THE TWO-HEADED NIGHTINGALE.

Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser, Volume 4, Issue 368, 30 January 1880, Page 2

THE TWO-HEADED NIGHTINGALE.

THE EIGHTH WONDER OF THE WORLD.

" Silver Pen," writing to the New J Zealand Herald on Nov. 2_, from San Francisco, thus describes the celebrated double woman, known as the " Twoheaded Nightingale":—And now we have a living phenomenon standing preeminently above all other wonders since the days of the Siamese twins—nay, since the days of Noah—and I have not heard of even that respectable patriarch taking anything so wonderful into the Arck as Miss Alillie Christine, the ''Twoheaded Nightingale." Allow me to introduce you to her. Miss. Millie Christine is a colored lady, born consequently of negro parents. She has two heads, four arms, lour legs, and one body. Imagine two women standing back to back, two perfectly developed forms, with pretty necks and arms, also well-shaped legs, and charming little feet ; from the waist the bodies are twain, fastened together at the back by a large piece of extraneous flesh, the one body commencing at the waist and finishing at the commence.'ivs it. <' the dual thighs. As she stands ii, is as though two forms stood before you. sr,;e and except that only one skirt fails from the waist to the knees. The abdomen, instead of being before either of the two faces, is sideways between the two forms, the back »h.■;"■■.•(, i - Millie walks sideways, a- •> : -v -

course. The heads, however, partially face the side, as from a desire to see and speak to one another, and have in a course of years become stationary in that position, thai* is to [say, the torsos have become fixed, the power to turn the head back to back still remaining. Such monstrosities are not, as a rule, pleasant to look upon, but in this case Miss Millie is an exception, as there is nothing unpleasant in the appearance of the " Nightingale." On the contrary, she is a very pleasant and well-educated person, speaking English, German and French fluently, also a little Spanish. It is very curious to hear her speak different languages with her double -mouth at the same time, and though she calls herself Miss Millie Christine, from my own standpoint, I should pronounce this monstrosity twins spoiled by a freak of nature. The head and bust of one is stout and large, exactly resembling the mother ; the other is much smaller, and totally different in features, favoring her father." As she sits down, Miss Millie presents the appearance of two girls squeezing into one chair, as girls often do. The legs move at precisely the same moment in walking or dancing,, though the heads and arms are perfectly independent. The mental faculties also are independent of each other, and everything is double down to*the bladders, after which the sex is one. The lady has two beautiful voices, singing duets charmingly; when warbling a solo the voice and respiration is as one. I had a long conversation with the Nightingale, in which she told me there is never the slightest difference of opinion between her and her double ; they agree in all things, they are hungry and thirsty at the same time, eat the same things, and divide everything, even to a li pea-nut." When alone they converse on all kinds of topics, rarely having a different thought, except occasionally being puzzled as to the faces they have seen. Miss Millie dresses in very pretty robes, with square-cut corsage, demi-sleeves, white kid gloves, and diamond jewelry j the heads are precisely similar in coiffure, and the adorning flowers exact to a leaf. With the lady are two little midgets of brothers, 32 and 30 years of age. The elder, Baron Littlefinger, is a married man with three childran, he himself not being much bigger than Tom Thumb. The brother, Count Rosebud, is a bachelor. They sing beautifully, and go through all the- antics usual at such shows. Large crowds visit the Nightingale, and as she walks about among the

audience, answering the usual absurd questions curious people put to her with unabated sweetness,, one feels an unusual amount of commiseration for her, as she is really refined in her ideas ; but then she makes heaps of money, and many people, to wit, my own little girl, wish they had two heads these hard- times.