I have propofed in this chapter, as a farther* difplay o f the
Creator’s wifdom, power and glorious oeconomy, to give fome
* account-of the Sea'irnQhRers that arerfound in the ocean, along
the coaft of Norway. Thefe, tho’'th e y , appear not every day,
yet are feen-often enough for our purpofe : for there are many
witneffes of credit and reputation, who haffe 'feen them ; even
hundreds might be produced for each inftance^iif it fhould b e
required;
There are many things belonging to the Natural Hiftofy of
Norway, which are. common in other places, tho’, perhaps, fcarce
with u s ; fo here alfo, are many things common, and well known-
in this country, which, in other places, may poflibly be doubted.
Thefe confederations. were the great motives that encouraged me
to undertake this troublefome> and, in* many* fefpe£ts, difficult
work.
; S E C T . ; I T;
Hiv-Mand, Amongft the many Sea-monfters which lie in the North £ea,
Mcr"“un' and are often feen, I ihall give the firft place to the-Haar-Manden,
or Mer-man, whofe mate is.called Hav-Fruen, or Mer-maid.1 >
* The exiftence of this, creature is4queftioned by many, >'norais
it at all to be wondered at ; beCaufe molt o&Ithe at'coUnts we
have had of it, are mixed with meer-fables,, and may be looked
Fable of a upon as idle tales. - Such is th e ftory: of:a.Mer-man, taken by the
Mer-man. fifhermen at Hordeland, near Bergen ; :wh&b, they fa^fungAn:
unmufical fong to king Hiorlief. J. Ram. See Hiftoryof Nor*
way, p. »4. Such alfo is the; account given-'by Rofenifls, Rrelat.
in vita Frederici II. anno 15773 of. a Mer-maid, that called her-
felf Isbrandt, and held; feverati jconierfations : withna i peafant at
Samfoe ; in which (he foretold the birth of Chriffian IV.and made
the peafant preach repentance to the courtiers; who were very
much given to drunkennefs. According to A. .Bufiaeus, (in his
book cited in Theatr. Europ. T. I. anno 1619) the two fenators;
Ulf Rofenfparre and Chriftian Holch, on their‘return from Nor-
way, in their voyage caught fuch a Me r -manbut ’tis added,
they were obliged to let him go into the water again;; for whilft
* The old Norwegians called the male Hafstrambe, and the: fetnhle Maryge, accord-
ing to Andrew Bulfeus, in his Scriptum Monographum, printed in 01. Bang’s Ufeful
and Inftru6tive Mifcellanies, III. St. p. 531, relying upon an old MS. called Speculum
Regale, extracted by Peter Claufen Undal, of which ! have given fome account,
in the preface to the firft part of this work; but I did not know mat the fame extraft
was extant in a copy Buffseus muft have had,. and. much left that the -work itfelf at
large is 'ffiij! to be'feen.amongft Arnse Magnai.MSS. at the univerfity-library in Copen-
hagen, of which I have lately (with pleafure and fuprife) been advifed by a letter from
the honourable B. Lundorph,. counfellor of ftate.
he
he lay upon the decjf/ihe fpoke Daniffi to theta, and threatned,
if they did not give hipi his $berty, that the fhip ffiould be call
away, and every foilliofthe crew fhould perilh. This is as idle
as th fe'i^er'i^lq |ie|||r. ipbeSifoch fi£lions .are mixed with the
* of the Merman, and when that creature is reprefented as
a prophet an,4 an,, orator; when they give the Mer-maid a melo-
dlou? TOjOfe a-nd^tellj® that- ffie & a fine finger ; one need not
Fonder that fo,few-people bf fenfe will give credit to fuch abfur*
dities; or .tT^hey-e^eji doul|f-;the exiftence of fuch a creature.
c t. hi.
’ However, w h i l e ^ have no ground to believe all thefe fables, Tke f&to
yet, asj tQ.t^ijexiftence creature, we may fafely give our
afienfc^.to.ic; provided, that it is not .improbable,: or impoflible in
the nature of ^ ^ lg s ^ i^ n d thffi there is no want of confirmation
from creiitWe'5,F ,rfliefl^'f a'hd fuch as* are« not to be rejected.
Roth -thefe prqppfitions1 fhall fhew to be well grounded. But
Rfpqeed, I will, venture to defcribe our Norvegian Merman
^nd^’Mer-maid, as.likewise their "young, called Marfflsete, or
Marmsele. -If. w& judge, of this affair (a priori) and enquire
whether it he: probable,' that we fhould find in the ocean a Fifh,
o r , creature,^ which, .refembles the human fpecies; more than any
.pthfer, it cannot be denied but we may anfwer in the affirmatives
fr9m and resemblance that, is obferved betwixt
various Jpecies of land and fea-animals. It is well, known there
\ are .Sc;a horfes; Sea-cows, Sea-wolves,'Sea-Kogs, Sea-dogs, 8c c .*
which bear a near ■ refemhlance. to the land-animals of thofe
fpecies: tho’ this fhould beallowed as reafonable, yet fome may
make an objection, founded upon felf-love, and refpeft to our own
fpecies, which is honoured with the image of God, who made
man lord qL all creatqrqsj confequently we may fuppofe he is
entituled tc* fuch a^nobile and heavenly form, which other creat
e s muft n o t partake of j according to the words of the poet.
Pronaqne cum fpe£lent animalia csetera terram,
Os homini fublime dedit, <
But the force bf . this argument vanifhes, when we confider
the form of A pes/.and efpecially of the great Baboons o f Africa-f,
and
., * Vera eft vulg^qftjido, quicquid nafcahir-in parte nature' uBf, & in mari efle,
pr*terque multa, quae.iHifquaro alibi. Rerum quidem nOh folum animaliutn fimula-
C*F flipius, Lib, ix. c. ii. This is cqnfirmed by our fiihermen, from their
own (Sxperience, wtekpow nsthmg'Qf ’Pliny’s authority.
|$ 1" Si Vsya fiitebor, qua hiftoricus hatura&V ex fdehueprincipiis'nuflrim charailerem
hadenus