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The weeping, explained Dr. Harry, who kept Eugenie company, is only the dugong's way of keeping its eyes moist when it is out of water. During the flight, he wiped away her tears every few minutes with his pocket handkerchief. Once installed in her 2,800-gallon tank at the Steinhart Aquarium, Eugenie wept no more. At week's end, she was chewing contentedly on eelgrass and seaweed, rising to the surface every three to five minutes to gulp fresh air and peer shortsightedly at the tourists and TV cameras that have made Eugenie the Dugong more of a celebrity than any mermaid.