ttributed to the poetical mermaids, and so entirely
without precedent in the whole range of known zoology,--that, if taken
literally, I fear it would condemn the narrative. But among the
Antarctic seals, both golden yellow fur, and black fur, are found; and
if hairs of these two colours were about equally intermingled, the
result would be an olive-green, as we see in some of the monkeys; and
then some allowance must doubtless be made for imagination, in one
little accustomed to precise observation, and "somewhat frightened"
withal. I should say, with little hesitation, that this creature was of
the seal family, only that the seaman's daily habits brought him into
the most familiar contact with various kinds of seals; and, unless the
animal in question had differed notably from such as he was acquainted
with, he would not have been so affected by the phenomenon. In such
stories, the sorts of creatures familiar to the observation of the
narrator, and the amount of surprise produced in his mind by the
stranger,--must always be carefully estimated, as important elements in
the formation of our judgment.

To come nearer home, Pontoppidan records the appearance of a merman,
which was deposed to on oath by the observers: "About a mile from the
coast of Denmark, near Landscrona, three sailors, observing something
like a dead body floating in the water, rowed towards it. When they came
within seven or eight fathoms, it still appeared as at first, for it had
not stirred; but at that instant it sunk, and came up almost immediately
in the same place. Upon this, out of fear, they lay still, and then let
the boat float, that they might the better examine the monster, which,
by the help of the current, came nearer and nearer to them. He turned
his face and stared at them, which gave them a good opportunity of
examining him narrowly. He stood in the same place for seven or eight
minutes, and was seen above the water breast high. At last they grew
apprehensive of some danger, and began to retire; upon which the monster
blew up his cheeks, and made a kind of lowing noise, and then dived from
their view. In regard to his form, they declare in their affidavits,
which were regularly taken and recorded, that he appeared like an old
man, strong-limbed, with broad shoulders, but his arms they could not
see. His head was small in proportion to his body, and had short curled
black hair, which did not reach below his ears; his eyes lay deep in his