Sea Maiden 2 Beatrice by Robert Kline
Sea Maiden 2 Beatrice
Mermaid art and story by Robert Kline
This Sea Maiden print has been retired and it is very limited in supply. Therefore it is currently available in the following matted sizes: 11″ x 14″.
This beautiful mermaid art print and story are from a collection of Sea Maidens (mermaids), Sea Babies (mermaid babies), Sea Masters (merman), pirates, lighthouses and fairies created by renowned artist and novelist Robert Kline of St. Augustine, Florida. The print is a lithograph reproduction of Robert’s original watercolor and pencil painting. Hand labeled and signed by Robert in pencil, all the prints come with a 1/4″ foam backing and the 5″ x 7″, 8″ x 10″, 11″ x 14″ are matted so all you need is a frame and they are ready to hang on your wall! Each print also comes with an excerpt from Robert’s novel The Forgotten Voyage of H.M.S. Baci. A fantastic saga in which multiple generations of the Roberts’ family explore the seven seas in search of the world’s mermaid and merman population. Thus, you receive the passage from Robert’s novel describing the particular event in which the character(s) in the print were sighted. The following is the excerpt written for the Sea Maiden 2 Beatrice print:
Sir Edmund Roberts’s circumnavigation in pursuit of Sea Maidens continued with enhanced enthusiasm after the first sighting. The voyage’s misfortunes accumulated with at least as much vigor. Hobbs, the crewman who had the first Sea Maiden sighting predictably deserted to foster closer contact with her. Young Billy, the captain’s cabin boy and reported to be enamored of Hobbs, also failed to return to the ship.
To the HMS Baci’s captain’s chagrin and disgust, a quasi-giddiness infected the crew. Suspecting tom-foolery with the rum casks, he threatened to halve the daily ration. Sir Edmund attributed the crew’s behavior to “Sea Maiden Fever” and sought to further enhance it by what he called a dramatic and significant gesture. He offered a gold piece to the sailor who sighted the next Sea Maiden and underscored the challenge by nailing said gold piece to the main mast.
Sir Edmund’s reporting of what followed is at least as telling as the event itself. Captain Fitzwillies’s horror turned to rage as Roberts hammered a rusty spike into his pristine mast. All accounts but Sir Edmund’s relate that Captain Fitzwillie trembled then reddened, then drew himself up to his full five feet, clutched Roberts by the throat, lifted him from the deck and commanded in his foul-weather voice that if Mr. Roberts ever defaced his vessel again, he would leave have him flogged, keel hauled, personally thrashed and set adrift in an provisioned and leaking boat.
The following week, a Sea Maiden was sighted, ending Roberts bout of cabin sulking. Sir Edmund’s journal entry reads:
Wondrous news! We have identified our second Sea Maiden! Previous events were indeed harbingers of good fortune. In a masterful stroke of enlightened manipulation, I offered a reward for our next sighting. While Captain Fitzwillie managed to disguise his enthusiasm, I am certain he is merely reticent to appear over-zealous before his crew.
Without indulging in feminine pique, I must note that our captain is disposed to melancholy. Could it be because he regrets shipping Mrs. Fitzwillie, the infamous Constance Daphne, as his passage mate? The crew resents all 30 stone of her. She blocks passageways. Cleanliness is not her hand maiden.
Alas, perfection is but a myth. I am pleased with our voyage.
Maidenus Splendidus
“Beatrice”
April 6, 1832
St. John’s Rock
Another nocturnal sighting. Appeared “mesmerized” and unaware of our observations. I begin to suspect female vapors afflict Sea Maidens. Medium height. Medium weight. Dark hair.
