In 1812, Mr. Toupin, of Exmouth, published the following account of his having seen a Mermaid: "The day (August 11)," says he, " being very fine, I joined a party of ladies and gentlemen in a sailing excursion. When we had got about a mile to the southeast of Exmouth-bar, our attention was suddenly arrested by a very singular noise, by no means unpleasant to the ear, but of which it is impossible to give a correct idea by mere description. It was not, however, unaptly compared by one of our ladies to the wild melodies of the AEolian harp,* combined with a noise similar to that made by a stream of water falling gently on the leaves of a tree. In the mean time we observed something about one hundred yards from us, to windward.  We all imagined it to be some human being, though at the same time we were at a loss to account for this, at such a distance from the shore, and no other boat near. We hailed, but received no reply, and we made toward this creature as soon as possible; when, to the great astonishment of us all, it eluded our pursuit by plunging under water. In a few minutes it rose again, nearly in the same place; and by that time  we had got sufficiently near for one of the boatmen to throw into the water a piece of boiled fish, which he had in his locker. This seemed to alarm the animal, though it soon recovered from its fears, for we presently observed it to lay hold of the fish, which it ate with apparent relish. Several other pieces were thrown out, by which the creature was induced to keep at a short distance from our boat, and afforded us the opportunity of observing it with attention, and found, to our astonishment, that it was no other than a Mermaid. As the sea was calm, and in a great degree transparent, every part of the animal's body became in turn visible. The head, from the crown to the chin, forms rather a long- oval, and the face seems to resemble that of the seal, though, at the same time, it is far more agreeable, possessing a  peculiar softness, which renders the whole set of features very interesting. The upper and back part of the head appeared to be furnished with something like hair, and the forepart of the body with something like down, between a very light fawn and a very pale pink colour, which, at a distance, had the appearance of flesh, and may have given rise to the idea that the body of the Mermaid is, externally, like that of the human being. This creature has two arms, each of which terminates into a hand with four fingers, connected to each other by means of a very thin elastic membrane. The animal used its arms with great agility, and its motions in general were very graceful. From the waist it gradually tapered so as to form a tail, which had the appearance of being covered with strong broad polished scales, which occasionally reflected the rays of the sun in a very beautiful manner; and, from the back and upper part of the neck, down to the loins, the body also appeared covered with short round broad feathers, of the colour of the down on the fore-part of the body. The whole length of the animal, from the crown of the head to the extremity of the tail, was supposed to be about five feet, or five feet and a half. In about ten minutes, from the time we approached, the animal gave two or three plunges, in quick succession, as if it were at play. After this, it gave a sudden spring, and swam away from us very rapidly, and in a few seconds we lost sight of it." It must be in the recollection of most persons, that in the autumn of 1819, a creature appeared on the coast of Ireland, about the size of a child of ten years of age, with a bosom as prominent as a girl of sixteen, having long dark hair, and full dark eyes. We shall not transcribe the account, as it will doubtless be well remembered; but it may be right to add, for the satisfaction of those who have not seen it, that a spectator endeavoured to shoot it, but on the report of the musket, it plunged into the sea, with a loud' scream. Since this time, we heard nothing of Mermaids until an American Captain and a Bostonian too, Captain Eades, exhibited this wonder of the deep, which is now the wonder of the good people of London, at the Cape of Good Hope. It is said to have been caught on the north coast of China, by a fisherman, who sold it for a trifle, when Captain Eades bought it for 5,000 Spanish dollars. At least so the first account from the Cape stated; but the present possessor of this interesting creature, who certainly believed it to be a real Mermaid, only estimates the whole cost at the Cape and bringing home at 1,000l; so that it is probable Jonathan did not give half the money stated.

Without offering any remarks as to the existence or non-existence of the Mermaid, we may observe, that the question is as far from solution as ever, since it seems to be universally acknowledged, by all persons capable of judging, that the Mermaid now exhibiting is nothing but the head and bust of a baboon joined to the tail of a fish. This circumstance, however, does not appear to affect the exhibition, which continues as crowded as ever.

* Here we have the fiction of the Syrens realized, which none of our Argus-eyed Mermaid hunters had hitherto done. The Syrens, in fabulous history, were certain celebrated song-stresses, who were ranked among the demi-gods of antiquity. Hyginus places their birth among the consequences of the rape of Proserpine. Others make them the daughters of the river Achelous and one of the Muses. The number of the Syrens was three, and their names were Partkenope, Ly-yea, and Leucosia. Some make them half women and half fish; others, half women and half birds. There are antique representations of them still subsisting under both these forms. Pau-sanias tells us that the Syrens, by the persuasion of Juno, challenged the Muses to a trial of skill in singing; and these, having vanquished them, plucked the golden feathers from the wings of the Syrens, and formed them into crowns, with which they adorned their own heads. The Argonauts are said to have been' diverted from the enchantment of their songs by the superior strains of Orpheus. Ulysses, however, had great difficulty in securing himself from seduction.