Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1871-08-24
Double People.

CONCERNING double people, twins
united in an abnormal manner at birth, the
authentic records are numerous, but few
examples must suffice. In 1901 united
twins were born at Szany, in Hungary;
they were christened 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 be-
ing half sideways or diagonal, neither
back to back nor side by side. The two
girls were not equally strong, nor equally
we'll 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, Ger
man, French and English, and afforded
much scope for study to psychologists;
for there was sufficient difference between
them in strength, temper, health and in.
mental as well as bodily 1t was observed,
however, that when one was i'll, the other
became more or less affected with the same
complaint; and it was deemed probable
that their deaths would be nearly stimuli
'aneous. This proved to be the case.
Judith was attacked with a complicated
disease of brain and lungs in 1928, and
died. Helen, who, at the commencement
of her sisters malady was in good health,
soon sickened with her and the two died
ain" st at the same instant. They were
buried in a convent graveyard at Presburg,
aud the particulars of their remarkable
history found admission into the Philo-
sophical Transactions of the Royal Society.
The most extraordinary case Of partial
doubencss on record, perhaps, was one
which was described by Everard Home
| in letter to John Hunter. the great sur
geon; it was a HiLdoo double headt d boy,
born near Burdwan, in Bengal; and the
| degree of sympathy manifested between
the two heads was watched with much in
terest. The particulars are given in the
Philosophical Transactions. There was
another case Of a man named Lazarus or,
ra,hc a double man named Lazarus Jo-
hannes. very attractive to sight seers in
Germany several Years ago There was
much Of curious character in the degree
in which the feeding of Lazarus helped to
iced Johannes without any distinct par
t1cipation of the latter in the eat
ing process. AS the Johannes por-
tion Of the duplex was less fully
developed than the Lazarus, some dis.
cussion arose among the ecclesiastics as to
whether each half had soul to be saved
distinct from the other; it was decided in
the affirmative, and the two names of Lag
arus and Johann 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 appearance of
the Siamese twins, who were exhibited in
London in their youth, and again, short
time ago, in their maturcr years. The
twins are more completely two human
beings than any others we have here
spoken of; for the only physical or organ
lied band of connection between them is
at he two chests When first exhibited
they were not exactly opposite to each
other, but stood side by side. or rather OBJ
liqucly one by another; but this position,
there can be little doubt, was acquired by
the attempts which they had instinctively
made to separate from each other in walk
in, or in lying and sitting down, and by
the extension they had thus effect in
their band of union, which was con>idcra-
b(y more slcud, than in any other yet de-
scrihcd 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 conse-
quencc of this was, that the right limbs of
the one and the left Of the other individu
al were the principal organs OF movement,
and that the inferno dia'e limbs (that is to
Sly, the left Of the one and the right Of the
othcr) remained nearly passive In organic
and animal relation OF life, they ST, M to
be independent Of each other. Each has
his own circulation Of the blood, his own
respiralivc and digestive functions. The
curious. yellow skinned couple were wont
to play at battlcdoor and shuttlecock with
each other: one had a battledoor in his
right hand, the other had one in his left,
and very deftly they tossed the feathered
messenger to and fro -AN the Year Round.
Son Dit' writes in the New York
Mtl: Some friends of ours, detained in
town all summer, are imagining them
selves in tho country by living in two
rooms, cutting off the gas and using kero-
sene, having their meals sent from a NJ Ugh
boring restaurant, and playing croouet in
the back yard They say that it's almost
as uncomfortable as the real thing, snd
doesn't cost near SO much.
"A GAINESVILLE, Wis, merchant entered