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History of Twins
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parent and his or her twin; but I have two cases to the contrary. Thus, the
daughter of a twin says
“Such was the marvellous similarity of their features, voice, manner, etc., that I
remember, as a child, being very much puzzled, and I think, had my aunt lived much with
us, I should have ended by thinking I had two mothers.”
In the other case, a father who was a twin, remarks of himself and his
brother
“We were extremely alike, and are so at this moment, so much so that our children up
to five and six years old did not know us apart.”
I have four or five instances of doubt during an engagement of
marriage. Thus:
“A married first, but both twins met the lady together for the first time, and fell in love
with her there and then. A managed to see her home and to gain her affection, though B
went sometimes courting in his place, and neither the lady nor her parents could tell which
was which.”
I have also a German letter, written in quaint terms, about twin
brothers who married sisters, but could not easily be distinguished by
them.
[1]
In the well-known novel by Mr. Wilkie Collins of Poor Miss
Finch the blind girl distinguishes the twin she loves by the touch of his
hand, which gives her a thrill that the touch of the other brother does not.
Philosophers have not, I believe, as yet investigated the conditions of such
thrills; but I have a case in which Miss Finch’s test would have failed.
Two persons, both friends of a certain twin lady, told me that she had
frequently remarked to them that “kissing her twin sister was not like
kissing her other sisters, but like kissing herself—her own hand, for
example.”
It would be an interesting experiment for twins who were closely alike
to try how far dogs could distinguish them by scent.
[1]
I take this opportunity of withdrawing an anecdote, happily of no great importance,
published in Men of Science, p. 14, about a man personating his twin brother for a joke at
supper, and not being discovered by his wife. It was told me on good authority; hut I have
reason to doubt the fact, as the story is not known to the son of one of the twins. However,
the twins in question were extraordinarily alike, and I have many anecdotes about them
sent me by the latter gentleman.
