1893 JOURNALISTIC ABSURDITIES 283 



listening to similar stories based on similar testi- 

 mony. 



Among the man)^ journalistic absurdities which 

 fall in the way of celebrities, two which happened 

 this year are worth recording ; the one on account of 

 its intrinsic extravagance, which succeeded never- 

 theless in taking in quite a number of sober folk ; 

 the other on account of the letter it drew from 

 Huxley about his cat. The former appeared in the 

 shape of a highly-spiced advertisement about certain 

 Manx Mannikins, which could walk, draw, play, in 

 fact do everything but speak — were living pets which 

 might be kept by any one, and indeed Professor 

 Huxley was the possessor of a remarkably fine pair 

 of them. Apply, enclosing stamps etc. Of course, 

 the wonderful mannikins were nothing more than 

 the pair of hands which anybody could dress up 

 according to the instructions of the advertiser ; but it 

 was astonishing how many estimable persons took 

 them for some lusus naturce. A similar advertisement 

 in 1880 had been equally successful, and one exalted 

 personage wrote by the hand of a secretary to say 

 what pleasure and interest had been excited by the 

 description of these strange creatures, and begging 

 Professor Huxley to state if the account was true. 

 Accordingly on January 27 he writes to his wife, 

 who was on a visit to her daughter : — 



Yesterday two ladies called to know if they could see 

 the Manx Mannikins. I think of having a board put up 



