Birmingham state herald. (Birmingham, Ala.) 1895-1897, 1896-08-06
BREAD WINNERS.
How @ Mayfeld, KY. Pair Make a
Living.


Living.
Dame Nature gets in a bountiful,
freakish mood sometimes. She did when
she presented the wife of Oscar Lyons Of
Mayfield, KY, with five babies at one
time last April. Ordinarily it keeps
poor man scratching to look after his
children when they come Sngly, and
when they come in fives it is enough to
drive him to drink or suicide, says the
Post-Dispatch.
But the quintupets of Mr.. and Mrs.
Lyons proved to be a source of revenue
instead of an awful expense The news
spread and people went far and near to
view the youngsters. Almost every one
left little donation and the Lyons fam
lily were raised from poverty to COMPARE
tive affiuence.
One of the children died early in May.
AS the stream of curious visitors kept up,
the parents had the body embalmed and
exhibited it with the four living ones as
evidence of the birth of quintuplets.. A
few days later another died and then
there were three living and one dead
Yet a few days and the dead outnum-
bersd the living. Still the show went on.
Eventually all of the children died and
the parents exhibited the five dead bod
les.
by this time local interest had begun
to wane, and then the Lyonses, dlsltking
to be cut off from source of revenue so
great scheme. II people would travel
I many miles to see the babies, 1t stood to
| reason they would pay to see the show
| If the five babies, even though dead, were
| taken to them. The bodies had all been
embalmed. All that remained was to
| get neat glass case to put them in, have
| some bills printed and secure an advance
agent. All these things were accom-
plshed. Soon the Lyons family were on
| the road and, contrary to all precedent,
al,ore Of a n a a
| for the survivors.
Wherever they went they were receiv-
| ed by great crowds of people. And each
! day all day long a crowd filed past the
| glass case in which lay the five little
| bodies. Everybody looked at the bodies
| and at the father and mother standing
| on either side of the case
| At first there was only a faint murmur
| against this exhibition. But now there
| is much crying aloud in protest. These
| protesters say that the exhibition Is de-
| grading, inhuman and brutal that the
law should interfere and prevent Mr..
and Mrs. Lyons from making a living
| by dissertation of the right of privacy
which is supposed to belong to the dead.
| They say that 1t is a scandal upon ia
| tberhood upon motherhood, upon child
hood and upon civilization.
Mr.. and Mrs. Lyons, however, take a
calmer view of the situation. They say
| that the birth of quintuplets Is great
| ScleHlllc eNeHL dllu that thNy HoNO nv
| right to let their personal feelings inter-
| fere between the deceased children and
| the scientific curiosity of the public
| They urge that the children are simply
| living in state and that the crowds that
| view them are orderly and reverent
| They point to many iIlustrious examples
| both In church and in state. They show
| that the bodies of many great and good
| man have been exposed to view with a
| contribution box at the head of the coffin,
4 ii. a1a raTrf
| say that If these things have been done
| without scandal, why should a scandal
| arise when they do the same thing?
| They insist that this scandal Is partly
| q manifesto ton Of the spirit of discrim-
| nation between high classes and low,
and partly an outburst of envy from
| those who have never had quntuplets.
And they assert that they propose to go
on exhibiting until the public ceases to
come.
Even those who oppose the exhibition
| admit that aside from what they think is
| the essential horror and shame Of such an
| exhibition, the Lyons show Is conducted
| with decorum and propriety. As far as Is
| possible consistent with getting the peo-
| pie out to see the embalmed quintuplets,
| the dime museum and circus features are
| eliminated. The glass case Is handsome
| ly lined and Mrs Lyons demeanor Is one
| of resigned grief Mr. Lyons conducts
| himself with decency also, and If ques-
| toned both parents express a plous be-
| lief that there are five little souls await
| ing them on the fiowery shores of Beulah
| Land, for both Mr.. and Mrs. Lyons are
| sincere believers and of unquestioned or
| thodoxy.
| AS no such emergency as this has aris-
| en- before, the authorities claim there Is
| no law that seems to cover the case. 1t
| seems to be certain that Mr.. and Mrs.
| Lyons will go on exhibiting their dead ba-
bies until the curiosity of the people is
| satiated. They will then bury them in
| one grave and will spend a part of their
| earnings In erecting a monument In
grateful memory of five little ones who
| laid the foundat ion and built the SUPER
| structure of their fame and fortune.
/ And certainly never were fame and for
| tune got by more extraordinary means.
| PROFESSIONAL RAT CATCHER.