date. The following cannot fail of fixing attention, from the various points in which it agrees with the description of the animal said to have been taken in the Gulf of Stanchio. We copy it from a London newspaper: "A letter from Douglas, in the Isle of Man, contains a curious account of two Merchildren lately discovered by three respectable tradesmen of that town, during an excursion on the Calf of Man, in quest of sea fowl. Attracted by a sound somewhat resembling the cries of a young kitten, they found, on searching amongst the rocks, two small marine animals, exactly resembling in their form that species of creature, so often described and known by the name of the Merman. One of them was dead and much lacerated by the violence with which it had been driven on shore, during a violent gale of wind on the preceding night; the other was, however, conveyed to Douglas, where it still remains, and seems likely to do well. It is 1 ft. 11 inc. in length, from the crown of its head to the extremity of its tail; 5 inc. across the shoulders; its skin is of a very pale brown colour, and the scales on its tail are tinged with violet; the hair (if it may be so called) on its head is of a light green cast; it is attached to the crown of the head, only hanging loose about the face, about four inches in length, gelatinous to the touch, and somewhat resembling the green sea weed, commonly growing on rocks; its mouth is small, and has no appearance of teeth. It delights much in swimming about in a large tub of seawater, and feeds chiefly on muscles and other shell fish, which it devours with great avidity; it also now and then swallows small portions of milk and water when given to it in a quill." But though this narrative from the Isle of Man is not a little extraordinary, it is from the coasts of Scotland that we have been furnished with the most circumstantial and determined histories of Mermaids. In a letter from Elizabeth Mackay, daughter of the Rev. David Mackay, Minister of Reay, dated Reay Manse, May 25, 1809, to Mrs. Innes Dowager, of Sandside, it is stated, that walking with her cousin, Miss C. Mackenzie, on the 12th of January, about noon, the sea high, Miss Mackay saw a Mermaid, the face of which seemed plump and round, the eyes and nose small, the former of a light grey colour, the mouth large, and from the shape of the jaw-bone, which seemed straight, the face looked short; the forehead, [Jan. nose, and chin were white, the whole side face of a bright pink colour, the head exceedingly round, the hair thick and long, of a green oily cast, and appeared troublesome to it; the waves generally threw it over the face, and it the waves retreated it threw it back, seemed to feel the annoyance; and as and rubbed its throat, as to remove any soiling it might have received from it. white, the arms long and slender, as The throat was slender, smooth, and were the hands and fingers, the latter not webbed. One arm was frequently extended over its head, as if to frighten a bird that hovered over it. It sometimes laid its right hand under its cheek, and in this position floated for some time. The Sun was shining clearly at the time; it was distant a few yards only,-three other people before frequently combated the asserwere also present on the beach,-had tion of Mermaids having been seen on that beach. This account was corroborated by the publication of a letter from Mr. William Munro, schoolmaster of Thuros, dated 9th June, 1809, regarding a Mermaid seen by him some years before: "About twelve years ago (says Mr. Munro) I was parochial schoolmaster at Reay, and walking on the shore of Sandside Bay, being a fine warm day in summer, near Sandside Head, saw a figure resembling an unclothed female, sitting on a rock extending into the sea, and apparently in the acround its shoulders, and was of a light tion of combing its hair, which flowed brown colour. The figure was so like a woman, that had not the rock on which it was sitting been dangerous for bathing, I should have regarded it as really a human shaded on the crown, the forehead round, form. The head was covered with hair, the face plump, the cheeks ruddy, the eyes blue, the mouth and lips of a natural form, the teeth I could not discover, as the mouth was shut; the breasts and abdomen, the arms and fingers, of the size of a full grown body of the human species; the fingers, from the action in which the hands were employed, did not appear webbed. It remained on the rock three or four minutes, and then dropping into the sea, which was on a level with its abdomen, it did not refeatures, being at no great distance, on an appear to me. I had a distinct view of its eminence above the rock on which it was sitting, and the Sun brightly shining. Immediately before its getting into its natural element, it seemed to have observed me. I had had before heard it frequently reported, by several persons of veracity, that they had seen such a phenomenon, though then, like many others, I was not disposed to credit their testimony on this subject. I can say of a truth, that it was only from seeing the phenomenon I was perfectly convinced of its existence." The length to which this simple transcription of the histories on record has extended this paper, induces us to conclude with the following extraordinary depositions of Catharine Loynachan and John M'Isaac, as to the appearance of a Mermaid on the coast of Kintyre, in Scotland, in the month of October 1811. "In the presence of Duncan Campbell, Esq. Sheriff Substitute of the District of Kintyre, compeared Catherine Loynachan, daughter of Lachlan Loynachan, herd, in Ballinatunie, aged eighty-one and a half years, who being examined and interrogated, declares, that on the afternoon of a Sunday, about three weeks ago, she was herding cattle for her father at the sea-side, on the said farm, and had a brother with her younger than herself: that as she was turning the cattle towards home, and being at the time very close to the sea-side, she observed some creature sliding upon his belly, off one of the rocks very near her, into the sea; that she observed this creature had a head covered with long hair, of a darkish colour, the shoulders and back white, with the rest of the body tapering like a fish, and, as she thought, of a darkish brown colour: that after sliding from the rock, it disappeared under water, but immediately thereafter it came above water again, about six yards further out, and turned about, with the face of it towards the shore, where the declarant was standing; and having laid one hand, which was like a boy's, upon another rock that was near the first rock, it came nearer to the shore than it was; that, at this time the declarant saw the face of it distinctly, which had all the appearance of the face of a child, and as white, and at this time the animal was constantly rubbing or washing its breast with one hand, the fingers being close together. Declares, that, after this animal continued to look toward the declarant for about half a minute, it swam about and disappeared, but in a very short time thereafter she saw the head and face of the animal appearing above water again, and swimming away south, towards the farm of Corphine, but soon after disappeared, and the declarant saw it no more. Declares, that, from the appearance of this animal above water, when swimming south, she thought it was a boy that had fallen out of a vessel that was passing by, and was 39 swimming in shore for his life, upon which she went in a hurry, and told her mother what she had seen at the shore, as aforesaid; the whole of which she declares to be the truth, and that she cannot write." - D. CAMPBELL, Sheriff Substitute. "A young man, named John M'Isaac, of Corphine, in Kintyre, in Scotland, made oath on examination, at Campbel-town, before the Sheriff Substitute of Kintyre, that he saw on the afternoon of the 18th of October, on a black rock on the sea-coast, an animal, of the particulars of which he gives a long and curious detail, answering, in general, to the description commonly given of the supposed amphibious animal, called a Mermaid. He states, that the upper half. of it was white, and of the shape of a human body; the other half, towards the tail, of a brindled or reddish grey colour, apparently covered with scales; but the extremity of the tail itself was of a greenish red shining colour; but the head was covered with long hair; sometimes it would put back the hair on both sides of its head; it would also spread its tail like a fan, and while so extended, the tail continued in tremulous motion, and when drawn together again, it remained motionless, and appeared to the deponent to be about 12 or 14 inches broad; that the hair was long, and light brown: that the animal was between four and five feet long; that it had a head, hair, arms, and body, down to the middle, like a human being; that the arms were short in proportion to the body, which appeared to be about the thickness of that of a young lad, and tapering gradually to the point of the tail: that when stroking its head, as abovementioned, the fingers were kept close to gether, so that he cannot say whether they were webbed or not: that he saw it for near two hours, the rock on which it lay being dry; that after the sea had so far retired, as to leave the rock dry to the height of five feet above the water, it tumbled clumsily into the sea; a minute after he observed the animal above water, and then he saw every feature of his face, having all the appearance of a human being, with very hollow eyes. The cheeks were of the same colour with the rest of the face; the neck seemed short; and it was constantly stroking and washing its breast, which was half immersed in the water. He therefore cannot say whether its bosom was formed like a woman's or not. He saw no other fins or feet upon it but as described. It continued above water for a few minutes, and then disappeared. He was informed that some boys in a neighbouring farm saw a similar creature in the sea, close to the shore, on the same day. The Minister of Campbel-town, and the Chamberlain of Mull, attended his examination, and declare they know no reason why his veracity should be questioned." Ancient Ancient Anecdotes.-Wellesley Family.-Baronets. 40 Ancient Anecdotes, &c. from VALERIUS MAXIMUS, by Dr. CAREY, West Square. (Continued from vol. XCII. ii. p. 597.) commander (Marcus Claudius) having concluded a dishonorable peace with the Corsicans, the Senate refused to ratify the treaty, and offered to surrender the general to the enemy. But the latter having rejected the offer, the Senate cast him into prison, and there caused him to be put to death. Lib. 6, 3, 3. During the war between the Italian confederates and the Romans, an individual of the latter nation cut off the fingers of his left hand, with a view to obtain an exemption from serving in the army. But, though he thus escaped the dangers of the field, he did not escape punishment: for, by a decree of the Senate, his property was confiscated, and himself condemned to perpetual imprisonment in irons.-Lib. 6, 3, 3. In the year of Rome 268, the board of Tribunes (with the exception of a single member) formed a conspiracy to prevent the election of new magistrates in the room of those who were soon to go out of office, in order that the unsettled and defenceless state of the commonwealth might afford them an opportunity to seize the reins of government, and possess themselves of absolute power. But the dissentient member (Publius Mucius) defeated the nefarious scheme, and caused all his collegues to be burned alive. - Lib. 6, 3, 2. In consequence of the frequent robberies and murders committed in Sicily by the numerous fugitive slaves, it was found necessary to issue an order (which was uniformly enforced by the Roman governors of that province) that no slave should possess any offensive wea pon. During the existence of that prohibition, a wild boar of uncommon size happened to be killed, and carried, as a present, to the governor, Lucius Domitius, who, after having expressed his admiration of such a noble prey, inquired, who had killed the creature. On learning that it was a slave, he ordered him to be sent for-asked him how he had destroyed such an animal -and, receiving for answer, that it was with a hunting-spear, he immedi [Jan. ately ordered him to be crucified. Lib. 6, 3, 5. (To be continued.) Jan. 12. Mr. URBAN, YOU YOUR Correspondent, vol. xcII. ii. p. 325, undertakes rather a work of supererogation in advocating the antiquity of the Wellesley family. The Irish," who asserted that Mr. Colley was an obscure man, must have done so out of malice or envy. The antiquity of the Colley or Cowley family is beyond dispute; they possessed large property in Rutland, as existing monuments clearly evince. Sir Henry Colley, Knt. temp. Queen Elizabeth, to whom your correspondent alludes, was son and heir of Walter Cowley, Solicitor-general of Ireland to Henry VIII. and nephew of Robert Cowley, Master of the Rolls in the same reign. Your correspondent is however mistaken, in supposing that Richard Colley succeeded to the estates of his elder brother, Henry Colley, of Castle Carbery; who, by his wife the Lady Mary Hamilton, left a daughter and sole heiress, Elizabeth Colley, who carried the Colley estate to her husband, Arthur Pomeroy, Viscount Harberton. Yours, &c. Mr. URBAN, G. H. W. Jan. 27. SOME of your Correspondents have touched upon the multiplication of the Order of Baronets. The following is, I believe, a tolerably accurate calculation and analysis of those created between June 1796, and November 1822. Country Gentlemen, 74-Army, 44 -Navy, 42-Office, 25-Physic, 14 Law, 12-Literature, 2-Commerce, 43-East Indians, 25-Irish, 35-Scotch, 13; total, 329. I cannot exactly state the number of this order extinct in this period; but it is at least one hundred. When the Union with Ireland is recollected; when the vast increase of the national wealth and population is considered; when the late unparalleled war is taken into view, which added 86 to this honour, in right of the services of the Army and Navy, the augmentation may be satisfactorily and justly accounted for. The highest and best descended families and names of country gentlemen have been proud to receive the honour during this period. Yours, &c. N. S. [ 41 ] REVIEW OF NEW PUBLICATIONS. 1. The Loves of the Angels: a Poem. By Thomas Moore. 8vo. pp. 148. Longman, Heaven and Earth, a Mystery. By Lord Byron. Hunt. 2. HE singular circumstance of two naries of the day, whose style and sentiments are strongly contrasted, being engaged on the same subject, induces us to class these two productions, issued at the same time, under one general Review. It appears that Mr. Moore's Poem, originally different in form, and more limited in extent, was intended as an episode for a work on which he has been engaged at intervals during the last two years; but understanding that Lord Byron had chosen a similar subject for a drama, in the second Number of the Liberal, he determined on publishing his sketch immediately, fest the Publick might suppose, if he followed such a Rival, that he was a mere Copyist. The subject of both is the love felt by the angels for the daughters of men, as described in the sixth chapter of Genesis. The passage is generally supposed to have been erroneously translated in the Septuagint. The public opinion has been considerably excited by the circumstance of these two poets, so different in all the characteristics of thought and expression, entering on similar subjects. All were anxious to see how they would treat the same topics. But we think it scarcely possible for two writers, adopt ing the same materials, to produce more different results. Mr. Moore's language is soft and impassioned, and his metre is always regular, easy, and harmonious, though sometimes it certainly betrays too much art, and cloys by its uniformity. Lord Byron occasionally astonishes by the gigantic scope of his mind, and the sparkling brilliancy of his ideas. He spurns the ordinary rules of art, and launches into the most daring irregularities of metre, suited to the various energies of his towering and intellectual strength. This apparent contempt of all poetical rules frequently exposes him to those aberrations of language, which would not be tolerated in a writer of inferior reputation. The noble Lord, amongst GENT. MAG. January, 1823. his excellencies, has many faults. In the present Poem, he is less blasphemous than in the Vision of Judgment; but he is, as usual, sullen and moody, quarrelling with all he cannot compre "into the heaven of heaven presumes" to intrude. Entering into the mysteries of Providence, he feels himself baffled, and becomes malignant, "in wandering mazes lost." As these two eminent writers will doubtless form the topic of conversation in every society claiming the least pretensions to Literature, we shall at once proceed to our extracts, and present our readers with select passages from each. We will commence with the amorous bard of Erin. Mr. Moore, in his Preface, after some introductory remarks, thus explains the plot. "In point of fact, the subject is not Scriptural-the notion upon which it is founded (that of the love of Angels for women) having originated in an erroneous translation by the LXX. of that verse in the sixth chapter of Genesis, upon which the sole authority for the fable rests. The foundation of my story, therefore, has as little to do with Holy Writ as have the dreams of the later Platonists, or the reveries of the Jewish divines; and, in appropriating the notion thus to the uses of Poin that region of Fiction, to which the opietry, I have done no more than establish it nions of the most rational Fathers, and of all other Christian Theologians, have long consigned it. "In addition to the fitness of the sub ject for Poetry, it struck me also as capable of affording an allegorical medium, through which might be shadowed out (as I have endeavoured to do in the following stories,) the fall of the Soul from its original purity-the loss of light and happiness which it suffers, in the pursuit of this world's perishable pleasures and the punishments, both from conscience and Divine justice, with which impurity, pride, and presumptuous inquiry into the awful secrets of God, are sure to be visited." The Poem is divided into three stories, each of which is a distinct lovetale; the heroes and heroines of which are the angels and the fair daughters of Eve. The following are the open ing 42 REVIEW.-Moore's Loves of the Angels, ing stanzas, which display the " wont- << "Twas when the world was in its prime, Rejoicing, men and angels met "Twixt man and heaven her curtain yet! "When earth lay nearer to the skies Than in these days of crime and woe, Gazing upon this world below. Should fall on hearts of heavenly birth- "One evening, in that time of bloom, Three noble youths conversing lay; And, as they look'd, from time to time, To the far sky, where Daylight furl'd His radiant wing, their brows sublime Bespoke them of that distant world- Like motes in sunshine, round the Lord, The echo of His luminous word! "Of Heaven they spoke, and, still more oft, Of the bright eyes that charm'd them thence: Till, yielding gradual to the soft And balmy evening's influence- Each told the story of his love, Such are the introductory stanzas. The first angel relates his having seen one of the fairest of the daughters of earth bathing in a limpid stream. A violent passion is the result, thus warmly characterized. "Throughout creation I but knew The dull, wide waste, where she was not! [Jan. of his love are described in the most glowing and impassionate numbers. Their loves are mutual: she wishes to learn the mysteries of creation: he imparts the mystical words, which are no sooner uttered, but they "plume her wings for heaven," and she ascends in radiant glory to a bright star, abandoning her weak lover to the miseries of eternal banishment from celestial bliss-the spell having in him lost its wonted power. The denouement of the second story is awful in its effects. The ideas are doubtless borrowed from the ridiculous fable of Semele being consumed in her embraces with Jupiter. Rubi, the second angel, is deeply enamoured of Lilis, who feels a fervent desire to embrace her lover in his deified state. Ovid makes Jupiter previously aware of the terrible result of Semele's imprudent request: but the Angel of Mr. Moore, who is represented as "the spirit of knowledge!" seems quite ignorant of the dreadful consequences. He seems not to possess the wisdom of the Celestials. Petrified with horror, after the fatal embrace, he exclaims with astonishment: "Scarce had I touch'd her shrinking frame, Pure, while among the stars I dwelt- Could follow the fierce, ravening flashes, Black'ning within my arms to ashes! Fresh cup of immortality Is to a new-made angel's thirst! As when they first were round me cast, But, burning, held me to the last- And |