AN OCTOBER SERMON.-In a village not far from Oxford, a sermon was lately preached on a Sunday, from Gen. i. 28, "Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.' "After saying a few words on the nature of the command, the preacher observed, that it was absolutely necessary various parts of scripture should be had in remembrance by his hearers, particularly those passages in which the holy rite of matrimony was ordained, for this holy rite must previously sanctify obedience to the precept; but as the wisdom of the Legislature had rendered the preparations for its celebration difficult and doubtful, he should strive to make them less obscure by reading what the law enjoined to be read-viz. the Act to prevent Clandestine Marriages, and by explaining those parts which most affected his parishioners. This he did to the great satisfaction of his audience.

BONAPARTE.-Kotzebue's son, in the account of his imprisonment by the French, relates the following anecdote relative to Bonaparte's passage through Eisnach, after he had abandoned the wreck of his army in the retreat from Moscow. "I had a letter to the postmistress, a handsome young woman, born at Weimar. She told me, that as she was knitting on the evening before, a man entered, wrapt up in a large pelisse. He laconically wished her good evening, and proceeded to warm his hands at the stove. Such visits were common at first, and she took no particular notice of him. He soon began, however, to make inquiries respecting the damage done by the blowing up of an ammunition waggon, and asked whether those who suffered by the accident had received the money which the French Emperor had ordered to be distributed among them? She related what she knew of the affair. He asked her whether she knew the emperor? She answered, she had only seen him transitorily. "Do you wish to see him?" "O yes!" He then threw back his pelisse, with the cape of which his face was partly covered, and said, “You see him now." The surprise of the postmistress may be easily conjectured. She offered him some refreshment, which he declined.

Meanwhile there was a loud noise at the door, where Caulincourt was caning the postillions for delaying to put to the horses. These gentlemen were on the point of returning like for like, when the postmaster, who recognised the Duke of Vicenza, ran to his assistance. In passing through the office, he found the emperor, paying compliments to his wife, and dissuading her from going to see what the noise was about. He went, however, to the door himself, put an end to the uproar, and then proceeded further on his journey, after very politely taking leave of the postmaster and postmistress. He made the latter a present of a valuable ring."

A SCOTCH ECCENTRIC.-An eccentric Scotsman, of the name of William Gordon, died on the 4th of October, at Gralvanston, near Glasgow. This singular individual, who had for ten years past worn the same coat, patched and mended, and who is said for seven years never to have used soap in washing himself, left behind him an immense quantity of keys, old and new, highly burnished; a hatful of pins; 15 large screws; from 90 to 100 hammers, adzes, and gimblets; a great quantity of bottles and jars; and what may ap pear most singular, a room full of boys' tops, peeries, whips, &c. His collection of sticks is curious. These, with gold and silver watches, are in the possession of his executor. For many years he wore a polished key on his thumb, a gold watch in one pocket and a silver one in the other.

PROFESSIONS IN SPAIN.-(From the Madrid Government Gazette, Feb. 9, 1822.)--[Advertisement.]--" Wanted a Surgeou. In the town of Argete, about five leagues distant from this Court, and containing 350 families, there is a vacancy for a Surgeon: the salary is 7,000 reals per annum, payable by the Corporation, besides which there are three Priests, and the Collector of the Tobacco dues, who pay separately; those inhabitants who wish to be shaved in their own houses pay 40 reals per annum if they require to be razored twice in the week, and 20 reals per annum for those who only shave once in the week.-Applications, postpaid, addressed to the Constitutional Corporation, will be admitted until the 15th instant."

The passion of De Luc, the natural Philosopher, for music was so predo

No. II.]

The Mermaid.

THIS eighth "wonder of the world;' this "frightful monster which the world ne'er saw," until the present year, is now the great source of attraction in the British metropolis; and three to four hundred people every day pay their shilling each to see a disgusting sort of a compound animal, which contains in itself every thing that is odious and disagreeable. But the curiosity to see a real Mermaid, after all the fictions that have been related respecting it, is natural enough-the only point is, whether it is a real one or not; and even on this professional men disagree. This singular creature, which it is reported was brought to Batavia, in the East Indies, from some of the VOL. I.

[PRICE 2d.

neighbouring islands, is in a state of high preservation, and appears to have been so for many years. It is nearly three feet in length. Its head is nearly round, about the size of that of a child two or three years old-its forehead somewhat depressed, and chin projecting similar to the negro. Its teeth perfect, and beautifully set in circular rows; but the canine teeth, as they are called, being longer, project much beyond the others. The cheeks of the face project a little, which, together with the eyes, eye-brows, chin, mouth, tongue, ears, throat, &c. exactly resemble those of the human species. Its head is somewhat bent forward. The spinous processes of the cervical and dorsal vertebræ project in that distinct and regular order, down to the lower part of the breast, that we find in the human subject; when they gradually lose themselves on entering the natural form of the lower portion of the body of a fish. The scapula and arms-the latter of which are of great length-hands, thumbs, fingers, and nails, furnish us with an exact representation of those of a délicate female; the breast bone, clavicles, and ribs of the chest are perfectly distinct, and the breasts, which are now of some size, and appear to have been very large-and nipples, are a tolerable model of those in the human species. Its body appears to be muscular above the chest, and covered with cuticle and hair, dispersed as in the human skin.

The one side of the head is covered with black human hair, about half an inch or an inch in length; but on the other side it appears to have been much worn or rubbed off.

When examining this singular phenomenon, what excited astonishment was, the external covering from the chest upwards to be such a near representation of that of a human being, whilst the whole of the body below was enveloped with the scaly covering of a fish.

Immediately under the breasts, the fishy form commences, by two large fins on its belly, on which it has been represented by those who have seen it at sea to rest the upper part of its body above water; it then tapers off

aud terminates in the tail of a fish, not nnlike that of a salmon.

The engraving we give in our present number is a very correct delineation of the appearance of the Mermaid which has been brought from one of the Molucca Islands. But, positive as some persons are, as to its really being that long-deemed fabulous creature, the Mermaid, we must beg leave to express our doubts-we may say firm conviction that it is an imposturecertainly not the first that has been practised on the credulity of honest John Bull. The fact is, that the lower part is a real fish, of a species found in the rivers of China and Japan, the head and shoulders being cut off, and replaced by the bust of a baboon. We are confirmed in our opinion of its being an imposture by several of our contemporaries, as well as by the opinion of several professional gentlemen. The Editor of the Literary Gazette, in speaking of it, says:

"Our opinion is fixed that it is a composition; a most ingenious one, we grant, but still nothing beyond the admirably put together members of various animals. The extraordinary skill of the Chinese and Japanese in executing such deceptions is notorious, and we have no doubt but that the Mermaid is a manufacture from the Indian Sea, where it has been pretended it was caught. We are not of those who, because they happen not to have had direct proof of the existence of any extraordinary natural phenomenon, push scepticism to the extreme, and deny its possibility. The depths of the sea, in all probability, from various chemical and philosophical causes, contain animals unknown to its surface, waters, or if ever, rarely seen by human eye, But when a creature is presented to us, having no other organization but that which is suitable to a medium always open to our observation, it in the first instance excites sus picion that only one individual of the species should be discovered and obtained. When knowledge was more limited, the stories of Mermaids seen in distant quarters might be credited by the many, and not entirely disbelieved by the few; but now, when European, and especially British, commerce fills every corner. of the earth with men of observation and science, the unique becomes the incredible, and we receive with far greater doubt the apparition of such anomalies as the present. It is curious, that though medical men seem in general to regard this crea

ture as a possible production of nature, no naturalist of any ability credits it after five minutes observation! This may perhaps be accounted for by their acquaintance with the parts of distinct animals, of which, it appears, the Mermaid is composed. The cheeks of the blue-faced ape, the canine teeth, the simia upper body, and the tail of the fish, are all familiar to them in less complex combinations, and they pronounce at once that the whole is an imposture. And such is our settled conviction."

A monthly journal, after giving a long account of Mermaids, and referring to an engraving of the one now exhibiting in London, which, we are told, appears in that number, has withdrawn the plate, in consequence of a subsequent conviction of the imposture. It is, however, a very ingenious imposture, and therefore is worth seeing on that account.

But while we doubt the reality of the disgusting looking Mermaid (as it is called) now exhibiting, we are compelled to acknowledge that there is a host of evidence in favour of the existence of such a creature, both in ancient and modern times. Pliny says, that "the Ambassadors to Augustus from Gaul declared that sea-women were often seen in their neighbourhood." Solinus and Aulus Gellius also speak of their existence.

It is related in the Histoire d'Angleterre, part 1, page 403, that in the year 1187, a Merman was "fished up" in the county of Suffolk, and kept by the governor for six months; it was exactly like a man in every respect, and wanted nothing but speech. He never could be brought to any understanding, of his nature or situation, and at length made his escape, and was seen plunge into the sea, from whence he returned no more.

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In 1430, in the great tempests which destroyed the dykes in Holland, some women at Edam, in West-Freezeland, saw a Mermaid who had been driven by the waters into the meadows which were overflowed. They took it, and (as it is said) dressed it in female attire, and taught it to spin. It fed on cooked meat, but all efforts to teach it to speak proved ineffectual, though Parival says, "it had some notion of a deity, and made its reverences very devoutly when it passed a crucifix." It was taken to Haerlem, where it lived some years, but it ever retained an inclination for the water. At its death it was allowed christian burial.

In 1560, on the coast of Ceylon, some fishermen caught, at one draught of their nets, seven Mermen and Mermaids. They were dissected, and found made exactly like human beings. For a full account of this last circumstance, see the Histoire de la Compaigne de Jesus, part 2d. t. 4. No. 276.

In 1531, a Merman, caught in the Baltic, was sent to Sigismond, king of Poland, with whom, says the account, he lived three days, and was seen by the whole court; but whether he died or escaped at the end of that period, we cannot say. But in some tracts published by John Gregory, A. M. and chaplain of Christ Church, Oxford, in 1650, this identical Merman is described, as a huge animal of the human form, but very much resembling a bishop in his pontificals." A German engraving, of this being I have seen, it is extremely curious.

Georgius Trapanzantius declares that he himself saw a Mermaid, extremely beautiful, rise many times above water; he adds, that in Epiras, a Merman came on the shore, and watched near a spring of water, endeavouring to catch young women that came there; he was caught, but could not be made to eat.

Maillet in his Teliamede, speaks of a Merman which was seen by the whole of a French ship's crew, off Newfoundland, in 1730, for some hours. The account was signed by all the crew that could write, and was sent to the Compte de Maurepas on the 8th September, 1725.

Such are the accounts given by different writers at various periods relative to the Mermaid. In our next we shall give similar evidence of more recent times, reserving for ourselves what we wish all our readers to do, the right to exercise their own private judgment as to its fallacy or truth.

LORD MAYOR'S DAY. The ninth of November, Lord Mayor's day, is quite a saturnalia in London; at least in the city, where all loyal citizens are expected to forsake their usual avocations, and give themselves up to mirth and jollity. On this day the Lord Mayor elect, who is this year Mr. Alderman Heygate, proceeds in great state to Westminster, in the city barge, accompanied by the barges of several of the Companies; and having been sworn into office at the Exchequer, returns in still greater state by land to Guildhall, where a splendid banquet awaits him. Independent of

this feast such liverymen of the several companies as do not attend it, dine at their respective halls.

The dignity of Lord Mayor is the highest office of civic ambition; and although the allowance of the city for executing the office is very liberal, yet it often falls infinitely short of the expense of a splendid Mayoralty, Mr. Alderman Wood, and some others, when filling the office, kept open house, and spent three times the city allowance. Others, however, are more economical, and think they ought not to sacrifice their private fortune for civic pageantry.

The following account of the office of Lord Mayor is abridged from a longer article which has appeared in the Literary Chronicle:

"The city of London always possessed some peculiar privileges, but in the early period of its history, arbitrary monarchs took them and gave them back at their pleasure. In other words, whenever the monarch was in want of a round sum of money, he pounced, for some offence, either real or easily feigned, on the city's rights, which were not to be regained, except at a high price. It is interesting to mark the progress of the office of Mayor, from its comparative insignificance, to its present importance.

"It appears from the best authorities, that the name of Mayor was not attached to the chief officers of the city until the year 1192. Before that period, he was denominated Bailiff: under that title, Henry Fitz Alwyne officiated at the coronation of Richard I. and this same citizen, in the year 1192, assumed, in the first civic record extant, the title of Mayor.

"During the mayoralty of Fitz Alwyne, an office then dependent on the crown, and which he held for twentyfour years, the city first obtained its jurisdiction and conservancy of the river Thames, and a water bailiff was appointed as a deputy to the Mayor. King John was the first who conferred on the citizens the privilege of choosing their chief magistrate, who had hitherto been appointed by the King. Henry III. seems to have considered the city merely as a body for the exercise of experiments of rapacity; for almost every year, on some frivolous pretext, he took away some privileges, which the citizens re-purchased at the price stipulated by the monarch; and on one occasion it cost them eleven hundred marks. They bought the privilege, in the year 1254, of presenting C 2