TWO BROTHERS BORN CONJOINED.

[From a MS. in the British Museum.]

THIS man was born, as the figure represents him, a perfect man from the head to foot, well proportioned: from his right side issued a little above his hip, a body of a man, from the middle upwards, perfectly well shaped, with hands, arms, and head, very much like his brother's. It was a male child, as was supposed, after he was come to the age of man, by its beard; which was of the same colour and thickness with his brother's. He could eat and drink with a good appetite, had a very good sight, and could speak as distinctly as his brother. I James Paris asked, if he could feel whether he had thighs and legs in his brother's body, but he said he felt none, nor his brother felt no motion in his body; neither did it appear by the form of his belly, which was as flat as another man's of the same age and bigness. The whole man held the other up with his right hand.-N, B. I saw these two men the roth of June 1716; they were aged about twenty-three years, as they said. J. P.

There is a representation of him in the MS.

CURIOUS.

CURIOUS MANUSCRIPT.

THERE is a small book in octavo in the British Museum, number 991, wherein divers stories are written by the hand of Mr. Symonds, partly in English and partly in Italian. They relate to King Charles I. and others of the royal family; to many of the nobility and gentry of those times; to the Long Parliament, Oliver Cromwell, his family, partizans, &c.-in which

the writer asserts:

That the King gave most to, and pleased those most that had most abused and heated him:

How the Queen of Bohemia, and the Princess her daughter, were obliged to act through fear: That the King had written a book with his own hand, wherein were many things concerning government, and a model of government for this nation, according to that of France, to be effected by bringing in the German horse:

That Oliver St. John, since Chief Justice, procured a sight of it by means of the Earl of Bedford, and made use of it afterwards against the King:

That Colonel Wheeler was the Duke of Buckingham's natural son :

A short narration of the ceremonies at Crom well's taking the Protectorship upon him; compliments paid by divers persons to Cromwell; part of his pedigree; Cromwell's procession to London, being invited to dinner by Vyner, mayor of London:

That at his return, one threw a stone of six pounds weight on his coach:

That in acting a play at Cambridge, he stumbled at a crown, put it on, and asked if it did not become him:

That he required 1,900,000l. per annum to be settled on him for the support of his government, though the King never had above 700,000l. per annum.

His behaviour at his daughter's marriage feast :

How Cromwell, with one Bowtelle of Suffolk, would see the King's corpse after he was beheaded; and opened the coffin himself with Bowtelle's sword.

That Cromwell in his prosperity returned a considerable sum of money to one Mr. Canton, whom he had formerly cheated of it at play.

That the Duke of Buckingham was very li beral to Mr. Lanier; of the insolence and malice of Carre, Earl of Somerset, towards Queen Anne, whom he hated, with a commendation of the noble nature of Prince Henry...

Of

NICHOLAS HART, THE GREAT SLEEPER. 345

Of the remarkable fidelity of a ship's crew to Prince Rupert, who, upon the springing of a plank, put him into a boat, with such as be chose to row him; and then quietly sunk in his sight.

The gallant answer sent by Archbishop Chichely to King Henry VI. who, as the Archbishop thought, had reflected on the meanness of his birth.

NICHOLAS HART, THE GREAT SLEEPER. [Written in 1734.]

AFTER he was born, he was thought to be born dead, being fast asleep, and so remained till after his mother awaked; and every year he has slept, since the first day of his birth, sometimes longer and sometimes shorter.

He says he slept in Holland when he was ten years of age for seven weeks together; the 5th of August is the time of his falling asleep: he has slept thus this two and twenty years, as did his mother before him, the same number of days and nights. I, James Paris, saw him in his sleep the 10th of August 1713; he could not be waked, either by shaking, pinching, pricking,

nor

nor holding strong spirits to his nose. Dr. Woodward put some of the strongest spirits to his nose; none of them had any effect, but a few grains of sal ammoniac being put deep into his nostrils, made him cough, but did not wake him.

BISHOP OF DERRY.

THE present Bishop of Derry (Earl of Bristol) happened some years ago to spend an evening at the house of his unfortunate nephew G. R. Fitzgerald, Esq. in Merrion Square, Dublin. Several ladies were present; and, as it is well known that his Lordship can assume the die of every mind, with as much ease as the camelion can assume the colour of surrounding objects, the circle, which was extremely brilliant, was charmed with the variety and vivacity of his conversation. The prelate having paid every one of the ladies a delicate compliment on their beauty, taste in dress, &c. found himself at a little loss, when he came to a lady, on whose cheeks the daffodil had usurped the empire of the rose. He was determined, however, to see if nature and education had balanced this slight amission; and soon found that the beams of his imagination,