Theodore
Lent was distraught. Julia had been the bank. Now the bank was closed! How he
to live now as his source of income was had died?
He
had a Eureka moment!
Why
should the bank close?
He
sent Julia’s corpse and his newborn son to Professor Sukolov of Moscow
University for embalming. The process took 6 months but the results were
amazing. Julia’s mummified remains looked lifelike. Prof. Sukolov put Julia and
his son in the Anatomical Museum of the university where the attracted great
crowds of people.
Was this the end of Julia Pastrana? No !!! Not at
all !!!
Lent realised what had happened and much to the
public horror, he took the awful and unbelievable steps to go to court to reclaim
the bodies. He presented his marriage certificate to the American
consul and Sukolov was forced to release the remains.
Lent tried to put the mummies on display
in Russia but the authorities refused as they were outside the confines of a
scientific institute. In 1862, Lent return to England to show Julia Pastrana
again. The price was only a shilling and with the added attraction is the
mummified infant — the exhibit was packed with onlookers. Inside it
was said that the ‘Embalmed Nondescript’ stood dressed in one of her many
dancing costumes while her son stood to her left ~ atop of a small pedestal, dressed
in a sailor suit.
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