Democratic Sentinel, Volume 2, Number 24, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 26 July 1878 — WONDERFUL TWINS. [ARTICLE]

WONDERFUL TWINS.

Two Little Girl* Strangely Joined Together [Ftom the New York Tribune.] A pair of twins is now on exhibition at the Aquarium, and is attracting much attention from physicians and others. The two children are girls, and were born Dec. 28, 1877, at San Benoit, a .town about forty miles north of Montreal, Can. From their heads to the first lumbar vertebrae, the children are possessed of perfectly-formed and en-tirely-distinct members, but below that point the bodies become one. There is not the slightest deformity about any of their organs. They have two distinct nets of internal organs and four arms, but only one abdomen and two legs. Each child controls one set of organs, but only one leg. Piercing one leg with a pin will produce signs of pain in the face of one child, while the other will be perfectly free from any sensation. They do not act in While one laughs and plays, tire othe/ sleeps■or cries from hunger. Sometimes they both sleep awake they have the greatest jd&sire to play With each other’s hamts. The features are very regular, and thejfitße of each child is 'very pretty for ajiabyonly 7 months old. The limbs a/U. hs large as those of ah' 'drcfln’tlry, the two bodies grow into one the.bulk is not increased, -but gradually decreases into the usual size. They were'exhibited to a number of physicians on Saturday, who pronounced the pair to be one of the greatest, freaks of nature they had ever seen. They thought the two bodies were merged into one most naturally, and believed the children would live to the average age. The children have been named Rose and Marie.

The parents are Sinn apd Anne Drouin, who were born in Marseilles, France. Their grandparents are still living there. A few years ago Mr. and Mrs. Drouin emigrated to San Benoit and engaged in farming. They are both 26 years old, the husband being four days older than They have only one other child, a girl who is 2 years old, and who enjoys the best of health and., suffers from no deformity. The father is tall and stout. He weighs 180 pounds, is 6 feet high, and has the appearance of a farmer. The mother is short and stout, and weighs about 30 pounds less than her husband. Both parents are of dark complexion. They speak no-Euglislk One chiid.lQoks very much like its mother, while the other bears a striking resemblance* to the father. A very neat cradle and canopy covered with blue silk have been constructed at the Aquarium for the twins. Several elaborate silk dresses have also been prepared for them. Two rooms have been fitted up in the Aquarium for the residence of the parents.