The only word that can describe the appearance of such a libel on womanhood is “hideous.”     Anatomists have never been able to imagine how the mermaid could exist, for the whole economy of one structure negatives that of the other.     Yet a modification of the siren of tradition might possibly live under a modification of the conditions that have been attributed to her. Replace the human legs from the thighs downward with two tails and leave the creature only slightly amphibious—no more than the capacity for extended submersion that belongs to Indian pearl divers—and it is possible to conceive of the womanfish not only surviving to maturity in the shelter of ocean caves, but of reproducing her kind after the manner of the human mother.     Science has found many a truth—fancifully distorted, it must be admitted—in the myths and legends which were long regarded as wanton insults to the average intelligence. The Hawaiian Star. (Honolulu [Oahu]), 30 Sept. 1911. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.