Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1871-07-18

DOUBLE PEoPLE.-Concerning double people,
twins united in an abnormal manner at BIRTH
the authentic records are numerous, but q few
examples must suffice. In 1901, united twins
were born at Sanzy, in Hungary; they were
ehristened by the names of Helen and Judith,
and were exhibited for some years in the chief
cities of Europe. They were Joined together at
the lower part of the back, the faces and bodies
being half sideways, or diagonal, neither back
to back nor side by side. The two girls were
not equally strong, nor equally well made; one
had more resolute will than the other, and
settled all questions as to whether to move, and
whittier. Being carefully educated, they read,
recited and sang well, conversed in Hungarian,
German, French and English afforded much
scope for study to psychologists; for there were
sufficient difference between them in strength,
temper, health and intellect to give play to two
sets of forces, mental as well as bodily. 1t was
observed, however, that when one was ill., the
other became more or less affected with the
same complaint; and it was deemed probable
that their deaths would be nearly simultaneous.
This proved to be the case. Judith was at
tackled with complicated disease of brain and
lungs in 1928, and died; Helen, who, at the
commencement of her sisters maady, was in
good health soon Sickened with her and the
two died almost at the same instant. They
were buried in convent graveyard at Pres
burg, and the particulars of their re-
markable history found admission into the
philosophical transactions of the royal society.
The most extraordinary case of partial double
ness on record, perhaps, was one which was de-
scribed by Sir EVeTard Home in a letter to John
Hunter, the great surgeon; it was Hindoo
double-headed boy, born near Burdwan, in Ben
gal; and the degree of sympathy, or absence of
sympathy, between the two heads was watched
with much interest. The particulars are given
in the Philosophical Transactions. There was
another case of a man named Lazarus, or rather
double man named Lazarus-Johannes, very
attractive to sight-seers in Germany several
years ago. There was much of curious char
acter in the degree in which the feeding of Lag
arus helped to feed Johannes, without any dis
tinct participation of the latter in the eating
process. AS the Johannes portion of the duplex
was less fully developed than Lazarus, some dis
cusSion arose among the ecclesiastics as to
whether each half had soul to be saved, dis
tinct from the other; twas decided in the affirm
alive, and the two names of Lazarus and Jo-
names were given in baptism. The men were
alive at the age of twenty-eight, but we have no
mention of their age at DEATH Many of our
readers are, no doubt, familiar with the appear
ance of the Siamese twins, who were exhibited
in London in their youth, and again, short
time ago, in their maturer years. The twins
are more completely two human beings than
any Others we have here spoken of; for the
only physical or organized band of connec-
ton between them is at the two chests. In one
of DIR. Todd's medical works description is
given, which conveys sufficiently clear notion
of the nature of this band to those who have
neither seen the twins themselves nor pictures
of them. When first exhibited they were not
exactly opposite of each other but stood side
by side, or rather obliquely one by another;
but this position, there can be little doubt, was
acquired by the attempts which they had in
stinctively made to separate from each other in
walking, or in lying or sitting down, and by the
extension they had thus effected in their band
OF union, which was considerably more slender
than in any other yet described. 1t was quite
impossible for them to remain always face to
face; therefore their bodies acquired an oblique
direction, in which they also moved. The con-
sequence of this was, that the right limbs of
the one and the left of the other individual were
the principal organs of movement and that the
intermediate limbs (that,is to say the left of the
one and the right of the other) remained nearly
passive. In organic and animal relation of life,
they seem to be independent of each other.
Each has his own circulation of blood, his own
respiratiye and digestive functions. The
curious, yellow-skinned couple were wont to
play at battledore and shuttlecock with each
other; one had battledore in his right hand,
the other had one in his left and very deftly
they tossed the feathered messenger to and fro.
AL the Year Round