The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1869-08-12
Personal Habits Of the SiameSe Twins
BY MARX TWAIN.

| do not wish to write of the per-
sonaI habits ofsthese strange creatures
solely, but also of9ceftain curious de-
tails of various kinds concerning them
which, belonging only to their private
life, have never crept iuto print.
Knowing the Twins intimately, 1 feel
that am peculiarly well qualified for
the task 1 have taken upon myself.
The Siamese Twins, are naturally
tender and affectionate in disposition,
and have clung to each other with sim
gular fidelity Throughout, a long and
eventful life. Even as children they
were inseperable companions; and it
was noticed that they always seemed
to prefer each other'sosociety to that
of any other persons They nearly
always played together; and SO accus-
toned was their mother to this pecu-
1iarity, that, whenever both Of them
chanced TO be lost, she usually only
hunted for, one of ,them-satisfied that
when she found one she Wouldd find
his brother somewhere in the imme-
diate ne giborh6od. y And yet these
creatures were ignofant and niifetter-
ed-barbarians themselves. and the e
offsprings of barbarians, they knew
not healight5 of philosophy. and.asci-
ence. What whitening rebuke lis
this to our boasted civilization, with
its quarrelings, its ,wranglings, and its
separation of brothers!
AS men, the Twins have not always
lived in perfect accord; but still,
there has always been bond between
them which made them unwilling to
90 away from each other and dwell
apart. They have even occupied the
same house, as a general thing, and il
is believed that they have never failed
to even sleep together OIL any night
since they were born. How surely
do the habits of lifetime become
second nature to us! The Twins al
ways go to bed at the same time; but
Chang usually gets up about an hour
before his brother. By an under
standing between themselves, Chang
does all the indoor work and Eng
runs all the errands. This is because
Eng likes to go out; Chang's habits
are sedentary, However, Chang al
ways goes along. Eng is ,aFBaptist
but Chang is al Roman fCathoiic; still
to please his brother, Chang consented
to be baptised at the same time that
Eng WAS On condition that it should
notf' count" ., During the Wariothee
were strong partisans, and both fough'
gallantlY. all through the great strug
gle-Eng g onthe Union'side and Chang
on the Confederate G They took each
other prisoners at Seven Oaks, but
the proofs of capture were se> evenly
balanced in favorof each3thaf d gen
eyal army court had to be assembled
to determine which was properly the
captor and which the captiv ve.sTh
jury was unable to. agree fora Ions
time but the Fexea question was e,
nally decided by agreeingsto consider
them both prisoners, and then eX
changing fiem.-aAt. one time Chang
was convicted Of. disobedienee. of or
ders, and sentenced to ten days in th'
guard, house i bat Eng, lin spiteF Fof 81
arguments, felt obliged to share hi
imrpbriiso,nlment,a imp hi notwithstanding h
himself was entirely innocent; ;land s.
to save the 'blanaeless brother from
suffering, they had to discharge bot
from custody-tthhe, just reward o
faithfulness.to
Upon one OCCASION the fel
out about sometlingI and Chan
knocked Eng down, and then trippe,
and fell on him, whereupons bot,
clinched and begun to beat and goug
each other Without mercy. Theasby
ISLANDERS interfered and tried to- sepa
rate them, but they, couldonot do il
and 50 allowed them to fight it out
: Insthe end both, were disabled, an an
were carried to the hospital on on
and the same shutter. <, ii agis,gt '''5,l
Their ancient habit Of going AWAY
together had its drawbacks wheii the
7 reachediman' estate,and entered ur
on the luxury of courting.ao Both fe
!, in love with the same girl. Eachltfie
!
to steal elandestihe interviews wit
/, :, her, but at the critical moment til
y other would lurn up. By-and-by
Eng saw, with tdistMetion,l that Cham
had ywonattie gffPs affections ! an
from that t1lay forth, he had to bea
c with the agony ofbeingi a witness I
!, all their dainty billing and cooin,
But, with magnanimity that did hi