A MAN-FISH.

Thames Star, Volume VII, Issue 2642, 27 June 1877, Page 2

A MAN-FISH.

A local paper published in the remote district of Bayeux has' just given a - description in its pages of a marine monster which quite eclipses the fame of the •

sea-serpent. The account of this strange being has been communicaj«d to the editor of the Indicateur by a worthy family living in the neighborhood, who have received it from a relative of theirs serving on board the Thetis.* The writer deposes that after touchiug at Martinique, and when nearing the Diamond Point, he and his companions, on board the ship were st. rtled by the apparition of a cea monster " to which they were soon forced to give the name of a man-fish." The I creature was swimming peaceably along ' a short distance ahead of the vessel. The sea was calm,- the sun was bright; and with the aid of a good telescope it was quite easy to distinguish.his bodily appearance and even his features. Down" to the waist, which was a slender waist as of a boy of fourteen, the figure,; was ' that of a man, its head well proportioned, the eves large but not ugly, the none bu^. and flat, and the countenance round i&T full. The face, neck, and, in fact all the upper part of the body, appeared to.- be " tolerably white," and the skin to be delicate; but aa for the lower part of the body, it simply resembles, that of a .fish, and ended in a large forked tail.' All these particulars were observed while the monster wis"pursuing its course' in" tranquil enjoyment of the fine weather, and nowise frightened by the ;shouts' witich Lthe imprudent mariners addressed to it. After an hour's swim during which the ■Thetis vainly attempted to come up with the stranger, it gave a violent impulsion to its tail and disappeared from view. He seems to hare been in the. habit of neatly combing*' and brushing his - hair, which was smooth and well-ar- . ranged. On the other hand, he had either not the leisure or not the appliances needful for haircutting or shaving, for his locks and beard floated in abundance round his shoulders and over his' breast. On the whole the conclusion formed I>y the crew of the Thetis was that the. an* ' cient stories of sirens are not myths,-but actual truths. As to this question we shall soon, as it seems, have the benefit of another opinion, the writer of the letter stating that the prodigy had been also observed a few days before with similar feelings of astonishment, by the crew of the British ship Procust.—Globe.