Each head had its own separate vessels and
brain, and each an individual sensibility, but if one had milk
first the other had an abundance of saliva in its mouth. It
narrowly escaped being burned to death at birth, as the midwife,
greatly frightened by the monstrous appearance, threw it into the
fire to destroy it, from whence it was rescued, although badly
burned, the vicious conformation of the accessory head being
possibly due to the accident. At the age of four it was bitten by
a venomous serpent and, as a result, died. Its skull is in the
possession of the Royal College of Surgeons in London.
The following well-known story of Edward Mordake, though taken
from lay sources, is of sufficient notoriety and interest to be
mentioned here:--
"One of the weirdest as well as most melancholy stories of human
deformity is that of Edward Mordake, said to have been heir to
one of the noblest peerages in England. He never claimed the
title, however, and committed suicide in his twenty-third year.
He lived in complete seclusion, refusing the visits even of the
members of his own family. He was a young man of fine
attainments, a profound scholar, and a musician of rare ability.
His figure was remarkable for its grace, and his face--that is to
say, his natural face--was that of an Antinous.
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