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Title: The Physical Life of Woman: Advice to the Maiden, Wife and Mother

Author: George H. Napheys

Release date: December 24, 2007 [eBook #24001]

Language: English

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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE PHYSICAL
LIFE OF WOMAN: ADVICE TO THE MAIDEN, WIFE AND MOTHER ***

THE PHYSICAL LIFE OF
WOMAN:
ADVICE TO THE MAIDEN,
WIFE AND MOTHER.

PUBLISHERS' NOTICE.
The extraordinary popularity achieved and maintained by Dr. Geo. H.
Napheys' Physical Life of Woman, places it beyond question among the classics
of the English language. Convinced of its high literary as well as medical value,
the present publishers have spared no pains or expense to place it before the
public in the most attractive style.
The text has been most carefully revised and rewritten by the eminent author
himself; extensive additions of important matter the fruit of three more years
devoted to the study of the subject and the wants of readers, have been
incorporated. In type, paper and binding, the most appropriate materials have
been selected. And, to satisfy the repeated requests of purchasers, permission
has been obtained from the author to insert his portrait, engraved on steel by one
of the most skilful London artists.
With these additions, the Physical Life of Woman comes before the public
with all the novelty and freshness of a new book, and also with the solid and
substantial reputation for practical worth which its sales of nearly fifty thousand
copies a year for three years guarantee to it.
We add a

SYNOPSIS OF THE BOOK.

It treats of woman in her three great positions in life, as the Maiden, the Wife,
and the Mother.
Under the first of these is discussed the mysterious change she undergoes
when ripening from the indifferent girl to the tender and sensitive virgin. The
dangers she runs at this critical epoch are carefully noted, and the rules to
prevent and remedy them clearly set forth. The all-absorbing topic of Love, is
next treated of in a pure and elevated style, but strictly from the physician's
point of view, and many salutary hints are given to direct the passion to noble
ends and in proper channels, and to teach the youthful reader how to shun
unfortunate unions.

In the part addressed to Wives the health of the married couple is first
considered as being essential to their happiness. Plainly, yet delicately, the rules
that should govern them are laid down; the absence of children and their
excessive numbers are both mentioned, as requiring appropriate correction, and
an unsparing hand is laid upon certain prevalent social vices. A full discussion
of the important topic of the inheritance of physical and mental traits will be
found, and two most thorough and practical chapters on Pregnancy and
Confinement are added, most invaluable to every young wife.
The duties of the Mother are next set forth, in nursing her child, and taking
proper care of it, in training its budding powers, and also in giving her own
attention to it in some of the more common diseases to which children are
subject.
The sections devoted to Health in Marriage will be peculiarly welcome to
many women suffering in health from they know not what exact cause, but
really from some of those inward or local weaknesses which are here described.
While to very many others who are approaching or about passing through the
critical epoch of the Change of Life, the full and well-considered views of the
author in the part devoted to that period will be read with benefit and gratitude.
A carefully prepared Index and a copious list of authorities close the volume.

the
Physical Life of Woman:
advice to the
MAIDEN, WIFE AND MOTHER.
by

GEORGE H. NAPHEYS, A. M., M. D.
MEMBER OF THE PHILADELPHIA COUNTY MEDICAL SOCIETY;
CORRESPONDING MEMBER OF THE GYNECOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF
BOSTON; LATE CHIEF OF MEDICAL CLINIC OF THE JEFFERSON
MEDICAL COLLEGE; AUTHOR OF “THE TRANSMISSION OF LIFE,”
“THE PREVENTION AND CURE OF DISEASE,” “MODERN MEDICAL
THERAPEUTICS,” “LETTERS FROM EUROPE,” ETC.

“Je veux qu'une femme ait des clartes de tout.”—Molière.

New Edition.

WITH THE FINAL CORRECTIONS OF THE AUTHOR, AND A
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH.

PHILADELPHIA:
DAVID McKAY, PUBLISHER,
23 SOUTH NINTH STREET.
1889.

Entered according to Act of Congress, in
the year 1878,
By D. G. BRINTON,
in the Office of the Librarian of Congress,
at Washington.
All rights reserved.

EDITOR'S PREFACE.
In presenting a third edition of this work to the public, with the final changes
and improvements of the author, the publishers have felt it a duty to attach to it
a brief sketch of his life, which drew to so early and lamented a termination.
The whole has also been submitted to a careful revision, in order that it might be
brought down to the latest advances in the department of science of which it
treats, and also to include in it the final suggestions of the author.
While Dr. Napheys evidently considered the second edition of the present
work as meeting closely the requirements of readers, and therefore left behind
him no notes which would alter the general plan, a number of corrections and
minor changes have been made in the text, various paragraphs have been
materially modified, and the Appendix referring to authorities more or less
altered.
The continued popularity of the work has been shown, not only by the steady
demand for it, but by the efforts of various authors to write imitations of it, and
various publishers to issue mutilated and imperfect editions. Against these the
present publishers would warn innocent purchasers. The present is the only
edition containing the important additions and corrections made by the author
during the latter years of his life; and none other was authorized by him.
In its present form, The Physical Life of Woman may justly claim to count
among the classics of American literature. Its popularity increases with time,
and none of the many similar works which have appeared have approached it in
public estimation. It is believed that in the present edition no important
scientific fact bearing upon the subject has been omitted, and the most recent
developments of hygiene will be found discussed.
1878.

PREFACE
TO THE
SECOND STEREOTYPE EDITION.
Three years have passed since the author of the present work ventured to lay
it before the public, not without unusual anxiety as to the manner in which he
had fulfilled a task he knew to be so fruitful of good results if well done. Those
years of trial are over, and they have brought a recognition of his labors beyond
his most sanguine dreams. Nearly one hundred and fifty thousand copies of the
work have been sold in that period; it has been separately republished both in
Canada and England; it has been honored by a translation into German; the
imitations of it which have been written form almost a small library; and, more
to the satisfaction of the author than all this, it has received the highest praise
both at home and abroad, from both the medical profession and the general
learned world.
The present new stereotype edition contains the result of three more years of
study and experience, enlightened and aided by very many letters from readers,
which served to point out wherein the previous edition fell short of their wants.
The text has been carefully revised, and in large part wholly rewritten; nearly
one hundred and fifty pages of selected new matter have been added; and the
latest steps of medical science in this direction have been followed.
Of the parts which are quite new, and which from the inquiries of numerous
readers will add greatly to the value of the work, are the sections on the
disturbances of the monthly function in girls, the care of the child, the
management of diseases of children, the diseases incident to pregnancy,
childbed, and nursing, etc.
Indeed, in the present edition the author has aimed to omit nothing which can
aid Woman in performing her full duty to herself and others, so far as that duty
lies in the sphere of her Physical Life, whether she is called upon to act as Wife,
Mother, Teacher, or Guide. His most ardent desire continues to be that the work
will be found a sure and safe monitor amid the difficult duties of Maidenhood
and Maternity.
London, England, October, 1872.

PREFACE
TO THE
FIRST EDITION.
It seems well to offer, at the outset, a few words explanatory of the nature and
object of this book. The author feels that its aim is novel, is daring, and will
perhaps subject him to criticism. He therefore make his plea, pro domo sua, in
advance.
The researches of scientific men within the last few years have brought to
light very many facts relating to the physiology of woman, the diseases to which
she is subject, and the proper means to prevent those diseases. Such
information, if universally possessed, cannot but result in great benefit to the
individual and the commonwealth. The difficulty is to express one's self clearly
and popularly on topics never referred to in ordinary social intercourse. But as
the physician is obliged daily to speak in plain yet decorous language of such
matters, the author felt that the difficulty was not unsurmountable.
He is aware that a respectable though diminishing class in the community
maintain that nothing which relates exclusively to either sex should become the
subject of popular medical instruction. With every inclination to do this class
justice, he feels sure that such an opinion is radically erroneous. Ignorance is no
more the mother of purity than she is of religion. The men and women who
study and practise medicine are not the worse, but the better, for their
knowledge of such matters. So it would be with the community. Had every
person a sound understanding of the relations of the sexes, one of the most
fertile sources of crime would be removed.
A brief appendix has been added, directed more especially to the professional
reader, who may desire to consult some of the original authorities upon whom
the author has drawn. And here he would ask from his fellow-members of the
medical profession their countenance and assistance in his attempt to distribute
sound information of this character among the people. None but physicians can
know what sad consequences are constantly occurring from the want of it. * * *

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
OF
GEORGE HENRY NAPHEYS, M.D.
Were man's life measured by his deeds, as the poet suggests, how brief would
be the long years of many an octogenarian, and how extended the short span
which has been allotted to not a few of the world's famous heroes!
This oft-repeated thought strikes us forcibly in considering the biography of
the subject of this sketch. Closing his life at an age when most professional men
are but beginning theirs, he had already studied broadly, had traveled widely
over two continents, had gained credit and fame by the sword and the pen, and
had amassed a fund of erudition and experience which the more lethargic lives
of most men fail to approach after twice his length of days. It is eminently
appropriate that a record of his busy career should be attached to the works on
which his celebrity is chiefly bound, and in which he most conspicuously
displays that command of language and happy facility of imparting instruction
for which he was so remarkable.
George Henry Napheys (pronounced Nā´feez, the ā as in fate) was born in
the city of Philadelphia, March 5th, 1842. His parents died while he was still at
a tender age, and he was placed with some relatives who resided in the city.
From early years he was characterized by quick perceptions and a retentive
memory. In the Philadelphia High School, from which he received the academic
degree of Master of Arts, he was considered the best scholar in his class, a
marked distinction in view of the large numbers which attend that institution.
Besides acquiring the usual studies of the High School, he gave considerable
time to phonography, in which he became so skilled that he could report any
ordinary speaker with entire accuracy. This subsequently proved a great
advantage to him in his medical career.
After his graduation he repaired to Hartford, Conn., where he was offered and
accepted the position of private secretary to a gentleman of prominence in the
literary and religious world.
Thus he was engaged when the civil war broke out. With his natural warmth
of feeling and strong emotions, he entered the fray among the first, and went out

as Lieutenant, and subsequently as Captain, Company F, 10th Connecticut State
Volunteers. The regiment was enlisted for nine months, and was dispatched to
Louisiana, General Banks then commanding the Department. It participated in
engagements near Baton Rouge and on the Red River, in which Captain
Napheys always acquitted himself with bravery and credit.
At the time the regiment was disbanded, an early preference for medical
subjects led him to devote a year to the preliminary studies of that profession,
but not waiting the full period required for a degree, he was appointed assistant
medical officer on the U. S. steamer Mingo, of the South Atlantic Blockading
Squadron. On her he passed a number of months, cruising off the coast of the
Carolinas and Georgia, and ascended the St. John river.
These active duties prevented him from receiving his degree of Doctor of
Medicine until after the close of the war, when, in 1866, his diploma was
conferred upon him by the Jefferson Medical College of Philadelphia, one of the
most renowned institutions of our country.
After graduation, he opened an office in Philadelphia, and connected himself
with the clinics which are held at the College for the purpose of supplying
medicine and medical advice to the poor gratuitously, as well as for giving
students an opportunity of witnessing various forms of disease. The practical
experience he gained in this manner was considerable, and his natural ability
soon recommended him to the authorities of the institution, who appointed him
Chief of Medical Clinic of the College, a position he held for several years.
One of the advantages of this post was that it brought him into constant
communion with many eminent medical men, and rendered him practically
acquainted with their treatment of disease. His skill in phonography enabled
him to take abundant notes of their lectures, and this led to his early connection
with the periodical literature of the profession. Most of the reports he drew up
were published in the Medical and Surgical Reporter, a weekly journal, devoted
to medical science, published in Philadelphia. The series of reports commenced
in April, 1866, and continued, with slight interruptions, until June, 1870. They
are characterized by a clear and correct style, and a manifestly thorough grasp
of the numerous topics treated.
The success which these ephemeral writings obtained turned his thoughts in
the direction of authorship. His tastes and associations led him to employ his
powers in two directions: first, in preparing for the general public a series of
works which would acquaint them with anatomy, physiology, hygiene, sanitary

science, nursing, and the management of disease, to the extent that intelligent
general readers can and ought to know about these subjects; and secondly, in
writing for professional men several treatises on the means of alleviating and
curing diseases.
In the prosecution of the first mentioned of these plans, he was early
impressed with the utter absence of any treatise on the hygiene of the sexual life
in either sex, written in the proper spirit by a scientific man. The field had been
left to quacks or worse, who, to serve their own base ends, scattered
inflammatory and often indecent pamphlets over the land; or else, had one or
more of the points been handled by reputable writers, it was in such a vague and
imperfect manner that the reader gained little benefit from the perusal. While all
agreed that a sound treatise on these topics was most desirable, it had been
openly averred that it could not be written in a proper style for the general
public.
Strong in the conviction that pure motives, literary tact, and the requisite
scientific knowledge qualified him to undertake this difficult task, Dr. Napheys
prepared, in the early months of 1869, his work on “The Physical Life of
Woman.” Proceeding with caution, he first submitted the MSS. to some
professional friends, and profited by their suggestions. After the work was in
type, and before publication, he sent complete copies to a number of gentlemen,
eminent as medical teachers, clergymen, educators, and literateurs. Their replies
left him in no doubt but that he had succeeded even beyond his anticipations.
Almost unanimously the opinions were complimentary in the highest degree,
and evidently written after a close examination of the book. As many of these
have been printed to accompany the work, in the last and previous editions, it is
needless to do more in this connection than to say that they were penned by
such judges as Dr. W. A. Hammond, late Surgeon-General U. S. Army; Dr.
Harvey L. Byrd, Professor in the Medical Department of Washington
University, Md.; Dr. Edwin M. Snow, Health Officer of the City of Providence,
R. I.; Rev. Henry Ward Beecher, Rev. Horace Bushnell, d.d., Rev. George A.
Crooke, d.d., d.c.l., and others.
On its appearance, the work was received with enthusiasm by both the
medical press and the public. While a few journals and individuals were
inclined to condemn it and censure the author, the intelligent and the pure-
minded, on all sides, recognized in him the only writer who had yet appeared
able to treat these delicate subjects with the dignity of science and the
straightforwardness necessary for popular instruction.

Satisfied that he had chosen the proper exercise for his talents, he composed
and placed in the hands of his publisher, the following year, his not less
extraordinary work, “The Transmission of Life,” a treatise addressed to the
male, as his previous one had been to the female sex. It was dedicated to the late
Rev. John Todd, so well known for his interest in young men, and his “Student's
Manual” and other works addressed to them. He accepted the dedication and
addressed the author a letter, in which occurs the following high compliment to
his work: “I am surprised at the extent and accuracy of your reading; the
judiciousness of your positions and results; the clear, unequivocal, yet delicate
and appropriate language used; and the amount of valuable information
conveyed.” Similar expressions poured in from many other distinguished critics,
as, for instance, Dr. Noah Porter, President of Yale College; the Rev. Henry Clay
Trumbull, the Rev. Abner Jackson, President of Trinity College, Hartford, etc.
In the same year (1870) he brought out the first edition of his “Modern
Therapeutics,” a technical work, addressed to physicians. This was enlarged in
successive editions, until in its present form, as continued by other hands in its
latest editions, it comprises two parts of 600 pages each. Although the author
claimed little other originality in this work than the selection and arrangement
of known facts, yet in these respects he displayed the strongly practical and
original turn of his mind. As a student of the art of Therapeutics in large
hospitals, clinics, and dispensaries, he had convinced himself that it is not by
experiments on lower animals, nor yet on the human body in health, that the
physician can attain the glorious power of alleviating pain and curing disease; it
is only through the daily combat with sickness, by the bedside and in the
consulting room. Chemistry and physiology, he believed, could teach but little
in this branch; observation and experience everything. Hence, in his work on
Therapeutics he announced himself as “aiming at a systematic analysis of all
current and approved means of combating disease,” selecting his formulæ and
therapeutical directions from the most eminent living physicians of all nations.
This work was most favorably received by medical men; and, edited and
revised by competent hands, continues to be regarded as one of the most
valuable works in American medical literature. The unanimous opinion of the
leading medical journals, as well as of its numerous purchasers, have testified to
its real and great worth to the practitioner of medicine.
Having thus established a wide, popular and professional reputation, one
which would have guaranteed him a lucrative practice, it would have tempted
another, no doubt, to make the most of this opportunity, so rarely granted a

young physician. Not so was it with Dr. Napheys. No sooner had the three
works mentioned been completed than he sailed for Europe, in order to
familiarize himself with the famed schools of learning of the Old World and its
rich stores of material for culture. The summer was that of the Franco-German
war; and spending most of it in Paris, he was witness of several of the most
exciting scenes which attended the dethronement of the Emperor. These he
would describe afterwards with a vividness and power of language rarely
excelled.
The excitement of the period did not, however, withdraw his attention from
the studies he had in view. These were partially indicated in a series of letters he
contributed to various periodicals during his absence. While these letters were
principally of a scientific character, it is noteworthy how the relations of
medicine to the welfare of man always occupied his attention. Thus we find, in
one sent from England, June, 1870, a description of the Liverpool Medical
Missionary Society, a charity which combines religious instruction with medical
advice; and again, he comments on the popular instruction in hygiene which
was supplied at that period to the English workingmen by a committee of
competent physicians, organized for that purpose. It was the author's purpose to
collect and expand these letters into a volume, but the project was not carried
out.
The siege of Paris, which city he left in one of the last trains before the
blockade commenced, and the prolongation of the war, induced him to return
home. In the United States he found offers from several publishers awaiting
him, which would more than occupy him for a full year. There was a new
edition of his “Therapeutics” demanded, and a revision of both “The Physical
Life of Woman” and “The Transmission of Life.” A New England firm urgently
pressed him to superintend the production of several hygienic works, and
secured him as literary adviser to their house. He assumed the editorship of the
“Half-Yearly Compendium of Medical Science,” and also of a “Physician's
Annual,” besides undertaking a number of articles for the periodical press, both
scientific and popular.
To this active literary life he devoted the year 1871; but at its close felt more
strongly than ever that he must give himself several years of studious quiet, in
order to accomplish his best. Refusing, therefore, any further engagements, he
sailed for Europe again, late in 1871, and did not return this time until the spring
of 1875. In this period, of more than three years, he visited almost all the
principal cities of Europe, and enjoyed the friendship of many eminent men at

London, St. Petersburg, Vienna, and Paris. Reading, visiting hospitals, and
attending clinics, he accumulated a mass of material which he designed to work
up into future literary enterprises.
With these collected stores he returned to the United States early in 1875, and
set to work with his wonted energy. A new and much enlarged edition of the
“Therapeutics” was sent to press; a “Handbook of Popular Medicine,” designed
to give, in simple language, the domestic treatment of disease, the rules for
nursing the sick, selected receipts for diet and medicinal purposes, and the
outlines of anatomy and physiology, was put in the hands of a publisher; a
Synopsis of Pharmacy and Materia Medica, a work of enormous labor, was well
under way; and other literary projects were actively planned; when, suddenly,
the summons came which, in an instant, with the shears of fate, slit the strand of
this activity. The rest of the story may be told in the words of the biographer
appointed by the Medical Society of the County of Philadelphia to prepare a
memoir of his life:—
“While earnestly laboring to prepare for the press his literary collections, he
suffered a severe blow by the sudden death of a person to whom he was deeply
attached. Over-work and this emotional shock produced a result likely enough
to occur in one of his ardent temperament. One afternoon, while engaged in
writing, he fell, unconscious, from his chair, and for several days lay in a very
critical condition. On recovering his powers, it was evident his brain had
suffered a serious lesion. The old energy and love of labor had completely gone;
even the capacity for work seemed absent. Marked melancholy followed,
characterized before long by avoidance of friends and the loss of a desire of life.
This occurred with increasing force until it led to his death, on July 1, 1876,
through some toxic agent, the nature of which was not ascertained.
“Thus early, and thus sadly, terminated a career of unusual brilliancy and
promise.
“It is probable that much that he has written will be read with pleasure and
instruction by future generations; and the memory of his genial disposition, his
entertaining conversation, and earnest sense of professional honor, will long be
cherished by those of his contemporaries who enjoyed his friendship.”—
Transactions of the Medical Society of the State of Pennsylvania, vol. xi, p. 720.
Various tributes were paid to his memory by the societies with which he was
connected, and by the scientific journals to which he had been a contributor.

One of these, after narrating some of the circumstances attending his decease,
spoke as follows:—
“Thus did our unfortunate associate close his short but brilliant career. The
emotions, the tender sentiments he has described with such a magical pen, he
felt himself with an unmatched keenness. They mastered his whole frame with
an intensity surpassing all romance. His descriptions of the passions,
descriptions which have been the wonder of thousands, such is their fire and
temper, were not rhetorical studies, but the ebullition of a soul sensitive to their
lightest breath, and not shunning their wildest tempests.
“The genius which dictated the lines he has left us is not to be judged by the
conventionalities which suit the cold temperaments of ordinary men; there is a
strong vein of egotism in most devotion; but here was one who felt, 'all is lost,
when love is lost.'”
This extract well sets forth the extraordinary depth of his sentiments, and the
fervor of his feelings. It may be added that these mental traits were not
generally ascribed to him by casual or ordinary associates. He was, in manners
and bearing, evidently not one who sought friendships or displayed to the
general gaze the current of his thoughts. Consequently, of intimates he had but
few, and was considered by those whose intercourse with him was superficial,
to be much more of an intellectual than of an emotional type of character.
This impression was doubtless increased by the strongly practical turn of his
mind, which is conspicuous in all his works. He was the reverse of a dreamer
and had little patience with theorists. In his professional study he always aimed
at bringing into the strongest light the utilitarian aspect of medicine, its
ameliorating power on humanity, its real efficacy in preserving or restoring
health and limiting human misery. On this his theory of therapeutics was based,
and, inspired by the same opinions, he was one of the most earnest advocates of
the day of popularizing medical science in all its branches among the masses. In
this effort he was at times severely criticized by that class of physicians—and
they are by no means extinct—who think that medicine should be wrapped in
mystery, and that the people should be kept in ignorance of themselves and of
their own physical frailties, to the utmost possible extent. With these learned
obscurantists Dr. Napheys had no patience, and naturally found but slight favor.
Fortunately, they were in the decided minority, and, we are happy to add, even
that minority is daily decreasing.

Of the various learned societies to which he was attached may be mentioned
the Philadelphia County Medical Society, the Franklin Institute of Philadelphia,
and the Gynecological Society of Boston. His election as Corresponding
Member to the latter body (which is an association of scientific men who make
an especial study of the hygiene and diseases of women) took place shortly after
the first publication of the Physical Life of Woman, and was meant as a direct
tribute of respect to him as the author of that work, thus obtaining for it the
testimony of the highest body in that specialty then existing in our land.
The general plan on which Dr. Napheys prepared his sanitary writings was
one eminently calculated to reconcile those who were most opposed to
instructing the general public in such branches. While he confidently believed
that vastly more harm than good is done by a prudish concealment of the
physiology of sex and its relations to health, he also clearly recognized that such
instruction should be imparted at the proper age and under certain limitations;
while the general facts common to the species cannot be taught too generally, or
made too familiar. Hence, he projected three books, one to be placed in the
hands of young women, a second for youths, and a third for a general household
book of reading and reference on medicine and hygiene. These three he
completed in “The Physical Life of Woman,” “The Transmission of Life,” and
the “Handbook of Popular Medicine.”
This plan, he believed, met all the objections to popular medical instruction,
at least all well-grounded objections, while at the same time it did away with
any necessity for concealing truths important to be known, for fear they should
come to the knowledge of those for whom they were not designed, and on
whose minds they might have a disturbing tendency.
There can be no doubt but that both the plan and its execution were
successful. The many letters he received, filled with thanks from private parties
who had gained inestimable knowledge from these works, made rich
compensation for the occasional severe strictures he received from those
wedded to ancient ways, and who often condemned without even reading his
works.
The intelligent reading public, on whom, after all, the writer must depend for
a verdict on his works, were unanimous in his favor. They bought them in
quantities, and the writer of his life in the Transactions of the Pennsylvania
State Medical Society, above quoted, who wrote in 1877, estimates that by that
time over a quarter of a million copies had been printed and sold. Translations
were made into the German, and several editions pirated and printed in Canada

and England. In fact, the works may now be considered to rank as classics in the
language, and many years must go by before another such series can be written,
on topics of this nature, with equal delicacy of touch and accuracy of
knowledge.

CONTENTS.
PUBLISHERS' NOTICE.
EDITOR'S PREFACE.
PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION
PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

Introductory.15-22
Knowledge is safety—The peculiarities of sex—Examples of
individuals belonging to both sexes and to neither sex—The
sphere of woman

Part I. THE MAIDEN.
Puberty22-52
What it means—Age when it arrives—Causes that hasten it—
Causes that delay it—Brunettes mature early—The signs of
puberty—Its dangers—Spinal disease—Green sickness—
Hysterics—Secret bad habits—Hygiene of puberty—Diet—
Exercise—Clothing— Precautions during the monthly changes
—Between the monthly changes—What to do when the changes
are delayed—When they are painful—The age of nubility.
Love52-89
Its power in life—What it is—It is necessary and it is eternal—
Of second marriages and of divorce—Courtship—Love at first
sight—How to choose a husband—Shall cousins marry?—
Marriage between different races and different nations—The
proper age of a husband—His temperament—His moral and
mental character—Words of warning—Signs of character on the
body—The engagement—Concerning long engagements—The
right time of year to marry—The right time in the month to
marry—The wedding tour.

Part II. THE WIFE.
Hints To Young Wives90-132
The wedding night—Should husband and wife sleep together or
apart?—The most healthful bed—The dignity and propriety of
the sexual instinct—The proper indulgence and the restraint of
sexual desire—Marital relations, when they should be suspended
—When they are painful—Barrenness, its causes and its cures—
Advice to wives who desire children—The limitation of
offspring—When it is proper—Justifiable means—Injurious
means—The crime of abortion—The nature of conception—
Signs of conception—How to retain the affections of a husband.
Inheritance132-166
The varieties of inheritance—The legacy of beauty—The
complexion—What physical qualities each parent bestows—The
inheritance of fertility and longevity—Even deformities
sometimes transmitted—How to have beautiful children—Talent
and genius may be transmitted—The physical traits of fathers in
daughters, and of mothers in sons—Examples—Influence of
education on inherited qualities—Transmission of disease—Of
mutilations—How to avoid inherited ill tendencies—The excess
of women—How to have boys or girls at will—Twins and
triplets.
Pregnancy167-218
Veneration of the pregnant woman—Signs of pregnancy—
Quickening—Mental changes—Miscarriage, its causes,
symptoms, and prevention—Mother's marks—What makes
them?—How to avoid them—Education of the child in the
womb—Are double pregnancies possible?—Instances of double
children—Can a child cry in the womb?—Is it a son or a
daughter?—Are there twins present?—The duration of
pregnancy—How to calculate when the confinement will come
—Care of health during pregnancy—The food, clothing,
exercise, bathing, ventilation, and sleep—Effect on health of
body and mind—Relations of husband and wife during
pregnancy.

The Confinement219-242
Preparations for childbirth—The signs of approaching labor—
The symptoms of actual labor—Attention is required during
labor—To the mother—To the child—To have labor without
pain—The risks of childbed—Weight and length of new-born
children—The duration of labor—Stillborn children—
Imprudence after childbirth—To preserve the form after
childbirth.

Part III. THE MOTHER.
Nursing243-270
The duties and privileges of a mother—Hindrances to nursing,
and when it is improper—Rules for nursing—Influence of diet
on the mother's milk—Influence of pregnancy on the milk—The
mother's mind and her infant—Striking examples—Position of
the mother while nursing—Qualities of a good nursing mother—
Excess and deficiency of the milk—Wet-nursing by virgins, aged
women, and men—Rules for care of health while nursing—
Relations of husband and wife at this time—Over-nursing and
the signs of it—Directions for mothers who cannot nurse their
own children—How to select a wet-nurse.

Part IV. THE CHILD.
The Care of Infancy271-324
The causes of infant mortality—Bringing up by hand—Weaning,
when and how to do it—Teething—Vaccination and re-
vaccination—The food of infants and children—Concerning
sleep in early life—The clothing of children, its pattern, amount,
and quality—Bathing, ventilation, and exercise in early
childhood—On learning to walk—The advantages of games and
plays—On training the sight and hearing.
The Management of Some Diseases of Childhood325-350
How to recognize and treat croup—Head colds—Fits—Nose-
bleed—Worms— Bed-wetting—Looseness of the bowels—

Indigestion—Hints on home government—Is the race physically
weaker?

Part V. HEALTH IN MARRIAGE.
Diseases Incident To Pregnancy352-360
Morning sickness—Pain in the abdomen—Varicose veins—Piles
—Diarrhœa— Constipation—Cough—Wakefulness.
Diseases Incident To Childbed and Nursing361-385
Puerperal mania—White-flowing—Milk-leg—Inward weakness
—Various causes of weakness—Tight lacing one of them—Their
treatment—Gathered breasts—Cracked nipples.

Part VI. THE SINGLE LIFE.
Advantages and Drawbacks of386-388

Part VII. THE CHANGE OF LIFE.
Diseases and Hygiene of389-404
What it is—Age when it comes—Signs and symptoms—Effects
on the character—Those who suffer most—Diseases and
discomforts attending—Precautions and remedies.

Notes405-412
Index413-426
Testimonials

THE PHYSICAL LIFE OF
WOMAN.
Top

KNOWLEDGE IS SAFETY.

'Knowledge is power,' said the philosopher. The maxim is true; but here is a
greater truth: 'Knowledge is safety,'—safety amid the physical ills that beset us,
—safety amid the moral pitfalls that environ us.
Filled with this thought, we write this book. It is the Revelation of Science to
Woman. It tells her, in language which aims at nothing but simplicity, the results
which the study of her nature, as distinct from that of man, has attained. We may
call it her physical biography.
It is high time that such a book were written. The most absorbing question of
the day is the 'Woman Question.' The social problems of chiefest interest
concern her. And nowhere are those problems more zealously studied than in
America, which has thrown aside the trammels of tradition, and is training its
free muscles with intent to grapple the untried possibilities of social life. Who
can guide us in these experiments? What master, speaking as one having
authority, can advise us? There is such a guide, such a master. The laws of
woman's physical life shape her destiny and reveal her future. Within these laws
all things are possible; beyond them, nothing is of avail.
Especially should woman herself understand her own nature. How many
women are there, with health, beauty, merriment, ay, morality too, all gone, lost
for ever, through ignorance of themselves! What spurious delicacy is this which
would hide from woman that which beyond all else it behooves her to know?
We repudiate it; and in plain, but decorous language,—truth is always decorous,
—we purpose to divulge those secrets hidden hitherto under the technical jargon
of science.

THE DISTINCTION OF THE SEXES.

The distinction of the sexes belongs neither to the highest nor to the lowest
forms of existence. Animals and vegetables of the humblest character have no
sex. So it is with spirits. Revelation implies that beyond this life sexual
characteristics cease. On one occasion the Sadducees put this question to Christ:
There was a woman who lawfully had seven husbands, one after the other; now,
at the resurrection, which of these shall be her husband? or shall they all have
her to wife? He replied that hereafter there shall be neither marrying nor giving
in marriage, but that all shall be 'as the angels which are in heaven.' Sexuality
implies reproduction, and that is something we do not associate with spiritual
life.

It further implies imperfection, which is equally far from our hopes of
happiness beyond the grave. The polyp, which reproduces by a division of itself,
is in one sense more complete than we are. The man is in some respects inferior
to the woman; the woman in others is subordinate to man. A happy marriage, a
perfect union, they twain one flesh, is the type of the independent, completed
being. Without the other, either is defective. 'Marriage,' said Napoléon, 'is
strictly indispensable to happiness.'
There is, in fact, a less difference between the sexes than is generally
believed. They are but slight variations from one original plan. Anatomists
maintain, with plausible arguments, that there is no part or organ in the one sex
but has an analogous part or organ in the other, similar in structure, similar in
position. Just as the right side resembles the left, so does man resemble woman.
Let us see what differences there really are:
The frame of woman is shorter and slighter. In the United States the men
average five feet eight inches in height, and one hundred and forty-five pounds
in weight; the women, five feet two and a half inches in height, and one hundred
and twenty-five pounds in weight. Man has broad shoulders and narrow hips;
woman has narrow shoulders and broad hips. Her skull is formed of thinner
bones, and is in shape more like that of a child. Its capacity, in proportion to her
height, is very little less than in man,—about one-fiftieth, it is said,—which, so
far as brain-power is concerned, may readily be made up by its finer texture.
Her shoulders are set farther back than in the other sex, giving her greater
breadth of chest in front. This is brought about by the increased length of her
collar-bone; and this is the reason why she can never throw a ball or stone with
the accuracy of a man. Graceful in other exercises, here she is awkward.
Her contour is more rounded, her neck is longer, her skin smoother, her voice
softer, her hair less generally distributed over the body, but stronger in growth
than in man. She breathes with the muscles of her chest—he with those of his
abdomen. He has greater muscular force—she more power of endurance.
Beyond all else she has the attributes of maternity,—she is provided with organs
to nourish and protect the child before and after birth.

PERSONS OF BOTH SEXES AND OF NEITHER SEX.

Nature is very sedulous in maintaining these differences. It is the rarest thing
in the world to find a human being of doubtful sex. Many a physician

disbelieves that there ever has been a person of both sexes—a true
hermaphrodite. They are very scarce, but they do exist. There is one now living
in Germany. It bears a female name, Catherine Hohmann. She was baptised and
brought up a female; but Catherine is as much man as woman. The learned
professor of anatomy, Rokitansky, of Vienna, asserts most positively that this is
a real hermaphrodite. Her history is sad. Born in humble circumstances, when
of marriageable age she loved a man, who wished her to emigrate with him to
America. But when she disclosed to him her deformity, he broke off the
engagement and deserted her. Then her affection became fixed on a young girl;
but how could she make her suit to one apparently of her own sex? With
passions that prompt her to seek both sexes, she belongs to neither. 'What shall I
do here on earth?' she exclaimed, in tears, to a man of science who recently
visited her. 'What am I? In my life an object of scientific experiment, and after
my death an anatomical curiosity.'
There are also persons—very few indeed—who have no sex at all. They are
without organs and without passions. Such creatures seem to have been formed
merely to show us that this much-talked-of difference of sex is, after all, nothing
inherent in the constitution of things, and that individuals may be born, live and
thrive, of both sexes, or of neither.

THE SPHERE OF WOMAN.

Our province lies within the physical sphere of woman. But we will here
allow ourselves a momentary digression. It will be seen that while these
differences are not radical, yet they are peculiarly permanent. They hint to us
the mental and intellectual character of woman. What opinion should we hold
on this much-vexed question?
To this effect: The mental faculties of man and woman are unlike, but not
unequal. Any argument to the contrary, drawn from the somewhat less weight of
the brain of woman, is met by the fact that the most able men are often
undersized, with small heads. The subordinate place which woman occupies in
most states, arises partly from the fact that the part she plays in reproduction
prevents her from devoting her whole time and energies to the acquisition of
power, and partly from the fact that those faculties in which she is superior to
man have been obscured and oppressed by the animal vigor and selfishness of
the male. As civilisation advances, the natural rights of woman will be more and
more freely conceded, until the sexes become absolutely equal before the law;
and, finally, her superiority in many respects will be granted, and she will reap

the benefits of all the advantages it brings, without desiring to encroach on those
avocations for which masculine energy and strength are imperatively needed.
The most peculiar features of woman's life are hers for a limited period only.
Man is man for a longer time than woman is woman. With him it is a lifetime
matter; with her it is but for a score of years or so. Her child-bearing period is
less than half her life. Within this time she passes through all the phases of that
experience which is peculiarly her own.
And these phases, what are they? Nature herself defines them. They are three
in number,—the Maiden, the Wife, and the Mother. In one and then another of
this triad, her life passes. Each has its own duties and dangers; each demands its
own precautions; each must be studied by itself.
Let us at once commence this important study, and proceed in the order of
time.

THE MAIDEN.
Top

PUBERTY.

At a certain period in the life of the female, she ceases to be a girl, and
becomes a woman. Hitherto she has felt no distinction between herself and the
boys, her playmates. But now a crisis takes place, which is for ever after to
hedge her round with a mysterious, invisible, but most real barrier from all
mankind.
This period is called the age of puberty. Its sign is a flow of blood recurring
every month; its meaning, that the female has entered upon that portion of her
life whose peculiar obligations are to the whole race—no longer to herself
alone. The second part of her twofold nature is opened. Why is it that on her, the
weaker sex, this extra burden is laid? Why this weakness, these pains, this
recurring loss of vital fluid?
Perhaps, as has been observed, it is a wise provision that she is thus reminded
of her lowly duty, lest man should make her the sole object of his worship, or
lest the pride of beauty should obscure the sense of shame. But this question
concerns rather the moralist than the physician, and we cease asking why it is,
and shall only inquire what it is.
To this science returns a clear reply. In the anatomy of woman there are two
small bodies, in shape and size like large almonds, called the ovaries. They lie
one on each side of the womb, and are connected with it by tubes about four
inches in length. These bodies are solid, but contain a great number of
diminutive vesicles, which, by some mysterious law of nature, mature one at a
time, every thirty days, for thirty years of woman's life. When mature, the
vesicle separates from the ovary, traverses the tube into the womb, and is thence
expelled and lost, or becomes, by contact with the other sex, the germ of a
living being. This process is accompanied by a disturbance of the whole system.
Wandering pains are felt; a sense of languor steals over the mind; the blood
rushes with increased violence through the vessels, and more or less of it
escapes from the veins, causing that change which we term menstruation.

The ancients had a tradition that in the beginning of things the world was
made from an egg; the naturalists of past generations had this maxim:
Everything living comes from an egg; and science to-day says the same. For this
vesicle we have mentioned is in fact an egg, similar in structure to those which
birds, fish, and turtles deposit. The only differences are, that the one is
developed out of the body, the other within; the one has a shell, the other has
none.
Therefore physiologists give this definition: Menstruation is ovulation,—it is
the laying of an egg.

WHAT IS THE AGE OF PUBERTY?

This has been a matter of careful study by physicians. They have collected
great numbers of observations, and have reached this conclusion: In the middle
portion of the temperate zone, the average age when the first period appears in
healthy girls is fourteen years and six months. If it occurs more than six months
later or earlier than this, then it is likely something is wrong, or, at least, the case
is exceptional.
Exceptional cases, where this average is widely departed from in apparently
perfect health, are rare. But they do occur. We have known instances where the
solicitude of parents has been excited by the long delay of this constitutional
change, and others in which it has taken place at an almost tender age, without
causing any perceptible injury to the general health.
There is an instance recorded, on good authority, where a French child but
three years old underwent all the physical changes incident to puberty, and grew
to be a healthy woman. But what children can surpass the American in
precocity? This French child-woman is quite left in the shade by one described
in a recent number of a western medical journal, who from her birth had regular
monthly changes, and the full physical development which marks the perfect
woman!
Thus, sometimes, a wide deviation from the average age we have stated
occurs, without having any serious meaning. Yet at no time is such a deviation
to be neglected. In nine out of ten instances it is owing to some fault in the
constitution, the health, or formation, which should be ascertained and
corrected. Otherwise years of broken health and mental misery may be the sad
results. Mothers, teachers, it is with you this responsibility rests. The thousands

of wretched wives, who owe their wretchedness to a neglect of proper attention
at this turning-point of their lives, warn you how serious is this responsibility.
The foundation of old age, says a distinguished author, is laid in childhood;
but the health of middle-life depends upon puberty. Never was there a truer
maxim. The two years which change the girl to the woman often seal for ever
the happiness or the hopeless misery of her whole life. They decide whether she
is to become a healthy, helpful, cheerful wife and mother, or a languid,
complaining invalid, to whom marriage is a curse, children an affliction, and life
itself a burden.
We reiterate our warning: Mothers, teachers, you to whom children are
confided at this crisis of their lives, look well to it that you appreciate,
understand, and observe the duties you have assumed. Let no false modesty
prevent you from learning and enforcing those precautions, so necessary at this
period of life.

WHAT HASTENS AND WHAT RETARDS PUBERTY?

As a rule, we find that those who develope early, fade early. A short
childhood portends a premature old age. It often foreshadows, also, a feeble
middle-life.
Having ascertained, therefore, what is the average age at which puberty takes
place with us, let us see what conditions anticipate or retard this age.
The most important is climate.
In hot climates, man, like the vegetation, has a surprising rapidity of growth.
Marriages are usual at twelve or fourteen years of age. Puberty comes to both
sexes as early as at ten and eleven years. We even read in the life of
Mohammed, that one of his wives, when but ten years of age, bore him a son.
Let another dozen years pass, and these blooming maidens have been
metamorphosed into wrinkled, faded old women. The beauty of their precocious
youth has withered almost literally like a flower which is plucked.
Very different is it in the cold and barren regions of the far north. There man,
once more partaking of the nature of his surroundings, yields as slowly to the
impulses of his passions as does the ice-bound earth to the slanting rays of the
summer sun. Maturity, so quick to come, so swift to leave in the torrid heats,
arrives, chilled by the long winters, to the girls of Lapland, Norway, and Siberia,

only when they are eighteen and nineteen years of age. But, in return for this,
they retain their vigor and good looks to a green old age.
Between these extremes, including as they do the whole second decade of
existence, this important change takes place normally in different latitudes. We
have said that in the middle temperate zone the proper age is fourteen years and
six months. Let us now see what conditions lead to deviations from this age in
our climate.
First on the list is that sacred fire handed down to us from our ancestors,
which we call, in our material language, the constitution.
The females of certain races, certain families, it is often noticed, mature
earlier than their neighbours. Jewesses, for example, are always precocious,
earlier by one or two years. So are colored girls, and those of creole lineage. We
can guess the reasons here. No doubt these children still retain in their blood the
tropic fire which, at comparatively recent periods, their forefathers felt under
the vertical rays of the torrid zone.
Nor is this all. It is well ascertained, from numerous observations, that
brunettes develope sooner than their blonde sisters; that those who will grow to
be large women are slower than those whose stature will be small; that the dark-
haired and black-eyed are more precocious in this respect than the light-haired
and blue-eyed; that the fat, sluggish girl is more tardy than the slender, active
one; that, in general, what is known as the nervo-bilious temperament is ever
ahead of that called the lymphatic or phlegmatic.
It is a familiar fact, that it is not a good sign to see this change before the
usual average time. It betokens a weakly, excitable, diminutive frame. Hard
labor, vigorous, regular muscular exertion—prime health, in other words—
never tends to anticipate this epoch, but rather to retard it.
With this warning fresh in our ears, let us now rehearse what causes
constantly incline unduly to hasten puberty, and thus to forestall wise Nature in
her plans for health and beauty. They are of two kinds,—physical and mental.
Idleness of body, highly-seasoned food, stimulating beverages, such as beer,
wine, liqueurs, and, in a less degree, coffee and tea, irregular habits of sleep,—
these are the physical causes of premature development. But the mental causes
are still more potent.

Whatever stimulates the emotions leads to an unnaturally early sexual life.
Late hours, children's parties, sensational novels, 'flashy' papers, love stories,
the drama, the ball-room, talk of beaux, love, and marriage,—that atmosphere
of riper years which is so often and so injudiciously thrown around childhood,
—all hasten the event which transforms the girl into the woman. A particular
emphasis has been laid by some physicians on the power of music to awaken
the dormant susceptibilities to passion, and on this account its too general or
earnest cultivation by children has been objected to. Educators would do well to
bear this caution in mind.
How powerfully these causes work is evident when we compare the average
age of puberty in large cities and in country districts. The females in the former
mature from six to eight months sooner than those in the latter. This is
unquestionably owing to their mode of life,—physically indolent, mentally
over-stimulated. The result, too, is seen with painful plainness in comparing the
sturdy, well-preserved farm-wife of thirty, with the languid, pale, faded city lady
of the same age.

THE CHANGES IT WORKS.

Two short years change the awkward and angular girl of fourteen into the
trim and graceful maiden of sweet sixteen. Wonderful metamorphosis! The
magic wand of the fairy has touched her, and she comes forth a new being, a
vision of beauty to bewitch the world.
Let us analyze this change.
The earliest sign of approaching puberty is a deposit of fat in the loose
cellular tissue under the skin. This gives roundness to the form, and grace to the
movements. According to a distinguished naturalist (Buffon), it is first
observable by a slight swelling of the groins. Thence it extends over the whole
body. The breasts especially receive additions, and develope to form the perfect
bust.
Parts of the body previously free from hair become covered with a soft
growth, and that which covers the head acquires more vigor and gloss, usually
becoming one or two shades darker. The eyes brighten, and acquire unwonted
significance. These windows of the soul betray to the close observer the novel
emotions which are arising in the mind within.

The voice, too, shares in the transformation. The piping, slender articulation
of the child gives way to the rich, melodious, soft voice of woman—the
sweetest music man ever hears. To the student of humanity, to the observant
physician, nothing is more symbolical of the whole nature than the voice. Would
you witness a proof of its power? Watch how a person born blind unerringly
discriminates the character of those he meets by this alone.
Beyond all external modifications, we find others, which indicate how
profound is the alteration now taking place. The internal organs of the body
assume new functions and new powers. The taste for food changes, hinting that
the system has demands hitherto unknown. Those organs we have adverted to,
called the ovaries, increase in size, as also does the uterus. The very framework
of the structure does not escape. The bones increase in weight, and those around
the hips expand, and give the female her distinctive form, upon the perfection of
which her life and that of her children depend.

MENTAL CHANGES.

Such are the changes which strike the eye. But there are others which are not
less significant, and which demand far more urgently our watchful heed. New
thoughts, strange desires, are invading the soul. A novel relation is assumed to
the world. It is vague, misunderstood, but disturbing all the same.
The once light-hearted girl inclines to reveries; she seeks solitude; her mother
surprises her in causeless tears; her teacher discovers an unwonted inattention to
her studies, a less retentive memory, a disinclination to mental labor; her father
misses her accustomed playfulness; he, perhaps, is annoyed by her listlessness
and inertia. What does it all mean? What is the matter with the girl?
Mother, teacher, father, it is for you to know the answers to these questions.
You have guarded this girl through years of helpless infancy and thoughtless
childhood. At the peril of her life, and of what is of more value than life, do not
now relax your vigilance. Every day the reaper Death reaps with his keen sickle
the flowers of our land. The mothers weep, indeed; but little do they realize that
it is because they have neglected to cherish them as was their duty, that the Lord
of Paradise has taken them back unto Himself.

THE COMPLETION OF PUBERTY.

The symptoms increase until at length the system has acquired the necessary
strength, and furnished itself with reserve forces enough to complete its
transformation. Then the monthly flow commences.
In thoroughly healthy girls it continues to recur at regular intervals, from
twenty-five to thirty days apart. This is true of about three out of four. In others,
a long interval, sometimes six months, occurs between the first and second
sickness. If the general health be not in the least impaired, this need cause no
anxiety. Irregularities are found in the first year or two, which often right
themselves afterwards. But whenever they are associated with the slightest signs
of mental or bodily disorder, they demand instant and intelligent attention.
It used to be supposed that the periods of the monthly sickness were in some
way connected with the phases of the moon. So general is this belief even yet in
France, that a learned Academician not long since thought it worth while
carefully to compare over four thousand observations, to see whether they did
bear any relations to the lunar phases. It is hardly worth while to add that he
found none.
We have known perfectly healthy young women who were ill every sixteen
days, and others in whom a period of thirty-five or thirty-six days would elapse.
The reasons of such differences are not clear. Some inherited peculiarity of
constitution is doubtless at work. Climate is of primary importance. Travellers
in Lapland, and other countries in the far north, say that the women there are not
regulated more frequently than three or four times a year. Hard labor and a
phlegmatic temperament usually prolong the interval between the periodical
illnesses.
An equal diversity prevails in reference to the length of time the discharge
continues. The average of a large number of cases observed in healthy women,
between the ages of fifteen and thirty-five, is four days and a fraction. In a more
general way, we may say from two to six days is the proper duration. Should it
diverge widely from this, then it is likely some mischief is at work.
In relation to the amount of the discharge, every woman is a law unto herself.
Usually, it is four or five ounces in all. Habits of life are apt to modify it
materially. Here, again, those exposed to prolonged cold and inured to severe
labor escape more easily than their sisters petted in the lap of luxury. Delicate,
feeble, nervous women—those, in other words, who can least afford the loss of
blood—are precisely those who lose the most. Nature, who is no tender mother,
but a stern step-mother, thus punishes them for disregarding her laws. Soft

couches, indolent ease, highly spiced food; warm rooms, weak muscles,—these
are the infractions of her rules which she revenges with vigorous, ay, merciless
severity.
It is well known, too, that excitement of the emotions, whether of anger, joy,
grief, hatred, or love increases the discharge. Even the vulgar are aware of this,
and, misinterpreting it as half-knowledge always does, suppose it a sign of
stronger animal passions. It bears no such meaning. But the fact reads us a
lesson how important it is to cultivate a placid mind, free from strong desire or
fear, and to hold all our emotions in the firm leash of reason.
Physicians attach great importance to the character of the discharge. It should
be thin, watery, dark-coloured, and never clot. If it clots, it is an indication that
something is wrong.

THE DANGERS OF PUBERTY.

We have shown that there are constantly individual deviations, quite
consistent with health, from any given standard. They only become significant
of disease when they depart decidedly from the average, either in the frequency
of the illness, its duration, the amount of the discharge, or the character. More or
less pain, more or less prostration and general disturbances at these epochs, are
universal and inevitable. They are part of the sentence which at the outset He
pronounced upon the woman, when He said unto her, 'I will greatly multiply thy
sorrow and thy conception.' Yet with merciful kindness He has provided means
by which the pain may be greatly lessened, and the sorrow avoided; and that we
may learn and observe these means, their neglect often increases a hundred-fold
the natural suffering.
At this critical period, the seeds of hereditary and constitutional diseases
manifest themselves. They draw fresh malignancy from the new activity of the
system. The first symptoms of tubercular consumption, of scrofula, of obstinate
and disfiguring skin diseases, of hereditary insanity, of congenital epilepsy, of a
hundred terrible maladies, which from birth have lurked in the child, biding the
opportunity of attack, suddenly spring from their lairs, and hurry her to the
grave or the madhouse. If we ask why so many fair girls of eighteen or twenty
are followed by weeping friends to an early tomb, the answer is, chiefly from
diseases which had their origin at the period of puberty.

It is impossible for us here to rehearse all the minute symptoms, each almost
trifling in itself, which warn the practised physician of the approach of one of
these fearful foes in time to allow him to make a defence. We can do little more
than iterate the warning, that whenever, at this momentous epoch, any
disquieting change appears, be it physical or mental, let not a day be lost in
summoning skilled, competent medical advice.
There is, however, a train of symptoms so frequent, so insidious, so fruitful
with agony of mind and body, that we shall mention them particularly. They
illustrate, at once, how all-important is close observation, and how significant to
the wise physician are trifles seemingly light as air.
If you notice a girl of fourteen or sixteen, who, in walking, always gives one
arm in preference to the other to her companion; if, in sleeping, she mostly lies
on the same side; if, in sitting, she is apt to prefer a chair with a low back, and
throws one arm over its back; if you perceive that she always sits with one foot
a little in advance of the other; if she, on inquiry, confesses to slight, wandering
pains in one side of her chest,—do not chide her for awkwardness. These are
ominous portents. They mean spinal disease, than which a more fearful malady
is hardly known to medicine.
Not less stealthy is the approach of disease of the hip-joint, of white swelling
of the knee, of consumption,—all curable if taken in hand at the very first, all
well-nigh hopeless when they have once unmasked their real features.
Apart from these general dangers, to which those of thoroughly sound
constitutions are not exposed, there are disorders called functional, to which all
are subject.

GREEN SICKNESS.

When we speak of the 'green sickness,' we mention perhaps the most
common of all, and one of which every mother has heard. Doctors call it
chlorosis, which also means greenness; for one of its most common and peculiar
symptoms is a pale complexion with a greenish tinge.
It never occurs except at or near the age of puberty, and was long supposed to
be merely an impoverishment of the blood. Now, however, we have learned that
it is a disease of the nervous system, and one very often confounded by
physicians with other complaints.

Its attack is insidious. A distaste for exertion and society, a fitful appetite, low
spirits,—these are all the symptoms noticed at first. Then, one by one, come
palpitation of the heart, an unhealthy complexion, irregularity, dyspepsia,
depraved tastes,—such as a desire to eat slate-pencil dust, chalk, or clay,—
vague pains in body and limbs, a bad temper; until the girl, after several months,
is a peevish, wretched, troublesome invalid.
Then, if a physician is called in, and gives her iron, and tells her nothing is
the matter, or is himself alarmed, and imagines she has heart disease or
consumption, it is a chance if she does not rapidly sink, out of mere fright and
over-much dosing, into some fatal complaint. Let it be well understood that
chlorosis, though often obstinate and obscure, is always curable if properly and
promptly treated. The remedies must be addressed to the nervous system, and
can be administered with intelligence only by a competent medical adviser. It
can be prevented by a hygienic mode of life, and, as its most common causes
are anxiety, home-sickness, want of exercise, or overwork at school, nothing is
so salutary in its early stages as a change of air and scene, cheerful company, a
tour to the mountains or some watering-place, and regular exercise.
Many young women suffer considerable pain during their monthly illness.
This may arise from many different causes, such as, congestion, inflammation,
malformation, or a wrong position of the parts, or over-sensitive nerves. They
can only be successfully treated when the cause is known; and they may rest
assured that this suffering, in nearly every case, can be removed.
Sometimes a girl grows to the age of eighteen or twenty without having her
periodical changes. We have already said that this is not unusual in some
climates and in some families; so, as long as the general health is good and the
spirits cheerful,—always an important point,—it need cause no anxiety. But if
the health grow poor, and especially if there be pains and weakness recurring
monthly without discharge, then something is wrong, and the doctor should be
consulted.

HYSTERICS.

There is a disease of the nerves to which girls about the age of puberty are
very subject, particularly in the higher circles of society, where their emotions
are over-educated and their organization delicate. It is called hysteria, and more
commonly hysterics. Frequently it deceives both doctor and friends, and is
supposed to be some dangerous complaint. Often it puts on the symptoms of

epilepsy, or heart disease, or consumption. We have witnessed the most frightful
convulsions in girls of fourteen or fifteen, which were brought on by this
complaint. Sometimes it injures the mind; and it should always receive prompt
and efficient attention, as it is always curable.
This disease is apt to produce a similar affection in other girls of the same age
who see the attacks. For this reason, hysterical girls should not be sent to large
schools, but cured at home. Often a strong mental impression restores them. The
anecdote is told of a celebrated surgeon (Boerhaave) who was called to a female
seminary where there was a number of hysterical girls. He summoned them
together, heated a number of iron instruments before their eyes, and told them
that the first one who had a fit should be cauterized down the spine. They all
recovered immediately.

SECRET BAD HABITS.

We now approach a part of our subject which we would gladly omit, did not
constant experience admonish us of our duty to speak of it in no uncertain tone.
We refer to the disastrous consequences on soul and body to which young girls
expose themselves by exciting and indulging morbid passions. Years ago, Miss
Catherine E. Beecher sounded a note of warning to the mothers of America on
this secret vice, which leads their daughters to the grave, the madhouse, or,
worse yet, the brothel.
Gladly would we believe that her timely admonition had done away with the
necessity for its repetition. But though we believe such a habit is more rare than
many physicians suppose, it certainly exists to a degree that demands attention.
Surgeons have recently been forced to devise painful operations to hinder young
girls from thus ruining themselves; and we must confess that, in its worst form,
it is absolutely incurable.
The results of the constant nervous excitement which this habit produces are
bodily weakness, loss of memory, low spirits, distressing nervousness, a
capricious appetite, dislike of company and of study, and finally, paralysis,
imbecility, or insanity. Let it not be supposed that there are many who suffer
thus severely; but, on the other hand, let it be clearly understood that any
indulgence whatever in these evil courses is attended with bad effects,
especially because they create impure desires and thoughts, which will prepare
the girl to be a willing victim to the arts of profligacy. There is no more solemn

duty resting on those who have the charge of young females than to protect
them against this vice.
But, it is exclaimed, is it not dangerous to tell them anything about it? Such a
course is unnecessary. Teach them that any handling of the parts, any indecent
language, any impure thought, is degrading and hurtful. See that the servants,
nurses, and companions with whom they associate are not debased; and
recommend scrupulous cleanliness.
If the habit is discovered, do not scold nor whip the child. It is often a result
of disease, and induced by a disagreeable local itching. Sometimes this is
connected with a disorder of the womb, and very frequently with worms in the
bowels. Let the case be submitted to a judicious, skilful medical adviser, and the
girl will yet be saved. But do not shut your eyes, and refuse to see this fact when
it exists. Mothers are too often unwilling to entertain for a moment the thought
that their daughters are addicted to such a vice, when it is only too plain to the
physician.

THE HYGIENE OF PUBERTY.

Concerning the maladies of puberty, we may broadly say, that if we are
obliged to have recourse to medicine, it is because we have neglected hygiene.
That the period requires assiduous care, we grant; but given that care, drugs will
be needless.
In a general way, we have already emphasized the danger of indolence and
the benefits of exercise or labor; the perils of exciting the emotions, and the
advantages of a placid disposition; the impropriety of premature development,
and the wisdom of simplicity and moderation. This is an old story—a thrice-told
tale. Let us go more into minutiæ.
One of the most frequent causes of disease, about the age of puberty, is
starvation. Many a girl is starved to death. Food is given her, but not of the right
quality, or in insufficient quantity, or at improper hours. The system is not
nourished, and, becoming feeble, it is laid open to the attacks of disease, and to
no form of disease more readily than to consumption.
To correct this, let the food be varied, simply prepared, and abundant. Good
fresh milk should be used daily, while tea and coffee should be withheld. Fat
meats and vegetable oils, generally disliked by girls at this age, are exactly what

they need; and were they partaken of more freely, there would be less inquiry at
the druggists for cod-liver oil.
A modern writer of eminence lays it down as one of the most common causes
of consumption in young people, that just at the age when their physical system
is undergoing such important changes, that invaluable article of diet, milk, is
generally dropped, and nothing equally rich in nitrogen substituted in its place.
Exercise, whether as games, the skipping rope, croquet, walking, dancing,
riding, and calisthenics, or as regular labor, is highly beneficial, especially when
it leads one into the fresh air, the sunshine, and the country. A particular kind of
exercise is to be recommended for those whose chests are narrow, whose
shoulders stoop, and who have a hereditary predisposition to consumption. If it
is systematically practised along with other means of health, we would
guarantee any child, no matter how many relatives have died of this disease,
against its invasion. It is voluntary inspiration. Nothing is more simple. Let her
stand erect, throw the shoulders well back, and the hands behind; then let her
slowly inhale pure air to the full capacity of the lungs, and retain it a few
seconds by an increased effort; then it may be slowly exhaled. After one or two
natural inspirations, let her repeat the act, and so on for ten or fifteen minutes,
twice daily. Not only is this simple procedure a safeguard against consumption,
but, in the opinion of some learned physicians, it can even cure it when it has
already commenced.
At first the monthly loss of blood exhausts the system. Therefore, plenty of
food, plenty of rest, plenty of sleep, are required. That ancient prejudice in
favour of early rising should be discarded now, and the girl should retire early,
and if she will, should sleep late. Hard study, care, or anxiety should be spared
her. This is not the time for rigid discipline.
Clothing is a matter of importance, and, if we were at all sure of attention,
there is much we would say of it. The thought seriously troubles us, that so long
as women consent to deform themselves and sacrifice their health to false ideas
of beauty, it is almost hopeless to urge their fitness for, and their right to a
higher life than they now enjoy. No educated painter or sculptor is ignorant of
what the model of female beauty is; no fashionable woman is content unless she
departs from it as far as possible.
Now beauty implies health, and ugliness of form is attained not only at the
expense of æsthetics, but of comfort. The custom of fastening growing girls in
tight corsets, of flattening their breasts with pads, of distorting their feet in small

high-heeled shoes, and of teaching them to stoop and mince in gait, is calculated
to disgust every observer of good sense and taste, and, what is of more
consequence, to render these girls, when they become women, more liable to
every species of suffering connected with child-bearing.
The monthly change is the prelude to maternity. On its healthful recurrence
depends present comfort and future health; and not these alone, but also
happiness in marriage, easy child-beds, and the constitution of children to a
degree the thoughtless girl and even the mature woman rarely understand. She,
therefore, who neglects the due care of her own condition, violates a duty owed
to others as well as herself. We would have mothers impress this on their
daughters. Let no mistaken modesty prevent them.
Especially at their commencement should the monthly changes be carefully
watched. The mother should prepare her daughter's mind betimes for such an
expected incident in her life, thus preventing a useless fright, or the employment
of injurious means to stop what the child may look upon as an accident.
Nor should the maternal care cease here. Such tender sympathy should exist
on the one side, such trusting confidence on the other, that the mother should
acquaint herself with every detail of each recurring period until the function is
thoroughly established. She should inquire into the duration of each epoch, the
abundance of the discharge, the presence of pain, and its effects on the general
health. She should convince herself that all these do not vary from the standards
of health we have previously laid down. Or should they do so, she should not
delay to use the proper means to bring them to that standard.
Long observation proves that if, during the first two or three years which
follow the attainment of puberty, the health of the girl is successfully guarded,
and this, her most important physical distinction, meets with no derangement,
her life-long health is well-nigh secured; but, on the contrary, if she commences
her sexual life with pain and disorder, she is likely to be a life-long sufferer.
We are about to approach a topic of vital importance, therefore, in summing
up as briefly as may be, the precautions necessary to attain this end. They can
most conveniently be divided into those to be observed during the monthly
changes, and those more general rules of health to be obeyed in the intervals of
the periods.

PRECAUTIONS DURING THE MONTHLY CHANGES.

At the head of all cautions and warnings which we could give about the care
of the health at these monthly periods, we put rest, rest, bodily and mental. Do
less than usual, we say to all, whether the necessity for it is manifest or not.
Over-exertion is a most fruitful cause of disease. Long walks, shopping,
dancing, riding, hard work whether for pleasure or profit, should be avoided to
the utmost.
The advantages of rest cannot be over-estimated. A striking example of it
occurs to our mind. Most readers are aware how toilsome are the lives of the
Indian women among our Western tribes, and also how singularly easy and
almost painless is their child-bearing. The pangs of travail are almost unknown
to them. The cause of this has puzzled even physicians. We can tell them. It is
because it is an inviolable, a sacred rule among all those tribes, for the woman,
when having her monthly sickness, to drop all work, absent herself from the
lodge, and remain in perfect rest as long as the discharge continues.
Traces of this wide-spread custom among primitive people, extended
themselves, are discoverable among civilized lands. The famous general council
of the Christian Church held at Nice in the fourth century, passed a rule
disapproving of women coming to church at the times of their menstrual
sickness. The cold and dampness of large edifices, the mental excitement and its
unfavourable effects and the exertion requisite for long walks to and fro, would
justify this rule on purely hygienic grounds, and such may have caused its
adoption.
A moderate and uniform temperature favors health at such epochs; while
exposure to heat or cold, and the drinking freely of iced water or stimulants
should be shunned.
The popular belief that bathing is hurtful, is correct so far as either cold or hot
baths are concerned; but it is well to know, in the interests of comfort and
cleanliness, that a moderately warm-bath, about 80° Fahr., will do no injury.
Such a bath can be taken without any hesitation.
We sanction, also, another well-known rule, and that is, that no purgative
medicine should be taken immediately before or during the change. If called for
by some other disorder, a mild laxative is all that should be administered, unless
by the direction of a physician.

PRECAUTIONS IN THE INTERVALS OF THE MONTHLY
CHANGES.

If girls suffer from irregularities in this respect, the causes can generally be
found either in some affection threatening the general health, such as scrofula,
consumption, green sickness, etc., or else in their mode of life. For the former,
the family physician must be consulted; but if it is the latter which is at fault, the
remedy is in the hands of the parents.
Boarding-school life, city life, mental troubles—these are the three fertile
sources of disturbances in the sexual functions of girlhood.
No one rates at higher value than ourselves the training of the mind; but we
do not hesitate a moment to urge that if perturbations of the functions become at
all marked in a girl at school, she should be taken away. Better live at home in
seeming idleness a year at that time of life, than become a dead-weight, through
constant ill health, on her husband in after life.
So of the unwholesome excitement of a city life. There is a poison in crowds,
and it acts in a thousand unseen ways. With the ceaseless noise, the broken
sleep, the late hours, the impure air, and the nervous tension which all these
produce, it requires no strength of imagination to perceive that the city is not the
best place for the delicate girl.
We have mentioned mental troubles. Perhaps there are, among those who
read this, some superficial enough to smile at the possibility of serious mental
troubles in girlhood. There are, we know, many unfeeling enough to give them
no attention when they do see them. But we have an unfailing witness in the
sympathetic heart of the mother. She has not forgotten how bitter were the
crosses of her own younger years; she knows that the sensitive soul of woman
wakes early to the keenest appreciation of grief as well as joy. If anything, years
blunt us, and the sorrows of youth are often the bitterest of our lives.
Let the mother, therefore, read with her wondrous maternal instinct the trials
of her daughter; let her become her most intimate confidant, and pour upon the
wounded spirit that balm which none but a woman, and that woman a mother,
knows how to apply. Such a relationship of mother and daughter is no less
natural and wholesome than it is beautiful.

WHEN THE CHANGES ARE DELAYED.

In health an equal interval, or one nearly equal, elapses between the monthly
illnesses. Often in the spring, however, their appearance anticipates the expected
date of their occurrence, and in the autumn they are frequently a day or two late.

These variations are owing to the temperature, heat accelerating and cold
retarding the process of ovulation.
Such slight irregularities need not give rise to anxiety; but if there is an
unwonted delay, combined with other symptoms of ill-health, as headache, pain
in the side and back, a sense of languor and exhaustion, loss of appetite, and
nausea, and fitful sleep, then it is important that some steps be taken to bring on
the courses. For this purpose, soaking the feet in hot-mustard water, a tumbler of
hot ginger or camomile-tea, a brisk walk, or a gentle laxative will generally be
found sufficient. Gently kneading the lower abdomen and loins is a familiar, and
if intelligently done, a safe means for the same purpose.
More violent means than these should be eschewed. Whichever are used
subsequent to their employment, rest, in a recumbent position, in a warm room
should be secured.

WHEN THE CHANGES ARE PAINFUL.

There are wide individual differences in this respect. Some young women
suffer much from local pains, headache and languor at such epochs, without
apparently losing anything in general health; others experience no distress
whatever.
The causes of painful periods are various. Sometimes they depend on a
tendency to rheumatism or to ague. Over-work, or excessive devotion to social
duties and pleasures, is often their source. Cold and damp are common
incidental causes. Green sickness and general debility are sometimes to blame.
Of course the treatment must depend on which one of these is present. It is a
good rule, however, always to wear flannel next the skin; also, to avoid
exposure to the weather for several days before the change is expected. A large,
hot, linseed-meal poultice, over which a dessert-spoonful of laudanum has been
sprinkled, or a large mustard-plaster, spread on the lower abdomen, will afford
much relief. A hot brick or bottle of hot water wrapped in flannel, and applied to
the small of the back, is often of great service. Rest in bed is always to be
recommended. A tea-spoonful of sweet spirits of nitre will sometimes bring
early relief.
But if these simple means are not sufficient, it would be better to consult a
physician.

A common belief is that such troubles are cured by marriage. Sometimes they
are, but we do not approve the remedy. The state of marriage should be entered
upon in perfect health and full vigor. Upon it depends the health of future
generations, and it were better for them did only those assume its bonds who are
able to endow their children with sound physical frames.

THE AGE OF NUBILITY.

It does not follow, because a girl is capable of marriage, that she is fit for it.
Science teaches us many valid objections to too early unions. It goes farther,
and fixes a certain age at which it is wisest for woman to marry. This age is
between twenty and twenty-five years.
Anatomists have learned that after puberty the bones of a woman's body
undergo important modifications to fit her for child-bearing. This requires time,
and before twenty the process is not completed. Until the woman is perfect
herself, until her full stature and completed form are attained, she is not
properly qualified to assist in perpetuating the species.
We might urge that up to this moment neither does her self-knowledge
qualify her to choose a life-companion, nor can her education be finished, nor is
her experience sufficient for her to enter on the duties of a matron. But we do
not appeal to these arguments. There are others still more forcible. If her own
health, life, and good looks are of value to her, if she has any wish for healthy,
sound minded children, she will refrain from premature nuptials.
A too youthful wife finds marriage not a pleasure but a pain. Her nervous
system is prostrated by it; she is more liable to weakness and diseases of the
womb; and if of a consumptive family, she runs great risk of finding that fatal
malady manifest itself after a year or two of wedded life. It is very common for
those who marry young to die young.
From statistics which have been carefully compiled, it is proven that the first
labors of very young mothers are much more painful, tedious, and dangerous to
life, than others. As wives, they are frequently visited either with absolute
sterility, and all their lives must bear the reproach of barren women, or, what to
many is hardly less distasteful, they have an excessively numerous family.
What adds to their sufferings in the latter event, is that the children of such
marriages are rarely healthy. They are feeble, sickly, undersized, often with
some fault of mind or body, which is a cross to them and their parents all their

lives. They inherit more readily the defects of their ancestors, and, as a rule, die
at earlier years than the progeny of better-timed unions.
These considerations are formidable enough, it would seem, to prevent young
girls from marrying, without the need of a law, as exists in some countries.
Moreover, they are not imaginary, but real, as many a woman finds out to her
cost.
The objections to marriage after the age of twenty-five are less cogent. They
extend only to the woman herself. She should know that the first labors of wives
over thirty are nearly twice as fatal as those between twenty and twenty-five.
Undoubtedly nature points to the period between the twentieth and twenty-fifth
year as the fittest one for marriage in the woman.

LOVE.
Top

ITS POWER ON HUMANITY.

Love, pure love, true love, what can we say of it? The dream of youth; the
cherished reminiscence of age; celebrated in the songs of poets; that which
impels the warrior to his most daring deeds; which the inspired prophet chooses
to typify the holiest sentiments,—what new thing is it possible to say about this
theme?
Think for a moment on the history or the literature of the world. Ask the
naturalist to reveal the mysteries of life; let the mythologist explain the origin
and meaning of all unrevealed religions; look within at the promptings of your
own spirit, and this whole life of ours will appear to you as one grand
epithalamium.
The profoundest of English poets has said—

'All thoughts, all passions, all delights,
Whatever stirs this mortal frame,
All are but ministers of Love,
And feed his sacred flame.'

That life which is devoid of love is incomplete, sterile, unsatisfactory. It fails
of its chiefest end. Nature, in anger, blots it out sooner, and it passes like the
shadow of a cloud, leaving no trace behind. Admirable as it may be in other
respects, to the eye of the statesman, the physician, the lover of his species, it
remains but a fragment, a torso.
Love is one thing to a woman, another to a man. To him, said Madame de
Staël, it is an episode; to her, it is the whole history of life. A thousand
distractions divert man. Fame, riches, power, pleasure, all struggle in his bosom
to displace the sentiment of love. They are its rivals, not rarely its masters. But
woman knows no such distractions. One passion only sits enthroned in her
bosom; one only idol is enshrined in her heart, knowing no rival, no successor.
This passion is love! This idol is its object.

This is not fancy, not rhetoric; it is the language of cold and exact science,
pronounced from the chair of history, from the bureau of the statistician, from
the dissecting table of the anatomist. We shall gather up their well-weighed
words, and present them, not as fancy sketches, but as facts.
This deep, all-absorbing, single, wondrous love of woman, is something that
man cannot understand. This sea of unfathomed depth is to him a mystery. The
shallow mind sees of it nothing but the rippling waves, the unstable foam-crests
dashing hither and thither, the playful ripples of the surface, and, blind to the
still and measureless waters beneath, calls woman capricious, uncertain,—
varium et mutabile. But the thinker and seer, undeceived by such externals,
knows that beneath this seeming change is stability unequaled in the stronger
sex, a power of will to which man is a stranger, a devotion and purpose which
strike him with undefined awe.
Therefore, in the myths and legends which the early races framed to express
their notions of divine things,—the Fates, who spin and snip the thread of life;
the Norns, who

Lay down laws,
And select life
For the children of time—
The destinies of men,—

are always females. The seeresses and interpreters of oracles—those who,
like the witch of Endor, could summon from the grave the shades of the
departed—were women.
Therefore, also, modern infidelity, going back, as it ever does, to the
ignorance of the past, and holding it up as something new, makes woman the
only deity. Comte and his disciples, having reasoned away all gods, angels, and
spirits, and unable to still the craving for something to adore, agree to meet once
a week to worship—woman. The French revolutionists, having shut up the
churches and abolished God by a decree of the Convention, set up in His stead
—a woman.
We could never exhaust this phase of world-history. Everywhere we see the
unexpected hand of Love moulding, fashioning all things. The fortunes of the
individual, the fate of nations, the destinies of races, are guided by this invisible
thread. Let us push our inquiries as to the nature of this all-powerful agent.

WHAT IS LOVE?

It has a divided nature. As we have an immortal soul, but a body of clay; as
the plant roots itself in decaying earth, but spreads its flowers in glorious
sunlight,—so love has a physiological and a moral nature. It is rooted in that
unconscious law of life which bids us perpetuate our kind; which guards over
the conservation of life; which enforces, with ceaseless admonition, that first
precept which God gave to man before the gates of Eden had been closed upon
him: 'Be thou fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth.' Nothing but a
spurious delicacy, or an ignorance of facts, can prevent our full recognition that
love looks to marriage, and marriage to offspring, as a natural sequence.
Do we ask proofs of this? We have them in abundance. Those unfortunate
beings who are chosen by Oriental custom to guard the seraglios undergo a
mutilation which disqualifies them from becoming parents. Soon all traces of
passion, all regard for the other sex, all sentiments of love, totally disappear.
The records of medicine contain not a few cases where disease had rendered it
necessary to remove the ovaries from women. At once a change took place in
voice, appearance, and mind. They spoke like men, a slender beard commenced
on their faces, a masculine manner was conspicuous in all their motions, and
every thought of sexual love passed away for ever. These are the results in every
case. What do they signify? Undoubtedly that the passion of love is dependent
upon the capacity of having offspring, and that such was the intention of Nature
in implanting in our bosom this all-powerful sentiment.
But this is not all. Nature, as beneficent to those who obey her precepts as she
is merciless to those who disregard them, has added to this sentiment of love a
physical pleasure in its gratification,—an honourable and proper pleasure,
which none but the hypocrite or the ascetic will affect to condemn, none but the
coarse or the lewd will regard as the object of love. There is, indeed, a passion
which is the love of the body. We call it by its proper name of lust. There is
another emotion, for which the rich tongue of the ancient Greeks had a word, to
which we have nothing to correspond. Call it, if you will, Platonic love, and
define it to be an exalted friendship. But understand that neither the one nor the
other is love, in the true sense of the word, and that both are inferior to it.
Does the father, watching, with moistened eyes, his child at its mother's
breast; does the husband, bending with solicitude over the sick-bed of his wife;
does the wife, clinging to her husband through evil report and good report,
through broken fortunes and failing health, indicate no loftier emotion than lust,

no warmer sentiment than friendship? What ignorance, what perversity is so
gross as not to perceive something here nobler than either? Do you say that such
scenes are, alas, rare? We deny it. We see them daily in the streets; we meet
them daily in our rounds. Admitted, by our calling, to the sacred precincts of
many houses in the trying hours of sickness and death, we speak advisedly, and
know that this is the prevailing meaning of love in domestic life.
A warm, rich affection blesses the one who gives and the one who receives.
Character developes under it as the plant beneath the sunlight. Happiness is an
unknown word without it. Love and marriage are the only normal conditions of
life. Without them, both man and woman for ever miss the best part of
themselves. They suffer more, they sin more, they perish sooner. These are not
hasty assertions. As a social law, let it be well understood that science
pronounces that

LOVE IS A NECESSITY.

The single life is forced upon many of both sexes, in our present social
condition. Many choose it from motives of economy, from timidity, or as a
religious step, pleasing to God. The latter is a notion which probably arose from
a belief that, somehow, celibacy, strictly observed, means chastity. It simply
means continence. The chastest persons have been, and are, not the virgins and
celibates, but the married. When this truth is known better, we shall have fewer
sects and more religion.
We know women who refrain from marrying to keep out of trouble. The old
saying is, that every sigh drives a nail in one's coffin. They are not going to
worry themselves to death bearing children and nursing them! It is too great a
risk, too much suffering. How often have we been told this! Yet how false the
reasoning is! Very carefully prepared statistics show that between the ages of
twenty and forty-five years, more unmarried women die than married, and few
instances of remarkable longevity in an old maid are known. The celebrated Dr.
Hufeland, therefore, in his treatise on the Art of Prolonging Life, lays it down as
a rule, that to attain a great age, one must be married.
As for happiness, those who think they can best attain it outside the gentle
yoke of matrimony are quite as wide of the mark. Their selfish and solitary
pleasures do not gratify them. With all the resources of clubs, billiard-rooms,
saloons, narcotics, and stimulants, single men make but a mock show of
satisfaction. At heart every one of them envies his married friends. How much

more monotonous and more readily exhausted are the resources of woman's
single life! No matter what 'sphere' she is in, no matter in what 'circle' she
moves, no matter what 'mission' she invents, it will soon pall on her. Would you
see the result? We invoke once more those dry volumes, full of lines and
figures, on vital statistics. Stupid as they look, they are full of the strangest
stories; and what is more, the stories are all true. Some of them are sad stories,
and this is one of the saddest: Of those unfortunates who, out of despair and
disgust of the world, jump from bridges, or take arsenic, or hang themselves, or
in other ways rush unbidden and unprepared before the great Judge of all,
nearly two-thirds are unmarried, and in some years nearly three-fourths. And of
those other sad cases—dead, yet living—who people the madhouses and
asylums, what of them? Driven crazy by their brutal husbands, do you suggest?
Not at all! In France, Bavaria, Prussia, Hanover, four out of every five are
unmarried; and throughout the civilised world there are everywhere three or
four single to one married woman in the establishments for the insane, in
proportion to the whole number of the two classes above twenty-one years of
age.
Other women decline to marry because they have, forsooth, a 'life work' to
accomplish. Some great project fills their mind. Perchance they emulate
Madame de Staël, and would electrify the country by their novel views in
politics; or they have a literary vein they fain would exploit; or they feel called
upon to teach the freedmen, or to keep their position as leaders of fashion. A
husband would trammel them. If they did marry, they would take the very
foolish advice of a contemporary, and go through life with an indignant protest
at its littleness. Let such women know that they underrate the married state, its
powers and its opportunities. There are no loftier missions than can there be
carried out, no nobler games than can there be played. When we think of these
objections, coming, as they have to us, from high-spirited, earnest girls, the
queens of their sex, our memory runs back to the famous women of history, the
brightest jewels in the coronet of time, and we find as many, ay, more, married
women than single who pursued to their ends mighty achievements.
If you speak of Judith and Joan of Arc, who delivered their fatherlands from
the enemy by a daring no man can equal, we shall recall the peaceful victories
of her, wife of the barbarian Chlodwig, who taught the rude Franks the mild
religion of Nazareth, and of her who extended from Byzantium the holy symbol
of the cross over the wilds of Russia. The really great women of this age, are
they mostly married or single? They are mostly married, and they are good
wives and tender mothers.

What we have just written, we read to an amiable woman.
'But,' she exclaimed, 'what have you to say to her whom high duties or a hard
fate condemns to a single life, and to the name of the old maid?'
Alas! what can we say to such? We feel that

'Earthlier happy is the rose distilled,
Than that which, withering on the virgin thorn,
Grows, lives, and dies in single blessedness.'

Yet there is ever a blessing in store for those who suffer here, and the hope of
the future must teach them to bear the present.

LOVE IS ETERNAL.

We have said love is a necessity in the life of either man or woman to
complete their nature. Its effects, therefore, are eternal. We do not intend this as
a figure of speech. It is a sober statement of physiology.
From the day of marriage the woman undergoes a change in her whole
structure. She is similar to her former self, but not the same. It is often noticed
that the children of a woman in her second marriage bear a marked resemblance
to her first husband. In the inferior races and lower animals this obscure
metamorphosis is still more apparent. A negress who has borne her first child to
a white man, will ever after have children of a color lighter than her own. Count
Strzelewski, in his Travels in Australia, narrates this curious circumstance: A
native woman who has once had offspring by a white man, can never more have
children by a male of her own race. Dr. Darwin relates that a male zebra was
once brought to England, and a hybrid race, marked by the zebra's stripes, was
produced from certain mares. Always after, the colts of those mares bore the
marks of the zebra on their skins. In some way the female is profoundly altered
throughout her whole formation, and entirely independent of her will, by the act
of marriage, and the alteration is never effaced.
If the body is thus influenced, shall not the far more susceptible mind and
spirit be equally impressed?
Another common observation supports what we say, and extends it farther.
Not the woman alone,—the man also undergoes a change, and loses a portion of
his personality in his mate. They two are one, not merely in a moral sense. We

constantly notice a decided resemblance in old couples who have passed, say,
two score years together. They have grown to look alike in form, feature, and
expression. That for so long a time they have breathed the same air, eaten the
same fare, and been subjected to the same surroundings, explains this to some
extent. But the greater part of the change flows from mental sources. They have
laughed and wept together; they have shared the same joys and pleasures; a
smile or a tear on the face of one has evoked a corresponding emotion and
expression on the face of the other. Their co-partnership has become a unity.
Even without speaking, they sympathize. Their souls are constantly en rapport.
The man is as different as the woman from his former self.

OF SECOND MARRIAGES.

Science, therefore, seems to say to woman, 'Your first husband is your eternal
husband.' How, then, about second marriages? Are we to say that they are not
advisable?
Let us not answer hastily. It is yet to be seen whether ill-assorted marriages
produce those impressions we have mentioned. They may, indeed, on the body,
while the mind is free. One must remember, also, that the exigencies of social
life must be consulted. If a woman cannot love two men equally,—and she
cannot,—other motives, worthy of all respect, justify her in entering the
marriage life a second time. Then, the higher refinements of the emotions are
not given to all alike, nor do they come at the same age to all. True love may
first dawn upon a woman after one or two husbands have left her a widow.
Orphan children, widow-hood, want of property, or the care of property,—these
are sad afflictions to the lonely woman. Do not blame her if she accepts a
husband as a guardian, a protector, whom she can no longer receive to her arms
as a lover. She is right.
We cherish the memory of a lady of strong character, who died past eighty.
She had survived three husbands. 'The first,' she said, 'I married for love, the
second for position, the third for friendship. I was happy with them all.' But
when, in her mortal illness, this venerable friend sank into the delirium which
preceded death, she constantly called out the name of her first husband only.
More than half a century had not effaced the memory of those few years of early
love. This is fidelity indeed.

OF DIVORCE.

He of Nazareth laid down the law that whoever puts away his wife for any
cause except adultery, and marries again, commits adultery; and that whatever
woman puts away her husband for any cause save adultery, and marries again,
herself commits adultery.
This has been found a hard saying.
John Milton wrote a book to show that the Lawgiver did not mean what He
said, but something quite different. Modern sects, calling themselves Christians,
after this Lawgiver, dodge the difficulty, and refer it to State legislatures. State
legislatures, not troubling themselves at all about any previous law or lawgiver,
allow dozens of causes—scores of them—as perfectly valid to put asunder those
whom God has joined together.
Science, which never finds occasion to disagree with that Lawgiver of
Nazareth, here makes His words her own.
Whether we look at it as a question in social life, in morals, or in physiology,
the American plan of granting absolute divorces is dangerous, and destructive to
what is best in life. It leads to hasty, ill-assorted matches, to an unwillingness to
yield to each other's peculiarities, to a weakening of the family ties, to a lax
morality. Carry it a trifle farther than it now is in some of the Western States,
and marriage will lose all its sacredness, and degenerate into a physical union,
not nobler than the crossing of flies in the air.
Separation of bed and board should always be provided for by law; and
whether single, married, or separated, the woman should retain entire control of
her own property. But in the eyes of God and nature, a woman or a man with
two faithful spouses living, to each of whom an eternal fidelity has been
plighted, is a monster.

OF A PLURALITY OF WIVES OR HUSBANDS.

What has been said of divorce applies with tenfold force to the custom of a
woman living as wife to several men, or of a man as husband to several women.
We should not speak of these customs, but that we know both exist in America,
not among the notoriously wicked, but among those who claim to be the
peculiarly good—the very elect of God. They prevail, not as lustful excesses,
but as religious observances.

It is worth while to say that such practices lead to physical degradation. The
woman who acknowledges more than one husband is generally sterile; the man
who has several wives has usually a weakly offspring, principally males. Nature
attempts to check polygamy by reducing the number of females, and failing in
this, by enervating the whole stock. The Mormons of Utah would soon sink into
a state of Asiatic effeminacy were they left to themselves.

COURTSHIP.

A wise provision of nature ordains that woman shall be sought. She flees, and
man pursues. The folly of modern reformers, who would annul this provision, is
evident. Were it done away with, man, ever prone to yield to woman's
solicitations, and then most prone when yielding is most dangerous, would
fritter away his powers at an early age, and those very impulses which nature
has given to perpetuate the race would bring about its destruction.
To prevent such a disaster, woman is endowed with a sense of shame, an
invincible modesty, her greatest protection, and her greatest charm. Let her
never forget it, never disregard it; for without it she becomes the scorn of her
own sex and the jest of the other.
The urgency of man and the timidity of woman are tempered by the period of
courtship.
This, as it exists in the United States, is something almost peculiar to
Americans. On the continent of Europe, girls are shut up in convents or in
seminaries, or are kept strictly under the eyes of their parents until marriage, or,
at any rate, betrothal. The liberty usual in America is something unheard-of and
inconceivable there. In Spain a duenna, in France some aunt or elderly cousin,
in Germany some similar person, makes it her business to be present at every
interview which a young lady has with an admirer. He never dreams of walking,
driving, or going out of an evening with her alone. It is taken for granted that,
should he invite her for such a purpose, the mother or aunt is included in the
party. They would look on the innocent freedom of American girls as simply
scandalous.
We have had opportunities to see society in these various countries, and have
failed to perceive that the morality of either sex is at all superior to what it is
with us, while the effect of cloister-like education on young women is to

weaken their self-reliance, and often prepare them for greater extravagances
when marriage gives them liberty.
With us, the young woman is free until her wedding day. After that epoch, she
looks forward to withdrawing more or less from society, and confining her
thoughts to family matters. In France, Spain, or Italy, in the wealthier classes,
precisely the contrary is the rule. Marriage brings deliverance from an irksome
espionage and numberless fetters; it is the avenue to a life in public and
independent action. How injurious to domestic happiness this is, can readily be
imagined.
It is true that the liberty of American girls occasionally leads to improprieties.
But, except in certain great cities, such instances are rare. The safeguards of
virtue are knowledge and self-command, not duennas and jalousies. Let mothers
properly instruct their daughters, and they need have no apprehension about
their conduct.
The period of courtship is one full of importance. A young woman of unripe
experience must decide from what she can see of a man during the intercourse
of a few months, whether he will suit her for a life-companion. She has no
knowledge of human nature; and what would it avail her if she had, when at
such a time a suitor is careful only to show his eligible traits? 'Go a-courting,'
said old Dr Franklin, in his homely language, 'in your everyday clothes.' Not
one man out of a thousand is honest enough to take his advice.
It is useless for her to ask aid of another. She must judge for herself. What,
then, is she to do?
There is a mysterious instinct in a pure-minded woman which is beyond all
analysis,—a tact which men do not possess, and do not readily believe in. At
such a crisis this instinct saves her. She feels in a moment the presence of a
base, unworthy nature. An unconscious repulsion is manifest in her eye, her
voice. Where a suitor is not a man of low motive, but merely quite incongruous
in temper and disposition, this same instinct acts, and the man, without being
able to say just why, feels that he is laboring in vain. If he blindly insists in his
wooing, he has no one to chide but himself when he is finally discarded.
But if the man is worthy, and suitable, does this blessed instinct whisper the
happy news with like promptness to the maiden's soul? Ah! that raises another
issue. It brings us face to face with that difficult question of

LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT.

Jung Stilling, a German author of note, a religious enthusiast, and full of
queer fancies, was, when young, a tutor in a private family. On one occasion his
employer took him to a strange house, and introduced him to a roomful of
company. Stilling had not contemplated marriage; but, in the company, he saw,
for the first time, a young woman who he felt was his destined wife. Walking
across the room, he addressed her with the utmost simplicity, telling her that an
inward monitor advised him that she, of all womankind, was his predestined
helpmeet. She blushed, was confused, but presently confessed that she had
experienced the same conviction on first beholding him. They married, and the
most curious part of the tale remains to tell,—it is, that they proved a happy,
well-matched couple.
We do not advise others to follow their example. Not many souls are capable
of such reciprocity. Choosing an associate for life is too serious a business to be
made the affair of a moment. Reason, reflection, thought, prayer,—these are
aids in such a momentous question not to be lightly thrown aside. Many a
passing fancy, many an evanescent preference, catches for a moment the new-
fledged affections. But for the long and tedious journey of life we want a love
rooted in knowledge.
We are not blind to the fact, that often from the first interview the maiden
feels an undefined spell thrown around her by him who will become her
husband. She feels differently in his presence; she watches him with other eyes
than she has for the rest of men. She renders no account to herself of this
emotion; she attempts no analysis of it; she does not acknowledge to herself that
it exists. No matter. Sooner or later, if true to herself, she will learn what it is,
and it will be a guide in that moment, looked forward to with mingled hopes and
fears, when she is asked to decide on the destiny, the temporal and eternal
destiny, of two human lives.
That she may then decide aright, and live free from the regrets of a false step
at this crisis of life, we shall now rehearse what medical science has to say
about

HOW TO CHOOSE A HUSBAND.

'Choose well. Your choice is
Brief, and yet endless.'

Woman holds as an inalienable right, in this country, the privilege of choice.
It is not left to notaries, or parents, to select for her, as is the custom in some
other parts of the world.
First comes the question of relationship. A school-girl is apt to see more of
her cousins than of other young men. Often some of them seek at an early hour
to institute a far closer tie than that of blood. Is she wise to accept it?

SHALL COUSINS MARRY?

Hardly any point has been more warmly debated by medical men. It has been
said that in such marriages the woman is more apt to be sterile; that if she have
children, they are peculiarly liable to be born with some defect of body or mind,
—deafness, blindness, idiocy, or lameness; that they die early; and that they are
subject, beyond others, to fatal hereditary diseases, as cancer, consumption,
scrofula, etc.
An ardent physician persuaded himself so thoroughly of these evils resulting
from marriage of relatives, that he induced the Legislature of Kentucky to pass a
law prohibiting it within certain degrees of consanguinity. Many a married
couple have been rendered miserable by the information that they had
unwittingly violated one of nature's most positive laws. Though their children
may be numerous and blooming, they live in constant dread of some terrible
outbreak of disease. Many a young and loving couple have sadly severed an
engagement, which would have been a prelude to a happy marriage, when they
were informed of these disastrous results.
For all such we have a word of consolation. We speak it authoritatively, and
not without a full knowledge of the responsibility we assume.
The risk of marrying a cousin, even a first cousin, is greatly diminished,
provided there is no decided hereditary taint in the family. And when such
hereditary taint does exist, the danger is little more than in marrying into any
other family where it is also found. Indeed, a certain German author has urged
the propriety of such unions, where the family has traits of mental or physical
excellence, as a means of preserving and developing them!
So far as sterility is concerned, an examination of records shows, that
whereas in the average of unions one women in eight is barren, in those
between relatives but one in ten is so. And as for the early deaths of children,
while, on an average, fifteen children in a hundred die under seven years, in the

families of nearly-related parents but twelve in a hundred is the mortality as
shown by French statistics.
The investigations about idiotic and defective children are by no means
satisfactory, and are considered by some of the most careful writers as not at all
proving a greater tendency to such misfortunes in the offspring of cousins.
Among a thousand idiotic children recently examined in Paris, not one was
descended from a healthy consanguinity.
But as few families are wholly without some lurking predisposition to
disease, it is not well, as a rule, to run the risk of developing this by too repeated
unions. Stock-breeders find that the best specimens of the lower animals are
produced by crossing nearly-related individuals a certain number of times; but
that, carried beyond this, such unions lead to degeneracy and sterility. Such,
also, has been the experience of many human families.
How slight a cause even of that most insidious disease, consumption, such
marriages are, may be judged from the fact, that of a thousand cases inquired
into by Dr. Edward Smith, in only six was there consanguinity of parents.

THE MIXTURE OF RACES.

Mankind, say the school geographies, is divided into five races, each
distinguished by its own color. They are the white, the black, the red, the yellow,
and the brown races. In this country, practically, we have to do with but the
white and black races; and the question is constantly asked, Shall we approve of
marriages between them? Shall a white woman choose a black man to be her
husband?
We are at the more pains to answer this, because recently a writer—and this
writer a woman, and this woman one of the most widely known in our land—
has written a novel intended to advocate the affirmative of this question.
Moreover, it is constantly mooted in certain political circles, and is one of the
social problems of the day.
The very fact that it is so much discussed, shows that such a union runs
counter to a strong prejudice. Such aversions are often voices of nature, acting
as warnings against acts injurious to the species. In this instance it is not of
modern origin, created by peculiar institutions. Three centuries ago, Shakspeare,
who had probably never seen a score of negroes in his life, with the divination
of genius, felt the repugnance which a refined woman would feel to accepting

one as her husband. The plot of one of his plays turns on it. He makes Iago say
of Desdemona:

'Not to affect many proposed matches
Of her own clime, complexion, and degree;
Whereto, we see, in all things nature tends:
Foh! one may smell in such a will most rank,
Foul disproportions, thoughts unnatural.'

It is, indeed, 'nature erring from itself' which prompts to these marriages.
They are not sterile, but the children are sickly and short-lived. Very few
mulattoes reach an old age.
Then it is well known that the black race cannot survive a northern
climate. Dr. Snow, of Providence, Rhode Island, who has given great
attention to the study of statistics, says emphatically that, in New England,
the colored population inevitably perish in a few generations, if left to
themselves. This debility no woman should wish to give to her children.
A mental inferiority is likewise apparent. Friends of the negro are ready
to confess this, but attribute it to his long and recent period of servitude. We
deal with facts only. The inferiority is there, whatever be its cause; and she
who would willingly curse her offspring with it, manifests indeed 'thoughts
unnatural.'
The children born of a union of the black and red race, negroes and
Indians, are on the contrary, remarkable for their physical vigor and mental
acuteness; though, of course, the latter is limited to the demands of a semi-
barbarous life.

SHOULD NATIVE WOMEN MARRY FOREIGNERS?

When we narrow the question of race to that of nationality, entirely new
elements come in.
In speaking of the intermarriage of relatives, we showed that a certain
number of such unions in healthy stocks was advantageous rather than
otherwise, but that too many of them lead to deterioration. This law can be
applied to nations. Historians have often observed that the most powerful
states of the world arose from an amalgamation of different tribes. Rome,
Greece, England, are examples of this. On the other hand, France, Russia,

Spain, China, Persia, which have suffered no such crosses of blood, are
either stationary, or depend for their progress on foreigners.
Physicians have contributed other curious testimony on this point, the
bearing of which they themselves have not understood. Marriages between
nationalities of the same race are more fertile, and the children more
vigorous, than those between descendants of the same nation. For instance,
it has been proved that if two descendants of the Pilgrim Fathers in
Massachusetts marry, they will probably have but three children; while, if
one of them marries a foreigner, the children will number five or six.
So it is well ascertained that in the old and stationary communes of
France, where the same families have possessed their small farms for
generation after generation, the marriages have become gradually less and
less productive, until it has seriously interfered with the quota those districts
send to the army.
American women have suffered many hard words because they do not
have more children. Several New England writers have accused them of
very bad practices, which we shall mention hereafter. But the effect of the
law of production just now laid down has been quite overlooked.
As it is best that there should be four or five children in a family in
ordinary circumstances, the union of American and foreign blood is very
desirable. We need to fuse in one the diverse colonies of the white race
annually reaching our shores. A century should efface every trace of the
German, the Irish, the Frenchman, the English, the Norwegian, and leave
nothing but the American. To bring about this happy result, free
intermarriage should be furthered in every possible way.

THE AGE OF THE HUSBAND.

The epoch of puberty comes to a boy at about the same age as it does to a
girl,—fourteen or fifteen years. And an even greater period passes between
this epoch and the age it is proper for a man to marry,—his age of nubility.
Not only has he a more complete education to obtain, not only a
profession or trade to learn, and some property to accumulate, some
position to acquire, ere he is ready to take a wife, but his physical powers

ripen more slowly than those of woman. He is more tardy in completing his
growth, and early indulgence more readily saps his constitution.
We have placed the best age for woman to marry between twenty and
twenty-five years; for similar reasons, man is best qualified to become a
husband between twenty-three and thirty-three years.
Previous to the twenty-third year, many a man is incapable of producing
healthy children. If he does not destroy his health by premature indulgence,
he may destroy his happiness by witnessing his children a prey to debility
and deformity. An old German proverb says, 'Give a boy a wife, and a child
a bird, and death will soon knock at the door.' Even an author so old as
Aristotle warns young men against early marriage, under penalty of disease
and puny offspring.
From the age of thirty-three to fifty years, men who carefully observe the
laws of health do not feel any weight of years. Nevertheless, they are past
their prime. Then, also, with advancing years, the chances of life diminish,
and the probability increases that they will leave a young family with no
natural protector. The half-century once turned, their vigor rapidly
diminishes. The marriages they then contract are either sterile, or yield but
few and sickly children. Many an old man has shortened his life by late
nuptials; and the records of medicine contain accounts of several who
perished on the very night of marriage.
The relative age of man and wife is next to be considered. Nature fits
woman earlier for marriage, and hints thereby that she should, as a rule, be
younger than her husband. So, too, the bard of nature speaks:

'Let still the woman take
An elder than herself; so wears she to him,
So sways she level in her husband's heart.'

The woman who risks her happiness with a man many years younger
than herself, violates a precept of life; and when her husband grows
indifferent, or taunts her with her years, or seeks companions of more
suitable age, she is reaping a harvest sown by her own hand.

So commonly do such matches turn out badly, that in 1828 the kingdom
of Würtemberg prohibited unions where the woman was more than twelve
years the senior, except by special dispensation.
After forty-five years, most women cannot hope for children. A marriage
subsequent to this period can at best be regarded as a close friendship.
Marriage in its full meaning has no longer an existence.
The relative age of man and wife has another influence, and quite a
curious one. It influences the sex of the children. But this point we reserve
for discussion on a later page.
The folly of joining a young girl to an old man is happily not so common
in America as in Europe. It would be hard to devise any step more certain to
bring the laws of nature and morality into conflict.

'What can a young lassie do wi' an auld man?'

What advice can we give to a woman who barters her youthful charms
for the fortune of an aged husband? Shall we be cynical enough to agree
with 'auld Auntie Katie?'

'My auld Auntie Katie upon me takes pity;
I'll do my endeavor to follow her plan:
I'll cross him, and rack him, until I heart-break him,
And then his auld brass will buy me a new pan.'

No! She has willingly accepted a responsibility. It is her duty to bear it
loyally, faithfully, uncomplainingly to the end.
Let us sum up with the maxim, that the husband should be the senior, but
that the difference of age should not be more than ten years.

WHAT SHOULD BE HIS TEMPERAMENT?

It is often hard to make out what doctors mean by temperaments. It is
supposed that our mental and physical characters depend somehow on the
predominance of some organ or system which controls the rest. Thus a
person who is nervous, quick, sensitive to impressions, is said to have a

nervous temperament; one who is stout, full-blooded, red-faced, has a
sanguine temperament; a thin, dark-featured, reticent person, is of a bilious
temperament; while a pale, fat, sluggish nature, is called phlegmatic, or
lymphatic.
In a general way these distinctions are valuable, but they will not bear
very exact applications. They reveal in outline the constitution of mind and
body; and what is to our present purpose, they are of more than usual
importance in the question of selecting a husband.
Nature, hating incongruity, yet loves variety. She preserves the limits of
species, but within those limits she seeks fidelity to one type. Therefore it is
that in marriage a person inclines strongly to one of a different temperament
—to a person quite unlike himself.
So true is this, that a Frenchman of genius, Bernardin de St. Pierre,
vouches for this anecdote of himself. He was in a strange city, visiting a
friend whom he had not seen for years. The friend's sister was of that age
when women are most susceptible. She was tall, a blonde, deliberate in
motion, with blue eyes and fair hair. In a jesting way, St. Pierre, who had
never seen her before, and knew nothing of her personal life, said,—
'Mademoiselle, you have many admirers. Shall I describe him on whom
you look with most favor?'
The lady challenged him to do so.
'He is short in stature, of dark complexion, dark hair and eyes, slight in
figure, active and nervous in all his movements.'
The lady blushed to her eyes, and cast a glance of anger at her brother,
who, she thought, had betrayed her secret. But no! St. Pierre's only
informant was his deep knowledge of the human heart.
This instinct is founded upon the truth that the perfect temperament is
that happily balanced one which holds all the organs in equilibrium,—in
which no one rules, where all are developed in proportion. Nature ever
strives to realize this ideal. She instills in the nervous temperament a
preference for the lymphatic; in the sanguine, a liking for the bilious
constitution. The offspring should combine the excellencies of both, the

defects of neither. We do well to heed her admonitions here, and to bear in
mind that those matches which combine opposite temperaments, are, as a
rule, the most fortunate.

THE MORAL AND MENTAL CHARACTER.

Very few words are necessary here. We have already said we speak as
physicians, not as moralists. But there are some false and dangerous ideas
abroad, which it is our duty as physicians to combat.
None is more false, none more dangerous, than that embodied in the
proverb, 'A reformed rake makes the best husband.' What is a rake? A man
who has deceived and destroyed trusting virtue,—a man who has entered
the service of the devil to undermine and poison that happiness in marriage,
which all religion and science are at such pains to cultivate. We know him
well in our capacity as physicians. He comes to us constantly the prey to
loathsome diseases, the results of his vicious life; which diseases he will
communicate to his wife, for they are contagious, and to his children, for
they are hereditary; and which no reform can purge from his system, for
they are ineradicable.
Is this the man a pure woman should take to her arms? Here repentance
avails nothing. We have witnessed the agony unspeakable which
overwhelmed a father when he saw his children suffering under horrible
and disgusting diseases, the penalty of his early sins.
Very few men of profligate lives escape these diseases. They are
alarmingly prevalent among the 'fast' youths of our cities. And some forms
of them are incurable by any effort of skill. Even the approach of such men
should be shunned,—their company avoided.
A physician in central Pennsylvania lately had this experience: A young
lady of unblemished character asked his advice for a troublesome affection
of the skin. He examined it, and to his horror recognised a form of one of
the loathsome diseases which curse only the vilest or the most unfortunate
of her sex. Yet he could not suspect this girl. On inquiry, he found that she
had a small but painful sore on her lip, which she first noticed a few days

after being at a picnic with a young man. Just as he was bidding her good-
night, he had kissed her on the lips.
At once everything was clear. This young man was a patient of the
physician. He was a victim to this vile disease, and even his kiss was
enough to convey it.
The history of the sixteenth century contains the account of an Italian
duke, who on one occasion was forced by his ruler to reconcile himself with
an enemy. Knowing he could not escape obedience, he protested the most
cheerful willingness, and in the presence of the king embraced his enemy,
and even kissed him on the lips. It was but another means of satisfying his
hatred. For he well knew that his kiss would taint his enemy's blood with
the same poison that was undermining his own life.
How cautious, therefore, should a woman be in granting the most
innocent liberties! How solicitous should she be to associate with the purest
men!
Would that we could say that these dangerous and loathsome diseases are
rare! But, alas! daily professional experience forbids us to offer this
consolation. Every physician in our large cities, and even in smaller towns,
knows that they are fearfully prevalent.
We have been consulted by wives, pure, innocent women, for complaints
which they themselves, and sometimes their children, suffered from, the
nature of which we dared not tell them, but which pointed with fatal finger
to the unfaithfulness of the husband. How utterly was their domestic
happiness wrecked when they discovered the cause of their constant ill-
health!
Nor are such occurrences confined to the humbler walks of life. There,
perhaps, less than in any other do they occur. It is in the wealthy, the
luxurious, the self-indulgent class that they are found.
Are we asked how such a dreadful fate can be averted?
There are, indeed, certain signs and marks which such diseases leave
with which physicians are conversant. As if nature intended them as
warnings, they are imprinted on the most visible and public parts of the

body. The skin, the hair, the nose, the voice, the lines on the face, often
divulge to the trained observer, more indubitably than the confessional, a
lewd and sensual life.
Such signs, however, can only be properly estimated by the medical
counselor, and it would be useless to rehearse them here. Those women
who would have a sure guide in choosing a man to be their husband, have
they not Moses and the prophets? What is more, have they not Christ and
the apostles? Rest assured that the man who scoffs at Christianity, who
neglects its precepts and violates its laws, runs a terrible risk of bringing
upon himself, his wife, and his children, the vengeance of nature, which
knows justice but not mercy. Rest assured that the man who respects the
maxims of that religion, and abstains from all uncleanness, is the only man
who is worthy the full and confiding love of an honorable woman.

THE SYMBOLISM OF THE HUMAN BODY.

Philosophers say that every idle word which is spoken continues to
vibrate in the air through all infinity. So it is with the passions and the
thoughts. Each impresses on the body some indelible mark, and a long
continuance of similar thoughts leaves a visible imprint.
Under the names of phrenology, physiognomy, palmistry, and others,
attempts have been made at divers times to lay down fixed principles by
which we could judge of men by their outsides; but only vague results have
been obtained. A learned German author, of high repute in exact science,
has gone a different way to work. He has studied the body as a whole, and
sought with the eye of an anatomist how different avocations, passions,
temperaments, habits, mould and fashion the external parts of man. His
results are embraced in a curious volume which he entitles The Symbolism
of the Human Body. We shall borrow some hints from it, germane to our
present theme.
As to size, large-bodied and large-boned men possess greater energy, a
more masculine character, but often less persistence, and are usually devoid
of the more delicate emotions. Fat people are good-tempered, but indolent;
thin people, full of life, but irascible.

The neck is a significant part of the body. View it from in front, and it
discloses the physical constitution. There are the conduits of the food and
the air; there, the great blood-vessels pass to the head, and its base is
modified by their form as they pass from the heart. When broad and full, it
denotes a vigorous physical life,—a plethoric constitution. A distinguished
teacher of midwifery, Professor Pajot of Paris, says that when he sees one of
those necks full in front, like that of Marie Antoinette, as shown in her
portraits, he prepares himself to combat childbed convulsions. That queen,
it is well-known, nearly perished with them.
The back of the neck contains the vertebral column, and is close to the
brain. It reveals the mental constitution. The short round neck of the prize-
fighter betrays his craft. The slender, arched, and graceful neck of the well-
proportioned woman is the symbol of health and a well-controlled mind.
Burke, in his Essay on the Beautiful, calls it the most beauteous object in
nature. It is a common observation, that a sensual character is shown by the
thick and coarse development of this portion of the body.
The hair, also, has a significance. Fine whitish hair, like that of a child,
goes with a simple, child-like disposition; black hair denotes a certain
hardness of character; red hair has long been supposed to be associated with
a sensual constitution, but it rather indicates a physical weakness,—a
tendency to scrofula. This is, however, a tendency merely. Thin hair is often
the result of protracted mental labor, though many other causes produce it.
Every great man, says Herder, has a glance which no one can imitate. We
may go farther, and say that every man of decided character reveals it in his
eyes. They are the most difficult organs for the hypocrite to control. Beware
of the man who cannot look you in the eyes, and of him in whose eyes there
lurks an expression which allures yet makes you shudder. The one has
something he dares not tell you, the other something you dare not listen to.
Symmetry, strength, grace, health,—these are admirable qualities in a
man. From the remotest ages they have been the marks of heroes.
Secondary though they are to moral and mental qualities, they should be
ever highly valued. A manly man! Nature designs such to be the sires of
future generations. No danger that we shall fall to worshiping physical
beauty again. The only fear is that in this lank, puny, scrawny generation of

ours, we shall, out of vanity, underrate such beauty. Let it be ever
remembered that this is the ideal, from which any departure is deterioration.

THE ENGAGEMENT.

When our grandmothers were engaged, the minister rose in his pulpit on
Sunday morning, before the assembled congregation, and proclaimed the
'banns,' stating that if any one knew just cause or lawful impediment why
the lovers should not be married, he should state it there and then.
Sometimes a great hubbub was created when some discarded suitor rose,
forbidding the banns, and claimed that the capricious maiden had
previously promised herself to him. Perhaps it was to avoid such an
uncomfortable check on the freedom of flirtation that the ancient custom
was dropped.
Certain it is, that to be 'engaged' sits very lightly on the minds of both
young men and maidens now-a-days. We know some of either sex who
make it a boast how often they have made and unmade this slender tie. It is
a dangerous pastime. 'The hand of little use hath the daintier touch,' and
they who thus trifle with their affections will end by losing the capacity to
feel any real affection at all.
Undoubtedly there occur instances where a woman has pledged herself in
all seriousness, and afterwards sees her affianced in a light which warns her
that she cannot be happy with him,—that the vows she will be called upon
to pronounce at the altar will be hollow and false. What is she to do?
We are not inditing the decrees of the Court of Love. Here is the advice
of another to her hand:

'First to thine own self be true,
And then it follows, as the night the day,
That thou canst ne'er be false to any man.'

CONCERNING LONG ENGAGEMENTS.

They are hurtful, and they are unnecessary. Is love so vagrant that it must
be tied by such a chain? Better let it go. True love asks no oath; it casteth

out fear, and believes without a promise.
There are other reasons, sound physiological reasons, which we could
adduce, if need were, to show that the close personal relations which arise
between persons who are engaged should not be continued too long a time.
They lead to excitement and debility, sometimes to danger and disease.
Especially is this true of nervous, excitable, sympathetic dispositions.
If we are asked to be definite, and give figures, we should say that a
period not longer than a year, nor shorter than three months, should
intervene between the engagement and the marriage.

THE RIGHT TIME OF YEAR TO MARRY.

Woman, when she marries, enters upon a new life, and a trying one.
Every advantage should be in her favour. The season is one of those
advantages. Extreme heat and extreme cold both wear severely on the
human frame. Mid-winter and mid-summer are, therefore, alike
objectionable, especially the latter.
Spring and fall are usually chosen, as statistics show, and the preference
is just. On the whole, the spring is rather to be recommended than the
autumn. In case of a birth within the year, the child will have attained
sufficient age to weather its period of teething more easily ere the next
summer.

THE RIGHT TIME IN THE MONTH TO MARRY.

We mean the woman's own month, that which spans the time between her
periodical sicknesses, be it two or five weeks. Let her choose a day about
equidistant from two periods. The reasons for this we shall specify
hereafter.

THE WEDDING TOUR.

Custom prescribes a journey immediately after marriage, of a week or a
month or two. It is an unwise provision. The event itself is disturbance
enough for the system; and to be hurried hither and thither, stowed in

narrow berths and inconvenient carriages, troubled with baggage, and
annoyed by the importunities of cabmen, waiters, and hangers-on of every
description, is enough, in ordinary times, to test the temper of a saint.
The foundation of many an unhappy future is laid on the wedding tour.
Not only is the young wife tried beyond all her experience, and her nervous
system harassed, but the husband, too, partakes of her weakness. Many
men, who really love the women they marry, are subject to a slight
revulsion of feeling for a few days after marriage. 'When the veil falls, and
the girdle is loosened,' says the German poet Schiller, 'the fair illusion
vanishes.' A half regret crosses their minds for the jolly bachelorhood they
have renounced. The mysterious charms which gave their loved one the air
of something more than human, disappear in the prosaic sunlight of
familiarity.
Let neither be alarmed, nor lose their self-control. Each requires
indulgence, and management, from the other; both should demand from
themselves patience and self-command. A few weeks, and this danger is
over; but a mistake now is the mistake of a lifetime. More than one woman
has confessed to us that her unhappiness commenced from her wedding
tour; and when we inquired more minutely, we have found that it arose
from an ignorance and disregard of just such little precautions as we have
been referring to.
Yet it is every way advisable that the young pair should escape the prying
eyes of friends and relatives at such a moment. Let them choose some quiet
resort, not too long a journey from home, where they can pass a few weeks
in acquiring that more intimate knowledge of each other's character as
essential to their future happiness.

THE WIFE.
Top

THE WEDDING NIGHT.

We now enter upon the consideration of the second great period in the
life of Woman. The maiden becomes a Wife. She is born into a new world.
She assumes new relationships,—the sweetest, and, at the same time, the
most natural of which she is capable.
The great object of the conjugal union is the transmission of life,—a duty
necessary in order to repair the constant ravages of death, and thus
perpetuate the race. In the fulfilment of this sublime obligation, woman
plays the more prominent part, as she is the source and depositary of the
future being. It is of moment, therefore, that she should not be altogether
ignorant of the nature and responsibilities of her position. Ignorance here
means suffering, disease, and sometimes death. Let us then interrogate
science in regard to these matters, among the most interesting of all human
concerns.
The initiation into marriage, like its full fruition, maternity, is attended
with more or less suffering. Much, however, may be done to avert and to
lessen the pain which waits upon the first step in this new life. For this
purpose, regard must be had to the selection of the day. We have said that a
time about midway between the monthly recurring periods is best fitted for
the consummation of marriage. As this is a season of sterility, it
recommends itself on this account, in the interest of both the mother and
offspring. The first nuptial relations should be fruitless, in order that the
indispositions possibly arising from them shall have time to subside before
the appearance of the disturbances incident to pregnancy. One profound
change should not too quickly succeed the other. About the tenth day after
menstruation should therefore be chosen for the marriage ceremony.

It sometimes happens that marriage is consummated with difficulty. To
overcome this, care, management, and forbearance should always be
employed, and anything like precipitation and violence avoided. Only the
consequences of unrestrained impetuosity are to be feared. In those rare
cases in which greater resistance is experienced than can be overcome by
gentle means, the existence of a condition contrary to nature may be
suspected. Violence can then only be productive of injury, and is not
without danger. Medical art should be appealed to, as it alone can afford
assistance in such an emergency.
Although the first conjugal approaches are ordinarily accompanied by
slight flooding, a loss of blood does not always occur. Its absence proves
nothing. The appearance of blood was formerly regarded as a test of
virginity. The Israelites, Arabs, and others carefully preserved and
triumphantly exhibited the evidence of it as an infallible sign of the virtue
of the bride. They were in error. Its presence is as destitute of signification
as its absence; for it is now well known that widows, and wives long
separated from their husbands, often have a like experience. The
temperament is not without its influence. In those of lymphatic
temperament, pale blondes, who often suffer from local discharge and
weakness, the parts being relaxed, there is less pain and little or no
hæmorrhage. In brunettes, who have never had any such troubles, the case
is reversed. The use of baths, unguents, etc., by the young wife, however
serviceable they might prove, is obviously impracticable. This great change
sometimes also produces swelling and inflammation of the glands of the
neck.
Marital relations ordinarily continue during the first few weeks to be
more or less painful. General constitutional disturbance and disorders of the
nervous system often result. These troubles are all increased by the stupid
custom of hurrying the bride from place to place, at a time when the bodily
quiet and the mental calmness and serenity so desirable to her should be the
only objects in view. Too frequent indulgence at this period is a fruitful
source of various inflammatory diseases, and often occasions temporary
sterility and ill-health. The old custom requiring a three days' separation
after the first nuptial approach was a wise one, securing to the young wife
the soothing and restoring influence of rest. Nothing was lost by it, and
much gained.

In a little while, however, all irritation should subside, and no suffering or
distress of any kind, whether general or local, should attend upon the
performance of this important function. The presence of suffering now
becomes indicative of disease. Of this we will speak hereafter.

SHALL HUSBAND AND WIFE OCCUPY THE SAME
ROOM AND BED?

One-third of life is passed in sleep. This period of unconsciousness and
rest is necessary for the renewal of vital strength, and upon its proper
management depends much of the health not merely of the husband and
wife, but of their offspring. A great deal has been written upon the effect on
health and happiness of occupying separate apartments, separate beds in the
same apartment, or the same bed. This vexed question it is impossible to
settle by absolute rules, suitable to all cases. In general, it may be asserted
that there are no valid physiological reasons for desiring to change the
custom which now prevails in this and most other countries. When both
parties are in good health, and of nearly the same age, one bed-chamber, if
sufficiently roomy, may be used without any disadvantage to either. Such an
arrangement is also to be commended, because it secures closer
companionship, and thus developes and sustains mutual affection.
It is said that in Zurich, in the olden time, when a quarrelsome couple
applied for a divorce, the magistrate refused to listen to them at first. He
ordered that they should be shut up together in one room for three days,
with one bed, one table, one plate, and one cup. Their food was passed in by
attendants, who neither saw nor spoke to them. On the expiration of the
three days, it was usual to find that neither of them wanted a separation.
As before stated, there are conditions under which sleeping together is
prejudicial to the health. A certain amount of fresh air during the night is
required by every one. Re-breathed air is poisonous. During sleep constant
exhalations take place from the lungs and from the skin, which are injurious
if absorbed. A room twelve feet square is too small for two persons, unless
it is so thoroughly ventilated that there is a constant change of air. In fact, a
sleeping apartment for two persons should contain an air-space of at least
twenty-four hundred cubic feet, and the facilities for ventilation should be

such that the whole amount will be changed in an hour,—that is, at the rate
of forty cubic feet per minute; for it has been ascertained that twenty cubic
feet of fresh air a minute are required for every healthy adult.
Very young and very old people should never occupy the same bed.
When the married couple hold the relation to each other, in regard to age, of
grandfather and granddaughter, separate apartments should be insisted
upon.
Certain diseases can be produced by sleeping together. The bed of a
consumptive, it is well known, is a powerful source of contagion. In Italy it
is the custom, after death, to destroy the bed-clothes of consumptive
patients. Tubercular disease has, within the past few years, been transferred
from men to animals by inoculation. Authentic cases are upon record of
young robust girls of healthy parentage, marrying men affected with
consumption, acquiring the disease in a short time, and dying, in some
instances, before their husbands. In these significant cases, the sickly
emanations have apparently been communicated during sleep. When,
therefore, either husband or wife is known to have consumption, it would
be highly imprudent for them to pass the long hours of the night either in
the same bed or in the same room.

WHAT KIND OF BED IS MOST HEALTHFUL?

Feather-beds are not conducive to the health of either sex. Mattresses
made of wool, or of wool and horsehair, are much better. The bed should be
opened, and its contents exposed to the air and sunlight, once every year.
Beds long saturated with the night exhalations of their occupants are not
wholesome. A number of ancient writers have alleged—and it has been
reasserted by modern authorities—that sleeping on sponge is of service to
those who desire to increase their families. The mattresses of compressed
sponge recently introduced, therefore, commend themselves to married
people thus situated. Hemlock boughs make a bed which has a well-
established reputation for similar virtues.
The odor of cone-bearing trees has a well-known influence upon the
fruitfulness of wedlock. Those who live in pine forests have ordinarily large
families of children.

Excessive clothing at night is highly injurious. So also is a fire in the bed-
room, except in case of sickness. If the body be too much heated during
sleep, perspiration occurs, or the action of the heart is increased, and the
whole economy becomes excited. Either condition prevents sound sleep and
reinvigoration of the body. Wives in feeble health, and those liable to
attacks of flooding, should therefore have a particular regard to the quantity
of clothing on their beds.

THE DIGNITY AND PROPRIETY OF THE SEXUAL
INSTINCT.

A distinguished medical writer has divided women into three classes in
regard to the intensity of the sexual instinct. He asserts that a larger number
than is generally supposed have little or no sexual feeling. A second class of
women, more numerous than these, but still small as compared with the
whole of their sex, are more or less subject to strong passion. Those of the
first class can no more form an idea of the strength of the impulse in other
women, than the blind can of colors. They therefore often err in their
judgments. The third class comprises the vast majority of women, in whom
the sexual appetite is as moderate as all other appetites.
It is a false notion, and contrary to nature, that this passion in a woman is
a derogation to her sex. The science of physiology indicates most clearly its
propriety and dignity. There are wives who plume themselves on their
repugnance or their distaste for their conjugal obligations. They speak of
their coldness and of the calmness of their senses, as if these were not
defects. Excepting those afflicted with vices of conformation, or with
disorders of sensibility,—which amount to the same thing,—all wives are
called upon to receive and pay the imposts of love; and those who can
withdraw themselves from the operation of this mysterious law without
suffering and with satisfaction, show themselves by that fact to be
incomplete in their organization, and deficient in the special function of
their being. There should be no passion for one which is not shared by both.
Generation is a duty. The feeling which excites to the preservation of the
species is as proper as that which induces the preservation of the individual.
Passionate, exclusive, and durable love for a particular individual of the
opposite sex, it has been well said, is characteristic of the human race, and

is a mark of distinction from other animals. The instinct of reproduction in
mankind is thus joined to an affectionate sentiment, which adds to its
sweetness and prolongs infinitely its duration.
Many physiologists have assigned to the feelings an important rôle in
conception, the possibility of which has even been doubted if there be no
passion on the side of the woman. Although this extreme view is not tenable
in the light of modern research, yet all recent authorities agree that
conception is more assured when the two individuals who co-operate in it
participate at the same time in the transports of which it is the fruit. It is also
without doubt true that the disposition of the woman at that time has much
power in the formation of the fœtus, both in modifying its physical
constitution and in determining the character and temperament of its mind.
The influence, long ago attributed by Shakspeare to 'a dull, stale, tired bed'
in creating a 'tribe of fops,' is not a mere poet's fancy.
In this manner also may be explained the results of prolonged continence
upon the offspring, for desires are usually vivid in proportion to the
previous period of rest. The father of Montaigne, returning after an absence
of thirty-two years, during which he was engaged in the wars of Italy, begot
his son, so justly celebrated in French literature. The father of J. J.
Rousseau, after a considerable absence in Constantinople, brought to his
wife the reward of a long fidelity.
Sexual passion exerts, therefore, a marked influence upon the future
being before conception, by the impression made upon the elements which
come together to form it. The question now occurs; What effect does its
presence and gratification produce upon the parents? We answer; It is a
natural and healthful impulse. Its influence is salutary. A marked
improvement in the physical condition of delicate women often follows a
happy marriage. This sometimes occurs even in those cases where, from the
nature of the disorder, the reverse might be expected. The utility of the
passions, well directed, has become a maxim in medicine as in morality.
And what passion is more important and fervent than that of which we
write? The fathers in medicine, and their modern followers, agree in
ascribing to the pleasures of love, indulged in with moderation, activity and
lightness of the body, vigor and vivacity of the mind.

Music, apart from its immense influence on the nervous system in
general, seems sometimes to exercise a special action on the sexual instinct.
Science possesses at the present day some facts beyond dispute, which
prove the great power of music in this respect.

ON THE INDULGENCE AND THE RESTRAINT OF
SEXUAL DESIRE.

The act of generation is a voluntary one. But nature has so placed it under
the empire of pleasure, that the voice of discretion is no longer heard, and
the will is often led captive. Hence it is well, for hygienic reasons, to
consider its laws.
The too frequent repetition of the reproductive act is known to be
followed by consequences injurious to the general health. Too rigid
continence is not unattended, in many constitutions, with danger, for the
victory over passion may be dearly bought. Science recommends the
adoption of a wise mean between two extremes equally destructive. By
following her counsel, women may escape from the hysterical and other
disorders which often wait as well upon excess as upon too great denial of
that passion, which claims satisfaction as a natural right.
As men have made laws upon all subjects, we need not be surprised to
learn that they have legislated upon this. History informs us that the
legislators of ancient times have not failed to occupy themselves with this
grave question of conjugal economy. The ordinances of Solon required that
the married should acquit themselves of their duties at least three times a
month; those of Zoroaster prescribed once a week. Mohammed ordered that
any wife neglected by her husband longer than a week could demand and
obtain a divorce. It is not, however, in these, and other enactments which
might be quoted, that guidance is to be sought. The principles derived from
nature and experience are more valuable than human laws, however
venerable; for these too often serve only to reflect the profound ignorance
of their makers.
Moderation should here prevail. Health is thus preserved and
strengthened, and the gratification doubled. The art of seasoning pleasures

in general, consists in being avaricious with them. To abstain from
enjoyment, is the philosophy of the sage, the epicurism of reason.
Proper self-denial in the gratification of the wants of physical love is a
source of good, not only to the individual practising it, but to the
community, as we shall show hereafter. It may be observed for one's own
profit only, or for the benefit of another. The latter is in the end more
conducive to self-interest than the former. A double advantage is derived
therefrom,—gratitude and sympathy returned, and increase of appetite and
of power for future enjoyment. Excess of indulgence results in the pain of
surfeit and the extinction of affection. Earnest love, satisfying itself with
small gratifications, is a more copious source of happiness than that
frequently quenched by full gratification.
What, then, is this moderation which both Hygeia and Venus command?
Here, again, invariable rules are not possible. Science rarely lays down laws
so inflexible as those of the Medes and Persians. She designates limits. The
passage between Scylla and Charybdis is often a wide one. The folly of the
ancient statutes which have been referred to, consists mainly in their failure
to recognise the diverse influence of age, temperament, seasons, etc.
It almost appears as if there were but one season for generation, that in
which the sun re-warms and vivifies the earth, trees dress in verdure, and
animals respire the soft breath of spring. Then every living thing reanimates
itself. The impulse of reproduction is excited. Now, also, its gratification is
most beneficial to the individual and to the species. Children conceived in
the spring time have greater vitality, are less apt to die during infancy, than
those conceived at any other time of the year. The statistics of many
thousand cases, recently carefully collated in England, prove this beyond
peradventure. It is well known that a late calf, or one born at the end of the
summer, is not likely to become a well-developed and healthy animal. This
has been attributed to the chilling influence of approaching winter; but it is
capable of another and, perhaps, a truer explanation. Nature's impulses,
therefore, in the spring of the year are for the good of the race, and may
then be more frequently indulged without prejudice to the individual.
Summer is the season which agrees the least with the exercise of the
generative functions. The autumn months are the most unfruitful. Then,

also, derangements of the economy are readily excited by marital
intemperance.
The temperaments exert over reproduction, as over all the other functions
of the body, a powerful influence. Love is said to be the ruling passion in
the sanguine temperament, as ambition is in the bilious. There is also in
some cases a peculiar condition of the nervous system which impels to, or
diverts from, sexual indulgence. In some women, even in moderation, it
acts as a poison, being followed by headache and prostration, lasting for
days.
With advancing years, the fading of sexual desire calls attention to the
general law, that animals and plants, when they become old, are dead to
reproduction. What in early life is followed by temporary languor, in
matured years is succeeded by a train of symptoms much graver and more
durable.
Those who are in feeble health, and particularly those who have delicate
chests, ought to be sober in the gratification of love. Sexual intercourse has
proved mortal after severe hæmorrhages.
All organized beings are powerfully affected by propagation. Animals
become depressed and dejected after it. The flower which shines so
brilliantly at the moment of its amours, after the consummation of that act,
withers and falls. It is wise, therefore, in imparting life, to have a care not to
shorten one's own existence. Nothing is more certain than that animals and
plants lessen the duration of their lives by multiplied sexual enjoyments.
The abuse of these pleasures produces lassitude and weakness. Beauty of
feature and grace of movement are sacrificed. When the excess is long
continued, it occasions spasmodic and convulsive affections, enfeeblement
of the senses, particularly that of sight, deprivation of the mental functions,
loss of memory, pulmonary consumption and death. One of the most
eminent of living physiologists has asserted that 'development of the
individual and the reproduction of the species stand in a reverse ratio to
each other,' and that 'the highest degree of bodily rigor is inconsistent with
more than a very modest indulgence in sexual intercourse.'
The general principles we have just enunciated are of great importance in
the regulation of the health. They are more suggestive and useful than the

precise rules which have from time to time been laid down on this subject.

TIMES WHEN MARITAL RELATIONS SHOULD BE
SUSPENDED.

There are times at which marital relations are eminently improper. We are
told, I Cor. vii. 3, 4, that neither husband nor wife has the power to refuse
the conjugal obligation when the debt is demanded. But there are certain
legitimate causes for denial by the wife.
A condition of intoxication in the husband is a proper ground for refusal.
Fecundation taking place while either parent has been in this state has
produced idiots and epileptics. This has happened again and again. The
cases on record are so numerous and well-authenticated, as to admit of no
doubt in regard to the fatal effect upon the mind of the offspring of
conception under such circumstances.
Physical degeneracy is also often a consequence of procreation during
the alcoholic intoxication of one or both parents. A peculiar arrest of growth
and development of body and mind takes place, and, in some instances, the
unfortunate children, although living to years of manhood, remain
permanent infants, just able to stand by the side of a chair, to utter a few
simple sounds, and to be amused with childish toys.
During convalescence from a severe sickness, or when there is any local
or constitutional disease which would be aggravated by sexual intercourse,
it should be abstained from. There is reason for believing that a being
procreated at a period of ill-humour, bodily indisposition, or nervous
debility, may carry with it, during its whole existence, some small particles
of these evils. When there exists any contagious disease, refusals are of
course valid, and often a duty to the unborn. Poverty, or the wish to have no
more children, can only be exceptionally allowed as a reason for the denial
of all conjugal privileges.
The opinion that sexual relations practised during the time of the menses
engender children liable to scrofulous disease, is a mere popular prejudice.
But there are other and better-founded reasons for continence during these
periods.

The question of intercourse during pregnancy and suckling will come up
for consideration when speaking of these conditions hereafter.

CONDITIONS WHEN MARITAL RELATIONS ARE
PAINFUL.

Nature has not designed that a function of great moment to the human
race—one involving its very existence—should be attended with pain. The
presence of pleasure is indicative of health, its absence of disease. But to a
woman who has systematically displaced her womb by years of imprudence
in conduct or dress, this act, which should be a physiological one, and free
from any hurtful tendencies becomes a source of distress and even of
illness. The diseases of the womb which sometimes follow matrimony are
not to be traced to excessive indulgence in many cases, but to indulgence to
any extent by those who have altered the natural relation of the parts before
marriage. A prominent physician, Prof. T. Gaillard Thomas, of New York,
has said that 'upon a woman who has enfeebled her system by habits of
indulgence and luxury, pressed her uterus entirely out of its normal place,
and who perhaps comes to the nuptial bed with some marked uterine
disorder, the result of imprudence at menstrual epochs, sexual intercourse
has a poisonous influence. The taking of food into the stomach exerts no
hurtful influence on the digestive system; but the taking of food by a
dyspeptic, who has abused and injured that organ, does so.'
When excessive pain exists, and every attempt occasions nervous
trepidation and apprehension, it is absolutely certain that there is some
diseased condition present, for which proper advice should be secured at
once. Delay in doing so will not remove the necessity for medical
interference in the end, while it will assuredly aggravate the trouble. Prompt
intelligent aid, on the contrary, is usually followed by the happiest results in
such cases.

STERILITY.

Wives who never become mothers are said to be sterile or barren. This
condition is frequently a cause of much unhappiness. Fortune may favor the
married couple in every other respect, yet if she refuse to accord the boon of

even a single heir to heart and home, her smiles will bear the aspect of
frowns. It is then of some interest to inquire into the causes of this
condition, and how to prevent or remedy their operation.
Dr. Duncan, of Edinburgh, has shown, by elaborate research, that in those
wives who are destined to have children, there intervenes, on the average,
about seventeen months between the marriage ceremony and the birth of the
first child, and that the question whether a woman will be sterile is decided
in the first three years of married life. If she have no children in that time,
the chances are thirteen to one against her ever having any. In those cases,
therefore, in which the first three years of married life are fruitless, it is
highly desirable for those wishing a family to ascertain whether or not the
barrenness is dependent upon any defective condition capable of relief.
The age of a wife at the time of marriage has much to do with the
expectation of children. As the age increases over twenty-five years, the
interval between the marriage and the birth of the first child is lengthened.
For it has been ascertained that not only are women most fecund from
twenty to twenty-four, but that they begin their career of child-bearing
sooner after marriage than their younger or elder sisters. Early marriages
(those before the age of twenty) are sometimes more fruitful than late ones
(those after twenty-four). The interesting result has further been arrived at
in England, that about one in fourteen of all marriages of women between
fifteen and nineteen are without offspring; that wives married at ages from
twenty to twenty-four inclusive, are almost all fertile; and that after that age
the chances of having no children gradually increases with the greater age
at the time of marriage.
There are two kinds of sterility which are physiological, natural to all
women,—that of young girls before puberty, and that of women who are
past the epoch of the cessation of the menses. In some very rare cases,
conception takes place after cessation. In one published case, it occurred
nine months afterwards, and in another eighteen months. In some very rare
cases, also, conception has taken place before the first menstruation.
The older a woman is at the time of her marriage, the longer deferred is
the age at which she naturally becomes sterile. She bears children later in
life, in order to compensate, as it were, for her late commencement. But

although she continues to have children until a more advanced age than the
earlier married, yet her actual child-bearing period is shorter. Nature does
not entirely make up at the end of life for the time lost from the duties of
maternity in early womanhood; for the younger married have really a longer
era of fertility than the older, though it terminates at an earlier age.
A wife who, having had children, has ceased for three years to conceive,
will probably bear no more, and the probability increases as time elapses.
After the first, births take place with an average interval, in those who
continue to be fertile, of about twenty months.
Nursing women are generally sterile, above all, during the first months
which follow accouchement, because the vital forces are then concentrated
on the secretion of the milk. In a majority of instances, when suckling is
prolonged to even nineteen or twenty months, pregnancy does not take
place at all until after weaning.
Climate has also an influence upon the fertility of marriages. In southern
regions more children are born, fewer in northern. The number of children
is in inverse proportion to the amount of food in a country and in a season.
In Belgium, the higher the price of bread the greater the number of children,
and the greater the number of infant deaths.
The seasons exert a power over the increase of population. The spring of
the year, as has already been stated, is the most favourable to fecundity. It is
not known whether day and night have any effect upon conception.
The worldly condition seems to have much to do with the size of a
family. Rich and fashionable women have fewer children than their poor
and hard-worked neighbours. Wealth and pleasure seem to be often gladly
exchanged for the title of mother.
But it is our more particular object now to inquire into the causes of
absolute sterility in individual cases, rather than to discuss the operation of
general laws upon the fertility of the community at large, however inviting
such a discussion may be. When marriages are fruitless, the wife is almost
always blamed. It is not to be supposed that she is always in fault. Many
husbands are absolutely sterile; for it is a mistake to consider that every
man must be prolific who is vigorous and enjoys good health. Neither does

it follow, because a woman has never given birth to a living child, that she
has not conceived. About one marriage in eight is unproductive of living
children, and therefore fails to add to the population. The seeds of life have,
however, been more extensively sown among women than these figures
would seem to indicate. If the life of an infant for a long time after birth is a
frail one, before birth its existence is precarious in the extreme. It often
perishes soon after conception. A sickness, unusually long and profuse,
occurring in a young married woman a few days beyond the regular time, is
often the only evidence she will ever have that a life she has communicated
has been ended almost as soon as begun. A tendency to miscarriage may
therefore be all that stands in the way of a family. This is generally
remediable.
It is a well-known fact that frigidity is a frequent cause of barrenness, as
well as a barrier to matrimonial happiness. Its removal, so desirable, is in
many cases possible by detecting and doing away with the cause. The
causes are so various, that their enumeration here would be tedious and
unprofitable, for most of them can only be discovered and remedied by a
practical physician who has studied the particular case under consideration.
So also in regard to the various displacements and diseases of the womb
preventing conception. Proper medical treatment is usually followed by the
best results.
While the fact that pleasure is found in the marital relation is a favourable
augury for impregnation, it has been long noticed that Messalinas are
sterile. It was observed in Paris, that out of one thousand only six bore
children in the course of a year, whereas the ordinary proportion in that city
for that time is three and a half births for every one hundred of the
population.
In some women, nothing seems amiss but too intense passion. Such cases
are much more rare than instances of the opposite extreme producing the
same effect.
A condition of debility, or the presence of certain special poisons in the
blood, may prevent conception, or, what is to all intents the same thing,
cause miscarriage. Many apparently feeble women have large families. But
in numerous instances a tonic and sometimes an alternative constitutional

treatment is required before pregnancy will take place. On the contrary,
there are well-authenticated cases of women who were stout and barren in
opulence becoming thin and prolific in poverty.
The stimulus of novelty to matrimonial intercourse imparted by a short
separation of husband and wife, is often salutary in its influence upon
fertility.
To show upon what slight constitutional differences infertility often
depends, it is merely necessary to allude to the fact, known to every one,
that women who have not had children with one husband often have them
with another. This condition of physiological incompatibility is evidently
not altogether one of the emotional nature, for it is observed in animals,
among whom it is by no means rare to find certain males and females who
will not breed together, although both are known to be perfectly fruitful
with other females and males. The ancients, believing that sterility was
more common with couples of the same temperament and condition,
advised, with Hippocrates, that blonde women should unite with dark men,
thin women with stout men, and vice versâ.
Barren women should not despair. They sometimes become fecund after
a long lapse of years. In other words, they are sterile only during a certain
period of their lives, and then, a change occurring in their temperament with
age, they become fruitful. History affords a striking example of this
eccentricity of generation, in the birth of Louis xiv., whom Anne of Austria,
Queen of France brought into the world after a sterility of twenty-two years.
Catherine de Medicis, wife of Henry ii., became the mother of ten children
after a sterility of ten years. Dr. Tilt, of London, mentions the case of a
woman who was married at eighteen, but although both herself and her
husband enjoyed habitual good health, conception did not take place until
she was forty-eight, when she bore a child. Another case is reported where a
well-formed female married at nineteen, and did not bear a child until she
had reached her fiftieth year.
Families often suffer from the effects of sterility. Civilised nations never
do. Recent researches have been carefully instituted in several countries to
determine the exact power of the human race to preserve its numbers
against the ravages of death. It has been ascertained that during periods of

peace the population can be maintained to the same point by the additions
made to it through the procreating capacity of only one-half of the women
in the community. Nature, therefore, has made ample provision for
preventing a decrease of population through failure of reproduction.
She has also instituted laws to prevent its undue increase. It would seem
as if the extension of material mental and social comfort and culture has a
tendency to render marriage less prolific, and population stationary or
nearly so. So evident is this tendency, that it has been laid down as a maxim
in sociology by Sismondi, that 'where the number of marriages is
proportionally the greatest, where the greatest number of persons participate
in the duties and the virtues and the happiness of marriage, the smaller
number of children does each marriage produce.' Thus, to a certain extent,
does nature endorse the opinions of those political economists who assert
that increase of population beyond certain limits is an evil happily averted
by wars, famines, and pestilences, which hence become national blessings
in disguise. She, however, points to the extension of mental and moral
education and refinement as gentler and surer means of reducing plethoric
population than those suggested by Malthus and Mill.
Many causes of sterility, it will therefore be seen, are beyond the power
of man to control. They operate on a large scale for the good of the whole.
With these we have little concern. But there are others which may be
influenced by intelligent endeavor. Some have been already alluded to, and
the remedy suggested; but we will proceed to give more specific

ADVICE TO WIVES WHO DESIRE TO HAVE CHILDREN.

It has long been known that menstruation presents a group of phenomena
closely allied to fecundity. The first eruption of the menses is an
unequivocal sign of the awakening of the faculty of reproduction. The
cessation of the menstrual epochs is a sign equally certain of the loss of the
faculty of reproduction. When conception has taken place, the periodical
flow is interrupted. Labor occurs at about the time in which the menses
would have appeared. In short, it is a fact, now completely established, that
the time immediately before, and particularly that after the monthly
sickness, is the period the most favorable to fecundation. It is said that, by
following the counsel to this effect given him by the celebrated Fernel,

Henry ii., the King of France, secured to himself offspring after the long
sterility of his wife before referred to. Professor Bedford, of New York, says
that he can point to more than one instance in which, by this advice, he has
succeeded in adding to the happiness of parties who for years had been
vainly hoping for the accomplishment of their wishes.
Repose of the woman, and, above all, sojourn on the bed after the act of
generation, also facilitates conception. Hippocrates, the great father of
medicine, was aware of this, and laid stress upon it in his advice to sterile
wives.
The womb and the breasts are bound together by very strong sympathies:
that which excites the one will stimulate the other. Dr. Charles Loudon
mentions that four out of seven patients, by acting on this hint, became
mothers. A similar idea occurred to the illustrious Marshall Hall, who
advised the application of a strong infant to the breast. Fomentations of
warm milk to the breasts and the corresponding portion of the spinal
column, and the use of the breast-pump two or three times a day, just before
the menstrual period, have also been recommended by good medical
authorities. Horseback exercise, carried to fatigue, seems occasionally to
have conduced to pregnancy.
The greatest hope of success against sterility is to change the dominant
state of the constitution. But this can only be effected under suitable
medical advice. The treatment of sterility—thanks to the recent researches
of Dr. Marion Sims—is much more certain than formerly; and the
intelligent physician is now able to ascertain the cause, and point out the
remedy, where before all was conjecture and experiment. The sterile wife
should, herefore, be slow in abandoning all hope of ever becoming a
mother.

ON THE LIMITATION OF OFFSPRING.

No part of our subject is more delicate than this. Very few people are
willing to listen to a dispassionate discussion of the propriety or impropriety
of limiting within certain bounds the number of children in a family. On the
one side are many worthy physicians and pious clergymen, who, without
listening to any arguments, condemn every effort to avoid large families; on

the other, are numberless wives and husbands, who turn a deaf ear to the
warnings of doctors and the thunders of divines, and, eager to escape a
responsibility they have assumed, hesitate not to resort to the most
dangerous and immoral means to accomplish this end.
We ask both parties to lay aside prejudice and prepossession, and
examine with us this most important social question in all its bearings.
Let us first inquire whether there is such a thing as over-production—
having too many children. Unquestionably there is. Its disastrous effects on
both mother and children are known to every intelligent physician. Two-
thirds of all cases of womb disease, says Dr. Tilt, are traceable to child-
bearing in feeble women. Hardly a day passes that a physician in large
practice does not see instances of debility and disease resulting from over-
much child-bearing. Even the lower animals illustrate this. Every farmer is
aware of the necessity of limiting the offspring of his mares and cows. How
much more severe are the injuries inflicted on the delicate organization of
woman! A very great mortality, says Dr. Duncan of Edinburgh, attends upon
confinements when they become too frequent.
The evils of a too rapid succession of pregnancies are likewise
conspicuous in the children. There is no more frequent cause, says Dr.
Hillier,—whose authority in such matters none will dispute,—of rickets
than this. Puny, sickly, short-lived offspring follows over-production. Worse
than this, the carefully compiled statistics of Scotland show that such
children are peculiarly liable to idiocy. Adding to an already excessive
number, they come to over-burden a mother already overwhelmed with
progeny. They cannot receive at her hands the attention they require.
Weakly herself, she brings forth weakly infants. 'Thus,' concludes Dr.
Duncan, 'are the accumulated evils of an excessive family manifest.'
Apart from these considerations, there are certain social relations which
have been thought by some to advise small families. When either parent
suffers from a disease which is transmissible, and wishes to avoid inflicting
misery on an unborn generation, it has been urged that they should avoid
children. Such diseases not unfrequently manifest themselves after
marriage, which is answer enough to the objection that if they did not wish
children they should not marry. There are also women to whom pregnancy

is a nine months' torture, and others to whom it is nearly certain to prove
fatal. Such a condition cannot be discovered before marriage, and therefore
cannot be provided against by a single life. Can such women be asked to
immolate themselves?
It is strange, says that distinguished writer, John Stuart Mill, that
intemperance in drink, or in any other appetite, should be condemned so
readily, but that incontinence in this respect should always meet not only
with indulgence but praise. 'Little improvement' he adds, 'can be expected
in morality until the producing too large families is regarded with the same
feeling as drunkenness, or any other physical excess.' A well-known
medical writer, Dr. Drysdale, in commenting on these words, adds: 'In this
error, if error it be, I also humbly share.'
'When dangerous prejudices,' says Sismondi, the learned historian of
southern Europe, 'have not become accredited, when our true duties towards
those to whom we give life are not obscured in the name of a sacred
authority, no married man will have more children than he can bring up
properly.'
Such is the language of physicians and statesmen; but a stronger appeal
has been made for the sake of morality itself. The detestable crime of
abortion is appallingly rife in our day; it is abroad in our land to an extent
which would have shocked the dissolute women of pagan Rome. Testimony
from all quarters, especially from New England, has accumulated within the
past few years to sap our faith in the morality and religion of American
women. This wholesale, fashionable murder, how are we to stop it?
Hundreds of vile men and women in our large cities subsist by this
slaughter of the innocents, and flaunt their ill-gotten gains—the price of
blood—in our public thoroughfares. Their advertisements are seen in the
newspapers; their soul and body destroying means are hawked in every
town. With such temptation strewn in her path, what will the woman
threatened with an excessive family do? Will she not yield to evil, and sear
her conscience with the repetition of her wickedness? Alas! daily
experience in the heart of a great city discloses to us only too frequently the
fatal ease of such a course.

In view of the injuries of excessive child-bearing on the one hand, and of
this prevalent crime on the other, a man of genius and sympathy, Dr.
Raciborski of Paris, took the position that the avoidance of offspring to a
certain extent is not only legitimate, but should be recommended as a
measure of public good. 'We know how bitterly we shall be attacked,' he
says, 'for promulgating this doctrine; but if our ideas only render to society
the services we expect of them, we shall have effaced from the list of
crimes the one most atrocious without exception, that of child-murder,
before or after birth, and we shall have poured a little happiness into the
bosoms of despairing families, where poverty is allied to the knowledge
that offspring can be born only to prostitution or mendicity. The realization
of such hopes will console us under the attacks upon our doctrines.'
It has been eagerly repeated by some, that the wish to limit offspring
arises most frequently from an inordinate desire of indulgence. We reply to
such, that they do not know the human heart, and that they do it discredit.
More frequently the wish springs from a love of children. The parents seek
to avoid having more than they can properly nourish and educate. They do
not wish to leave their sons and daughters in want. 'This,' says a writer in
The Nation (of New York), in an article on this interesting subject,—'this is
not the noblest motive of action, of course, but there is something finely
human about it.'
'Very much indeed is it to be wished,' says Dr. Edward Reich, after
reviewing the multitudinous evils which result to individuals and society
from a too rapid increase in families, 'that the function of reproduction be
placed under the dominion of the will.'
Men are very ready to find an excuse for self-indulgence; and if they
cannot get one anywhere else, they seek it in religion. They tell the woman
it is her duty to bear all the children she can. They refer her to the sturdy,
strong-limbed women of early times, to the peasant women of northern
Europe, who emigrate to America, and ask and expect their wives to rival
them in fecundity. Such do not reflect that they have been brought up to
light indoor employment, that their organization is more nervous and frail,
that they absolutely have not the stamina required for many confinements.

Moreover, they presume too much in asking her to bear them. 'If a
woman has a right to decide on any question,' said a genial physician in the
Massachusetts Medical Society a few years since, 'it certainly is as to how
many children she shall bear.' 'Certainly,' say the editors of a prominent
medical journal, 'wives have a right to demand of their husbands at least the
same consideration which a breeder extends to his stock.' 'Whenever it
becomes unwise that the family should be increased,' says Sismondi again,
'justice and humanity require that the husband should impose on himself the
same restraint which is submitted to by the unmarried.'
An eminent writer on medical statistics, Dr. Henry MacCormac, says:
'The brute yields to the generative impulse when it is experienced. He is
troubled by no compunction about the matter. Now, a man ought not to act
like a brute. He has reason to guide and control his appetites. Too many,
however, forget, and act like brutes instead of as men. It would, in effect,
prove very greatly conducive to man's interests were the generative
impulses placed absolutely under the sway of right reason, chastity,
forecast, and justice.'
There is no lack of authorities, medical and non-medical, on this point.
Few who weigh them well will deny that there is such a thing as too large a
family; that there does come a time when a mother can rightfully demand
rest from her labours, in the interest of herself, her children, and society.
When is this time? Here again the impossibility meets us of stating a
definite number of children, and saying, 'This many and no more.' As in
every other department of medicine, averages are of no avail in guiding
individuals. There are women who require no limitation whatever. They can
bear healthy children with rapidity, and suffer no ill results. There are others
—and they are the majority—who should use temperance in this as in every
other function; and there are a few who should bear no children at all. It is
absurd for physicians or theologians to insist that it is either the physical or
moral duty of the female to have as many children as she possibly can have.
It is time that such an injurious prejudice was discarded, and the truth
recognised, that while marriage looks to offspring as its natural sequence,
there should be inculcated such a thing as marital continence, and that
excess here as elsewhere is repugnant to morality, and is visited by the laws
of physiology with certain and severe punishment on parent and child.

Continence, self-control, a willingness to deny himself,—that is what is
required from the husband. But a thousand voices reach us from suffering
women in all parts of our land that this will not suffice; that men refuse thus
to restrain themselves; that it leads to a loss of domestic happiness and to
illegal amours, or that it is injurious physically and mentally,—that, in
short, such advice is useless, because impracticable.
To such sufferers we reply that Nature herself has provided to some
extent against over-production, and that it is well to avail ourselves of her
provisions. It is well known that women when nursing rarely become
pregnant, and for this reason, if for no other, women should nurse their own
children, and continue the period until the child is at least a year old. Be it
remembered, however, that nursing, continued too long, weakens both
mother and child, and, moreover, ceases to accomplish the end for which
we now recommend it.
Another provision of nature is, that for a certain period between her
monthly illnesses every woman is sterile. The vesicle which matures in her
ovaries, and is discharged from them by menstruation, remains some days
in the womb before it is passed forth and lost. How long its stay is we do
not definitely know, and probably it differs in individuals. From ten to
twelve days at most are supposed to elapse after the cessation of the flow
before the final ejection of the vesicle. For some days after this the female
is incapable of reproduction. But for some days before her monthly illness
she is liable to conception, as for that length of time the male element can
survive. This period, therefore, becomes a variable and an undetermined
one, and even when known, its observation demands a large amount of self-
control.
There is one method widely in use in this country for the limitation of
offspring which deserves only the most unqualified condemnation, which is
certain to bring upon the perpetrators swift and terrible retribution, and
which is opposed to every sentiment of nature and morality. We mean

THE CRIME OF ABORTION.

From the moment of conception a new life commences; a new individual
exists; another child is added to the family. The mother who deliberately

sets about to destroy this life, either by want of care, or by taking drugs, or
using instruments, commits as great a crime, is just as guilty, as if she
strangled her new-born infant, or as if she snatched from her own breast her
six-months' darling and dashed out its brains against the wall. Its blood is
upon her head, and as sure as there is a God and a judgment, that blood will
be required of her. The crime she commits is murder, child-murder,—the
slaughter of a speechless, helpless being, whom it is her duty, beyond all
things else, to cherish and preserve.
This crime is common; it is fearfully prevalent. Hundreds of persons are
devoted to its perpetration. It is their trade. In nearly every village its
ministers stretch out their bloody hands to lead the weak woman to
suffering, remorse, and death. Those who submit to their treatment are not
generally unmarried women who have lost their virtue, but the mothers of
families, respectable Christian matrons, members of churches, and walking
in the better classes of society.
We appeal to all such with earnest and with threatening words. If they
have no feeling for the fruit of their womb, if maternal sentiment is so
callous in their breasts, let them know that such produced abortions are the
constant cause of violent and dangerous womb diseases, and frequently of
early death; that they bring on mental weakness, and often insanity; that
they are the most certain means to destroy domestic happiness which can be
adopted. Better, far better, to bear a child every year for twenty years than
to resort to such a wicked and injurious step; better to die, if needs be, in the
pangs of childbirth, than to live with such a weight of sin on the conscience.
There is no need of either. By the moderation we have mentioned, it is in
the power of any woman to avoid the evils of an excessive family, without
injury and without criminality.
We feel obliged to speak in plain language of this hidden sin, because so
many are ignorant that it is a sin. Only within a few years have those who
take in charge the public morals spoken of it in such terms that this excuse
of ignorance is no longer admissible.
Bishop Coxe, of New York, in a pastoral letter, the late Archbishop
Spaulding, Catholic Primate of the United States, in an address at the close
of a recent Provincial Council at Baltimore, the Old and New School

Presbyterian Churches, at a meeting in Philadelphia, have all pronounced
the severest judgments against those guilty of antenatal infanticide. Appeals
through the press have been made by physicians of high standing, and by
eminent divines, which should be in the hands of every one.
The chiefest difficulty hitherto has been, that while women were warned
against the evils of abortion, they were offered no escape from the
exhaustion and dangers of excessive child-bearing. This difficulty we have
fully recognised and fairly met, and, we believe, in such a manner that
neither the accuracy of our statements nor the purity of our motives can be
doubted. Should our position be attacked, however, the medical man must
know that in opposing our views, he opposes those of the most
distinguished physicians in Europe and in America; and the theologian
should be warned that, when a neglect of physical laws leads to moral evil,
the only way to correct this evil is to remedy the neglect. In this case the
neglect is over-production; the evil is abortion.

NATURE OF CONCEPTION.

The theories which have been advanced to explain the manner in which
the human species is continued and reproduced are very numerous.
Including the hypotheses of the ancient philosophers, some two hundred
and fifty have been promulgated by the greatest thinkers of all times. The
older ones do not deserve mention, as they are replete with absurdities.
Such, for instance, is that of Pythagoras, which supposed that a vapor
descended from the brain and formed the embryo. The Scythians therefore
took blood from the veins behind the ears to produce impotence and
sterility. Modern science has shown the total error of this and many other
views formerly entertained on this subject. Has galvanism or electricity any
share in the mysterious function? Some among the modern physiologists
have supposed that there is an electrical or magnetic influence which effects
generation. Even within a few months, Dr. Harvey L. Byrd, Professor of
Obstetrics in the Medical Department of Washington University of
Baltimore, has asserted that he has 'every reason for believing that
fecundation or impregnation is always an electrical phenomenon;
... it results from the completion of an
electric circle,—the union of positive and negative electricities.' This,

however, is not accepted by all as the dictum of modern science. Physiology
has clearly established that the new being is the result of contact between
the male element, an independent, living animal, on the one part, and the
female element, a matured egg, on the other, involving the union of the
contents of two peculiar cells. Without such contact, fecundation cannot
take place.
The only matter of practical moment in connection with this most
interesting function which we have to announce, is the influence of the
mind on the offspring at the time of generation. This influence has long
been remarked in regard to animals as well as men. Jacob was aware of it
when he made his shrewd bargain with Laban for 'all the speckled and
spotted cattle' as his hire. For we are told that then 'Jacob took him rods of
green poplar, and of the hazel and chestnut tree, and pilled white strakes in
them, and made the white appear which was in the rods. And he set the rods
which he had pilled before the flocks in the gutters in the watering-troughs,
when the flocks came to drink, that they should conceive when they came
to drink. And the flocks conceived before the rods, and brought forth cattle
ringstraked, speckled, and spotted. And Jacob did separate the lambs, and
set the faces of the flocks towards the ringstraked and all the brown in the
flock of Laban; and he put his own flocks by themselves, and put them not
unto Laban's cattle. And it came to pass, whenever the stronger cattle did
conceive, that Jacob laid the rods before the eyes of the cattle in the gutters,
that they might conceive among the rods. But when the cattle were feeble,
he put them not in: so the feebler were Laban's, and the stronger Jacob's.'
The impressions conveyed to the brain through the sense of sight are here
asserted by the writer of Genesis to have influenced the system of the ewes
so that they brought forth young marked in the same manner as the rods
placed before their eyes. It is not said that there was any miraculous
interposition; but the whole account is given as if it were an everyday,
natural, and well-known occurrence.
The Greeks, a people renowned for their physical beauty, seemed to be
aware of the value of mental impressions; for in their apartments they were
lavish of statues and paintings representing the gods and goddesses,
delineated in accordance with the best models of art.

Dionysus, tyrant of Syracuse, caused the portrait of the beautiful Jason to
be suspended before the nuptial bed, in order to obtain a handsome child.
The following is related of the celebrated Galen:—A Roman magistrate,
little, ugly, and hunch-backed, had by his wife a child exactly resembling
the statue of Æsop. Frightened at the sight of this little monster, and fearful
of becoming the father of a posterity so deformed, he went to consult Galen,
the most distinguished physician of his time, who counseled him to place
three statues of love around the conjugal bed, one at the foot, the others, one
on each side, in order that the eyes of his young spouse might be constantly
feasted on these charming figures. The magistrate followed strictly the
advice of the physician, and it is recorded that his wife bore him a child
surpassing in beauty all his hopes.
The fact that the attributes of the child are determined to an important
extent by the bodily and mental condition of the parents at the time of
conception, explains the marked difference almost constantly observed
between children born to the same parents, however strong the family
likeness may be among them. The changes constantly going on in the
physical, intellectual, and emotional states of the parents, produce a
corresponding alteration in offspring conceived at successive intervals.
Twins generally resemble each other very closely in every respect.
Inasmuch, therefore, as the moment of generation is of much more
importance than is commonly believed in its effect upon the moral and
physical life of the future being, it is to be wished that parents would pay
some attention to this subject. It is the moment of creation,—that in which
the first vital power is communicated to the new creature. Not without
reason has nature associated with it the highest sensual exaltation of our
existence. Dr. Hufeland, the author of The Art of Prolonging Life, has said,
'In my opinion it is of the utmost importance that this moment should be
confined to a period when the sensation of collected powers, ardent passion,
and a mind cheerful and free from care, invite to it on both sides.'

SIGNS OF FRUITFUL CONJUNCTION.

There are some women in whom the act of conception is attended with
certain sympathetic affections, such as faintness, vertigo, etc., by which

they know that it has taken place.
Swelling of the neck was regarded in ancient times as a sign of
conception. Its truthfulness has been reaffirmed by modern authorities.
It has also been asserted that impregnation generally excites a universal
tremor in all parts of the body, and that it is associated with more than an
ordinary degree of pleasure.
It must not be supposed, however, that enjoyment and impregnation bear
necessarily to each other the relation of cause and effect, although this is the
popular opinion. From too implicit a reliance upon this current belief, wives
are often incredulous as to their true condition.
It is a fact that in some cases sickness at the stomach manifests itself
almost simultaneously with the act of fecundation. Authentic instances are
on record of wives reckoning their confinement nine months from the first
feeling of nausea, without ever making a mistake.
In conclusion, it may be said that peculiar sensations are often
experienced, frequently of a character difficult to explain; and many
modern authors attach to them a marked value. In this manner it is possible
for a woman to be satisfied at the moment as to the change which has taken
place; yet the evidence is often deceptive, and sometimes nothing peculiar
is noticed.
From the period of conception the mother has no direct knowledge of the
process that is going on within, excepting by the effects of the increasing
pressure upon other parts, until 'quickening' takes place, which belongs to
another part of our subject.
The signs and symptoms of pregnancy will be explained in full when we
come to treat of the pregnant condition in a future chapter.

HOW TO RETAIN THE AFFECTIONS OF A HUSBAND.

Ah! this is a secret indeed!—worth the wand of the magician, the lamp of
Aladdin, or the wishing-cap of the fairy. What could any of these give in

exchange for the love of a husband? Yet this pearl of great price, how often
is it treated as lightly and carelessly as if it was any bauble of Brummagem!
'My husband,' we have heard young wives say, 'why, it is his duty to love
me. Why did he marry me if he is not going to love me, love me fondly,
love me ever?'
Yes, we all know

Love the gift, is love the debt.

But in this world of ours it is often hard to get one's own; and when got,
our care must never cease, lest it be wrested from us. The plant you bought
at the greenhouse, and that now blossoms on your window-sill, became
yours by purchase, but it has required your daily care to keep it alive and
persuade it to unfold its blossoms. Infinitely more delicate is this plant of
love. It, too, you purchased. You gave in exchange for it your own heart. It
too, you must daily tend with constant solicitude, lest it wither and die.
In this country, some women think that anything is good enough to wear
at home. They go about in slatternly morning dresses, unkempt hair, and
slippers down at heel. 'Nobody will see me,' they say 'but my husband.' Let
them learn a lesson from the wives of the Orient.
In those countries a married woman never goes abroad except in long
sombre robes and thick veil. An English lady visiting the wife of one of the
wealthy merchants, found her always in full dress, with toilet as carefully
arranged as if she were going to a ball.
'Why!' exclaimed the visitor, at length, 'is it possible that you take all this
trouble to dress for nobody but your husband?'
'Do, then,' asked the lady in reply, 'the wives of Englishmen dress for the
sake of pleasing other men?'
The visitor was mute.
Not that we would wish our women to be for ever in full costume at
home. That would be alarming. But she who neglects neatness in attire, and,
above all, cleanliness of person, runs a great danger of creating a sentiment

of disgust in those around her. Nothing is more repugnant to the husband's
senses than bad odors, and, for reasons which every woman knows, women
who neglect cleanliness are peculiarly liable to them. When simple means
do not remove them, recourse should be promptly had to a medical adviser.
So it is with bad breath. This sometimes arises from neglect of the teeth,
sometimes from diseases of the stomach, lungs, etc. A man of delicate
olfactories is almost forced to hold at arm's length a wife with a fetid breath.
There are some women—we have treated several—who are plagued with
a most disagreeable perspiration, especially about the feet, the arms, etc.
Such should not marry until this is cured. It is a rule among army surgeons,
to be chary about giving men their discharge from military service on
surgeon's certificate. But fetid feet are at times so horribly offensive, that
they are considered an allowable cause for discharge. No doubt, in some of
our States they would be received as a valid ground for divorce!—certainly
with quite as much reason as many of the grounds usually alleged.
In short, the judicious employment of all the harmless arts of the toilet,
and of those numerous and effective means which modern science offers, to
acquire, to preserve, and to embellish beauty, is a duty which woman,
whether married or single, should never neglect. With very little trouble, the
good looks and freshness of youth can be guarded almost to old age; and,
even when hopelessly gone, simple and harmless means are at hand to
repair the injuries of years, or at least to conceal them. But this is an art
which would require a whole volume to treat of, and which we cannot here
touch upon.

INHERITANCE.
Top

We now come to the consideration of a very wonderful subject,—that of
inheritance. It is one of absorbing interest, both because of the curious facts
it presents, and of the great practical bearing it has upon the welfare of
every individual.
In order to the better understanding of this matter, it is necessary at the
outset to make a distinction between four kinds or varieties of inheritance.
The most generally recognised is direct inheritance,—that in which the
children partake of the qualities of the father and mother. But a child may
not resemble either parent, while it bears a striking likeness to an uncle or
aunt. This constitutes indirect inheritance. Again, a child may be more like
one of its grandparents than either its father or mother. Or, what is still more
astonishing, it may display some of the characteristics possessed only by a
remote ancestor. This form of inheritance is known by the scientific term
atavism, derived from the Latin word atavus, meaning an ancestor. It is
curious to note in this connection that sometimes a son resembles more
closely his maternal than his paternal grandsire in some male attribute,—as
a peculiarity of beard, or certain diseases confined to the male sex. Though
the mother cannot possess or exhibit such male qualities, she has
transmitted them through her blood, from her father to her son.
The fourth variety of inheritance is that in which the child resembles
neither parent, but the first husband of its mother. A woman contracting a
second marriage, transmits to the offspring of that marriage the peculiarities
she has received through the first union. Breeders of stock know this
tendency, and prevent their brood-mares, cows, or sheep from running with
males of an inferior stock. Thus the diseases of a man may be transmitted to
children which are not his own. Even though dead, he continues to exert an
influence over the future offspring of his wife, by means of the ineffaceable
impress he had made in the conjugal relation upon her whole system, as we

have previously mentioned. The mother finds in the children of her second
marriage

'... the touch of a vanished hand,
And the sound of a voice that is still.'

A child may therefore suffer through the operation of this mysterious and
inexorable law, for sins committed not by its own father, but by the first
husband of its mother. What a serious matter, then, is that relation between
the sexes called marriage! How far-reaching are its responsibilities!
A distinction must here be drawn between hereditary transmission and
the possession of qualities at birth, which have not been the result of any
impression received from the system of father or mother, but due to mental
influences or accidents operating through the mother. A child may be born
idiotic or deformed, not because either parent or one of its ancestors was
thus affected, but from the influence of some severe mental shock received
by the mother during her pregnancy. This subject of maternal impressions
will come up for separate consideration in the discussion of pregnancy.
Again, a child may be epileptic, although there is no epilepsy in the family,
simply because of the intoxication of the father or mother at the time of the
intercourse resulting in conception. Such cases are not due to hereditary
transmission, for that cannot be hereditary which has been possessed by
neither the parents nor any other relatives.
In considering the effects of inheritance, we will first pass in review
those connected with the physical constitution. These are exceedingly
common and universally known. Fortunately, not merely are evil qualities
inherited, but beauty, health, vigor, and longevity also.

BEAUTY.

Good looks are characteristic of certain families. Alcibiades, the
handsomest among the Grecians of his time, descended from ancestors
remarkable for their beauty. So well and long has the desirable influence of
inheritance in this respect been recognised, that there existed in Crete an
ancient law which ordained that each year the most beautiful among the
young men and women should be chosen and forced to marry, in order to

perpetuate the type of their beauty. Irregularities of feature are transmitted
from parent to child through many generations. The aquiline nose has
existed some centuries, and is yet hereditary in the Bourbon family. The
hereditary under-lip of the House of Hapsburg is another example. When
the poet Savage speaks of

'The tenth transmitter of a foolish face,'

he scarcely exaggerates what is often seen in families where some
strongly-marked feature or expression is long predominant or reappears in
successive generations.

NECK AND LIMBS.

The form and length of the neck and limbs are frequently hereditary, as is
also the height of the body. The union of two tall persons engenders tall
children. The father of Frederick the Great secured for himself a regiment
of men of gigantic stature, by permitting the marriage of his guards only
with women of similar height. A tendency to obesity often appears in
generation after generation of a family. Yet such cases are within the reach
of medical art.

COMPLEXION.

Even the complexion is not exempt from this influence. Blondes
ordinarily procreate blondes, and dark parents have dark-skinned children.
An union in marriage of fair and dark complexions results in an
intermediate shade in the offspring. Not always, however; for it has been
asserted that the complexion chiefly follows that of the father. The offspring
of a black father and a white mother is much darker than the progeny of a
white father and a dark mother. In explanation of this fact, it has been said
that the mother is not impressed by her own color, because she does not
look upon herself, while the father's complexion attracts her attention, and
thus gives a darker tinge to the offspring. Black hens frequently lay dark
eggs; but the reverse is more generally found to be the case.

PHYSICAL QUALITIES TRANSMITTED BY EACH
PARENT.

In general, it may be said that there exists a tendency on the part of the
father to transmit the external appearance, the configuration of the head and
limbs, the peculiarities of the senses and of the skin and the muscular
condition; while the size of the body, and the general temperament or
constitution of the child, are derived from the mother. Among animals, the
mule, which is the produce of the male ass and the mare, is essentially a
modified ass having the general configuration of its sire, but the rounded
trunk and larger size of its dam. On the other hand, the hinny, which is the
offspring of the stallion and the she-ass, is essentially a modified horse,
having the general configuration of the horse, but being a much smaller
animal than its sire, and therefore approaching the dam in size as well as in
the comparative narrowness of its trunk. The operation of this principle,
though general, is not universal. Exceptions may easily be cited. In almost
every large family it will be observed that the likeness to the father
predominates in some children, while others most resemble the mother. It is
rare to meet with instances in which some distinctive traits of both parents
may not be traced in the offspring.

HAIR.

Peculiarities in the colour and structure of the hair are transmitted.
Darwin mentions a family in which, for many generations, some of the
members had a single lock differently coloured from the rest of the hair.

TEMPERAMENT.

The law of inheritance rules in regard to the production of the
temperament. The crossing of one temperament with another in marriage,
produces a modification in the offspring generally advantageous.

FERTILITY.

A peculiar aptitude for procreation is sometimes hereditary. The children
of prolific parents are themselves prolific. It is related that a French peasant
woman was confined ten times in fifteen years. Her pregnancies, always
multiple, produced twenty-eight children. At her last confinement she had
three daughters, who all lived, married, and gave birth to children,—the
first to twenty-six, the second to thirty-one, and the third to twenty-seven.
On the contrary, sometimes a tendency to sterility is found fixed upon
certain families, from which they can only escape by the most assiduous
care.

LONGEVITY.

In the vegetable kingdom, the oak inherits the power to live many years,
while the peach-tree must die in a short time. In the animal kingdom, the
robin becomes grey and old at ten years of age; the rook caws lustily until a
hundred. The ass is much longer-lived than the horse. The mule illustrates
in a striking manner the hereditary tendency of longevity. It has the size of
the horse, the long life of the ass. The weaker the ass, the larger, the
stronger, and the shorter-lived and more horse-like the mule. It is also a
curious and instructive fact, that this animal is the toughest after it has
passed the age of the horse: the inherited influence of the horse having been
expended, the vitality and hardiness of the ass remain.
It is universally conceded, that longevity is the privileged possession of
some lineages. That famous instance of old age, Thomas Parr, the best
authenticated on record, may be mentioned in illustration. It is vouched for
by Harvey, the distinguished discoverer of the circulation of the blood. Parr
died in the reign of Charles the First, at the age of 152, after having lived
under nine sovereigns of England. He left a daughter aged 127. His father
had attained to a great age, and his great-grandson died at Cork at the age of
103.

DEFORMITIES.

Deformities are undoubtedly sometimes transmitted to the progeny. It is
by no means rare to find that the immediate ancestors of those afflicted with
superfluous fingers and toes, club-feet, or hare-lips, were also the subjects

of these malformations. There are one or two families in Germany whose
members pride themselves upon the possession of an extra thumb; and there
is an Arab chieftain whose ancestors have from time immemorial been
distinguished by a double thumb upon the right hand. Darwin gives many
similar instances. A case of curious displacement of the knee-pans is
recorded, in which the father, sister, son, and the son of the half-brother by
the same father, had all the same malformation.

PERSONAL PECULIARITIES.

Gait, gestures, voice, general bearing, are all inherited. Peculiar manners,
passing into tricks, are often transmitted, as in the case, often quoted, of the
father who generally slept on his back with his right leg crossed over the
left, and whose daughter, whilst an infant in the cradle, followed exactly the
same habit, though an attempt was made to cure her. Left-handedness is not
unfrequently hereditary. It would be very easy to go on multiplying
instances, but we forbear.

HOW TO HAVE BEAUTIFUL CHILDREN.

A practical question now naturally suggests itself. How can the vices of
conformation be avoided, and beauty secured? The art of having handsome
children, known under the name of callipædia, has received much attention,
more, perhaps, in years gone by than of late. The noted Abbot Quillet wrote
a book in Latin on the subject. Many other works, in which astrology plays
a prominent part, were written on this art in the sixteenth and seventeenth
centuries.
We have already stated that well-formed parents will transmit these
qualities to their children, with scarcely an exception. Like begets like.
Unfortunately, all parents are not beautiful. Yet all desire beautiful
offspring. The body of the child can be influenced by the mind of the
parent, particularly of the mother. A mind habitually filled with pleasant
fancies and charming images is not without its effect upon the offspring.
The statues of Apollo, Castor and Pollux, Venus, Hebe, and the other
gods and goddesses which were so numerous in the gardens and public
places in Greece, reproduced themselves in the sons and daughters of the

passers-by. We know also that marriages contracted at an age too early or
too late, are apt to give imperfectly-developed children. The crossing of
temperaments and of nationalities beautifies the offspring. The custom
which has prevailed, in many countries, among the nobility, of purchasing
the handsomest girls they could find for their wives, has laid the foundation
of a higher type of features among the ruling classes. To obtain this desired
end, conception should take place only when both parents are in the best
physical condition, at the proper season of the year, and with mutual
passion. (We have already hinted how this can be regulated.) During
pregnancy the mother should often have some painting or engraving
representing cheerful and beautiful figures before her eyes, or often
contemplate some graceful statue. She should avoid looking at, or thinking
of ugly people, or those marked with disfiguring diseases. She should take
every precaution to escape injury, fright, and disease of any kind, especially
chicken-pox, erysipelas, or such disorders as leave marks on the person.
She should keep herself well nourished, as want of food nearly always
injures the child. She should avoid ungraceful positions and awkward
attitudes, as by some mysterious sympathy these are impressed on the child
she carries. Let her cultivate grace and beauty in herself at such a time, and
she will endow her child with them. As anger and irritability leave imprints
on the features, she should maintain serenity and calmness.

INHERITANCE OF TALENT AND GENIUS.

The effects of inheritance are perhaps more marked upon the mind than
upon the body. This need not surprise us. If the peculiar form of the brain
can be transmitted, the mental attributes, the result of its organization, must
necessarily also be transmitted.
It is a matter of daily observation, that parents gifted with bright minds,
cultivated by education, generally engender intelligent children; while the
offspring of those steeped in ignorance are stupid from birth. It may be
objected, that men the most remarkable in ancient or modern times, as
Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Shakspeare, Milton, Buffon, Cuvier, etc., have not
transmitted their vast intellectual powers to their progeny. In explanation, it
has been stated that what is known as genius is not transmissible. The
creation of a man of genius seems to require a special effort of Nature, after

which, as if fatigued, she reposes a long time before again making a similar
effort. But it may well be doubted whether even those complex mental
attributes on which genius and talent depend are not inheritable, particularly
when both parents are thus endowed. That distinguished men do not more
frequently have distinguished sons, may readily be accounted for when it is
recollected that the inherited character is due to the combined influence of
both parents. The desirable qualities of the father may therefore be
neutralized in the offspring by the opposite or defective qualities of the
mother. That contrasts in the disposition of parents are rather the rule than
the exception, we have already shown. Every one tends to unite himself in
friendship or love with a different character from his own, seeking thereby
to supplement the qualities in which he feels his own nature to be deficient.
The mother, therefore, may weaken, and perhaps obliterate, the qualities
transmitted by the father. Again, the influence of some remote ancestors
may make itself felt upon the offspring through the operation of the law of
atavism, before alluded to, and thus prevent the children from equaling their
parents in their natural endowments. Notwithstanding the workings of these
opposing forces, and others which might be mentioned, we find abundant
illustration of the hereditary nature of talent and character.
Of six hundred and five names occurring in a biographical dictionary
devoted to men distinguished as great founders and originators, between the
years 1453 and 1853, there were, as has been pointed out by Mr. Galton, no
less than one hundred and two relationships, or one in six. Walford's Men of
the Time contains an account of the distinguished men in England, the
Continent, and America, then living. Under the letter A there are eighty-five
names, and no less than twenty-five of these, or one in three and a half,
have relatives also in the list; twelve of them are brothers, and eleven
fathers and sons. In Bryan's Dictionary of Painters, the letter A contains
three hundred and ninety-one names of men, of whom sixty-five are near
relatives, or one in six; thirty-three of them are fathers and sons, and thirty
are brothers. In Fétis's Biographie Universelle des Musiciens, the letter A
contains five hundred and fifteen names, of which fifty are near relatives, or
one in ten. Confining ourselves to literature alone, it has been found that it
is one to six and a half that a very distinguished literary man has a very
distinguished literary relative; and it is one to twenty-eight that the relation
is father and son, or brother and brother, respectively. Among the thirty-nine

Chancellors of England, sixteen had kinsmen of eminence; thirteen of them
had kinsmen of great eminence. These thirteen out of thirty-nine, or one in
three, are certainly remarkable instances of the influence of inheritance. A
similar examination has been instituted in regard to the judges of the
Supreme Court of Massachusetts, and other American States, with like
results. The Greek poet Æschylus counted eight poets and four musicians
among his ancestors. The greater part of the celebrated sculptors of ancient
Greece descended from a family of sculptors. The same is true of the great
painters. The sister of Mozart shared the musical talent of her brother. As
there are reasons, to be detailed hereafter, for believing that the influence of
the mother is even greater than that of the father, how vastly would the
offspring be improved if distinguished men united themselves in marriage
to distinguished women for generation after generation!

INFLUENCE OF FATHERS OVER DAUGHTERS; OF
MOTHERS OVER SONS.

We have already called attention to the parts of the physical organization
transmitted by the father and by the mother. It would seem, moreover, that
each parent exercises a special influence over the child according to its sex.
The father transmits to the daughters the form of the head, the framework of
the chest and of the superior extremities, while the conformation of the
lower portion of the body and the inferior extremities is transmitted by the
mother. With the sons this is reversed. They derive from the mother the
shape of the head and of the superior extremities, and resemble the father in
the trunk and inferior extremities. From this it therefore results, that boys
procreated by intelligent women will be intelligent, and that girls procreated
by fathers of talent will inherit their mental capacity. The mothers of a
nation, though unseen and unacknowledged in the halls of legislation,
determine in this subtle manner the character of the laws.
History informs us that the greater part of the women who have been
celebrated for their intelligence, reflected the genius of their fathers. Arete,
the most celebrated woman of her time, on account of the extent of her
knowledge, was the daughter of the distinguished philosopher Aristippus,
disciple of Socrates. Cornelia, the mother of the Gracchi, was a daughter of
Scipio. The daughter of the Roman emperor Caligula was as cruel as her

father. Marcus Aurelius inherited the virtues of his mother, and Commodus
the vices of his. Charlemagne shut his eyes upon the faults of his daughters,
because they recalled his own. Genghis-Khan, the renowned Asiatic
conqueror, had for his mother a warlike woman. Tamerlane, the greatest
warrior of the fourteenth century, was descended from Genghis-Khan by the
female side. Catherine de Medicis was as crafty and deceitful as her father,
and more superstitious and cruel. She had two sons worthy of herself,—
Charles ix., who shot the Protestants, and Henry iii., who assassinated the
Guises. Her daughter, Margaret of Valois, recalled her father by her gentle
manners. The cruel deeds of Alexander VI., the dark records of which will
for ever stain the pages of history, are only rivaled in atrocity by those of
his children, the infamous Borgias. Arete, Hypatia, Madame de Staël, and
George Sand,—all four had philosophers for their fathers. The mother of
Bernardo Tasso had the gift of poetry. Buffon often speaks of the rich
imagination of his mother. The poet Burns, 'Rare Ben Jonson,' Goethe,
Walter Scott, Byron, and Lamartine,—all were born of women remarkable
for their vivacity and brilliancy of language. Byron, in his journal, attributes
his hypochondria to a hereditary taint derived from his mother, who was its
victim in its most furious form; and her father 'was strongly suspected of
suicide.' He was said to have resembled more his maternal grandfather than
any of his father's family. The daughter of Molière was like her father in her
wit and humor. Beethoven had for a maternal grandmother an excellent
musician. The mother of Mozart gave the first lessons to her son. A crowd
of composers have descended from John Sebastian Bach, who long stood
unrivaled as a performer on the organ, and composer for that instrument. It
may be remarked here, that it is almost invariably true that the ability or
inability to acquire a knowledge of music is derived from the ancestry.
Parents who cannot turn a tune or tell one note from another, bring forth
children equally unmoved 'with concord of sweet sounds.' Examples could
easily be adduced at still greater length, illustrating the direct influence of
the father over the daughter, and of the mother over the son. Those given
will suffice.

INFLUENCE Of EDUCATION OVER INHERITED
QUALITIES.

In correcting the evil effects of inheritance on the mind, education plays a
very important part. A child born with a tendency to some vice or
intellectual trait, may have this tendency entirely overcome, or at least
modified, by training. So, also, virtues implanted by nature may be lost
during the plastic days of youth, in consequence of bad associations and bad
habits.
Education can therefore do much to alter inherited mental and moral
qualities. Can it be invoked to prevent the transmission of undesirable traits,
and secure the good? Everything that we have at birth is a heritage from our
ancestors. Can virtuous habits be transmitted? Can we secure virtues in our
children by possessing them ourselves? Science sadly says, through her
latest votaries, that we are scarcely more than passive transmitters of a
nature we have received, and which we have no power to modify. It is only
after exposure during several generations to changed conditions or habits,
that any modification in the offspring ensues. The son of an old soldier
learns his drill no more quickly than the son of an artisan. We must
therefore come to the conclusion with Mr. Galton, that to a great extent our
own embryos have sprung immediately from the embryos whence our
parents were developed, and these from the embryos of their parents, and so
on for ever. Hence we are still barbarians in our nature. We show it in a
thousand ways. Children, who love to dig and play in the dirt, have
inherited that instinct from untold generations of ancestors. Our remote
forefathers were barbarians, who dug with their nails to get at the roots on
which they lived. The delicately-reared child reverts to primeval habits. In
like manner, the silk-haired, parlor-nurtured spaniel springs from the
caressing arms of its mistress, to revel in the filth of the roadside. It is the
breaking out of inherited instinct.

TRANSMISSION OF DISEASE.

Perhaps the most important part of the subject of inheritance, is that
which remains for us to consider in relation to the transmission of disease,
or of a predisposition to it.
Consumption,—that dread foe of modern life,—is the most frequently
encountered of all affections as the result of inherited predisposition. Indeed
some of the most eminent physicians have believed it is never produced in

any other way. Heart disease, disease of the throat, excessive obesity,
affections of the skin, asthma, disorders of the brain and nervous system,
gout, rheumatism, and cancer, are all hereditary. A tendency to bleed
frequently, profusely and uncontrollably, from trifling wounds, is often met
with as a family affection.
The inheritance of diseased conditions is also influenced by the sex. A
parent may transmit disease exclusively to children of the same sex, or
exclusively to those of the opposite sex. Thus, a horn-like projection on the
skin peculiar to the Lambert family was transmitted from the father to his
sons and grandsons alone. So mothers have through several generations
transmitted to their daughters alone supernumerary fingers, color-blindness,
and other deformities and diseases. As a general rule, any disease acquired
during the life of either parent, strongly tends to be inherited by the
offspring of the same sex rather than the opposite. We have spoken of the
apparently reverse tendency in regard to the transmission of genius and
talent.

ARE MUTILATIONS INHERITABLE?

How, it may be inquired, is it in regard to the inheritance of parts
mutilated and altered by injuries and disease during the life of either parent?
In some cases mutilations have been practised for many generations,
without any inherited result. Different races of men have knocked out their
upper teeth, cut off the joints of their fingers, made immense holes through
their ears and nostrils, and deep gashes in various parts of their bodies, and
yet there is no reason for supposing that these mutilations have been
inherited. The Comprachicos, a hideous and strange association of men and
women, existed in the seventeenth century, whose business it was to buy
children and make of them monsters. Victor Hugo, in a recent work, has
graphically told how they took a face and made of it a snout, how they bent
down growth, kneaded the physiognomy, distorted the eyes, and in other
ways disfigured 'the human form divine,' in order to make fantastic
playthings for the amusement of the noble-born. But history does not state
that these deformities were inherited; certainly no race of monsters has
resulted. The pits from small-pox are not inherited, though many successive
generations must have been thus pitted by that disease before the beneficent

discovery of the immortal Jenner. Children born with scars left by pustules
have had small-pox in the womb, acquired through the system of the
mother. On the other hand, the lower animals, cats, dogs, and horses, which
have had their tails and legs artificially altered or injured, have produced
offspring with the same condition of parts. A man who had his little finger
on the right hand almost cut off, and which in consequence grew crooked,
had sons with the same finger on the same hand similarly crooked. The
eminent physiologist Dr. Brown-Séquard mentions, that many young
guinea-pigs inherited an epileptic tendency from parents which had been
subjected to an operation at his hands resulting in the artificial production
of fits; while a large number of guinea-pigs bred from animals which had
not been operated on were not thus affected. At any rate, it cannot but be
admitted that injuries and mutilations which cause disease, are occasionally
inherited. But many cases of deformities existing at birth, as hare-lip, are
not due to inheritance, although present in the father. They arise from a
change effected in the child while in the womb, through an impression
made upon the mind of the mother, as will be shown hereafter.

LATE MANIFESTATIONS OF THE EFFECTS OF
INHERITANCE.

Not only are diseases inherited which make their appearance at birth, but
those which defer their exhibition until a certain period of life
corresponding with that at which they showed themselves in the parents.
Thus in the Lambert family, before referred to, the porcupine excrescence
on the skin began to grow in the father and sons at the same age, namely,
about nine weeks after birth. In an extraordinary hairy family, which has
been described, children were produced during three generations with hairy
ears: in the father, the hair began to grow over his body at six years old; in
his daughter somewhat earlier, namely, at one year; and in both generations
the milk teeth appeared late in life, the permanent teeth being deficient.
Greyness of hair at an unusually early age has been transmitted in some
families. So, also, has the premature appearance of baldness.

HOW TO AVOID THE TENDENCY OF INHERITANCE.

These facts suggest the practical consideration, that in those diseases the
predisposition to which alone is inherited, and which break out only after a
lapse of time, it is often altogether possible to prevent the predisposition
being developed into positive disease. Thus, for instance, the inherited
tendency to consumption remains asleep in the system until about the age of
puberty, or later. Therefore, by the use of a diet in which animal food forms
a large portion, properly regulated, and systematic exercise in the open air,
the practice of the long inhalations before recommended, warm,
comfortable clothing, together with a residence, if practicable, during the
changeable and inclement seasons of the year, in an equable climate, we can
often entirely arrest the development of the disease. Prevention here is not
only better than cure, but often all that is possible. Those in whom the
disease has become active, must too often, like those who entered Dante's
infernal regions, 'abandon hope.' Let our words of caution therefore be
heeded.
When there is reason to believe that an individual possesses an inherent
tendency to any disease, it is the duty of the medical adviser to study the
constitution of the patient thoroughly, and after such study to recommend
those measures of prevention best suited to avert the threatened disorder.
Above all, let the physician look closely to the child at the period of life
when any grave constitutional inheritable disease attacked the parent. This
supervision should be carried into adult years, for there are instances on
record of inherited diseases coming on at an advanced age, as in that of a
grandfather, father, and son, who all became insane and committed suicide
near their fiftieth year. Gout, apoplexy, insanity, chronic disease of the
heart, epilepsy, consumption, asthma, and other diseases, are all more or
less under the control of preventive measures. Some hereditary diseases,
such as idiocy and cancer, we are impotent to prevent, in the present state of
our knowledge.
A singular fact in connection with the transmission of disease is the
readiness with which a whole generation is passed over, the affection
appearing in the next. A father or mother with consumption may in some
instances have healthy children, but the grandchildren will die of the
disease. Nature kindly favors one generation, but only at the expense of the
next.

Some diseases require, in addition to the general means of prevention to
be found in a strict observance of the laws of health, some special measures
in order to effectually ward off their appearance. But the extent of this work
will not admit of their discussion. Already, indeed, have we unduly,
perhaps, extended our remarks upon inheritance. The interest and
importance of the facts must be our justification.

WHY ARE WOMEN REDUNDANT?

It cannot be without interest to look into the relative proportion of men
and women now living. It will interest us still more to inquire into the
reason why one sex preponderates over the other in numbers. This done, we
will answer the question; Is the production of sex at all under the influence
of the human will?
The female sex is the more numerous in all thickly populated parts of the
world where we have trustworthy statistics. In Austria, England, and Wales,
there are nearly one hundred and five women for every one hundred men.
In Sweden they are as one hundred and nine to one hundred. In all cities the
disproportion is greater than in the country. In London there are one
hundred and thirteen women to every one hundred men; and in the large
towns of Sweden they stand as one hundred and sixteen to one hundred.
This is not true, however, of newly-populated regions. The relative
difference is reversed in recent and thinly-settled localities. In our Western
States, for instance, the number of the men exceeds that of the women. In
California they are as three to one; in Nevada as eight to one; in Colorado,
twenty to one. In the State of Illinois there were, according to a recent
United States census, ninety-three thousand more men than women. In
Massachusetts, on the contrary, there are between fifty and sixty thousand
more women than men.
The disproportion of men to women in new countries is due to the
disinclination of women to emigrate. They are also unfitted for the
hardships of pioneer life.
How is this general preponderance in the number of women produced? Is
it because there are more girls born than boys? Not at all. The statistics of

over fifty-eight millions of persons show that there are one hundred and six
living boys born to every one hundred girls. In the state of Rhode Island, for
instance, the proportion for three years, from 1853 to 1855, was one
thousand and sixty-four boys born to one thousand girls. But now we meet
with the wonderful arrangement of nature, that a larger proportional number
of male infants die during the first year of their lives than of females. In the
second year, the mortality, though less excessive, still remains far greater on
the male side. It subsequently decreases, and at the age of four or five years
is nearly equal for both sexes. In after life, from the age of fifteen to forty,
the mortality is something greater among women, but not sufficiently so to
make the number of the two sexes equal. The greater tendency of male
offspring to die early is seen even before birth, for more male children are
still-born than female,—namely, as three to two. For this reason, the term
'the stronger sex,' applied to men, has been regarded by some authors as a
misnomer. They are physically weaker in early life, and succumb more
readily to noxious influences.
Having thus pointed out that there are more women actually living in the
world than men, although a larger number of boys are born than girls, we
will consider for a moment some of the laws of nature which determine the
number of the sexes. Without giving the figures,—which would make dry
reading,—we will state in brief the conclusions derived from many
observations, extending over many years and many nationalities. The
relative age of the parents has an especial influence upon the sex of the
children. Seniority on the father's side gives excess of male offspring.
Equality in the parents' age gives a slight preponderance of female
offspring. Seniority on the mother's side gives excess of female offspring.
This tallies with the fact that in all civilized countries, as has been stated,
the proportion of male births is greater than that of females; for, in
accordance with the customs of society, the husband is generally older than
the wife. A curious instance, in confirmation of this law, has recently come
under our observation. A patient, married for the second time, is ten years
older than her husband. She has two children by him, both girls. Singular to
relate, her former husband was ten years older than herself, and by him she
had four children, of whom three were boys, the fourth (a girl) having a
twin brother.

Still, the relative age is not the sole cause which fixes the sex of the child.
Its operation is sometimes overruled by conflicting agencies. In some
districts of Norway, for example, there has been a constant deficiency in
boys, while in others the reverse has been the case. The circumstance is
well known, that after great wars, and sometimes epidemics, in which a
disproportionate number of men have died, more boys are born than usual.
Men who pass a sedentary life, and especially scholars who exhaust their
nervous force to a great extent, beget more girls than boys. So, also, a very
advanced age on the man's side diminishes the number of males among the
offspring. The quantity and the quality of the food; the elevation of the
abode; the conditions of temperature; the parents' mode of life, rank,
religious belief, frequency of sexual intercourse,—have all been shown to
be causes contributing to the disproportion of the sexes, besides the relative
ages of the parents.
Some writers have stated that a southerly or warm and humid constitution
of the year is most favorable to the birth of female infants, while in cold and
dry years most males are produced. This statement has not been supported
by trustworthy statistics in regard to the human race, but in respect of
domestic animals the agriculturists of France have long observed that the
season has much to do with the sex. When the weather is dry and cold, and
the wind northerly, mares, ewes, and heifers produce more males than when
the opposite meteorological condition prevails.
The saying among nurses, that 'This is the year for sons or daughters,' is
based upon the erroneous supposition that mothers bring forth more male
infants in one year than in another.
That, however, which concerns us the most in this connection, is the
question:

CAN THE SEXES BE PRODUCED AT WILL?

This question was asked many centuries ago. It was a hard one, and
remained without a satisfactory answer until quite recently. Science has at
last replied to it with authority. M. Thury, Professor in the Academy of
Geneva, has shown how males and females may be produced in accordance
with our wishes.

Some families are most anxious for male offspring, others ardently desire
daughters. And would it not often be a matter of national concern to control
the percentage of sexes in the population? Is it not a 'consummation most
devoutly to be wished,' to bring about that Utopian condition when there
would be no sighing maids at home, nor want of warriors in the field? The
discussion of this subject is therefore important and allowable.
It has been observed that queen-bees lay female eggs first, and male eggs
afterwards. So with hens: the first-laid eggs give female, the last male
products. Mares shown the stallion late in their periods, drop horse-colts
rather than fillies.
Professor Thury, from the consideration of these and other like facts,
formed this law for stock-raisers: 'If you wish to produce females, give the
male at the first signs of heat; if you wish males, give him at the end of the
heat.' But it is easy to form a theory. How was this law sustained in
practice? We have now in our possession the certificate of a Swiss stock-
grower, son of the President of the Swiss Agricultural Society, Canton de
Vaud, under date of February 1867, which says:
'In the first place, on twenty-two successive occasions I desired to have
heifers. My cows were of Schurtz breed, and my bull a pure Durham. I
succeeded in these cases. Having bought a pure Durham cow, it was very
important for me to have a new bull, to supersede the one I had bought at
great expense, without leaving to chance the production of a male. So I
followed accordingly the prescription of Professor Thury, and the success
has proved once more the truth of the law. I have obtained from my Durham
bull six more bulls (Schurtz-Durham cross) for fieldwork; and having
chosen cows of the same color and height, I obtained perfect matches of
oxen. My herd amounted to forty cows of every age.
'In short, I have made in all twenty-nine experiments after the new
method, and in every one I succeeded in the production of what I was
looking for—male and female. I had not one single failure. All the
experiments have been made by myself, without any other person's
intervention; consequently, I do declare that I consider as real and certainly
perfect the method of Professor Thury.'

A perfectly trustworthy observer communicates by the Medical and
Surgical Reporter of Philadelphia for May 2, 1868, the results of similar
experiments on animals, with like conclusions.
The plan of M. Thury was also tried on the farms of the late Emperor of
the French, with, it is asserted, the most unvarying success.
What is the result of the application of this law to the human race? Dr. F.
J. W. Packman, of Wimborne, has stated in the Lancet, that, 'in the human
female, conception in the first half of the time between menstrual periods
produces female offspring, and male in the latter. When a female has gone
beyond the time she calculated upon, it will generally turn out to be a boy.'
In the Philadelphia Medical and Surgical Reporter for February 8, 1868,
a respectable physician writes that, in numerous instances that have come
under his observation, Professor Thury's theory has proved correct,
'Whenever intercourse has taken place in from two to six days after the
cessation of the menses, girls have been produced; and whenever
intercourse has taken place in from nine to twelve days after the cessation
of the menses, boys have been produced. In every case I have ascertained
not only the date at which the mother placed conception, but also the time
when the menses ceased, the date of the first and subsequent intercourse for
a month or more after the cessation of the menses,' etc.
Again, a physician writes to the same journal for June 20, 1868,
recording the result of his own experience.
A farmer in Louisiana states, in the Turf, Field, and Farm, in support of
this law, that 'I have already been able in many cases to guess with certainty
the sex of a future infant. More than thirty times, among my friends, I have
predicted the sex of a child before its birth, and the event proved nearly
every time that I was right.'
The wife, therefore, who would wish, as Macbeth desired of his, to

'Bring forth men-children only,'

should avoid exposing herself to conception during the early part of the
time between her menstrual periods.
The prediction of the sex of the child before birth can now be with some
accuracy made by the intelligent and skilful physician. The method of doing
so will be mentioned in treating of pregnancy.

TWIN-BEARING.

As a rule, a woman has one child at a time. Twins, when they occur, are
looked upon with disfavor by most people. There is a popular notion that
they are apt to be wanting in physical and mental vigor. This opinion is not
without foundation. A careful scientific examination of the subject has
shown, that of imbeciles and idiots a much larger proportion is actually
found among the twins born than in the general community. In families
where twinning is frequent, bodily deformities likewise occur with
frequency. Among the relatives of imbeciles and idiots, twin-bearing is
common. In fact, the whole history of twin-births is of an exceptional
character, indicating imperfect development and feeble organization in the
product, and leading us to regard twins in the human species as a departure
from the physiological rule, and therefore injurious to all concerned.
Monsters born without brains have rarely occurred except among twins.
The birth of twins occurs once in about eighty deliveries. A woman is
more apt to have no children than to have more than one at a time. In view
of the increased danger to both mother and child, this rarity of a plural birth
is fortunate.

WHY ARE TWINS BORN?

What are the causes or favouring circumstances bringing about this
abnormal child-bearing? For it is brought about by the operation of laws. It
is not an accident. There are no accidents in nature. By some it is supposed
to be due to the mother, by some to the father. There are facts in favour of
both opinions. Certain women married successively to several men have

always had twins, while their husbands with other wives have determined
single births. Certain men have presented the same phenomenon. We can
scarcely cite an example more astonishing than that of a countryman who
was presented to the Empress of Russia in 1755. He had had two wives. The
first had fifty-seven children in twenty-one confinements; the second,
thirty-three in thirteen. All the confinements had been quadruple, triple, or
double. A case has come under our own observation in which the bearing of
twins has seemed to be due to a constitutional cause. The wife has nine
children. The first was a single birth, a girl; the others were all twin-births,
and boys.
It has been asserted that compound pregnancies are more frequent in
certain years than in others. But that which seems to exert the greatest
actual influence over the production of twins is the age of the mother. Very
extensive statistics have demonstrated that, from the earliest child-bearing
period until the age of forty is reached, the fertility of mothers in twins
gradually increases. Between the ages of twenty and thirty, fewest wives
have twins. The average age of the twin-bearer is older than the general run
of bearers. It is well known that by far the greater number of twins are born
of elderly women. While three-fifths of all births occur among women
under thirty years of age, three-fifths of all the twins are born to those over
thirty years of age. Newly-married women are more likely to have twins at
the first labour the older they are. The chance that a young wife from fifteen
to nineteen shall bear twins is only as one to one hundred and eighty-nine;
from thirty-five to thirty-nine the chance is as one to forty-five,—that is, the
wives married youngest have fewest twins; and there is an increase as age
advances, until forty is reached.
Race seems to have some influence over plural births. They occur
relatively oftener among the Irish than among the English.

INFLUENCE OF TWIN-BEARING ON SIZE OF FAMILIES.

Do women bearing twins have in the end larger families than those never
having but one at a time? Popular belief would answer this question in the
affirmative. Such a reply would also seem to receive support from the fact,
well established, that twins are more frequently additions to an already
considerable family than they are either the first of a family or additional to

a small family. But statistics have not answered this question as yet
positively. They seem, however, in favour of the supposition that twin-
bearing women have larger families than their neighbors.
Women are more apt to have twins in their first pregnancy than any other,
but after the second confinement the bearing of twins increases in frequency
with the number of the pregnancy. It becomes, therefore, an indication of an
excessive family, and is to be deplored.

MORE THAN TWO CHILDREN AT A BIRTH.

Cases of the birth of more than two children at a time are still less
frequently met with than twins. They are scarcely ever encountered,
excepting in women who have passed their thirtieth year. Such cases are all
more or less unfortunate both for the mother and the children.

THREE AT A BIRTH.

The births of triplets are not exclusively confined to women above thirty
years, but in those younger they are so rare as to be great curiosities.
Neither are they apt to occur in the first pregnancy. In this respect they
differ from twins, who, as has just been said, are peculiarly prone to make
their appearance at the first childbirth. Only four cases of treble births
occurred among the 36,000 accouchements which have taken place in the
Hospice de Maternité of Paris in a determined time. Out of 48,000 cases of
labor in the Royal Maternity Charity in London, only three triplets
occurred. History informs us that the three Roman brothers, the Horatii,
were triplets. They fought and conquered the three Curiatii of Alba (667 B.
C.) who were likewise triplets.
As an interesting fact in connection with this subject, we may mention
that in the St. Petersburg Midwives' Institute, between 1845-59, there were
three women admitted, who, in their fifteenth pregnancies, had triplets, and
each had triplets three times in succession. Happily, the fifteenth pregnancy
is not reached by most women.

FOUR AT A BIRTH.

Instances of quadruplets are fewer than triplets. But four vigorous infants
have been born at one birth.

FIVE AT A BIRTH.

The birth of five living children at a time is very exceptional, and is
usually fatal to the offspring. A remarkable case of this kind is reported in a
late medical journal. A woman aged thirty, the wife of a laborer, and the
mother of six children, was taken in labor about the seventh month of her
pregnancy. Five children, and all alive, were given birth to,—three boys and
two girls. Four of the children survived an hour, and died within a few
moments of each other. The fifth, a female, and the last born, lived six
hours, and was so vigorous that, notwithstanding its diminutive size, hopes
were entertained of its surviving.
Another case is reported in a recent French medical journal. The woman
was forty years old. She had had twins once, and single children five times.
On her seventh pregnancy, when five months gone, she was as large as
women usually are at the end of their full term. At the close of the month
she was delivered of five children. They were all born alive, and lived from
four to seven minutes. All five children were males, well built and as well
developed as fœtuses of five and one-half months usually are in a single
birth. The woman made a good recovery. Other cases of five at a birth
might be quoted. They are known to medical science as very singular and
noteworthy occurrences.

INCREDIBLE NUMBERS.

Some books speak of seven, eight, nine, ten, and more, children at a
birth. But these statements are so marvelous, so incredible, and unsupported
by proper testimony, that they do not merit any degree of confidence. The
climax of such extraordinary assertions is reached, and a good illustration
of the credulity of the seventeenth century furnished, by a writer named
Goftr. This traveller, in 1630, saw a tablet in a church at Leusdown
(Lausdunum), about five miles from the Hague, with an inscription stating
that a certain illustrious countess, whose name and family he records,
brought forth at one birth, in the fortieth year of her age, in the year 1276,

365 infants. They were all baptized by Guido, the Suffragan. The males
were called John, and the females Elizabeth. They all, with their mother,
died on the same day, and were buried in the above-mentioned church. This
monstrous birth was said to have been caused by the sin of the countess in
insulting a poor woman with twins in her arms, who prayed that her insulter
might have at one birth the same number of children as there were days in
the year. Of course, notwithstanding the story being attested by a tablet in a
church, it must be placed among the many other instances of superstition
afforded by an ignorant and credulous era.
We may remark, in closing this subject, that fewer plural births come to
maturity than pregnancies with single children. Miscarriages are
comparatively more frequent in such pregnancies than in ordinary ones.

PREGNANCY
Top

VENERATION FOR THE PREGNANT.

We have been considering woman hitherto as maiden and wife. She now
approaches the sacred threshold of maternity. She is with child. In no period
of her life is she the subject of an interest so profound and general. The
young virgin and the new wife have pleased by their grace, spirit, and
beauty. The pregnant wife is an object of active benevolence and religious
respect. It is interesting to note how, at all times and in all countries, she has
been treated with considerate kindness and great deference. She has been
made the subject of public veneration, and sometimes even of religious
worship. At Athens and at Carthage the murderer escaped from the sword of
justice if he sought refuge in the house of a pregnant woman. The Jews
allowed her to eat forbidden meats. The laws of Moses pronounced the
penalty of death against all those who by bad treatment or any act of
violence caused a woman to abort. Lycurgus compared women who died in
pregnancy to the brave dead on the field of honour, and accorded to them
sepulchral inscriptions. In ancient Rome, where all citizens were obliged to
rise and stand during the passage of a magistrate, wives were excused from
rendering this mark of respect, for the reason that the exertion and hurry of
the movement might be injurious to them in the state in which they were
supposed to be. In the kingdom of Pannonia all enceinte women were in
such veneration, that a man meeting one on the road was obliged, under
penalty of a fine, to turn back and accompany and protect her to her place
of destination. The Catholic Church has in all times exempted pregnant
wives from fasts. The Egyptians decreed, and in most Christian countries
the law at the present time obtains, that if a woman shall be convicted of an
offence the punishment of which is death, the sentence shall not be
executed if it be proved that she is pregnant.

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF PREGNANCY.

1. The sign most commonly relied upon is the cessation of the monthly
sickness. The wife who misses the expected return of her illness, is apt to
conclude that conception has taken place. This sign is far from being an
infallible one.
It should be borne in mind that young married women sometimes have a
slight show for two or three periods after their first impregnation. Ignorance
of this fact has very frequently led to a miscalculation of the time of
confinement. On the other hand, the menses will sometimes become
arrested soon after marriage, and continue so for one or two months,
without there existing any pregnancy. The temporary disappearance of the
monthly sickness in such cases is due to the profound impression made
upon the system by the new relations of the individual.
It not unfrequently happens that menstruation continues with regularity
during the whole period of pregnancy. Exceptional cases are given by
distinguished writers on midwifery, of women menstruating during their
pregnancy, and at no other time.
As a general rule, when a healthy wife misses her monthly sickness, she
is pregnant. But this symptom, though a strong one, must be supported by
others before it can be regarded as establishing anything.
2. Morning sickness is a very common, a very early, and, in the opinion
of most mothers, a very conclusive symptom of pregnancy. We have already
had occasion to remark that it sometimes makes its appearance almost
simultaneously with conception. It usually comes on in the first few weeks,
and continues until the third or fourth month or until quickening. This
symptom is apt to be a troublesome one. Often the vomiting is slight, and
immediately followed by relief. But it may produce violent and ineffectual
straining for some time. It is, however, not to be called a disease: unless it
proceeds to an exhausting degree, it must be looked upon as favorable and
salutary. There is an old and true proverb, that 'a sick pregnancy is a safe
one.' The absence of nausea and vomiting is a source of danger to the
mother and child. Women who habitually fail to experience them, are
exceedingly apt to miscarry. In such cases medical skill should be invoked
to bring about the return of these symptoms, of such importance to healthful
pregnancy.

Morning sickness is therefore a very general, almost constant,
accompaniment of the pregnant condition; and great dependence may be
placed upon it as a sign.
3. Changes in the breasts are valuable as symptoms. They become larger
and firmer, and the seat of a pricking or stinging sensation. The nipples are
swollen, prominent, and sometimes sore or painful. The veins beneath the
skin appear more conspicuous, and of a deeper blue than ordinary. The
peculiar circles of rose-coloured skin which surround the nipples increase in
extent, change to a darker color, and become covered with a number of little
elevations. Subsequently, numerous mottled patches, or round spots of a
whitish hue, scatter themselves over the outer part of this circle.
The time at which these changes make their appearance is variable. They
may begin to develope themselves in two or three weeks, oftener not until
the second or third month, and in women of a delicate build, sometimes not
until the latter end of pregnancy. Occasionally no alteration whatever occurs
in the breasts until after confinement, in which cases the secretion of milk is
delayed for several days after the birth of the child. In some rare instances
the breasts never assume maternal proportions, and the mother is debarred
from the pleasure and duty of nursing her own child.
4. Quickening is the next symptom we will consider. By this term is
meant the arrival of that time when the mother first becomes conscious by
the movements of the child of its presence. The ancients thought that then
life was imparted to the new being. Modern physiology emphatically
condemns this absurdity. The embryo is as much alive in the very earliest
moments of pregnancy as at any future stage of its existence. Let every
woman therefore remember that she who produces abortion is equally
guilty in the eyes of science and of Heaven, whether the act be committed
before or after the period of quickening.
How is quickening produced? Undoubtedly by the movements of the
child. So soon as its nervous and muscular systems become sufficiently
developed to enable it to move its limbs, the mother, if the movements be
sufficiently active, is rendered sensible of her situation. But the muscular
contractions may not be strong enough to impart any sensation to the
mother. In many cases in which they are too feeble to be noticed by herself,

the skilled accoucheur is capable of recognizing them. And the movements
of the fœtus may be excited in various ways known to physicians.
Time of quickening.—This symptom usually occurs about the middle of
pregnancy, near the eighteenth week. Some women feel the movements of
the fœtus as early as the third month of pregnancy, others not till the sixth
month. Cases occur in which no movement whatever is felt until the eighth
or ninth month, or even not at all. It has been suggested that a fœtus which
does not indicate its presence in this way is a kind of 'Lazy Lawrence,' too
indolent to move. Certainly, many of both sexes exhibit after birth such
indomitable love of repose, that it can readily be supposed they were
equally passive in fœtal life.
The non-occurrence of this sign may, however, be due to the debility of
the young child, or to a want of sensibility in the walls of the womb itself.
A woman may be deceived, and suppose she has quickened, when her
sensations are to be traced to flatulence of the bowels, or perhaps a
dropsical effusion. Many ludicrous instances of self-deception are on
record. The historian Hume states that Queen Mary, in her extreme desire to
have issue, so confidently asserted that she felt the movements of the child,
that public proclamation was made of the interesting event. Despatches
were sent to foreign courts; national rejoicings were had; the sex of the
child was settled, for everybody was certain it was going to be a male; and
Bonner, Bishop of London, made public prayers, saying that Heaven would
pledge to make him beautiful, vigorous, and witty. But all those high hopes
and eager expectations were destined never to be realized. The future
disclosed that the supposed quickening was merely a consequence of
disordered health, and commencing dropsy.
Some women possess the power of imitating the movements of a fœtus,
by voluntary contraction of the abdominal muscles. A well-known colored
woman of Charleston, 'Aunt Betty,' had a great reputation as having 'been
pregnant for fifteen years.' She made a good deal of money, by exhibiting to
physicians and medical students who were curious, the pretended
movements of her unborn child. She was repeatedly presented to the
medical classes in the city. No pregnancy existed, as was revealed by a
post-mortem examination. She imposed upon the credulous by the habit she

had acquired of jerking her muscles at pleasure, and thus closely simulating
the movements of an embryo.
5. Changes in the abdomen.—In the first two months of pregnancy the
abdomen is less prominent than usual: it recedes, and presents a flat
appearance. The navel is also drawn in and depressed. About the third
month a swelling frequently shows itself in the lower part of the abdomen,
and then diminishes, thus leading the wife to suppose that she was mistaken
in her condition, for she finds herself at the fourth month smaller than at the
third. After this, however, there is a gradual increase in the size and
hardness of the abdomen. What is of more value, is the peculiar form of the
swelling. It is pear-shaped, and is thus distinguished from the swelling of
dropsy and other affections. The navel begins to come forward, and finally
protrudes. The pouting appearance it then presents is very characteristic.
In this connection it may be remarked that, towards the change of life,
childless married women often think they perceive that 'hope deferred' is
about to be gratified. An enlargement of the abdomen takes place at this
time, from a deposit of fatty matter. The nervous perturbations and the
cessation of the menses, which are natural to this period, are looked upon as
confirmations of the opinion that pregnancy exists. But the day of
generation with them has passed. These symptoms herald the approach of
the winter of life, which brings with it death to the reproductive system.
6. Changes in the skin.—The alterations occurring in the skin are worth
observing. Those women who have a delicate complexion and are naturally
pale take a high color, and vice versâ. In some cases a considerable quantity
of hair appears on those parts of the face occupied by the beard in men; it
disappears after labor, and returns on every subsequent pregnancy.
Oftentimes the skin becomes loose and wrinkled, giving a haggard, aged air
to the face, and spoiling good looks. Women who ordinarily perspire freely,
have now a dry, rough skin; whereas those whose skin is not naturally
moist, have copious perspiration, which may be of a peculiarly strong odor.
Copper-colored or yellow blotches sometimes appear upon the skin, mole
spots become darker and larger, and a dark ring developes itself beneath the
eyes. The whole appearance is thus in many cases altered. On the other
hand, obstinate, long-existing skin affections sometimes take their departure

during pregnancy, perhaps never to return. These alterations do not occur in
all women, nor in all pregnancies of the same woman.
7. We may now group together a number of less important and less
constant signs, such as depraved appetite, longings for unnatural food,
excessive formation of saliva in the mouth, heartburn, loss of appetite in the
first two or three months, succeeded by a voracious desire for food, which
sometimes compels the woman to rise at night in order to eat, toothache,
sleepiness, diarrhœa, palpitation of the heart, pain in the right side, etc.
These, when they occur singly, are of little value as evidence.
Among these, that of depraved appetite is by far the most important, and
may be regarded as quite significant. A married woman in her ordinary
health, suddenly feeling this morbid taste for chalk, charcoal, slate pencil,
and other unusual articles of food, may look upon it as a strong presumptive
evidence of impregnation.
When any or all of this group of symptoms accompany the ceasing to be
'regular,' the morning sickness, the changes in the breasts and the other
signs which have been enumerated, the wife may be quite sure that she is
pregnant.
8. Changes in the mind.—The most wonderful of all the changes which
attend pregnancy are those in the nervous system. The woman is rendered
more susceptible, more impressible. Her character is transformed. She is no
longer pleasant, confiding, gentle, and gay. She becomes hasty, passionate,
jealous, and bitter. But in those who are naturally fretful and bad-tempered
a change for the better is sometimes observed, so that the members of the
household learn from experience to hail with delight the mother's pregnancy
as a period when clouds and storms give place to sunshine and quietness. In
some rare cases, also, pregnancy confers increased force and elevation to
the ideas, and augmented power to the intellect.
As this book is written for women only, we do not mention any of the
signs or symptoms of pregnancy which medical men alone can recognize.
We will merely state that there are many other signs besides these referred
to, of great value to the doctor. One, the sound of the heart of the child,
which the practised ear can detect at about the fifth month, is positive and
conclusive.

MISCARRIAGE.

Miscarriage is a fruitful source of disease, and often of danger, to wives.
It also causes a frightful waste of human life. Unborn thousands annually
die in this manner.
Frequency.—Miscarriage is by no means a rare occurrence. Statistics
show that thirty-seven out of one hundred mothers miscarry before they
attain the age of thirty years. But this accident is much more apt to occur
during the latter than during the first half of the child-bearing period; and
therefore it is estimated that ninety out of one hundred of all women who
continue in matrimony until the change of life, miscarry.
Influence of age of mother.—A woman who marries at forty is very much
disposed to miscarry; whereas, had she married at thirty, she might have
borne children when older than forty. As a mother approaches the end of her
child-bearing period, it is likely that she will terminate her career of fertility
with a premature birth. The last pregnancies are not only most commonly
unsuccessful, but there is also reason to believe that the occurrence of
idiocy in a child may be associated with the circumstance of its being the
last-born of its mother. It has been asserted, in this connection, that men of
genius are frequently the first-born. First pregnancies are also fraught with
the danger of miscarriage, which occurs more often in them than in others,
excepting the latest. A woman is particularly apt to miscarry with her first
child, if she be either exceedingly nervous or full-blooded.
Influence of period of pregnancy.—Miscarriage is most frequent in the
earlier months of pregnancy—from the first to the third. It is also very
prone to happen about the sixth month. Habit makes itself felt here; for
women who have many times experienced this sad accident, encounter it
nearly always at the same epoch of their pregnancy.
How early can the child live?—The infant is incapable, as a rule, of an
independent existence, if brought into the world before the end of the sixth
month. The law of France regards a child born one hundred and eighty days
after wedlock as not only capable of living, but as legitimate and worthy of
all legal and civil rights. There are many cases mentioned, by the older
medical writers, of children born previous to this period living. One of the

most curious is that recorded by Van Swieten. The boy Fortunio Liceti was
brought into the world before the sixth month, in consequence of a fright
his mother had at sea. When born, it is said, he was the size of a hand, and
his father placed him in an oven, for the purpose, probably, it has been
suggested, of making him rise. Although born prematurely, he died late, for
we are told that he attained his seventy-ninth year. Professor Gunning S.
Bedford of New York records the case of a woman in her fourth
confinement, who, before she had completed her sixth month, was delivered
of a female infant weighing two pounds nine ounces. The surface of the
body was of a scarlet hue. It breathed, and in a short time after birth cried
freely. After being wrapped in soft cotton, well lubricated with warm sweet-
oil, it was fed with the mother's milk, by having a few drops at a time put
into its mouth. At first it had great difficulty in swallowing, but gradually it
succeeded in taking sufficient nourishment, and is now a vigorous, healthy
young woman.
Dangers to mother.—Wives are too much in the habit of making light of
miscarriages. They are much more frequently followed by disease of the
womb than are confinements at full terms. There is a greater amount of
injury done to the parts than in natural labor. While after confinement ample
time is afforded by a long period of repose for the bruised and lacerated
parts to heal, after a miscarriage no such rest is obtained. Menstruation soon
returns; conception may quickly follow. Unhappily, there is no custom
requiring husband and wife to sleep apart for a month after a miscarriage, as
there is after a confinement. Hence, especially if there be any pre-existing
uterine disease, or a predisposition thereto, miscarriage is a serious thing.
Causes.—The irritation of hemorrhoids or straining at stool will
sometimes provoke an early expulsion of a child. Excessive intercourse by
the newly married is a very frequent cause. Bathing in the ocean has been
known to produce it. Nursing is exceedingly apt to do so. It has been shown
by a distinguished medical writer, that, in a given number of instances,
miscarriage occurred in seventeen per cent. of cases in which the woman
conceived while nursing, and in only ten per cent. where conception
occurred at some other time. A wife, therefore, who suspects herself to be
pregnant, should wean her child. The extraction of a tooth, over-exertion
and over-excitement, a fall, a blow, any violent emotion, such as anger,
sudden and excessive joy, or fright, running, dancing, horseback exercise,

or riding in a badly-built carriage over a rough road, great fatigue, lifting
heavy weights, the abuse of purgative medicines, disease or displacement of
the womb, small-pox, or a general condition of ill-health, are all fruitful and
well-known exciting causes of this unfortunate mishap, in addition to those
which have been before mentioned.
Prevention.—The eminent practitioner, Dr. Tilt, says, 'The way to prevent
miscarriage is to lead a quiet life, particularly during those days of each
successive month when, under other circumstances, the woman would
menstruate; and to abstain during those days not only from long walks and
parties, but also from sexual intercourse.'
It is especially desirable to avoid a miscarriage in the first pregnancy, for
fear that the habit of miscarrying shall then be set up, which it will be very
difficult to eradicate. Therefore newly-married women should carefully
avoid all causes which are known to induce the premature expulsion of the
child. If it should take place in spite of all precautions, extraordinary care
should be exercised in the subsequent pregnancy, to prevent its recurrence.
Professor Bedford of New York has said he has found that an excellent
expedient in such cases is, as soon as pregnancy is known to exist, 'to
interdict sexual intercourse until after the fifth month; for if the pregnancy
pass beyond this period, the chances of miscarriage will be much
diminished.'
If the symptoms of miscarriage, which may be expressed in the two
words pain and flooding, should make their appearance, the doctor ought at
once to be sent for, the wife awaiting his arrival in a recumbent position. He
may even then be able to avert the impending danger. At any rate, his
services are as necessary, and often even more so, as in a labor at full term.

MOTHER'S MARKS.

It is a popular belief that the imagination of the mother affects the child
in the womb. It is asserted that infants are often born with various marks
and deformities corresponding in character with objects which had made a
vivid impression on the maternal mind during pregnancy. This is a subject
of great practical interest. We shall therefore give it the careful attention
which it deserves.

We have already discussed the operation of the laws of inheritance. It
was then stated that the whole story of maternal influence had not been told
—that the mother could communicate qualities she never possessed. The
potency of imagination at the time of conception over the child has been
mentioned. It is now our design to consider its effects, during the period of
pregnancy, upon the physical structure and the mental attributes of the
offspring. We shall have occasion hereafter, in speaking of nursing, to
illustrate the manner in which the child may be affected by maternal
impressions acting through the mother's milk. What can be more wonderful
than this intimate union between the mother and her child? It is only
equaled by that mysterious influence of the husband over the wife, by
which he so impresses her system that she often comes in time to resemble
him both in mental and physical characteristics, and even transmits his
peculiarities to her children by a second marriage. Father, mother, and child
are one.
We wish here to premise that our remarks will be based upon the
conclusions of skilled and scientific observers only, whose position and
experience no medical man will question. All the instances to be related are
given upon unimpeachable authority. They are not the narrations of
ignorant, credulous people; they are all fully vouched for. We record here,
as elsewhere, only the sober utterances of science. The great importance
and utility of an acquaintance with them will be patent to every intelligent
man and woman.
The effect of the mind upon the body is well known. Strong, long-
continued mental emotion may induce or cure disease. Heart disease may
be produced by a morbid direction of the thoughts to that organ. Warts
disappear under the operation of a strong belief in the efficacy of some
nonsensical application. In olden time, scrofula, or the 'king's evil', was
cured by the touch of the king. The mind of the patient, of course,
accomplished the cure. Under the influence of profound mental emotion,
the hair of the beautiful Marie Antoinette became white in a short time.
During the solitary voyage of Madame Condamine down the wild and
lonely Amazon, a similar change took place. Many other instances might be
adduced; but those given are sufficient to show that strong and persistent
mental impressions will exert a mysterious transforming power over the
body. These facts will pave the way to the consideration of corresponding

effects, through the mother's mind, upon the development of the unborn
child, forming a part of herself in utero.
Influence of mind of mother on form and color of infant.—There are
numerous facts on record which prove that habitual, long-continued mental
conditions of the mother at an early period of pregnancy, induce deformity
or other abnormal development of the infant.
Professor William A. Hammond of New York relates the following
striking case, which occurred in his own experience, and which scarcely
admits of a doubt as to the influence of the maternal mind over the physical
structure of the fœtus.
A lady in the third month of her pregnancy was very much horrified by
her husband being brought home one evening with a severe wound of the
face, from which the blood was streaming. The shock to her was so great
that she fainted, and subsequently had a hysterical attack, during which she
was under Dr. Hammond's care. Soon after her recovery she told him that
she was afraid her child would be affected in some way, and that even then
she could not get rid of the impression the sight of her husband's bloody
face had made upon her. In due time the child, a girl, was born. She had a
dark red mark upon the face, corresponding in situation and extent with that
which had been upon her father's face. She also proved to be idiotic.
Professor Dalton of New York states that the wife of the janitor of the
College of Physicians and Surgeons of that city, during her pregnancy,
dreamed that she saw a man who had lost a part of the ear. The dream made
a great impression upon her mind, and she mentioned it to her husband.
When her child was born, a portion of one ear was deficient, and the organ
was exactly like the defective ear she had seen in her dream. When
Professor Dalton was lecturing upon the development of the fœtus as
affected by the mind of the mother, the janitor called his attention to the
foregoing instance. The ear looks exactly as if a portion had been cut off
with a sharp knife.
Professor J. Lewis Smith of Bellevue Hospital Medical College, New
York, has met with the following cases:—An Irishwoman, of strong
emotions and superstitions, was passing along a street, in the first months of
her pregnancy, when she was accosted by a beggar, who raised her hand,

destitute of thumb and fingers, and in 'God's name' asked for alms. The
woman passed on, but, reflecting in whose name money was asked, felt that
she had committed a great sin in refusing assistance. She returned to the
place where she had met the beggar, and on different days, but never
afterwards saw her. Harassed by the thought of her imaginary sin, so that
for weeks, according to her statement, she was distressed by it, she
approached her confinement. A female infant was born, otherwise perfect,
but lacking the fingers and thumb of one hand. The deformed limb was on
the same side, and it seemed to the mother to resemble precisely that of the
beggar. In another case which Professor Smith met, a very similar
malformation was attributed by the mother of the child to an accident
occurring, during the time of her pregnancy, to a near relative, which
necessitated amputation. He examined both of these children with defective
limbs, and has no doubt of the truthfulness of the parents. In May, 1868, he
removed a supernumerary thumb from an infant, whose mother, a baker's
wife, gave the following history:—No one of the family, and no ancestor, to
her knowledge, presented this deformity. In the early months of her
pregnancy she sold bread from the counter, and nearly every day a child
with a double thumb came in for a penny roll, presenting the penny between
the thumb and the finger. After the third month she left the bakery, but the
malformation was so impressed upon her mind, that she was not surprised
to see it reproduced in her infant.
In all these cases the impression was produced in the early months of
pregnancy; but many have been recorded in which malformations in the
infant appeared distinctly traceable to strong mental emotions of the mother
only a few months previous to confinement, these impressions having been
persistent during the remaining period of the pregnancy, and giving rise to a
full expectation on the part of the mother that the child would be affected in
the particular manner which actually occurred. Professor Carpenter, the
distinguished physiologist, is personally cognisant of a very striking case of
the kind which occurred in the family of a near connection of his own.
All the above instances have been those of the effects of persistent mental
emotion. But it is also true that violent and sudden emotion in the mother
leaves sometimes its impress upon the unborn infant, although it may be
quickly forgotten.

It is related on good authority that a lady, who during her pregnancy was
struck with the unpleasant view of leeches applied to a relative's foot, gave
birth to a child with the mark of a leech coiled up in the act of suction on
the intended spot.
Dr. Delacoux of Paris says that, in the month of January 1825, he was
called to attend a woman in the village of Batignoles, near Paris, who the
evening before had been delivered of a six months' fœtus, horribly
deformed. The upper lip was in a confused mass with the jaw and the gums,
and the right leg was amputated at the middle, the stump having the form of
a cone. The mother of this being, who was a cook, one morning, about the
third month of her pregnancy, on entering the house where she was
employed, was seized with horror at the sight of a porter with a hare-lip and
an amputated leg.
At a meeting of the Society of Physicians at Berlin, in August 1868, Herr
Dupré stated that a woman saw, in the first weeks of her third pregnancy, a
boy with a hare-lip; and not only was the child she then carried born with a
frightful hare-lip, but also three children subsequently. Another one, a
woman in the fifth week of pregnancy, saw a sheep wounded, and with its
bowels protruding. She was greatly shocked, and did not recover her
composure for several days. She was delivered at term of a child, in other
respects well developed, but lacking the walls of the abdomen.
Many remarkable instances have been collected of the power of
imagination over the unborn offspring.
Ambrose Paré, the illustrious French surgeon of the sixteenth century, in
one of his treatises devotes a chapter to the subject of 'monsters which take
their cause and shape from imagination,' and was evidently a strong
believer in this influence.
A black child is generally believed to have been born to Marie Thérèse,
the wife of Louis XIV., in consequence of a little negro page in her service
having started from a hiding-place and stumbled over her dress early in her
pregnancy. This child was educated at the convent of Moret, near
Fontainebleau, where she took the veil, and where, till the shock of the
Revolution, her portrait was shown.

Examples are given by authors of the force of desires in causing
deformities in infants, and the formation upon them of fruits, such as
apples, pears, grapes, and others, which the mother may have longed for.
The following is related upon excellent medical authority:—A woman
gave birth to a child with a large cluster of globular tumours growing from
the tongue, and preventing the closure of the mouth, in color, shape, and
size exactly resembling our common grapes; and with a red excrescence
from the chest, as exactly resembling in figure and appearance a turkey's
wattles. On being questioned before the child was shown to her, she
answered, that while pregnant she had seen some grapes, longed intensely
for them, and constantly thought of them; and that she was also once
attacked and much alarmed by a turkey-cock.
Dr. Demangeon of Paris quotes, in his work on the Imagination, the
Journal de Verdun, as mentioning the case of a child, born at Blois, in the
eyes of which the face of a watch was distinctly seen. The image was
situated around the pupil, and the figures representing the hours were
plainly perceived. The mother had experienced a strong desire to see a
watch while she was pregnant with this child.
Professor Dalton says, in his Human Physiology, that 'there is now little
room for doubt that various deformities and deficiencies of the fœtus,
conformably to the popular belief, do really originate in certain cases from
nervous impressions, such as disgust, fear, or anger, experienced by the
mother.' We will now consider the
Influence of the mind of the mother on the mind of the infant; which
subject we have not yet touched upon, having confined ourselves to the
influence of the maternal mind over the form and color of the unborn child.
It will not be necessary to illustrate at length this branch of our topic.
Instances are sufficiently common and well known. Dr. Seguin of New
York, in his work on Idiocy, gives several cases in which there was reason
to believe that fright, anxiety, or other emotions in the mother, had produced
idiocy in the offspring. As he remarks, 'Impressions will sometimes reach
the fœtus in its recess, cut off its legs or arms, or inflict large flesh wounds
before birth,—inexplicable as well as indisputable facts, from which we

surmise that idiocy holds unknown though certain relations to maternal
impressions.'
We have given many strong cases and most excellent authority for the
doctrine that the purely mental influence of the mother may produce bodily
and mental changes in the unborn infant. But the child is also affected by
physical impressions made upon the mother.
Dr. Russegger reports that a woman, who had already borne four healthy
children, was, in the seventh month of her pregnancy, bitten in the right calf
by a dog. The author saw the wound made by the animal's teeth, which
wound consisted of three small triangular depressions, by two of which the
skin was only slightly ruffled; a slight appearance of blood was perceptible
in the third. The woman was at the moment of the accident somewhat
alarmed, but neither then nor afterwards had any fear that her fœtus would
be affected by the occurrence. Ten weeks after she was bitten, the woman
bore a healthy child, which, however, to the surprise of every person, had
three marks corresponding in size and appearance to those caused by the
dog's teeth in the mother's leg, and consisting, like those, of one large and
two smaller impressions. The two latter, which were pale, disappeared in
five weeks; the larger one had also become less, and was not so deep
colored as it was at birth. At the time of writing, the child was four months
old.
Dr. S. P. Crawford of Greenville, Tennessee, reports in a recent number
of the Nashville Journal of Medicine, the following sad case:—A lady, in
the last stage of pregnancy, was burned by the explosion of a kerosene-oil
can. She lived twelve hours after the accident. The face, legs, arms, and
abdomen were badly burned. The movements of the child were felt three or
four hours after the accident. A short time before the death of the mother
she gave birth to the child at full maturity, but still-born. It bore the mark of
the fire corresponding to that of the mother. Its legs, arms, and abdomen
were completely blistered, having all the appearance of a recent burn.
These instances of a decided influence exerted upon the body and mind
of the child in the womb, by physical and mental impressions made upon
the mother, might be doubled or trebled. They are as numerous as they are
wonderful. Physiologists of the present day do not hesitate to admit the

existence of the influence we have been discussing. Reason also comes to
the support of facts, to demonstrate and establish its reality. For, if a sudden
and powerful emotion of the mind can so disturb the stomach and heart as
to cause vomiting and fainting, is it not probable that it can affect the womb
and the impressible being within it? Pregnancy is a function of the woman
as much as digestion or pulsation of the heart; and if the latter are controlled
by moral and mental impressions, why should not the former be also?
In what manner does this influence of the maternal mind act?—Through
the blood of the mother. Only a very delicate membrane separates the vital
fluid of the mother from that of the infant in her womb. There is a constant
interchange of the blood in its body with that in hers through this
exceedingly thin membrane; and thus all nervous impressions which have
produced an alteration of either a temporary or permanent character in the
circulating fluid of the mother, are communicated to the child. Since the
mother, as has been shown, can transmit through her blood certain
characteristics of mind and body not her own,—for instance, a disease
peculiar to a male from her father to her son, or the physical and mental
traits of her first husband to the children by her second,—it does not seem
at all strange that she should through this same medium, her blood, impart
other peculiarities which have made a strong impression upon her mind.
Anatomy and physiology therefore fully explain and account for this
seemingly mysterious influence.
The view here stated, and indorsed by modern science, is one which
ought to have great weight with the mother, her relatives and friends. The
practical conclusion which it suggests is, that as during pregnancy there is
unusual susceptibility to mental impressions, and as these impressions may
operate on the fragile structure of the unborn being, this tendency should be
well considered and constantly remembered, not only by the woman
herself, but by all those who associate or are thrown in contact with her.
Upon the care displayed in the management of the corporeal and mental
health of the mother during the whole period of pregnancy, the ultimate
constitution of the offspring greatly depends. All the surroundings and
employments of the pregnant woman should be such as conduce to
cheerfulness and equanimity. Above all, she should avoid the presence of
disagreeable and unsightly objects. Vivid and unpleasant impressions

should be removed as soon as possible by quiet diversion of the mind. All
causes of excitement should be carefully guarded against.
In leaving the subject of maternal impressions, we will call attention to
the manifest difference in extent and degree between the influence of the
father and that of the mother over the offspring. That of the father ceases
with impregnation. That of the mother continues during the whole term of
pregnancy, and, as we shall shortly see, even during that of nursing.

EDUCATION OF THE CHILD IN THE WOMB.

The outlines drawn by the artist Flaxman are esteemed the most perfect
and graceful in existence. From earliest childhood he manifested a delight
in drawing. His mother, a woman of refined and artistic tastes, used to relate
that for months previous to his birth she spent hours daily studying
engravings, and fixing in her memory the most beautiful proportions of the
human figure as portrayed by masters. She was convinced that the genius of
her son was the fruit of her own self-culture. What a charming idea is this!
What an incentive to those about to become mothers, to cultivate
refinement, high thoughts, pure emotions, elevated sentiments! Thus they
endow their children with what no after education can give them.
The plastic brain of the fœtus is prompt to receive all impressions. It
retains them, and they become the characteristics of the child and the man.
Low spirits, violent passions, irritability, frivolity, in the pregnant woman,
leave indelible marks on the unborn child. So do their contraries; and thus it
becomes of the utmost moment that during this period all that is cheerful,
inspiring, and elevating should surround the woman. Such emotions educate
the child: they form its disposition, they shape its faculties, they create its
mental and intellectual traits. Of all education, this is the most momentous.

CAN A WOMAN BECOME AGAIN PREGNANT DURING
PREGNANCY?

Can a woman during pregnancy conceive, and add a second and younger
child to that already in the womb?

It is not uncommon in the canine race for a mother to give birth at the
same time to dogs of different species, showing conclusively the possibility,
in these animals, of one conception closely following another. So a mare
has been known to produce within a quarter of an hour, first a horse, and
then a mule. And in the human race cases are on record in which women
have had twins, of which the one was white and the other colored, in
consequence of intercourse on the same day with men of those two races.
Dr. Henry relates that in Brazil a Creole woman, a native, brought into the
world at one birth three children of three different colors,—white, brown,
and black,—each child exhibiting the features peculiar to the respective
races.
In all such instances the two conceptions followed each other very
rapidly, the offspring arriving at maturity together, and being born at the
same accouchement. But more curious and wonderful examples of second
and concurrent pregnancies have been published than these—as, for
instance, those in which a child bearing all the attributes of a fœtus at full
term is born two, three, four, and even five, months after the first, which
appeared also to have been born at full term. Marie Anne Bigaud, aged
thirty-seven, gave birth, April 30, 1748, to a living boy at full term, and on
the ensuing September 16, to a living girl, which was recognised, by the
size and well-developed condition of its body and limbs, to have been also
carried until full term. This fact was observed by Professor Eisenman, and
by Leriche, surgeon-major of the military hospital of Strasbourg. It will be
noticed that there was an interval of four and a half months between the two
accouchements. The first child lived two and a half months, and the second
a year. In this instance there was not a double womb, as might perhaps be
supposed, for after the mother's death an examination proved that the uterus
was single.
Another case of this kind is the following:—Benoite Franquet of Lyons
brought into the world a girl on January 20, 1780, and five months and six
days afterwards a second girl, also apparently at term, and well nourished.
Two years later these two children were presented, with their certificates of
baptism, to two notaries of Lyons, MM. Caillot and Desurgey, in order that
the fact might be placed on record and vouched for, because of its value in
legal medicine.

The number of the entirely authenticated cases now known of the birth of
fully developed children within from two to five months of each other, can
leave no doubt as to the possibility of such an occurrence. The only
question which remains is in regard to the periods of conception. Are the
two children in such cases twins, conceived at the same time, but the
growth of the last-born so retarded that it did not arrive at maturity until a
number of months after its fellow? or, Has a second conception taken place
at an interval of several months after the first? If this latter view be true,
then, in the instance of Marie Anne Bigaud, above related, the second child
must have been conceived after the first had quickened. Then, also, two
children of different ages, the offspring of different fathers, may exist in the
womb at the same time. The weight of scientific observation and authority
has now established the fact that, in very rare instances, a second
conception may take place during pregnancy. It must not be understood as
necessarily following from this statement, that when two children are born
at the same time,—one fully developed, and the other small and apparently
prematurely born,—the two were conceived at different times. The smaller
may have been blighted and its growth hindered by the same causes which
bring about such effects in cases of single births of incompletely developed
children. A similar supposition may account for the birth of a second child
within a month or two after the first, for the first may have been
prematurely born, and the second carried to full term. But no such
supposition can explain the cases referred to, and others which might be
mentioned, in which the interval has been five or six months, each child
presenting every indication of perfect maturity. The only explanation
possible in such instances, which, as has been said, are well authenticated,
although few in number, is, that a second pregnancy has occurred during the
first.
The above facts would seem sufficiently wonderful. There are others,
however, of the same nature still more so. In some instances, the product of
the second conception, instead of developing independently of the first, has
become attached to it, and the phenomenon has been presented of the
growth of a child within a child—a fœtus within a fœtus. Such a singular
occurrence has been lately recorded in a German journal. A correspondent
of the Dantzic Gazette states that on Sunday, February 1, 1869, at
Schliewen, near Dirschau, 'a young and blooming shepherd's wife was

delivered of a girl, otherwise sound, but having on the lower part of her
back, between the hips, a swelling as big as two good-sized fists, through
the walls of which a well-developed fœtus may be felt. Its limbs indicate a
growth of from five to six months, and its movements are very lively. The
father called in the health commissioner, Dr. Preuss, from Dirschau, and
begged him to remove the swelling together with the fœtus. The doctor,
however, after a careful examination, declared that there was a possibility in
this extraordinary case of the child within the swelling coming to fruition.
Its existence and active motions were palpable to all present. No physician
could be justified in destroying this marvelous being. It ought rather to be
protected and cherished. The new-born girl, notwithstanding her strange
burden, is of unusual strength and beauty, and takes the breast very
cheerfully.'
We find something further in regard to this singular birth in the Weser
Zeitung of February 20, 1869. It quotes from the Dantzic Gazette some
remarks by the health commissioner, Dr. Preuss of Dirschau, in which the
doctor declares the facts contained in the report given above to be correct.
He was summoned on the 1st of February to the child, and saw the vigorous
movements, and felt the members of a fœtus within the swelling, as
described. It was evidently a double creation. The case thus far, though rare,
is not unique. 'But what is novel, and hitherto perfectly unnoticed in
medical literature, is the fact that not only the girl, which has been carried
its full term, is alive to-day, but the fœtus within the swelling has also, in
the eleven days after birth, further developed, and palpably increased in
size. The swelling is now four and a half inches long, three and a half
inches wide, and high and pear-shaped; the head lies underneath on the left,
the body towards the right.'
Further particulars and the latest intelligence we have concerning the
progress of this case are to the effect that the child was brought by special
request before the Natural History Society of Dantzic, and thence the
mother went to Berlin for medical advice.

MORAL ASPECTS OF THIS QUESTION.

Upon proper judgment and discrimination in the application of the facts
we have just been dwelling upon, may depend a wife's honor, and the

happiness of the dearest social relations. We will suppose an example. A
husband, immediately after the impregnation of his wife, is obliged to quit
her, and remains absent a year. In the meanwhile she gives birth to two
children, at an interval of a number of weeks. The question will then come
up, Whether, under such circumstances, it is possible for her to do so
consistently with conjugal purity.
It will be recollected that, in speaking of twins, we remarked that it was
not very uncommon for an interval of days or weeks to elapse between the
births, and it has just been stated that impregnation during pregnancy is
extremely rare. The presumption, therefore, in the case supposed, is as very
many to one that the two births were the result of a twin pregnancy. In the
absence of any other evidence against the wife's chastity, it should not even
be called in question. This decision receives the support of the maxim in
law that a reasonable doubt is the property of the accused, and of the
Christian principle that it is better that ninety-nine guilty should escape than
that one innocent should be condemned. Hence the teachings of science and
of human and divine law all coincide to protect the sacred rights and the
precious interests at stake against an unjust suspicion, which even the
doctrine of chances would render untenable.

CAN A CHILD CRY IN THE WOMB?

There are some cases, recorded on undoubted authority, in which the
child has been heard to cry while in the womb. These are very exceptional.
Under ordinary circumstances, it is impossible for the child either to breathe
or cry, because of the absence of air. It is only when the bag of membranes
has been torn, and the mouth of the child is applied at or near the neck of
the uterus, that this can take place. The infant is not unfrequently heard to
cry just before birth, after labor has commenced, but before the extrusion of
the head from the womb, in consequence of the penetration of air into the
uterine cavity.

IS IT A SON OR DAUGHTER?

It is a common saying among nurses, that there is a difference in the size
and form of the pregnant woman, according to the sex she carries. This may

well be doubted. Neither is it true that one sex is more active in its
'movements' than the other. It is quite possible, however, for a wife to know
the sex of the fœtus, if she can tell about what time in her month conception
took place. If it occurred directly after a monthly sickness, the child is a
girl; if directly before, it is a boy. When a woman is 'out' in her reckoning,
and goes beyond the period of her expected confinement, it will ordinarily
turn out to be a boy. The skilful doctor can, in the later months of
pregnancy, settle the question of sex in some cases. The beats of the fœtal
heart are more frequent in females than in males. The average frequency of
pulsations of twenty-eight female fœtuses has been found to be one hundred
and forty-four in the minute, the lowest figure being one hundred and thirty-
eight; of twenty-two male fœtuses, one hundred and twenty, the lowest
figure being one hundred and twelve. Therefore, when the pulsations of the
heart of the child in the womb are counted,—as can easily be done by a
practised medical ear during the last months of pregnancy,—and are found
to be over one hundred and thirty in a minute, it is a daughter; if under one
hundred and thirty, a son. In this manner, the sex of an unborn child can be
predicted with tolerable accuracy, excepting only when illness of the fœtus
has deranged the action of its heart.

ARE THERE TWINS PRESENT?

Certain signs lead to the suspicion of twins, such as being unusually
large, and the fact that the increase in size has been more than ordinarily
rapid. Sometimes also the abdomen is divided into two distinct portions by
a perpendicular fissure. In other cases the movements of a child can be felt
on each side at the same time. And in twin pregnancies the morning
sickness is apt to be more distressing, and all the other discomforts incident
to this condition increased. But these signs and symptoms, when present in
any given case, are not conclusive, for they may be noticed when there is
only one child. The doctor has one characteristic and infallible sign by
which he can ascertain whether the woman be pregnant with twins. It is
furnished to him again by the art of listening,—or auscultation, as it is
technically called,—the same that, as we have already seen, may enable
him to determine the sex of the child. When the beatings of two fœtal hearts
are heard on opposite portions of the abdomen, the nature of the pregnancy
is apparent.

LENGTH OF PREGNANCY.

What is the ordinary duration of pregnancy? Almost every woman
considers herself competent to make the answer—nine months. She may be
surprised to learn, however, that such an answer is wanting in scientific
precision. It is too indefinite, and is erroneous. There is a great difference
between the calendar and the lunar month. Each lunar month having
twenty-eight days, the period of nine lunar months is two hundred and fifty-
two days. Nine calendar months, including February, represent, on the
contrary, two hundred and seventy-three days. Now the average duration of
pregnancy is two hundred and eighty days, that is forty weeks, or ten lunar
months.
While most extended observations have shown that as a general rule,
forty weeks, or two hundred and eighty days, is the true period of
pregnancy, are we justified in the conclusion that this is its invariable
duration? This important question, upon the answer to which so often
depend the honor of families, the rights of individuals, and sometimes the
interests of nationalities, has been in all times the subject of careful research
by physicians, philosophers, and legislators. On the one side, have been
those who contend that the laws of nature are invariable, and that the term
of pregnancy is fixed and immutable. On the other side, have been those
who assert that the epoch of accouchement can be greatly advanced or
retarded by various causes, some of which are known, and others not yet
appreciated. Abundant and satisfactory testimony has proved that the
prolongation of pregnancy beyond the ordinary period of two hundred and
eighty days, or forty weeks, is possible. Nor is this contrary to what is
observed in regard to other functions of the human body. There is no
process depending upon the laws of life which is absolutely invariable
either as to the period of its appearance or duration. It is known, as we have
already pointed out, that puberty may be advanced or retarded; the time at
which the change of life occurs in women, as we shall have occasion
hereafter to show, is also subject to variation; and it is a matter of common
observation with mothers, that the period of teething is sometimes strangely
hurried or delayed. A certain degree of variability, therefore, being
frequently observed, and entirely compatible with health, in the various
other natural processes, why should that of pregnancy form an exception,

and be invariably fixed in its duration? And observation upon the lower
animals affords most convincing evidence that nature is not controlled by
any uniform law in reference to the length of pregnancy. In the cow, the
usual period of whose pregnancy is the same as in the human female,
instances of calving six weeks beyond the ordinary term are not at all
uncommon.
As an illustration of the great interest sometimes attaching to the inquiry
under discussion, we may cite the celebrated Gardner Peerage Case, tried
by the House of Lords in 1825. Allen Legge Gardner petitioned to have his
name inscribed as a peer on the Parliament Roll. He was the son of Lord
Gardner by his second wife. There was another claimant for the peerage,
however,—Henry Fenton Iadis,—on the ground, as alleged, that he was the
son of Lord Gardner by his first and subsequently divorced wife. Medical
and moral evidence was adduced to establish that the latter was illegitimate.
Lady Gardner, the mother of the alleged illegitimate child, parted from her
husband on the 30th of January, 1802, he going to the West Indies, and not
again seeing his wife until the 11th of July following. The child whose
legitimacy was called in question was born on the 8th of December of that
year. The plain medical query therefore arose, Whether this child born
either three hundred and eleven days after intercourse (from January 30th to
December 8th), or one hundred and fifty days (from July 11th to December
8th), could be the son of Lord Gardner. As there was no pretence that there
was a premature birth, the child having been well developed when born, the
conception must have dated from January 30th. The medical question was
therefore narrowed down to this: Was the alleged protracted pregnancy
(three hundred and eleven days) consistent with experience? Sixteen of the
principal obstetric practitioners of Great Britain were examined on this
point. Eleven concurred in the opinion that natural pregnancy might be
protracted to a period which would cover the birth of the alleged
illegitimate child. Because, however, of the moral evidence alone, which
proved the adulterous intercourse of Lady Gardner with a Mr. Iadis, the
House decided that the title should descend to the son of the second Lady
Gardner.
There is on record one fact, well observed, which establishes beyond
cavil the possibility of the protraction of pregnancy beyond two hundred
and eighty days, or forty weeks. The case is reported by the learned Dr.

Desormeaux of Paris, and occurred under his own notice in the Hôpital de
Maternité of that city. A woman, the mother of three children, became
insane. Her physician thought that a new pregnancy might re-establish her
intellectual faculties. Her husband consented to enter on the register of the
hospital each visit he was allowed to make her, which took place only every
three months. So soon as evidence of pregnancy showed itself, the visits
were discontinued. The woman was confined two hundred and ninety days
after conception.
The late distinguished Professor Charles D. Meigs of Philadelphia
published a case, which he deems entirely trustworthy, of the prolongation
of pregnancy to four hundred and twenty days, or sixty weeks. Dr. Atlee
reports two cases, which nearly equaled three hundred and fifty-six days
each. Professor Simpson of Edinburgh records, as having occurred in his
own practice, cases in which the period reached three hundred and thirty-
six, three hundred and thirty-two, three hundred and twenty-four, and three
hundred and nineteen days. In the Dublin Quarterly Journal of Medical
Science a case of protracted pregnancy is related by Dr. Joynt. The evidence
is positive that the minimum duration must have been three hundred and
seventeen days, or about six weeks more than the average. Dr. Elsässer
found, in one hundred and sixty cases of pregnancy, eleven protracted to
periods varying from three hundred to three hundred and eighteen days.
In treating of the subject of miscarriage, we mentioned instances,
recorded by physicians of skill and probity, proving beyond a shade of
doubt that a woman may give birth to a living child long before the
expiration of the forty weeks. The Presbytery of Edinburgh, Scotland, some
time since decided in favor of the legitimacy of an infant born alive, within
twenty-five weeks after marriage, to the Rev. Fergus Jardine.
One of the most enlightened countries in Europe has, in view of the facts
in reference to the extreme limits of pregnancy, enacted, in the Code
Napoléon, that a child born within three hundred days after the departure or
death of the husband, or one hundred and eighty days after marriage, shall
be considered legitimate. The law further states that a child born after more
than three hundred days shall not be necessarily declared a bastard, but its
legitimacy may be contested. The Scotch legislation on this subject is very
similar to the French.

CAUSES OF PROTRACTED PREGNANCY.

It has been asserted by some that an infant is born at ten or eleven months
because at nine months it has not acquired the growth which is necessary in
order to induce the womb to dislodge it. The popular notion is, that a child
carried beyond the usual term must necessarily be a large one. Rabelais has
reflected this common opinion in his celebrated romance entitled
'Gargantua,' in which he represents the royal giant of that name as having
been carried by his mother, Gargamelle, eleven months. When born, the
child was so vigorous that he sucked the milk from ten nurses. He lived for
several centuries, and at last begot a son, Pantagruel, as wonderful as
himself. Such reasoning cannot, however, be seriously maintained, as many
children carried longer than nine months have not been more fully
developed than some born a few weeks prematurely; and the size of the
child has nothing to do with the bringing on of labor, as we shall show
hereafter. Protracted pregnancies are caused by a defect in the energy of the
womb, induced by moral as well as physical influences. As a rule, a woman
who leads a regular life, and observes the physiological laws of her being,
which laws it has been our aim to point out, will be confined at the term that
nature usually marks out, that is, at the expiration of two hundred and
eighty days, or forty weeks, from conception.
This brings us to the consideration of the question,

HOW TO CALCULATE THE TIME OF EXPECTED
LABOR.

Many rules for this purpose have been laid down. We shall merely give
one, the most satisfactory and the most easily applied. It was suggested by
the celebrated Professor Naëgelè of Heidelberg, and is now generally
recommended and employed by physicians. The point of departure in
making the calculation is the day of the disappearance of the last monthly
sickness; three months are subtracted, and seven days added. The result
corresponds to the day on which labor will commence, and will be found to
be two hundred and eighty days from the time of conception, if that event
has occurred, as ordinarily, immediately after the last menstrual period.
Suppose, for instance, the cessation of the last monthly sickness happened

on the 14th day of January; subtract three months, and we have October 14;
then add seven days, and we obtain the 21st day of the ensuing October
(two hundred and eighty days from January 14) as the time of the expected
confinement. This method of making the 'count' may be relied upon with
confidence, and only fails, by a few days, in those exceptional cases in
which conception takes place just before the monthly period, or during the
menstrual flow.

CARE OF HEALTH DURING PREGNANCY.

This subject, the proper management of the health from conception to
childbirth, is worthy of careful consideration. The condition of pregnancy,
though not one of disease, calls for peculiar solicitude, lest it should lead to
some affection in the mother or in the child. For it ought to be remembered
that the welfare of a new being is now in the balance. The woman has no
longer an independent existence. She has entered upon the circle of her
maternal duties. She became a mother when she conceived. The child,
though unborn, lives within her; its life is a part of her own, and so frail,
that any indiscretion on her part may destroy it. The danger to the child is
not imaginary, as the large number of miscarriages and still-births proves.
All mothers desire to have healthy, well-formed, intelligent children.
How few conduct themselves in such a manner as to secure a happy
development of their offspring! Puny, deformed, and feeble-minded infants
are daily ushered into the world because of a want of knowledge, or a sinful
neglect of those special measures imperatively demanded in the ordering of
the daily life, by the changed state of the system consequent upon
pregnancy. We shall therefore point out those laws which cannot be
infringed with impunity, and indicate the diet, exercise, dress, and, in
general, the conduct most favorable to the mother and child during this
critical period, in which the wife occupies, as it were, an intermediate state
between health and sickness.

FOOD.

The nourishment taken during pregnancy should be abundant, but not, in
the early months, larger in quantity than usual. Excess in eating or drinking

ought to be most carefully avoided. The food is to be taken at shorter
intervals than is common, and it should be plain, simple, and nutritious.
Fatty articles, the coarser vegetables, highly salted and sweet food, if found
to disagree, as is often the case, should be abstained from. The flesh of
young animals—as lamb, veal, chicken, and fresh fish—is wholesome, and
generally agrees with the stomach. Ripe fruits are beneficial. The diet
should be varied as much as possible from day to day. The craving which
some women have in the night or early morning may be relieved by a
biscuit, a little milk, or a cup of coffee. When taken a few hours before
rising, this will generally be retained, and prove very grateful, even though
the morning sickness be troublesome. Any food or medicine that will
confine or derange the bowels is to be forbidden. The taste is, as a rule, a
safe guide, and it may be reasonably indulged. But inordinate, capricious
desires for improper, noxious articles, should of course, be opposed. Such
longings, however, are not often experienced by those properly brought up.
It is a curious fact, that the modification in the digestive system during
pregnancy is sometimes so great that substances ordinarily the most
indigestible are eaten, without any inconvenience, and even with benefit,
while the most healthful articles become hurtful, and act like poison.
As pregnancy advances, particularly after the sixth month, a larger
amount of food, and that of a more substantial character, will be required.
The number of meals in the day should then be increased, rather than the
quantity taken at each meal.

CLOTHING.

The dress during pregnancy should be loose and comfortable, nowhere
pressing tightly or unequally. The word enceinte, by which a pregnant
woman is designated, meant, originally, without a cincture,—that is,
unbound. The Roman matrons, so soon as they conceived, were obliged to
remove their girdles. Lycurgus caused the enactment of the Spartan law,
that pregnant women should wear large dresses, so as not to prejudice the
free development of the precious charges of which nature had rendered
them the momentary depositaries. Stays or corsets may be used, in a proper
manner, during the first five or six months of pregnancy, but after that they
should either be laid aside, or worn very loosely. Any attempt at concealing

pregnancy, by tight lacing and the application of a stronger busk, cannot be
too severely condemned. By this false delicacy the mother is subjected to
great suffering, and the child placed in jeopardy. The shape of the stays
should be moulded to that of the changing figure, and great care should be
taken that they do not depress the nipple or irritate the enlarging breasts.
The amount of clothing should be suited to the season, but rather
increased than diminished, owing to the great susceptibility of the system to
the vicissitudes of the weather. It is especially important that flannel
drawers should be worn during advanced pregnancy, as the loose dress
favors the admission of cold air to the unprotected parts of the body. A
neglect of this precaution sometimes leads to the establishment of the
painful disease known as rheumatism of the womb.
Pressure upon the lower limbs, in the neighborhood of the knee or the
ankle joint, should be avoided, more particularly towards the last months. It
is apt to produce enlargement and knotting of the vein, swelling and ulcers
of the legs, by which many women are crippled during their pregnancies,
and sometimes through life. Therefore the garters should not be tightly
drawn, and gaiters should not be too closely fitted, while yet they should
firmly support the ankle.

EXERCISE.

Moderate exercise in the open air is proper and conducive to health
during the whole period of pregnancy. It should never be so active nor so
prolonged as to induce fatigue. Walking is the best form of exercise. Riding
in a badly-constructed carriage, or over a rough road, or upon horseback, as
well as running, dancing, and the lifting or carrying of heavy weights,
should be scrupulously avoided, as liable to cause rupture, severe flooding,
and miscarriage. During the early months, in particular, extraordinarily long
walks and dancing ought not to be indulged in. Journeys are not to be taken
while in the pregnant state. Railway travelling is decidedly objectionable.
The vibratory motion of the cars is apt to produce headache, sickness at the
stomach, faintness, and premature labor. All these precautions are especially
to be observed in the first pregnancy.

We must not be understood as condemning exercise and fresh air. They
are of the greatest importance to mother and child. But the amount of
exercise should be regulated by the dictates of common sense and the
woman's own sensations. If she can only walk a short distance each day
with comfort, let that suffice. She should not force herself to go to a certain
place nor to promenade during a certain time in the twenty-four hours. So
soon as fatigue is felt, the walk should cease. Let the walks be frequent and
short, rather than few and long. They should also be made as pleasant as
possible, by companionship and surroundings that will occupy the feelings
and imagination in an agreeable manner with new and cheerful impressions.
A tendency to indolence is to be combated. A gently active life is best
calculated to preserve the health of the mother and her unborn child. But
with even the most robust a moderation of the ordinary pursuits and
avocations is called for. The nervous and delicate cannot make with safety
their customary daily exertions in the performance of their household or
social duties and pleasures.
Towards the end of pregnancy the wife should economize her forces. She
should not remain long standing or kneeling, nor sing in either of these
postures.

BATHING.

Those who have not been accustomed to bathing should not begin the
practice during pregnancy, and in any case great care should be exercised
during the latter months. It is better to preserve cleanliness by sponging
with tepid water than by entire baths. Foot-baths are always dangerous. Sea-
bathing sometimes causes miscarriage, but sea air and the sponging of the
body with salt water are beneficial. The shower-bath is of course too great a
shock to the system, and a very warm bath is too relaxing. In some women
of a nervous temperament, a lukewarm bath taken occasionally at night
during pregnancy has a calming influence. This is especially the case in the
first and last month. But women of a lymphatic temperament and of a
relaxed habit of body are always injured by the bath.

VENTILATION.

We have spoken of the benefits of outdoor air during pregnancy.
Attention should also be directed to keeping the atmosphere in the sitting
and sleeping rooms of the house fresh. This can only be accomplished by
constantly changing it. The doors and windows of every room, while
unoccupied, should be kept thrown open in the summer-time, and opened
sufficiently often in the winter to wash out the apartments several times a
day with fresh air. The extremes of heat and cold are to be, with equal care,
avoided. The house should be kept light. Young plants will not grow well in
the dark. Neither will the young child nor its mother flourish without
sunlight. The ancients were so well aware of this, that they constructed on
the top of each house a solarium, or solar air-bath, where they basked daily,
in thin attire, in the direct rays of the sun.

SLEEP.

During pregnancy a large amount of sleep is required. It has a sedative
influence upon the disturbed nervous system of the mother. It favors, by the
calmness of all the functions which attends it, the growth of the fœtus.
Neither the pursuit of pleasure in the evening, nor the observance of any
trite maxims in regard to early rising in the morning, should be allowed to
curtail the hours devoted to slumber. Pregnant women have an instinctive
desire to lie abed late, which, like the other promptings of nature during this
period, should not be disregarded. At least eight hours out of the twenty-
four can be profitably spent in bed. No night-watching ought ever to be
undertaken during pregnancy.
Feather beds should be avoided. The heat which they maintain about the
body is inconvenient and dangerous, predisposing to flooding and
exhausting perspirations. The hair or sponge mattress is to be preferred. The
bed-clothing should not be too heavy. Blankets are to be employed rather
than coverlids, as they are lighter and more permeable to perspiration. The
mattress and cover should be well aired during the day. The sleeping-room
should be capacious and well ventilated, and no curtains permitted about
the bed.
Occasional rest is also necessary in the daytime. A nap of an hour or two
upon a sofa or lounge will then prove very refreshing. In the earlier months
of pregnancy it will tend to prevent miscarriage, and in the latter months to

relieve the distress consequent upon the increased size of the womb. It is
not unusual, as the close of pregnancy approaches, for a feeling of
suffocation to ensue when the woman attempts to lie down. This may be
overcome by supporting the back and shoulders with cushions and pillows.
Or a bed-chair may be employed. This, if well constructed and covered, will
often be found very grateful at night, in the last few weeks of pregnancy.

THE MIND.

A tranquil mind is of the first importance to the pregnant woman.
Gloomy forebodings should not be encouraged. Pregnancy and labor are
not, we repeat, diseased conditions. They are healthful processes, and
should be looked upon as such by every woman. Bad labors are very
infrequent. It is as foolish to dread them, as it is for the railway traveller to
give way to misgivings in regard to his safety. Instead of desponding,
science bids the woman to look forward with cheerfulness and hope to the
joys of maternity.
The bad effects of fear upon the mother's mind are illustrated by Plutarch,
who, in his Life of Publicola, mentions that, 'at a time when a superstitious
fear overran the city of Rome, all the women then pregnant brought forth
imperfect children, and were prematurely delivered.' But we have already
spoken, in treating of mothers' marks, of the influence of mental emotions
over the unborn child, and the necessity of avoiding their exciting causes.
Because of their deleterious tendency, severe study as well as arduous
and protracted manual labor ought to be avoided. The nervous systems of
many women are also injuriously affected during pregnancy by perfumes,
which at other times are agreeable and innocuous. It is therefore prudent not
only to exclude all offensive scents, but also to abstain from the strong
odors of various strong perfumes, eau-de-cologne, and of flowers. Large
bouquets often cause feelings of faintness, and sometimes temporary loss of
consciousness. The extreme liability of the nervous system of the pregnant
woman to be affected injuriously to herself and child by scenes of suffering
or distress, and by disgusting or frightful objects, cannot be too strongly
impressed upon every one. She should be protected from all that will
disturb her, and should be constantly treated with soothing and encouraging
kindness. Her manifestations of irritability, her caprices, her melancholy

anticipations, are not to be scoffed at, but combated with a mixture of
reasoning and patient forbearance. On her part, she should endeavour to co-
operate with those around her, in sedulously shunning all injurious
influences, and in banishing as quickly as possible all improper longings.
She should remember that, although she herself may escape mischief from
them, her child may suffer. She is the custodian of interests dearer to her
than her own.

RELATION OF HUSBAND AND WIFE DURING
PREGNANCY.

During those days when the wife, if she were not pregnant, would have
been 'unwell,' marital intercourse should be abstained from. It is then
injurious to the mother, and dangerous to the life of the child, as it is liable
to excite miscarriage. But if this habitual epoch of the monthly sickness be
avoided, there is no reason why passion should not be gratified in
moderation and with caution during the whole period of pregnancy. There is
one exception to be made to this general course of conduct. In those cases
in which a miscarriage has occurred in the first pregnancy, every precaution
should be employed—for reasons which have been dwelt upon in a
previous article—to prevent its happening again after the second
conception. Under such exceptional circumstances, therefore, the husband
and wife should sleep apart during the first five months of pregnancy. After
that period their ordinary relations may be resumed. When a miscarriage
has taken place, intercourse should not be permitted within a month of the
accident. The observance of this direction is of the utmost importance. Its
neglect is the frequent cause of severe and intractable diseases of the womb.

EFFECT OF PREGNANCY ON HEALTH.

We have had occasion to remark that pregnancy is not a condition of
disease. It is not only an evidence of health, but during its continuance it
confers increased physical vigor. As a rule, a woman enjoys better health
during her pregnancy than at any other time; she is less liable to contagious
and other maladies; she is less apt to die than at any other period of her life;
and her general constitution seems also then to receive a favorable impress,
for wives and mothers live longer than celibates. It is wisely decreed that

when woman is engaged in this, to her, anxious stage of reproduction, she
shall not be exposed to the pains and dangers of disease, and that those
great covenants of nature—marriage and child-bearing—shall be rewarded
by added strength and length of days.
There are certain disorders incident, in exceptional cases, to pregnancy,
of which we shall shortly speak. In general, however, we repeat that this
condition is one of extraordinary health. More than this, in numerous
instances it exerts an ameliorating influence upon pre-existing diseases,
suspending their march, or bringing about a decidedly curative effect. Thus,
various obstinate chronic affections of the skin, of the womb and ovaries,
and of the brain and nervous system, frequently get well during pregnancy;
and it is well known to every physician, that by the judicious management
of this state, and of the lying-in period, troublesome displacements of the
womb may be arrested.
It should nevertheless ever be recollected that the condition of pregnancy
is one of excitement and enhanced susceptibility to impressions of all kinds.
For this reason a change in the habits of life is necessary; and the
importance of the directions laid down for the care of the health during this
period, cannot be too strongly insisted upon.
The diseases to which the wife is exposed during pregnancy will be
treated of in the chapter on 'Health in Marriage.'

CONFINEMENT.
Top

PREPARATIONS FOR CHILDBIRTH.

Certain foolish preparations are sometimes made by wives, with the best
intentions. Perhaps one of the most common and absurd of these is the local
use of sweet oil, in order to facilitate the dilatation of the parts, for which
purpose it is perfectly inert. There are, however, some wise and even
necessary precautions which every wife should know and employ, to guard
against unpleasant and dangerous complications in childbirth.
In particular, the condition of the breasts towards the close of pregnancy
demands attention. Scarcely any pain in the lying-in chamber is greater or
more difficult to bear than that which the young mother suffers from
excoriated nipples. This troublesome and often very intractable affection is
nearly always the consequence of the want of care previous to confinement.
During the latter part of pregnancy the nipples sometimes become sunken
or flat, being retracted as the breasts increase in size, because of the want of
elasticity on the part of the milk tubes. In order to remedy this fault, we
have known a breast-pump or puppy to be applied. Such treatment is
dangerous, as it may excite premature contraction of the womb, and
miscarriage. Nipple-shields, with broad bases and openings, should always
be obtained. They are safe, and effectually secure the prominence of the
nipples, when worn constantly, day and night, during the last month or so of
pregnancy. Wives who have never had children ought to take special care to
ascertain before labor whether this depressed condition of the nipples exists,
and to correct it in the manner indicated.
In the first pregnancy it is also important to harden the nipples. This may
be done by occasionally gently rubbing them between the thumb and finger,
and by bathing them twice a day during the last six weeks with tincture of
myrrh, or with a mixture of equal parts of brandy and water, to which a little
alum has been added. This procedure will render the surfaces less sensitive

to the friction of the child's mouth, and thus avert the distress so often
occasioned in the first confinement by tenderness of the nipples.
If the nipples be rough or nodulated in appearance, like a strawberry or a
raspberry, they are more apt to become excoriated or fissured than if they
present a smooth surface. Under such circumstances, make a solution of the
sulphate of zinc, of the strength of one grain to the ounce of rose water, in a
wide-mouthed bottle, then tilt the bottle upon the nipple, and allow it to
remain there for a few minutes several times a day. Simple tenderness of the
nipples and slight fissures may be averted by the application either of a
lotion of borax (two scruples of borax in three ounces of water, and an
ounce of glycerine), of the honey of borax, or of the tincture of catechu, and
by protecting the parts from the pressure of the stays and the friction of the
flannel vest.
It is of the greatest moment to the comfort of the mother, that all
affections of the nipples should be prevented or remedied before labor; for
the treatment of sore nipples when the child is at the breast is often
unsatisfactory, while the suffering they occasion is very great, even
sometimes giving rise to mammary abscess.
There are certain articles of clothing and dressings for the bed which
should be cared for in advance, in order that they may be ready when
required.
The mother should be provided with short-gowns, to be worn over the
chemise instead of the ordinary night-gowns. It is of consequence to
procure a proper bandage. It should be made of heavy muslin, neither too
coarse nor too fine; an ordinarily good quality of unbleached muslin is the
best. The material is to be cut bias, about one and a quarter yard in length,
and from twelve to eighteen inches in breadth, varying, of course, with the
size of the person. It should be just large enough to encircle the body after
confinement, with a margin of a couple of inches, and to extend down
below the fulness of the hips. The measurement should be taken, and the
bandage made to fit, when four and a half months advanced. It should be
narrow above, wider below, and gored in such a manner that it will be a
little narrower at the lower extremity than a few inches above, so as to
prevent it, when adjusted, from sliding upwards. A bandage constructed in

this manner will be very comfortable; and is not apt to become displaced,
after application, as is invariably the case when a towel or a straight piece
of muslin is used. The way in which it is to be applied will be detailed
hereafter.
The child's clothing should consist first of a piece of flannel or some
woollen material for a binder. This should be from four to six inches in
width, and from twelve to sixteen inches in length; that is to say, wide
enough to extend from the armpits to the lower part of the abdomen, and
long enough to go once and a half times around the child, having the double
fold to come over the abdomen. There should be no embroidery about this.
A shirt, which it is desirable should be woollen, is to be provided to place
over the binder. It should be made to come up tolerably high in the neck,
and to extend down the arm. Neither it nor any other portion of the child's
clothing should be starched. The petticoat, which may be open its whole
length behind, is to be put over the shirt; two may be used—a short and a
long one. Next comes the child's ordinary frock or slip, and above this an
apron to protect the dress from the frequent discharges from the stomach.
Then a shawl, of flannel or any other warm material, is to be provided, to
throw over the shoulders if the weather be cold. Socks, and pieces of old
soft linen, free from stiffening, for napkins or diapers, complete the child's
outfit.
For the permanent and temporary dressing of the bed there should be
provided a piece of impervious cloth (oiled silk is the neatest) about a yard
square; a piece of ordinary table oil-cloth or rubber-cloth; a number of old
sheets and comfortables, and a piece of thick carpet. The manner in which
these are to be used will be explained shortly.
A pair of small rounded scissors; a package of large pins, one and a half
inches in length, for the bandage of the mother, and smaller ones for that of
the child; some good linen bobbin for the doctor to tie the navel-string;
good toilet soap and fine surgical sponge for washing the child; a piece of
soft linen or muslin for dressing the navel; a box of unirritating powder; and
a pile of towels,—should all be had and laid aside many weeks before they
are wanted. These, together with the material for dressing the bed, the
child's clothing, and the mother's bandage, ought to be placed together in a
basket got for the purpose, in order that they may all be easily and certainly

found at a time when perhaps the hurry and excitement of the moment
would render it difficult otherwise to collect them all immediately.

SIGNS OF APPROACHING LABOR.

One of the earliest of the preliminary signs of the coming on of
confinement occurs about two weeks before that event. It is a dropping or
subsidence of the womb. The summit of that organ then descends, in most
cases, from above to below the umbilicus, and the abdomen becomes
smaller. The stomach and lungs are relieved from pressure, the woman
breathes more freely, the sense of oppression which troubled her previously
is lost, and she says she feels 'very comfortable.' This sensation of lightness
and buoyancy increases, and a few days before the setting in of labor she
feels so much better that she thinks she will take an extra amount of
exercise. The mother of a number of children is acquainted with this sign,
but the wife with her first child may exert herself unduly in the house or
outdoors, and induce labor when in the street or away from home. Hence
the importance of a knowledge of this premonitory symptom.
A second precursory sign of labor is found in the increased fulness of the
external parts, and an augmented mucous secretion, which may amount
even to a discharge resembling whites, and requiring the wearing of a
napkin. This symptom is a good one, indicating a disposition to relaxation,
and promising an easy time.
The third preliminary sign which we shall mention, is the change in the
mental state of the pregnant woman. She has a feeling of anxiety and of
fidgetiness, sometimes accompanied with depression of spirits. This
condition of emotional distress, modified in particular cases by reason, self-
control, and religion, may continue for several days, perhaps, when

THE SYMPTOMS OF ACTUAL LABOR

make their appearance. The first of these is generally the 'show.' It is the
discharge of the plug of mucus which has occupied the neck of the womb
up to this time, and is ordinarily accompanied by a little blood. Perhaps
before this, or perhaps not for some hours after, the 'pains' will develope
themselves. These recur periodically, at intervals of an hour or half an hour

at the outset, and are 'grinding' in character. True labor pains are
distinguished from false by the fact that they are felt in the back, passing on
to the thighs, while false pains are referred to the abdomen; by their
intermittent character, the spurious pains being more or less continuous; and
by the steady increase in their frequency and severity. In case of doubt as to
their exact nature, the doctor should be summoned, who will be able to
determine positively whether labor has begun.
The other symptoms which point to the actual commencement of labor
are a frequent desire to empty the bowels and bladder, nausea and vomiting,
which, in the early part of confinement, is a good sign; shiverings,
unattended with any sensation of cold; and, finally, the rupture and
discharge of the contents of the 'bag of waters.'
Before passing on to the consideration of the management of the
confinement into which the wife has now entered, a few words may be
appropriately said upon the

CAUSE OF LABOR.

Neither the size nor the vigor of the child has any influence in bringing
about delivery at full term. The ancient theory—which received the support
of the distinguished naturalist Buffon—that the infant was the active agent
in causing its own expulsion, is an exploded one. It was asserted by some
that hunger excited the fœtus to struggle to free itself from the womb;
others were disposed to attribute its efforts to accomplish its entrance into
the world, to the need of respiration which it experienced. But all these
ingenious theories, which presupposed the embryo to be actuated by the
same feelings which would influence a grown person if shut up in such a
confined abode, are unsatisfactory, and not tenable. It is well known that the
child may die in the womb, without retarding or interfering in any way with
the coming on of the process of labor. This fact alone shows that the fœtus
is, or at any rate may be, absolutely passive either in regard to the induction
or advancement of delivery. The determining cause of labor is seated in the
womb itself. The contractions of this organ occasion the 'pains' and expel
the child, assisted by the muscles of the abdomen and the diaphragm. That
the assistance of the latter forces is not necessary, is conclusively proved by
the occurrence of childbirth after the decease of the mother. For instance, a

case is on record in which labor commenced and twins were born after the
mother had been dead for three days.

CARE DURING LABOR.

We will suppose labor to have commenced. The preparation of the bed
for the occupancy of the mother is now to be attended to. As she is to lie on
the left side of the bed, this is the side, and the only one, which is to be
dressed for the occasion. In order to do so, remove the outer bed-clothes
one at a time, folding them neatly on the right side of the bed so that they
can easily be drawn over when desired. The permanent dressing is to be
placed beneath the lower sheet and upon the mattress. A soft impervious
cloth—which, in speaking of the preparation for confinement, we directed
to be procured—is placed next to the surface of the bed. The upper edge
should be nearly as high as the margin of the bolster, and it should extend
down to a distance at least a foot below the level of the hips, so as to
certainly protect the bed from the discharges. Upon the top of this a blanket
or sheet is laid, and the whole fastened by pins. The lower sheet of the bed,
which had been turned over to the right side, to permit the application of the
dressing, is now to be replaced. Over the position of this permanent
dressing, on the top of the bed-sheet, a neatly-folded sheet, with the folded
edge down, is adjusted and pinned in its place. It is upon this sheet that the
patient is to be drawn up after her confinement, which will take place upon
the temporary dressing of the bed now to be arranged. It consists of an oil-
cloth, which should extend up beyond the lower edge of the permanent
dressing, overlapping the folded sheet which has been placed above it, and
should fall over the side and bottom of the bed. A comfortable or any soft
absorbent material is placed over this impervious cloth and covered with a
folded sheet, completing the temporary dressing. The bed-clothes may now
be adjusted, concealing the dressings from view until they are wanted. The
valances at the foot of the bed should be raised, and a piece of carpet placed
on the floor. The bed should have no foot-board, or a very low one.
The dress of the mother.—Either a folded sheet should be adjusted around
the waist as the only skirt, so as not to interfere with the walking, or a
second chemise should be put on, with the arms outside the sleeves, to
extend from the waist to the feet. Then the chemise next the body should be

drawn up and folded high up around the breast. It should be plaited neatly
along the back, and brought forward and fastened by pins. This should be
thoroughly done, so that the linen may not be found wet nor soiled when it
is drawn down after confinement. A wrapper or dressing-gown may be
worn during the first stage of labor, before it is necessary to go to bed.
When, however, that time comes, the wife will take her place on her left
side on the temporary dressing, with a sheet thrown over her, her head on a
pillow so situated that her body will be bent well forward, and her feet
against the bed-post. A sheet should be twisted into a cord and fastened to
the foot of the bed, for her to seize with her hands during the accession of
the 'bearing-down pains.' Care should be taken to have a number of napkins,
a pot of fresh lard, and the basket containing the scissors, ligature, bandage,
etc.—which have been previously enumerated in the remarks on
preparations for childbirth—at hand, for the use of the doctor.
We have now noted all that it is useful for the wife to know in regard to
the preparation for and management of confinement, when a physician is in
attendance, as, for obvious reasons, he should always be. In some instances,
however, the absence of the doctor is unavoidable, or the labor is completed
before his arrival. As a guide to the performance of the necessary duties of
the lying-in room under such circumstances, we give some

HINTS TO ATTENDANTS.

The room during confinement should be kept quiet. Too many persons
must not be allowed in it, as they contaminate the air, and are apt by their
conversation to disturb the patient, either exciting or depressing her. So
soon as the head is born, it should be immediately ascertained whether the
neck is encircled by the cord; if so, it should be removed or loosened. The
neglect of this precaution may result fatally to the infant, as happened a
short time since in our own practice; the infant, born a few minutes before
our arrival, being found strangled with the cord about its neck. It is also of
importance at once to allow of the entrance of air to the face, to put the
finger in the mouth to remove any obstruction which may interfere with
respiration, and to lay the babe on its right side, with the head removed
from the discharges. The cord should not be tied until the infant is heard to
cry. The ligature is to be applied in the following manner:—A piece of

bobbin is thrown around the navel-string, and tied with a double knot at the
distance of three fingers' breadth from the umbilicus; a second piece is tied
an inch beyond the first, and the cord divided with the scissors between the
two, care being taken not to clip off a finger or otherwise injure the
unsuspecting little infant, as has occurred in careless hands more than once.
When the child is separated from the mother, a warm blanket or a piece of
flannel should be ready to receive it. In taking hold of the little stranger, it
may slip out of the hands and be injured. To guard against this accident,
which is very apt to occur with awkward or inexperienced persons, always
seize the back portion of the neck in the space bounded by the thumb and
first finger of one hand, and grasp the thighs with the other. In this way it
may be safely carried. It should be transferred, wrapped up in its blanket, to
some secure place, and never put in an arm-chair, where it may be crushed
by some one who does not observe that the chair is already occupied. The
head of the child should not be so covered as to incur any danger of
suffocation.

ATTENTION TO THE MOTHER.

When the after-birth has come away, the mother should be drawn up a
short distance—six or eight inches—in bed, and the sheet which has been
pinned around her, together with the temporary dressing of the bed
removed, a clean folded sheet being introduced under the hips. The parts
should be gently washed with warm water and a soft sponge or a cloth, after
which an application of equal parts of claret wine and water will prove
pleasant and beneficial. We have also found the anointing of the external
and internal parts with goose grease, which has been thoroughly washed in
several hot waters, to be very soothing and efficient in speedily allaying all
irritation. This ought all to be done under cover, to guard against the taking
of cold. The chemise pinned up around the breast should now be loosened,
and the woman is ready for the application of the bandage, which is to be
put on next the skin. If properly and nicely adjusted, it will prove very
grateful. The directions for making it have already been given. In order to
apply it, one half of its length should be folded up into plaits, and the
mother should lie on her left side; lay the plaited end of the bandage
underneath the left side of the patient, carrying it as far under as possible,
and draw the loose end over the abdomen; then let the mother roll over on

her back upon the bandage, and draw out the plaited end. If the abdominal
muscles are much relaxed and the hip-bones prominent, a compress of two
or three towels will be wanted. The bandage should be first tightened in the
middle by a pin applied laterally, for strings should never be employed. The
pins should be placed at intervals of about an inch. The lower portion of the
bandage should be made quite tight, to prevent it slipping up. The mother is
now ready to be drawn up in bed upon the permanent dressing: this should
be done without any exertion on her part. A napkin should be laid smoothly
under the hips (never folded up), to receive the discharges. If she prefer to
lie on her left side, place a pillow behind her back.

ATTENTION TO THE CHILD.

The baby may now be washed and dressed. Before beginning, everything
that is wanted should be close at hand, namely a basin of warm water, a
large quantity of lard or some other unctuous material, soap, fine sponge,
and a basket containing the binder, shirt, and other articles of clothing. First
rub the child's body thoroughly with lard. The covering can only be
removed in this way; the use of soap alone will have no effect unless the
friction be so great as to take off also the skin. The nurse should take a
handful of lard and rub it in with the palm of the hand, particularly in the
flexures of the joints. In anointing one part, the others should be covered, to
prevent the child from taking cold. If the child is thus made perfectly clean,
do not use any soap and water, because the skin is left in a more healthful
condition by the lard, and there is risk of the child's taking cold from the
evaporation of the water. But the face may be washed with soap and water,
great care being taken not to let the soap get into the child's eyes, which is
one of the most frequent causes of sore eyes in infants. The navel-string is
now to be dressed. This is done by wrapping it up in a circular piece of soft
muslin, well oiled, with a hole in its centre. The bandage is next to be
applied. The object of its use is to protect the child's abdomen against cold,
and to keep the dressing of the cord in its position. The nature, shape, and
size of the binder have been described. It should be pinned in front, three
pins being generally sufficient. The rest of the clothing before enumerated
is then put on.

The child is now to be applied to the breast at once. This is to be done,
for three reasons. First, it very often prevents flooding, which is apt
otherwise to occur. Secondly, it tends to prevent milk fever, by averting the
violent rush of the milk on the third day, and the consequent engorgement
of the breast and constitutional disturbance. The third reason is, that there is
always a secretion in the breast from the first, which it is desirable for the
child to have; for it acts as a cathartic, stimulating the liver, and cleansing
the bowels from the secretions which fill them at the time of birth. There is
generally sufficient nourishment in the breasts for the child for the first few
days. The mother may lie on the one side or the other, and receive the child
upon the arm of that upon which she is lying. If the nipple be not perfectly
drawn out so that the child can grasp it in its mouth, the difficulty may be
overcome by filling a porter-bottle with hot water, emptying it, and then
placing the mouth of the bottle immediately over the nipple. This will
cause, as the bottle cools, a sufficient amount of suction to elevate the
sunken nipple. The bottle should then be removed and the child substituted,
—a little sugar and water or sweetened milk being applied, if necessary, to
tempt the child to take the breast.

FURTHER ATTENTION TO THE MOTHER.

The patient should be cleansed every four or five hours. A soft napkin,
wet with warm soap and water, should for this purpose be passed
underneath the bed-clothing, without exposing the surface to a draft of air.
After using the soap and water, apply again the dilute claret wine and the
goose grease. Much of the safety of the mother depends upon the
observation of cleanliness. The napkin should not be allowed to remain so
long as to become saturated with the discharges.
The mother should maintain rigidly the recumbent position for the first
few days, not raising her shoulders from the pillow for any purpose, and
should abstain from receiving visitors, and from any social conversation for
the first twenty-four hours.
For the first three or four days, until the milk has come and the milk fever
passed, the mother should live upon light food,—oatmeal gruel, tea and
toast, panada, or anything else of little bulk and unstimulating character.
Afterwards the diet may be increased by the addition of chicken, lamb,

mutton or oyster broth, buttered toast, and eggs. The object of light
nourishment at first is to prevent the too rapid secretion of milk, which
might be attended with evil local and constitutional effects. If, however, the
mother be in feeble health, it will be necessary from the outset that she shall
be supported with nourishing concentrated food. Beef-tea will then be found
very serviceable, particularly if made according to the following recipe:—
Take a pound of fresh beef from the loins or neck. Free it carefully from all
fat. Cut it up into fine pieces, and add a very little salt and five grains of
unbroken black pepper. Pour on it a pint of cold water, and simmer for forty
minutes. Then pour off the liquor, place the meat in a cloth, and, after
squeezing the juice from it into the tea, throw it aside. Return to the fire,
and boil for ten minutes.
After the first week, the diet of the lying-in woman should always be
nutritious, though plain and simple. The development of the mammary
glands, the production of the mammary secretion, and the reduction which
takes place in the size of the womb, all require increased nourishment, that
they may be properly performed.
After the third or fourth day the dress should be changed. The dress worn
during labor, if our directions have been carried out, will not have been
soiled. The clothing should be changed without uncovering the person, and
without raising the head from the pillow. Pull the bed-gown from over each
arm, and draw it out from under the body. Then unfasten the chemise in
front and draw it down underneath her so that it can be removed from
below, as it should not be carried over the head. Place her arms in the
sleeves of the clean chemise, throw its body over her head, and, without
lifting her shoulders from the bed, draw it down. Then change the bed-gown
in the same manner.
In changing the upper sheet, it should be pulled off from below, and the
clean one carried down in its place from above, underneath the other
clothing, which can be readily accomplished by plaiting the lower half. In
introducing a clean under-sheet, one side of it should be plaited and placed
under the patient, lying on her left side; when she turns on her back, the
plaits can then be readily drawn out. These directions, though apparently
trivial, are important. The object is to guard against the great danger to

which the mother is exposed by sitting up in bed for even a few minutes
during the first week.
Cathartic medicine should not be administered the first, the third, or any
other day after confinement, unless it is needed. If the patient is perfectly
comfortable, has no pain in the abdomen, no headache, and is well in every
respect, she should be let alone, even if her bowels have not been moved. If
a laxative be called for, citrate of magnesia is much pleasanter and equally
as efficacious as the castor-oil so frequently administered on this occasion.

TO HAVE LABOR WITHOUT PAIN.

Is it possible to avoid the throes of labor, and have children without
suffering? This is a question which science answers in the affirmative.
Medical art brings the waters of Lethe to the bedside of woman in her hour
of trial. Of late years chloroform and ether have been employed to lessen or
annul the pains of childbirth, with the same success that has attended their
use in surgery. Their administration is never pushed so as to produce
complete unconsciousness, unless some operation is necessary, but merely
so as to diminish sensibility and render the pains endurable. These agents
are thus given without injury to the child, and without retarding the labor or
exposing the mother to any danger. When properly employed, they induce
refreshing sleep, revive the drooping nervous system, and expedite the
delivery.
They should never be used in the absence of the doctor. He alone is
competent to give them with safety. In natural, easy, and short labor, where
the pains are readily borne, they are not required. But in those lingering
cases in which the suffering is extreme, and, above all, in those instances
where instruments have to be employed, ether and chloroform have a value
beyond all price.

MORTALITY OF CHILDBED.

The number of the pregnancy affects the danger to be expected from
lying-in. It has been declared by excellent authority, that the mortality of
first labors, and of childbed fever following first labors is about twice the
mortality attending all subsequent labors collectively. After the ninth labor

the mortality increases with the number. A woman having a large family,
therefore, comes into greater and increasing risk as she bears her ninth and
successive children.
The age of the woman also affects the mortality accompanying
confinement. The age of least mortality is near twenty-five years. On either
side of this, mortality increases with the diminution or increase of age. The
age of the greatest safety in confinement therefore corresponds to the age of
greatest fecundity. And during the whole of child-bearing life, safety in
labor is directly as fecundity, and vice versâ. Hence modern statistics prove
the correctness of the saying of Aristotle, that 'to the female sex premature
wedlock is peculiarly dangerous, since, in consequence of anticipating the
demands of nature, many of them suffer greatly in childbirth, and many of
them die.' As the period from twenty to twenty-five is the least dangerous
for childbirth, and as first labors are more hazardous than all others before
the ninth, it is important that this term of least mortality be chosen for
entering upon the duties of matrimony. This we have already pointed out in
speaking of the age of nubility.
The sex of the child is another circumstance affecting the mortality of
labor. Professor Simpson of Edinburgh has shown that a greater proportion
of deaths occurs in women who have brought forth male children.
The duration of labor also influences the mortality of lying-in. The
fatality increases with the length of the labor. It must be recollected,
however, that the duration of labor is only an inconsiderable part of the
many causes of mortality in childbirth.

WEIGHT AND LENGTH OF NEW-BORN CHILDREN

The average weight of infants of both sexes at the time of birth is about
seven pounds. The average of male children is seven and one-third pounds;
of female, six and two-thirds pounds. Children which at full term weigh less
than five pounds are not apt to thrive, and usually die in a short time.
The average length at birth, without regard to sex, is about twenty inches,
the male being about half an inch longer than the female.

In regard to the relation between the size of the child and the age of the
mother, the interesting conclusion has been arrived at, that the average
weight and length of the mature child gradually increases with the age of
the mother up to the twenty-fifth year. Mothers between the ages of twenty-
five and twenty-nine have the largest children. From the thirtieth year they
gradually diminish. The first child of a woman is of comparatively light
weight. The first egg of a fowl is smaller than those which follow.
The new-born children in our Western States seem to be larger than the
statistics show them to be in the various States of Europe, and apparently
even than in our Eastern States. In the Report on Obstetrics of the Illinois
State Medical Society for 1868, it is stated that Quincy, Ill., produced
during the year six male children whose average weight at birth was
thirteen and a quarter pounds, the smallest weighing twelve pounds, and the
largest seventeen and a half, which was born at the end of four hours' labor,
without instrumental or other interference. A recent number of a Western
medical journal reports the birth at Detroit, in February last, of a well-
formed male infant twenty-four and a-half inches long, weighing sixteen
pounds. The woman's weight, after labor, is stated as only ninety-two
pounds. An English physician delivered a child by the forceps which
weighed seventeen pounds twelve ounces, and measured twenty-four
inches. These are the largest well-authenticated new-born infants on record.

DURATION OF LABOR.

The length of a natural labor may be said to vary between two and
eighteen hours. The intervals between the pains are such, however, that the
actual duration of suffering, even in the longest labor, is comparatively very
short. The first confinement is much longer than subsequent ones.
The sex of the child has some influence on the duration of labor.
According to Dr. Collins of the Lying-in Hospital of Dublin, the average
with male births is one hour and four minutes longer than with female. The
weight of the child also affects the time of labor. Children weighing over
eight pounds average four hours and eight minutes longer in birth than
those of less than eight pounds weight.

STILL-BIRTHS.

The statistics of nearly fifty thousand deliveries which occurred at the
Royal Maternity Charity, London, show a percentage of nearly five still-
born, or one in twenty-seven.
There are more boys still-born than girls. We have already spoken of the
fact that male births are more tedious, and that a larger number of males die
in the first few years of life than females. This series of misfortunes has
been attributed to the large size which the male fœtus at birth possesses
over the female.

IMPRUDENCE AFTER CHILDBIRTH.

After the birth of the child at full term, or at any other period of
pregnancy, the womb, which had attained such wonderful proportions in a
few months, begins to resume its former size. This process requires at least
six weeks after labor for its full accomplishment. Rest is essential during
this period. A too early return to the ordinary active duties of life retards or
checks this restoration to normal size, and the womb being heavier, exposes
the woman to great danger of uterine displacements. Nor are these the only
risks incurred by a too hasty renewal of active movements. The surface, the
substance, and the lining membrane of the womb are all very liable, while
this change from its increased to its ordinary bulk is occurring, to take on
inflammation after slight exposure. The worst cases of uterine inflammation
and ulceration are thus caused. A 'bad getting-up,' prolonged debility, pain,
and excessive discharge, are among the least penalties consequent upon
imprudence after confinement. It is a mistake to suppose that hard-working
women in the lower walks of life attend with impunity to their ordinary
duties a few days after confinement. Those who suffer most from falling of
the womb and other displacements are the poor, who are obliged to get up
on the ninth day and remain upright, standing or walking for many hours
with an over-weighted womb. Every physician who has practised much
among the poor, has remarked upon the great frequency of diseases of the
womb, which is to be attributed to the neglect of rest, so common among
them, after childbirth. If this be true of vigorous women accustomed to a
hardy life, how much more apt to suffer from this cause are the delicately

nurtured, whose systems are already, perhaps, deteriorated, and little able to
resist any deleterious influences!
A mother should remain in bed for at least two weeks after the birth of
the child, and should not return to her household duties under a month; she
should also take great pains to protect herself from cold, so as to escape the
rheumatic affections to which at this time she is particularly subject. If these
directions were generally observed, there would be less employment for
physicians with diseases peculiar to women, and fewer invalids in our
homes.

TO PRESERVE THE FORM AFTER CHILDBIRTH.

This is a matter of great anxiety with many women; and it is proper that it
should be, for a flabby, pendulous abdomen is not only destructive to grace
of movement and harmony of outline, but is a positive inconvenience.
To avoid it, be careful not to leave the bed too early. If the walls of the
abdomen are much relaxed, the bed should be kept from two to three weeks.
Gentle frictions daily with spirits and water will give tone to the muscles.
But the most important point is to wear for several months a well-fitting
bandage—not a towel pinned around the person, but a body-case of strong
linen, cut bias, setting snugly to the form, but not exerting unpleasant
pressure. The pattern for this has already been given.

THE MOTHER.
Top

MATERNAL DUTIES AND PRIVILEGES.

It has been well said by Madame Sirey, that women who comprehend
well their rights and duties as mothers of families, certainly cannot
complain of their destiny. If there exists any inequality in the means of
pleasure accorded to the two sexes, it is in favor of the woman. The mother
who lives in her children and her grandchildren has the peculiar privilege of
not knowing the grief of becoming old.
'So low down in the scale of creation as we can go,' says Professor
Laycock of Edinburgh, 'wherever there is a discoverable distinction of sex,
we find that maternity is the first and most fundamental duty of the female.
The male never in a single instance, in any organism, whether plant or
animal, contributes nutrient material.'
Among the Romans, it was enacted that married women who had borne
three children, or if freed-women, four, had special privileges of their own
in cases of inheritance, and were exempted from tutelage. Juvenal has
recorded the reverence paid in Rome to the newly-made mother, and the
sign by which her house was designated and protected from rude intruders,
namely, by the suspension of wreaths over the door.
At various times, and in different countries, legislators have made laws
discriminating in favor of matrons, justly regarding the family as the source
of the wealth and prosperity of the State.
Louis XIV. granted, by the edict of 1666, certain pensions to parents of
ten children, with an increase for those who had twelve or more.

NURSING.

So soon as the infant is born, it ought to be placed at the breast. From this
source it should receive its only nourishment during the first four or six
months, and in many cases the first year, of its life. The child which the
mother has carried for nine months and brought with suffering into the
world, still depends upon her for its existence. At the moment of its birth
her duties to the infant, instead of ceasing, augment in importance. The
obligation is imposed upon her of nourishing it with her own milk, unless
there are present physical conditions rendering nursing improper, of which
we are about to speak. It is well known that the artificial feeding of infants
is a prominent cause of mortality in early life. The foundlings of large cities
furnish the most striking and convincing proof of the great advantages of
nursing over the use of artificially-prepared food. On the continent of
Europe, in Lyons and Parthenay, where foundlings are wet-nursed from the
time they are received, the deaths are 33.7 and 35 per cent. In Paris,
Rheims, and Aix, where they are wholly dry-nursed, their deaths are 50.3,
63.9, and 80 per cent. In New York city, the foundlings, numbering several
hundred a year, were, until recently, dry-nursed, with the fearful and almost
incredible mortality of nearly one hundred per cent. The employment of
wet-nurses has produced a much more favorable result. Therefore, if for any
reason the mother cannot nurse her own child, a hired wet-nurse should be
procured. This brings us to the consideration of

HINDRANCES TO NURSING, AND WHEN IT IS
IMPROPER.

Women who have never suckled often experience difficulty in nursing,
on account of the sunken and flat condition of the nipple. We have pointed
out the causes of this depression, and how by early attention before the birth
of the infant it may be prevented. If, however, these precautions have been
neglected, and it is found that the nipple is not sufficiently prominent to be
grasped by the child's mouth, it may be drawn out by a common breast-
pump, by suction with a tobacco-pipe, by the use of the hot-water bottle in
the manner described, or by the application of an infant a little older.
Neither the child nor the mother should be constantly fretted in such cases
by frequent ineffectual attempts at nursing. Such unremitting attention and
continual efforts produce nervousness and loss of sleep, and result in a
diminution of the quantity of the milk. The child should not be put to the

breast oftener than once in an hour and a half or two hours. By the use of
the expedients mentioned, the whole difficulty will be overcome in a few
days.
Delay in applying the child to the breast is a common cause of trouble.
After it has been fed for several days with the spoon or bottle, it will often
refuse to suck. When nursing is deferred, the nipple also becomes tender.
For these reasons, as well as the others detailed in our directions for the care
of the new-born infant, the child should always, in say from two to three
hours after labor, be placed at the breast.
Ulcerated and fissured nipples should be treated by the doctor in
attendance. As it is highly desirable, and nearly always possible, to avoid
them, we would again call attention to the manner of doing so, indicated in
a previous article. Fissured nipples sometimes do harm to the infant, by
causing it to swallow blood, disturbing in this way the digestion. But all
these local interferences with nursing can generally be obviated in the
course of a few weeks, and rarely entirely prevent the exercise of this
maternal pleasure and duty.
But there are certain physical conditions which necessitate the
employment of a hired wet-nurse, or weaning. If the mother belongs to a
consumptive family, and is herself pale, emaciated, harassed by a cough,
and exhausted by suckling, wet-nursing is eminently improper. A temporary
loss of strength under other circumstances should not induce a mother at
once to wean her child; for it is often possible, by the judicious use of
tonics, nourishing food, and stimulants, to entirely restore the health with
the child at the breast. It should always be recollected, however, that the
milk of those in decidedly infirm health is incapable of properly nourishing
the child. Professor J. Lewis Smith of New York quotes, in his recent work
on Diseases of Children, several instructive cases which show the danger
sometimes attending suckling, and which may imperatively demand its
discontinuance. 'A very light-complexioned young mother, in very good
health, and of a good constitution, though somewhat delicate, was nursing
for the third time, and, as regarded the child, successfully. All at once this
young woman experienced a feeling of exhaustion. Her skin became
constantly hot; there were cough, oppression, night-sweats; her strength
visibly declined, and in less than a fortnight she presented the ordinary

symptoms of consumption. The nursing was immediately abandoned, and
from the moment the secretion of milk had ceased, all the troubles
disappeared.' Again: 'A woman of forty years of age having lost, one after
another, several children, all of which she had put out to nurse, determined
to nurse the last one herself. This woman being vigorous and well built, was
eager for the work, and, filled with devotion and spirit, she gave herself up
to the nursing of her child with a sort of fury. At nine months she still
nursed him from fifteen to twenty times a day. Having become extremely
emaciated, she fell all at once into a state of weakness, from which nothing
could raise her, and two days after the poor woman died of exhaustion.'
It does not always follow, that because the mother is sick the child should
be taken from the breast. It is only necessary in those affections in which
there is great depression of the vital powers, or in which there is danger of
communicating the disease to the child. In the city, where artificially-fed
infants run great risks, extreme caution should be exercised in early
weaning.
Inflammation of either of the breasts necessitates the removal of the
infant from the affected side, and its restriction to the other. As the
inflammation gets well and the milk reappears, the first of it should always
be rejected, as it is apt to be thick and stringy, after which nursing may be
resumed.

RULES FOR NURSING.

The new-born child should be nursed about every second hour during the
day, and not more than once or twice at night. Too much ardor may be
displayed by the young mother in the performance of her duties. Not
knowing the fact that an infant quite as frequently cries from being overfed
as from want of nourishment, she is apt to give it the breast at every cry,
day and night. In this manner her health is broken down, and she is
compelled perhaps to wean her child, which, with more prudence and
knowledge, she might have continued to nurse without detriment to herself.
It is particularly important that the child shall acquire the habit of not
requiring the breast more than once or twice at night. This, with a little
perseverance, can readily be accomplished, so that the hours for rest at
night, so much needed by the mother, may not be interfered with. Indeed, if

the mother does not enjoy good health, it is better for her not to nurse at all
at night, but to have the child fed once or twice with a little cow's milk. For
this purpose, take the upper third of the milk which has stood for several
hours and dilute it with water, in the proportion of one part of milk to two
of water.
In those cases in which the milk of the mother habitually disagrees with
the infant, the attention of the doctor should at once be called to the
circumstance. A microscopic examination will reveal to the intelligent
practitioner the cause of the difficulty, and suggest the remedy.
It may be well here to mention—as, judging from the practice of many
nurses and mothers, it seems to be a fact not generally known or attended to
—that human milk contains all that is required for the growth and repair of
the various parts of the child's body. It should therefore be the sole food in
early infancy.

INFLUENCE OF DIET ON THE MOTHER'S MILK.

Certain articles of food render the milk acid, and thus induce colicky
pains and bowel complaints in the child. Such, therefore, as are found, in
each individual case, to produce indigestion and an acid stomach in the
mother, should be carefully avoided by her.
Retention of the milk in the breasts alters its character. The longer it is
retained, the weaker and more watery it becomes. An acquaintance with this
fact is of practical importance to every mother; for it follows from it, that
the milk is richer the oftener it is removed from the breast. Therefore, if the
digestion of the child is disordered by the milk being too rich, as sometimes
happens, the remedy is to give it the breast less frequently by which not
only is less taken, but the quality is also rendered poorer. On the contrary, in
those instances in which the child is badly nourished and the milk is
insufficient in quantity, it should be applied oftener, and the milk thus
rendered richer.
The milk which last flows is always the richest. Hence, when two
children are nursed, the first is the worse served.

INFLUENCE OF PREGNANCY ON THE MILK.

Menstruation is ordinarily absent, and pregnancy therefore impossible,
during the whole course of nursing, at least during the first nine months.
Sometimes, however, mothers become unwell at the expiration of the sixth
or seventh month; in rare instances, within the first five or six weeks after
confinement. When the monthly sickness makes its appearance without any
constitutional or local disturbance, it is not apt to interfere with the welfare
of the infant. When, on the contrary, the discharge is profuse, and attended
with much pain, it may produce colic, vomiting, and diarrhœa in the
nursling. The disturbance in the system of the child ordinarily resulting
from pregnancy in the mother is such that, as a rule, it should be at once
weaned so soon as it is certain that pregnancy exists. The only exceptions to
this rule are those cases in the city, during the hot months, in which it is
impossible either to procure a wet-nurse or to take the child to the country
to be weaned. In cold weather an infant should certainly be weaned, if it has
attained its fifth or sixth month, and the mother has become pregnant.

INFLUENCE OF THE MOTHER'S MIND OVER THE
NURSING CHILD.

We have spoken, in treating of mothers' marks, of the influence of the
mother's mind upon her unborn offspring. The influence of the maternal
mind does not cease with the birth of the child. The mother continues
during the whole period of nursing powerfully to impress, through her milk,
the babe at her breast. It is well established, that mental emotions are
capable of changing the quantity and quality of the milk, and of thus
rendering it hurtful, and even dangerous, to the infant.
The secretion of milk may be entirely stopped by the action of the nervous
system. Fear, excited on account of the child which is sick or exposed to
accident, will check the flow of milk, which will not return until the little
one is restored in safety to the mother's arms. Apprehension felt in regard to
a drunken husband, has been known to arrest the supply of this fluid. On the
other hand, the secretion is often augmented, as every mother knows, by the
sight of the child, nay, even by the thought of him, causing a sudden rush of
blood to the breast known to nurses as the draught. Indeed a strong desire to

furnish milk, together with the application of the child to the breast, has
been effectual in bringing about its secretion in young girls, old women, and
even men.
Sir Astley Cooper states that 'those passions which are generally sources
of pleasure, and which when moderately indulged are conducive to health,
will, when carried to excess, alter, and even entirely check the secretion of
milk.'
But the fact which it is most important to know is, that nervous agitation
may so alter the quality of the milk as to make it poisonous. A fretful
temper, fits of anger, grief, anxiety of mind, fear, and sudden terror, not only
lessen the quantity of the milk, but render it thin and unhealthful, inducing
disturbances of the child's bowels, diarrhœa, griping, and fever. Intense
mental emotion may even so alter the milk as to cause the death of the
child. A physician states, in the Lancet, that, having removed a small
tumour from behind the ear of a mother, all went on well until she fell into a
violent passion. The child being suckled soon afterwards, it died in
convulsions. Professor Carpenter records in his Physiology two other fatal
instances: in one, the infant put to the breast immediately after the receipt of
distressing news by the mother, died in her arms in the presence of the
messenger of the ill-tidings; in the other, the infant was seized with
convulsions on the right side and paralysis on the left, on sucking directly
after the mother had met with an agitating occurrence. Another case of
similar character may be mentioned. A woman while nursing became
violently excited on account of a loss she had just met with from a theft.
She gave her child the breast while in an intense passion. The child first
refused, but ultimately took it, when severe vomiting occurred. In the
course of some hours the child took the other breast, was attacked at once
with violent convulsions, and died in spite of all that could be done for it.
The following cases are related by Professor Carpenter as occurring
within his own knowledge. They are valuable as a warning to nursing
mothers to avoid all exciting or depressing passions. A mother of several
healthy children, of whom the youngest was a vigorous infant a few months
old, heard of the death from convulsions of the infant child of an intimate
friend at a distance, whose family had increased in the same manner as her
own. The unfortunate circumstance made a strong impression on her mind,

and being alone with her babe, separated from the rest of her family, she
dwelt upon it more than she otherwise would have done. With her mind
thus occupied, one morning, shortly after nursing her infant, she laid it in its
cradle, asleep and apparently in perfect health. Her attention was soon
attracted to it by a noise. On going to the cradle she found it in a
convulsion, which lasted only a few moments, and left it dead. In the other
case, the mother had lost several children in early infancy, from fits. One
infant alone survived the usually fatal period. While nursing him, one
morning she dwelt strongly upon the fear of losing him also, although he
appeared to be a very healthy child. The infant was transferred to the arms
of the nurse. While the nurse was endeavouring to cheer the mother by
calling her attention to the thriving appearance of her child, he was seized
with a convulsion, and died almost instantly in her arms. Under similar
circumstances, a child should not be nursed by its mother, but by one who
has reared healthy children of her own and has a tranquil mind.
An interesting illustration of the powerful sedative action of the mother's
milk—changed in consequence of great mental distress—upon the
impressible nervous system of the infant, is furnished by a German
physician. 'A carpenter fell into a quarrel with a soldier billeted in his house,
and was set upon by the latter with his drawn sword. The wife of the
carpenter at first trembled from fear and terror, and then suddenly threw
herself furiously between the combatants, wrested the sword from the
soldier's hand, broke it in pieces, and threw it away. During the tumult,
some neighbors came in and separated the men. While in this state of strong
excitement, the mother took up her child from the cradle, where it lay
playing and in the most perfect health, never having had a moment's illness.
She gave it the breast, and in so doing sealed its fate. In a few minutes the
infant left off sucking, became restless, panted, and sank dead upon its
mother's bosom. The physician, who was instantly called in, found the child
lying in the cradle as if asleep, and with its features undisturbed; but all his
resources were fruitless. It was irrevocably gone.'
Professor William A. Hammond of New York mentions, in a recent
number of the Journal of Psychological Medicine, several instances, from
his own practice, of affections in the child caused by the mother's milk. 'A
soldier's wife, whilst nursing her child, was very much terrified by a sudden
thunderstorm, during which the house where she was then quartered was

struck by lightning. The infant, which had always been in excellent health,
was immediately attacked with vomiting and convulsions, from which it
recovered with difficulty.' 'A lady, three weeks after delivery, was attacked
with puerperal insanity. She nursed her child but once after the accession of
the disease, and in two hours subsequently it was affected with general
convulsions, from which it died during the night. Previous to this event it
had been in robust health.'
Again, Dr. Seguin of New York relates, in his work on Idiocy, a number
of cases of loss of mind produced by the altered state of the mother's milk.
'Mrs. B. came out from a ball-room, gave the breast to her baby, three
months old: he was taken with spasms two hours after, and since is a
confirmed idiot and epileptic.'
'In a moment of great anxiety Mrs. C. jumped into a carriage with her
suckling, a girl of fifteen months, so far very intelligent and attractive. The
child took the breast only once in a journey of twenty miles, but before
arriving at destination she vomited several times, with no interruption but
that of stupor, and after an acute fever the little girl settled down into the
condition of a cripple and idiot.'
The celebrated physician Boerhaave mentions the milk of an angry nurse
as among the causes of epilepsy.
These facts show the importance of a placid mind and cheerful temper in
the mother while nursing.

POSITION OF THE MOTHER WHILE NURSING.

The habit of nursing a child while sitting up in bed or half reclining upon
a lounge is a wrong one. Such a position is injurious to the breasts, hurtful
to the woman's figure, and apt to cause backache. When in bed, the mother
ought always to be recumbent while the child is at the breast, held upon the
arm of the side upon which she lies. When out of bed, she should sit upright
while nursing.

QUANTITY OF MILK REQUIRED BY THE INFANT.

The amount of milk furnished every day by a healthy woman has been
estimated at from a quart to three pints. An infant one or two months of age
takes about two wine-glassfuls, or three ounces, every meal; that is, as it
sucks every two hours, excepting when asleep, about five half-pints during
the twenty-four hours. When it attains the age of three months, it thrives
well on five meals a day, the quantity taken at each meal then, the stomach
being more capacious, amounting to about half a pint. A child above three
months of age ordinarily requires three pints daily.
A healthy mother is fully capable of furnishing this quantity of milk per
day, and of affording the child all the nourishment it needs until four or six
months after birth.
The quantity of the mother's milk varies according to many
circumstances. It is most abundant and also most nutritious in nursing
women between the ages of fifteen and thirty; least so, in those from thirty-
five to forty. There is likewise a great difference in different women in this
respect; and in the same woman varying conditions of health influence the
amount of milk secreted.

THE QUALITIES OF A GOOD NURSING MOTHER

are well described by Professor J. Lewis Smith. 'The best wet-nurses are
usually robust, without being corpulent. Their appetite is good, and their
breasts are distended, from the number and large size of the blood-vessels
and milk-ducts. There is but a moderate amount of fat around the gland, and
tortuous veins are observed passing over it. Such nurses do not experience a
feeling of exhaustion, and do not suffer from lactation. The nutriment which
they consume is equally expended on their own sustenance and the supply
of milk. There are other good wet-nurses who have the physical condition
described, but whose breasts are small. Still the infant continues to suck till
it is satisfied, and it thrives. The milk is of good quality, and it appears to be
secreted mainly during the time of suckling. Other mothers evidently
decline in health during the time of nursing. They furnish milk of good
quality and in abundance, and their infants thrive; but it is at their own
expense. They themselves say, and with truth, that what they eat goes to
milk. They become thinner and paler, are perhaps troubled with palpitation,
and are easily exhausted. They often find it necessary to wean before the

end of the usual period of lactation. There is another class whose health is
habitually poor, but who furnish the usual quantity of milk without the
exhaustion experienced by the class just described. The milk of these
women is of poor quality. It is abundant, but watery. Their infants are pallid
having soft and flabby fibre.'

OVER-ABUNDANCE OF MILK.

An excessive amount of milk often distends the breasts of those women
who are prone to have long and profuse monthly sickness. It is also apt to
occur in those subject to bleeding piles. It may be produced by any
excitement of the womb or ovaries, and by over-nursing. In these cases
there is usually a constant oozing away and consequent loss of milk. The
mother is troubled by this over-flow, because it keeps her clothing wet; and
the child suffers because of the unnutritious, watery character of the milk
under such circumstances.
This over-abundant supply may be moderated and the quality improved
by diminishing the quantity of drink, and by the use of preparations of iron.
Fifteen drops of the muriatic tincture of iron, taken three times a day in a
little sweetened water, through a glass tube, will be useful. It will lessen the
amount of the milk, and make it richer. So soon as these objects are
accomplished, the medicine should be discontinued; as, if taken too long, it
may so much diminish the milk as to necessitate weaning. The application
of a cloth, wrung out in cold water, around the nipples is also of value. It is
to be removed so soon as it becomes warm, and reapplied. In those cases in
which the trouble seems to be not so much an over-supply as an inability to
retain the milk, the administration of tonics addressed to the nervous
system, and the local use of astringents and of collodion around the nipples,
will overcome the difficulty; but these remedies can only be employed
successfully by the physician. And to him alone should be entrusted the use
of those medicines which directly diminish the amount of milk secreted
within the breasts. The expedients we have mentioned are the only ones
which can be safely employed by the mother herself in this annoying
affection.

SCANTINESS OF MILK.

Some mothers have habitually an insufficiency of milk. They are most
numerous in large cities, and among working women whose daily
occupations require a separation from the infant. Indigestion, and the want
of a proper amount of nourishing food, cause a diminution in the quantity of
milk. So also do over-feeding and gormandizing. Age lessens the secretion
of milk, as has been already mentioned. Those who first bear children late
in life, have less milk for them than they who begin earlier. In some cases
want of milk in the breasts seems to be due to its reabsorption. In such
instances it may make its appearance at distant parts. Thus, a case has been
recorded of the coughing up of milk following sudden arrest of the
secretion, and others in which it presented itself as an exudation in the
groins.
In the treatment of a scanty formation of milk, one of the best measures
which can be resorted to is the frequent application of the child to the
breast. In addition, the flow may be increased by milking the breasts by
means of the thumb and finger, suction through a tobacco-pipe, or the
breast-pump, or by the use of another infant. Friction of the breasts, and
forcible drawing upon the nipples, will make them sore, and so irritate them
as to defeat the object in view. A change of scene, fresh air, and outdoor
exercise, attention to personal cleanliness, and the improvement of the
general health, all increase the quantity, and produce a favourable effect
upon the quality, of the milk. A sojourn at the sea-side often promotes an
abundant secretion of milk. The diet should be regulated by the condition of
the constitution. By those who are weak and pale, a large proportion of
meat is required. On the contrary, those who are full-blooded and corpulent
should restrict the amount of their animal food, and take more exercise in
the open air. Oatmeal gruel enjoys a reputation for increasing the flow of
milk. A basin of it sometimes produces an immediate effect. The same is
true of cow's milk. Porter or ale once or twice a day, in those with reduced
systems and impaired digestion and appetite, will be found useful. Anise,
fennel, and caraway-seeds, given in soup, act sometimes as stimulants upon
the secretion of milk. The application of a poultice made from the
pulverized leaves of the castor-oil plant is a most efficient remedy when
milk fails to make its appearance in the breast in sufficient quantity after
confinement.

WET-NURSING BY VIRGINS, AGED WOMEN, AND MEN.

As a rule, the secretion of milk is limited to one sex, and in that is
confined to a short period after childbirth. But there are many cases on
record of the flowing of milk in women not recently mothers, in girls before
the age of puberty, in aged women, and even in individuals of the male sex.
In such instances, the secretion is induced by the combined influence,
acting through the nervous system, of a strong desire for its occurrence, of a
fixed attention towards the mammary glands, and of suction from the
nipples.
Travellers among savage nations report many examples of such unnatural
nursing. Dr. Livingstone says he has frequently seen in Africa a grandchild
suckled by a grandmother. Dr. Wm. A. Gillespie, of Virginia records, in the
Boston Medical and Surgical Journal, the case of a widow, aged about
sixty, whose daughter having died, leaving a child two months old, took the
child and tried to raise it by feeding. The child's bowels became deranged,
and being unable to procure a nurse, and her breasts being large and full, he
advised her to apply the child, in hopes milk would come. She followed his
advice perseveringly, and, to her astonishment, a plentiful secretion of milk
was the result, with which she nourished the child, which afterwards
became strong and healthy. A similar instance, still more remarkable, is
recorded of a woman at seventy years, who twenty years wet-nursed a
grandchild after her last confinement.
Cases of nursing in the opposite extreme of life are also well
authenticated. The distinguished French physician Baudelocque has related
that of a deaf and dumb girl, eight years old, who, by the repeated
application to her breast of a young infant, which her mother was suckling,
had sufficient milk to nourish the child for a month, while the mother was
unable to nurse it on account of sore nipples. The little girl was shown to
the Royal Academy of Surgery on the 16th of February, 1783. The quantity
of milk was such, that by simply pressing the breast it was made to flow out
in the presence of the Academy, and on the same day, at the house of
Baudelocque, before a large class of pupils. Again, an interesting case is
known of a young woman, who, in consequence of the habit of applying the
infant of her mistress to her breast in order to quiet it, caused a free
secretion of milk. In the Cape de Verde Islands, it is stated that virgins, old

women, and even men, are frequently employed as wet-nurses. Humboldt
speaks of a man, thirty-two years old, who gave the breast to his child for
five months. Captain Franklin saw a similar case in the Arctic regions.
Professor Hall presented to his class in Baltimore a negro, fifty-five years
old, who had been the wet-nurse of all the children of his mistress.
Instances of powers of prolonged nursing in mothers are not uncommon.
Indeed it is the habit among some nations to suckle children until they are
three or four years of age, even though another pregnancy may intervene, so
that immediately one child is succeeded at the breast by another. In those
who have thus unnaturally excited the mammary glands, an irrepressible
flow sometimes continues after the demand for it has ceased. Dr. Green
published, some years ago, in the New York Journal of Medicine and
Surgery, the case of a woman, aged forty-seven, the mother of five children,
who had had an abundant supply of milk for twenty-seven years
consecutively. A period of exactly four years and a half occurred between
each birth, and the children were permitted to take the breast until they were
running about at play. At the time when Dr. G. wrote, she had been nine
years a widow, and was obliged to have her breasts drawn daily, the
secretion of milk being so copious. When, therefore, it is desirable, on
account of the feebleness of the child, to protract the period of nursing, a
wet-nurse should relieve the mother at the end of twelve or fifteen months.

RULES FOR CARE OF HEALTH WHILE NURSING.

From what we have previously said of the influence of the nervous
system over the quantity and quality of the milk, and the instances we have
adduced of the danger to the infant of all violent passions—such as anger,
terror, anxiety, and grief—on the part of the mother, it will be apparent that
it is of the greatest moment, during the whole course of nursing, to maintain
a tranquil state of mind. Pleasing and peaceful emotions favor the normal
secretion of milk, and go far towards securing the health of the child. When
strongly affected by any powerful feelings, mothers should not give the
breast, but should wait until they have calmed down to their usual tenor of
temper. A case is related of a woman who was always excited by a highly
electrical state of the atmosphere, and particularly during stormy weather. If
when thus influenced she nursed her child he was sure to fall into

convulsions; while, if she delayed doing so until this nervous excitement
had passed, no unpleasant symptoms occurred. But we have already dwelt
at length upon this subject in speaking of the influence of the mind of the
mother over the child at her breast, and need not therefore recur to it. The
food while nursing must be nutritious and varied, though simple and
unstimulating; and should consist both of meat and vegetables, soups, fish,
flesh, and fowl, either in combination or succession. When the digestion
requires stimulation and aid, a glass of mild ale twice a day will be useful.
Wines, brandy, and whisky should not be taken without the advice of a
physician. Moderate exercise in the open air and regular habits are
necessary. A defective or excessive diet, fatigue, loss of rest at night, and
irregularities and excesses of all kinds are unfavorable to mother and child.
The proper methods of combating a tendency to over-abundance or to
scantiness of milk have been alluded to. Medicines, unless prescribed by the
medical attendant, should rarely or never be taken during this period, as
many of them enter the milk and may thus affect the child.

RELATIONS OF HUSBAND AND WIFE DURING
NURSING.

After a natural and healthful confinement, the nurse usually remains with
the mother for a period of four weeks. During the whole of this time the
husband should occupy a separate apartment, and, according to some
physicians, this separation should be protracted during the entire period of
nursing. But this is unusual, and in most cases unnecessary. Only those
women who are warned by the recurrence of their monthly illness that they
are liable to another pregnancy immediately, should insist on such an
ascetic rule as this.
Unquestionably the quality of the milk is much deteriorated by a
conception; and therefore, both in the interest of the mother and child, the
husband should renounce his usual privileges at such times.
Most women do not have their periodical illness, and consequently are
not liable to a second pregnancy, before seven months have elapsed after
childbirth. There are, however, numerous exceptions to this rule, and it is
impossible to foretell who will and who will not be the exception.

Moreover, as any excitement of the passions alters to some extent the
secretion of the breasts, often to the injury of the child, it is every way
advisable that great temperance be exercised in all cases in the marital
relations at these epochs.

SIGNS OF OVER-NURSING.

The symptoms of over-nursing may be enumerated as follows:—Aching
pain in the back; often, pain across the shoulders, and on the top of the head
or forehead; marked paleness of the face; inability to sleep; frightful dreams
when sleep does come; great debility; extreme depression of the spirits;
disorders of the sight, and mental disturbances, which take on the form of
melancholia, the delusions relating mostly to subjects of a religious
character, to the effect that the unpardonable sin has been committed, and
the like. The headache is situated on the top of the head, and this spot may
be noticed to be perceptibly hotter to the touch than other parts of the head.
These symptoms indicate that the process of nursing is making too great a
drain upon the system.
A woman in ordinary health will generally be able to suckle her child for
twelve months without experiencing any bad effects. When the child is kept
at the breast much beyond this time, most mothers render themselves liable
to the injurious consequences we have mentioned. Some, indeed, cannot
furnish the child all the nourishment it needs longer than three or four
months, without detriment to themselves. In such cases, by feeding the
child two or three times a day, the mother may be relieved of the burden of
its entire support, and may thus be enabled to continue nursing. The proper
food for infants, under these circumstances, will be shortly mentioned. The
prostrating effects of nursing upon the body and mind of the mother are in
some, though comparatively rare, instances so marked, as to render it
altogether improper from the commencement.
The treatment of the condition of system described as resulting from
over-nursing is, if it cannot be remedied by partially feeding the infant and
the use of tonics, to remove the child from the breast altogether, and either
procure a wet-nurse for it, or wean it. The wet-nurse is greatly to be
preferred; and the preference is the stronger, the younger the child. We have
already alluded to the great difficulty of rearing children from birth by the

hand. But after the infant has attained the age of several months, the danger
of artificial feeding is much lessened, provided that the weaning does not
take place during hot weather. This brings us to the consideration of the
regimen of the mother who cannot nurse her own child, of the rules for the
selection of a wet-nurse, of the directions for bringing up by hand, and of
the proper method of weaning. These subjects we will now take up in the
order mentioned.

DIRECTIONS FOR MOTHERS WHO CANNOT NURSE
THEIR OWN CHILDREN.

There are many reasons why a mother should, if possible, nurse her own
child. 'One of the principal is,' says the distinguished Dr. Tilt, 'that as
nursing, generally speaking, prevents conception up to the tenth month, so
it prevents the ruin of the mother's constitution by the too rapid bringing
forth of children, and, we might even add, prevents a deterioration of the
race, by the imperfect bringing up of this too-fast-got family.'
The same author appropriately adds: 'But while advocating maternal
nursing, we must not forget that woman is not now the Eve of a primeval
world; that human nature, wherever it is now met, in barbarous tribes or in
civilised communities, is frequently so deteriorated, so diseased or prone to
disease, that, by nursing, a mother may sometimes undermine her own frail
constitution for the sake of giving an imperfect sustenance, and perhaps a
poisonous heritage, to her babe.'
Some mothers, however anxiously they may wish to do so, cannot nurse
their children. They are shut out from this charming and tender experience
in the life of a woman. The milk that comes is not sufficient, and quickly
disappears. Because of the influence of the mind of the mother over the
child at her breast, to which we have before called attention, women who
are very hysterical and nervous, subject to violent perturbations of the mind,
should not, particularly if there be any family tendency to insanity, expose
the child to the mischievous effects latent in their milk. So, also, the
presence of certain diseases forbids wet-nursing. Thus it is ordinarily
prohibited by consumption, scrofula, skin affections of long standing, and
cancer. In consumption, all efforts to suckle are frequently equally fatal to

the mother and child. Even a strong hereditary predisposition to this disease
may render it advisable, in the opinion of the family physician,—who
should always be consulted in such a case,—to counteract the family taint
by giving the milk of the healthiest nurse that can be procured. The
condition of the nipples and of the breast may not permit of nursing. We
have pointed out how best to guard against such an occurrence, in treating
of the care of the nipples during pregnancy.
She who is to be debarred from nursing her own child should take care
that it is not allowed to approach her breasts, as sometimes the mental and
physical excitement caused by such an approach is of an injurious and
lasting character.
Ordinarily, if this direction be followed out, the mother will have little
trouble in regard to herself. Under such circumstances, the chief danger is
to the child. Hence the importance of knowing

HOW TO SELECT A WET-NURSE.

The choosing of a wet-nurse is a matter of great moment and
responsibility. She should not be over thirty years of age, and should, if
possible, be one who has previously suckled and had charge of children.
Her own infant should be under the age of six months, for when above that
age the milk sometimes disagrees with her new-born charge. One who has
had several children should be preferred, because her milk is richer than
after the first confinement.
The doctor should always examine carefully into the condition of the
nurse's health, and into the quality and quantity of her milk. Various
diseases and taints of the system are so hidden, while yet communicable to
the child, that the knowledge and skill of a professional expert are required
for their detection, and the protection of the nursling. In testing the quality
of the milk, the experienced physician allows a little to rest on his finger
nail, and by its examination readily decides as to its richness and fitness to
nourish the little applicant for food. It is not necessary that the breasts
should be large, as those of moderate size often furnish a sufficient amount
of milk. But it is important that the nipples should be well developed. Those
wet-nurses should be preferred in whom large blood-vessels are seen

prominently passing in blue lines over the surface of the breasts. The
possession of a vigorous, healthful infant is a good recommendation for a
nurse, but care should be taken to ascertain that it is her own, as nurses have
been known to borrow for such an occasion and so obtain credit not justly
their due.
The moral and mental as well as physical characteristics should be
considered. Temperance and cleanliness are indispensable in a wet-nurse,
and the want of either should be an imperative reason for rejection.
Equanimity of temper, cheerfulness, and an open, frank, affectionate
disposition, are of course greatly to be desired.
If the nurse becomes 'unwell,' shall the child be taken from her? Should
the monthly sickness reappear early, and both nurse and child be in good
health, suckling may be continued. But when the return happens about the
ninth or tenth month, the child should be weaned or the nurse changed.
There is no physiological reason for preventing the nurse from living
matrimonially; but if pregnancy occurs, the child should be taken from her.
The same rules that we have laid down for the mother for the care of her
health while nursing, are of course applicable to the hired wet-nurse, and
should be insisted upon and enforced.
Changing a nurse.—When it becomes necessary to change a nurse, for
any of the reasons above mentioned, it may be done without injury to the
child. For fear of the effect of the unwelcome tidings upon the mind of the
nurse, and the possible influence upon the milk, she should not be informed
of the projected change until a successor has been secured to take her place
at once. In choosing the second nurse, the same precautions should be had
as in the selection of the first.

THE CHILD.

Top

THE CARE OF INFANCY.

By infancy we mean that portion of the life of the child between birth and
the completion of the teething—about two and a half years. The care of this
period of human life is entrusted to the mother. It forms an important era in
the physical life of woman. Its discussion is therefore germane to our
subject. In order that the young mother may fully appreciate the
responsibilities of her position, she should know something of the liability
of infants to sickness and death.
Out of one thousand children born, one hundred and fifty die within the
first year, and one hundred and thirteen during the next four years. Thus two
hundred and sixty-three, or more than one-fourth, die within five years after
birth. Between the ages of five and ten, thirty-five die. During the next five
years eighteen more are recorded on the death-list. Hence, at fifteen years
of age only six hundred and eighty-five remain out of the one thousand
born. When these figures are considered, and the additional fact that out of
those who survive very many bear permanent marks of imperfect
nourishment or of actual disease, the consequence of maladies contracted in
early life, the importance of our present inquiry—the care of infancy—will
be apparent to all mothers.
The younger the infant, the greater the danger of death. One-tenth of all
children born die within the first month after birth, and four times as many
as during the second month.
The mortality is much larger in cities than in the country. In Dublin,
during 1867, very nearly one-third of all the persons who died were under
five years of age. In the same year forty-three per cent. of those who died in
the eight principal towns of Scotland were children below the age of five. In
Philadelphia, during the same year, forty-five per cent. of all the deaths
were of children under five years of age. In New York fifty-three per cent.
of the total number of deaths occur under the age of five years, and twenty-
six per cent. under the age of one year.

The danger of death lessens as the period of puberty approaches. Yet,
even in the last years of childhood there is a greater liability to disease and a
larger proportionate loss of life than during youth or middle age.

CAUSES OF INFANT MORTALITY.

What are the causes of this startling mortality of infant life? Why does
one child out of ten die in the first month, and only three out of four live to
be five years old? And what are the means of prevention?
Some of the causes which are active in producing this mortality among
the little ones cannot be successfully opposed after birth. Such, for instance,
are imperfect and vicious developments of internal organs existing when
born. These malformations often result from inflammation while in the
womb, excited by some taint of the mother's blood, or by some agitation of
her nervous system. Means of prevention in those cases are therefore to be
directed to the mother, in the manner indicated in treating of pregnancy. But
other causes of death begin to act only after birth, and are to a greater or
less extent avoidable. These are largely traceable to ignorance, negligence,
and vice.
One cause of death to which infants are peculiarly liable, and which
alone is said to have destroyed forty thousand children in England between
the years 1686 and 1799, is being overlain by the parents. For this reason,
some physicians caution the mother against having the infant in bed with
her while she sleeps.
The frightful waste of life caused by bringing children up by hand has
been mentioned, and the importance of avoiding it when possible.
The natural feebleness of the system of infants is the reason why they
succumb so easily to any malady. Deaths from any given disease are more
numerous among infants than children, and among children than adults.
Hence the importance of timely corrective measures in infantile affections;
hence, also, the need that mothers should know and practise the means best
adapted to preserve the health of their frail charges.
These means we shall proceed to give in detail, commencing with
directions for

BRINGING UP BY HAND.

We have already alluded to the great danger to the child, particularly in a
city, that is artificially fed from birth. But as there are many mothers who
are unable, on account of the expense, to have a wet-nurse for the child they
cannot suckle themselves, we will give such directions in regard to the diet
as are best calculated to lessen the risk invariably incurred under such
circumstances.
The child's food should be of the best quality, and prepared with the most
scrupulous attention to cleanliness. The milk of the cow is preferable to that
of the ass or of the goat, the former of which it is difficult to procure, and
the latter having a disagreeable odour. For a child under three months of
age, cow's milk should be used as the only food. It should be fresh, and if
possible from one cow. When of the ordinary richness, it is to be diluted
with an equal quantity of water or thin barley-water. If, however, the first
milking can be obtained, which is more watery, and bears a closer
resemblance in its chemical composition to human milk, but little dilution
will be required. If green and acrid stools make their appearance,
accompanied by emaciation and vomiting, the milk must be more diluted,
and given less frequently. If the symptoms of indigestion do not yield, milk
containing an excess of cream should be used. To procure it, allow fresh
milk to stand for two or three hours, and remove the upper third, to which
add two or three parts of warm water or barley-water, after having dissolved
in it a little sugar of milk. Should this food also disagree, any of the
preparations we are about to mention may be prepared and tried.
Professor Falkland recommends the following method of preparing milk
for infants, as affording a product more nearly like the natural secretion:
—'One third of a pint of pure milk is allowed to stand until the cream has
risen. The latter is removed, and to the blue milk thus obtained about a
square inch of rennet is to be added, and the milk-vessel placed in warm
water. In about five minutes the curd will have separated, and the rennet,
which may again be repeatedly used, being removed, the whey is carefully
poured off, and immediately heated to boiling, to prevent it becoming sour.
A further quantity of curd separates, and must be removed by straining
through calico. In one-quarter of a pint of this hot whey three-eighths of an
ounce of milk sugar are to be dissolved; and this solution, along with the

cream removed from the one-third of a pint of milk, must be added to half a
pint of new milk. This will constitute the food for an infant from five to
eight months old for twelve hours; or, more correctly speaking, it will be
one-half of the quantity required for twenty-four hours. It is absolutely
necessary that a fresh quantity should be prepared every twelve hours; and
it is scarcely necessary to add, that the strictest cleanliness in all the vessels
used is indispensable.'
Dr. J. Forsyth Meigs directs the following article of diet as one which he
has found to agree better with the digestive system of the infant than any
other kind of food:—'A scruple of gelatine (or a piece two inches square of
the flat cake in which it is sold) is soaked for a short time in cold water, and
then boiled in half a pint of water, until it dissolves—about ten or fifteen
minutes. To this is added, with constant stirring, and just at the termination
of the boiling, the milk and arrowroot, the latter being previously mixed
into a paste with a little cold water. After the addition of the milk and
arrowroot, and just before the removal from the fire, the cream is poured in,
and a moderate quantity of loaf sugar added. The proportions of milk,
cream, and arrowroot must depend on the age and digestive powers of the
child. For a healthy infant, within the month, I usually direct from three to
four ounces of milk, half an ounce to an ounce of cream, and a tea-spoonful
of arrowroot to half a pint of water. For older children, the quantity of milk
and cream should be gradually increased to a half or two-thirds milk, and
from one to two ounces of cream. I seldom increase the quantity of gelatine
or arrowroot.'
The egg is a valuable article of food for infants and young children,
especially in conditions of debility. It should be given nearly raw, and is
best prepared by placing it in boiling water for two minutes. It is then easily
digested.
Beef-tea, prepared in the manner described on page 234, is highly
nutritious and useful as a food for infants: if it produce a laxative effect, it
should be discontinued. When the child shows signs of weakness or of a
scrofulous condition its nutrition will be improved by mingling with its
food a small piece of butter or mutton suet.

During the first four or five months the food should be thin, and taken
through a teat, thus preventing the stuffing of the infant.
On attaining the age of twelve or fifteen months, infants are usually able
to digest ordinary wholesome solid food, neatly and well cooked, when
mashed or cut into fine pieces.
An article of food employed for the diarrhœa of infants is prepared as
follows:—'A pound of dry wheat flour of the best quality is packed snugly
in a bag and boiled three or four hours. When it is taken from the bag it is
hard, resembling a piece of chalk, with the exception of the exterior, which
is wet, and should be removed. The flour grated from the mass should be
used the same as arrowroot or rice.'
Infants nourished by prepared food thrive well enough during cool
weather, but during the warm months of the year they are exceedingly liable
to bowel complaint, of which large numbers of the spoon-fed infants of
cities die each summer season. Hence the importance of taking them into
the country; and keeping them there until the return of cool weather lessens
the danger of city life.

WEANING.

This should take place when the child is about twelve months of age—
sometimes a few months earlier, often a few later. If the mother's health be
good, and her milk abundant, it may be deferred until the canine teeth
appear—between the fifteenth and twentieth month. The child will then
have sixteen teeth with which it can properly masticate soft solid food.
Time of the year for.—The infant should not be taken from the breast
during or immediately preceding warm weather. If the mother, either on
account of sickness or failure in her breast-milk, is obliged during the
summer to give up nursing, she should at once procure a wet-nurse. If she
cannot, the child must be sent into the country. To wean an infant in the city
in hot weather, is to expose it to almost certain death.
Proper method.—The process of weaning should be a very slow one. No
definite day should be fixed for it. Little by little, from week to week, the
amount of spoon-food is to be increased and the nursing lessened—being

first given up at night. The breast should never be suddenly denied to a
child unaccustomed to artificial food, but be displaced by degrees, by the
bottle and the spoon. This gradual change will neither fret the child nor
annoy the mother, as sudden weaning always does.
The infant may begin to be accustomed to artificial food at the age of
four months. At first, only diluted cow's milk should be given it
occasionally between the times of nursing. In a tumbler one-third full of
water dissolve a tea-spoonful of sugar of milk; add to the sweetened water
an equal quantity of fresh cow's milk; then, if the child's stools are at all
green, mix with this two tea-spoonfuls of lime water. Instead of pure water,
barley-water made in the usual way, and boiled to the consistency of milk,
may be employed in this preparation—being added, while still warm, to an
equal amount of milk. Or, toast-water may be substituted as a diluter of the
milk. Cow's milk should not be boiled, if it can be preserved in any other
way. As the infant advances in months, some solid food may be allowed.
After six months, pap, made with stale bread and tops and bottoms, is
proper once or twice a day. Beef-tea, made according to the recipe we have
given, and chicken, lamb, or mutton broth, may now also be occasionally
taken. As the quantity of milk diminishes towards the close of the first year,
the spoon-food should be resorted to more frequently to supply the want.
Solid food ought not to be given before the child is a year old.
The breasts usually cause little trouble when the weaning is performed in
the gradual manner which has been recommended. The mother should
during this time drink as little as possible, refrain from stimulating food,
and take occasionally a little cream of tartar, citrate of magnesia, or a
seidlitz powder. If the breasts continue to fill with milk, they should not be
drawn. The 'drying up of the milk' may be facilitated by gently rubbing the
breasts several times a day with camphorated oil, made by dissolving over
the fire, in a saucer of sweet oil, as much camphor as it will take up. Tea
made from the marshmallow has also been recommended for this purpose.

TEETHING.

The period at which the teeth first make their appearance is not a fixed
one. It varies considerably even within the limits of perfect health. It may
be said, as a rule, that the babe begins to cut its teeth at the age of six or

seven months. Quite frequently, however, the first teeth appear as early as
the fourth month, or are delayed until the eighth. In some instances children
come into the world with their teeth already cut. This is said to have been
the case with Louis XIV. and with Mirabeau. King Richard the Third is
another example. Shakspeare makes the Duke of York refer to this
circumstance in these words:

'Marry, they say my uncle grew so fast,
That he could gnaw a crust at two hours old:
'Twas two full years ere I could get a tooth.'

It does not follow that children whose teeth show themselves early, will
have, therefore, a quicker general development. Such cases are merely
instances of irregularity in the time of dentition, and carry with them no
particular significance. Irregularities in regard to the order in which the
teeth are cut are also of frequent occurrence.
While, therefore, it cannot be maintained that all healthy children cut
their teeth in a certain regular order and time, yet it is certain that those
children who follow the general rule which prevails in this respect, suffer
least from the difficulties and effects of dentition. As all mothers desire to
know at what time they may expect the teeth, we will state the rule of their
development in the great majority of cases.
The lower teeth generally precede those of the upper jaw by two to three
months.
The twenty milk-teeth usually appear in the five following groups:—
First, Between the fourth and eighth months of life the two lower front
middle teeth appear almost simultaneously; then a pause of from three to
nine weeks ensues.
Second, Between the eighth and tenth months of life the five upper front
teeth appear, following shortly upon each other, the two central preceding
the two on each side of them. Another pause of from six to twelve weeks
succeeds.

Third, Between the twelfth and sixteenth months of life six teeth appear
nearly at once. They are first the two front grinding teeth in the upper jaw,
leaving a space between them and the front teeth which before appeared;
next the two lower front teeth, situated one on each side of the central ones,
which were the first to appear; and, lastly, the two front grinders of the
lower jaw. A pause until the eighteenth month now ensues.
Fourth, Between the eighteenth and twenty-fourth months of life the
canine teeth cut through (the upper ones are called eye-teeth). Again a pause
until the thirtieth month.
Fifth, Between the thirtieth and thirty-sixth months the second four
grinders finally make their appearance.
This concludes the first teething. The child has now twenty milk-teeth.
We have mentioned that children are sometimes born with teeth. It is also
true that sometimes they never acquire any. Instances are on record of
adults who have never cut any teeth. Dentition has been known to take
place very late in life. A case is related, on excellent authority, of an old
lady aged eighty-five, who cut several teeth after attaining that age.

APPEARANCE OF THE PERMANENT TEETH.

Between the fifth and sixth years of life the second dentition begins. The
front grinders are the ones first cut through. Between the sixth and tenth
years all the front teeth appear, followed by the canines before the twelfth
year. At this time the second grinders show themselves; and finally, between
the sixteenth and twenty-fourth year, the wisdom-teeth complete the dental
furniture of the mouth.

VACCINATION.

This operation, to which every infant should be subjected, is one of great
practical importance. The attempt has been made of late to shake the public
faith in its efficacy, and to revive the old fabulous stories and foolish
notions as to the production of serious affections of the blood and skin in
this manner. At the same time, the increasing frequency and virulence of

small-pox are becoming only too evident. We therefore consider it our duty,
in treating of the maternal management of infancy, to lay some stress upon
the necessity for vaccination as a preservative of life and health. If
observation and experience ever taught anything, they have taught the
protective power of this operation against the most loathsome and one of
the most fatal diseases that ever afflicted the human race. And that mother
who is careless and indifferent in this matter neglects for her children a
means of preventing disfigurement and saving life, compared with which all
other means are scarcely worthy of mention.
In order to appreciate the value of vaccination, it is only necessary to
consider what small-pox was before its discovery,—to look at that disease
through the eyes of our fathers and grandfathers. Until the close of the last
century it was the most terrible of all the ministers of death. It filled the
churchyards with corpses. When Jenner published his great discovery, about
seventy years ago, the annual death-rate from small-pox in England was
estimated at three thousand in the million of population. In other countries
of Europe the rate reached as high as four thousand in the million. And
these fatal cases must be multiplied by five or six, to give the entire number
of persons annually attacked by the disease. It spared neither high nor low.
Macaulay informs us that Queen Mary, the wife of William III., fell a victim
to it. Those in whom the disease did not prove fatal, carried about with them
the hideous traces of its malignity; for it 'turned the babe into a changeling
at which the mother shuddered,' and made 'the eyes and cheeks of the
betrothed maiden objects of horror to the lover.' Few escaped being attacked
by this fell disease. Nearly one-tenth of all the persons who died in London
during the last century died of this one cause. Children were peculiarly its
victims. In some of the great cities of England more than one-third of all the
deaths among children under ten years of age arose from small-pox. Two-
thirds of all the applicants for relief at the Hospital for the Indigent Blind
had lost their sight by small-pox. The number of hopeless deafened ears,
crippled joints, and broken-down constitutions from the same cause cannot
be accurately computed, but was certainly very large. Vaccination is all that
now stands between us and all these horrors of the last century.
Is the strength of this barrier doubted?—Its efficacy is readily proved. In
England, during the twelve years (1854-1865) in which vaccination has
been to a certain extent compulsory, the average annual rate of deaths by

small-pox has been two hundred and two in the million of population.
Contrast this with the annual death-rate of three thousand to the million,
which was the average of thirty years previous to the introduction of
vaccination. Mr. John Simon, medical officer of Her Majesty's Privy
Council, one of the best statisticians in England, has collected a formidable
array of figures, 'to doubt which would be to fly in the face of the
multiplication-table.' From his mountain-height of statistics Mr. Simon
says: 'Wheresoever vaccination falls into neglect, small-pox tends to
become again the same frightful pestilence it was in the days before
Jenner's discovery; and wherever it is universally and properly performed,
small-pox tends to be of as little effect as any extinct epidemic of the
Middle Ages.'
Are other diseases ever produced by vaccination?—The popular belief
would answer this question in the affirmative. All affections of the skin and
swelling's of the glands noticed in children soon after vaccination, are
attributed by parents in many cases to this operation. They forget that such
diseases are met with constantly in infancy and childhood, as often among
the unvaccinated as the vaccinated. Observation does not show that they
occur with greater frequency among the vaccinated. An English physician
has been at the trouble to examine and record a thousand cases of skin
disease in children: he found no evidence whatever that vaccination
disposes the constitution to such affections. It has been stated with apparent
justness, that parental complaints of this kind frequently arise from their
unwillingness to believe there is anything wrong in their offspring. Hence,
when other diseases follow, vaccination gets blamed for what is really and
truly due to other causes. So far from doing any harm to the system, it has
been observed in those countries where vaccination has been most
thoroughly practised, that, leaving small-pox out of the question, there have
been fewer deaths from other maladies. This is especially true of two of the
most important classes of diseases, namely, scrofulous affections and low
fever. For this reason, some medical statisticians have attributed to
vaccination an indirect protective influence against these disorders.
At what age should the child be vaccinated?—If the health permit, the
operation should always be performed in very early infancy. The chief
sufferers from small-pox are young children. One-fourth of all who die
from this fatal disease in England are children under the age of one year. In

Scotland, where until recently vaccination has been much more neglected
than in England, the proportion even amounted to nearly one-third; and of
these, one-fourth were under the age of three months. The great risk,
particularly in large towns, where small-pox is seldom absent, of delaying
vaccination is obvious. City children, if hearty, should be vaccinated when a
month or six weeks old. Rarely or never ought it to be delayed beyond two
or three months. This early period of life is also particularly suitable to
vaccination, because the accompanying fever will then be over before the
disturbing influence of teething begins.

RE-VACCINATION.

If the first vaccination be found imperfect in character, that is, if it has
not properly 'taken,' the operation should be repeated at the earliest
opportunity. It has been recommended, in all cases, to perform a second
vaccination not later than the sixth or eighth year. If small-pox be
prevailing, it is proper to vaccinate all who have not been vaccinated within
three or four years. In any event, re-vaccination at or after the period of
puberty is of extreme importance. It will give additional security even to
those whose original vaccination was perfect. In some cases, the
susceptibility to small-pox is not wholly exhausted by one vaccination.
Inasmuch as it is desirable for every one to escape this disease, even in its
most modified form, re-vaccination should always be performed, as it
affords a very sure and trustworthy means of such escape. After successful
re-vaccination, small-pox, even in its mildest shape, is rarely met with. In
girls especially, in whom the changes which occur at puberty are most
marked, re-vaccination should be performed about the age of fourteen.

GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT.

During infancy the body grows with great rapidity. About the end of the
third year one-half of the adult height of the body is attained. After this
period growth is more gradual; for in order to reach the remaining half,
about eighteen years more are required. At twenty years of age the height is
somewhat more than three and a half times that at birth, and the weight
about twenty times. Development does not go on at an equal rate in all parts
of the body. The lower limbs, small at birth, increase proportionally more

rapidly, while the head, relatively large at birth, developes more slowly. The
muscular system is gradually strengthened. At the end of the third month
the infant is able, if in good health, readily to support its head; at the fourth
month it can be held upright; at the ninth month it crawls about the floor; by
the end of the year it is able with assistance to step; and between one and
two years, at different times, according to its vigor and activity, it acquires
the power of standing and walking alone. The periods of greatest and least
growth of the child are, on the one hand, spring and summer; on the other,
autumn and winter. It has long been known that animals grow more rapidly
in the spring than at any other season of the year. This has been attributed to
the abundance of herbage they are then able to obtain. It has been
ascertained by actual measurement, that children grow chiefly in the spring.
At six months of age the child begins to lisp, and at twelve months it is
usually able to utter distinct and intelligible sounds of one or two syllables.
The development of the senses and of the mind proceeds gradually. The
sense of hearing is more active and further advanced than that of sight.
Sounds are appreciated sooner than light or bright colored objects. The next
sense which is developed is perhaps that of taste; then follow smell and
touch.

THE FOOD OF INFANTS AND CHILDREN.

The diet of children is frequently improper either in regard to quantity,
quality, or variety. In 1867, a committee, of which Professor Austin Flint,
Jr., was chairman, was appointed in New York city to revise the 'Dietary
Table of the Children's Nurseries on Randall's Island.' In the report
rendered, attention was forcibly called to the fact that in childhood 'the
demands of the system for nourishment are in excess of the waste, the extra
quantity being required for growth and development. If the proper quantity
and variety of food be not provided, full development cannot take place,
and the children grow up, if they survive, into young men and women,
incapable of the ordinary amount of labor, and liable to diseases of various
kinds. This is frequently illustrated in the higher walks of life, particularly
in females; for many suffer through life from improper diet in boarding
schools, due to false and artificial notions of delicacy or refinement. After a
certain period of improper and deficient diet in children, the appetite

becomes permanently impaired, and the system is rendered incapable of
appropriating the amount of matter necessary to proper development and
growth.'
Charlotte Bronté has drawn, in Jane Eyre, a graphic and physiologically
true picture of the effects upon young girls of long-continued insufficiency
of food. Let mothers bear in mind that proper food cannot be too
abundantly eaten by children, and that the greatest danger to which they are
exposed arises from defective nutrition. We would again urge the value of a
large amount of milk in the dietary of young people. The disorders of the
bowels, which are not uncommon in infancy and childhood, are due to
errors in diet by which improper food is supplied, and not to an excess of
simple and proper nourishment.
We have already given some directions for the preparation of infants'
food in treating of 'bringing-up by hand.' In addition to the various
substitutes for the mother's milk there mentioned, we wish to note that
known as Liebig's soup. This great chemist thus describes the method of
making it:
'Half an ounce of wheat flour, half an ounce of malt meal, and seven and
a half grains of bicarbonate of potass, are weighed off. They are first mixed
by themselves, then with the addition of one ounce of water, and lastly, of
five ounces of milk. This mixture is then heated upon a slow fire, being
constantly stirred until it begins to get thick. At this period the vessel is
removed from the fire, and the mixture is stirred for five minutes, is again
heated and again removed when it gets thick, and, lastly, it is heated till it
boils. This soup is purified from bran by passing it through a fine sieve (a
piece of fine muslin), and now it is ready for use.'
Barley-malt can be obtained at any brewery. First, it is separated from the
impurities, and then ground in an ordinary coffee-mill to a coarse meal.
Care should be taken to get the common fresh wheat-flour, not the finest,
because the former is richest in starch.
In practice, the troublesome weighing of the materials may be dispensed
with, as a heaped table-spoonful of wheat-flour weighs pretty nearly half an
ounce, and a like table-spoonful of malt-meal, not quite as heaped, weighs
also half an ounce. The bicarbonate of potass can be obtained from the

druggist put up in powders of seven and a half grains, each ready for use.
The amount of water and of milk prescribed can be attained with sufficient
accuracy by means of the table-spoon; two table-spoonfuls will give the
quantity of water (one ounce), and ten table-spoonfuls the quantity of milk
(five ounces). These directions will enable any sensible mother to make the
preparation without difficulty. The soup tastes tolerably sweet, and, when
diluted with water, may be given to very young infants.
Although the method of preparing Liebig's soup is a somewhat tedious
one, yet, as it is a combination which has long been so highly recommended
by physicians of the largest experience for having visibly saved the lives of
many wasting children, it deserves a trial in all cases in which the ordinary
kinds of food disagree.
On page 276 are recorded the directions given by Dr. J. Forsyth Meigs
for an article of diet, consisting of gelatine and arrowroot, which he prefers
to all other kinds of artificial infant food. Another method of preparing a
useful arrowroot mixture is as follows:—
Place a tea-spoonful of arrowroot in a porcelain vessel, with as much
cold water as will make it into a fine dough; then add a cupful of boiling
milk or of beef-tea; stir the mixture a little, and allow it to boil for a few
minutes until the whole acquires the consistency of a fine light jelly.
The manner in which nutriment is administered to infants is not
immaterial. The custom of feeding them from a small spoon, or from a cup
with a snout, is objectionable. The use of a sucking-bottle most nearly
imitates the way in which nature designed the nursling to obtain its
nourishment. By the act of sucking, the muscles of the face are exercised in
an equal manner, and the saliva is mixed with the food to an extent which is
not possible if any other mode of feeding be resorted to. Children drink
very readily out of the perforated rubber nipples, which are now so popular
for this purpose: they are made to fit over the mouth of the bottle, and are
especially to be recommended on account of their cleanliness. The bottle
should never be refilled until both it and the rubber cap have been
thoroughly cleansed in warm water. A white glass bottle only should be
employed in order that any want of cleanliness may readily be detected. It
should be recollected that milk very quickly sours when kept in this way in

a warm room; it is therefore better always to empty the bottle and fill it
afresh each time it is given to the child, rather than to wait until its contents
are exhausted before replenishing it.
We have hitherto been treating mainly of the diet proper for the first year
of life. In the second year children may be permitted to have soft, finely-cut
meat. Fresh ripe fruit in season ordinarily agrees excellently well. But
boiled green vegetables and husk fruits are very apt to cause indigestion and
diarrhœa. Fruit for children should be freed from the stones and skins;
which latter are indigestible, and often do harm.
As an example of a diet suitable for a child two years of age we append
the following:—In the mornings, between six and seven o'clock in summer,
or between seven and eight in winter, milk-gruel; between nine and ten
o'clock, a piece of wheat bread with a little butter on it; at twelve o'clock,
well-prepared beef-tea, or chicken, lamb, mutton broth, or meat with a little
gravy; or in place of the meat, a meal-broth prepared with eggs, but with
very little fat; green vegetables to be allowed very rarely, and in very small
quantities. At this noon meal a mealy well-mashed potato is
unobjectionable; so also is rice pudding for a change. In the afternoon,
between three and four, bread and milk, with the addition in summer of
fresh ripe fruit; in the evening, at seven, bread and milk.
It will be observed that this dietetic table calls for five meals a day.
Should the child eat so frequently? We answer yes. But the meals should be
at regular intervals. A child, in order to replace the waste of the system, and
to furnish over and above sufficient material to build up the growing body,
requires a much larger proportionate amount of food than an adult. It also
requires its food at shorter intervals. By observing the hours for meals
stated above, regularity, which is of so much importance to the health of the
digestive organs, will be secured. If a young child be allowed only the three
ordinary meals of the family, it will crave for something between times, and
too often have its craving met with a piece of cake or other improper food.
Its appetite for dinner or supper will in this manner be destroyed, and the
stomach and the general health suffer.
After the third or fourth year children are able to eat all kinds of
vegetables. They may then very appropriately be allowed to eat at the table

with the family. It is only necessary to refuse them very salt, sour, and
highly-spiced victuals. Of all others they may partake in moderation.
Neither wine nor any malt liquor should be given them. Tea and coffee are
also, to say the least, unnecessary. They should have a regular luncheon
between the meals which are furthest apart. This must be at a regular hour,
and consist of bread and butter, with milk or water.
Pains should be taken to see that children do not fall into the habit of
eating rapidly. Too often this pernicious habit, so destructive to healthy
digestion, is formed in early life, and becomes the source of that dyspepsia
which is the bane of so many lives. Food that is gulped down enters the
stomach unmasticated, and unmixed with the secretions of the mouth. A dog
may bolt his food without injury, but a human being cannot.
A child should be taught to eat everything that is wholesome, and not be
permitted to become finical or fastidious in its appetite. It ought not,
however, to be forced to eat any particular article for which it is found that
there is an invincible dislike. Variety of diet is good for a child, after the
second or third year.

THE POSITION OF THE CHILD WHEN FED.

An infant, no matter how young, should not receive its meals when lying.
Its head should always be raised in the nurse's arm, if it be too young to
support it itself. The practice of jolting and dandling the infant after eating
is a wrong one. Rest of the body should be secured by placing the child on a
bed, or holding it on the mother's knee, for a half hour or so. Observe the
inclination which all animals show for repose and sleep after a full repast,
and respect the same inclination in the infant.
In our remarks upon bathing we pointed out the importance of the mother
herself performing for her child this office. So again, in connection with
children's food, we must notice the necessity of the mother being always
present at their meals, in order that they may be taught to take them quietly,
with cleanliness and without hurry. Such advice is not needed by the poor
nor by women of moderate fortune, who ordinarily have their children
constantly under their eyes. But affluence brings with it many occupations

which are frequently deemed of more moment than presiding over a child's
dinner.

CONCERNING SLEEP IN EARLY LIFE.

There is a natural desire for much sleep during infancy, childhood, and
youth; and there is reason for its free indulgence. Infants pass the greater
portion of both day and night in sleep. Children up to the age of six years
require, as a rule, twelve hours of repose at night, besides an hour or more
in the middle of the day. About the sixth year the noon nap may be
discontinued, but the night sleep ought not to be abridged before the tenth
year, and then only to a moderate extent until the age of puberty. From this
time the period of slumber may be gradually reduced to nine or ten hours.
No further diminution should be attempted until the completion of growth,
when another hour or two may be taken away, leaving about eight hours of
daily sleep as the proper amount during middle life.
It is wrong, therefore, to wake a young child in the morning. It should be
allowed to sleep as long as it will, which will be until the wants of the
system are satisfied, if it be not aroused by noise or light.
When after a few months the infant is awake a considerable portion of
the day, it should be brought into the habit of taking its second sleep near
the middle of the day, say from eleven to one o'clock, and again, from half
an hour to an hour, about three o'clock. It should not be permitted a nap
later than this in the afternoon, as it would be very apt to cause a disturbed
night. Although some physicians recommend that the sleep during the day
be discontinued after the infant has attained the age of fifteen months, the
wisdom of such advice may well be doubted. As soon as the child begins to
walk, not only are its movements very constant and active, but its mind is
busily employed and its nervous system excited. It therefore thrives better if
its day be divided into two by sleep for an hour or two.
Should the infant sleep alone?—We have mentioned the danger of being
overlain to which it is exposed when in bed with its mother or nurse. On the
other hand, it must be remembered that an infant keeps warm with difficulty
even when well covered, and that contact with the mother's body is the best
way of securing its own warmth. Hence, during the first months the child

had better be allowed to sleep with its mother. How, then, can the risk of
being suffocated, which is no imaginary one, be lessened? The following
rules are those given by a physician of reputation, to prevent an infant from
being accidentally overlain.
'Let the baby while asleep have plenty of room in the bed. Do not allow
him to be too near, or, if this be unavoidable from the small size of the bed,
let his face be turned to the opposite side. Let him lie fairly, either on his
side or on his back. Be careful to ascertain that his mouth be not covered
with the bed-clothes. Do not smother his face with clothes, as a plentiful
supply of pure air is as necessary as when he is awake. Never let him lie
low in the bed. Let there be no pillow near the one his head is resting on,
lest he roll to it and bury his head in it. Remember a young child has neither
the strength nor the sense to get out of danger; and if he unfortunately either
turn on his face or bury his head in a pillow that is near, the chances are that
he will be suffocated, more especially as these accidents usually occur at
night, when the mother or the nurse is fast asleep. Never entrust him at
night to a young, giddy, and thoughtless servant. A foolish mother
sometimes goes to sleep while allowing her child to continue sucking. The
unconscious babe, after a time, loses the nipple, and buries his head in the
bed-clothes. She awakes in the morning, finding, to her horror, a corpse by
her side! A mother ought therefore never to go to sleep until her child has
ceased sucking.'
When a couple of months have elapsed, the child, if a healthy one, may
sleep alone. What the child sleeps in is not a matter of great moment,
provided it has a sufficiency of clothing, and be not exposed to currents of
air. A large clothes-basket will serve all the purposes of a crib. The mistake
is often made of burying the child under too heavy a mass of bed-clothes in
a warm room when asleep. And this inconsistency is committed by the very
mothers who scantily clad the child during the day in order to inure it to the
cold. The great transition from its wrappings by night to those by day is
injurious to the health and comfort of the infant.
'In arranging night coverings, the soft feather-bed is very often estimated
as nothing; or, in other words, the same provision of blankets is considered
indispensable, whether we lie upon a hard mattress or immersed in down.
The mother, looking only to the covering laid over the child, forgets those

on which it lies, although in reality the latter may be the warmer of the two.
An infant deposited in a downy bed has at least two-thirds of its body in
contact with the feathers, and may thus be perspiring at every pore, when,
from its having only a single covering thrown over it, the mother may
imagine it to be enjoying the restorative influence of agreeable slumber. In
hot weather much mischief might be done by an oversight of this kind.'
It is of course essential to the health and comfort of the infant that its bed
and bed-clothing be kept perfectly dry and sweet. They should frequently be
taken out and exposed to the air.
A child should be accustomed early to sleep in a darkened room. Plutarch
praises the women of Sparta for, among other things, teaching their children
not to be afraid in the dark. He says they 'were so careful and expert, that
without swaddling-bands their children were all straight and well
proportioned; and they brought them up not to be afraid in the dark or of
being alone, and never indulged them in crying, fretfulness, and ill-humour;
upon which account Spartan nurses were often bought by people of other
countries.'
Position in sleeping.—It has long been a popular opinion that the
position of our bodies at night, with reference to the cardinal points of the
compass, has some influence on the health. This belief has recently been
corroborated by some observations made by a prominent physician, Dr.
Henry Kennedy. In an essay on the 'Acute Affections of Children,'
published in the Dublin Quarterly Journal of Medical Science, he states that
for several years he has put in force in his practice a plan of treatment by
means of the position of the patient, and often with very marked results. He
asserts that, in order to ensure the soundest sleep, the head should lie to the
north. Strange as this idea may at first sight appear, it has more in it than
might be supposed. There are known to be great electrical currents always
coursing in one direction around the globe. In the opinion of Dr. Kennedy
there is no doubt that our nervous systems are in some mysterious way
connected with this universal agent, as it may be called, electricity. He
relates several cases of acute diseases in children, in which, by altering the
position of the body so that the patient should lie from north to south
instead of from east to west, quiet sleep was induced. This plan of invoking
sleep is often successful; but not always so, for all are not equally

susceptible. It applies likewise to adults. It is not so striking in its effects on
the poorer as on the richer classes of society. This is what might be
expected, for it cannot be doubted that the nervous system in the middle and
upper ranks is always in a much more sensitive state than with their poorer
brethren. It is worth noting, that even in healthy persons sleep will often be
absent or of a broken kind, from the cause of which we are now speaking. It
is very common to hear people saying they can never sleep in a strange bed.
Although many causes may conspire to this, Dr. Kennedy cannot doubt that
amongst these ought to be placed the one to which we are now drawing
attention.

THE CLOTHING OF INFANTS AND YOUNG CHILDREN.

A fertile cause of disease and death is to be found in the negligence or
ignorance displayed in regard to the dress of children. And it is not the
poorly attired, but nearly always the fashionably robed child, which suffers
the most. To parental vanity can be traced many a catarrh on the chest or the
inflammation of the bowels which has resulted in death. Most mothers
appear to be ignorant of the fact that children are exceedingly susceptible to
the influence of cold. The returns of the Registrar-General of England show
that a very cold week always greatly increases the mortality of the very
young. While adults carefully protect themselves against every change of
the weather, and against currents of air, children, who most need such
protection, are too often neglected.
The warmth of the infant's body is best secured by that of the nurse, and
by warm clothing. It is more effectually and healthfully provided for in this
manner than by confining the child to a warm atmosphere. Young children
should never be dressed décolleté—in low necks and short sleeves. That
fashion is a dangerous one which leaves the neck, shoulders, and arms
uncovered. To this irrational custom may be traced a vast amount of the
suffering and many of the deaths of early life; doubtless, also, in many
cases it lays the foundation of consumption, which manifests itself a little
later. But, it is said, the child will be 'hardened' by having its chest and
limbs thus exposed. The surest and safest way to harden the child is to so
care for it that it shall pass through its first months and years of life without
any ailment. Every mother should see to it, that her charge is so clothed that

every part of the body is effectually protected from dampness and cold. She
can then best secure for it a hardened constitution by carrying it daily into
the sunlight of the open air.
The material of the clothing should be such as will unite lightness with
warmth. Flannel and calico are therefore to be preferred. At first, as the skin
of the child is very delicate, a shirt of fine linen may be interposed between
it and the flannel. But, after the first few months, the gentle friction of fine
soft flannel next the skin is desirable, as it stimulates the circulation of the
blood on the surface of the body, and promotes health. Flannel under-
clothing should be continued all the year, during the summer months a very
light texture being used. When the dress of the child is shortened, care must
be taken that the feet are well covered with soft stockings of cotton or
woollen (which in winter should extend up above the knees), and with light
leather shoes.
The night-dress, at least during cold weather, is best made of flannel, thin
or thick according to the climate. It has been recommended that, after the
child is somewhat advanced, the night-clothes be constructed in the form of
night-pants, so that it may not be exposed if the bed-clothing be thrown off.
Every article of dress worn during the day ought to be removed at night.
The rule in regard to the quantity of clothing is, that it should be in
sufficient amount to preserve due warmth. It must therefore be regulated by
the season of the year and the state of the weather. We have mentioned the
fatal practice of leaving bare at all seasons of the year the upper part of the
chest and arms of the little one, while the rest of the body is warmly clad.
We can scarcely speak too emphatically nor too often of the danger to
which the mother thus exposes that life, which it is her duty to wisely and
safely conduct through the period of dependent infancy and childhood. It is
of course possible for the child to be too closely enveloped, and the skin
thus rendered highly susceptible to the impressions of cold. The prevalent
error, however, at the present time, is in the direction of too scanty clothing.
The make of the dress should be loose and easy, so as to permit of the free
movement of all portions of the body; it should be cut high in the neck, and
with sleeves to the wrists; its construction should be simple, so that it may
be quickly put off and on; and the fastenings employed should, as far as

possible, be tapes, not pins. In the clothing of children the laws of hygiene,
and not the code of fashion, should direct the shape and style.

THE BATHING OF INFANTS AND YOUNG CHILDREN.

Many advantages attach to the daily use of the bath for infants. It secures
cleanliness, strengthens the nervous system, and preserves from colds and
coughs.
We have already endeavoured to impress upon the mind of the reader the
great susceptibility to cold which exists in early life. On this account the
water for the bath should be warm (96° or 98°) for the first few weeks of
infancy, especially during the winter season. Gradually the temperature may
be reduced to that of the apartment, never to actual coldness. It is as foolish
and hazardous to attempt to 'harden' infants by plunging them into cold
water, as it is by carrying them with uncovered necks, chests, and limbs into
the keen and damp air. Knowledge of these facts would bring safety to
many children who now suffer, because of the dangerous ignorance of
mothers in regard to the susceptibility of the infant organisation.
An infant should be immersed in its tub every morning. Besides the
regular morning bath, it is often advisable to put the child for a few minutes
in tepid water in the evening. This will quiet the nervous system, and induce
sleep. The bath should not be too long a one, for fear of exciting
perspiration; nor, for the same reason, should the water be too warm. If the
child be of a delicate constitution, the evening bath will be especially
useful, and can be made more so by the addition of two table-spoonfuls of
salt to the water necessary for the bath.
The time immediately after nursing or feeding is not proper for bathing.
An hour or two after a meal should be allowed to elapse. Neither should a
bath ever be given in a cold room. Even in a warm atmosphere, care should
be taken, both after and during the ablution, that the wet skin of the infant
be not exposed to the air. Its body should be completely immersed; it should
not be held up out of the water, nor, if it be old enough, allowed to stand or
sit in the tub. It is well also to have a warm blanket in which to receive the
child as it comes dripping from the bath. It should be wrapped up in this for

a few minutes, to absorb a part of the moisture. Then a portion of the body
should be uncovered at a time, and dried before exposing the rest.
Drying the skin.—For this purpose a piece of soft flannel will be found
serviceable. By gently rubbing the surface of the body with it the skin will
be warmed and stimulated, and the resulting glow will be as agreeable to
the child as is that in the adult which follows the Turkish bath. The actual
grooming of the human body is very useful to improve the health of
scrofulous children.
At first from three to five minutes will be a sufficiently long immersion.
In a little while, however, this period may be lengthened, all the precautions
mentioned against injurious exposure being observed.
The lukewarm daily bath, taken either in the morning or evening, ought
to be continued until at least the age of four years. If, after the fourth or fifth
year, ablutions of the entire body be resorted to only every second or third
day, the practice should be commenced of sponging the chest every
morning with cold, or alternately with cold and hot water, followed by brisk
frictions.
Soap is to be used but sparingly in the bath of young children. It must be
of the blandest and purest quality. Various eruptions are caused by the
employment of impure soaps, and even by the excessive application of the
best kind.
In illustration of the importance of our present subject, we may state that
Dr. Hufeland, to whose admirable work on the art of prolonging life we
have before alluded, lays down, as one of the means which lengthen life,
the care of the skin. He dwells upon the benefit of paying such attention to
it from infancy that it may be kept in a lively, active, and useful condition.
The power of the bath to ward off disease in childhood is not sufficiently
appreciated by parents. Properly managed, it soothes, but never increases,
any internal irritation which may exist, and often does away with the
necessity of resorting to the administration of drugs. If due attention were
paid to the condition of the skin in early life, many of the most common
ailments of childhood would be averted. The daily employment of the bath,
and scrupulous attention to cleanliness of the person and clothing, would

materially lessen the demand both for purgative medicines and for soothing
syrups.
One word more in regard to the washing of the infant. The mother
herself, if she be in health, should always perform this office, and not
entrust it to the child's nurse. Plutarch awards high praise to Cato the
censor, for his invariable custom of being present when his child was
washed. Every mother, at least, would do well to follow the example of this
old Roman. It will give her the opportunity to detect many incipient
affections which would for a long while escape her attention if she saw the
child only when dressed. The mother will also take pains to engage the
mind of the little one, and render the bath a source of amusement to it.
After the fourth or fifth year, two or three baths a week during the colder
seasons of the year will be sufficient to keep the skin clean, and properly
active. During the summer, however, a daily bath is of great advantage to
children, and ought not to be neglected.
Swimming is very useful and very invigorating to the health of both
sexes. It is desirable that children be taught this art.
The importance of the culture of the skin to the well-being of infancy and
childhood cannot be brought too prominently to the notice of all mothers.
We have therefore endeavoured to give some useful hints in regard both to
the preservation of its cleanliness, and to the prevention, by means of
garments and warming, of its exposure to too great changes of temperature.
By proper attention to the skin in the manner pointed out, many of the
eruptions with which children are afflicted might be prevented. The
appearance of these the mother ought to regard as a great calamity, for they
are often difficult of cure, and render the child an object of disgust. She
ought also to look upon them as the mischievous consequences of the
neglect of those laws of health which it is her duty to learn and observe.

AIR AND VENTILATION IN CHILDHOOD.

Fresh air is necessary for the robust development of infancy and
childhood. Infants born in the summer season should be carried out daily
when the weather is pleasant, from the second or third day after birth. Those

born in the winter should be kept in the house for two or three months
before being introduced to the outer world on some sunny noonday. Older
children can scarcely pass too much time in the open air.
A change in the dress must, of course, be made before exposing the child
to the outdoor air. The head should be covered, and the chest and limbs well
protected from the cold.
As a rule, a child ought to be carried out, or permitted, when old enough,
to walk out, at least once every pleasant day during the year. The time of the
day is to be varied with the season. In the winter, the middle of the day is to
be chosen; in summer, the early portion of the forenoon, a few hours after
sunrise.
Children show very quickly, even when in ill-health, the beneficial
results of a ride or walk. It quiets the irritability to which they are liable,
more effectually than any other procedure. For a delicate child, or one
recovering from sickness, fresh air and sunshine are the best tonics which
can be administered. A fretful, peevish child will soon learn to look forward
to its daily jaunt on the street or road, and will be quieted by it for the rest
of the day.
At all times of the year regard must be had to the state of the weather.
The infant ought never to be taken out on a wet day. Exposure to a damp
atmosphere is one of the most powerful causes of catarrh on the chest and
inflammation of the lungs, to which young children are so subject. A very
high wind, even though the day be bright and dry, is injurious to a young
infant, as it has been known to suspend its breathing for a time, which
accident might, if not at once observed, bring about a fatal result.
Besides fresh air, light is an indispensable requisite to the health of
children. Nothing can compensate for the absence of its beneficial effects. It
is to be remembered, however, that during the first week or two the eyes of
the new-born babe are not strong enough to bear the full glare of light. The
first eight days of its existence should be spent in a half-darkened room.
Gradually the apartment may be brightened, until finally, after about two
weeks, the young eyes become entirely accustomed to the light, and may be
exposed to it without injury. A neglect of this precaution is one of the most
common causes of the bad inflammation of the eyes so frequently met with

among young infants. After the sight has become quite strong, a bright
room will strengthen the eyes, not weaken them; for light is the natural
stimulant of the eye, as exercise is of the muscles, or food of the stomach.
Scrofulous diseases are the heritage of those children who are deprived of
a plentiful supply of pure air and light. A distinguished writer upon the laws
of health ascribes to the careful avoidance of the salutary influence of air
and light by so many young girls, who are fearful of walking out while the
sun is powerful, much of their sickly appearance, the loss of consistency of
their bones, and their being able to afford but a deformed temple to the
immortal soul.
Humboldt states that, during a five years' residence in South America, he
never saw any national deformity amongst the men or women belonging to
the Carif, Muyscas, Indian, Mexican, or Peruvian races. If parents in our
own country were to accustom their daughters from an early age to daily
exercise in the open air and sunlight, there would be fewer weak backs
requiring the support of apparatus from the surgical-instrument maker, and
less pallor in lips and cheeks to be remedied by iron from the shop of the
apothecary.

EXERCISE IN CHILDHOOD.

The first exercise which a child obtains, is had of course in its nurse's
arms. Are there any directions, then, to be noticed in regard to the manner
of carrying an infant?—Dr. Eberle gives the following useful advice upon
this subject:—'The spine and its muscles seldom acquire sufficient strength
and firmness before the end of the third month to enable the child to support
its body in an upright position without inconvenience or risk of injury. Until
this power is manifestly acquired, the infant should not be carried or
suffered to sit with its body erect, without supporting it in such a manner as
to lighten the pressure made on the spine, and aid it in maintaining the
upright posture of its head and trunk; therefore, at first (a few days after
birth), the infant should be taken from its cradle or bed two or three times
daily and laid on its back upon a pillow, and carried gently about the
chamber. After the third or fourth week, the child may be carried in a
reclining posture on the arms of a careful nurse, in such a manner as to
afford entire support both to body and head. This may be done by reclining

the infant upon the forearm, the hand embracing the upper and posterior
part of the thighs, whilst its body and head are supported by resting against
the breast and arm of the nurse. When held in this way, it may be gently
moved from side to side, or up and down, while it is carefully carried
through a well-ventilated room.'
After the child is three months old, it will probably have become strong
enough to maintain itself in a sitting position. It may then be carried about
in this upright posture, with the spine and head carefully supported by the
nurse, which aid ought not to be withdrawn until the age of six or seven
months.
'In lifting young children,' as has been well observed by Dr. Barlow, 'the
nurse should be very careful never to lay hold of them by the arms, as is
sometimes thoughtlessly done; but always to place the hands, one on each
side of the chest, immediately below the armpits. In infancy the sockets of
the joints are so shallow, and the bones so feebly bound down and
connected with each other, that dislocation and even fracture of the collar-
bone may easily be produced by neglecting this rule. For the same reason, it
is a bad custom to support a child by one or even by both arms, when he
makes his first attempt to walk. The grand aim which the child has in view,
is to preserve his equilibrium. If he is partially supported by one arm, the
body inclines to one side, and the attitude is rendered most unfavorable to
the preservation of his natural balance; and consequently, the moment the
support is in the least relaxed, the child falls over and is caught up with a
jerk. Even when held by both arms, the attitude is unnatural and
unfavorable to the speedy attainment of the object. To assist the child, we
ought to place one hand on each side of the chest in such a way as to give
the slightest possible support, and to be ready instantly to give more if he
lose his balance. When this plan is followed, all the attitudes and efforts of
the child are in a natural direction; and success is attained not only sooner,
but more gracefully, than by any ill-judged support given to one side.
'There is one very common mode of exercising infants, which we think
deserves particular notice: we mean the practice of hoisting or raising them
aloft in the air. This practice is of such venerable antiquity, and so universal,
that it would be vain to impugn it. The pleasure, too, which most children
evince under it, seems to show that it cannot be so objectionable as a

cursory observer would be disposed to consider it. Still there are hazards
which ought not to be overlooked. The risk of accident is one of some
amount: children have slipped from the hands, and sustained serious injury.
Some people are so energetic as to throw up children and catch them in
descending. This rashness there can be no hesitation in reprobating; for,
however confident the person may be of not missing his hold, there must
ever be risks of injury from the concussion suffered in the descent, and even
from the firmness of the grasp necessary for recovering and maintaining the
hold. The motion of the body, too, has a direct tendency to induce vertigo;
and when the liability of the infant brain to congestion and its consequences
is considered, when the frequency of hydrocephalus in infants is borne in
mind, an exercise which impels blood to the brain will not be regarded as
wholly insignificant. There is one more objection which seems not to have
attracted attention. The hold taken of the child in the act of hoisting him is
by the hand grasping the chest. The fingers and thumb, placed on each side
of the breast-bone, compress the ribs; and any one with the hand so placed
will at once perceive that if the pressure were strong, and the resistance
from the elasticity of the ribs weak, the impression on the chest resulting
would correspond exactly with the deformity named chicken-breast. That
any force is ever used capable of inducing speedily such a change, is in the
highest degree improbable; but that reiterated pressure of this kind, however
slight, would in a weakly child have power to impress and distort the chest,
few, we imagine, will doubt.'

LEARNING TO WALK.

When two or three months old, the infant may be placed on a soft
mattress upon the floor or on the carpet. He can then toss his limbs about
without danger, and develope the powers of his muscular system.
'The best mode of teaching a child how to walk,' says Dr. Bull, 'is to let it
teach itself; and this it will do readily enough. It will first learn to crawl:
this exercises every muscle in the body, does not fatigue the child, throws
no weight upon the bones, but imparts vigor and strength, and is thus highly
useful. After a while, having the power, it will wish to do more. It will
endeavor to lift itself upon its feet by the aid of a chair; and though it fail
again and again in its attempts, it will still persevere until it accomplish it.

By this, it learns first to raise itself from the floor; and secondly, to stand,
but not without keeping hold of the object on which it has seized. Next it
will balance itself without holding, and will proudly and laughingly show
that it can stand alone. Fearful, however, as yet of moving its limbs without
support, it will seize a chair or anything else near it, when it will dare to
advance as far as the limits of its support will permit. This little adventure
will be repeated day after day with increased exultation; when, after
numerous trials, he will feel confident of his power to balance himself, and
he will run alone. Now time is required for this gradual self-teaching,
during which the muscles and bones become strengthened; and when at last
called upon to sustain the weight of the body, are fully capable of doing so.'
It is not merely want of strength which prevents an infant from walking
at first. The natural shape of the legs renders it impossible. The feet are
turned in so that the inner sides look upwards. When placed upon its feet,
therefore, the soles will not rest upon the ground. In a short time the
position of the feet changes, and they become fitted for the purposes of
support and locomotion. When he begins to walk, the child should have
shoes with tolerably broad soles, which ought to be at least half an inch
longer than the foot.
The first efforts of the little one to support and propel itself are to be
carefully watched, but not unnecessarily interfered with; neither frightened
by expressions of fear, nor rendered timid by too frequent warnings.

ADVANTAGES OF GAMES AND PLAYS.

The first seven years of life should be one grand holiday for all sports
and amusements which will bring into play the muscles, and divert at the
same time the mind. Time cannot be more usefully employed than in thus
laying the foundation of health, upon which alone can rest the physical,
mental, and moral well-being of after-life.
No greater mistake can be made by parents than to deprive the young of
the innocent pleasures of childhood. Yet there are persons occasionally met
with who think it their duty to check the natural lightness and gaiety of
heart of their children for fear that they shall become too fond of pleasure.

In this way great harm is done to both mind and body, and the very fault
created which it is desired to avoid.
The wise parent sees in the games and plays of childhood not only
necessary recreation and exercise, but a valuable means of education—of
moral, mental, and physical training. He also seeks to impress early upon
the young mind that play is most enjoyed when it has been earned by work,
and that pleasure flies from those who continually pursue it.
The faculties of memory and attention can be called upon and developed
by proper games in a most satisfactory manner. These exercises are all the
more effective because the pleasure conceals, as it were, the mental labor,
and the intellectual efforts are made, in a sense, unconsciously, though none
the less efficiently.
Certain plays form a valuable means of educating the eyes and other
senses. Such, for instance, are the toys which represent objects of natural
history or of different trades and arts; the pictures which teach through the
quick eye of the child what no dry descriptions could ever convey; and the
games which develope closeness of observation and habits of order. A
genial French physician has happily said, 'Every time I see a toy based on
the reproduction of a scientific fact or of an industrial process, and which
pleases while it enlightens, I feel a sentiment of real gratitude to him who
has designed it.'
We are glad to see that each year more and more attention is being paid
to the utilization, as it were, of the games of infancy. Although all education
can never be made a play, all play can be made an effective education. Do
not therefore, reader, restrict the games of your children, but direct them; do
not render them less amusing, but seek to make them more instructive.
The schooling afforded by instructive plays should be the only schooling
of the first seven years of life. Late springs produce the most abundant
harvests in the mind as in the field. Precocious and delicate children
especially should be kept from a too early and close application to books.
By means of healthful and instructive games and sports; by visits to
workshops and factories where familiar objects are made; and by a
cultivation of the sense of the beautiful in nature and art, more can be done
towards securing a sound mind in a sound body than by the easier and more

common method of sending the child to school almost as soon as it can
walk.

IMPORTANCE OF TEACHING CHILDREN HYGIENIC
HABITS.

The force of habits should never be lost sight of by those having the
charge of children. They constitute a power of which parents should early
avail themselves. J. J. Rousseau has said, 'The only habit which one ought
to permit the child, is of not contracting any.' But this is impossible and
undesirable. When it is remembered that a good habit is just as hard to
break as a bad one, the importance of seeking from the very cradle to frame
good habits is evident. It is easy to create, but difficult to reform. What then
are some of the principal hygienic habits which it is desirable to teach
children?
First we will mention, a liking for proper food at regular times. The
indigestion, or weakness of digestion, from which many children suffer, is
in some cases hereditary or the result of feeble health. But most frequently
it is the effect of bad management. The giving to the child of pastry and
cakes at meals instead of simple and nutritious food, the encouragement of
capriciousness of appetite instead of teaching it to like everything that is
healthful, and the neglect to inculcate the habit of eating at regular hours,
these are the principal causes of many cases of diarrhœa, vomitings, weak
appetite, colicky pains, and indigestion among children.
The daily use of at least a sponge-bath of the entire person is an excellent
habit. Cold water should be employed after the fifth or sixth year. This
simple practice of a cold sponge-bath every morning, if more generally
taught children, would avert many a cold and rheumatic attack in after life.
The habit of quenching the thirst with only simple drinks, milk and water,
should be early and thoroughly formed. No American mother would think
of giving spirits to her child, excepting under medical advice; but many
permit almost from infancy the use of tea and coffee. These drinks are not
only unnecessary in childhood, but to a certain extent injurious. They excite
the nervous system and disorder the digestion. Before the age of puberty,
neither tea nor coffee should be allowed.

ON THE TRAINING OF THE SPECIAL SENSES.

The special senses, sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch, have been
called the windows of the soul, by which it observes what passes without.
The most noble and intellectual of these are the sight and hearing. Neither
of them receives the attention at the hands of parents and educators which it
should. Indeed, the Indians who yet inhabit our western plains, have better
eyes and ears than we. The reason of this is evident. The savage is obliged
to make other use of his eyes than to dreamily admire the beautiful
landscape, and other use of his ears than to listen to the singing of birds and
the murmuring of wind and stream. These senses are the defenders of his
life. He depends upon them for food, clothing, and protection against his
enemies. Hence, urged by necessity, he trains them from infancy, and brings
them to a perfection which astonishes us. It will be said, however, that we
in our civilized life, have no need of any such acuteness of sense. True, but
we cannot avoid the consciousness that our organs of sight and hearing do
not afford us the service they ought, and that they commence to fail us too
early. The remedy is to be sought in the training of the special senses in
early life. These senses, which are the first of our faculties to form and
develope, should be the first to be educated; yet, as has been well said, they
are nearly the only ones which are forgotten, or at least they are the most
neglected.
The education of a sense has been compared to the education of a child,
—it has its physical, its intellectual, and its moral side. It is necessary to
maintain the organ in a condition of health in order that it may perform its
work well; this is the physical education of the sense. The mind must learn
to properly elaborate the impressions thus conveyed to it, this is the
intellectual education of the sense. Finally, in the service of morality and
justice, these impressions ought to be turned to the advantage of the good
and the beautiful, this is the moral education of the sense. The subject of the
training of the special senses is therefore, when properly viewed, a serious
and most important one. It might well demand more attention at our hands
than we have space to give it here. We will make our remarks as concise
and practical as possible commencing first with

THE TRAINING OF THE SENSE OF SIGHT.

A recent French writer on the hygiene of the sight has brought forward
striking evidence in support of his statement, that in our time the sense of
sight is growing markedly weaker. The number of the near-sighted is
augmenting, as is also the number of those who become 'far-sighted' before
old age. Cases of debility and disease of the eyes seem to be multiplying at
a rate which should awaken general attention to this matter. The causes are
to be found in the neglect, often the hurtful management, of the eyesight of
children; in the influence of improperly regulating artificial light; and in the
injury done by bad printer's ink and paper.
In the education of the child's eyesight, acuteness of vision is one of the
first objects to be sought for. That this is largely a matter of training is
apparent from the fact that persons in certain professions can readily
distinguish objects too small or too distant for ordinary eyes. Children
brought up in the country or at the sea-side, have a power of vision
unknown to city children, with their limited range of observation. But it is
not only necessary that the eyes should be able to make out the forms of
distant or small objects, but that they should be quick to detect shades of
color and delicacies of outline. The child should be stimulated and
encouraged to make efforts in this direction. Here, also, there is room for
the skill of the intelligent toy-maker, for toys can be made very useful
educators.
One of the forms of sensorial memory which it is most desirable to
develope is that of objects seen, that is to say, the fixing in the thoughts, to
be brought up before the mind's eye when wanted, the recollection of visual
impressions. This embraces the memory of forms, of dimensions, of the
relations between various objects and between different parts of the same
object, and of colors. When applied to places it is what is known as local
memory, applied to the human face, it is the memory of physiognomy;
applied to objects, it is graphic or descriptive memory; applied to colors, it
is chromatic memory.
Local memory is sometimes developed to an extraordinary degree. It is
only necessary for some persons to have once traversed a locality, a street, a
city, in order to preserve of it a most minute and vivid recollection. This
topographical memory is enjoyed by a number of the inferior animals; the
elephant, the dog, and the horse, for instance, are well-known as being