Account of the Siamese twin brothers, from actual observations : For sale, only at the exhibition room, Egyptian Hall, Piccadilly.

  • Hale, James W.
Date:
[1829]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Account of the Siamese twin brothers, from actual observations : For sale, only at the exhibition room, Egyptian Hall, Piccadilly. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    JO astonishment at beholding this most wonderful Lusus naturae. Since the opening of the Exhibition, they have received daily, the visits of vast numbers of the nobility and gentry, both males and females, all of whom appear highly gratified at the extraordinary sight, and with the intelligence, pleasing manners, and contented appearance of the youths. It is remarkable that, during six months on shipboard, on their voyages to America, and from thence to England, they never for a moment experienced sea sickness; on the con¬ trary, when others who had often been at sea, were obliged to remain below in their cabins, these boys were constantly upon deck, from morning till night, and would frequently go aloft for their own amusement, even in rough weather, without experiencing the least inconvenience. In their motions the most perfect unanimity is observed, the one always concurring with the other so exactly, that they appear actuated by one common mind, and it is im¬ possible by the strictest scrutiny, when they arise of their own accord, to discover with which the impulse originated. In the necessary employments of life, or in their amusements, they never have been known to pass an angry word; and whenever either wishes to pursue a particular course, he immediately follows the bent of his inclinations, without the least intima¬ tion by word or motion to the other, who nevertheless, always readily coincides, and, without the slightest hesitation, moves wherever the will of the former may direct. Having passed much of their life on the water, they seem more fond of that element than of the land; when in their own country they were frequently accustomed to row a boat a number of miles, and they can also swim with great rapidity. When on board ship, they would often observe that
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