bear dissection? Why are Captains of ships stopped in their voyages at Batavia, by the Japanese mermaid agents, and poor natives brought from the Philippine islands to make affidavits of what they saw 20 years ago, for a commodity, which if the experiment can be made, can, from our better knowledge of anatomy, be made cheaper and more perfect at home?

From The Times, June 26th, 1824.

Some historical accounts of mermaids

MERMAIDS. AN ESSAY.

The circumstance of a creature of this description having been actually brought to the metropolis, makes it at the present moment a subject of much interest. With some, the fact of this animal being produced will be indisputable evidence of the truth of all the tales of the old writers, whilst others will carry their incredulity so far as to imagine this Mermaid a mere peice of animal patchwork, like the dragon that Sir Joseph Banks dissected. In throwing together a few of the best evidences upon the subject, I have been actuated by a desire of discovering, and imparting truth, rather than encouraging controversy; and as Mermaids are assuredly a fair subject for a Ladies' Magazine, I shall not apologize for intruding upon the attention of my readers.

Before I enter upon this subject, I must take leave to mention, that though this supposed animal is always spoken of as a Mermaid, all the writers on this subject concur in the belief of a Merman also. However, at the first view it may seem improbable, that an animal should exist in the water, with the formation external and internal of the human species; yet when we look around us, and perceive apes and baboons among animals resembling man, so closely as to have been mistaken for him, we are led to believe it possible that our prototypes may be also found among fishes.

The authorities on this subject are innumerable. That they have existed, if we do not entirely reject human testimony, (and what else have we to rely upon) we must believe, that they do exist recent circumstances tend to show. I would here beg to remark, that the non-existence of an animal at present, is by no means a proof that it never did exist. Our fertile plains were at one period the haunts of wolves - their numbers were boundless - their race, however, was exterminated - not by a migration, but by the hands of the natives, might not then the race of mermaids by some means have become extinct? Pliny says, "that the ambassadors to Augustus from Gaul, declared that sea-women were often seen in their neighbourhood. Solinus, and Aulus Gellius, speak also of their existence."

There are innumerable facts in history, not nearly so well attested, that have never been called in question, which this subject on which every nation has some tradition, has been continually doubted. It is related  in the Histoire d'Angleterre, part 1, page 403, that in the year 1187, a Merman was "fished up" in the county of Suffolk, and kept by the governor for six months; it was exactly like a man in every respect, and wanted nothing but speech. He never could be brought to any understanding of his nature or situation, and at length made his escape, and was seen to plunge into the sea, from whence he returned no more.

In 1430, in the great tempests which destroyed the dykes in Holland, some women at Edam, in West-freezeland, saw a Mermaid, who had been driven by the waters into the meadows which were overflowed. They took it, and (as it is said,) dressed it in female attire, and taught it to spin. It fed on cooked meat, but all efforts to teach it to speak, proved ineffectual, though Parival says, "it had some notion of a deity, and made its reverences very devoutly when it passed a crucifix. (Admitting this to be true, it might arise from the habit of imitation so powerfully displayed in apes and other animals). It was taken to Haelem, where it lived some years, but it ever retained an inclination for the water. At its death it was allowed christian burial.

In 1560, on the coast of Ceylon, some fishermen caught at one draught of their nets, 7 Mermen and Mermaids. (This family party of Mermen, &c. seems rather doubtful, when we consider the weight they would be in the act of drawing in merely, to say nothing of the increasing difficulty that must be occasioned by their resistance. The coast of Ceylon seems by this number, a nursery for them, unless we are to suppose they had assembled for some mystical purpose peculiar to themselves, and this opinion is strengthened by the remembrance of their being a magical number - 7). They were dissected, and found made exactly like human beings. For a full account of this last circumstance, see the Histoire de la Compagnie de Jesus, part 2d. t.4. No. 276.

In 1531, a Merman, caught in the Baltic, was sent to Sigismond, king of Poland, with whom, says the account, he lived three days, and was seen by the whole court; but whether he died or escaped at the end of that period, we cannot say. But in some tracts published by John Gregory, A.M. and chaplain of Christ Church Oxford, in 1650, this identical Merman is described, "as a huge animal of the human form, but very much resembling a bishop in his pontificals." A German engraving of this being I have seen, it is extremely curious.

source of image

Georgius Trapanzantius declares that he himself saw a Mermaid, extremely beautiful, rise many times above water; he adds, that in Epirus, a Merman came on the shore, and watched near a spring of water, endeavouring to catch young women that came there; he was caught, but could not be made to eat.

Maillet in his Teliamede, speaks of a Merman which was seen by the whole of a French ship's crew, off Nowfoundland, in 1730, for some hours. The account was signed by all the crew that could write, and was sent to the Comte de Maurepas on the 8th September, 1725.

This story we must either give implicit credit to, or we must believe in the possibility of a large body of men wantonly asserting a falsehood, from which they could reap no possible advantage. Two or three men might have their senses deceived by some false appearance, or such a number might confederate to propagate an untruth; but the testimony of a ship's crew, when we consider the usual want of unanimity, and the utter impossibility of their being deceived, we cannot doubt.

Some writers imagine, that the Trichecus or Walrus, is the animal that has been mistaken for, or called a Mermaid; there is one species of Walrus that seems to come near the general conception of these animals, it has two fore feet, but no hind ones, but has a tail like a whale's, and frequents the African and American seas; the females have two teats near the arm pits, with which (says Steller,) they suckle their young; there are many varieties of the species, and they differ in size from 8 to 23 feet. The natives of America, it is said, tame them, and they delight in music, (from this circumstance, an ingenious French writer supposes them to be the dolphins of the ancients.)

Peter Martyr speaks of one that lived on the lake of Hispaniola for twenty-five years, which was so tame, that it would come to the edge of the shore, if called, and perform the part of a ferry, carrying  several persons at a time on its back to the opposite shore. In answer to this, it may be observed, that no writers that have treated on this subject, ever pretended that Mermaids were larger than the human species; whereas, the smallest Walrus is supposed to be full 8 feet; besides the Walrus is a clumsy and disgusting looking animal, the Mermaid has been always described as very beautiful; the Walrus has two tusks in its head, the Mermaid, long flowing hair.

At the same time it may be remarked, that there is an animal, (though I cannot agree in calling it a species of the Walrus, as some mazologists have done,) called the manati, or sea-ape, or according to others, the siren, its length about 5 feet, its head like that of a dog, the eyes large, the body round and thick, tapering downwards, it will swim and play round a vessel, but dives upon the least alarm. Steller speaks of one he saw, who gazed awhile at his ship, sitting erect with one-third of its body above water, then darted under the vessel, and appeared on the other side, repeating this many times.

A pretty manatee, perhaps with golden hair. Image by Shankar S.

In the last part of the Philosophical Transactions, Sir Everard Home has given an account of the dugongi, (a species of trichecus, found in the Indian seas,) which he supposes to be the Merman, of the old writers, as he describes the animal, it seems to approach the manati more than any other, but I confess his arguments seem very inconclusive, and leave this subject involved in as much mystery as ever.

It is the misfortune of those who labor to support a new theory, that they are attacked by ridicule, instead of argument. Writers of learning have been stigmatized for their credulity, even where the evidence on which they relied, has been irrefragable. The differences between the Walrus, Manati, and Dugong, and the accounts of the Merman or Mermaid, are so many, that I own I feel surprised an intelligent man should suppose any of them to be this wonder creating animal.

In a work called a Discourse on Newfoundland, the writer says, "I saw a strange creature come swimming towards me, looking cheerfully on my face, as it had been a woman, by the face, eyes, nose, mouth, chin, ears, neck, and forehead, it seemed to be so beautiful, and in those parts so well proportioned, having about the head blue streaks, resembling hair, but certainly it was not hair; the shoulders and back were square, white, and smooth, as the back of a man, and from the middle to the end, it tapered like a broad-hooked arrow." With this description, (excepting with regard to the hair,) almost all the accounts I have met with, seem to agree. In 1670, one seen off the Faroe Islands, is described as having "long hair, hanging from her head round her, to the surface of the water."

In 1716, a creature was seen 15 feet long, exactly like a man in all other respects, who traversed the sea-beach, so that all persons feared him, he appeared many days, and endeavoured to catch some women who approached him, but he at length returned to the sea. (This account may be found in the newspapers of that year, and is well worthy the perusal of the curious, it is attested by numerous eye witnesses. Lord Monboddo has also, I believe, mentioned this circumstance. I own I have been restrained from referring to his lordship's works, from the circumstance of his having been generally considered as a wholesale dealer in the marvellous, but this opinion is illfounded. His lordship was an able metaphysician, and an accomplished scholar. Those who may have been misled by the received notion of the tendency of this author's works, will find themselves agreeably undeceived, on perusing his "Ancient Metaphysics" and his "Origin of Language," the subject of the present essay, he has treated in a masterly manner, The puny critics of the day, who delighted in endeavouring to reduce to their own intellectual level, the productions of genius, are now in their graves: so, alas! is his lordship; but their venom, like the poison of the adder, remains after the reptile is no more. As this is an age of improvement, and not of prejudice, we trust this author will receive the justice so long denied him. He was an able writer, a learned and upright judge, a fosterer of genius, and above all, a charitable and good man.)

Valentyn describes a Mermaid he saw in 1714, on his voyage from Batavia to Europe, sitting on the surface of the water, with its back towards them, the body was half above water, and was of a grizzly color, like the skin of a codfish, it had breasts, and was shaped like a woman above the waist, and from thence downwards went tapering off to a point.

The existence of this animal is firmly believed in the northern parts of Scotland, and in the year 1797, a school master of Thurso, affirmed that he had seen one, apparently in the act of combing its hair with its fingers, the portion of the animal which he saw, was so near a resemblance to the form of a woman, that but for the impossibility of a female so long supporting herself in the waves, he should have preseumed it to be one. Twelve years afterwards, several persons observed near the same place a like appearance.

I shall now proceed to more recent instances.

in 1811, the following deposition was made by one John McIsaac, (and it was corroborated by the evidence of a child, who was too young to plot a tale, to deceive the skilful interrogators by whom he was examined.)
"That on Sunday, the 13th October, having taken a walk towards the sea side, he came to the edge of the precipice above the shore, from which he saw the appearance of something white upon a black rock, at some distance from him. That having approached nearer to the rock, he observed this white object moving, which excited his curiosity so much, that he resolved to get as near to it as possible unperceived; that in order to accomplish this purpose, he crept upon all fours through a field of corn, till he got among the rocks near to the white object above mentioned, and then from rock to rock, until he came within 12 or 15 paces of the rock on which it lay; that, upon looking at this object with attention, he was impressed with great surprise and astonishment at its uncommon appearance; that it lay flat on the rock, seemingly on its belly, with its head towards the sea; that the upper part of it was white, and the shape of a human body, and the other half, towards the tail, of a brindled or reddish grey color, apparently covered with scales, but the extremity of the tail itself was of a greenish red shining color.

"That the head of this animal was covered with long hair, and as the wind blew off the land, it sometimes raised the hair over this creature's head, and every time the gust of the wind would do this, the animal would lean towards one side, and taking up the opposite hand, would stroke the hair backwards, and then leaning on the other side, would adjust the hair on the opposite side of its head in the same manner; that at the same time the animal would put back the hair on both sides of its head in this manner; it would also spread or extend its tail, like a fan to a considerable breadth, and while so extended, the tail continued in tremulous motion, and when drawn together again, it remained motionless, and appeared to be about 12 or 14 inches broad, laying flat upon the rock.

"That the hair which was long, and light brown in the color, attracted his particular notice, that the animal upon the whole, was between 4 and 5 feet long, as near as he could judge; that it had a head, hair, arms, and body, down to the middle, like a human being, only that the arms were short in proportion to the body, which appeared to be about the thickness of that of a young lad, and tapering gradually to the point of the tail; that at the time it was stroking its head, as above mentioned, the fingers were kept close together, so he could not say whether they were webbed or not; that he continued concealed looking at the animal for near two hours, the part of the rock on which it lay being dry all that time; that after the sea had so far retired as to leave the rock dry, to the height of 5 feet above the surface of the water, the animal leaning first on one hand and arm, and then upon the other, drew its body forward to the edge of the rock, and then tumbled clumsily into the sea; that the deponent immediately got upon his feet, from the place of his concealment, and in about a minute after, he observed the animal appearing above water, very near to the said rock, and then for the first time, he saw its face, every feature of which he could distinctly mark, and which to him, had all the appearance of a human being, with very hollow eyes, (and being particularly interrogated depones) that the cheeks were of the same color with the rest of the face; that the neck was short, and the animal was constantly with both hands stroking and washing its breast, which was half immersed in water, and of which, of course, he had but an imperfect view; that for this reason, he cannot say whether its bosom was formed like a woman's or not. That he saw no other fins or feet, upon the said animal, but as above described.

"That this animal continued above water, as aforesaid, for a few minutes, and then disappeared, and was seen no more by him; that one of his reasons for lying so long concealed, as above described, was from the expectation that the ebb tide would leave the rock, and that part of the shore dry, before the animal would move from it, and that he would be then able to secure it."

In August, 1812, a Mermaid was seen about one mile S.E. of Exmouth-bar; (for an account of which, see the Exeter paper of that time).

It must be in the recollection of most persons, that in the autumn of 1819, a creature appeared on the coast of Ireland, about the size of a child of ten years of age, with a bosom as prominent as a girl of sixteen, having long dark hair, and full dark eyes. I shall not transcribe the account, as it will doubtless be well remembered, but it may be right to add, for the satisfaction of those who have not seen it: that a spectator endeavoured to shoot it, but on the report of the musket, it plunged into the sea, with a loud scream.

The differences observed in the accounts of this animal, are usually as to color, and its being with or without hair. I confess it does not seem unreasonable to me, to presume these circumstances to be the effect of climate; and the difference between the male and female. It will be observed, that we have accounts of this animal in all parts of the globe, therein approaching man, who is the only creature that is found in every climate. When we perceive that of most animals, there are several species, by a parity of reasoning, we may conceive there are several of this;  and this may reconcile many incongruities that occur in different relations.

The Merman of 1187. That, sent to the King of Poland in 1531, and the creature seen in 1716, differ from others, inasmuch as they do not end in a tail like a fish; for this, I own myself incapable of assigning a reason. I can only exclaim, "behold the evidence."

The existence of the Unicorn, was long reckoned a fable, and yet the head of an animal recently imported, bears so close a resemblance to the relations of this animal, that our most skilful naturalists have pronounced it to be the same. If for so many hundred years, the existnece of a quadruped, has been a matter of speculative enquiry, when man has the power of traversing the place of its habitation, and by the progress of the arts of piercing its deepest recesses; how much more probable is it, that a creature should exist in the bosom of the ocean, with which we are not perfectly acquainted. When we consider that in the depths of the waters, we have no reach, no power of visual observation, or means of pursuing enquiry; it is an abyss, which may contain unheard of treasures, but it is one, that cannot be irradiated by the beams that would disclose them to man.

Since penning the above, we have paid a visit to the exhibition of the Mermaid, lately imported to this country. It appears that the captain of a Dutch merchantman, anchoring at one of the Molucca islands for commercial purposes, found the inhabitants in possession of this phenomenon, which he purchased of them in its present dried state.

The account given of this extraordinary animal by its captors is, that it was cast on their shore several years since. They positively assert having often seen these animals on the coast of Japan, but have never succeeded in taking one alive, and were much surprised when informed of the doubts prevalent in Europe, as to the existence of such a creature, with whose form they seemed perfectly familiar.

For the satisfaction of our provincial subscribers, we present them with the annexed engraving, as an exact representation of the Mermaid now publicly shewn. The creature is exhibited in an erect position, placed on a revolving pedestal, which the spectator turns at his option by brass nobs; the body is contained in a glass case, and is about three feet in length, the hands perfectly human, the arms very long in proportion to the size of the animal, and must have possessed great muscular strength, the teeth long and sharp, and the neck very short.

There is a small quantity of hair on one side of the head; but time may have shorn her locks, as the lady appears to have been advanced in age; the countenance is frightfully distorted, as if the animal had died in excruciating pain. It is very dry and mummy like, of a brown color, and our print gives a complete idea of it as viewed.

The proprietor informed us, that the purchase money and aggregate expenses incurred in bringing this beautiful maid to England, have cost him £1000, and he values his lovely prize at £10,000. The exhibition attracts many visitors, and notwithstanding the unfavourable state of the weather, it has produced to the owner from £15 to £16 daily, at an admission of one shilling from each spectator.

It is certainly a curiosity worth seeing, and if an imposition, we do not imagine its immediate propietor to be concerned in it. We understand it is the intention of a gentleman of high professional abilities, to lay before the public an anatomical description of this wonderful lusus naturae.

It may be proper to observe, that several medical professors who have viewed the body, declare, that according to external appearances, it actually seems to be what the owner intimates, namely, that long deemed fabulous creature, a MERMAID.




From 'Le Belle Assemblee,  or Bell's Court and Fashionable Magazine Addressed Particularly to the Ladies' November 1st, 1822.

The exhibited dried mermaid, Fortean star of 1822.

REAL MERMAID! The wonder of the World, the [?] admiration of all Ages, the theme of the Philosopher, the Historian and the Poet. -- The above surprising natural production may be SEEN at No. 39, ST. JAMES'S-STREET, every Day (Sundays excepted), from Ten in the Morning until Five in the Afternoon. -- Admittance 1s.

 Advert in the Morning Chronicle, 29th October 1822.



THE MERMAID.

We are indebted to the master of one of his Majesty's ships of war for the drawing of the Mermaid, as exhibited at Cape Town, whence the annexed wood-cut is taken.--
Our readers are aware of our scepticism upon this subject; but at any rate it is a curious point in natural history to have the picture of whatever has been brought forward as a proof of the existence of this disputed creature; and we certainly feel infinitely indebted to the kindness which has enabled us to present this print from the testimony of an eye-witness, whose situation (though perhaps not a sufficient naturalist to detect a nice imposture) places him above the suspicion of either ignorant credulity or erroneous representation. The account given of this extraordinary animal by its captors is, that it was caught on the coast of Japan; and our correspondent mentions that its face is frightfully distorted, as if it had died in excruciating pain.

[..] Since we prepared the above notice, its subject, the Mermaid, has arrived in London; and we rejoice that the public will have an opportunity of forming a judgment upon it. Immediately on being passed at the Custom-house, it is, we are informed, to be shown to his Majesty, and afterwards exhibited. From an inspection, it may be added to the preceding particulars and print, that the length is two feet ten inches; that the lower extremity resembles the salmon, with the tail rather more curved up than in our sketch, and the fins more natural than our engraver has represented them; that the upper half is like the Ourang Outang; and that the proprietor paid five thousand dollars for his "beautiful maid" in India.

From the Liverpool Mercury, October 4th, 1822.


A Mermaid, if we are to place implicit credit in the presence of the figure, is now exhibiting in St. James's-street. The head is the size of a baboon's and is thinly covered with strong black hair; the nose bears a closer resemblance to the human form, so likewise do the chin, lips, fingers, nails and teeth, which are full and perfect. The resemblance to the human form ceases immediately under the breasts, and beneath them are placed two horizontal fins; then comes the mermaid's tail, exactly that of the salmon species-- this part of the body is quite scaly, and furnished with six fins. The height of the animal is rather more than two feet; it is shrivelled and dried like a mummy, and the mode of preservation is on that account not so well calculated as if it had been kept in spirits to satisfy by the evidence of external appearances. There is certainly no perceptible addition or juncture of discordanct parts for any purpose of deception; and undoubtedly if there be any getting up in the figure, it is not of recent date, for the whole appearance of the surface is worn, in parts worm-eaten, and exactly that of a dried and long-shrivelled mummy.

The head bears no proportion to the rest of the body; from the deep furrows and collapsed appearance of the muscles, the cheeks must have been very fleshy; the same observation, but not in an equal degree, applies to the breasts. There is only one way of effectually demonstrating the real character of the animal, and that is by dissection; how far that can be accomplished consistently with the restoration of the figure for the purpose of exhibition, is another question. It is for anatomists to speak upon the internal appearances of the body -- the formation of the back-bone is palpable, and resembles that of the human figure.

There appears a peculiarity about the shoulders, as if the insertion were in the manner of a ball and socket, and not like the human scapula; but we repeat, dissection can alone furnish a complete and satisfactory solution of a subject which has been so long deemed the theme of idle conjecture or fabulous invention.

The present proprietor, it is said, obtained the animal in Batavia, from the Captain of a Dutch vessel, who had purchased it in China -- it was then in its present condition.

From The Times, October 23rd, 1822.



It appears, by the following article from the last Literary Gazette, that there is some reason to doubt whether the creature, of which we gave an engraved representation in the Mercury of October 4, be really a genuine production of nature, or a motley creature formed out of various animals. This is not at all impossible, as we recollect to have read of an imposition being practised upon the public by a man who exhibited some nondescript monster, which was detected by the celebrated naturalist, Linnaeus. -- Edits. Mercury.

"We have again carefully inspected this creature, as minutely as its glass-casing permits. Our opinion is fixed that it is a composition; a most ingenious one, we grant, but still nothing beyond the admirably put-together members of various animals. The extraordinary skill of Chinese and Japanese in executing such deceptions is notorious, and we have no doubt but that the mermaid is a manufacture from the shore of the Indian Sea, where it has been pretended it was caught.

We are not of those, who, because they happen not to have had direct proof of the existence of any extraordinary natural phenomenon, push scepticism to the extreme, and deny its possibility. The depths of the sea, in all probability, from various chemical and philosophical causes, contain animals unknown to its surface waters, or if ever, rarely seen by human eye. But when a creature is presented to us, having no other organization but that which is suitable to a medium always open to our observation, it in the first instance excites suspicion that only one individual of the species should be discovered and obtained. 

When knowledge was more limited, the stories of mermaids seen in distant quarters might be credited by the many and not entirely disbelieved by the few; but now, when European and especially British commerce fills every corner of the earth with men of observation and science, the unique becomes the incredicble, and we receive with far greater doubt the apparition of such anomalies as the present. It is curious that though medical men seem in general to regard this creature as a possible production of nature, no naturalist of any ability credits it after five minutes' observation! This may perhaps be accounted for by their acquaintance with the parts of distinct animals, of which, it appears, the mermaid is composed.

The cheeks of the blue-faced ape, the canine teeth, the simian upper body, and the tail of the fish, are all familiar to them in less complex combinations, and they pronounce at once that the whole is an imposture. And such is our settled conviction. Let us, however, in justice to the owner of this 'sea-monster,' repeat our opinion, that he is by no means privy to the imposition. It is affirmed, that almost all the eastern world, including Sir Thomas Raffles (a person of no mean judgment) held the mermaid to be genuine; and that its purchaseer believed it to be so, is witnessed not only by the sum he gave for it, but by the fact of his having exhibited it originally in a way the most likely to court detection, if false, namely, by suspending it by a string fastened to the middle of the back.

We lament, therefore, to be compelled, in justice to ourselves, to pronounce the judgment we have done:-- but being thoroughly convinced that this lusus naturae is not natural, we are bound to say so, and to tell our readers, that if they go to see it (as it is well worth a visit) it must be to observe how admirably such a deception can be executed.
'It is a jest, and all things show it,
We thought so once, and now we know it.' "

From the Liverpool Mercury, November 1st, 1822.

Mermaid at Llanchaiarn, Aberystwyth (1826)

Here's the coast at Aberystwyth, at least:

CC image by Manfred Heyde.

 

In July, 1826, a farmer in the parish of Llanchaiarn, about three miles from Aberystwayth, whose house is within 300 yards of the sea shore, went to the top of an adjacent rock on a fine morning as the sun was rising and shining beautifully on the water, and saw a woman, in appearance, bathing in the sea, within a stone's throw of him, and he, from a feeling of decency, withdraw; but, upon reconsideration, he suspected that no woman go so far into the sea, as the tide was flowing, and he felt certain that the water must be about two yards deep where he saw her stand. Upon this he fell on his face, and creeped to the top of the rock, and had a distinct view of her for about thirty-five minutes. When tired of gazing at her, he withdrew, and ran to call his family to behold this prodigy. He directed them from the door whither to go, and cautioned them to creep as they approached the spot, so as not to alarm the object of their curiosity. Some of them went out not much more than half dressed, and looked at it for above ten minutes, whilst the farmer was calling his wife and youngest child. The wife did not approach in the same manner as the party that preceded her, but walked in sight of the mermaid, at which she slipped into the water, and swam away about the same distance from the shore as when first observed; and all the family, twelve in number, ran along the sore, for nearly half a mile, nearly all the time keeping her distinctly in view, sometimes the head and shoulders above the water. There was a mass of rock elevated about six feet above the surface of the sea, on which she reclined when first viewed. She stood out of the water from the waist upwards, adn the whole family declare the bust to be the perfect shape and size of a girl about eighteen years of age, the hair rather short, and of a dark colour, the face very pretty, the neck and arms of the common length, the breasts not large, and the skin delicately white - whiter than that of any they ever saw washing in the sea. The face was towards the shore. She stooped, and appeared to take up some water with her right hand, and then held the hand before her face for half a minute together. During the act of bending there was something blackish which appeared just above the surface of the water like a short tail turned up; this always appeared when she bent in the manner described. -- She frequently made a noise like sneezing or coughing, and every time this was repeated the rock echoed the sound. The farmer, who looked at her intently for a long time, declared that he had seen but few women who equalled her in beauty. - The whole family, the youngest of them eleven years of age, are now alive, and I had this account, verbatim, from their own mouths, within the last month.

From the Morning Post, July 26th, 1828.