Page:The fairy tales of science.djvu/143



youth! What would we not give for a glimpse of a live mermaid, especially if she happened to be as beautiful as the submarine lady portrayed by our artist! We do not wonder to see you peering over the rocks so earnestly, but we entreat you to be careful, lest you tumble into the water. The belle of the sea is prettily dressed in her robe of sea-weed, and the star-fish on her forehead is a most becoming ornament. But how would you look in the sea with your clean blouse and collar all wet and limp, with your trousers shrank up to your knees, and your boots full of water? Held tight to the rock then, inquisitive youth, for we fear you would look a pitiable object as a sea-boy!

Would the reader like to take a peep at the home of the mermaid? If so, let him follow us in imagination to the bottom of the sea. We cannot promise him a sight of the mermaid herself, but we