The Daily Phoenix

An Unhuman Human.—We find the following record of a member of the English Parliament, now in session, in our late exchanges:

Mr. Kavanagh, the armless and legless M.P. from Ireland, excited great curiosity on his first appearance in the House, on the 6th ult. The honorable member entered the House from the direction of the Speaker's private apartments, seated in a library chair, the mechanism of which is so contrived that he can wheel himself, with ease, to any point he wishes to reach. The large copy of the Testament used in administering the oaths to members was managed—one cannot use the word handled—by Mr. Kavanagh without the least difficulty, and he wrote his name with as much quickness and ease as any of his fellow members of Parliament.

The process was as follows: The clerk handed to Mr. Kavanagh a pen with a handle of the length to which he is accustomed. The honorable member clasped the handle between what represented his arms, and steadying it by putting the end into his mouth, guided the pen over the parchment with singular fluency and steadiness.