Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-04-02
ALIKE IN ALL THINGS
The Remarkable Resemblance Be-
tween Two Brothers.
THEIR MANY AMUSING EXPERIENCES
Curious Mistakes That Grow Out
Of the Great Similarity.
COMEDY IN REAL LIFE

Written for The Evening Star.
There are living in Michigan today two
men so alike in form and feature that
| their wives and children have great diff
Guilty in telling them apart For this rea-
| son their lives have been filled with Incl
] dents that it is the privilege of very few
| pers ons in the world to experience. and
/ every day adds to the queer happenings.
These men are William Hisey of Sparta.
| Mich, and James Hisey Of Yale, Mich.
Each is in the milling business, and, oddly
| enough, each mas achieved the same degree
| of success in life.
| 1t Is often the case where nature plays
SO queer prank as to make children ex-
| actly alike that as the years come to
| them and environment differs the faces Of
| the two become dissinhilar to such ex-
| tent as to render it comparatively easy to
distinguish one from the other. In the case
| of the Hiseys. however. the lines of their
| lives have fallen in almost similar places,
| and, their tastes being largely the same,
| their characters have developed in much
the same fashion. The result of all this is
that the resemblance of childhood is just
as strongly evident il the years of ma
| turity.
The following narratives written by the
| twins, are unvarnished statements of fact.
| They are given just the writers penned
| them. The first is that of William Hisey
| of Sparta.
William Hisey's Story.
MY twin brother and 1 look so much
alike that not one person out Of a thousand
can tell us apart. We were born near
Stouffville, Can, on farm. We were al
ways together, both at home and at school,
always dressed alike and weighed the same.
| We were exactly the same height, our
| voices were precisely alike, and, to make
the resemblance more perfect so far as
| other people were concerned, we each had
| a peculiar cough.
| when we were boys our ambition was
| to learn the miller's trade, and we have
| both gratified it. We remained at home
| until 1873, when we went to the town of
| 1ngerSoll Ont, to learn the miller's trade.
| We began work the same day, but in differ
| ent mills, and there was not a soul in the
| town who could tell apart. Farmers
| would go to one mill and then to the other
| and would be puzzled to find what seemed
to be the same miller in two different
places, each of whom told them he had
| been there at the same time.
| when we went out in the evening in
company we had more fun than l can tell
you. Even our most intimate friends in
| Ingersoll could not tell us apart 1t would
| often happen that each would take a
young lady to a party. After we were all
| in enc room, neither of the girls could tell
| which one of us she had come with. Often
| We would make some excuse and leave the
| ladies we were with for a moment and
| Grange partners. The girls would not know
F., 1t, and one of them would talk on subject
to me which 1 knew nothing about, as it
| Was something she had been discussing
with my brother. 1 would carry on the
conversation as best l could, and then I
she wanted to. After awhile 1 would tell
| her of the change.
Droll Mistakes.
"In 1877 left Ingersoll and settled down
| at Memphis, Mich. 1 soon got acquainted
with the yourg people, and after being
there more than a year, became engaged to
| a young lady. A few weeks before the
| wedding my brother paid me visit, and
for the life of her my sweetheart could not
tell us apart at ALL nor could her people
| When she wanted to talk over the arrange
ments for the wedding, she would talk with
| my brother almost often as she did with
me. She used TO try to make me promise
| not to let her make such mistakes, and in
some way let her know which was which
| But 1t was too much fun for us. The even
ing of our wedding day We had large
| company, as our guests, and my wife was
| in perfect misery because she did not know
which was her hubby when she saw him.
| I'VE have had three children. Our little
| boy was seven years old when he died. and
he would often make mistakes when my
| brother and 1 were together, for since we
| have been men we have dressed alike, Just
We did when we were boys. My little
4 cir. was six years old before she could tell
which of us was her papa when we were
together. Each of US would say, Come to
| papa and she would have to look and
study to find out which was really papa
and then would sometimes make mistake
MY wife had an aunt living near us, who
Lad known me for four or five years. My
| brother came to visit us, and We all went
| over to see the aunt. My brother went in
| to the house first, and introduced me as
the stranger. My aunt inquired how ]
liked it i'll Michigan, and about things in
general, and did not know the truth at all
| At the same time 1 had a bad tooth, and
went to a del.tist to get it filed. After he
had examined the tooth he went into an
| adjoining roc m to get something, when my
brother and l changed places. When the
der fist came out again, and started to fix
the tooth, you can imagine his astonish-
ment to find no hollow tooth there at all.
Similarly Afflicted.
Both my brother and myself are afflict-
ed with rheumatism in our feet, knees
hands and shoulders. In the winter of 1892
We went to Hot Springs, Ark, for treat
ment The doctors there made many mis-
takes in making examinations and even
the coiored attendants in the bath houses
| would often declare, when one OF us asked
| attention, that he had already been attend
ed to. A curious fact about this rheuma-
tism Is that while We are two of a family
OF twelve children, we are the only ones
| afflicted with this trouble. Our mother has
| it, and my brother and think 1t must be a
| joint Inheritance from her.
"A few weeks ago my brother paid me a
visit here at Sparta, and whenever he went
up town people would stop him and ask
him questions about my business and other
personal matters, people who never saw
him before. When we are talking and INV
wife is in an adjoining room, she has to
come into the room where we are to know
| which OF us 1t Is that is talking SO near
| alike are our voices A suit of clothes ma de
for one of us will exactly fit the other Both
OF us are turning gray exactly alike. Both
OF US walk exactly alike. and even today
our older sisters can hardly tell us apart,
sometimes utterly falling to do so.
| 1.-The only thing that we differ in Is poll
| tics have always voted the straight re-
publican ticket, while my brothsr Is a
| strong democrat I think could write a
book on our lives and all the fun we have
I had"
What james Hisey Says.
1 In the matter Of his experiences James