ved Eliza and
Mary Chulkhurst, who were joined together after the manner of the
Siamese twins, and who lived for thirty-four years, one dying, and then
being followed by her sister within six hours. They left by their will
the lands above alluded to and their memory is perpetuated by
imprinting on the cakes their effigies 'in their habit as they lived.'
The cakes, which are simple flour and water, are four inches long by
two inches wide, and are much sought after as curiosities. These, which
are given away, are distributed at the discretion of the
church-wardens, and are nearly 300 in number. The bread and cheese
amounts to 540 quartern loaves and 470 pounds of cheese. The
distribution is made on land belonging to the charity, known as the Old
Poorhouse. Formerly it used to take place in the Church, immediately
after the service in the afternoon, but in consequence of the unseemly
disturbance which used to ensue the practice was discontinued. The
Church used to be filled with a congregation whose conduct was
occasionally so reprehensible that sometimes the church-wardens had to
use their wands for other purposes than symbols of office. The
impressions of the maids 'on the cakes are of a primitive character,
and are made by boxwood dies cut in 1814. They bear the date 1100, when
Eliza and Mary Chulkhurst are supposed to have been born, and also
their age at death, thirty-four years."

Ballantyne has summed up about all there is to be said on this national
monstrosity, and his discussion of the case from its historic as well
as teratologic standpoint is so excellent that his conclusions will be
quoted--

"It may be urged that the date fixed for the birth of the Biddenden
Maids is so remote as to throw grave doubt upon the reality of the
occurrence. The year 1100 was, it will be remembered, that in which
William Rufus was found dead in the New Forest, 'with the arrow either
of a hunter or an assassin in his breast.' According to the Anglo-Saxon
Chronicle, several 'prodigies' preceded the death of this profligate
and extravagant monarch. Thus it is recorded that 'at Pentecost blood
was observed gushing from the earth at a certain town of Berkshire,
even as many asserted who declared that they had seen it. And after
this, on the morning after Lammas Day, King William was shot.' Now, it
is just possible that the birth of the Biddenden Maids may have
occurred later, but have been antedated by the popular tradition to the
y