The Two-Headed Lady, the Double-Tongued Nightingale, the Eighth Wonder
of the World, the Puzzle of Science, the Despair of Doctors, the
Dual Unity.
All of these names has she earned at various times, with the final
title which we claim for her in defiance of any other or others:
The Most Wonderful Being Alive.
There are giants and giants, dwarfs and dwarfs, fat men and women,
living skeletons of both sexes, hirsute monsters and baldheads by the
century; there are marvels of nature, science and art, of all which
the world knows; but there can only be one NONPAREIL, one
UNEQUALLED, and that is the subject of our brief sketch, for
only one living creature is like Millie Christine, and her name is
Christine Millie.
But, says the curious reader, was there ever such another heard of
before?
Only one is on record, attested as a fact, and leaving out of the
question fabulous monsters. The first year of the eighteenth century
witnessed the birth of a similar phenomenon in Hungary, the sisters
Helen and Judith, born in the year 1701. These girls were united at
the lower part of the body only, and were perfectly distinct beings in
every way. Helen was larger, stronger, and better-looking than Judith,
besides being much more active and intelligent. These girls lived
to their twenty-second year, when Judith fell sick and died, Helen
following her within a few minutes of her demise. And all this, you
remember happened more than a century since, so that it takes Nature a
hundred years at least to produce such a marvel again. Helen and Judith
died at twenty-two years of age, while Millie Christine still lives,
healthy and happy, at thirty-eight, and bids fair to attain a ripe old
age as easily as less wonderful beings. The following pages, confined
to a simple record of the facts in her career, will therefore prove of
interest and value.
Miss Millie Christine, or Christine Millie, was born of slave parents,
on the plantation of Mr. Alexander McCoy, near the town of Whiteville,
Columbus County, North Carolina, on July 11, 1851. At her birth her
mother was in her thirty-second year. She was a handsome woman, finely
formed and in excellent health. Millie Christine’s father, of Moorish
descent, slender and sinewy, with the powerful activity characteristic
of his race. Prior to the birth of Millie Christine, her mother had
borne seven other children, five boys and two girls, all of ordinary
size, with no peculiarities of conformation, and some of them are still
alive.
The wonder of the family, Millie Christine, weighed seventeen pounds
when she entered the world, and, although her mother was only attended
by a colored midwife, no serious consequences attended such a
remarkable birth.
But, when the child was once fairly in the world, how rumor flew about
the township of Whiteville, and spread from thence over the whole
country! “Have you seen the girl?” was the first question asked of
every one by every one, and pilgrimages to visit her became all the
rage in the country side.
The old nurse who had superintended her introduction into this world
was doubtless awestruck at the anomalous and wonderful addition she had
made to her master’s property, and not unnaturally prided herself on
having assisted Nature to produce a phenomenon; but the master himself,
and his amiable lady, without stopping to question the designs of
Providence, immediately surrounded the extraordinary infant with such
care and attention as enabled it to thrive and grow. The dual-headed
child was taken from the cabin to the mansion, and Mr. McCoy’s family
commenced then a course of care and attention to her health and welfare.
During the first eighteen months of her life nothing of importance
occurred to Millie Christine worthy of note. She grew as other girls
grow, learned to walk at twelve months old, was of a lively and
agreeable disposition, and at fifteen months began to talk with both
her mouths. She was cheerful and active as any girl of her age, with
every appearance of robust health. Her vivacity and goodness, together,
no doubt, with her peculiar formation, rendered her the almost
idolized of the mother and a general favorite of both old and young,
and every attention and kindness was bestowed upon her.
At this time Mr. McCoy, being a man in very moderate circumstances,
a plain farmer, thinking the girl would become a burden to him, and
annoyed with the frequent visits of strangers to see her, determined
to dispose of her. He was not long in finding for her a purchaser, a
person of the name of Brower, who offered $10,000 for her, seeing the
possibilities of the child in the way of an exhibition. But inasmuch
as this Brower was not possessed of the requisite cash to back his
faith, and only offered to give a note of hand for the purchase money,
Mr. McCoy naturally desired some responsible person to whom to look
for the money in case of the non-payment of the note when due. This
person was ultimately found by Brower in Joseph P. Smith, of Wadesboro,
North Carolina, and Mr. McCoy finally parted with Millie Christine, in
consideration of Brower’s note for $10,000, endorsed by Mr. Smith.
The happy Brower, in full possession of his prize, at once departed for
New Orleans, in obedience to a request from the medical faculty of that
city asking that she be brought there for a scientific examination.
Rooms were taken and every preparation made for the contemplated
examination, after which she was to be placed on public exhibition. It
had been arranged, prior to their leaving home, that their presence
in the city should be kept as quiet as possible, as the desire to
see her would undoubtedly be very great and might interfere with the
examination. This precaution was not strictly regarded, and soon the
rooms and the passages leading thereto were literally besieged with
anxious crowds of people eager to get a sight of her.
The examination, however, at length took place and proved most
satisfactory, every physician in attendance concurring in pronouncing
her Nature’s greatest wonder. Being endorsed by the medical faculty,
she was now put on public exhibition, but from want of proper
management she succeeded but indifferently.
Mr. Brower, being quite ignorant of the business he had undertaken,
despaired of success after a few more efforts. About this time he
became acquainted with a certain adventurer who hailed from Texas and
boasted of his immense tracts of land in that State. This swindler
proposed to purchase the girl by giving for her lands, at a fair market
valuation, to the amount of forty-five thousand dollars, and Brower,
having full confidence in the would-be millionaire, concluded the
bargain by giving possession of the girl, and was on the following day
to receive the deeds in due form. The day arrived, but neither the
Texan nor the deeds were forthcoming, and then for the first time the
unpleasant fact broke upon him that he had been completely duped. To
gain some knowledge of her whereabouts was now his first effort; but
so adroitly was everything pertaining to her abduction managed that
no clue to her, or even the direction she had been carried, could be
gained, and every effort for a time to learn anything of her proved
futile.
Mr. Brower, after weeks of useless search, becoming convinced that, for
the present, further efforts to regain her would only prove useless,
determined to return to North Carolina and impart to Mr. Smith his
loss, and to the mother the sad intelligence of the abduction of her
daughter. Words are inadequate to describe the anguish of the parent on
learning the fate of her child. For a time she was perfectly frantic,
during six days refusing food and for the same number of nights her
eyes did not close in sleep. Her excellent character, uniform kindness
and amiable disposition had made her a general favorite, so that
everything that could be was cheerfully done to comfort and soothe
her mind. She was promised that no amount of money should be spared,
no effort left untried to procure her much-cherished child. How truly
this promise was kept the sequel will prove. Brower and partner were
bankrupt, and Mr. Smith expected no assistance from them. But before
anything could be done to recover the child it was necessary that her
original owner should be compensated for his loss in the transaction.
Christine Millie had been spirited away to parts unknown, and all that
Mr. McCoy had to show for her was Brower’s note for $10,000; and as
Brower could not pay this money his endorser, Mr. Smith, became the
responsible party and accepted the responsibility. He at once paid the
purchase money in full to Mr. McCoy, and took from him a deed which
made him the exclusive owner, under then existing laws, of the person
of Millie Christine. The proviso, “wherever he could find her,” was
of course understood, and in order to quiet the mind of her mother
and convince her that, whenever found, the child would be restored to
her care, Mr. Smith at the same time purchased the father, mother and
seven children, a transaction of course involving a large sum of money,
all of which was dependent for its recovery on the recovery of Millie
Christine herself.
The question then arose, where was she, and if found, how was she to be
recovered, if at all?
Mr. Smith found in the person of Mr. T. A. Vestal of Selma, Alabama,
one of the shrewdest detectives in the country, and Vestal at once
commenced operations, with the assistance of two other detectives, and
ultimately gained intelligence of her in the city of Philadelphia,
though not before the lapse of some fifteen or eighteen months.
Vestal heard from a negro barber, whose confidence he had obtained,
that about a year ago a child answering her description had been in
the city, and for a time had been secreted in a cellar on Pine Street.
The cellar was found, and, through the influence of bribes, it was
ascertained from an old woman still living in a portion of the house
to which the cellar belonged that the child had been carried to New
York. The next day Mr. Vestal started for that city to prosecute his
search, and remained there five weeks. Every effort was made, but no
further intelligence of her could be learned. If any one knew of her or
had seen her there, their mouths were sealed to the influence of money
or persuasion. Mr. Vestal began almost to despair, yet determined not
to yield his cherished object. He had every reason to believe she was
alive, for when taken from New Orleans she was in excellent health. The
papers had been watched closely by him, and no account of the death of
any one answering her description had been noticed, which certainly
would have been the case had she died. From New York he proceeded to
Boston; from thence to Philadelphia, and ultimately to Newark, New
Jersey. There, for the first time, he got definite information of her.
He learned from a man then keeping a drinking house that at one time,
when engaged as a cabman in the city of New York, he had been hired
to convey a girl answering her description to a sailing vessel, the
name of which he did not remember, bound for and ready to sail for
Liverpool; that he had seen the vessel depart, and knew the child was
aboard of her when she sailed. Acting on this valuable information,
Mr. Vestal immediately returned to North Carolina and urged on Mr.
Smith the necessity of following her. Mr. Smith determined to make the
attempt, and accordingly prepared for the journey. Accompanied by the
mother of Christine Millie, he reached New York, took the steamship
Atlantic, and after a pleasant voyage reached Liverpool. There they
learned that the child had been on exhibition in that city; also in
London, Leeds and other places.
Seated in a promiscuous crowd of traders and traveling clerks one
evening, in front of his hotel, her name was introduced, and he learned
that a short time before she had been on exhibition in Glasgow,
Scotland. Immediately they started for that city, but on arrival found
that a short time before she had been taken back to England, and was
then in Birmingham. So to that city they posted, and on their arrival,
to their joy, found she was then on exhibition. It now became necessary
that extreme caution should be used, lest their long-cherished object
would be frustrated on the very eve of consummation. The impatience
of the mother knew no bounds: scarcely could she be restrained from
rushing to the exhibition room and defiantly claiming her child,
supposing the party who then had possession of it would recognize her
claim. She was, however, at length convinced of the imprudence of such
a course, and submitted until the case had been placed in the hands
of the proper officers. Accordingly the Chief of Police and a select
body of assistants were called and a true statement of the affairs
given. The American Consul was also waited upon and consulted. He
immediately took a lively interest in the matter, and advised that the
arrival of the American party be kept unknown to the exhibitor until
they, in company with a protective force of police, should enter the
hall that evening; and should the child recognize the mother among the
audience, it would be _prima facie_ evidence of the facts attempted
to be established by them, and used as such in case of litigation.
Accordingly, the impatience of the mother was restrained until the
hour of the gathering of the visitors, when a portion of the police
(selected for the purpose and disguised) Mr. Smith and the mother
procured tickets of admission and entered the hall, as casual visitors
impelled only by the general curiosity. No sooner, however had the
keen eye of the mother caught a glimpse of her long-lost child than
she uttered a scream of such heart-rending pathos that the audience
simultaneously rose to their feet, wondering and astonished. The
mother, overpowered, fell fainting to the floor. When resuscitated she
wildly threw her arms about, crying in most piteous tones. “My own
child! O! give her to me! Do not take her away again; she needs my
care! Where is she? Where is she?” While this scene of excitement was
going on, the exhibitor attempted to secrete the girl in an adjoining
room; but an honest Scotchman, divining his intentions, placed his back
against the door, and bringing himself into a position that would have
delighted a pugilist, cried out: “Ye’ll nae tak’ the bairn ayant the
door, maun ye wallop me first, and I’m nae thinkin’ ye’ll soon do that.”
Such a scene of excitement as this denouement created has seldom been
witnessed. The women fainted, and the men, learning the true state
of affairs from the Chief of Police, who mounted the stage for the
purpose, threatened with immediate and summary punishment the sordid
villain who had stolen, for the purpose of gain, a helpless child. He
managed, however, to escape by jumping from the second story window,
which hazardous feat alone, for the time, saved him from certain and
well-merited punishment.
The mother, recovering, took the child, and they were conveyed to the
hotel, where, for the first time in three years, she slept with it
in her arms, forgetting, in the possession of the fondly-loved and
long-lost one, the days and nights of anguish she had spent during
its absence, and dreamed of naught save happiness and pleasure to
come. But her troubles were not to end here. The prize was too rich
to be thus easily given up by interested ones. So, on the following
morning, a writ of _habeas corpus_ was served upon them, requiring the
appearance of mother and child before the Court of Admiralty, to show
cause why she was taken from the custody of the exhibitor. Here the
Consul again proved a friend and true American by demanding the child
as an American citizen, and requiring it, as a minor, to be placed in
charge of the mother, and that protection be given her to maintain her
maternal rights.
Voluminous proofs, giving an accurate description of mother and child,
together with all necessary facts bearing upon the case, had been
carefully procured and carried there, in case of necessity. Upon these
the Consul spoke a short time, when the judge, arising, declared it
useless to occupy more time, for from the opening of the court the
case had been decided by the Bench. “The child should be given into
the custody of its lawful mother. If it was not the child of the
defendants, then mother never bore a child. Every lineament, every
feature, every look betokened it; every spectator in his inmost heart
felt, yes, knew it to be her child, almost as certainly as though they
had seen it every hour since its birth.” A long and hearty shout of
approbation at this decision ascended to the dome of the stately old
building.
As soon as order was restored, the plaintiff determined to make one
more effort; so, calling the attention of the Court to the fact of his
ability to perform all he promised, he said he was ready then and there
to settle upon the mother the sum of ten thousand pounds sterling,
and deed to her an elegant house, in which she could spend the rest
of her days in luxury and comfort if she would remain in England and
give him possession of the child until she was eighteen, to all of
which flattering offers she only turned a deaf ear, preferring, as she
said, “to return and live, as she had done, in the land of her birth,
with those she had known from infancy, and among her kindred and her
friends.”
It should have been remarked before that the Texan, although shrewd
enough to dupe Brower, was in turn made a dupe himself. Arriving in
Philadelphia, on their way from New Orleans, he fell in with two
showmen, Thompson and Miller, who soon succeeded in getting possession
of the girl, and it was they who had carried her to, and in whose
possession she was found, in England. As Thompson and Miller had been
most successful in their exhibitions of her (in the course of three
years arising from poverty to comparative affluence), it was not to be
presumed they would willingly abandon the hope of again possessing her,
be the means of possessing what they would.
Mr. Smith, the mother and the subject of our sketch, being now free to
depart, made their preparations openly to return. The Atlantic had made
a return trip and was then at the Liverpool docks. The now happy party
again took passage upon her, and after a prosperous voyage reached New
York. There they took the cars and were soon landed safely in the good
old State of North Carolina.
Astonishing as it may appear, scarcely had the party reached home when
those who had caused so many sleepless nights and days of anguish
and trouble made their appearance in Charlotte, distant from the
girl’s home fifty-five miles, evidently intent upon another attempt
to regain the rich prize they so fraudulently had possession of for
a time, but now wrested from their avaricious grasp. The citizens of
Charlotte, learning of their presence and intentions, concluded to give
them an admirably fitting suit, composed of good _tar_ and excellent
_feathers_, and the freedom of the streets for promenading, with the
company of a lusty negro to keep time to _quickstep_ on the end of a
large tin kettle.
Thompson and Miller, by accident, learning the intentions of the
Charlottins, concluded “discretion was the better part of valor” and
decamped by night, and since then nothing has been heard of either in
North Carolina, and the only thing to remind you of their visit to that
section is the chorus of a negro song heard at the corn shuckings:
Massa Tomsin run a race;
Oh! oh! o-o-o yah!
He beat de fastest hoss in de place;
Yah, oh yah! O La!
Millie Christine grew and flourished, when Mr. Smith, yielding to the
earnest solicitation of friends who knew him to be possessed of the
world’s greatest marvel, allowed her to be taken upon a tour through
the States of South Carolina, Florida, Georgia and Louisiana. At the
close of that tour, in the City of New Orleans, an incident occurred
which, for a short time, made shipwreck of the happiness of Millie
Christine, and which, but for the affection of Mr. and Mrs. Smith,
and the persistence which that affection inspired, would probably
have altered the whole life of the child for the worse. She was again
kidnapped and for months was hurried over the country, from place to
place, and deprived of the fostering care of her natural guardians.
Ultimately, however, Mr. Smith’s anxiety and determination were
rewarded, and the child was restored to the arms and heart of Mrs.
Smith, whom it soon came to regard and denominate its “white mamma.”
Under her care the girl was reared to regard with reverence and
love the Supreme Father of all mankind, and speedily grew up into
an intelligent Christian child. She not only became proficient in
elementary education, but, showing a high appreciation and taste for
music, soon became an object of great interest to all visitors at Mr.
Smith’s home by the rapid progress she made in that accomplishment.
The year 1860, the dreadful year which brought so much pain and
suffering to the United States of America, brought its own individual
sorrow to the home of Millie Christine. Mr. Smith, after a few weeks of
suffering, passed quietly away to a better world, mourned by all who
knew him, and by none more than those who called him master. Indeed, it
is only due to Mr. Smith and his wife to state, and Christine Millie
desires particularly that it be inserted in this sketch of her life,
that she experienced at his death rather the affliction of one who had
lost a beloved father rather than a master. Not only this, but other
families on estate of the Smiths, while calling the owner and his wife
master and mistress, always regarded them in the light of protecting
parents.
But the war came on, and with it came those heavy losses which
prostrated the fortunes of the Smith family, making of the once
prosperous plantation an untilled waste, over which the restless hand
of the armed spoiler worked its will. It was then that the kindness of
the past found its fruit in the devotion displayed by Millie Christine
towards her only living protector, Mrs. Smith, whom she regards with
filial affection, and from whom she was fully determined never to
separate herself. To retrieve the fallen fortunes of the family she,
now free, consented to place herself on exhibition, and afford the
world the opportunity of seeing the most marvelous physical development
which has ever existed in the human family.
It may be mentioned here as an interesting fact, showing the strange
mutability of human fortunes, that Jacob, the father of this wonderful
being, once the slave of the planter McCoy, now owns, with his wife
Monemia, the very plantation on which he was once a bondman, and on
which Millie Christine first saw the light of day, the same having been
purchased by her with the proceeds of her exhibitions as a present to
her father and mother.
It will be necessary to append to this sketch a few of the medical
and surgical reports on Millie Christine’s physical organization; but
it may not be uninteresting to give a brief description of her as
she strikes the mind and eye of a familiar friend. Millie Christine,
physically, has but one existence; mentally, she has two, perfectly
developed. From the middle of the single spine grow two perfectly
developed busts, each of which has a pair of fine arms, and terminates
in an interesting head. Both heads are adorned with curling black
hair; each has a pair of sparkling black eyes, constantly lit up by
intelligence, which, at any outburst of fun and humor, seem literally
to dance with glee; while each mouth is adorned with a set of brilliant
teeth. The two faces are bright and interesting, but differ materially
in features, one resembling Jacob, the father, the other Monemia,
the mother. There is very little distinction to be made in the two
developments. The two sets of brains always agree in forming the same
conclusions; equally amiable, and equally agreeable in character, they
never form different ideas on the same subjects, and the thoughts of
each are characterized by that independence which is usually exhibited
by natives of America. The tastes and habits of the two are alike;
both are fond of music and dancing, both take interest in the same
amusements; indeed, this marvelous organization shows its wonder in
nothing more evidently than its perfect happiness. The two minds can
converge each through its own lips. The being is never at a loss for
society or for company, for each has, attached to itself, another
existence; and yet in no single instance has a particle of disagreement
ever occurred to conflict with the happiness or comfort of either. If
the one mind formed the fancy to be in London, and the other desired
its body to proceed to Paris, a conflict might ensue; providentially,
this seems impossible, and has never occurred. Christine has a
soprano voice, Millie a contralto; and they sing duets together with
exquisite taste and sweetness. Their natural taste for music has been
conscientiously and carefully cultivated by their kind protectress, and
the public will not be slow to discover that they have as much power
to please and amuse as a very large number of artistes of established
reputation. It should now be stated that Millie Christine has four
legs, on which she walks with grace and ease; but she can use the outer
ones only for purposes of locomotion. She is a very graceful dancer,
and executes the schottische, polka or waltz with equal ease. Her
manners in the presence of strangers are most engaging. She does not
object to speak of herself or her own peculiarities, and her two minds
are always as one on these points. The two minds composed some verses
descriptive of herself, which the two voices repeated in unison, and,
although of no great literary merit, they are simple and expressive.
The verses are as follows:
’Tis not modest of one’s self to speak;
But, daily scanned from head to feet,
I freely talk of everything,
Sometimes to persons wondering.
Some persons say I must be two,
The doctors say this is not true;
Some cry out humbug till they see,
When they say--great mystery!
Two heads, four arms, four feet,
All in one perfect body meet;
I am most wonderfully made
All scientific men have said.
None like me since the days of Eve--
None such, perhaps, will ever live--
If marvel to myself am I,
Why not to all who pass me by?
I’m happy, quite, because content,
For some wise purpose I was sent;
My maker knows what he has done,
Whether I’m created _two_ or one.
The medical reports on the anatomical construction of this
extraordinary phenomenon are published separately for the benefit of
the scientific and the gratification of the curious, but sufficient
may be here stated to satisfy the ordinary interest of the public. A
number of gentlemen connected with Jefferson Medical College, in the
city of Philadelphia, examined Christine Millie. Among them were Drs.
Pancoast, Meigs, Bidde, Wallace and Dickson, all well known in the
medico-scientific world. _Forney’s Press_ contains the following report
of the clinic:
At a special clinic recently held at the Jefferson Medical College,
“Christine Millie” was submitted to a scientific anatomical
examination.
Assembled at the clinic we found Professors Pancoast, Ormsby, Rand
and Gross, and Drs. Meigs, W. H. Pancoast, Gardette, Ray, Turnbull,
Atkinson, Barson, Bache, Dickson, Cohen, Atlee, Andrews and others,
well known to surgical fame.
The double-headed girl was introduced by Dr. William H. Pancoast,
the demonstrator of anatomy at the College, and a general feeling
of astonishment was felt when it was discovered that, instead of a
monstrosity there was exhibited to the professional talent assembled
a well-educated, intelligent, quick-witted girl, with nothing about
her that was repulsive or calculated to offend the most fastidious,
but which at once stamped her as a wonder and a source of scientific
information to those learned in anatomy.
Dr. Pancoast stated that the body had been placed under his
professional care, and, owing to the important questions involved, a
private examination had been made by Professors Pancoast and Gross,
and Drs. Sevie and Andrews, which had verified all the opinions
expressed as to her duality.
It was then stated that this remarkable freak of nature was united at
the lateral posterior portion of the pelvis, while above that point
they were separated--had separate chests, two pairs of fully developed
arms, but only one trunk.
The double-headed possessed separate intellectual faculties as
entirely distinct as was the brain power of two different individuals,
while their faces indicated, to a remarkable degree, intelligence of a
high order and amiability. The lower portion of the body had inclined
outwards from each side, and the lower limbs were inferior, and not so
fully developed as the arms.
A series of experiments was then made under the direction of
Professors Pancoast, Atlee, Maury, and others, calculated to
demonstrate the construction of the nervous system, which showed
that while above the junction the sense of feeling was separate and
distinct in each, below the union it was in common. A touch upon the
foot of one would be instantly detected by the other, while a hand
placed upon either shoulder was only noticed by the one touched.
The pulse of Millie was found to be about four beats slower than that
of Christine, while the beat of the two hearts was nearly the same.
An impromptu performance was given at the clinic in order to show
the agility of the girl, and, to the astonishment of the audience,
dances were executed, conversations carried on between the two heads,
and conversations with two different persons at one and the same
time. They stood upon their outer limbs, walked about with a pleasing
undulating motion, and Christine lifted the other by the ligature
at the pelvis merely by inclining her body to one side. To cap the
climax, a duet was executed by the girl, displaying musical knowledge,
culture, perfect time and tune, one head taking the soprano and the
other the alto; and then, in order to show the sympathetic nature of
their voices, “Sweet Spirit, Hear my Prayer,” was given in admirable
style.
Some of the leading statesmen in Washington manifested great interest
in the case, and two of the most eminent physicians in the city
wore afforded an opportunity to make an examination. Respecting it,
the _Washington Republican_ says: “The examination by Dr. Bliss and
Dr. Borland was most satisfactory, and revealed the fact that the
representations made by the young lady’s guardians are entirely
correct, the girl being but of one body, with two heads, four arms,
four feet, two sets of lungs, two hearts, but only one physical
organization. The doctors express themselves as entirely satisfied that
the young lady is the most wonderful human being on the face of the
earth.”
The _Baltimore Sun_, a paper of very high standing in Maryland, says:
“There is, at the juncture of the trunk, but one spinal column. The
nervous system seems to be identical, but each possesses individual
consciousness, and each head does its own thinking. On the other hand,
the appetite is the same; when one is hungry the other is the same. The
digestive organs are independent. As she moves about she looks like
two bright young copper-colored girls tied together in the middle, in
the same dress, which is cut short so as to display the movements of
four feet. The busts of each are very nearly symmetrical; the heads and
necks, shoulders and arms, are perfect. The faces are round, bright and
intelligent; eyes large and clear; hair black and glossy.”
The press of all the large cities in America bore similar testimony.
During the past few months Millie Christine has received an enormous
number of visitors. Christine Millie’s receptions have always been
attended by great numbers of people. In the city of Washington,
during a fortnight’s stay, thirty thousand persons attended her
receptions; in Philadelphia, during eight weeks, a hundred and fifty
thousand visited her; in Boston, seventy thousand in three weeks;
and in New York, in a single day, ten thousand persons flocked to
see her. Christine Millie has made an extensive tour of Europe, and
remained there several years. The _Liverpool Mercury_ has the following
regarding her.