I know I said the next time that I checked back in that I would have information and updates on digital history tools. But those of you who know me will not be surprised to know that I have a penchant for chasing rabbit holes when they present themselves, and sometimes these research detours result in some enchanting finds.
This time it is the Penny London Post from 1747 that states:
We hear from the North that some days ago, a Sea Creature, known by the name of Maremaid, which has the Shape of a human Body from the Trunk, but below is wholly Fish, was carried some Miles up the Water of Devron.
Mind you, I wasn’t looking for mermaids, but sometimes they surface when least expected.
No, she just appeared like a reflection of a ripple on the water, existing just after an account that explained how several men escaped from Cannongate Tollbooth, and leaving very little behind to prove she was ever really there at all. (In my mind ‘it’ is a ‘she,’ though the evidence does not expound on the gender of this mythical beauty. If only we could call out to the past and ask for a bit more clarification. Ah, well, I suppose that is what makes research exciting.)
Hmm, maybe she led the men to freedom along a stream near Cannongate…
Now…how to pull myself out of the mermaid hole I find myself in…