Among the Mermaids
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arranged his tail, his scales, his el-
206
Among the Mermaids
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Cephalopod means “head to foot”; in other words, the
creature’s legs are attached to its head.
bows, his cocked-hat, and what not, and fell a-thinking, like
the rest. We left them so.
Most of the common lobsters were in their caves, from
which they watched this meeting of the reds with fixed at-
tention.
In their dark-blue coats, peering with their keen eyes
from behind jutting rocks and the mouths of sea caverns,
they looked somewhat like smuggler sailors!
Tanks 10 to 13 have fish in them. The Wrasses are very
beautiful in colour. Most gorgeous indeed, if you can look at
them in a particular way. Tank 32 has been made on purpose
to display them. It is in another room.
No tank in the Aquarium is more popular than Tank
14. Enthusiastic people will sit down here with needlework
or luncheon, and calmly wait for a good view of—the cuttle-
fish!
Cuttle is the name for the whole race of cephalopods,
and is supposed to be a corruption of the word cuddle, in
the sense of hugging.
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208
They are curious creatures, the one who favoured us
with a good view of him being very like a loose red velvet
pincushion with eight legs, and most of the bran let out.
Yet this strange, unshapely creature has a distinct brain
in a soft kind of skull, mandibles like a parrot, and plenty of
sense. His sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell are
acute. He lies kicking his legs in the door-
way of his favourite cavern, which he
selected for himself and is attached
to, for a provokingly long time before
he will come out. When he does
appear, a subdued groan of grati-
fied expectation runs through the
crowd in front of his window, as
head over heels, hand over hand,
he sprawls downwards, and moves
quickly away with the peculiar gait induced by
having suckers instead of feet to walk with.
Tank 15 contains eels. It seems to be a curious fact that
fresh-water eels will live in sea-water. I should think, when
they have once got used to the salt, they must find a pond
very tasteless afterwards. They are night-feeders, as school-
boys know well.
Tank 16. Fish—grey mullet. Tank 17. Prawns.
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If with the fishes we had felt with friends, and with the
lobsters as if with hobgoblins, with the prawns we seemed to
find ourselves among ghosts.
A tank that seems only a pool for a cuttle-fish, or a cod,
is a vast region where prawns and shrimps are the inhabit-
ants. The caves look huge, and would hold an army of them.
The rocks jut boldly out, and throw strange shadows on the
pool. The light falls effectively from above, and in and out
and round about go the prawns, with black eyes glaring from
their diaphanous helmets, in colourless, translucent, if not
transparent armour, and bristling with spears.
“They are like disembodied spirits,” said my husband.
But in a moment more we exclaimed, “It’s like a scene
from Martin’s mezzo-tint illustrations of the
Paradise Lost
.
They are ghostly hosts gathering for battle.”
This must seem a most absurd idea in connection with
prawns; but if you have never seen prawns except at the
Uni-Corpse
The narwhale gets its name from the Old Norse
meaning “corpselike whale.” It is also known as the Sea
Unicorn, owing to the great tusk that grows from its
upper jaw.
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210
breakfast-table, you must go to the Great Aquarium to learn
how impressive is their appearance in real life.
The warlike group which struck us so forcibly had gath-
ered rapidly from all parts of the pool upon a piece of fat
table-rock that jutted out high up. Some unexplained excite-
ment agitated the host; their innumerable spear-like anten-
næ moved ceaselessly. From above a ray of light fell just upon
the table-rock where they were gathered, making the waving
spears glitter like the bayonet points of a body of troops, and
forming a striking contrast with the dark cliffs and overshad-
owed water below, from which
stragglers were quickly gather-
ing, some paddling across the
deep pool, others scrambling
up the rocks, and all with the
same fierce and restless ex-
pression.
How I longed for a chance
of sketching the scene!
Prawns are not quite such
colourless creatures in the sea
as they are here. Why they lose their colour and markings in
captivity is not known. They seem otherwise well.
They are hungry creatures, and their scent is keen.
From above a ray of
light fell just upon the
table-rock where they
were gathered, making
the waving spears glitter
like the bayonet points of
a body of troops.
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211
The shrimps keep more out of sight; they burrow in the
sand a good deal. You know one has to look for fresh-water
shrimps in a brook if one wants to find them.
In Tank 18 are our old friends the hermit-crabs. As a
child, I think I believed that these curious creatures killed
the original inhabitants of the shells which they take for
their own dwelling. It is pleasant to know that this is not the
case. The hermit-crab is in fact a sea-gentleman, who is so
unfortunate as to be born naked, and quite unable to make
his own clothes, and who goes nervously about the world,
trying on other people’s cast-
off coats till he finds one to
fit him.
They are funnily fastidi-
ous about their shells, feel-
ing one well inside and out
before they decide to try it,
and hesitating sometimes be-
tween two, like a lady between
The hermit-crab is in
fact a sea-gentleman,
who is so unfortunate
as to be born naked, and
quite unable to make his
own clothes.
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212
a couple of becoming bonnets. They have been said to be
pugnacious; but I fancy that the old name of soldier-crabs
was given to them under the impression that they killed the
former proprietors of their shells.
With No. 18 the window tanks come to an end.
In two other rooms are a number of shallow tanks open
at the top, in which are smaller sea-anemones, star-fish, more
crabs, fishes, &c., &c.
Blennies are quaint, intellectual-looking little fish;
friendly too, and easy to be tamed. In one of Major Holland’s
charming pap
ers in
Science Gossip
he speaks of a pet blenny
of his who was not only tame but musical. “He was exceed-
ingly sensitive to the vibrations of stringed instruments; the
softest note of a violin threw him into a state of agitation,
and a harsh scrape or a vigorous
staccato
drove him wild.”
In Tank 34 are gurnards, fish-gentlemen, with exquisite
blue fins, like peacock’s feathers.
No. 35 contains dragonets and star-fish. The dragon-
ets are quaint, wide-awake little fish. I saw
one snap at a big, fat, red star-fish, who
was sticking to the side of a rock. Why
the dragonet snapped at him I have no idea.
I do not believe he hurt him; but the star-
fish gradually relaxed his hold, and fell
slowly and helplessly on to his back; on
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213
which the dragonet looked as silly as the Sultan of Casgar’s
purveyor when the hunchback fell beneath his blows. An-
other dragonet came hastily up to see what was the matter;
but prudently made off again, and left the star-fish and his
neighbour as they were. I waited a long time by
the tank, watching for the result; but in vain.
The star-fish, looking abjectly silly, lay with his
white side up, without an effort to help him-
self. As to the dragonet, he stuck out his nose,
fixed his eyes, and fell a-thinking. So I left them.
They're All Legs
A starfish has a hard back, but its white underbelly
actually functions as eyes, mouth, stomach, and legs.
When upright, starfish use the little tube-feet pro-
truding from their underbellies to move by filling the
feet with water, then pushing the water out to propel
them off of rocks. starfish also have photosensitive
eyespots and two mouths on each arm. Each mouth
is lined with digestive glands that can begin to break
down foods. Nerves surround the starfish esophagus
(in the middle of the underbelly) and the tubes on
the legs.
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214
In Tank 38 are some Norwegian lobsters; red and white,
very pretty, and differing from the English ones in form as
well as colour.
The green anemones in Tank 33 are very beautiful.
The arrangement of most of these tanks is temporary. As
some sea-gentlemen are much more rapacious than others,
and as some prey upon others, the arranging of them must
have been very like the old puzzle of the fox, the goose, and
the bag of seed. Then when new creatures arrive it necessi-
tates fresh arrangements.
There is not much vegetation as yet in the tanks, which
may puzzle some people who have been accustomed to bal-
ance the animal and vegetable life in their aquaria by intro-
ducing full-grown sea-weeds. But it has been found that
these often fail, and that it is better to trust to the weeds
which come of themselves from the action of light upon the
invisible seeds which float in all sea-water.
The pools are also kept healthy by the water being kept
in constant motion through the agency of pipes, steam-
engines, and a huge reservoir of sea-water.
It is not easy to speak with due admiration of the scien-
tific skill, the loving patience, the mindfulness of the public
good which must have gone to the forming of this Public
Aquarium. With what different eyes must innumerable
Aunt Judy’s Aquarium
215
“trippers” from the less-educated masses of our people look
into tide pools or crab holes, during their brief holiday at the
seaside, if they have previously been “trippers” to the Crystal
Palace, and visited the Great Aquarium.
Let us hope that it may stir up some sight-seers to be
naturalists, and some naturalists to devote their powers to
furthering our too limited friendship with the sea-gentry.
How much remains to be done may be gathered from the
fact that we can as yet keep no deep-sea Merrows in aquaria,
only shore-dwellers will live with us, and not all of these.
And so insuperable, as yet, are the dificulties of transport,
that “distinguished foreigners” are
rare indeed.
Still, as it stands, this Great
Aquarium is wonderful—won-
derful exceedingly. There is a still
greater one at Brighton, holding
greater wonders—a baby alligator
amongst them—and we are very
glad to hear that one is to be estab-
lished in Manchester also.
It has been well said that a love of nature is a strong
characteristic even of the roughest type of Britons.
An Englishman’s first idea of a holiday is to get into the
Still, as it
stands, this
Great Aquarium
is wonderful—
wonderful
exceedingly.
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216
country, even if his second is apt to be a search for the coun-
try beer-house.
Of birds, and beasts, and trees, and flowers, there is a
good deal even of rustic lore. Of the wonders of the deep we
know much less.
Thousands of us can sing with understanding,
O Lord, how manifold are thy works! In wisdom
hast thou made them all. The earth is full of
Thy riches.
Surely hereafter more of us shall swell the anti-
phon,
So is the great and wide sea also, Wherein are
things creeping innumerable, Both small and
great beasts.
Aunt Judy’s Aquarium
217
Note.
—A Great Aquarium (and something more) is be-
ing made at Naples by a young German naturalist—Dr.
Dohrn, of Stettin—at an expense of between £7000 and
£8000, nearly all of which comes out of his own pocket. The
ground-floor of the building (an area of nearly eight thou-
sand square feet) is to hold the Great Aquarium. It is hoped
that the money obtained by opening this to the public will
both support the Aquarium itself, and do something towards
defraying the expenses of the upper story of the Zoological
Station, as it is called. This will contain a scientific library,
including Dr. Dohrn’s own valuable private collection, and
tables for naturalists to work at, furnished with necessary
appurtenances, including tanks supplied with a constant
stream of sea-water. Sea-fishing and dredging will be carried
on in connection with the establishment, to supply subjects
for study. Dr. Dohrn proposes to let certain of these tables to
governments and scientific societies, who will then have the
privilege of giving certificates, which will enable their natu-
ralists to enjoy all the benefits of the institution.
Surely some new acquaintances will be made among the
sea-gentry in this paradise of naturalists!
219
As we know, if one looks, one will see the influence of mer-
folk throughout
our modern era. The following are sug-
gested ways to make your life more aquatic. You’ll find movie
recommendations, shopping guides, suggested reading, and
resources for further research on mer-folk.
Mermaid Movie Madness
Looking for a mermaid fix for a rainy day? Here are some of
my favorite mermaid movies.
Splash
(the 1988 hit)
Daryl Hannah’s iconic crimped waves are still synonymous
with mermaid costumes. And better yet, check out the
T
HE
T
AIL
E
ND
OF
T
HIS
B
OOK
Among the Mermaids
220
movie that
Splash
was based on, the 1948 film,
Mr. Peabody
and the Mermaid.
A drunk newlywed, played by William
Powell, captures and keeps a mermaid in his own pool! Parts
of it were filmed in the famous springs of Weeki Wachee,
Florida.
The Little Mermaid (the Disney version)
I don’t think I need to tell you too much about this movie, as
it is a mainstay in the mermaid-lover’s cabinet. Who doesn’t
love the feisty, redheaded Ariel and her merry band of
friends? Of course, I’ve always loved Ursula, the Sea Witch,
the most.
Aquamarine
Basically
The Little Mermaid
with a twist.
Lady in the Water
This one is not for the kids! But if you like the darker side
of mer-myths, watch this one with the lights off. And maybe
with a friend.
The Secret of Roan Inish
This story is actually about selkies, the Irish creatures that
are half seal, half human.
The Tail End of This Book
221
Night Tide
This 1961 thriller stars Dennis Hopper!
Miranda
Another 1948 mermaid movie, this British comedy features a
mischievous mermaid who was caught by a fishing vacationer.
Mission of Mermaids
Susan Rockefeller’s forthcoming documentary,
Mission of
Mermaids,