The San Francisco call. [volume], February 23, 1913, Image 4

About The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913

Image provided by: University of California, Riverside; Riverside, CA

                
Arthur Benington
TWO pairs of twins —one in Fred
erick, Md., the other in Newark,
X. j,—drew widespread attention to
themselves last month by a more than I
ordinarily striking complication of i
the well known propensity of twins
to suffer simultaneously.
The Maryland twin 3 were Clarence
and Clara Marsh, aged eighteen.
Though separated by seventy miles,
Clara suffered acute pain and nausea
when Clarence was undergoing a
surgical operation.
The New Jersey twins were Emile
and Emily Thomas, aged twelve, who
were taken ill with appendicitis with
in a few hours of each other and are
now convalescing after a twin opera
tion.
From the standpoint of physicians
and physiologists these two cases—
or pairs of cases—are extraordinarily
interesting, as they are in defiance of
the accepted theory as to the origin
of such twins. This theory as set forth
by such authorities as the Lancet,
England's leading medical journal,
""and the latest edition of the Encyclo
pedia Britannica, includes the hypothe
sis that twina who possess identical
characteristics and feelings are al
ways of the same sex. In each of
these most recent cases the twins are
a boy and a girl. And yet their lives
are so closely united that they con
tract the same disease simultaneously,
their joys and griefs, their pleasures
and their pains are shared, even if
they be fa* apart, just as if their
bodies were actually united like the
Siamese twins.
The affinity of the Marsh twins was
brought to light on Dec. 23, when
Clarence underwent an operation in
the University Hospital, Baltimore.
Clara, who had been perfectly well,
was suddenly attacked by nausea at
her home in Frederick just as ether
was being administered to her twin
brother. A few hours after the opera
tion Clara had fever. Her symptoms
were inexplicable until her physician
and the surgeons at the hospital com
pared records of the two cases and
found that they were practically iden
tical. Every rise in Clarence's tem
perature had been accompanied by a
corresponding rise in Clara's. As
Clarence's convalescence progressed,
so Clara recovered.
The Marsh twins' parents say that
this close correspondence has pursued
them throughout life. The young peo
ple themselves have long been aware
of it. Ten years ago they had
measles simultaneously. Two yean
later Clara was taken with whooping
cough at her home and Clarence was
attacked by the same disease when
away visiting friends. Every time
one had a headache the other had it
too. Clarence says that every time
Clara catches a cold In the head his
noE runs in sympathy, and when he
has a boil she also breaks out.
The sympathy in their case is men
tal as well as physical. They were
TWINS-
WHY?
4'■ W *
Sorrows of the Numerous Ones "Who
Looked So Much Alike that You
Couldn't Tell t'Other from Which."
brought up by their parents in the
Reformed Church, but, unknown to
each other, both became interested
in the tenets of the Baptists and were
received into the Baptist Church to
gether.
The case of the Thomas twins is
equally remarkable. They are the
children of William Thomas of No.
39 Taylor street, Newark. Ever since
birth they have suffered together.
The mother says each felt the other's
pains and aches; measles, whooping
cough, chicken-pox and mumps fol
lowed each other, each time simul
taneously in both children and always
following exactly the same course in
each from beginning to end. Only
i
once was this rule varied; that was
when Emily had scarlet fever a few
years ago and Emile escaped.
At the end of last November Emily
complained of severe pains in her side.'
Dr. Sarah Edwards, the family physi
cian, diagnosed the case as appendi
citis. Early the following morning
Emile complained of pains in the
same region as Mb sister had felt
them. Dr. Edwards, familiar with;
the propensity of the twins to feel!
each other's pains, thought at first
that it was sympathetic on the boy's
part. But the symptoms were so pro
nounced that the physician became
convinced that both children had real
appendicitis. They were taken to
gether to a hospital and operated upon
simultaneously. As in the case of the
Marsh twins, their temperatures rose
and fell just as if one heart was
pumping the same blood through both
bodies. The twins are recovering
normally, and the chart of one's con
dition would serve as a perfect record
for the other.
This intimate relationship between
twins sometimes becomes dangerous.
It not uncommonly ends in insanity,
while enforced separation results in
unhappiness, and the death of one is
generally followed by that of the
other. A recent case of simultaneous
Insanity in twins was that of Lois and
Louis Schatzman of Maysville, Ky.,
whose thoughts, feelings and lives had
been identical and who went insane
last September.
Among the records of twin deaths
is that of the Yelinek twins, Emil and '
»
Stephen, of West Springfield, Mass.,
who were stricken with infantile
paralysis simultaneously and died in
the first week of last December of
pneumonia at the age of fifteen, with
in two days of each other.
Then there Were the eight-month
old twin sons of Byron Thompson of
No. 123 Martense street, Flatbush,
who were stricken with intestinal
trouble within five minutes of each
other and died four hours apart.
When one of the Carr twins of Bay
onne. N. J., died of summer complaint
at the age of fifteen months the other,
tnough he had not been ill, died with- j
in five minutes. And Catherine and ]
Anna Reilly, also less than a year j
old, died of the same convulsions'
within an hour or two.
More tragic than these was a case
in New York in May, 1904. Mrs. Lou
ise Hecht of No. 65 East One Hun
dred and Fifty-eighth street died of
an operatiou at the age of thirty-nine.
Her twin sister, Mrs. C. Knaur, went
to see her body and fell dead beside
the bier.
A case somewhat similar to this
last, illustrating the terrible effect
upon one twin of the death of the
other, was that of the Brannen broth
ers of Albany, Ga. For twenty-three
years John and Samuel Brannen had
shared each other's joys and sorrows,
and when died .ast May Samuel
committed suicide.
A few pairs of twins have achieved
notoriety if not fame because of their
identicality. Among those are Thom
as and William Baynes, policemen in
Chicago, and Julius and Junius Ben
ham of Bridgeport, Conn. Then there
is the Brindle double family at Wil
mington, O.—Will and Frank Brindle,
twins, and their twin wives, who were
born Alma and Addie McKee. Tc-
I gether the twin youths wooed the twin
j girls. Brought up to tell themselves
' apart, It was not difficult for them to
differentiate between each other—
something that no one else could do.
There was a twin wedding and the
twin family went to live in a twin
house, divided into two exactly similar
halves. As no reports of dissension
have arisen it is fair to assume that
this double twin household is as
happy as it was on the twin honey
moon.
But the marriage of twins to twins
does not always turn out happily. The
case of the Buckles twins at Marys
ville, 0., is one in point. Alvi and
Alwin Buckles, well-to-do farmers,
met twin sisters at a county fair. A
twin courtship was followed by a twin
".edding and the two Buckles families
settled down in the brothers' big
farmhouse. The twin Mr. Buckles
loved quiet home life, but the twin
Mrs. Buckles cared only for gayety.
Quarrels arose, and one fine morning
the twin Mrs. Buckles deserted the
twin Mr. Buckles, leaving twin notes
of farewell. After waiting a reason
able time for their return, the twin
Mr. Buckles brought twin suits for
divorce. These were heard together,
the grounds being identical, and Judge
Middleton handed down twin decrees.
Twins sometimes get a lot of /un
out of their facial resemblance and
identity of tastes. What New Yorker
or college athlete does not remember
the famous Bammen brothers, six feet
tall, weighing 200 pounds, dressing
alike, playing on the same football
teams and walking Broadway side by
side, dressed identically? Twins
often substitute for each other, caus
ing farcical situations and complica
tions of the Dromio order that Shakes
peare Immortalized. At Springfield,
0., live a pair of twins who play their
similarity for all it is worth in the
way of fun. They are Frank and
Will Lot. These brothers are so one l
in thoughts and feelings that they |
have actually courted the same girl.
She says she doesn't care, as she is
utterly unable to tell .one from the
other or either from which. After
trying for a while she gave it up. One
of the twin brothers—it was impos
sible to tell which—was quoted a year
ago as saying that when she kissed
one of them she always told the kis
see, whichever it happened to be, to
take the kiss home to his brother.
Thus did she play safely!
This special affinity is by no means
universal among twins; in fact, it is
the exception rather than the rule.
It is not, as some people suppose, a
psychological phenomenon, but, ac
cording to the best opinion, a purely
biological one, the explanation of
which is to be sought in the realms
of embryology.
SOME FAMOUS
JOKES ON
TWINS
"THE Harduppes have
twins."
"Well, they have my sym
pathy."
"Who have?"
"The twins, of course." ,
"MAME this child." com
manded the minister,
preparing to baptize the twins.
The proud father threw out
his chest. "George Abraham
Theodore Andrew John Wash
ington Lincoln Roosevelt Car
negie Rockefeller Jones 1"
The minister gasped for sec
ond wind.
"And the other?"
The meek, nervous mother
smoothed the dress of the one
she held, and in a scarcely aud
ible voice answered:
"Maude."
"I'M going to name the girl
Flora," said the new mother
to*her newly engaged house
keeper, "but I can't think of a
name for the boy."
"Why don't you,name him
'Fauna,' mum?" she suggested.
"I see them two names go to
gether quite often, mum!"
J-fE had made arrangements
with the hospital nurse
to strike the call-bell once if it
was a boy and to rap on the
door if it was a girl.
His sars heard the
bell dlrike once—then a second
time. A further sound indicated
that the bell had fallen to the
floor.
In a few moments the nurse
appeared.
"Twins," she whispered—
"boys."
"Heavens!" he gasped, *'I
didn't ask for chimes!"
PRINCES IN WAITING
TO "TONY" DREXEL
Not Only
Princes,
but Kings,
Grand
Dukes and
Earls Fall
In Behind h
This
American,
to Whom
a Royal
Patlace Is •
but Com
monplace.
THE Ritz in London was m
even more than its TO
smart self; it seemed some royal
palace with its rare flowers, Its S
special orchestra, its Russian Ut
dancers and the sensuous plash 8|
.oX its fountains. \
In the brilliant company, mingled
earls and dukes, countesses and duch
esses, lords and barons by the dozens
and some two-score of that little set
of rich Americans who have won their
way into the smartest of the smart
sets here.
Suddenly came a little commotion
at the door. Two flunkeys hurried for
ward, gently making an aisle between
the crowd of titled guests, who stood
back deferentially as a little procession
entered the great room. First ap
peared a stately lady, handsome, su
perbly gowned and jewelled. She
leaned on the arm of a handsome man,
tall and immaculately clad. A gardenia
graced his buttonhole and two perfect
pearls stood out on his shirtfront His
mustache had that upward twist af
fected by the German Emperor.
The lady the Grand Duchess
Vladimir of Russia, aunt of the Czar;
the gentleman who escorted her was
Anthony J. Drexel of New York and
Philadelphia. Behind them walked a
royal entourage—the Grand Duke
Michael and Countess Torby; the
Grand Dukes Cyril and Boris, sons of
the Grand Duchess Vladimir and
cousins of the Czar; the Russian Am
bassador, and tben three or' four Eng
lish earls and countesses, whose light
was utterly dimmed before the shining
presence of the Muscovite royalties.
The little procession passed between
rows of guests, the ladies dipping al
most to the ground and the men bow
ing till their bodies formed right
angles.
"How does he do it?" gasped more
than one open-eyed Britisher.
"Where Tony Drexel is there are the
grand duchesses gathered together,"
remarked a diplomat only the other
day in London.
That really understates it. If there
is- ah emperor or a king in Mr.
Drexel's vicinity that person is sure to
be the American's guest or else Mr.
Drexel is lunchinc or dining with roy
alty.
"Kings I Have Met" would make a
wonderfully interesting book if Mr.
Drexel could be induced to write it
At that wondrous feast given by Mr.
Drexel at the Ritz Europe had been
ransacked to find food to please those
gracious royalties. Every dish was a
triumph of some special cordon bleu.
Rarest of all, however, was Imperial
Tokay from the cellar of the Sultan.
The offer of a princely sum brought It
to Limdon. It is the wine which the
Emperor of Austria drinks out of a
tiny goblet on feast days. The Sultan
offers it only to royalties of the first
rank, so precious is it
What is the art by which this rich
American makes his way into the favor
of great men and womon? How has he
overcome that antipathy foreigners
have toward t l »? average American
millionaire? What is his charm?
Among oth°r things he studies the
desires, the hobbies, the 'diosyncrasies
of European royalty and nonillty. j
Then he proceeds to be agreeable to
It is no easy '.ask, but Mr.
Drexel does it lis is 'he best known
and most popular American in Europe
to-day.
His intimates dub him "Champagne
Charlie."
Anthony J. Drexel comes of the old
Philadelphia family of Drexel. His
grandfather was a portrait painter
who succeeded and then turned in a
modest way to finance.
The painter's son became the part-'
ncr of J. Pierpont Morgan and was
head of the Philadelphia branch of
Drexel, Morgan & Co. He left $20,
--000,000 to his son, the present Anthony
J. Drexel and head of the family. To
day the fortune is estimated at $30,
--000,000. In 1893 Mr. Drexel decided to
leave the firm to enjoy life.
Soon afterward, with Mrs. Drexel,
who was Miss Armstrong of Baltimore,
he went abroad to live. There he
stayed so long that the authorities reg
istered him as a voter at Cowes, where
he spent much time on his yacht
Margharita.
"Not for a moment would I give up
my American citizenship," declared
Mr. Drexel, emphatically, and when
King Edward heard it he expressed his
pleasure. His Majesty disapproved
when Mr. AStor renounced the United
States.
When Edwarct graciously command
ed Mr. Drexel to give him a dinner at
his London mansion Mr. Drexel's so
cial fortune was made. When the King
>pened the new croquet lawn at Marien
bad it was Tony Drexel he invited to
play the first game w.th him. The
King won. When His Majesty gave a
dinner to intimates there Mr. Drexel
was the only American commanded to
attend. When the Drexel yacht was
off Nice His Majesty visited only two
yachts, the Margharita and Morton B.
Plant's, the Ingomar.
The late Leopold, the King of Bel
gium, lunched with Mr. Drexel on his
yacht and asked him back for dinner.
The Kaiser graciously accepted an in
vitation when the two met off Trond
hjeim, Norway. And many a time Mr.
Drexel has been a favored guest on
the imperial yacht Hohenzollern. The
King of Greece and his two sons are
as intimate with Tony Drexel as roy
alty can be. Ex-King Manuel of Por
tugal, no longer burdened with a
crown, is a chum of Mr. DrexeL
j Mr. Drexel's homes abroad have been
San Francisco Sunday Call.
legion. No. 22 Grosvenor Square is
the chief—it is larger than Dorchester
House, the late Whitelaw Reid's man
sion. He has had others at Sanning
hill, near Ascot; a mansion in Carlton
House Terrace; Norreys Castle, Glen
trim Lodge, Tulloch Castle, a shooting
box In Inverness-shire and Wytham
Abbey, besides apartments In Paris and
Dresden. Rose Tree Inn he calls his
princely estate at Bryn Mawr, Pa.
Tljen thore is his great yacht Margha
rita, where so many royalties have vis
ited. She costs $250,000 a year to run
and is co splendid below decks mat
some Britishers say it isn't sporty.
Here is where so many kings and
princes have been entertained. Mr.
Drexel thought nothing of taking big
parties of notables on cruises as far aa
Crete to the East and Cuba to the
West The yacht grew out of date,
and now he has a new one, the Say
onara, equally as sumptuous.
The list of Mr. Drexel's notable
friends would sound like whole pages
from the Almanach de Gotha. Among
them are the Grand Duchess of Meck
lenburg-Schwerin, the Duke and Duch
ess of Devonshire, Princes, Christopher
nd George, sons of the King of Greece;
Dom Miguel de Braganza, Countess
Pappenheim, the Dowager Queen Alex
andra, the Duke of Cambridge, tha
Duke and Duchess of Connaught,
Princess Patricia, the Prince and Prin
cess of Teck, Viscount Valletout, Prin
cess Charlotte of Saxe-Melningen, tha
King of Saxony, the Prince and Prin
cess of Pless, whom he visits regularly
at their castle near Breslau; Princess
Hatzfeldt and the Princess Nicholas of
Greece.
A fine, big, ruddy-faced man breezed
down the gangplank of the Mauretania
the other day. There were a couple of
men with him equally smart!/- dressed.
"Just running over for business," he
said, laughingly, as he posed for his
picture. "Going back on the same boat
if I can finish in Philadelphia in time.
I don't have to worry often about busi
ness; my estate is in the hands of three
trustees, and they send me the income
regularly.
"Kings? Yes, I guess I know about
all of them in Europe, but I couldn't
say anything about them; It wouldn't
be etiquette, you know. Oh, yes, I've
had most of them at my house and on
my boat Goodby," and he hurried oft
to the New York Ritz in an automobile.
It was Mr. Drexel.