tiful bit of roast as I’d got, too! Where’ve ’ee been? What ’ave
’ee been doing? What ’ave ’ee been sleeping here for?”
Among the Mermaids
44
Lutey raised himself into a sitting position. “Who are
you?” he shouted. “Are you the beautiful maiden come for
me? Are you Morwenna?”
“Whatever are you talking about? You haven’t called
me beautiful for the last thirty years, and I ain’t called Mor-
wenna. I’m Ann Betty Lutey, your own lawful wife, and if you
don’t know me, you must be gone clean out of your mind.”
“Ann Betty Lutey,” said the old man sol-
emnly, “if you’re my lawful wife you’ve
had a narrow escape this night of
being left a widow woman, and
you may be thankful you’ve ever
set eyes on me again.”
“Come in and have some break-
fast,” said Ann Betty Lutey sternly, “and if you ain’t better then
I’ll send for the doctor. It’s my belief your brain is turned.”
Lutey got up obediently and went in to his breakfast; in-
deed, he was glad enough of it, for he was light-headed from
want of food. His breakfast did him good. Before he had
finished it he was able to tell his wife about his adventure the
night before, and he told it so gravely and sensibly that Ann
Betty believed every word of it, and no longer thought his
brain was turned.
Indeed, she was so much impressed by his story that
before many hours had passed she had gone round to ev-
My Husband Will Eat My Children
45
ery house in the parish spreading the news, and to prove the
truth of it she produced the pearl comb.
Then, oh dear, the gossiping that went on! It really was
dreadful! The women neglected their homes, their chil-
dren, and everything else for the whole of that week; and
for months after old Lutey was besieged by all the sick and
sorry for miles and miles around, who came to him to be
cured. He did such a big business in healing people, that not
a doctor for miles round could earn a living. Everyone went
to old Lutey, and when it was found that he had power over
witchcraft, too, he became the most important man in the
whole country.
Lutey had been so rude and rough to the mermaiden
when he parted from her, that no one would have been
surprised if she had avenged herself on him somehow, and
punished him severely. But no, she
was true to all her promises. He got
all his wishes, and neither he nor
his descendants have ever come to
want. Better far, though, would it
have been for him had it been oth-
erwise, for he paid dearly enough
for his wishes in the end.
Nine years from that very time,
on a calm moonlight night, Lutey,
Better far, though,
would it have been
for him had it been
otherwise, for he
paid dearly enough
for his wishes in
the end.
Among the Mermaids
46
forgetting all about the mermaid and her threats, arranged
to go out with a friend to do a little fishing. There was not a
breath of wind stirring, and the sea was like glass, so that a
sail was useless, and they had to take to the oars. Suddenly,
though, without any puff of wind, or anything else to cause
it, the sea rose round the boat in one huge wave, covered
with a thick crest of foam, and in the midst of the foam was
Morwenna!
Morwenna! As lovely as ever, her arms outstretched, her
clear green eyes fixed steadily, triumphantly on Lutey. She
did not open her lips, or make a sign, she only gazed and
gazed at her victim.
For a moment he looked at her as though bewildered,
then like one bereft of his senses by some spell, he rose in
the boat, and turned his face
towards the open sea. “My
time is come,” he said solemnly
and sadly, and without an-
other word to his frightened
companion he sprang out of
the boat and joined the mer-
maid. For a yard or two they
swam in silence side by side,
then disappeared beneath the
For a yard or two they
swam in silence side by
side, then disappeared
beneath the waves, and
the sea was as smooth
again as though nothing
had happened.
My Husband Will Eat My Children
47
waves, and the sea was as smooth again as though nothing
had happened.
From that moment poor Lutey has never been seen, nor
has his body been found. Probably he now forms one of the
pieces of statuary so prized by the mermaiden, and stands
decked with sea-blossoms, with gold heaped at his feet. Or,
maybe, with a pair of gills slit under his chin, he swims about
in their beautiful palaces, and revels in the cellars of ship-
wrecked wines. The misfortunes to his family did not end,
though, with Lutey’s disappearance, for, no matter how care-
ful they are, how far they live from the sea, or what
precautions they take to protect themselves,
every ninth year one of old Lutey’s
descendants is claimed by the sea.
Lady of the Lake
If only Lutey had known the following story, he might have
known the mermaid’s trickery: she seems decidedly more in
control of her husband and her own fate than Lutey’s mer-
maid would have had him believe. In this early Celtic tale
about a mermaid-like creature of the lake, a loving groom is
put to ruin by his own unnecessary “roughness.”
Among the Mermaids
48
A young man walking by the side of a lake saw a beauti-
ful woman. At first he thought she was swimming, but he
soon saw that she was walking on the water. She came to-
wards the man with a smile, and he stood before her para-
lyzed by awe. All he had with him was the bread he’d been
eating, so, in a fustered state of love at first sight, he offered
it to her. “Hard baked bread will never win me,” she said, van-
ishing back into the lake.
My Husband Will Eat My Children
49
The next day, the man returned with unbaked bread, but
the woman told him, “Unbaked bread will never win me,”
and disappeared again.
Undeterred, the man returned a third time and offered
the lady of the lake soft-baked bread. She accepted the bread
and, in rapture, he asked for her hand. She demurred at first,
then accepted on one condition: if he were to strike her three
times she would leave him forever.
The young man was overcome with joy, but his bride
vanished back into the lake. An old man appeared in her
place, and told the man that the woman was
his daughter. “If you wish to marry her,” he
said, “you must know which she is.” Then he
waved his hand and on t
he water appeared two
women exactly like the love of the young man. In
despair, he realized that he could not tell them apart—until
one put her foot slightly forward. The women had tied their
shoes in different ways, and immediately the man recalled to
his mind a perfect vision of the foot he had the day before
admired and longed to kiss. He picked his bride out from the
pair, and her father agreed to the wedding.
The man married his bride and took her, with a hand-
some dowry, to live. One day, they were meant to go to a
christening, but the lady of the lake complained that she did
not want to go. He hit her playfully with one of her gloves,
Among the Mermaids
50
saying, “Come, love, we must go.” She reminded him of his
promise never to strike her.
Months later, the couple was at a wedding and lady of
the lake wept. “What’s wrong?” asked her husband. She an-
swered, “When one marries, one enters into trouble.”
The man was distressed by this and slapped her lightly
on the back, telling her not to feel so dark. She looked at him
and said, “You have struck me twice now. Do not do it again.”
Years later, when the couple’s children were adults, the
man and his lake lady attended a funeral. She sat beside him
with a small smile, humming quietly. “What is the matter
with you?” he asked, touching his wife’s shoulder. “Why are
you happy now, of all times?”
“When people die,” she told him, “they leave their trou-
bles.” Then she stood and told him, “You have struck the
third blow. I must leave you now.”
The lake lady walked from the funeral back to her lake,
followed by the livestock that had been her dowry. All van-
ished into the lake in a mist.
My Husband Will Eat My Children
51
Mermaid Legends
Early in history, mermaids were often associated with herb-
alists and healers. Many nineteenth-century European de-
pictions of mermaids show them offering medicinal herbs
to land-bound men (for example, Arthur Hacker’s “Maiden
of the Sea”). In fact, some believe that mermaids were killed
during the witch hunts because of their power as healers.
This association could come from coastal, sea-diving women
who lived a hunter-gatherer life, learning more about the re-
sources of the land and botany than their sedentary, agricul-
tural counterparts.
Mermaids have also long been associated with fertility.
In African mythology, Yemaya, a mermaid-like goddess of
the water, is known as Queen of the World. The water is her
blood, and since water is also the lifeblood of everything on
land, she is known as the “first mother” and represents fer-
tility. Similarly, Mami Wata is an African mermaid goddess
associated with fertility, healing, wealth, and beauty. She has
a mermaid’s tail and long hair, which she combs in front of
a mirror.
The term Lorelei, a synonym for mermaid or siren, was
the name of one of the “Rhine daughters” in Wagner’s opera
Der Ring des Nibelungen
.
Among the Mermaids
52
Many people believe today that early explorer sightings
of mermaids were manatees. (Scurvy + many days away
from your lady = a blubbery creature looking supple and bo-
dacious.) The scientific name for manatees harkens to these
early beliefs: it belongs to the order Sirenian (family Triche-
chidae, genus
Trichechus
).
In some ancient Chinese fairy tales, a mermaid’s tears
turned into priceless pearls and her
hands could weave beautiful, expensive
material. Fishermen longed to catch her,
but her enchanting songs would drag them
into a coma.
According to other Chinese legends,
mermaids were beautiful bimbos. They were
born with purple tails that smelled of happi-
ness, but if they became sad their tails turned
red and smelled of sadness. As with the siren
mermaids who wept treasures, the fishermen
longed to catch them—and who can blame
them? Beautiful, brainless, and smelling of hap-
piness (whatever that smells like!) has an obvi-
ous allure.
David Ponsonby and Georges Dussart write
of the following legend in their book
The
Anat-
omy of the Sea
: Inuit Eskimo folklore tells
My Husband Will Eat My Children
53
how Nuliajuk (also called Sedna), a little orphan girl, was
left behind when the people of her village left to find food in
a time of famine. She tried to jump onto their raft but was
thrown into the water. Desperately, she tried to climb aboard,
but the people cut off her fingers, which fell into the water
and became seals. Nuliajuk sank to the bottom of the ocean,
where she became a powerful and vengeful spirit, the mother
of the sea and ruler of all beasts.
The town of Kiryat Yam in Israel offers a prize of one
million dollars to anyone who can prove the mermaid off
their coast is real. The contest was started in 2009 after
dozens of sightings of a mermaid leaping from the water!
According to witnesses, the young mermaid appears only at
sunset, performing tricks for her captive audience before dis-
appearing into the water. Apparently, the prize still remains
unclaimed.
The city of Warsaw, Poland, has a mermaid as its official
city seal, called a
syrenka
. This is a freshwater mermaid.
Among the Mermaids
54
Live! Mermaids!
Mermaids have long enchanted land-dwellers (ev-
eryone from hermits to socialites) just hoping to
catch a glimpse of one. In the fifties and sixties, one
of Florida’s most popular tourist attractions was
Weeki Wachee Springs, home of a live mermaid show.
Women performed as mermaids, sometimes swim-
ming with turtles, fish, and manatees. Visitors could
even swim with the mermaids and have their pictures
taken. In its heyday, the attraction lured Don Knotts,
Esther Williams, and Elvis Presley to its doors (and,
I’m sure, a few reluctant but curious travelers, too).
Today, it is a part of the Florida State Park system,
and still offers mermaid shows.
55
For those of us left behind, the vast unmarked grave
which is home for those lost at sea is no consolation.
—THE PERFECT STORM, 2000
It could be argued that the following is not so much a mer-
maid story as it is a creepy creature of the sea story. The
aquatic characters in “Flory Cantillon’s Funeral” aren’t quite
as half-fish as your average known mermaid—they are far
more ghostly and quite a bit sadder, if not dutiful.
“Flory Cantillon’s Funeral” was written by legendary
author T. Crofton Croker. An Irish antiquarian a
s well as
a writer, Croker devoted his life to the collection of Irish
poetry and folklore. His book on the south of Ireland went
through six editions and was translated into German by the
CHAPTER
3
IT
M
OANS ON
L
AND AND
S
EA
Among the Mermaids
56
Brothers Grimm. His most famous story, “The Soul Cages,”
is also part of that collection.
Readers will no doubt be delighted when they find
themselves with Connor Crowe on a moonlit beach, peering
out from behind a rock to observe Flory’s coffin, with noth-
ing but whiskey to keep them warm.
Flory Cantillon’s Funeral
by T. Crofton Croker
The ancient burial-place of the Cantillon family was on an
island in Ballyheigh Bay. This island was situated at no great
distance from the shore, and at a remote period was over-
flowed in one of the encroachments which the Atlantic has
made on that part of the coast of Kerry. The fishermen de-
clare they have often seen the ruined walls of an old chapel
beneath them in the water, as they sailed over the clear green
sea of a sunny afternoon. However this may be, it is well-
known that the Cantillons were, like most other Irish fami-
lies, strongly attached to their ancient burial-place; and this
attachment led to the custom, when any of the family died,
of carrying the corpse to the seaside, where the coffin was left
on the shore within reach of the tide. In the morning it had
It Moans on Land and Sea
57
disappeared, being, as was traditionally believed, conveyed
away by the ancestors of the deceased to their family tomb.
Connor Crowe, a county Clare man, was related to the
Cantillons by marriage. “Connor Mac in Cruagh, of the
seven quarters of Breintragh,” as he was commonly called,
and a proud man he was of the name. Connor, be it known,
would drink a quart of salt water, for its medicinal virtues,
before breakfast; and for the same reason, I suppose, double
that quantity of raw whiskey between breakfast and night,