CAPTURE OF A MERMAID.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume IV, Issue 235, 6 October 1869, Page 2

CAPTURE OF A MERMAID.

The Tetit Moniteur gives the following veracious narrative, professed to be extracted from the log of a Norwegian vessel : — At 2 a.m., 31st December, 1868, sea calm, and moon shining brightly, while lying to a few miles from Cape Sojoten, in the Phillipine Islands, the watch forward cried out that he saw a man swimming ahead. The rest of the crew on deck ran to the bows, and perceived' at about a cable's length from the vessel, a human form raising itself out of the water. They hailed loudly, but were I answered by a species of bark resembling.

that of a little dog ; but the supposed man swam once toward the vessel, and the life buoy was thrown towards him. However, one of the crew, thinking it might be a sea monster, armed himself with a harpoon, and stationed biraself on the figure-head. The being swam steadily on, and as it passed beneath his post, the seamen, recognising by the moonlight ifc was no human creature, launched his weapon with unerring aim. A wailing groan was the result, and the sea was reddened with blood. Several fathoms of line were run out in about a minute, and at some distance the object was seen struggling to free itself from the spear. However, the line was hauled in very rapidly, and the seaman, to his infinite astouishmonr, found that he had hooked & genuine mermaid. She was about the size of a child ten years old — her arras were thoroughly human, except the hand?, which were webbed, and the upper part of her form was of ravishing beauty, while the lower part terminated, as usual, in a double fish tail. The wound inflicted by the harpoon was mortal, and in a few minules the mermaid expired, casting a melancholy look of reproach upon her slayer. Her body has been carefully preserved by the captain, who is a skilful naturalist, and has been taken to Manilla." We hope that this bonnte lassie with a seal's " fud " to her will find some enterprising Barnuni to bring her mortal remaius to Europe.