Sunbury American. [volume] (Sunbury, Pa.) 1848-1879, 1855-06-16
THE LIFE OLA aIANrESs.

Miss sylvia Herdy the lady now being ex-
Dlted at Barnum's American Museum as the
Maine Gantess," is a woman of peculiar and
remarkable characteristics. She was born in
1928, in the village Of Wilton, Franklin
county, in the State of Maine. Her father.
who Gied at &c. and before she was six years
old, was born in the same village. Her
mother, who still lives, and is now 81, was
born IN Falmouth, Maine. Her grandmother
was born i'll the same town. llergrandiuther
was born in Martha's Vineyard, Massachu-
sets.
Miss Hardy was. at birth, one of the small
est Of infants. DR.. Baker, Of Wilton, who
attended her mother at the time, used to
remark that he had never seen anything
! even Of the twin kind, so diminutive Her
twin brother died at a very early age. Both
together only weighed, we are assured, three
and half pounds.
Miss Hardy remained child Of very ordi-
| nary size until she was twelve years of age,
when she suddenly took to growing with
rapdlty that alarmed her friends and startled
all her acquaintances. AS she had five
sisters, one of whom was older than herself,
all of whom were rather below than above
the common stature Of the sex, her growth
was the more surprising.
At thirteen Miss Hardy was tall. Atfour-
team she was a novelty. AT fifteen she was II
wonder. She increased in this extraordinary
manner until she attainnd her twenty-frst
year, when she remained stationary for about
| four years. During this period of rapid
growth, it was impossible to make her cloth
ing fit her with anything like common accu-
racy. She seemed TO alter each day-She
probably altered each week.
The dress that became her one month was
therefore useless the next and thus, for nine
years, it was necessary TO make her apparel
with superluous tucks and folds in order TO
accommodate them to her condition.
One effect Of this elongating process was,
of course, constant ill-health. She was ex-
cessiyely thin, and could not, under the cir
cumstanccs, become any stouter. She was
so weak US to be almost unable to stand.
Her bones could not strengthen in sub
stance sufficiently fast for their continued ex-
pansion, and so grew painfully brittle. In
attempting to walk, therefore, one day, she
fell 10 the ground and fractured leg serious
ly. Nature however, in the celebrity of her
physical Developments, soon remedied the
evil, and thus the cause subsequently aided
in the cure.
Miss Hardy is now about so years of age.
She has grown about seven inches since she
was twenty-one, and is nearly eight feet high
at the present moment. She weighs three
hundred and forty-siX pounds. is massively
proportioned, robust, matronly in her ap-
pearance, symmetrical in figure, but inclined
to stoop las most people are habit acquired
in her native village, where her gigantic
height subjected her to a scrutiny on tie
part fstrangers, most annoying to her bash
! iul nature.
Her features are large. The expression
other face, if not handsome, is amiable; her
disposition is mild and gentle to q pleasing
degree. Her voice is somewhat course, but
not unmusical. Her move ments are easy
and graceful, although, having never before
left her village home, she is rs yet unsophisti-
Gated in fashionable ways, and moves and
acts with tinidity that little more ne.
qraintance with public life will readily re-
move.
The Rev. VIM. Badger, of Wilton, Or
Barker, DIR. Peaselee, Columbus Gray, Esq
attorney at law, Of the same place, indeed, all
of the respectable portion Of the population
of Wilton and East Wilton, know Miss Iar.
dy well and speak of her moral character in
terms of the highest regard.-She is certain
ly one ofthe most wonderful natural pheno.
mcna Of the age.-PhrenOlogical Journal.