to mermaids, who were strange creatures with heads of
beautiful, long-haired maidens, but with scaly bodies and the tails of
fish. In pictures they are usually represented as sitting upon reefs
holding a mirror in one hand and combing their long locks with the
other. Holmes, in _The Chambered Nautilus_, speaks of the "cold
sea-maids" who "rise to sun their streaming hair." Mermen were not so
often spoken of, but there are some allusions to them. In later times
the mermaids were considered more as fairies, and there were many
stories of human children being taken to live with the mermaids, and of
the latter coming upon land to live like men and women. There was, too,
a belief that sea-folk had no souls, and that a person who went to live
with them would lose his soul. The beautiful picture on page 181 shows
the forsaken family.

_Line 10_, from the bottom. "Leaded panes." The small panes of stained
glass in the church windows are set in narrow leaden frames.

_Page 185, line 4._ "Heaths" and "broom". The English and Scotch
heathers are little bushy shrubs that cover the hills and fields. They
bear beautiful little bell-like pink or white flowers. The trailing
arbutus, the blueberry and the wintergreen are some of our native plants
belonging to the same family. The broom plant is another low shrub that
bears rather large yellow blossoms, shaped like the flowers of peas and
beans. The old-time country-folk used bundles of these shrubs for
brooms.

_Line 10._ There have been several allusions to tides. If the children
do not understand the subject, be sure to explain how different a shore
looks at high and at low tide. The change is most noticeable where the
water is shallow, for then long stretches of sea-bottom may be uncovered
at low tide.

III. _The Story._ Bring out by questions these facts which constitute
the "plot," or incidents:

1. A merman, who has a family of children (five, the artist says, page
181), has been deserted by his human wife.

2. The father and children are on shore trying to persuade the mother to
return. The father feels that all must go back.

3. He begs the children to call their mother once more, for he thinks
that childish voices, wild with pain, may induce her to come.

4. He feels discouraged.

5. He tells how she became alarmed and left them at Easter time to
return to her church and pray, that she might save the soul she feared
she was losing.

6. The father and children had c