Page 203 - Adventures in shadow-land

her family to that monarch. But she was not a
proper merwoman, being destitute of their pecu­
liar appendage, and being, moreover, related to

the Genii and Afrites of those parts.
But in the chronicle of Abdalla you wiU find

much that is curious and interesting. There you
may read concerning the “ dendan,” that tremen­

dous fish which is able to swallow an elephant
at a mouthful; ands by the way, if you wish to

descend into the sea undrowned, you have only to
anoint yourself with the fat of the dendan. Eut
the difficulty seems to be in catching this monster,

who eats mermen whenever he can find them.
You, however* are in no danger even if you hap­

pen to fall in his way, for he’ dies u whenever he
hears the voice of a son of Adam,” So if you

should fall in with a dendan, you have only to
scream at the top of your voice and be quite safe*

But concerning these wonders and many more 1
have no lime to write, seeing that if you can get
the book you can read it for yourself.

Now there are just as many mermen and mer­

maids along the American coasts as there are any­
where else, though they very seldom show them­