WQ H739ma 1883
NLM  D5EMM7E3  5

   NATIONAL LIBRARY OF MEDICINE

  MECItmi
1600 ROCRVILLE NKI
BETHESDA, MARYLAND  20014
NLM052447235 
 
 
A 
 
                      THE


 MARRIAGE    GUIDE,

                       OR

    PHYSIOLOGICAL AND HYGIENIC

                INSTRUCTOR,


  FOR THE MARRIED, OR THOSE INTENDING TO
                    MARRY,

           BOTH MALE AND FEMALE.

  INCLUDING EVERYTHING RELATING TO THE PHILOSOPHY OF GENER-
    ATION, AND THE MUTUAL RELATIONS OF MAN AND WOMAN.


                ILL US TRA TED BY
  umerous Engravings and Colored Plates, giving every necessary
                 A natomical detail.


         By  DR.   F.   HOLLICK,
Author and Lecturer upon  the  Physiology and Derangements oj
                the Generative System.
              BOOth  EDITION

REVISED, AND WITH NEW MATTER AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
              New York :

EXCELSIOR  PUBLISHING HOUSE,

        29 and 31 Bbekman Street. 
uuq
HlS9,
/>n^
I
     ItMvmt imordlac to Act of Congnm, In the jtmi IM, \

          Bt FREDERICK HOLLICK, M.D.,

In Um CU-i • Office of the District Coait of th* Dotted SUrtw
        for the Southern District of New York.
    Copyright 1883, by

DR.  F.  HOLLICK.

   All Rights Reserved
Copyright 1877, by F. Hollick.
■MKSAl  LIBRARY  QF


•600  ROSXYFUE  PIKE

BETHESD.l.  MARYLAND   20014
 » B.—I'ble Book ib tne only etnctly scientific, popuiar, an<? prac
tieatty tutful one of the kind ever published. The price of it is On*
fkdiar, and it may be obtained of the Publisher or of bookiie!U«*
generally. 
         PREFACE

AND HISTORICAL SUMMARY.
  At the  commencement of my medical career circum
stances  led me into the study of the Generative System
its Anatomy, Physiology, and Diseases ;  and this became,
subsequently,  a specialty with me, both as a matter of
scientific pursuit and as a particular subject of medical
practice.  All  my life since has been devoted to the same
pursuit, and my practice has been almost exclusively con-
nected with diseases of the Reproductive Organs, in men
and women.
  I have,  therefore, had much opportunity for acquiring
knowledge on such matters, and have endeavored, as far
as I could, to turn that opportunity to good account.  By
means of careful observations, both in human beings and
animals, and by dissections  and regular experiments in
every practicable way, it has always been an object with
me to learn as much  as possible of the  great mystery of
Generation!   This knowledge   I  sought  not only as a
medical man,  to enable me  to mitigate  human suffering,
or to fulfill legitimate human hopes, but because it is in-
tensely interesting in itself, and of immense importance
to the human race in  many ways.
  The further my  study and practice extended, the more
I became convinced that this subject was one of the most
important, medically and  morally, that could possibly
engage our attention, and yet at the same time the most
neglected,  and the  least understood.   The  conclusion
forced itself upon  me that the prevailing ignorance in re-
gard  to sexual  matters, and the  consequent  errors  of
thought and conduct thereupon, is the real cause of the
most serious physical and moral evils that afflict society.
   Having come to this conclusion, it became at once  a
duty with me  to try and remove that ignorance,  and then
the  question  arose, how this could best be effected ?  I
made it a point to consult all those whom I came in con-
                                      sul) 
rv
PREFACE.
tact with, who took  an interest in  human welfare, as to
the best steps to be taken.   I spoke with Lawyers, Clergy-
men, experienced Judges, Teachers, and Medical Men of
liberal views, and they one and all agreed, with me. that
a certain amount of  knowledge concerning the Anatomy
and  Physiology of  the human body, in  both  sexes, was
the first thing needed.  A celebrated professor in one of
our colleges made  the remark, " What is the use of talk-
ing to a man about the proper care and use of that which
he knows nothing about?"  This is true enough, and all
our moral teaching and appeals to the fears of people in
regard to sexual wrong-doing, will have but little practical
effect in correcting  sexual evils, so long  as  people  are
so shamefully ignorant in regard to their own  sexual nat-
ures.   Another one  made the equally true remark, that
" All human beings, from the necessities of nature, must
be more or  less occupied, in thought,  about sexual mat-
ters.  It is impossible to prevent this,  nor is it necessary
to do so ; all that  is needed  is to guide their thoughts
aright, and  to give  early enough, in a  proper manner,
that  knowledge which is the  surest safeguard  against er-
rors of conduct."
  A little reflection will show the common-sense value of
this remark.  The most ignorant man is as full of thought
about sexual matters as he  who is well informed about
them, perhaps more  so.  The difference simply is that
the well-informed man has correct ideas—knows the truth
—while the ignorant  man has his  mind  filled  with  all
kinds of errors and absurdities.
  Unfortunately the view has been  held, and  is  now, by
many well-meaning  people, that this state  of ignorance
is in some way favorable to morality, and necessary to the
general well-being !   These people  think ignorance .and
innocence are the same  thing, and that a man  is more
likely to walk straight if left  in the dark than  if .you give
him a light.
  My experience, however, has convinced me that the
less we  know about  anything which interests us deeply,
the more active is the imagination  about it, and that no
explanation  of a natural function, if properly given,  will
ever injure any one either morally or physically.  On the
contrary, such explanations very frequently are the only
means by which we can correct the evils caused by insane
fancy, urged on  by blind  passion.   As a rule, ignorance 
PREFACE.
^
on sexual matters results in either prurience or prudery,
and is never either necessary or conducive to true inno*
cence.
  Knowing, however, the prevalence of mistaken views
on these matters and foreseeing also the opposition of
many whose interests would be imperiled, as they think,
by  popular enlightenment  on such  subjects, I was well
aware of the difficulties before me.   And let "me  remind
my readers that these difficulties were much greater, even
a few years ago, than can well be conceived now.  It  was
scarcely possible  then, without obloquy, to  speak  or
write of the stomach or bowels even, in a popular manner !
Ho.v,  then, could the  sexual system be  popularly  ap-
proached ?  To attempt it was to fly in the face of a very
general popular prejudice, and to risk even legal penal.
ties. Nevertheless, I determined to make the attempt, hav-
ing the promises of numerous persons, eminent  in many
walks of life, to stand by me and support me  in  the un^
dertaking.   Contrary to what was then feared, the open
countenance  of these liberal and enlightened men was
not required, but 1 shall ever hold their names in grateful
remembrance.   Many of them are since  dead, but from
those still living, as well as from others, I constantly re-
ceive congratulations  and encouragement.
  The great practical  difficulty in the way of popular in-
struction in Anatomy and  Physiology lay in  obtaining
suitable objects with which to make the requisite explana-
tions understood.  Mere verbal explanations are of small
use,  and pictures only half explain.  Something is  re-
quired which will take the place of the dead body as used
by the student in the dissecting-room ;  actual dissection
before a popular  audience  being, of course, out  of  the
question.  Fortunately, during a visit to France, I  be-
came acquainted with  Dr. Auzou, and saw his wonderful
models of the  human  body, made of papier-niache, full-
sized, and formed and colored to life—so exact, in fact,
that  it might often be difficult to distinguish  the  model
from the real body.  Here, then, I found just what was
needed ; and I at once purchased a complete set suitable
for  my purposes,  consisting of  the human body, which
could be taken  to pieces,  and shown part by part,  ex-
ternally and  internally, all  molded and  colored true to
nature ; and also separate organs of the male and  female
generative system, with a  complete series showing  the 
VI
PREFACE.
development of  the  new being  in  the  womb  at  every
stage.   Besides these, I had a large number of paintings
and  plates, full  size,  and two complete  skeletons, male
and female.
  With these I undertook to give a complete course of
Popular Lectures on human Anatomy and Physiology in
New York—the first ones of  the kind, and the first ever
illustrated in this way.   Many of  my friends were doubt-
ful  as  to how they would be  received ; but I felt quite
sure in my own mind that if the subject were properly pre-
sented,  it would be properly received, and I had no mis-
givings.
  The  result more than justified  my anticipations.  The
Lectures were received with  unbounded favor, congratu-
lations and votes of  thanks being given me repeatedly,
and  request after request made for repetition ;  so that I
lectured in New York continuously, for over six months, to
crowded and enthusiastic audiences.
  Private Lectures were given, both to ladies and gentle-
men, on those topics that could not well be spoken of be-
fore a promiscuous  audience, and they were  as well at-
tended, and as much commended  as the others ; perhaps
even more so.   During the whole series  I never heard a
word of  disapprobation, nor  saw  nor heard the slightest
indication of impropriety in any way whatever.   In fact,
as one gentleman remarked, so far as lewdness was con-
cerned, the Lectures were more repressive and corrective
than any sermons he had ever listened to   To  show the
estimation in which they were held,  I will here quote a
few of  tne voluntary, unsolicited notices of them from the
New York Press, xm their first delivery :

  Dr.  Hollick and Physiology.—The second of  a series of
Lectures,  by this gentleman, on  human physiology and all the
important truths connected with our  physical constitution, was
attended by a full house, in National Hall, last evening.  The
time was well spent, and so appeared to think the audience.  On
the  delivery of the first of these  Lectures on Tuesday evening,
the  speaker, in a comprehensive and well-digested exordium,
placed himself and the subject right with the public.  His man-
ner, language, and style did the first;  his sound logic, his argu-
ment, his candor and research accomplished the second.  Apart
from the interesting and apposite  details of the wonders of repro-
duction, the illustrations of the  immutable wisdom of  nature
which teem in the animal and vegetable worlds—which 
PREFACE.
vil
       " Glows in each stem, and blossoms in each tree ;
         Lives through all life, and extends through all extent,
         Spreads undivided, operates unspent1'—

•part from all this, Dr. Hollick's Lecture was excellent as a de-
fence of truth, a vindication of the right of  free and unshackeled
inquiry, and as a convincing refutation of that  silly, but  far too
prevalent opinion that there are truths of which it is better to re-
main in a state of ignorance.   Had nothing else  been imparted
in the forcible and well-defined exordium of Dr. Hollick than this
judicious demolition of that fallacious, silly, but injurious twaddle
which would forbid research to pass in advance of the old land-
marks prescribed by custom, ignorance, or a spurious morality—
even that would well deserve the public patronage.  Truths, well
set forth, will make an impression, whether their investigation be
fashionable or not.  There is an affinity between the capacity to
learn and the truths to be learned, which always results,  when a
fitting opportunity is presented, in a free inquiry; and the gen-
tleman who is bringing, in  a  judicious and elevated manner, a
knowledge of  those fundamental  principles of our corporeal ex-
istence which are abused because unknown, will accomplish more
good than  half a dozen teachers of higher pretensions and lower
ability.   It was  gratifying to observe the decorum, the sense of
respect for both  speaker and subject, that was observed through-
out the evening, which  evidently shows that  those who go there
are actuated by higher motives than  mere curiosity ; by desires
more ennobling  than a  passing gratification ; in a word, it was
clear that those who composed Dr. H.'s hearers, were men who
know and dare to think,  and who will profit by these most useful
discourses.—New York Herald.

  The Ladies' Course was attended,  among  others,  by
Mrs. L. M. Child, the Authoress, who, in one of her let-
ters to the Boston  Courier, thus speaks of them :


            " LETTERS  FROM  NEW YORK.—NO.  II.

  "  .   .  .  .   There have been several courses of lectures on
Anatomy this winter, adapted  to popular comprehension.  I re-
joice at this : for it has long been a cherished wish with  me that
a general knowledge of the structure of our bodies, and the laws
which govern it, should  extend from the scientific few  into the
common education of the people.  I know  of nothing  so  well
calculated to diminish vice and vulgarity as universal and  rational
information  on these  subjects.   But the  impure state of
society has so perverted  nature, and blinded common-sense, that
intelligent women, though eagerly studying the structure of the
earth, the attractions of the  planets, and the  reproduction of
plants, seem ashamed to know anything of the structure of the
human body, and  of those physiological facts  most intimately 
Vlll
PREFACE.
 connected with their deepest and purest emotions, and the holiest
 experience of  their lives.   I  am  often  tempted to say, as Sir
 Charles  Grandison did  to  the  prude, ' Wottest thou not  how
 much /^-delicacy there is in thy delicacy !'
   " The only lectures  1  happened to attend were those of Dr.
 Hollick,  which interested and edified me much.    They  were
 plain, familiar  conversations, uttered  and  listened to with great
 modesty of language and propriety of demeanor.  The manikin,
 or  Artificial  Anatomy, by which he  illustrated his subject, is  a
 most wonderful machine, invented by a French physician.  It is
 made of papier-mache, and represents the human body with ad-
 mirable perfection  in the shape, coloring, and arrangement, even
 to the  minutest fibres.  By the removal of  wires it  can be dis-
 sected completely,  so as to show the locality and functions of the
 various organs, the interior of  the heart, lungs, etc.
   " Until I examined this curious piece of mechanism, I had very
 faint and imperfect ideas of  the miraculous  machinery of the
 house we live in.   I found it highly suggestive of many things to
 my mind.....                             L. M. C."

   I could fill many pages  with similar notices, given by
 the various  New York papers during my stay  there, and
 the same approval met me  in other places, as the follow-
 ing notices  will show :

   Dr. H.'s style of  lecturing is exceedingly  plain, lucid, and in-
 telligible.  He relies on no tri#k  or art of oratory—no effort to
 surprise or startle—to obtain  or keep up the interest of his lect-
 ures.   But they are deeply interesting.  They are listened to in
 silence and with enchained  attention—an attention  that would
 feel annoyed  at any fictitious arts of the speaker.  The reason of
 this is obvious.  The entirely novel character of the lectures, the
 deep and pervading interest of  the subjects discussed—subjects
 embracing all that  is mysterious and of momentous importance in
 the matter of man's reproduction and existence  in this world—
 give to the lectures a  solid and inestimable  value as  well as en-
 chanting freshness and interest.
  We believe Dr. Hollick is the only man in  the country who has
 devoted years of study to this  important but too-much-neglected
 branch of human knowledge, or rather, of human ignorance, and
 who is now trying  to extend the lights of wholesome understand-
 ing on the subjects embraced, among the people.
  In this matter we recognize in  Dr.  H. a public benefactor, and
 we owe it to the welfare of our fellows to commend him as such
 in this decided manner.   We give utterance to no formal or paid-
for puff in this matter.   Our readers know us to be incapable of
 such a prostitution of our columns.  The large numbers pf ladies
 and gentlemen who have attended Dr.'H.'s lectures know that
 we do but speak of this subject as it  merits.—St. Louis Intelli-
gencer. 
PREFACE.
iv
  Messrs. Editors :—The most scientific and useful lectures of
the present day, w.iich   should  claim  the attention of every one,
are now being'delivered at Masonic Hall, by Dr. Hollick, on  the
subject of Paternal Physiology and Health.   The writer of this
heard his first course, delivered during the last week, and, having
been educated to the medical profession,  is, perhaps, capable of
judging of their usefulness.   There is no doubt that the general
feeling of the medical faculty, and of an enlightened community,
toward itinerant lecturers has been one of disapprobation and ap-
prehension of quackery ; but in the present instance  there is cer-
tainly an exception.
  Dr. Dunbar (formerly Professor at the Washington College),
who attended Dr. H.'s  last  lecture, on Friday evening, was so
well pleased with the manner and  matter  of the lecture that ht
came out openly at the close of the lecture and stated, before th€
audience had dispersed, that he had come there at the request of
a patient, prejudiced against the lecturer; but on hearing him,
he thought it his duty to say that  the lecture was perfectly fair,
scientific,  calculated to do a vast amount of good, and that every
man, young or old, should hear and would be benefited thereby.
His illustrations ara complete and  beautiful, and his  explanations
couched in such delicate language that the most fastidious  can
find no fault.   Those of your numerous readers who may devote
an hour to his remaining lectures will thank you for giving  this
publicity.—Baltimore  American—Comtnunicated.

   Dr.  Hollick's Lectures.—These Lectures continue to at-
tract much attention, and are commended by  all who hear them.
During the past week  Dr. H. has given a  private Lecture and ex-
hibition of his models  to many of our prominent  senators  and
public men,  all of whom expressed themselves highly gratified,
and desirous that  another class should  be formed  to  accommo-
date  their friends who had not attended.— National Intelligen-
cer, Washington, D. C.
   Dr.  Hollick.—This distinguished lecturer had  a crowded
house at the Apollo last evening, and his delighted  audience ex-
pressed their approbation at the close of his discourse by loud ap-
plause.
   Dr. H. is indeed a  most entertaining and  instructive lecturer.
 We heard a medical gentleman say last evening, after listening  to
 him, that  he would not  fail to hear the whole series, even if he
should have to sell his coat to raise the means.  The information
 imparted by Dr.  H. must be truly invaluable to every one who
 possesses it.—Louisville Journal.
   At a meeting of the class attendant upon Dr.  Hollick's Select
 Lectures on  the  Physiology and  Philosophy of the "Origin of
 I ife " in Plants a . J Animals, held at the Lecture  Room of the
 Museum, Wednesday  evening, George G. West, Esq., was called
 to the chair, and Samuel W. Black appointed secretary. 
PREFACE.
  Resolved, That  we  have listened with  unfeigned  pleasure
and  interest to the Course of Lectures delivered Ly Dr. Hol-
lick, and now brour;iit to  a close, and  that we deem it an  act
ol justice to him and the community to  express our entire confi-
dence in his character, ability, and the manner of illustrating his
subject, which, to use the words of a daily journal, " is couched
in such delicate as well as perspicuous language that the most fas-
tidious could find no fault, nor the idlest curiosity go away unim-
proved."
  Resolved, That a committee of three be appointed to tender to
Dr. H. the thanks of the class for his courtesy to the members in
affording them every facility for obtaining information upon  the
subject of his lectures, and that he be requested to repeat the course
at the earliest period consistent with his other engagements.
  Published in all  the  Philadelphia daily papers, and signed by
one hundred and forty oi the most respectable  and influential
inhabitants.
  (See similar resolutions,  with over two hundred  names  at-
tached, in the Philadelphia daily papers  subsequently.)

           From the Philadelphia Daily Papers.

  At a meeting of the ladies composing Dr. Hollick's  Class, held
on Wednesday afternoon, in the Lecture Room of the Museum,
the  following resolutions were unanimously adopted, and ordered
to be published in one or more of the city papers :
  Resolved, That we have listened with great pleasure and inter-
est  to Dr.  Hollick's Lectures, and  are  happy to add our testi-
mony to the many already recorded  in behalf of such Lectures ;
and regarding Dr. Hollick as a benefactor of  his race, and espec-
ially of our sex, we cordially wish for him abundant success, and
ample reward in the consciousness of doing good.
  Resolved, That we will exert  ourselves to induce  our female
friends and acquaintances  to avail  themselves of the great and
rare privilege  of obtaining  the  valuable instruction imparted in
these Lectures in so chaste and dignified a manner.
    Signed on behalf of the meeting by
  Sarah Webb, Secretary.      SUSAN WOOD, President.
  J^~ With over fifty names attached thereto.

  (See also similar resolutions, with  over three hundred  names
attached subsequently.)

  These are but a very few out of an immense number of
similar notices, North, East, South, and West ;  and I can
truly say that  I never asked nor paid for a single one of
them.   They were all freely and spontaneously  given.
  Besides these I had  a vast number of  letters from  in-
dividuals thanking me for the lectures, and was  presented 
PREFACE.
XI
by my audience on one occasion with a handsome writing.
desk and gold pen, and on another occasion with a com-
memorative GOLD MEDAL.
  These  reminiscences are  introduced to show how the
lectures were received by those who heard them.  Many
persons,  in all the cities where I lectured, still remember
them, and often write  to me to know if  I shall ever re-
sume them.  This, however, I cannot now do.   The ex-
igencies of my practice are such that I cannot leave Nev»
York.
  It gives me great pleasure, however,  to see that my ex-
ample  has been extensively followed.   Popular lectures
on  Physiology, illustrated in various ways, are* now com-
mon everywhere, and anatomical museums are established
in most of our principal cities, open to the public at large.
No one is offended at such things now ; and a man would
be  laughed at  to-day who  should say that the  people
ought not to see and hear such things.   But when I first
began  to lecture, this sentiment was quite common and
hadtobemet. One of the first anatomical museums estab-
lished  in New York City  was complained of  to the
authorities as an indecent exhibition, and an  effort was
made to have it suppressed.   Public sentiment, however,
was then somewhat  enlightened, and the attempt failed.
Among those who volunteered their evidence in favor of
such establishments,  and argued for their  utility, nay,
even necessity, was  a celebrated Professor of  Anatomy
and Surgery in  the College of Physicians and  Surgeons,
since dead.
   The same gentleman also gave me great encourage-
ment, and once remarked to me :  " Doctor, if you live to
be old, you will see the most orthodox  physicians and
surgeons of the day following your example.  They will
give popular lectures, and write  popular books  on the
very subjects you are lecturing upon.  They will have to
 do it, or the people  will turn their backs on them and get
 such information elsewhere."
   The result has shown how  well he forecast the future.
 Professors in colleges do write such books, and eminent
 men connected with the profession give popular lectures,
 sufeh as  they dare not have  thought of a few years ago.
    To  me it seems  a waste of time to argue further the
 advantage of knowledge over ignorance, nor is it neces-
 sary ; for the public mind now sees the advantage clearly
 enough. 
Xll
PREFACE.
  It is equally unnecessary to contend for the right of the
people to the pos ession cf knowledge of any kind which
they may desire.   And  yet I  have formerly  heard this
light  denied, and  the assertion made that all  knowledge
such as given  in  my lectures  should be confined exclu-
sively to professional men ; that the common people had
no right to it ; and that any one trying to  impart it  to
them should be punished by law.
  Such sentiments prevail,even at the present day, among
a very few ; but the great public voice is heard so unmis-
takably demanding knowledge  as a right, on  every subject
interesting to humanity, not asking it as a favor from any
one, that  rto one  dare  openly say that demand shall  he
refused.
  It used to be contended as one argument against popu-
lar  instruction  on anatomy  and physiology, that  the
amount of it which could be given was too small  to be of
any use.   This, however, is a great mistake.  The small-
est amount is useful, and  better than  none ; but setting
aside  this, and the obvious fact  that we must begin  by
little to arrive at more, it is not true that the  instruction
given  is  so very  small.  The means  of illustration we
possess now, and the extent to which such subjects have
been simplified, enable us to give an amount of real prac-
tical information to a non-professional  audience, such as
even medical men could not get a generation back. Yes ;
some  of the greatest medical men, even a few years a;o,
would have been glad of the advantages in the way of in-
struction on the topics we are speaking of, that are  now
possessed  by  twenty-five-cent   audiences  of common
people !
  For myself  I rejoice  at this,  and trust  the  day will
come, and soon too, when ail restriction, and all mystery,
and all fear in regard to knowledge of any kind shall  be
swept away into the limbo  of the past !
  It has always been a consolation to me that I have
been able to do something, even if it be but  little, toward
enlightening the popular mind, especially on those much-
neglected subjects which have more especially enga; ed
my attention.  While I  live, my labors shall be continued
in the same direction ;  and with greater experience and
more  extended research, I trust m.y present  and future
efforts may be more  effective than those  I have made
before. 
PREFACE.
Xlll
  My books originated from the  lectures.  Many people
who could not attend the lectures wished for the informa-
tion they gave  and  many who did attend  were desirous
of having thai information always by them in an available
form   I was  therefore,  repeatedly  requested  by  my
audiences and  by others to write out the Lectures and
publish them which I eventually  did.
  The first book I wrote was a small treatise called " The
Origin of Life in Plants and Animals."  It obtained  im-
mediately an immense sale, and I soon had to revise and
enlarge it.   I>. was then published in the new form  as
  The Marriage Guide," which became still more popular,
running to 500 editions !
  The next work was one  for men, called "The  Male
Generative Organs in Health  and  Disease."   This was
sought  for with  avidity from the  first, and  has  now'
reached the 300th edition.
  One for women followed  next, called " The Diseases
of  Woman  familiarly  explained,"  which was  equally
popular.
  For married  women there  was  still  another, called
  The Matron's Manual of  Midwifery and Childbirth,"
also for private and popular use   This has  become a
standard book, always in demana.
  These books were all written for  popular and private
use by non-professional people.  They were  intended to
give just that kind of information on  the  topics treated
upon which all intelligent people desiie to possess, and
which my experience has shown  me is  the most practi-
cally useful.
  I said to myself, " Here are men and women constantly
coming to consult me on  these matters, either as suffer-
ing patients or as earnest seekers after knowledge, and I
have tc satisfy them all individually.  Now,  why cannot
I publish my consultive explanations in a plain, practical
form, so that they may satisfy those who do not wish  for
a personal interview, or who cannot, for one  reason  or
another, have  one ? "  And this  was my leading idea in
the manner of writing  these  several  books.  I wished to
consider my readers as so many patients or seekers after
knowledge, coming to consult me, and  I spoke to  them
in these works, just  as  I should have  done in my office.
In the books, in short, I merely consulted with, instructed,
and advised a lar^e number at once,  speaking to  them in 
Xly
PREFACE.
the same way, and prescribing for them just as I should
have done had they all come in separately, and paid me
five dollars each as patients.
  This, then, is how the books originated, and this sums
up their character.  I will venture to assert that nothing
can be found in one of them that is not scientifically true,
or in  any way whatever offensive to either morality or
good  taste.   Notwithstanding they are strictly scientific,
however, they are so written that any one can understand
them, and they are all  made practically serviceable for
private use.   In a word, they are people's books, such as
American citizens desire, and even demand, from those
that they consider popular teachers.
  Of the success of  these  books it is necessary for me to
say but little.  They have gone through hundreds of edi-
tions for many years, and are in  demand to-day just as
they were at first.  They  have been commended  in  all
ways, publicly and privately, and I have yet to hear of
the first well-founded objection to them. The commenda-
tory letters and notices I have received about them would
fill a large volume, and, as an agent wrote me from the
West, " They have  become,  over a large part  of the
country, household books, so  that not a house, cabin, noi
miner's camp can be found without  them for hundreds of
miles.  There are few men more extensively known than
you are, or more appreciated."
  There have also  been added "A Popular Treatise on
Venereal Diseases,"—and  one on the  Nervous System,
called " The Nerves and the Nervous"—and a large Quarto
Edition of  KiThe Origin of Life,"—all of  which will be
found advertised at the end of this book.

                             F.  HOLLICK,

                                  New York City.
  Box 3606, 
NOTICE.
  All letters for Dr. Hollick should be addressed, " Dr.
F. Hollick, Box 3606, Post-Office, New York City," and
if asking  advice or  information, they must contain  the
usual fee of $5.00, or they cannot be attended to.

  Or, the  address may  be simply,  " F. Hollick,  Box
3606."

  U^" It is always best to send money by P. 0. Order or
Registered Letter,  if  not by check or express.   When
money is  sent  in a letter, note should always be taken
of the name, number, and letter of the bill, so that it can
be traced  if necessary.

  In all cases the address should  be given plainly and in
full,  including name, post-office, County, and State, and if
an  answer is  not received in   due time,  write again
promptly, and state exactly  what was sent and when.

  No letters  are ever seen  by any one but Dr. H. him-
self, and  all  are destroyed immediately they  are  an-
swered, to ensure  secrecy.
                                       (xv) 
WRITING  DESK  AND  GOLD  PEN PRESENTED  TO  DR.

       HOLLICK BY  ONE OF HIS LADY CLASSES.
   Dr. Hollick,—Dear Sir: The members of
 your class, desiring  the  gratification  of  offer
 ing  you some testimonial of their  personal
 regard, and grateful appreciation of the  bene-
 fits which you are conferring upon them, and
 their sex generally, respectfully  request your
 acceptance of the accompanying writing-desk.
   Were it necessary, we might repeat our as-
 surances that your services  to humanity will
 be, by us, long and gratefully remembered.
 The women of  this generation have reason to
 rejoice that, by your efforts, a new and exten-
sive  field of information has been opened  to
them, whence  they  may  derive  treasures  of
knowledge, of immense  importance  to them-
selves and their posterity, hitherto concealed
within professional enclosures.
  Wishing you  health  and happiness, we beg
leave to subscribe ourselves,
                Truly your friends,
        Signed on behalf of the class,  by
                                M. G.
                                O. W.  B.
   Philadelphia, March 20.
(xvi) 
THE GOLD MEDAL PRESENTED TO DR. HOLLICK
BY
THE
LADIES OF PHILADELPHIA. 
 
CHAPTER  I.
   GENERAL VIEW OF  THE REPRODUCTIVE FUNCTIONS.

  The  Reproductive Organs are organically distinct and
separate from all the other organs, forming, in fact, a
complete  system by themselves, so that their action or
inaction has no effect, except sympathetically and  indi-
rectly, upon  any other part.   Nevertheless, they exert a
most wonderful and mysterious influence upon the whole
organization, as will be shown further on, and everything
else is more or less imperfect if they happen to be so.
  The manner in which Reproduction is effected, is the
same in all  kinds of beings,  both  animal and vegetable,
at least in  the general plan, ^though there are curious
variations in details/  The general plan  is this,—there is
always  produced, in connection with the  physical systems
of all beings, two peculiar organic substances, which are
called the sexual principles, or the  male and female prin-
ciples, the union of which, under  certain circumstances,
results in the growth of a new being ; but neither of them,
alone, as a rule, has  any power  of development what-
ever.  These  two principles, in some form or other, uni-
versally exist, though under various conditions, and their
union is effected in many different ways.  Thus, in those
beings with which we are most familiar,  as our own kind
for instance, the two principles are always disunited, or
placed  in separate  individuals, whom we  call,  in  con-
sequence, male and female,  the  male forming  what is
called the Sperm, Semen, or Seed, and the female form-
ing the Ovum or Egg ; these being the rudiments of all
living beings whatever.  In some of the  inferior  classes,
however, an  opposite  arrangement exists, the two prin-
ciples being united in each individual, which is,therefore,
both male and female, or more  properly, Hermaphrodite.
Examples of this  arrangement are found in the  common
earth-worm, the leech, and in many  insects and molus-
cous  animals.  Some of  these are  so  perfectly Her- 
1 i         THE IJEPKODUCTIVE  FUNCTIONS.
maphrodite that they can  connect with themselves, and
bring forth their own eggs, or young, without the concur-
rence of any other  individual ;  but others, as the leech,
for instance, though they have both principles and  both
sets of Organs, yet have them so disposed  in the body
that they cannot effect self-impregnation.  There must,
therefore, always be a union of  two of  these individuals,
but each performs the double act, being impregnated  by
the other and  impregnating it  in  return.  In the leech
and earth-worm, the double union, at two distinct points
may often be observed.
  In all the most  perfectly organized beings, there is no
such thing- as Hermaphrodism,  but in  the  inferior ones
referred to it is the natural arrangement, and no other is
ever seen.   Where  the  separate  arrangement prevails,
there are many singular variations, both in the  disposi-
tion of the generative principles and also in  the  manner
in which their  union  is effected.   Thus in  most fishes,
which are very inferiorly organized, there is  no act of
sexual union, the female depositing the Ova or  Eggs in
the water,  and the  male being directed, by a  peculiar
instinct,  to deposit his semen upon  them,  or  so that it
will reach them; they are,therefore,united without the male
and female being required  to come in contact.   In some
few fishes there is, it is true, a kind of imperfect  connec-
tion, but, generally,  there is not  even that.   In birds, on
the contrary, who are a stage higher in the scale of organ-
ization,  the two individuals always connect, though very
imperfectly, and the two principles are thus  united, or, in
other words  the egg is impregnated  within the  body of
the female.   Here, therefore, we have internal impregna-
tion, while  in the first it was  external.   But even in  the
bird the egg is  expelled  from the body, to  be developed
after its impregnation, so that, though  the impregnation
is internal,  yet  the development is external.  They are,
therefore, called Oviparous, or egg-producing.  In all  oi
the more perfect  beings,  on  the contrary, as  in our
species  for  instance,  not only  are  the two  principles
united within the body of the female, but after their union
they remain  and develop there into the new  being,  so
that we  have both  internal  impregnation  and internal
development also.   Such beings  are,  therefore, called
Viviparous, because, instead of the egg, they bring forth
(heir young alive. 
            THE REPRODUCTIVE FUNCTIONS.         15

  Under al1 these  circumstances, however, the process is
essentially the same.   There are always the two gener-
ative principles,  the  male semen and the  female ovum
or egg, and their union, in what is called the act  of Im»
pregnatton, must  always occur before the new being can
commence to develop ; but the  impregnation and devel-
opment may be either internal or external.
  In  some beings there is a union of the two modes, the
egg being hatched while it is passing from  the body, so
that the young  being is  really born alive,  though pro-
duced from the egg  as it is in birds.   These are, there-
fore,  called Ovi-viparous, to denote the union of the two
modes.
  There are others, again, in whom  the  young is formed
internally, as in  the more perfect  being,  but expelled
before its development is perfected, and it has, therefore,
to be permanently attached to the body for a while, exter-
nally, till sufficiently grown, to live independently.  These
are  called Marsupial Animals,  because the  imperfect
being is placed in  a kind of  pouch  or pocket, adjoining
the Teats, to  which the young are fastened when  first
expelled.   The Kangaroo  is an example of the Marsu-
pial  Animals, which evidently connect the  Viviparous
with those that are below them.
  From this general  sketch, it will be readily seen what
organs are really essential to  the generative  system, in
boch  sexes.  In the  Female there must, of necessity, be
an Organ  to produce the Ovum, or Egg, and which is called
the Ovary, or egg-producer.  This, in fact,  constitutes a
female, though all the other parts usually found in that
sex should be absent, and without it no individual can
be female, though all the other parts should be present,
There are also usually found  certain accessory organs,
by which the  egg is  either conveyed out  of  the body,
when ripe, or by which the male semen is conveyed to it
to effect  its  impregnation.   In those  also  that bring
forth their young alive, there is another organ, peculiar
to the Viviparous Animals, which is  called the  tfterus, or
 Womb.  This is  a hollow organ, into which the  egg  is
passed  when  fully ripe, and  in  which it undergoes  its
complete  development after  impregnation.  There are
also certain organs of minor importance, which connect
the  Uterus with  the  Ovary, and by means of which the
egg is conveyed from the one to the other.   In the Man 
18         THE REPRODUCTIVE FUNCTIONS.
supial  Animals,  the Uterus is imperfect,  so that  the
young cannot  undergo  their full  development therein,
which is the reason why they are expelled and perfected
externally.
  In the Male system, the essential organ  is, of  course,
that which produces the male  principle, or Semen; it is
called the  Testicle.  In  connection with this,  there  are
also other organs of minor importance, for the  transmis-
sion and direction of the fecundating fluid.   All these ac-
cessory parts, however,  may be absent, and  yet the body
be truly male, if the Testicle be  present, but without that,
all the others do not make it so.  No  being-, among  the
superior classes, has ever yet been found, possessing both
the Ovary and the Testicle so perfect that both could per-
form their special  functions, although,  in  some of  the
inferior orders, as before shown,  such an  organization
always exists.
  In the human being, both male and female, we find the
most perfect  and complicated form of  Sexual Organiza-
tion, the details of which will now be readily understood.

  (For full details of the  sexual organization and procrea-
tion of  all Animals and Plants, it will  be  necessary to
consult the " Origin of Life," in which the whole  subject
is fully explained and illustrated.   This book refers only
to human beings.) 
PLATE  I.
EXTERNAL
Fie. i.—The Htmen Unbroken.
 1. The Hymen, with the usual
small  opening through ft,, de-
noted by the black space.—2,2.
The  Vulva. — 3.  The Small
Lips. — 4.   The  Clitoris. — 5.
The Meatus  Urinarius. — 6, 6.
The Large Lips.
ORGANS.
Fig. 2.—The Hymen Broken,
   after first connection.
 The parts correspond to those
in  Fig. 1, but the enlargement
of  the opening into the Vagina,
by the  rupture of the Hymen,
is plainly seen.
17 
PLATE  II.
LATERAL  SECTION  OF THE FEMALE PELVIS.
A. Bladder.—B.  Womb.— C.  Vagina.— D.   Large Intestine.—*.
  Right Ovary.—/.  Right Fallopian  Tube. — g.   Month of the
  Womb.— h.  Mouth of the Bladder.—i. i.  Small Intestines.—j.j.
  Backbone.—*;.  Pubic Bone.—;.   Right  Large Lip.— m.  Right
  Small Lip.—n.  The Hymen.-o.  Opening through Hymen.—p.
  The Clitoris— q.  The Perineum.
            18 
CHAPTER  II.
DESCRIPTION OF THE EXTERNAL GENERATIVE ORGANS OF
                 THE HUMAN  FEMALE.

  The external parts are not  necessarily concerned in
the process of generation, but still  it is advisable  to de-
scribe them, because certain modifications in their form,
and size, may  be  of consequence, at  the  time of mar-
riage, and, also, because  it is  necessary, on various ac-
counts,  to refer to them.
  The Pubic bone, at the lower part of the abdomen, in
front, is covered, in the female, by a thick layer of fatty
matter,  especially after  the age of  puberty, when it  is
also covered, more or less,  with hair.  This prominence
is called Mons  Veneris, and its development  gives a pecul-
iar outline to this part of the female form.   The covering
of hair was formerly called Tressoria, and its absence was
universally regarded as a reproach.   In fact, it was cus-
tomary  to order it to be cut off, in open court, in ancient
times, when a female was detected the third time in illicit
intercourse, as we find stated by Chitty, in his " Practical
Treatise on Medical Jurisprudence."   In some cases it is
very slightly developed,  or even altogether absent, and is
never seen  at  all in those  who have no  ovaries, or in
whom they are inactive.   It is  also liable to fall off after
certain diseases, or after taking powerful drugs, and will
even turn color after fright, or severe agitation  the same
as the hair on the head   In some individuals it becomes
troublesome, from excessive development, and it will oc-
casionally extend itself far over the  rest of  the body.  In
some young persons, the growth of the Mons Veneris and
its Tressoria is very rapid, at the age of puberty, so that
the appearance of the body  is completely changed in that
respect in a few weeks.  It is customary for parents, and
even for some physicians, to regard the appearance of the
Tressoria as the certain  and invariable sign of woman-
hood, and  they are guided by  its absence  or presence in 
20           EXTERNAL  FEMALE ORGANS.
their  treatment and communications.  This sign, how-
ever,  is not  always to be relied upon, for I have  known
young persons, of not more than nine or ten years  of age,
upon whom  it was very fully grown, and the Mons  largely
developed, though  they did  not menstruate till  several
years after ; and I have known others, at eighteen years
of age, with scarcely an appearance of it, who  had men-
struated from the time they were fourteen.  As a  sign of
puberty, therefore,  it  cannot always  be  implicitly  de-
pended upon, though generally it may.   I once  saw an
infant, of  four years, on whom  quite a  large  growth of
the Tressoria existed ; and I have known females  to pas^
the turn of life, who scarcely e,ver had any at all.
  Immediately below the  Mons are two large lips, called
the Labia Pudendi, the Labia  Majora, or external  lips,
which are formed by a fold of the skin, made round  and
full by a thick  deposit of  fatty matter underneath.  The
outer surface of these lips is covered by  the  Tressoria, but
the inner  surface is smooth, and studded with  a number
of little glands or follicles, which exude a peculiar fluid,
with a characteristic odor.   The external lips commence at
the frontal or pubic bone, and they descend underneath
to within an inch and a half of the fundament.   They are
united together, both above and below, but perfectly sepa-
rated in the middle, where they are also the largest  and
most prominent. Their union below is called the fourchctte
ox fork.  Sometimes they are very  large and prominent,
and at other times  are very small, and with little  elastic-
ity, which makes them liable to injury during parturition.
In some young females they grow together, from  inflam-
mation, and if not separated before marriage, great dis-
tress and injury may ensue.  The  removal of this disa-
bility is,  however,  a very  simple matter, and  it is fully
explained in my " Diseases of Women."
   Immediately within the  external lips,  and  lying on
their two sides, are the smaller ones,  like folds, which
are called the Labia Minora, or inner lips, or the Nymphce.
These, two  inner lips do not extend so far, either up or
down, as  the larger ones, nor are they so round and full.
In infants, the Nymphae project out farthest, and are seen
in front, but at puberty, the external lips develop more
fully, so as  to close together, and thus shut the  Nymphae
in, and conceal them.  This is always the case  in virgins
but after  childbirth, the external lips become more flac 
EXTERNAL  FEMALE ORGANS.
21
cid, and separate, and the Nymphae  again  project, and
are seen externally.   In the females of some countries—
particularly in  the eastern parts of the Old World—the
Nymphae often grow to an extraordinary size, so as to
partly close the passage, and it becomes necessary to re-
move them.  I have even sometimes found this necessary
in my own practice, not only from their immense growth,
but also  from their peculiar  condition.  They are, in
many persons, singularly sensitive  and  excitable, and
when they are more than usually large, or irritable, that
excitement  becomes so great, and overpowering, that it
cannot be controlled, but is really a species of furor, or
madness, which irresistibly impels  the individual to seek
gratification, in some form or other, regardless of conse-
quences.  The operation of removing them is compara-
tively simple, and unattended with the slightest danger.
  In some  of  the Hottentot  females,  the Nymphae are
singularly enlarged,  at that part where they join together
above,  the  enlargement  hanging down in front of the
passage, like a veil.   This is called the Apron, and seems
to be peculiar to certain tribes.   It was formerly thought
that this Apron was a  growth  produced  by  artificial
means,  but it is  now generally conceded  to be natural.
Several of these  females have been examined at various
times by medical men and travellers, and their accounts
pretty much conform with each other.  I had an opportunity
myself, when in England, of  seeing  a Hottentot Venus,
as she was  called, who possessed this  Apron, and I was
convinced that it was nothing more than an extension of
the Nymphae.  In these females, in fact, the whole of the
external organs differ much from those of white females ,
the Mons Veneris being less prominent, the external lips
smaller, and  the passage itself  much larger, while the
mouth of the opening is more underneath, or farther back,
so that, when stooping forward,  it is  nearly in the  same
position as in some animals.   The length of this apron,
in  the case which I saw, was about  three  inches and  a
half,  but they have been observed four or five  inches
long ; and  L. Vaillant says, in his journey into the inte-
rior of  Africa, even nine inches.  Whether  this singular
apron serves any specific purpose, it  is difficult to  tell,
b»*t it  certainly is  a  hindrance to  connection,  unless
placed  aside at the  time, because it hangs down between
th' limbs, immediately in front.  One of these females 
22           EXTERNAL  FEMALE ORGANS.
deceived  the  French physician who examined her, by
concealing the apron in a peculiar situation, so that they
could not see it, and some in consequence, even doubted
of its existence ; but the deception was aiterwards dis-
covered.
  In many of the Oriental nations the enlargement of the
nymphae is so general  that their excision is quite  a com-
mon operation, like circumcision among the men.   This
is especially the case in Abyssinia and in the country of
Ancient Judea.  Many of the Mohammedans remove the
nymphae in most of their young girls, in order, as they say,
to prevent deformity, but in reality to  make  them have
less sexual feeling, so that they may not be disposed, when
women, to desire more indulgence than may fall  to their
lot in common with  many other wives.  It  is, therefore,
the tyranny and jealousy of polygamy that leads to this
shameful  mutilation.   A medical friend of mine, who had
resided some time in  these countries, informed me that
he had  even  known them to close  the  two  lips together,
in young female slaves, with a  kind of lock, so that asso-
ciation  was impossible until it was opened, and the man-
ner of  opening it was known  only  to  the  master.  In
Sonnini's  "Travels  in Upper  and  Lower  Egypt " much
•urious information can  be found in regard to such cus-
 oms.   He tells us that, in many of the cities, there is a
i:lass of persons who  make the removal of  the  nymphae
In young girls a trade,  and that they go about the  streets
crying out,  " Here's a good circumciser."  And a more
ancient traveller,  Leo Africanus,  informs us  that they
also call out,  " Who is she that  wishes to be cut?"  The
only instrument employed by these  operators  is a rude
species  of razor, and they astringe the  wound  by dusting
it with ashes.
  It is probable that this custom of female circumcision may
not have  originated  altogether  from jealousy, but partly
from  convenience, because when the nymphae are  large,
the  secretions of the parts are apt to accumulate under
them, and cause great irritation, as  is often the case in
negresses, and occasionally even among whites, instances
of which will  be found in  my book on  " The Diseases of
Women."  Sonnini also tells us that the lascivious Turks
have another reason for removing the inner lips, and that
is that the vulva, or  mouth of  the passage,  may be per-
fectly smooth, and sexual congress more easy in  conse
quence. 
EXTERNAL  FEMALE ORGANS.           23
  It is desirable that the condition of these parts, as well
as of the  External  Organs  generally, should be ascer-
tained previous to marriage, for I have known many in-
stances in which great distress and unhappiness have arisen
from something  unusual connected with  them.   They
may be too  large, or  exceedingly sensitive, or grow to-
gether, or even be ulcerated, and though the trouble may
be readily removed,  yet  its existence is not desirable at
such a time.
  At the upper junction  of the two  nymphae they project
over in a kind of round arch, immediately within which
is a small firm  body about the size of a large pea, which
is called  the  Clitoris.  This  organ  is a most important
and  interesting one  in  many  respects.   It has many
points of resemblance to  the  male Penis,  both in its
structure  and  functions, being  composed of a similar
sponge-like substance, capable of being engorged or be-
coming erect, and is highly sensitive.  It is,  in  fact, the
principal seat of  sensation in most persons, and the in-
tensity of the sexual  orgasm apparently depends upon the
perfection of its nervous organization.  When it is unduly
developed, or excitable,  the sexual propensity often be-
comes irresistible, causing Nymphomania or Furor  Uter-
inus, and  leading to  moral delinquency,  which  arises
more frequently from mere physical causes than is usually
supposed.  According to Chitty, if a female, in ancient
time, was detected the fourth time in  illicit intercourse, the
Clitoris was amputated in open court—a fact which shows
that  the law-makers of that  period  were  aware of its in-
fluence.
  In the  early stages of fcetal existence it is often difficult
to discover  the sex of the child, because the clitoris so
much resembles the penis ;  and even at birth it is rela-
tively much larger than in adult life.   In some persons it
attains an unusual size, so as to resemble the  male organ
very much, and can even be used in the same way with
another  female,  though, of course, imperfectly.   This
fact I can state positively, for I have seen an  instance in
which  the  clitoris was fully  as large as the  penis is in
most boys of nine or  ten years of age, and capable also
of  becoming quite firm and erect.   It is cases like  these
that  are supposed to be of both sexes, as will be seen in
the article on  Hermaphrodites.   The  clitoris, however,
has natura!ly no  passage down it leading from the  blad- 
24           EXTERNAL FEMALE ORGANS.

der, the urethra being in its proper position ; but in some
few cases the passage has been found to exist, although
the urine did not flow down it.
  In some females this  organ is  so  exquisitely sensitive
that it is scarcely possible for them to prevent its becom-
ing excited, and creating sexual  desires.  Whenever the
clothes  touch it, or even when it  comes in contact with
the lips in walking, it  becomes  congested, and excites
both the uterus and the brain.  In these cases it is sheer
nonsense to say that the strong sexual desire experienced
arises merely from depravity, or that it can be overcome
by moral efforts  alone. We might  just  as  reasonably
conclude  that the hunger of an  empty stomach  arises
merely  from unruly  appetite  and that it also may  be
overcome by moral effort.   In making these remarks I,
of course, do  not intend to deny the great power of a
determined  will  over the  feelings,  under  most circum-
stances, nor to discourage  such efforts ;  on the contrary,
they are most  important, and often highly effective, but
I wish to draw attention to the obvious fact that they alone
cannot  always succeed.   It  is  unquestionable that  in
many females,  and especially about the age  of puberty,
the excitability of the  nymphae  and clitoris  is  so great
that  they cannot overcome or escape from the feelings
and  desires that this excitability creates  ; and, beyond
doubt, it  is from this cause  alone that many seek  im-
proper  indulgence, and become depraved.  With these
persons, therefore, it  is not  moral suasion  alone,  or
threats, or the fear of consequences, that can be depended
upon  to effect a reformation, but the state of the body
must also be ascertained, and the physical causes of the
unnatural excitement removed.  The timely advice -of a
judicious physician would, in many of these cases, remove
all occasion for moral exhortation or coercion,  and effect-
ually  prevent any future evil, because  licentiousness is
fully as often a result of the bodily condition as it is of
the mental  disposition, or  probably even  more so.  It
should never  be  forgotten, when reasoning upon these
subjects, that  some persons cannot prevent sexual desire
— though good moral training may enable  them to strug-
gle against it—while  others can  never experience it, even
if they wish and desire to do so.
  A  proper attention to bathing and diet will usually
overcome any undue  excitability in these parts ; and 
EXTERNAL FEMALE  ORGANS.           25
mothers especially ought to know  when this attention is
required, both for their own peace and for the welfare of
their children.  Sometimes these parts are preternaturally
sensitive before puberty, even at a very early age, lead-
ing to vicious habits and improper conduct, for which the
young person is only blamed and reprimanded, while a
want of proper information prevents a removal of the
cause.
  When the Clitoris is too large, it can readily be ampu-
tated, more or less, as may be required,  and its  excita-
bility reduced.   This  operation  I  have frequently  per-
formed  with entire success,  at  various  ages.   On the
other hand, when it is too small, and not sufficiently  sen-
sitive, means may be  taken to make  it enlarge,  and to
increase its excitability.  This is often required to be
done in cases of barrenness, and when the temperament
is too cold.
  The Clitoris is present in most  Mammiferous Animals,
even in  the whale,  and in the imperfect kangaroo.  In
the rat,  the rabbit, the ape, and most Carnivorous  Ani-
mals, it  is  especially developed, and  frequently contains
a small bone, like, the  Penis, as we see in the  bear and
the otter.  In one peculiar  class of monkeys, called the
Spider Monkey, the  Clitoris is very much like a  Penis,
being three or four  inches long, provided with  a perfect
Glans and  Prepuce, and  also  with  a Urethra,  like a
groove,   down which the urine flows from the  bladder.
In the kangaroo and opossum, the Clitoris is split, like
the Glans in the male, and in the Lemming and some few
others, it also has an interior passage or  Urethra, which
makes it almost identical with the Penis.
  The Preputial Glands are often much developed in the
lower animals,  which is the reason they emit  such a
powerful odor, and sometimes even Cowper's Glands are
found, as they have also  been  in  the  human female,
though  they  were  formerly thought  to  belong only  to
the Male Organs.
  There are  never  any  Nympha, or inner lips,  in  the
lower animals, nor Mons Veneris, not even in the mon-
key, and the  external  lips  are also small  and  thin, and
without   a Tressoria, while  the mouth of the Vagina is
round, instead  of oval, as in the  human being.   In  the
Mare, and some few others, there is a small Tube on each
Bide of the Vagina, called the Vaginal Canal, leading to 
26
EXTERNAL  FEMALE ORGANS.
 the broad  ligaments  of the Womb, the use of which is
 unknown.
   These parts, namely, the Mons Veneris, the two Exter-
 nal Lips, and  the  two inner lips, or Nymphce, constitute
 the external genitals in all females, but their form and
 situation occasionally  vary in  different individuals and
 races, as already shown.
   The opening between the lips, or the external  mouth,
 is called the Vulva, or Fossa Magna, and it also is liable
"to vary much  in different persons.  As a general rule,
 the Vulva, or external opening, is higher up, or more  in
 front, in white females  than  it is in the colored races.
 and the Vagina is shorter and smaller, while the external
 lips  are  more  rounded and firmer.  There is also a less
 abundant Tressoria in the white female, and the Clitoris
 is not so large  on the average.  These differences I have
 taken great trouble myself to ascertain, especially during
 a recent visit to  the South, and I consider them of con-
 siderable importance.  The form of the  external  lips
 alters considerably after pregnancy, and even to some
 extent after  association only.   The color of the interior
 surface also changes, from the same causes, being a per-
 fect pink in virgins, but becoming slightly tinged with
 violet, or brown, immediately after marriage.   The lips
 also become less firm then, and hang lower, and separate
 further.  These alterations are often quite sufficient, with
 an experienced person, to decide whether association has
 been  practised or not.   It is, perhaps,  necessary to re-
 mark, however, that other practises, besides actual coi-
 tion,  may cause similar changes.
   On  separating the  external  lips,  and  the  Nymphae,
 there will be seen, at the lower  part  of  the  opening, by
 the fourchette, the entrance to the Vagina, which is nearly
 oval,  and in virgins  is usually  more or less  completely
 closed by a membrane, or skin, which grows over it.  This
 is called  the Hymen, and it is  popularly, but erroneously
 supposed to be always present during maidenhood.  The
 space below, between  the lowest  point  of the Vuh a, or
 the fourchette,  and  the Anus,  is called the Perineum, and
 the space between  the  upper part of the mouth of the
 Vagina and the Clitoris, is called the  Vestibulum, in the
 middle of  which is situated  the Meatus Urinarius, or
 mouth of the passage by which the urine flows from the
 bladder.   This passage from the  bladder, scientifically 
EXTERNAL  FEMALE ORGANS.           27
called  the Urethra, is supposed by  many uninformed
persons to be the  same as  the  Vagina, or passage from
the Womb, but it will be seen  that  they are  perfectly
distinct,  although in some cases of  doubtful  sex,  the
Urethra has been found so large as to be mistaken for
the Vagina, and, after violent deliveries, they are often
torn into one.
  The  Hymen has probably given rise  to more misappre-
hension than any other of the external parts, and there
are more popular fallacies and prejudices connected with
it.  In  most young virgins  the  external  opening of the
vagina is  always more or less closed by a membrane of
this kind, which has to be broken in the first sexual con-
gress,  but in  many it never  exists at all, not even in
childhood. The  idea  that a  young female is  certainly
not a virgin if  the hymen  be absent,  is,  therefore, erro-
neous,  though it usually does exist.  Besides being natu-
rally absent, it is also liable to be destroyed  in many
ways.  Thus in some it is broken by the first rush of the
menses, and in others it may be ruptured by various vio-
lent accidents, such as falls or extreme separation of the
limbs.  I have even known it to be ruptured, and flooding
brought on, by the action of powerful cathartic medicines.
A long continuance of certain debilitating diseases  will
also relax the parts so much that no resistance what-
ever is made by the  hymen,  even if it remain, which is
the reason why those  who marry late  have seldom any
trace of  it, because  if they escape  all the various  acci-
dents referred to, they seldom escape sickness and debil-
ity.  It should be  borne in mind that the  membrane is
often very thin, and that it maybe broken while using the
bath or the napkin, as  I believe is often the case  with
children  in the hands of their nurses, and with young
persons during their periods, especially if they use those
articles too large or too firmly bound against the person.
Sometimes, also, the hymen is destroyed  by young per-
sons themselves in various thoughtless, or improper prac-
tises, and sometimes it is  destroyed during certain  nec-
essary  operations  and examinations  by the  physician.
The old Jewish custom, therefore, as stated in the Bible,
of examining the bridal sheets  for  the blood stains, as
proofs  of virginity,  was absurd and unjust.  When the
hymen is perfect, it is true, there is usually more or less
blood lost when it is first  broken, but not always even 
EXTERNAL FEMALE ORGANS.
then, as  I  have witnessed  during  examinations, and
sometimes blood will flow from the vagina at the time of
marriage, when there is a physical disproportion between
the parties, though the hymen may not exist.  In some
females these  parts are naturally small, and disposed to
contract when left to themselves, so that even widows,
in a second marriage, will exhibit all  the  usual  indica-
tions of virginity.   There are even means of creating
this condition  of the  parts' artificially !  In short,  though
there is usually more or less pain and difficulty attending
the first act of coition, yet there are many exceptions,
and from various causes ; and it is seldom that much of
either is experienced if the first  act is delayed till after
the twentieth year.
  In nearly every case the hymen has an opening through
it at the lower par., by which the menses  escape,  but oc-
casionally it is without such an opening,  or itnperforate,
and the menses  being, of necessity, retained, the health
suffers  very much.   In  such cases,  constant suffering,
insanity, or even death, is  not an  unfrequent result if
relief is not speedily obtained.   All that is required in
such obstructions is to puncture  the hymen,  an  opera-
tion neither  difficult nor dangerous in  proper  hands.
It is  more to  our present purpose to  remark, that the
hymen  is  occasionally not  only imperforate, but also
unusually strong, so that it is  difficult or even  impos-
sible  for  the  husband to break  it.  I have  had  such
cases come under my notice, in which the marriage could
not be consummated, and neither party knowing the real
cause of the difficulty, their distress was  extreme.  The
treatment of this peculiar trouble  is obvious ; the sur-
geon's knife must first open the callous  hymen, and then,
if further treatment is needed,  the  opening  must be di-
lated with appropriate instruments.   I  have known this
membrane to be as  hard as if it  were ossified, or bony,
and  so unyielding  that  it had  to be  removed  almost
totally before association could be  practised.  After the
destruction of the hymen,  its fragments often  remain
round the external mouth in the form of  little protuber-
ances like pimples, which are sometimes highly sensitive ■
they are called the caruticula: myrtifoimce.
  The Plate below will show the  location of all  the ex^
ternal organs,  and their connection with one another. 
           PLATE  III.

SECTION OF  THE  FEMALE  BODY.
A. The  Bladder.—B.  The Womb.—C.   The Vagina.—D.  The
  Rectum.—a. The Mouth of the Bladder.—q. The Clitoris.— i. The
  Large Lip.— k. The Vulva.
                                          29 
I 
CHAPTER   III.
DESCRIPTION OF THE INTERNAL GENERATIVE ORGANS OF
                 THE HUMAN FEMALE.

  The internal Organs consist of the Ovaries, the  Fal-
lopian Tubes, the Womb and Ligaments, and the Vagina,

                   § THE OVARIES.

  These are two bodies placed one on  each side of the
Pelvis,  immediately  within the lower edge of the  hip-
bone, and just underneath the external walls.  They are
about the size of the male Testicle, and in shape  resem-
ble an almond nut.   Their color is pale red, and they are
covered  over with  little protuberances and indentations.
In  early life they are quite small, but, about the age of
puberty, they begin to  enlarge, and exert  a  most power-
ful  influence over the system  generally, as shown in the
article on Menstruation.
  Before the real nature of  the ovaries was known, they
were frequently called the Female Testes, from a mistaken
notion that they formed something analogous to the Male
Semen.  But this  idea is now exploded, and their true
functions are known.  The part they play  in the grand
process of  Reproduction, is to produce the germs called,
scientifically, the  Ova,  or, commonly, the Eggs, as  ex-
plained in  the article on Reproduction in general,  and
from which all living beings originate, the human being
equally with others.   This is why they are called Ovaries,
of egg producers.
  On cutting open  one of these  Organs, it  is found to
contain about  twenty or thirty little vesicles, or cells,
about the size of a smill pea, called the Graafian Vesicles
These are filled with a whitish  fluid, in the midst of which
is seen an egg,  or ovum, about the size of  the  point of a
pin or barely  discernible with the naked  eye.   Usually
there are from twenty to thirty of  'hese vesicles contain-
ing eggs visible at once ; but there are many others, that
                                      (31) 
32           INTERNAL FEMALE  ORGANS.
are rudimentary, and which are only seen  as  they de.
velop.   The actual number it is, of course, impossible to
know, but, in all probability, there are many more than
are usually suspected, and there  is good reason for sup-
posing that  none are formed in adult life, but that the
germs of all are contained in the Ovaries from the very
first formation of those organs.  Neither the Vesicles nor
the included eggs are all equally matured when we see them,
but some are more perfect than the others, and one usually
much more so than all  the  rest.   In fact, they ripen or
develop in succession one after another, commencing at
the age of puberty, and  continuing to do so till the turn
of life, when all have been developed. As soon as each
one is  fully  ripened, it is  expelled from the Ovary, and
lodged in the Womb, where it remains a short time, and
if impregnation is not effected,  it is thrown out of the
body and lost; but if impregnation  ensues, it  remains,
and develops into the new being.
  This development of the egg, therefore, takes place in-
dependently of  sexual excitement or  connection, and oc-
curs in all females  alike, after the age of puberty, both
married and virgin.  But the egg, it must be remembered,
is imperfect  by itself or not capable  of further  develop-
ment alone.   It is only one of the two generative princi-
ples, the other, the male Semen, being necessary to vivify
it, before  the development of the  new being  can com-
mence.   The  female, therefore,  forms  the egg, inde-
pendent of the Male, as he does the Semen, independent
of the female, but both united together, are needed to form
the new being.
  This periodical development of the egg is precisely the
saie as is seen in all other beings, in some form or other.
Thus female birds will commence  to lay their eggs, and
continue to do so, without ever having had any communi-
cation with the male whatever, but the eggs so produced,
not being imprognated by the male principle, are infecund,
and cannot be hatched.  It is the same with all the Mam-
malia likewise, although rhere are great differences, as to
the frequency  of the development, and in some  of the
minor phenomena  attending it.  Thus, for  instance, in
the Lion and Elephant,  only one egg is ripened in two
or three years, while in most horned  cattle, one or more
are ripened every year, and  in the  Rabbit, quite a large
number are ripened several times a year.  Each animal, 
INTERNAL FEMALE ORGANS.           33
therefore, has  its appropriate  period, and  it is only  at
that particular time that it can  conceive, because there
can  be no impregnation only when  the egg is fully de-
veloped, and passed into the Womb.  If no connection
occurs with the other sex at that time, or, in other  words,
not till after the ripened egg has left the body, there can
be no conception till another period returns again.   Nat-
ure, however, has so arranged, in the lower animals that
connection is desired  only at  that time, and then  very
strongly.  In  them, the maturation of the egg, and its
passage into the Womb, is always attended with great
irritation and inflammation of the whole generative ap-
paratus, which causes the peculiar excitement  we term
sexual or amorous, and makes them desire association
with the  other sex.  This  is what is called the Rut,  or
Heat, or, scientifically, the OZstrum, and, it is well known,
the males and females of the lower animals have no in-
clination whatever for each other, except at  those times,
and if connection were to occur between them at any
other period, no conception could ensue,  because there
would be no egg ripened and ready to receive the Semen.
In the human being we see precisely the same phenomena,
with'slight variation.  Thus  the development of the epg
in the human female is monthly, one coming to perfection,
as a general rule, every twenty-eight days, and continu-
ing to do so regularly, from puberty till the  turn of life.
This is why conception is not confined, in our species,  to
any particular part of  the year, as it is in many others,
but can occur much more frequently.  Even in the human
female, however, the same as  in  every other,  there is a
time—a certain part of each  month—when sh    annot
conceive, and that is after one  ripened  egg  has .eft the
Womb, and before the other has reached  it.  This will,
however, be  more fully explained in the  article on Con-
ception.
  The monthly ripening of the egg in the human  female
is attended with similar phenomena to the annual ripen-
ing in others, only slightly different in their manifesta-
tion.   Thus,  in the lower animals at the time of heat, we
have inflammation, and strong sexual excitement,  with a
discharge from the parts, of a thin, almost colorless fluid,
of a  peculiar odor.   In  the human  female also, at the
time of the monthly  ripening, they have  considerable in-
flammation, with a copious discharge of blood and mucus. 
34           INTERNAL FEMALE  ORGANS.
termed the Menstrual or  monthly flow,  more fully  ex-
plained in another article.  The sexual desire, however,
is not generally  confined to that  particular  time, in  out
species, though it is frequently much the strongest then,
and most readily induced.
  The manner in which the egg is expelled  is very curi-
ous,  and when understood, it explains many of the at-
tendant phenomena.   If we examine the Ovary, at about
three weeks previous to one of the monthly periods, none
of  the Graafian Vesicles, or their contained Ova, appear
very different from the others, but, in about a week later,
one  of them is  seen to  be somewhat enlarged, and is
more prominent upon the  surface.   This  enlargement
continues to be more manifest as  the period is approached,
till  it assumes the  form of a pustule, or pimple, with a
prominent point  in the centre, indicating  that it is ready
to burst; and, eventually, it does burst, and the little  egg
escapes through the torn opening. This is called ovulation,
or the laying of the egg, and is analogous to the expulsion
of the egg from the body in the bird, but in the human
being, it is then  passed into the Womb, to  remain there
for a time.
  The  manner in which the  egg is transmitted td  the
Womb, is  very curious, and can be understood fully only
by referring to a view of the parts.  Each of the  two
Ovaries are connected with  the Womb by a short, firm
cord, or ligament, and immediately above each one is an
organ called  the Fallopian  Tube, which  is  much longer
than the ovarian  ligament, and is in shape like a trumpet,
the large end, which is loose, being close by the Ovaries,
while the other end is connected with the Womb.   The
open end of this  Tube, by the Ovary, is as large as  a hah
dime, and is divided into a number of  little finger-like
prolongations, called its Fimbriae.  From this wide  open-
ing a small passage  extends down the interior of  the
Tube, into the Womb, between which and the Ovary, a
communication is thus established.
  At the time when the egg is expelled from the Vesicle,
in  the  manner already explained, the open end  of  the
Tube is directed  over that part of the Ovary where it lies,
and  the finger-like ends, or Fimbriae, cling  round it so
as to embrace the egg.  By these means, it  is taken into
the commencement of the Tube, which then contracts be- 
INTERNAL FEMALE  ORGANS.           35
hind it, and thus, by continued successive contractions, it
is passed onwards, till it reaches the Womb.
  The egg usually escapes from the Ovary just about the
time when the flow ceases,  though, occasionally, not till
two or three days after, and it is then  from two  to six
days in passing down  the Tube.   It, therefore, does not
usually reach the Womb till the flow is fully over, and
most frequently it does so about the second day after, but
sometimes  not till  the fourth or fifth  day.   When it
reaches the Womb, it  is prevented from passing imme-
diately out, by a peculiar thin membrane, or skin,  called
the Decidua, which is formed during the  latter part of the
flow, and which lines  the whole  interior cavity.   As the
egg passes out of the  Uterine end of the Tube, it pushes
on this thin membrane, and makes a  kind of nest,  or de-
pression, in which it lies.  While this  membrane remains,
therefore, the egg is  necessarily  retained  in the Womb,
and can be impregnated ; but in a certain period, varying
in different  persons,  if  there be no impregnation, the
membrane loosens, and passes out of  the body, taking the
egg along with it, after which, of course, there can be no
conception, till another period  comes  round,  because
there is no ripe egg  in  the Womb  to  be impregnated.
From which, it follows, as before remarked, that  there is
a part of each  month in which Conception is not possible.  If
impregnation occurs, the egg, instead of being expelled,
attaches itself to the walls of the  Womb, and remains, to
develop into the new being, while the decidua forms one
of the Fcetal Membranes, or envelopes.
  In every female, therefore, married or virgin, an egg
is formed and thrown  off every month, unless conception
takes place, and then  a  new being is produced.  During
Pregnancy  and Nursing, however,  the ripening of tin
ova is usually suspended, for reasons given in the article
on Menstruation ; and at the  change of life,  it ceases en-
tirely, because all have been developed.
  As a general rule, only  one  Vesicle is broken each
month, but, occasionally, there   are two, or more ; in
which case, if all these ova are impregnated, there may
be twins, or triplets, as the case may  be.   Possibly, also,
the Ovaries act alternately, one one  month, and the
other the next; but this is not always the case, for one
will sometimes lie dormant for a length  of time,  or even
be destroyed  altogether, and yet  the  other will act  regu- 
36
INTERNAL FEMALE ORGANS.
lady alone.   Each Vesicle usually contains but one Ovum,
though sometimes two are ^een within, and even more.
Twins, therefore, or other  numbers  may result either
from several Vesicles bursting with an Ovum in each, or
from one Vesicle containing  several Ova.   Probably, in
those remarkable instances where we have four or five at
a birth, both these unusual occurrences take place.   In
the lower animals, as many Vesicles burst as they have
young, unless some of the  Vesicles contain  more than
one Ovum,  which is  sometimes the case, and then  the
number of the young  is greater.
  The Ovaries  are among the very first Organs formed,
the rudiments of them being found in the bodies of little
girls two or three years old,  and distinct traces are to  be
seen even  before birth.  They  are also plainly  distin-
guishable in the  minutest beings — in the Infusoria, for
instance, though  th^y require  to be magnified thousands
of times before they become visible.  In fact,  in many of
the smaller animals, the Ovary is larger than all the  rest
of the body at particular times.  The body of the Queen
Bee, for instance, is much enlarged when filled with ripe
eggs,  and in some female Ants, the Ovary attains such
an enormous size, that the head and trunk are almost lost
sight of.  The number of eggs found in the  Ovaries  of
some  beings is almost  incredible.  Thus, in a female
Sturgeon, there has  been  counted  Ten  Millions  and
in all probability many species form even more than this
number.  In most insects the depositing of the egg is the
last act they perform ; it is not done till they attain  the
perfect stage, and then,  when the reproduction of their
young is provided for, they die.  In the more perfect be-
ings, however, the Ovulation is repeated many times.
  The immediate cause of the expulsion of the egg from
the Ovary is very curious, and  shows that there is a pecul-
iar organic action in these parts, which accumulates its
force at periodic intervals.  On examining the Graafian
Vesicles, they are found to be surrounded by several dis-
tinct membranes, or layers, between the two inner ones of
which the egg is placed, at the bottom of the Vesicle ;  the
innermost of all the membranes  containing  the whitish
fluid formerly mentioned.  The  outer  membrane of  the
two inner ones  is traversed by a number of minute blood-
vessels, which ordinarily are barely visible, but,about three
weeks before each period, some of them are seen to be 
INTERNAL FEMALE ORGANS.
37
much enlarged, and engorged with blood.  This engorge-
ment continues to increase till, eventually, some  of the
blood-vessels  break, and the blood is thus exuded be-
tween the two membranes, and, of course, under the egg,
which is lifted up by it, and as the effusion of blood con-
tinues, and the quantity increases, it is eventually forced
up  to the  top of- the Vesicle, against which it presses.
The white fluid is, in the meantime, all absorbed, and its
place occupied by the effused  blood, which, by its con-
stant increase, causes the enlargement of the Vesicle,
L\nd  its  ultimate  rupture, when the egg  escapes.  This
secretion of blood in the interior of the Graafian Vesicle
is precisely analogous to the  secretion of the  Menstrual
fluid in  the Womb, which  it  always precedes, and prob-
ably originates.
  On examining the Ovary just when the egg is expelled,
which is usually about the cessation of the flow, there
will be  found, somewhere  on the surface  of it, a small
space, much inflamed,  in the  centre of which will be seen
a minute rent, or torn place.   This is the spot where the
Vesicle  has broken open, and the egg escaped.   Some-
times, when the dissection occurs at the proper moment,
the egg may be seen between the lips of the rent, or may
be found on the surface of the Ovary ; it is then just large
enough to be visible, and appears like a minute globe of
bluish-colored starch.  The Vesicle itself, about the  size
of a small  pea, may be readily opened, by enlarging the
rent, and will be found filled  with dark-colored  blood,
with  the walls sometimes shrunken together.  Occasion-
ally, a portion of the blood, in the form of a dark clot,
passes out with the egg, and both may be found together.
This may be as readily seen in any of the lower animals
as in the human being, about the commencement  of the
Rut or  Heat; especially in Rabbits, or Pigs, and, better
still, in  larger animals.
  After the expulsion of the egg, the empty Vesicle grad-
ually shrinks  up, by  the  contraction of its walls,  and
eventually appears  like a mere  scar, of a yellowish brown
color.  This scar is called the Corpus Luteum, or  yellow
body, and it was formerly thought to result only from
Conception.  Until recently, every anatomist regarded
the presence of a Corpus Luteum on the Ovary as a proof
 of previous Conception.  It  was known that they were
 procured by the expulsion  of an egg but  it was through 
38
INTERNAL FEMALE ORGANS.
 —as it  is now, by many persons—that  the  egg was ex.
 pelled only when  it was  impregnated,  and that, conse-
 quently, the Corpus Luteum was a proof of Conception.
 It is now known, however, that the eggs are formed just
 the same when there is  no conception, as when there is,
 and that, consequently, the Corpus Luteum  is only an
 indication  of ordinary ovulation, and is not necessarily
 connected  with  impregnation.   This mistake, however,
 was universal, and has had its irifluence in Medical Juris-
 prudence.   On examining the bodies of females, for in-
 stance,  in connection with certain criminal  trials, if any
 of these Scars were round on the Ovaries, it was at once
 decided that Conception must have taken place some time
 or other, and such  tesLimony might have a most impor-
 tant bearing on the case.   Suppose there  should  be a
 charge of seduction, it might be important to the defend-
 ant to prove that the female had not been virtuous, and
 if medical men testified, from these signs, that she had
 formerly conceived, that object  would be accomplished.
 In fact, many such cases are on record, and, no doubt,
 many young women have thus  had their characters un-
 justly aspersed, after  death, and many  guilty persons
 have  escaped punishment in consequence of  this  error.
 This fact may be important for Lawyers  to bear in  mind,
 as well as  Medical Men, more especially  as  they  will
 find no  reference to it in the works on Medical Jurispru-
 dence in ordinary  use.   Haller,  the celebrated anato-
 mist, used to dissect animals extensively, and, on asking
 the dealers to bring him Heifers, frequently accused them
 of deceiving him, because he sometimes found  Corpora
 Lutea upon  their Ovaries.   No matter how  strongly the
 men affirmed that the animal had never  known the male,
 so firmly was he convinced of the truth  of his notion,
 that all they could say was disbelieved.   In  1808, a Miss
 Angus died in  Liverpool, under circumstances that ex-
 cited suspicions against her  master, and an  examination
 of her body being deemed  requisite, the Ovaries  were
 seen by many of the most celebrated anatomists in Eng-
 land, the greater part of whom decided that she had been
a mother, because a perfect  Corpus Luteum was found.
 Some  anatomists even now, who are not practically ac-
quainted with these subjects, conceive  that,  though  a
Scar may be found at  each month, yet that the one
 formed at Conception is larger and somewhat  different; 
PLATE  IV.
THE HUMAN FEMALE OVARIES.
The dark scar marked i, on Fig.  i, is a Corpus Luteum,
  or place where the egg has been expelled.  The Cavi-
  ties marked i, i, in Fig. 3, are Graafian vesicles, from
  which eggs have been expelled.  Fig. 2, is marked all
  over with scars, or Corpora Lutea.
                                         39 
 
INTERNAL FEMALE ORGANS.          41
 but this is  altogether erroneous,  there being no  differ-
 ence  whatever in them, let them  be formed when they
 may.
  From what  has been stated, it  follows that a Corpus
 Luteum is formed every month, and it might be supposed,
 therefore, that there would always be just as many as the
 individual had had Menstruations.  This, however, is not
 the case, because they gradually  fade away and  disap-
 pear,  so that only three or four are seen at most, and fre-
 quently only one.   I have seen traces of a larger number
 under the  microscope, however, and, possibly, in some
 persons, they  endure longer than in others.  As the turn
 of life is approached, they become  more lasting, probably
 from  the weakened power of the  Ovaries to absorb  them
 and, after the  change has fully taken place, the whole sur-
 face of the Organ is often covered  by them, and in many
 old persons, the Ovary is one  mass of wrinkles,  and
 shrunken very much in size ;  in fact, it sometimes almost
 totally disappears.  The old physiologists who thought
 that a Corpus  Luteum was formed only when a conception
 occurred, used to say,  that by  counting  the number of
 these  scars, they could  tell how many children a female
had borne.   The fallacy of this, however, will be apparent,
after  the above explanation, and,  indeed, many of the
physiologists had begun to  suspect  it was  not correct
themselves,  from the  fact, that  sometimes four or  five
Corpora Lutea would be found in the Ovaries of a young
person oi fifteen or sixteen.
  In most instances the Ova go on developing regularly,
those  on the surface coming forward first, and those in
the  centre working their way outwards, to succeed them
till all have been ripened, and then the Ovaries shrink up
and waste  away.   But, sometimes, one or more  of the
Vesicles and Ova will either  be  buried so deeply, or be
so very rudimentary, that they do  not attain nearly their
full development at the  turn of  life,  and are, conse-
quently, left in the Ovary in an imperfect  state.  In such
cases, if  the Organ remains  healthy, these  delayed Ova
may develop many years after, and may even be impreg-
nated.  This accounts  for those  curious instances of old
 females sometimes  Menstruating a second time, at sixty
 or seventy years of age, and  also of some of them bear-
 ing children when very old, as I knew one  at sixty-two.
 In such cases, there have simply been one or more of the 
42
INTERNAL FEMALE  ORGANS.
eggs  left imperfect,  at  the turn of life,  and afterwards
developed.
   In some persons the Ovaries are organically weak, and
in others they are diseased, so that they either cannot
develop  the eggs  at  all, or else they do  so  imperfectly.
Such  persons are  always irregular in  their Menstrual
periods,  and disposed to flooding, from the debilitated
state of  the Organs.  If the Ova  are not formed at all,
they are also barren, of course,  and even if  they  are
merely imperfect, conception  is not likely to occur, be-
cause the germ is deficient in vitality.  It has been con-
jectured  farther,  that deformity  in children may also
arise from  imperfect  ova, there being merely vital force
enough to allow of impregnation taking place, but not suffi-
cient  to  insure  a  perfect development  afterwards.   I
once had a patient who had  borne  five children, all  de-
formed or  ynperfect, as  I surmised, from diseased and
weakened  Ovaries, who  had two  others subsequently,
quite perfect after proper means had been used to stimu-
late and  strengthen those Organs  and  to regulate their
action.   Those who have ever observed what imperfect
plants are usually produced from diseased and imperfect
seed, will readily understand the philosophy of  this, and
will see the necessity of  a healthy condition of  the Ova
ries, to ensure both conception and perfect offspring.
   It must not be supposed, however, that the state of th
Ova alone  influences  the quality of the  offspring, or a*
fects the liability to Conception, it being equally importan
that the male Organs,  and the male principle, too, shouh
be perfect,  as will be shown  farther on.   The ripening o
the egg in  the Ovary is,  in many respects, analogous t<
the ripening of a fruit upon a  tree.   It remains   ir
the Vesicle till  it  has attained a  certain size, and  ex.
hausted all the nutriment provided, and then leaves it, or
is  cast  off, like  a foreign  body.  This is  the reason why
eggs cannot be  impregnated if they are  taken from  the
Ovary, because they  are not perfect till  they  leave it
spontaneously,  but when found in the Uterus  and Fallo-
pian Tubes, they may be impregnated.
  Although, as before explained, neither  the female egg
nor the male Semen can develop into a new being alone,
yet,  under certain peculiar circumstances, the  egg will
occasionally develop into a partial  and imperfect likeness
of a child  itself, without any impregnation.  What  the 
INTERNAL FEMALE ORGANS.           43
conditions are upon which this unusual  power depends.
are unknown, but such occurrences have, undoubtedly,
been observed.  Possibly, the power of the  Ovary  may
be much  exalted during  a  state of inflammation, as the
power of other organs frequently is.   Thus, for instance,
in many cases of inflamed eyes the power of vision  is so
preterntturally increased  that the patient can see in the
dark, or, rather,  in what is darkness to healthy eyes.   In
what  is commonly  termed  darkness, there are always
some few rays of light, and the diseased eye can see  with
those few, though  it is blinded by a  full light.   In the
same  manner, though the healthy Ovary can only de-
velop the  germ into the Ovum or egg, yet, when inflamed,
it may be  capable of partially developing it into an organ-
ized being.  The celebrated Hufeland  gives us a remark-
able instance of  this kind, in which there was found, in a
girl of thirteen years, the rudiments of an imperfect foetus,
very distinct, contained in  a sac in one  of  the Ovaries,
which was diseased.   Some few such  cases I have also
myself seen, and it  is not at all unusual, under such cir-
cumstances, to hnd detached bones, hair, teeth, and single
limbs, as if  the Ovary had not power enough to organize
them together, though it could originate them individually.
Such things have occurred in undoubted  virgins—even in
children, and  the fact is both interesting and important.
There are many circumstances under which such diseased
growths might be found, that would seriously affect the
individual's reputation, and originate most  unjust sus.
picions.
  This  shows one  use of sexual excitement.  It is  true,
that this peculiar sensation  is not necessary either to the
formation of the Ova, nor to Conception, but it  is also
equally true, that it may often conduce  to both.  There
is  no question but what  Amative enjoyment stimulates
the Ovaries very much, and in many cold and torpid sys-
tems, nothing else succeeds so well in doing so, which is
the reason  why  marriage  is  often   recommended  for
young females who  are irregular or deficient.   On the
other hand, tn-i  • are others whose ardor it  is necessary
to moderate,  because their over-indulgence excites the
Ovaries  too  much, and  they form  the  Ova too often.
Blumenbach tells us, as a singular  confirmation of .this
principle, that he has seen some kinds  ot Birds practice a
species of Masturbation, or excite thw.&elves with  their 
44
INTERNAL FEMALE ORGANS.
bills, and  that immediately afterwards they always  laid
an egg, even though there was only a half-formed one in
the body to be expelled.
  The condition in which beings live has a great influence
over the action of the Ovaries, so as to completely change
it in many respects.   Thus, for instance, the Wild Turkey
lays but one lot of eggs in the year, and, probably, most
other species of fowls do the same in a state  of nature,
but when domesticated, regularly and well fed, and shel-
tered,  they  will  lay  many  more ;  sometimes  even
they  will continue to  do so almost constantly.  This is
owing to the influence of rich and plentiful food, with the
absence of privation  and exposure, which allows more
nutriment, and more vital power to be expended upon the
Ovaries.   It is probable that all Cattle, when  wild, have
their CEstrum, or heat, at  some  particular season of the
year, but whenever they are  domesticated, it  occurs in
them irregularly and more frequently.
  Among human beings, however,  the manners and  cus-
toms  of society have more influence perhaps than  any
other causes, because the sexual  instinct  in them can be
awakened and exalted through the medium of the imag-
ination, and because  the action  of the Ovaries is so fre-
quent as to keep the whole  system more or less  con-
stantly under their influence.  In the human being, Love
.s a compound feeling, embracing  a  variety of  propensi-
ties and desires, domestic and social, besides the animal
propensity, so that it is awakened in very many different
ways, while in the Animal it is only called forth by  one
impulse.
  Too high feeding often impairs  the Generative power,
by unnaturally stimulating the formation  oi fat, owing to
which the functions of the Ovaries, in common with those
of many other organs, are then in a great measure  sus-
pended, because all vital power is concentrated on the
one absorbing process of Nutrition.  On  the other hand,
a meagre and poor  diet is also apt to impair the vigor of
the sexual organs, or if it does not do so, the other organs
suffer, because there is not nutrition enough to maintain
them all in full action   In the human being, however, as
already remarked, there are so many other causes operating
upon the sexual  system, that the physical condition is not
of such paramount importance as it is in the lower animals.
Thus we often see  whole  classes  of people, who live in 
INTERNAL FEMALE ORGANS.            45
the most wretched manner, and are half starved,  who,
nevertheless, are remarkably prolific, and much disposed
to amative indulgence.  In all  these cases, however,  it
will  be found that the intercourse of the sexes is entirely
unrestrained, there being no considerations of prudence,
no calculation of means  or consequences, but  a perfect
abandonment to the mere sexual impulse. Consequently,
marnages  occur  early, and there  is no motive what-
ever for restraint afterwards.  In these  people,  however,
the Virile power does not endure so long as in those who
are better circumstanced, and its  exercise  being one of
the few indulgences left them, they are apt to abuse it.

               § THE  FALLOPIAN TUBES.

   The Fallopian Tubes, as already  explained, form the
only means of communication between  the Ovaries and
the Womb, and  it is into them that the ripe  eggs are
passed when they leave the  Ovary.  The  structure of
these Organs is very peculiar, and they are of great im-
portance to health, besides being essential to generation.
In dissecting them, the interior passage is found to  be
covered  with a number  of  Cilia,  or hair-like  threads,
which are directed towards the Womb.   These Cilia are
in perpetual motion,  like small worms, drawing them-
selves up,  and then elongating, and the Tube itself  is
also  constantly  contracting,  in  successive waves,  from
the Ovarian end to the Uterine end.   The result of these
combined motions is,  that, so long as they continue, any
object, of proportionate size, can enter at the  Ovarian
end of the  Tube, and be  conveyed down to the Womb,
but it is difficult for anything to enter at the Uterine end,
and to be conveyed up to the Ovary. The Ovarian end
of the Tube is also expanded, so as to embrace or cover
any object, and is provided with Fimbriae, or fingers, to
grasp, but  nothing of the kind exists at the Uterine end.
It is evident, therefore, that, except under peculiar and
unusual circumstances, to be explained  further  on, noth-
ing usually passes from the Womb  to the Ovary, but only
in the opposite direction.  The  great use of the Tubes
is, apparently,  to  transmit the ripe  eggs to  the Womb,
after they are ejected  from the  Ovary,  but, besides this
use, they may also serve another purpose of great con-
sequence to female health.  The continual excitement to 
46
INTERNAL FEMALE ORGANS.
which the Ovaries are subject, causes them to  be always
secreting various fluids and other  substances, which, if
not expelled from the body,  are apt to cause many evils,
and this expulsion  may take place down the Fallopian
Tubes.  The obstruction of  these Tubes may, therefore,
lead to Inflammation  of the  Ovaries,  Dropsy, Tumors
and Abscesses.
  There are many causes that tend  to weaken the action
of the  Fallopian Tubes, and which, therefore, lessen the
liability to Conception.   In some persons they are almost
totally torpid, from want   of natural feeling, the pro-
duction of which is often all that  is needed to ensure
their action.   On the other hand, excessive amorous  in-
dulgence will so weaken the  Tubes,  by the incessant ex-
citement to which it subjects them, that  they will almost
lose their power  of  contraction, and then the individual
will be liable  both  to disease and  sterility.   This is, in
fact, the  chief reason why  Prostitutes  do not conceive
so frequently as married females ; the continued and ex-
cessive excitement which they experience, causes a par-
alysis of the Tubes.
  It is probable that, at the moment when the egg passes
from the Vesicle, the Tube erects, and its Fimbriae grasp
round the Ovary, so as to include the Ovum  within  the
open end, and also  that, at  the same time, the  body of
the Uterus expands, while its mouth closes, owing to the
excitement experienced, and  thus  there  is a powerful
suction, by which the egg is  drawn  into the first  part of
the opening.   Some  females have even stated that the
motion and erection of the Tubes can be distinctly felt.
  A perfect Paralysis of the  Tubes, or closure of the pas-
sages  down them, of course, necessarily causes sterility,
because the egg cannot reach the Womb.  This  fact is
sometimes of  practical value in  preventing breeding in
female animals.   Instead of Spaying,  or removing the
Ovaries, which is the common operation, a  ligature is
tied round each Tube, which, by closing its passage, and
preventing the passage of   the egg, effectually prevents
any future conception also.  In some females the action
of the Tubes is very slow, and the egg becomes  decayed
and spoiled before  they convey it  to  the Womb.  The
sterility arising from this cause may always be cured by
quickening the action of the  Tubes.
  It is probable  that many cases of Hydatids, and other 
PLATE  V-
THE  INTERNAL ORGANS CUT THROUGH.
B, B. The Womb cut through.—C. The Vagina.—g. The
  Mouth of the Womb.—/, /.  The Fallopian  Tubes.—
  e, e. The Ovaries.—r, r.  The Round Ligaments.—S.
  One of the Broad Ligaments.  On one side the egg is
  just entering  the Tube from the Ovary,  and on the
  other, at i, it is just passed into the Womb.
4? 
\
I 
INTERNAL FEMALE ORGANS.           49
living bodies, and also Polypi, are caused  by eggs being
retained, through the inaction of the Tubes.  This reten-
tion first causes inflammation of the Ovaries,  and then
the inflammation causes the Ova to  imperfectly.develop,
as already explained.
  Barrenness  from want of passage in  the  Fallopian
Tubes, can sometimes be cured, an  operation being per-
formed, by which they are opened.   This consists  in pass-
ing a silver  tube, properly made, into the Womb, till the
end of it touches the opening of the  Fallopian Tube, and
then a very small probe  is thrust out of it, and  pushed
along the passage, so as  to open  it, or  remove  any ob-
structions ; with proper instruments, and using due care,
this apparently difficult operation becomes  quite feasible,
and its results are often as acceptable as they were unex-
pected.
  The usual length of the Tube is about three inches, but
I have seen  them four, and even five inches.  Sometimes
they are too short, and cannot reach the Ovary, which is,
of course, another cause of sterility, and an  incurable one.
                    § THE WOMB.

  The Uterus, or Womb,  called  also  the  Matrix,  was
formerly thought to be the most essential of the Genera-
tive Organs, but is now known to be merely a receptacle,
in which the ripe egg is placed for a  short time after its
ejection  from the Ovary, and in  which it develops  into
the new being if Conception occurs.  There is no Uterus,
therefore, in  those animals that do not bring forth their
young alive, the egg in them being expelled and  devel-
oped externally.
  The situation of this Organ in the body will be readily
understood by  the explanations already given.   It  is
placed midway between the lower edges of  the two  hip-
bones, and its upper part lies immediately upon the Blad-
der, which is in front of it, while behind it is the Rectum,
or lower part of the  large Intestine.   The Womb does
not extend downwards but  about two  inches, or little
more,  and immediately  below,  connected with  it ex-
ternally, is the tube  or canal called the Vagina, which
leads up to the Womb, and opens externally at the Vulva,
between the Labia.  When viewed externally, the Womb
4 
50           INTERNAL FEMALE ORGANS.
and Vagina seem to form  but one Organ, but internally,
the distinction between them is easily seen.
  The form of  the Womb is nearly that  of a  Pear, the
larger end being at the top.  It is not round, but flattened.
being widest across the  body from side to side, and it is
slightly curved, or bent, the convex  part being towards
the back bone.  The  lower part of it, called the Neck,
hangs down into the  Vagina, the walls of which are at-
tached to the exterior of the Womb, some distance above.
At each one of the upper corners of  the Womb is one of
the  Fallopian  Tubes, and the  Ovary underneath, the
Tubes being about three or four inches in length,  and the
ovarian ligament about two  or three  inches.  Underneath
these,  some little distance down the sides of the  Womb,
there are also attached two round cords, one on each side,
very firm and strong,  which are called the Round Cords,
or Ligaments of the Womb. - These are about five inches
long, curved round, and by their other  ends firmly at-
tached to the pubic or front bone.  These act  like stays,
and  keep  the Womb  in the centre  of the body, on the
rounded top of the bladder.  Without them it would be
constantly liable to displacement, but as each of the liga-
ments acts  with equal force, and in an opposite direction
to the other, they necessarily maintain the Organ in the
centre.  Besides  the round  Ligaments there are also the
Broad Ligaments, which consist of two broad  sheets  of
strong membrane, one on each side, which extend from the
top of the Womb, nearly the  whole length down, enclosing
the round ligament, Tubes, and ovarian ligaments in their
substance.  These grow fast to the  sides of the  Pelvis,
and  assist  in  maintaining the  Uterus, the  Ovaries and
Tubes, in  their proper situations.   There are also two
ligaments  that connect  the Womb  with  the bladder  in
front, called the anterior ligaments ; and two  others which
connect it  with  the  Rectum behind, called the posterior
ligaments   All  these, however, do but little  towards
actually supporting the Womb, which  is really kept in its
place more by the firmness  and density  of  its  own sub-
stance, and that of the Vagina below, and by the  tension
of the  muscles  in the Perineum  than by anything else.
When these parts become weak, from debility or disease,
the ligaments stretch,  the Perineal Muscles relax, and the
walls of the Womb and Vagina soften till all fall down
together, and then we have Prolapsus Uteri, or Falling of 
                PLATE VI.
SECTION  OF THE  WOMB, NATURAL  SIZE.
EXPLANATION.
a, a. Are its Thick Walls.—b.  Is the Cavity in its upper
  part, or body.—c.  Is the  Cavity in  the  lower  part  or
  Neck.—d.  Is the Vagina.—*-, e. The edges of the Walls
  of the Vagina cut through.—/, /. Two threads, passing
  through the openings of the Fallopian Tubes,  and ap-
  pearing in the inside.—£\  Is the Mouth of the Womb,
  or Os Tincae opening into  the Vagina.

This view being of the full size, will  give  an idea of the
  astonishing change  this organ has  to undergo in the
  process of Gestation.
            (51) 
 
INTERNAL FEMALE  ORGANS.
53
the Womb, the causes, symptoms, and treatment of which
are fully given in my book on " The Diseases of Women."
  The length of the virgin Uterus is about two inches and
a half, its breadth at the  top  about one inch and a half,
and at the lower end a little less than an inch ;  its thick-
ness also, through the flat way, is  a  little less  than one
inch.   The walls  being very thick the interior cavity is
necessarily small,  and it  is different in form  to the ex
terior.  In the upper part the cavity is shaped like a Tri
angle, the Fallopian  Tubes  entering at the  two upper
angles ; in the lower part it is continued downwards like a
Tube which swells out considerably a little more than half-
way down, and at its termination opens by what is called
the Os Tincce, Os Uteri, or mouth of the Womb, into the
Vagina.  This opening, or mouth of the Womb, is like a
cleft,  placed crosswise, on  the  prominent Neck of the
Womb, and is  readily felt at the top of the  Vagina, in
manual examinations.  The two lips formed by this cleft
are perfectly smooth  and  round, in those  that  have not
borne children, but are apt  to be torn and  covered with
scars  in those who have.  The anterior lip, or the one in
front, is considerably thicker than  the other, so  that the
cleft, which is about a quarter of  an  inch long, is not  quite
in the centre. In virgins the internal cavity is very small,
the walls nearly touching each other, and the  Mouth  of
the Womb, or cleft, is so narrow and its lips so firmly
closed,  that it  can scarcely be  ascertained.   In young
persons, in fact, the neck feels  precisely like  the end of
the nose, the Os Tincae merely giving the  impression of
a slight hollow between  the  lips.   In those that  have
borne children the walls  of the Womb separate  farther
asunder, so that the cavity increases in size, and the Os,
or Mouth, also  enlarges and  remains  more or less open,
so that the cleft is plainly  felt.   In speaking of the whole
Organ it is usually divided into  three parts,  namely, that
above the  Fallopian Tubes, called the Fundus, that be-
tween the fundus and the  Neck,  called the Body, and that
which projects into the Vagina,  which is called the Neck.
—The Neck projects into the lower passage somewhat
less than a quarter of an  inch, and is plainly felt at the
upper part, like a small  firm tumor, across which is the
cleft or Os Tincae.
  In Virgins  the Womb is  more straight than in those
who have borne children, and it is  also higher  up in the 
54
INTERNAL FEMALE ORGANS.
body, and  the  neck is  considerably  thicker.   In some
persons,  however, the Womb is naturally  much lower
than it is in others, and also smaller, and all women are
not equally changed by child-bearing.
  The substance of the Uterus is muscular, and it is capa-
ble,  in  its contractions, of exerting most tremendous
force.  The increase  in size which it undergoes, at the
different periods of gestation, are most extraordinary, and
its after-contraction to  its  original dimensions is  still
more so.   Thus at the  full period of nine months it will
measure over a foot in diameter, each  way,  in some
cases, and yet in a few days after delivery will return to
its original dimensions.   In my work, "The Matron's
Manual of  Midwifery," all these changes are fully repre-
sented by Plates.
  Arteries, Veins, and Nerves are plentifully supplied to
the Womb, so that it  is abundantly nutrified and highly
sensitive.  Indeed there is no other Organ in the body,
except the Ovaries, that has such extensive sympathies,
or that is  capable of such rapid  growth.   The Womb,
however, is altogether dependent upon  the Ovaries both
for its development and its functional  ability.  If there
be  no Ovaries, the  Womb will  be found  merely rudi-
mentary, and if the Ovarian actions  cease, those of  the
Womb cease also.  The Neck of the Womb, which hangs
down into  the Vagina, is usually the  most sensitive part
of it, and is,  in many persons, the principal seat of Erotic
excitement, even more  so than the Clitoris.   In fact,  I
believe that this excitement is never known in its full in-
tensity excepting when it  is experienced in the Neck of
the Womb.
  When the  Erotic excitation  is  intense in  the  female
during copulation,  the  Womb experiences a species of
erection and vibration, by which  it becomes engorged
with blood,  and  is drawn with  considerable force and
rapidity up and down the Vagina.   This brings the neck
into contact with the Glans of the  Male organ, which is
also the most  sensitive part, and their mutual pressure
hastens the Orgasm in both.  The  idea which some per-
sons entertain  that the Male Organ  enters the Womb is
both erroneous and absurd as a consideration of its struct-
ure  will show ; neither is it true,  as others  think,  that
always, when Conception  ensues, the  Semen is thrown
into the Womb.  It is true that during a perfect Orgasm, 
INTERNAL FEMALE ORGANS.           55
such as referred to above, the  Os Tincce probably opens
when the Womb descends to meet the Male Organ, and
if the Semen is emitted at that time also it may pass di-
rectly into the mouth.  This  is the reason why concep-
tion is more likely when the Orgasm is mutual and simul-
taneous, but still it is not absolutely necessary in either.
  Sometimes the Womb  is very small and imperfect, so
that  the egg is not retained, and barrenness of course
results, and occasionally it  is absent altogether.   A  re
markable case  of  this  kind is given in my " Diseases
U'omen," in which a young  person who had never Men
struated, was married, and  it was afterward discovered
that  she had  no Womb, though  in  every other  respect
quite  perfect.   This smallness and  imperfection of  the
Womb is very apt to be found in those who are late in
Menstruation, or who have been irregular.
  The form  of the Uterus varies much in different beings,
so much, in  fact, that it scarcely appears to  be  the same
Organ.  It is sometimes round, oval, and even triangular,
and not unfrequently divides into two  horns, as  in  the
Cow,  Pig  Horse, and Whale, in which  we also find  the
Fallopian  Tubes very  long  and  contorted.   In most of
the Carnivorous Animals, as in the Rodentia, as the Rat
and Squirrel, the Uterus is very short, and divides at the
lower end into two parts, communicating with two short
and straight tubes.  In the greater part  of the Rodentia,
in fact, as in the Hare and   Mouse, the Womb is really
double, there  being a separate one in connection  with
each Fallopian Tube, and consequently two mouths, both
of which  can be  distinctly seen in the Vagina.   In the
Marsupial  Animals, as  the  Opossum  and Kangaroo,
there is no  Uterus, properly speaking, but the end of
each Fallopian Tube, when  it opens into the Vagina, is
expanded, and made to answer the purpose  of one.   In
ihese imperfect wombs the young are retained but a short
iime, and are then expelled,  and  placed in the pouch out-
side,  as before explained,  in which they are  gradually
perfected.   The Vagina, also, is  double in these animals,
one  communicating with  each  tube.   Occasionally the
Vagina  is partly closed previous  to connection, by a
species of Hymen, as in the Mare, the Cow, and Ape,
 but it is never so perfect as in the human female.
   In very rare  cases, the Womb has been  found  double
 in the human being, each Organ being distinct  and sepa- 
56
INTERNAL FEMALE ORGANS.
rate from each other, and opening by a separate mouth
into the Vagina.   In such cases, one Womb is connected
with the right Ovary only, and the other with the left, so
that  Conception can occur  in one and  not in the other
at the same time, though it  may do so afterwards,  and
cause a superfcetation, or Conception in a person already
pregnant.  More frequently the  Womb is simply divided
by a partition inside, and is  not properly double, though,
possibly, superfcetation might take place even then.
                   § THE VAGINA.

  The Vagina is the passage leading from below upwards
to the Womb.  At  its lower extremity is the  Vulva, or
external Mouth, between the lips, and at the top of it, is
the Neck of the Womb.  The Vagina is like a pipe or
tube, with  very firm,  thick  walls, capable  of  dilating or
contracting to a very considerable extent.  The length of
it is  from  four to  six inches, though I have known it as
long as eight inches and as short as three.  The diameter
varies from an inch and a half  to  two  inches  and a half.
It is not straight, but curved, the hollow part of the curve
being in front,  next to the bladder, while the convex part
is next to the rectum or large intestine.
  The diameter of the canal of the Vagina is not uniform
in its whole length, it being some little narrower in  the
middle  than at either end.  It is lined with a  Mucous
Membrane throughout,  like the Uterus, and in virgins is
not smooth, but is marked with  a number of  ruga, or
folds, which gradually  disappear after connection,  and
especially after delivery.  Under the  Mucous  coat is an-
other thick one of  Cellular Membrane, and  under  thai
again is another coat, called the  Corpus Spongiosum  Va-
gina.  This is a true erectile tissue, like the Corpus Spon-
giosum  of  the  Male Organ, and  capable,  like it, of be-
coming congested with  blood during  excitement, and of
erecting and contracting.  It is this power that enables
the Vagina to draw down the Womb during the Orgasm,
as explained in the previous article, and  it also makes it
 ompress the Male 0rSan at the  same time, by thickening
the walls, and contracting the passage, and thus  increas-
ing the  pressure and excitement in both.  The  principal
portion  of this erectile tissue is, however, confined to the 
               INTERNAL FEMALE  ORGANS.           57

 lower part of the Vagina, though it exists more or less in
 its whole length  And it is a knowledge of this fact that
 enables  us  to  use  many  kinds of  Pessaries  advanta-
 geously,  for the cure  of  falling of  the  Womb.  When
 the  instrument is  once  introduced,  the contraction  of
 the  lower  part of  the  passage  which  is  acted upon
 by the presence of  the  foreign  body, prevents  its being
 expelled.  In some  females  the erectile tissue is much
 developed at   the  narrow  part of  the  Vagina, about
 half-way  up to the Womb,  and it will contract so forci-
 bly  there,  from any excitement,  that a  passage can
 scarcely be effected beyond.  Those who have the erec-
 tile tissue imperfectly developed, are always  liable  to  a
 lax Vagina, which leads to falling of the Womb, and also
 to rupture of the bladder and rectum through its walls.
 In all such cases, if the erectile tissue is made to  act, by
 the excitement natural to the parts, the relaxation is much
 relieved, and a step is made towards  permanent improve-
 ment.
   At the mouth of the Vagina is  a strong circular muscle,
 like that which closes the mouth  and eyes.   It is called
 the  Sphincter,  or Constrictor Vagince,  and when  it  acts
 properly, the mouth of the Vagina  is kept nearly closed
 by it.  This muscle is of great importance in maintaining
 the parts above, by drawing the lower walls  of  the Va-
 gina together, and making them more firm.  It also co-
 operates along with the Erectile Tissue, in increasing the
 pressure during coition.   In some females it acts so pow-
 erfully  as to close  the  passage  completely,  and  so
 strongly,  that an  entrance can scarcely be obtained.
 This is often the case in those who have  an  irritable Cli-
 toris, or Nymphae, and  every act is as difficult with them
 as the first, though not so  painful.   When this Constric-
 tion of the Sphincter is conjoined with great engorgement
 cf the Erectile  Tissue,  the difficulty  is  of  course  still
 greater, but in all such cases the intensity of the Orgasm
is  also proportionally increased.
  The relaxation of  the Sphincter Muscles, which is very
common,  is  a serious evil, as it disposes all the parts
above to displacement, and much impairs the sensibility
of the parts.   The lower part  of  the Erectile  Tissue,
round  the base  of the Nymphae,  exhibits  a  curious  net-
work of Veins, called the Plexus Retiformis, which dur-
ing excitement  are  singularly enlarged.  They are apt 
58
INTERNAL FEMALE  ORGANS.
sometimes to become obstructed, and swell, causing vari-
cose veins, and enlargement of the lips.
  The Hymen, which partly closes  the mouth of the  Va-
gina in Virgins, has already been explained.  The open-
ing in it  is usually crescent-shaped, and  is  thought to
have  originated the symbol  of Diana,  the Goddess of
Chastity, which was a half-moon, or crescent.
  Immediately within the Vagina, on  each side, are  cer-
tain little openings called the Glands of Duvernay.  These
secrete a thickish gray-colored fluid, of a  peculiar odor,
which is often discharged in great quantities during coition,
and was formerly thought, by uninformed  persons, tc be
a kind of Semen.  The situation of these  Glands causes
them  to be compressed by the Constrictor Muscle, which
is the reason why  they discharge most during the  strong-
est excitement.  In some  persons the quantity of fluid
discharged amounts to several ounces.
  In addition to the Glands of  Duvernay, there are  also
a number of Mucous Follicles, both in the  Vagina and on
the inner  surface of the lips, which also discharge freely
under similar circumstances.
  The Vagina, like the  other  parts, is liable to various
malformations.  Thus in some it  is  too  small,  and in
others it  is closed by  the inner walls  or external  lips
growing together.   In  others, again, it  is unnaturally
large, so  that the Womb  continually falls down  to the
lower  part of it.  Many of those cases in which the Va-
gina is closed, are not discovered till marriage, and then
great distress and  suffering result.  Many such instances
are given in my book on the " Diseases of Women," and
aiso the means of remedying the defect, which  can be
often done without medical assistance.  When the canal
is too short, great  distress and even serious  injury  may
often  ensue in  marriage, unless certain precautions are
observed.
  Most of these difficulties appear  much worse than they
really are, it merely requiring time and skilful appliances
to remedy the worst of them.
  In rare cases, the Vagina has  been found  double,  like
the Womb, sometimes with two Uteri, and at others  with
only one. I once saw a case of this kind myself, in which
coition could be effected perfectly in either  of the  two
passages,  each having  a perfect  external mouth  and
Sphincter Muscle of its own, 
•i.^V 
OVARIES  OF DIFFERENT ANIMALS.
  In Figs. I and 2, the Graafian  vesicles are mostly burst
open, the egg having escaped.   In  Fig.  3 the  vesicles
are just pointing and preparing to break. 
CHAPTER  IV.
             THE FEMALE EGG, OR OVUM.

  Having now described all the  Organs of  the  female
system, and shown how the egg is  formed, we will next
proceed to describe its structure and changes
  It has already been remarked that the egg oi the human
female does  not differ, in any essential  particular, from
that of any other being.  On examining it with the micro
scope, it is found to be composed principally of a mass of
yellow grains, constituting  what is  called the Vitellus,
which is  analogous to the yolk of a bird's egg.  Around
this is a thin layer of Albumen, or white,  and  in the inte-
rior of the yellow grains is seen a small, round, greenish-
colored body, called the Germinal Vesicle. The different
parts  are also held  together, and separated  from each
other, by various enclosures or membranes, and  these
several parts constitute the whole Ovum.  At its fullest
development in the human being, it is not larger than the
point of  a pin, so that it can scarcely be seen with the
naked eye, and yet from this mere atom is evolved  a living
human being.  In the case of the bird, the young has to
develop  away from the mother's body,  and the germ has
therefore to  be surrounded by a mass of nutritive matter,
to afford it the material for its development, which is the
reason why the bird's  egg appears  proportionately so
large.  In the human being, on the contrary, the germ is,
\ from the  very moment of  conception,  attached to the
mother's body,  and takes  its nutriment from thence, so
, that it does not  need so much surrounding nutritive ma-
1 terial.
   The Germinal Vesicle is  the same thing  as the white
 opaque  spot, or Cic itricula, that is seen on the surface of
 the egg  of the bird, and which is erroneously supposed to
 be the male principle.  The Vesicle is placed first in the
 centre of the Vitellus, but afterwards changes its position,
 as will be explained further on, and in its centre may be
 seen a dark-colored spot, called the  Germinal Dot.
                                        (59) 
60           THE FEMALE EGG,  OR OVUM.
  The yellow part, or  Vitellus,  is composed  of little
round Vesicles, or grains, which are hollow and filled with
still  smaller bodies,  called  Granules.   The  Membrane
which covers each vesicle is also granulated, and thus we
have  first the round egg itself, made  up of  little round
vesicles, and each of these made up again of still smaller
bodies or granules,  while the covering  of each vesicle  is
also granulated like the interior.  There is, in fact, a suc-
cession of  vesicles, or  cells,  one  set included within
another, as  far as we can observe.
  The Germinal Vesicle, which is larger than the Vitelline
Vesicles, among which it is  placed, is  also composed of
granules, and  is  covered with  a granulated  membrane.
The granules  in  the centre of it being much  condensed,
or crushed  together, so as to be opaque,  and thus form
the Germinal Dot.
  The Vitellus, or Yellow, is  the material by which the
new being is first nourished,  and it  is found in the egg of
the Virgin precisely the same as in  that of a married per-
son.  In fact,  the perfect formation of the Vitellus con-
stitutes the  ripening of the Ovum, which escapes from the
Ovary immediately it is formed.  Many singular and in-
teresting changes take place  in this substance, after the
egg enters the Tube, some of which throw great  light on
the manner of the first commencement of the  new being.
On examining the Vitelline Vesicles immediately on the
escape of the Ovum from  the Ovary, the enclosed granules
are seen to  be in  rapid motion, round a number of differ-
ent centres, and  this  motion continues till the  primary
arrangement of the Vesicles is  entirely broken up.  They
then  re-arrange themselves in a different order, and be-
gin to form  the principal Vital  Organs of the  new being.
This, however, will be more fully explained further on.
  Another  remarkable change which takes place,  soon
after the egg enters the Tube, is the escape of the Germi-
nal Vesicle.  This is first placed, as before remarked, in
the centre of the  Yellow  Vitellus, where it is  readily dis-
tinguishable by its  greenish color, and  by the darker dot
in the centre.   Just at the time when  the egg  escapes,
however,  the  Germinal  Vesicle mounts  to  the  upper
part of the Vitellus, the Membrane surrounding  which
then  tears open and allows it  to pass out.   This leaves
an open passage into the  interior of the Ovum, which,  it
will be seen further on, is probably essential  to  impreg- 
PLATE  VII.
Fig.  i.
Unripe,  unimpregnated  Human  Egg — Magnified  300
  times. — a. The Granular Stratum. — b. The Chorion
  Membrane.—c. The Pellucid Zone (white), — d.  The
  Vitellus (yellow).
Ripe Human Egg — 300     An impregnated Human
  times  magnified. — a.       Egg.—a. The Germinal
  The Germinal spot —b.       Membrane.
  The Germinal Vesicle.
(61) 
 
             THE  FEMALE EGG, OR OVUM.          63

nation.   The Germinal  Vesicle always escapes in this
way immediately, so that we can never find it  in the egg
except at the moment when that is leaving the Ovary ;
after  that event  we merely  discover  the  rent  through
which  it passed-   This is the reason-why many Micro-
scopical  observers  never  found the Germinal  Vesicle,
because  they only examined  an Ovum  taken from  the
Tubes, or Uterus, and  from all such it  had,  of course,
escaped.  The reader will see from this, what a singular
analogy there is between this event and  the Ovarian ex-
pulsion of the Ovum.  As soon as the Vitellus is fully
formed the  egg is  expelled from  the  Graafian  Vesicle,
and immediately afterwards the Germinal Vesicle is ex-
pelled from  the Vitellus in a similar way.
  The Yellow Vesicles forming the Vitellus, are disposed
so closely that they press upon one another .which makes
them  not round,  but many-sided,  like the  cells in  a
honey-comb.  In the spaces between the larger Vesicles
smaller  are seen,  so that the whole  substance is  very
dense.   This may be seen very perfectly in the yolk of a
bird's  egg,  when boiled hard and broken across.  Tl e
Vesicles, like  small round grains, can be readily distin-
guished with an ordinary lens.
  Sometimes one or more of the Vesicles will burst while
we are examining  them,  and  the contained granules will
flow out. In  such cases  they always pass in a steady
current,  and it takes some ten minutes or more before the
Vesicle is completely emptied.
  To discover all these curious formations and changes
requires, of course, numerous and careful  observations,
with  the most perfect instruments, which  is the reason
why they have been so  slowly discovered.   They are,
however, of the greatest value, and  until  we were ac-
quainted with them, many of the most important genera-
tive processes could not be explained.
  Some physiologists have thought that the  outline of the
future being, always exists in the egg even before it is im-
pregnated,  and that in the Ova of  some beings  it can be
distinctly seen.  Thus Haller says he observed the form
of the bird  in the  egg  of a hen,  which had  never  been
impregnated. 
CHAPTER  V.
                   MENSTRUATION.


  It is well known that in all healthy and properly de.
veloped females, after  a  certain age, denominated pu-
berty, there occurs a discharge of blood and mucus from
the Vagina, at  certain regular periods, usually a month
distant  from each other,  and which lasts, as a general
rule, from two to four days.  This discharge is called the
Courses, or the  Menstrual, or Monthly Discharge, and it
is intimately connected both with female health and with
the process of conception.  The  real cause and nature of
this singular phenomenon has always  been a matter of
dispute  among philosophers and physiologists, and it is
only in  modern times that the  truth  has been known.
Even at the present time many of the best informed peo-
ple are not acquainted with it, and in consequence of that
ignorance,  we  have all kinds of errors  and  improper
practices prevalent, producing disease and suffering.
  Some of  the most curious and  important discoveries in
human  physiology  have  been made  by  observing the
lower animals, with  whom we  can make  experiments
and  observations in a  more  complete and methodical
manner than with  our  own  species, while the general
laws which regulate their physical functions are the same
with those  that regulate  our  own.  It  was  formerly
thought that many organic actions  in  the human being
were totally different to any that  took place in the inferior
animals, but it is now known that this is an error.   There
is no physiological action occurring  in  our own systems
that we  cannot  find the counterpart in  other beings.   It
is true it may vary some little in the manner of its occur-
rence, and  in unimportant details, but still it is  always
essentially the same action, and serves the same purposes.
Thus it was formerly thought that this very  function ot
Menstruation was one peculiar to the human being, and
            (64) 
MENSTRUATION.
65
that nothing analogous to it  was to be observed in the
lower animals, but it is now known that a corresponding
phenomenon occurs in nearly all, in some form or other.
  To understand how menstruation is produced we  must
here make a brief  reference to Ovulation, and the  func-
tions of the  Ovaries.   It is only since a comparatively
recent period that the existence  of  Eggs, or  Ova, in the
human female has  been satisfactorily proved, but it  is
low known that they do  exist the same in her as in all
jther females, and that they are uniformly developed ac-
;ording to  a regular  plan.   The  Ovaries contain the
Ova or Eggs in  a rudimentary state, and  they begin, at
the age of  puberty, to ripen, or develop, as explained
in the  article on the Functions  of the Ovaries.  At the
age of puberty the first  Egg is ripened and expelled  in
the manner already explained, and the same  process oc-
curs at every monthly  period afterwards till  what  is
termed the change of life,  usually about forty-five  years
of age, when the last Ovum has been expelled, and the
Ovaries  cease their functions.   Now this ripening and
expulsion of the Egg every month is a very curious and
important  phenomenon, and exercises a  powerful and
peculiar influence over both body and mind, making the
Female essentially different to the male in her physical
requirements and  capabilities,  and  also in her nervous
sympathies.
   It is undoubtedly true that the monthly ripening and
expulsion of the egg in the female, and its development
into the new being when Conception occurs, is  the great
and principal business of her Organic System, and that it
absorbs more of her  nervous power and more of her
physical  strength,  than any other process  she performs.
In fact, all other processes, both nervous  and nutritive,
appear subservient to this,  and chiefly intended  to  carry
it on.  There is nothing analogous  to  this Ovulation  in
the other sex, and, therefore, there is nothing to compare
it with, and that is the reason why the peculiarities of the
temaie constitution and character are  so imperfectly ap-
preciated.   In man  there  is no periodical function that
absorbs,  as it were, all the rest, and  to which they are
merely auxiliaries, but each acts  independently, and it is
only in exceptional cases that any one preponderates over
all the others.  Thus we sometimes see cases in which—
either from Organic peculiarity, or from weak indulgence
r* 
66
MENSTRUATION.
—the stomach is so active, that Digestion is the all-absorb-
ing process, and every other function  is imperfectly per-
formed in consequence of its preponderating  require-
ments.   The person can neither think nor perform mus-
cular exercise, because he has no vital energy for any-
thing but Digestion.  In the same manner, others do lit-
tle else than think, through the Brain being the over-active
organ.   Such instances may enable any one  to conceive
what follows when any one function overpowers, as it
were, all the others, and to see how they must necessarily
be subservie it to it.  But, it must be remembered, that
such cases as these are merely  exceptional and unnatural
ones, and that they are not of the same character as the
peculiar  function referred to, though a consideration of
them may enable any one  to better understand its influ-
ence.  The  monthly formation of the egg in the female
is not an exceptional occurrence,  nor an unnatural over-
excitement,  but a legitimate and  necessary result of her
peculiar  Organic action, and the  consequences of which
she cannot therefore escape from.   From the  age of pu-
berty till the change of life, Nature is constantly laboring
at this one'function, and the female seems to  live chiefly
for this purpose.  This  is  the  true explanation of those
peculiarities that are seen in the  female  character,  es-
pecially  of  its  excessive   sympathy, sensitiveness,  and
excitability,  and also much that is peculiar in  female dis-
eases.  The incessant action  of  the Ovaries keeps the
nervous  system in a constant  state  of  irritation,  and
makes all the Organic functions  liable to  derangement,
so   that  it  is  difficult for a female to  preserve  that
equanimity  of  mind and  that  evenness  of temper  and
disposition which to individuals of the other sex is a com-
paratively easy matter.  The female is, in fact, in  a great
measure, like a man who is constantly subject to  annoy-
ance from those around him, and  who is  obliged to use
constant  efforts to keep himself cool.   Her situation is,
indeed, in some respects, even worse, because the cause
of her uneasiness is inherent in herself—she cannot escape
from it, and knows not what it is, and those  around not
knowing it  either, she meets  with but little sympathy
and consideration.  There are numbers of females  who
are  most unfortunate  in this respect, some being  subject
to distressing depression  of spirits, or the most melan-
choly despondency, while others are irritable  or peevish, 
MENSTRUATION.
67
or subject to ebullitions of the  most frantic  gaiety ; and
others, again, constantly change from one  mood to an-
other, without any apparent reason for so doing.   Igno-
rant persons attribute these eccentricities to mere caprice,
or  whim,  and fancy  that females can  avoid  them  if
they choose.  Sometimes they are blamed or scolded for
them, and  are thought to be perverse or contrary, and
sometimes females even accuse themselves of being un-
grateful and dissatisfied, and in this way increase  their
distress.   If, however, the true nature of their constitu-
tion was understood, it would be seen that no blame what-
ever should be attached  to them for these peculiarities,
since  they  cannot  be  avoided ; but,  on the contrary,
every allowance  should be made  for their involuntary
aberrations,  and the fullest sympathy exhibited for the
distress which they really endure.
  The Ovaries and the nervous system exert a reciprocal
action, so that one can influence the other to a remarka-
ble degree, which  is the reason why many  female dis-
eases can  be so much modified, or even produced,  by
certain states of the mind and feelings.  It is often the
case that a female suffering  from indisposition is not
benefited at all by medical treatment, but through some
pleasing impression of the mind, or feelings, is relieved
immediately.  I  have  often  seen  females  completely
prostrated,  with  scarcely  energy  or ability enough  to
breathe, who have been  restored almost  instantaneously
by  a word of hope, an expression of sympathy, or a little
kind  and pleasing  attention,  especially  if it was  from
some wished-for but unexpected quarter.  In such cases,
uninformed people are apt to suppose that there has been
no real  indisposition  at all, because  the  improvement
was so  rapid, and without mediiine.  A proper under-
standing of the  subject,  however, would show them that
these apparent caprices are as  real as any other forms  of
disease,  and that moral or mental medicine may be as act-
ive as drugs, and often much more beneficial.  In short, if
the nervous system is  kept in  a constant state of irrita-
tion,  and the feelings and sympathies  are habitually out-
raged, it is often impossible to  do  much  good in female
indisposition.  The conduct of those around the patient
is of more consequence than the physician's prescription,
by far,  and may, according to its propriety or impro-
priety, either accelerate or  impede the cure.  There are 
68
MENSTRUATION.
many men who habitually act in such a way towards their
female companions,  as to both  cause  them suffering and
prevent its removal, and that, too, without either desir-
ing or intending to do so.  They  do not act from unkind
motives, but their ignorance prevents them from seeing
the consequences of  their conduct.   Conceiving females
to be like themselves, and knowing that they can shake
off the vapors, as they call them,  and that their nervous
systems are not easily irritated, they cannot feel a proper
charity  towards  their sensitive companions.   Females,
on the other hand, feeling that  they are not understood.
nor their  condition properly appreciated, and having no
one to repose confidence in that they think can appreciate
them, are apt to  become  morose, and  retiring within
themselves, conceal  their  suffering and  disquiet  from
every one.
  This ignorance respecting the  female constitution is,
therefore, a serious  evil, making them liable  to suffer,
and causing the other sex to  withhold from  them that
sympathy and charitable  consideration so much required,
and which would be generally bestowed, if men were bet-
ter informed as to its necessity  and  utility.
  The ripening and expulsion of  the egg is effected by a
real inflammation, similar to what is seen when  a splinter
of wood, for  instance, is expelled from the flesh by the
process oi festering, and it is this  periodical inflammation
that causes the  sympathetic  irritation above  described.
The inflammation is  slight at the beginning of the month,
but gradually increases towards the end, when the Ovaries
are found to be highly  congested, and the blood-vessels
in them and the Uterus are much engorged.  About the time
when the egg is expelled from the Vesicle, the inflamma-
tion reaches its height, and to relieve it the vessels pour
out a quantity of blood and mucus, in the  same way that
a  discharge occurs  after inflammation in other  parts.
This is the true cause of the Menstrual flow. It is a conse-
quence of the action of  the Ovaries,  and  is only seen in
those who possess these organs  perfect.   Females who
have  no Ovaries, or in  whom they are  torpid,  never
Menstruate.
  In some young  females this discharge occurs suddenly
the first  time, without any premonitory symptoms what-
ever, and OGcasionally it continues to do so at each of the
succeeding periods,  but  more  usually it is indicated by 
MENSTRUATION.
69
certain well-marked signs peculiar to that condition alone.
Generally the female experiences considerable excitement
just previous  to  its appearance, with  a sensation of ful-
ness in the head, slight fever, and pain in the back and
abdomen.   In some, these symptoms are much aggra-
vated, so that they suffer severely, even more than at the
time  of  parturition.  There are females who are made
perfectly delirious with the pain at  these times, or so
completely prostrated that they have scarcely strength to
move.  Others are more fortunate, and experience little
or no inconvenience at  such times ; but these are the ex-
ceptions, and there are but few who are not more or less
affected, particularly by lowness of spirits or irritability,
and on  that account considerable allowance  should be
made for what may appear strange or unusual  in  their
conduct  and manner.   This is what is usually termed be-
ing unwell, and it is usually indicated  by certain changes
in the countenance, as  well as by the signs mentioned
above.
  In the first twenty-four hours, the discharge is generally
slight, and pale in color, but afterwards it becomes more
profuse,  and like real blood.   The time it lasts  is about
four days, but varies considerably.  Thus  in some it en-
dures a week, or more,  and in others only a day, or even
but a few hours.  Some  of these irregularities are natural,
and  must  not be  interfered  with, but  others  are  acci-
dentally  produced,  and  should be corrected.   This, how-
ever, is more properly and fully explained in my book on
the "Diseases of Women."  The discharge  usually sub-
sides  into a  colorless mucous  secretion,   resembling
Leucorrhosa, or the Whites,  which, when it remains con-
stant, and too abundant, constitutes a  real disease.
  The quantity of fluid lost is on an  average about six
ounces, but it  varies much in different persons,  in some
being very abundant and in  others very small.   I have.i
known females  to lose over a quart each time, without
any apparent ill effects.  To  some extent it  appears to
be affected by climate,  being  more abundant  in  tropical
countries and less  so in cold ones.  In some cases it is
nearly or quite colorless, owing to there being little or no
blood mixed with it, and then the individual is apt to sup-
pose she has not menstruated when she really has.  It is
for this reason that such persons can never correctly es-
timate the  proper time  when conception can occur.  The 
7v)
MENSTRUATION.
 real period is not suspected by them to be so, because it
 is colorless, and then if a.ny flooding, or mere  discharge
 of blood from weakness takes place, they think that is the
 period, and in this way they fail in their reckoning.
   It was  formerly thought  that the Menstrual  discharge
 was something peculiar, and that it  was possessed of
 certain deleterious properties, but this is  now known to
 be a fallacy.  It is nothing more than  real blood mixed
 with  the ordinary mucous  secretion of the parts.   Its
 odor is peculiar, and sometimes powerful, owing proba-
 bly  to  its having been  retained in  the uterine vessels
 some time  before its discharge, and  having in  conse-
 quence undergone some change. It is also usually darker
 when it has been retained longer than usual.
   In former times Menstruation was  attributed  to the in-
 fluence of the moon, and it was thought that it only took
 place when  she was at the full, but this  is well known not
 to be the  case ; there are probably females menstruating
 every hour  of every day in the year.  It is true  the usual
 period between the cessation of one discharge and the be-
 ginning of another, is generally equal to the time of the
 moon's revolution around the earth, being twenty-eight
 days, but they do not otherwise correspond.  Indeed, in
 some there  are not more  than two or  three weeks be-
 tween, while in others there are five or six, or even more,
 and yet this may be to them perfectly  natural and  proper!
 The real cause of Menstruation is the  ripening and ex-
 pulsion of the egg, and of course  it occurs whenever an
 egg is developed, whether that be frequently or rarely.
 It was found from observation that, in one hundred females,
 sixty-eight Menstruated  every twenty-eight days  ; twen-
 ty-eight every three weeks ; and one every second week ;
 while ten  were irregular.
  The first appearance of the Menses varies from about
 the twelfth to the  seventeenth year, in our country, but it
 is affected  by various  circumstances.   In  the greater
 number of females it commences from fourteen to  fifteen,
 though it is  sometimes delayed till twenty or more, and
 occasionally is seen at nine, or even earlier.  I have'seen
 a case myself in a mere infant.  Out oi four hundred and
fifty cases observed at the Manchester Lying-in Hospital,
 England,  ten Menstruated  at eleven  years of age, nine-
 teen at twelve,—fifty-three  at thirteen,—eighty-five  at
 fourteen,—ninety-seven at fifteen,—seventy-six at sixteen, 
MENSTRUATION.
71
—fifty-seven  at  seventeen,—twenty-six  at eighteen,—
twenty-three at nineteen,—and four at twenty years.
  The time when the Menses cease, or the turn of life,
as it is called, that is, when every Ovum is developed, is
usually from forty to forty-five years of age, but like the
commencement this is also liable to considerable varia-
tion,  some  females  arriving at the Turn when  they
are but thirty, and  others not till they are fifty, or even
more.   Sometimes after it has apparently ceased, at the
usual time, it will appear again for a time or two, many
years after, at advanced age.   This is probably owing to
one or more of the eggs having been left undeveloped in
the Ovaries at the time of the Turn, through being im-
perfect, and their ripening  afterwards.   In such cases
Conception is possible at these after periods, which  ac-
counts for those instances of child-bearing in old females,
which are occasionally met with, sometimes as far as the
sixtieth year.  Of course conception is possible as long as
proper menstruation continues, but never when it ceases,
or has not appeared.  It is true, that in  some cases fe-
males have borne children who  have apparently never
menstruated, but these were  undoubtedly cases in which
it was simply colorless, and small in quantity, so that they
did not observe it, or else thought it was only the Whites.
The Menstruation, in  some form, must always occur be-
fore pregnancy can  ensue, but the excitement and inflam-
mation may be so small, in particular constitutions,  that
none of the usual indications are observed.  It is owing
to this  that some females, who think they do not menstru-
ate often enough, are  deceived, because many periods are
apt  to  be unobserved by them.    And on the contrary
many others who fancy they have  their  turns  too often
are equally deceived, many of the supposed  Menstrua-
tions being mere floodings,  or discharges of blood from
weakness, or over-fulness of the vessels.   A mere show
of blood therefore is no proof of  Menstruation, nor is its
absence any sign to the contrary.
   In one series of observations it was found that in seven-
 ty-seven females one ceased  menstruation, or arrived at
 the turn of life, at thirty-five years of age,—four at forty,
 —one  at  forty-two,—one at  forty-three,—three at forty-
 four,—four at forty-five,— three  at forty-seven,—ten at
 forty-eight,—seven  at forty-nine,—twenty-six at fifty,—
 two at fifty-one,—seven at fifty-two,—two at fifty-three,— 
72
MENSTRUATION.
two at fifty-four,—one at fifty-seven,—two at sixty,—and
one at seventy !
  It is commonly supposed that Menstruation commences
earlier in hot countries than in cold ones, and in  conse-
quence of the heat, but there is good reason for doubting
this.   Mr. Robertson has  shown by his researches that it
commences  everywhere  at  about  the  same average
age, and that the  early  intercourse of the  sexes which
takes  place  in the Indies, and other warm countries, is
owing more to a depraved state of  morals, and to unre-
strained intercourse than to any influence  of climate.  He
remarks that the early marriages we see there are "to be
attributed not to any peculiar precocity, but to moral and
political degradation, exhibited in  ill-laws and customs,
the enslavement more or less of the women, ignorance of
letters ; and  impure  or debasing systems of religion."
He also  thinks  that  if  the same manners and customs
prevailed in England or America, the same effects would
be seen, and this is fully  borne out in those  pitiable in-
stances, occasionally seen in our large towns, of juvenile
prostitution.   Many  of these  degraded  and brutalized
children at eleven or twelve years are as much women,
in certain respects, as they ought to have been at seven-
teen or eighteen, and of course any other children would
be the same if exposed to  the same  influences, unless, as
fortunately  is  often  the  case, the  initiation  into  vice
caused their death.
  In cities generally,  on the average, Menstruation com-
mences earlier than in  the country, owing to the more
exciting circumstances  that  surround  young  persons,
and which  awakens  the   sexual instinct precociously.
This is particularly the case in those places where morals
arc bad, and familiar intercourse between the sexes is
unrestrained.  In the Eastern parts of the  old world Mar-
riages are  often  contracted  while the  female  is very
young, but it does not  follow that  she was fitted  for it ;
and in all probability  if those very females had been edu-
cated  like our own they would  have been  in  no  respect
different.   We are told  for instance that Mahomet con-
summated his Marriage with one of his wives when  she
was but eight years old.  In this, however, we simply  see
the proof of her degradation  and enslavement, and  not
of her natural precocity.   So far as is known also there/
is no  difference as to  the  time of the first Menstruation. 
MENSTRUATION.
73
among the  different  races of  human beings,   Thus, for
instance, it is no earlier,  under the same circumstances, in
the Negress than in the white  female.
  As a general rule the earlier Menstruation commences,
and the more frequently it occurs, the earlier it will cease,
and to this there are but few exceptions.  It is therefore
of considerable importance  to the future health of the fe-
male that this grand  event should not be accelerated by
any factitious causes, but  should  be brought on by the
slow  and  unaided  process  of  natural  development.
Young females should be allowed  to remain as children,
or girls at least, much longer  than they usually  do, and
not be forced  into young women  too soon.  For  every
year earlier that they become young women they probably
become old ones  five years before they otherwise would
have been.   It is of  the  utmost importance that young
females should have  their muscular systems well devel-
oped previous to  puberty, and that they should not have
their minds  and  feelings too much excited.   Nothing
tends to  bring on  Puberty more  than a morbid excite-
ment of the feelings and sympathies, such as results from
silly romances, and over-wrought love-tales.   Excessive
study also is very injurious, and the  too constant  atten-
tion  to what are called mere accomplishments.   These
are often pursued to the utter sacrifice of what is  useful
or beneficial, and  result in nothing but premature devel-
opment of those instincts  that had better lie dormant till
a  later period.   In fact,  the education  of young girls
seems  too often to have  but  one  obfect, and that is  to
force them into women as rapidly as possible, to the utter
ruin of their health and happiness.
   In former times, as we  find from the.Bible, a woman
was  thought to be unclean while Menstruating, and was
shunned  as something hurtful and deleterious.   Accord-
ing to  Pliny, the  Ancient  Naturalist, it was thought that
she would destroy grafts, or bees, and blight corn, make
iron rust,  and even  cause madness in dogs.   Nay,  he
even goes so far as to say that the Menstrual fluid, by its
odor, will cause fruit to fall  from  the  trees, destroy in-
sects,  and cause  seeds not to  grow.  Many  barbarous
nations at the present day entertain  similar notions, and
at such times compel females  to secrete themselves, and
shun society, when they really need the most  sympathy
and  kind companionship.   M. Moreau de  la Sarthe,  in 
71
MENSTRUATION.
his " Natural History of Women," tells us that the South
Sea Islanders, and the South American  Indians, always
send their females to separate huts during these periods,
and  that  the  Illinois Indians  formerly  punished  any
woman with death who failed to give due notice of her
being in that  condition.  According to history we also
find that by a decree of the Council of Nice, women were
forbidden  to enter the church while Menstruating.  In
ihe Laws of the Israelites it is enacted, that " If a man
shall lie with a woman having her sickness, and shall un-
cover her nakedness, he  hath discovered her fountain,
and she hath uncovered  the fountain of her blood, and
both of them shall be cut off  from among their people."—
(See Leviticus, chap.  20, v. 18.)
  Such notions it will be seen are now happily to be
found chiefly among barbarians, or in the records of a
former ignorant  age, though  there are individuals who
entertain them even  yet.   Indeed at the present time
there are persons, especially among the ill-informed in
England, who  believe that meat will not take  the salt if
the process be  carried on by  a female who is menstruat-
ing.  Others again think  that bread will not rise, and that
beer will sour,  if a female so circumstanced have anything
to do with them.  It is perhaps scarcely necessary to say
that all such notions are as erroneous as they are absurd,
and that they  are practically disproved every  day,  by
thousands'of females who pay no  attention to them, and
who yet conduct all the above operations as successfully
as if nothing of the kind was taking place.
  The  first appearance of this function is an important
event, and should be carefully watched for, so that  noth-
ing may be  allowed  to interfere with it, and also that
means may be taken  to bring it  on if it be too  long de-
layed.  Young females ought especially to be timely in-
formed about it, so that they may know  how to  conduct
themselves, and may not  be  needlessly alarmed, as many
are when it first appears.
  It is especially important to bear in mind that females
are usually more  irritable and unsettled at these times,
and that full allowance should be made for their being so.
In a young person this is more apt to be the case, from
the very novelty of  her  situation.   The strange phe-
nomenon that is occurring in her system, the development
of her person,  and the new feelings and  instincts that are 
 
EXPULSION  OF  THE  EGG.
  Fig. 1. The Egg, a, at the bottom of the Vesicle.
  Fig. 2. The Egg, a, carried to the top by the Vesicle
filling with blood.
  Fig. 3. The Vesicle just breaking open, and the Egg,
a, passing out.
  Fig. 4. The  Egg,  a, as it appears when attached to
the membrane, b,~in the Germinal Vesicle. 
MENSTRUATION.
75
awakened, all exert a powerful influence, which  is still
further  increased  by the mystery with which  everything
relating to these wonderful operations is enshrouded.   In
the absence of proper information, imagination  is busily
at work, curiosity is excited, and the mind becomes filled
with strange fancies and  romantic dreams, which often
exert a baneful influence in after life.  Proper instruc-
tion, at  the proper time, with  a well-regulated mind and
body, would give  more correct ideas of her  real duties
and sexual situation, and  prevent  much of that sickness
and unhappiness of mind which is  so  commonly seen
after marriage.
  There are few objects more interesting to  the philoso-
pher, and philanthropist, than  a young female  at this
period of he»fcxistence, when the  body is assuming  its
natural  beauty  of form, and becoming fit for its wondrous
functions, and when the expanding mind  receives the first
faint perception of her real destiny.
  To a  great extent, the development of the whole physi-
cal system depends upon  the action  of  the  Ovaries, so
that if they are absent or inactive, every other part of the
organization remains imperfect. The destruction of them
in early life causes a similar imperfection to what  follows
the removal of the  Testes in the male, and even at adult
age, as  already shown, they  exert a paramount impor-
tance over the  other Organs.   It is apparently the effort
that is required to  perfect them, in fact, that makes the
Dody grow and deve'op itself so rapidly at puberty. Every
one must have  noticed what an astonishing change occurs
in a young female at that time.  The bust becomes full,
the  pelvis enlarges, the features  change—especially in
their expression —the mind takes a different turn, and the
manner and conduct become  altogether different, denot-
ing the new feelings and  instincts that begin  to be ex-
perienced.  In short, the  girl  is changed into  the woman,
and is   conscious  herself  of  the alteration.   All these
changes result  from the action of the  Ovaries, and if they
are incapable of performing their functions,  no such  al-
terations take  place, but  on  the  contrary,  the  system
either remains always as it was during  girlhood, or de-
velops  in an unusual manner, similar to  the male, for in-
stance.  Nature seems to refuse to put forth her energies
to perfect the rest of the system if she cannot first perfect
the essential organs of generation, and the first Menstrua! 
76
MENSTRUATION.
flow, or the ripening of the first egg, is, therefore, the
constant and necessary prelude to womanly development.
  In reference to marriage, Menstruation ought always
to precede that event, and generally  for a considerable
time—twelve months at least—especially if it commences
early.  It is not always  that it continues regularly from
the  first commencement,  but ceases for some months, or
even longer, and then commences again.
  The proper age for marriage is, of course, variable in
different individuals, some  being properly  developed
years earlier than others, and no general rule can, there-
fore, be given.  One necessary condition is  the perfect
establishment  of  Menstruation, as  already stated ; and,
perhaps, the next most essential  requisiteJte the proper
development of  the body, especially of t^B Pelvis and
Genital Organs, for if these have not attained to a certain
growth  before  marriage, they may  never do so after-
wards.   A neglect  of these matters  leads often to the
most  serious  and  unhappy  consequences,  from  which
there  is  no escape.  Nevertheless, there  are cases in
which Marriage may be required to perfect the develop-
ment of the system, and in which it will always remain
imperfect without, but these are very rare, and are usually
indicated in  an unmistakable manner.
  The proper time for marriage is midway between two
of the  ordinary  periods, let  the  space  be  what it may.
I have known  instances of young females marrying either
at the  Menstrual period, or so near  that nervous agita-
tion, consequent  upon the ceremony, has brought it on
prematurely, and many evils have followed therefrom, to
say nothing of the  annoyance and distress.   This was,
of course, the fault of those who had these young persons
under their care, and who had neglected to inform them-
selves upon  so essential a point.   Immediately after, and
immediately before Menstruation, are neither so  proper
as the midway, the Organs and the nervous system being
at both these  times more  or less excited  and irritable.
Marriage  just before Menstruation has been known to
permanently arrest  it, so  that it never  afterwards re-
turned.
  As  a general  rule, Menstruation does not  take place
during  Nursing,  though  occasionally it does so, even
commencing as  early as the first month after delivery,
and continuing on  uninterruptedly.   The reason  why it 
MENSTRUATION.
77
does not take place at this time generally is, because the
blood and the vital energy which is' ordinarily expended
in ripening the egg, is needed during Nursing to secrete
the milk, and it would exhaust the  system too  much to
carry on both functions at the same time.  In those cases
where Menstruation and Nursing do occur simultaneously,
it  is either because  there is a superabundance of vital
energy, by which both can be supported, or the Ovaries
are in  a state of chronic irritation,  owing to which they
act, when they ought to  be  dormant.  In the first case,
no injury may result from both taking place at the same
time, but when there is not a real excess of energy, this
double  drain  nearly always exhausts the strength, and
impairs the health.   It  is  not, as some suppose, neces-
sarily improper, or injurious to  the  child, for nursing to
be allowed  while  the turns continue, unless  the health
and strength  of the  mother suffer  thereby.   If  she be-
comes weak,  the  milk  is often imperfectly formed  and
watery, so that the child is not perfectly nourished by it,
but there is nothing  positively hurtful in  is nature under
such circumstances.  It is  not  necessary, therefore, to
discontinue nursing  at such  times, unless the  mother or
child evidently suffer from the unusual condition.
   During Pregnancy the Menses do not appear, for the
same reason, though in  some females they appear to do
so.  All the energies of the  Uterus and Ovaries are then
needed in developing the new being, and the Ovaries are
necessarily dormant.  Besides this, the interior  of the
Womb  is covered,  immediately after Conception, with
the Membranes surrounding the foetus, which  effectually
close the mouth of each Fallopian Tube and of the Womb.
If either an Ovum, or the Menstrual fluid were to form,
therefore, it could  not  pass away,  unless these Mem-
branes were detached, which would cause abortion.
  When a discharge occurs during Pregnancy, therefore,
it is  not a  real Menstruation, though it  may  take place
regularly at the month, from the habit of the system, but
it is  simply an escape of blood  from the vessels  of the
Vagina or neck of the Womb, owing either to their weak-
ness or overfulness.  It is really a flooding, therefore,
which may do no harm while it is confined to the parts
below, but if it extends to the interior of  the Womb, it is
nearly sure to cause miscarriage.   This is one  reason
why much sexual excitement is  improper during Preg- 
78
MENSTRUATION.
nancy, because it is apt to excite the Ovaries to form the
Ova, and thus lead to miscarriage by their expulsion.
  Until recently, it  was thought that Menstruation oc-
curred in human beings only, but it is now known that
it occurs in  most animals, though  in a different form.
Every being that brings forth its young alive, has a cer-
tain period in which the development of its  Ova or Eggs
is effected, and at those times when they are fully ripe,
there  occurs  a function  analogous  to Menstruation.
Thus  taking  most kinds of Cattle, for instance, and the
Wild Deer, they are  capable of Conception only  at one
time in the year, and will receive the male  only at that
time.   This is what is called the season of  Rut or Heat,
and on dissecting them, the cause of it becomes obvious.
They ripen an egg only once in the year, and when that
occurs it causes the excitement which makes them desire
association, and also results in  a peculiar discharge from
the Genital Organs, which is, strictly speaking, the same
as human Menstruation, though it is nearly  colorless.  A
discharge of  this nature is seen in all  animals at such
times, and, occasionally, as in  some of  the Monkeys, it
is even tinged with blood.   It is, therefore,  merely in its
color, quantity, and  frequency of appearance that it
varies, in some taking place  but once a year, in others
every two  or three  months,  and in the human  being
monthly, according  to the  frequency  with  which  the
eggs are ripened.  These  facts have  led  some physi-
ologists to suppose that the most  appropriate time for
association in the human  being is  near to  the monthly
periods, because in the animals above  referred to, it is
only at such times that they desire it.  In the human  be-
ing, however, there are many essential differences,  in
regard to the commerce of the sexes, and  especially in
the feelings that lead to it.   In the lower animals, it is,
of course, a mere amorous propensity that impels, and
which is excited only by peculiar conditions  of  the  Geni-
tal Organs  in both ; but in  human beings there are other
feelings of  a higher order, which are often more powerful
than the sexual instinct itself.   The inferior  animal being
impelled to the act only by physical  excitement, depend-
ing on a certain condition of the parts, will, of course, feel
the  impulse only when those  conditions exist,  but  the
human being may also be impelled by mental and moral
agencies, though the physical  excitement may be weak. 
          PLATE  VIII.

FEMALE EGG  AND IMPREGNATION.
Fig. i. Egg just burst open, the Germinal Vesicle a, with
  part of the Vitellus escaping.
Fig. 2. Germinal Vesicle •with part of the Vitellus, mag-
  nified.
Fig.  3. The Animalcule (b) entering the egg after  it has
  been broken open by the escape of the Germinal Vesicle.
79 
 
MENSTRUATION.
81
or even if it  be quite extinguished.   It is not always,
therefore, solely  for the indulgence of  the  mere sexual
propensity that human beings associate, but for that con-
jointly with other instincts, and therefore the same rule
should  not apply  to  them.   It  is,  perhaps, desirable,
physiologically speaking, that association  should never
take place without both physical and moral enjoyment in
both, and,  therefore, those times should be  chosen  when
the female  organs are most  disposed to  these  peculiar
excitements.  This time is not always the  same, being
just after the period in some, and just before it in others,
and occasionally only during the flow itself.   As a gen-
eral rule, it is found that in the great majority of females,
the inclination  is  strongest immediately after the  flow,
and it is also then that Conception is most likely to ensue.
This is  analogous to what is  observed in  the  lower ani-
mals, in whom the flow has always passed its height before
the heat is experienced.
   It is probable that the Menstrual flow is also made use
of by nature as a means of periodical purification, and
tnat many matters  which would be hurtful to the body, if
retained, are removed by it.   This accounts for the fact
that females can work, without injury, at certain  employ-
ments in the metals, where poisonous  fumes are  evolved,
and which would kill men—the deleterious matter being
carried  off in this way.  It is for this reason also that the
turn  of life, when  the flow ceases, is so critical a period.
The cessation of this periodical purification,  of course,
makes  the  body more liable to disease,  and more dis-
posed to suffer from congestions of blood, because  there
is now  no monthly  abstraction to give  relief.  It is,
therefore, at this time, particularly necessary to attend
to  all  the  other secretions,  particularly  the skin  and
bowels,  to keep  them active, so as to make up for that
which is suspended.
   It may not be out of place to remark here, that the ex-
istence  of this function alone makes it difficult for Woman
—except in a few peculiar individual cases—to pursue the
same avocations, and follow in  all respects  the  same
mode of life as Man.   It makes  her, of necessity, not so
continuously active, nor so capable of physical toil, while,
at the same time, it causes her to yearn for sympathy and
support from some being that she feels is more  powerful
than herself.

             6 
PLATE  IX-
SECTION  OF THE  MALE PELVIS.
A. The Bladder.—B.  Large Intestine.—C.  Backbone.—a.  Small
  Intestine.-/.  Left Kidney.—^-.  The Ureter.—h.  Pubic Bone —
  1.  Left Testicle.—2, 2. Vas Deferens.—3.  Seminal Vesicle —
  4.  Ejaculafory Canal.—5.  Prostate Gland—6.  Veru Montan-
  um. — 7,7.   Urethra.—8.  Corpus Cavernosum.—9.  Corpus
  Spongiosum.—10.  The Gland.—11. Cowper's Gland.
            83 
 
SECTION OF THE MALE PELVIS.
 
CHAPTER VI.
            THE MALE GENERATIVE ORGANS.

  The Male Generative Organs are placed partly within
;he body and partly without, in the corresponding region
to the female Organs, the most essential parts being ex-
ternal.  They consist of  two Organs called the  Testicles,
which  secrete the male principle,  or semen, and are an-
alogous  to  the  Ovaries.—Two Tubes  called  the  Vasa
De'ferentia, which conduct the semen away from the Tes-
ticles.—and of certain accessory organs, connected with
these Tubes, called the  Seminal Vesicles, Prostate Gland,
and Ejaculatory  Canals, and also  other  parts which are
common both to the Semen and  the Urine, and termed
therefore the Genito-Urinary Organs, as  the Penis and
passage  down it called the  Urethra, for instance.    Re-
specting some of these, and also  the Male Semen,  there
have lately been made some most important and valuable
discoveries, equally novel with those concerning the Fe-
male system.

                  § THE TESTICLES.

   The most essential organs in the male system are two
glandular bodies, called the  Testes or Testicles, which are
placed, after birth, outside of the body in an external en-
velope, called the scrotum, hanging  from the pubic bone.
The  use  of these organs is to produce the  male  principle,
or semen, as the  ovaries produce the female ovum or egg.
The  Testes, like the Ovaries, are not capable of perform-
ing their proper functions till  a  certain  period of life,
called puberty, but unlike them, they are not liable to lose
their powers  at any  particular age, but may preserve
them indefinitely.   In the early stages of existence in the
womb the testes are contained in  the abdomen, and only
descend  to the scrotum just before birth.
   On  dissecting one of  the testicles,  it  is found  to be
composed chiefly of blood-vessels  and numerous  small
             (83) 
                     PLATE   X-
SEMINAL  TUBES, AND APPENDAGES  OF  THE
                      TESTICLES.
a, a, a. Lobules of the small Seminiferous Tubes, similar to the
  Convolutions of the Brain.—b. The Rete Testis, a number of
  nearly straight Tubes, into which  the smaller ones enter.__c.
  The Vasa Efferentia, or larger Tubes, 12 or 18 in number into
  which the Semen passes from the Rete Testis.—d. Plexures or
  Conglomerations of the Vasa Efferentia, which form a kind of
  head almost like a small Testicle, called  the Epididymis.__e, e.
  The head of the Epididymis.—/,/.  The body of the Epididy-
  mis.—g. An Appendix of the Epididymis, called the aherans.
  It is ^ not always  met with.—//. The Tail, or  Cauda of the
  Epididymis.—i, i. The Vas Deferens, which is at first very  much
  twisted, but becomes finally straight.
  From this it will be seen, that the small Seminal Tubes
gradually merge into large straight ones,  called the Rete
Testis, then into the still larger, called  the Vasa Efferentia
and finally into one Tube, the Vas Deferens.
           84 
THE  MALE GENERATIVE ORGANS.         85
tubes containing semen.   A  branch of  the spermatic
artery is sent from the abdomen down to each testicle, in
which it divides and subdivides into thousands of little
branches, many of which are too small to be seen  by the
naked eye.  It is this artery that brings to the testes the
pure  blood  from which  probably  the semen is  formed.
The extreme ends of the minute arterial branches are ap-
parently continuous with  the  commencements  of  the
seminal tubes, so that in examining them we gradually
lose sight of the blood and begin to find semen.  The
seminal tubes are at first exceedingly minute, but very
numerous, and they gradually  unite together  to form
larger branches,  and  trunks', till  eventually the  whole
form but one tube, called the Vas Deferens, by which the
semen is conveyed to the Urethra.  The  number of these
little tubes has been estimated at  over  sixty thousand in
one testicle, and it has been shown, that if  they were put
in a straight line, they would measure many hundreds, if
not thousands  of feet.  There  is also  a branch  of  the
spermatic vein connected  with each testicle, which rami-
fies in its substance similarly to the artery.
  The Testicles are  therefore mainly composed  of three
kinds of tubes, or  vessels, namely, Arteries,  Veins, and
Seminal Tubes.  In  addition to  which there are  also
numerous nerves, and Lymphatics, or absorbents,  the
whole being connected together by a cellular substance
or tissue.   Each one is connected with the  body by what
is termed the spermatic cord, which is a kind of sheath, or
tube, about  half an inch in diameter, containing the main
branches of the Artery,  Nerves, and Lymphatics, going
to the Teste, with the main branch of the vein, and  the
Vas Deferens, coming from it.   This spermatic cord as-
cends into the Abdomen, where the different vessels com-
posing it are distributed to their respective  places.   Each
testicle is also surrounded by a distinct coat, or tunic, be-
side the scrotum, or outer skin, in which both are enclosed.
  The manner in which the semen is actually made is of
course unknown to us ; we can only point  out the  place
where it originates and explain its progress  towards the
exterior of the body.
  The Vas Deferens from each Testicle, into which all its
seminal tubes have poured their contents, ascends  into
the Abdomen  through the  spermatic  cord,  and  rises
nearly as high  as the top of the bladder,  behind  which it 
86         THE MALE GENERATIVE  ORGANS.
turns, and  then  begins to  descend till  it meets near its
lower part with two small organs called the Seminal Vesi-
cles, with which it becomes connected.  From the seminal
vesicles the semen passes down a small  tube called the
Ejaculatory Canai, which is attached to the bladder,  and
which joins immediately  under it, an  organ called the
Prostate  Gland.   Finally,   by means  of some curious
openings through the  Prostate Gland,  the seminal  fluid
is  passed into the Urethra, or passage down the Penis,
by which the urine escapes from the bladder, and  is thus
ejected from the body.
  These several  parts comprise the whole male generative
system, and in  the act of  impregnation  each one has a
special function to perform.  The Testes  secrete  the
semen, the Vas Deferens and Ejaculatory Canal convey
it to the Urethra, and the penis deposits it in the Female
Organs, while the seminal  vesicles and Prostate Gland
either secrete  some  necessary addition,  or  effect some
modification in it.
  As  before remarked, the  Testicles are usually two in
number, the one on the left side being lower and larger
than that on  the right.  But sometimes  more  than  two
appear to exist, and at  other times only one, or perhaps
none.  The arrangement  of one being higher  than the
other,  when  there are two, prevents  them  from being
crushed together when  the limbs are crossed, by allowing
one. to slide  over the  other.  The internal structure of
them having already been explained, it is only requisite
further to describe their envelops and attachments.
  Immediately around  each  one is  an  envelop or mem-
brane, called  the Tunica Albuginea or  Peritestis, which
surrounds every  part, and also sends branches, or leaves,
into the substance of the Testicle, so as to divide it to a
certain depth, into lobes, or sections, similar to the lobes
of the brain, only of a triangular shape.
  The outside inclosure is  called  the Scrotum, or purse,
and is the same as the  skin  of the  thighs.  It is divided
vertically into tvyo parts by a small  ridge called the Raphe,
and is usually covered  with hairs  at  puberty.   Under-
neath the Scrotum we next find a  reddish cellular mem-
brane, called the Dartos, which makes a separate sac for
each of the two Testicles, which are separated from each
other by a vertical membrane placed between them called
the Septum Scroti, which acts as a  partition, and thus the 
            THE MALE  GENERATIVE ORGANS.         87

two  organs are perfectly unconnected with each other.
The  nature of the Dartos has been a subject of dispute
among  anatomists, some considering it to be  merely a
cellular tissue, and others thinking it to be a muscle.  It
is  undoubtedly partly  muscular, and consists mainly of
long fibres, which cross and interlace each other in every
direction.  It is the contraction  of  these fibres  of the
Dartos  that  corrugates or  wrinkles the  Scrotum, as is
well  seen when sudden cold is  applied  to  the external
parts.   Next under  the Dartos comes a true  muscular
coat, called  the  Cremaster Muscle, or Tunica  Erythoidcs,
the use of which is to draw the Testicle upwards.  This is
derived from one of  the muscles of the abdomen, and
comes down through the abdominal ring, forming part of
the sheath of the spermatic cord.   The  last coat is called
the Tunica  Vaginalis,  which is a  true  serous membrane
interlaced  with  blood-vessels, and  comes next  to the
Tunica Albuginea.
   In a healthy state  the muscular fibres of the Scrotum
are usually contracted,  so as to draw the  skin  into  folds
and brace the Testes up against the Abdomen ; but dur-
ing a state of debility, or from great fatigue, they become
relaxed, so  that the  testes hang  low, and  pull  upon the
cord.  It is an almost  certain sign of ill health when this
relaxation of the  Scrotum  occurs, at any period of  life,
and often its removal is the  first  indication  of  improve-
ment.   In old people,  and in those of a bad habit of body,
this relaxed state becomes permanent.
   By inspecting antique statuary,  it will be seen that the
ancients  were practically acquainted  with this physio-
logical  fact, and  that  they have accordingly  accurately
represented it in their works of art.   The figures of all
their men in health and vigor have the Scrotum invaria-
bly drawn up to the  abdomen, while those of old men, or
sufferers hang pendent.
   As a general rule, the muscles of the  Scrotum are inde-
pendent of the  will, or act involuntarily, but  instances
have been known of  men  who  made  them act as  they
pleased.  Some boys exhibit  this power before puberty,
being able to draw the  Testes up to the abdominal  ring,
and  let them fall  again,  but it is seldom this command
over them continues, though one instance is on record.
This man drew the Testes up into the groin, so as to
form apparent ruptures,, in  order to  escape  being im 
88         THE  MALE  GENERATIVE ORGANS.
pressed into  the  service.   Being detected,  however, he
confessed the trick, and made an exhibition of his extra-
ordinary power to the examining physicians.   He could
pull up either one alone or  both together, and could also
make one  go up  while the other was  coming down ;  in
short, he had the  same command over  them as over  his
arms, and could move them as quickly.   In  another in-
stance, a man who was charged with being the father of
an illegitimate child, endeavored to  evade the responsi-
bility by alleging that he had no Testicles, and, therefore,
could not  be the  father,  but it was discovered  that he
could draw  them up into  the  groin at  pleasure.  In a
healthy state the scrotal muscles are brought powerfully
into action during coition, so as to brace the Testes tightly
against the Pelvis, and one cause of partial impotence in
very weak or old  people, is the loss of  this power, owing
to which the semen is not  expelled with sufficient force.
In children the  relaxed or firm condition of these muscles
is often a valuable indication of the state of their health.
  The form of the Testes is that of  a somewhat flattened
oval, with one end a little larger than the other.   The
average weight is about one ounce.
  The Vas Deferens, or common Tube, into which all the
small ones are  emptied, commences at the globus minor,
or lower end of the epididymis, and then passes into  the
spermatic cord by which it  enters the abdomen, where its
course has already been traced.  It is altogether about
thirty-two feet long.   The sheath of the  spermatic cord
is composed of  two coats, the outer one of which  is very
firm, like  cartilage,  so that the tube  is not easily com-
pressed ; the  inner coat is a mucous membrane, similar
to that inside the  Urethra.   The cord can be readily felt
externally.
  This description of the Testes and their envelops, com-
bined with that before given, will be sufficient  to give a
clear understanding of the various diseases and derange-
ments  to which they are liable, and also of the  reasons
for the line of treatment laid down.  It will be  seen that
they are so placed, without the body, as to have no direct
connection with any other  organs, and they may, there-
fore, be removed  without any other part being  interfered
with.  This operation, termed  Castration, is sometimes
necessary in certain  diseases, and sometimes it is the ef-
fect of accident, or, in  some parts of the  world, even  of 
           THE MALE GENERATIVE  ORGANS.         89

design.  The removal of the Testes, however, in what-
ever way it may be effected,  not only destroys  the power
of procreation, but also interferes in a remarkable man-
ner with the growth and functions of various other parts
of the system, from which it  is evident that they are nec-
essary for the perfection of the individual's own system,
as well as for the  purpose of bringing  new beings into
existence.

ANOMALIES IN THE SIZE AND  APPARENT  NUMBER OF THE
                       TESTES.

  The usual size of the Testes is about  that of an ordi-
nary pigeon's egg, and their weight, as  before stated, is
about one ounce.   Occasionally, however, they are  seen
much larger,  and sometimes much smaller,  and their
weight  may  be also  considerably  greater or less  than
the average.   I have  seen  them as large as a full-sized
hen's egg, yet perfectly healthy,  and as  small as mar-
bles,  without  being  in  any way  deficient  in  power.
This  is important  to bear in  mind   in  many  cases
that may  come  under the  physician's  notice.  I have
known  men  hesitate  about marrying when  the  Testes
were  very  small^ from fear that they would  be deficient
in power, and  it was  with difficulty they  could be  con-
vinced  to the contrary.   In  one  instance,  of a  young
man aged twenty-six, they were no  larger than those of
a child of nine years old,  yet his powers were but little,
if  any,  inferior to  the  average.   After  a great  deal of
hesitation,  and much persuasion, he married  and became
the father of  a large family.   It is  necessary to remark,
however, that in these cases all the other organs were of
proper size, and that the smallness of the Testes had ex-
isted from  childhood, and was therefore  a natural state.
If they had decreased in size,  after having  been property
developed, it would have been very  different.  The fall-
ing away or wasting of the Testes,  which follows  many
diseases, and sometimes takes place without any assign-
able cause, is usually a serious matter, and is nearly cer-
tain to be followed by a loss  of power.   The injudicious
use of  certain drugs,  particularly  of  Iodine, will  fre-
quently cause the Testes to waste, and so  will  the exha-
lations  from some metals,  as lead for instance,  many
workmen in  which I have known so injured.  In giving 
90         THE MALE GENERATIVE  ORGANS.
an opinion in such cases, therefore, their previous history
must always be known, as well as the condition  of the
other parts, and the  physician will then have but  little
difficulty in coming  to a proper decision.  Sometimes
one  only will be small, and the other of average size, or
one only may waste away, without injuring the other.
  An unusually large size of the Testes should always
excite suspicion of its being the result of disease, and  a
most careful examination and inquiry should therefore be
made.   If they have always been of that size,  or  nearly
so, from puberty, and especially if the other organs are
large also, there may be nothing to excite apprehension.
The  symptoms of the  different  diseases  hereafter de-
scribed should,  however, be carefully studied, particularly
those that cause enlargement, as  Hydrocele and Hernia-
Humoralis, for instance.  I have known the Testes  of  a
youth oi fourteen to be much larger than those of most
men, and yet  perfectly healthy.  Such  cases of unusual
development are not necessarily  accompanied by extra
power.
  In some instances  the development of all the genital
organs  is very  tardy, owing to  the  slow  growth of the
Testes.   I  ha^e seen  a  youth of nineteen that was in
every respect in the  same state of these parts, as when
about seven years old. He was also but very little grown
in other parrs of the body, having the appearance of one
about twelve years old.   In this  case there were perfect
evidences  of sexual  power,  thought  slight,  and all the
parts were evidently healthy.  It was therefore a case of
torpid action, or retarded development, and I thought that
i.i all probability nature could be aroused.  I accordingly
gave him directions to use stimulating lotions,  with  fric-
tions and shampooing,  and to have  a stimulating  diet,
with regular warm bathing and  plenty of out-door exer-
cise.  The effects, of this practice were  soon evident ; in
less than six months there was an evident increase in  size,
the external parts, which  had previously been  perfectly
bare and smooth, like those of a child, became covered ;
the voice assumed a more manly tone, the muscles wer«
more solid, the mind more active, and manhood began
to dawn.  This improvement continued going on  till ha
was twenty-one, where there was but  little difference be-
tween him and other  young men of that age.  If this
c.'.se had not been promptly and properly attended to, in 
THE  MALE GENERATIVE ORGANS.         91
all  probability no further development would ever have
taken  place, and an early death would have terminated
his  imperfect existence.  To what age an improvement
of this kind is possible we cannot of course tell, though I
feel sure it may be effected  in older persons than is gen-
erally supposed, perhaps till nearly thirty.   The younger,
of course, the better.   Several cases have  been known of
the Testes growing after twenty-six years old.
  Sometimes  there  appear to be  three  Testicles,  and
possibly in some of  these cases  there may really be three,
but more frequently one of the three bodies is either the
epididymis,  somewhat  enlarged, and much separated
from the Teste, or else it is a small tumor. Most of those
that have been observed in dissection have been small,
harmless  tumors,  existing  from birth.   Three  perfect
Testicles, however, are occasionally found, but they are
not always accompanied by any unusual sexual power.
  At other times there appears but one Testicle, or per-
haps none, and I have known young men in the deepest dis-
tress from this cause.  In some of these instances there
is really but one organ, as  has been proved  after death,
and yet the individual has had full average powers.   It is
more often  the case, however, that the deficiencies are
apparent rather than real.  Before birth  the Testes are
contained in the Abdomen, and they usually descend into
the Scrotum  in the last month.  It  sometimes happens,
however, that the  descent  of  one or both does not take
place, and  the individual then appears so far deficient.
In these cases the  power of the Testes is not impaired by
their unusual position, but perhaps is often increased,
and this has led uninformed persons  to think  that  men
sometimes had procreative powers without Testicles, be-
cause they could not be found.  A man once died in one
of the London hospitals who had long been noted as hav-
ing no Testicles, and yet having all the  usual powers. On
dissection, two perfect ones were found in the Abdomen
that had never come  down, and thus the wonder  was
solved.   These cases, however, are but rare.   Dr.  Mar-
shall examined ten thousand eight hundred young recruits,
among whom  he found five in whom  the right Testicle
had not come down, and six in whom  the left had not ;
there being but one  man in  whom both were not de-
scended.
  It is much better for the Testes to remain totally in the 
92         THE MALE GENERATIVE ORGANS.
Abdomen than  to  descend only  to  the  groin, as they
sometimes do, because in the last position they are apt
to be compressed,  by the other  parts crowding about
them in the ring, and thus waste away from pressure. The
imperfect or non-descent of the Testes must, however,
always be considered an imperfection, and though it may
not cause inconvenience, or loss of power,  it is neverthe-
less always to be feared.  The Testicle  itself  is as liable
to all its different diseases while in  these  unusual posi-
tions as  when in the Scrotum, and unfortunately cannot
then be  reached.   The  neighboring parts also become
affected from it,  and thus life may be lost from a simple
defect  which could  have been  completely removed,  if
the Teste had been in its natural position.
  In some instances the retained Testes descend late in
life, and if they then become fast in the ring great swelling
and severe inflammation may result, with ultimate wast-
ing away of  the organs.  Such cases have been mistaken
for ruptures, and some men, from want of information,
have thought that the Testicles really grew at  that time,
all at once.
  When  there are really no Testicles  from birth, there is
always an imperfect development of the  whole system,
and a total absence of sexual power or feeling.
  In some animals  it is natural for the Testes never to
descend,  but always  to remain in  the Abdomen, and in
others they descend only at certain seasons, that is, when
they attain their periodical development, and become en-
gorged vvith  semen.
  It  is stated, on the authority of several travellers, that
there is a tribe of Hottentots at the Cape of Good Hope
that  never have but one Testicle ; but  many  naturalists
think that more likely it is  a custom among them to re-
move one in youth.   It is  quite possible, however, that
this deficiency may be  natural, and it is not in any way
more singular than  many  peculiarities observed  in the
genital organs of the  females  of those tribes.   1 have
known two   brothers,  twins,  one of whom  had three
Testes and the other but one.
  In some instances the  two  Testes have been  found
grown together, so as apparently to form  but one, owing to
the absence  of the usual septum.
  The Testicles  are sometimes drawn so close up against
the abdomen, owing to a  contraction  of  the  cremaster 
THE MALE GENERATIVE  ORGANS.         93
muscle, that they cannot be discovered without close ex-
amination, and are  then  often thought  to  be  absent,
though  they are  quite perfect, and even  outside of the
body.   Medical men have even testified that  there were
no Testicles,  in such cases as these, which shows the ne-
cessity for a close and thorough examination of such ap-
parent monstrosities.
  This state of things is not  dangerous in  itself, but had
better  be removed if possible,  because the  Testes arc
likely to adhere to the neighboring  parts and waste away,
so as to cause perfect impotence.  A surgical operation
is necessary to liberate them, which is both difficult and
somewhat dangerous. In some few dissections the Testes
have been found completely  absent, and without any
trace of their having existed.  Sometimes the  Vas Defer-
ens exists by itself, and sometimes with the Epididymis,
though at other times there are no traces of either. These
cases of  total congenital absence, however, are very rare,
and are always indicated by deficiencies in other  parts of
the system.
  In some rare instances the Testes have descended into
the Perineum, instead of the Scrotum,  most probably
from some imperfection in the parts.
  The Testes are liable to many different diseases and de-
rangements, some from birth, and others that originate
afterwards, many of which ought to forbid marriage alto-
gether.  A full account of every one, with directions how
to treat  them, may be found in my book on the "  Male
Organs," and if every  young man was in possession of
that information in time, we should see but few of these
diseases compared with what we do now.
  Many men  are alarmed very much  at any  affection of
these Organs—and with good reason too—but some of
the worst of these affections, both organic and accidental,
are cured very readily, and means are used successfully
to increase their power when deficient, or restore it, in
many cases, if lost.
  In those Animals the females of which  only admit the
male during one particular season of the year, that of the
rut, the males do not secrete Semen continuously, as they
do  in  others, but only at  those  times when  the female
Ovaries act, so that both experience  the sexual  impulse
at the  same time.  At all other periods the Testicles are
quite small,  but  then  they suddenly  enlarge, and when 
94         THE MALE GENERATIVE ORGANS.
the season is  over they decrease again.  In some Ani-
mals the Testicles descend from  the body only at that
time, and at every other period  are  drawn  up into the
Abdomen.  In many, the enlargement of these Organs
during connection is  very evident, and in some of the
lower animals  and Insects, there is only sufficient Semen
secreted for one single act.
  According to recent observations, it appears that the
Seminiferous Tubes are about one two-hundreth part of an
inch in diameter, and that the Vas Deferens, in all its con-
volutions, is nearly thirty-two feet in  length, while the
whole of the Tubes are, probably, full five thousand feet.
  The condition and mode of action of the Testes exert a
similar influence over the male  to that which  is exerted
over the female by  the Ovaries, the  secretion of the
Semen being  analogous  to the  maturation  of the Ova.
The development of  the body is  also totally dependent
upon their growth, and both intellectual power and  moral
disposition are, to an immense extent, influenced by  them.
  The  form  of the Testicles varies  among  different
Mammiferous  Animals,  equally with the  other Organs,
being sometimes  round, at others oval,  and  at  others
again long and slender,  as in the Whale.   It is seldom,
however, that they are contained in a  Scrotum, as in Man,
except among  the Carnivori, the Ape, the Horse, and the
cud-chewing beasts.   In  the Beaver, the Testicles are
contained in the Perineum, and in some similar animals
in the abdomen, while in the Bat, and some others, they
always glide back into  the belly during the Rut.   The
Whale, Kangaroo, Opossum, Elephant and some others,
have the Testicles fixed permanently in  the Abdomen,
one on each side of the Rectum.   This is the case also in
the Porpoise, whose Testicles at the time of heat  attain
an enormous  size, having been found nine  inches long
and four wide, and weighing two pounds each.
  In all cases the internal structure is much the  same,
and probably the formation of the Semen is always much
the same process.  The composition  of it  is  also similar,
and in every case  it possesses animalcules,  though they
differ in form.
  The Seminal Vesicles and Prostate Gland also vary in
form, though,  probably, they always  serve a similar pur-
pose.  Some  have only one Prostate,  like Man,  while
others appear to have several, or rather it is much  di- 
THE MALE GENERATIVE ORGANS.         95
vided.   Cowper's  Glands also, though usually present,
vary  much in their development, and so  do the Vasa
Deferentia.

                     § THE PENIS.

   The  Penis is a cylindrical  spongy organ down which
runs  the  passage from  the bladder, called  the Urethra,
by which the urine escapes, and which also  serves for the
exit of the Semen, as before explained.
   The Anatomical structure of this organ  was not  well
understood by Anatomists till recently, owing  to the  dif-
ficulty which necessarily exists of dissecting it in  its sev-
eral states.  Sufficient,  however, is now known to ex-
plain its Physiological action, which is all we need here.
   The body of the Penis consists of two distinct parts,
each  of which is very  porous, or  rather spongy.  The
upper part,  which is  the  larger,  is  called  the  Corpus
Cavernosum ; the under part,  which is much the same in
its structure, is called the Corpus Spongiosum.   Both parts
extend  from the  Pelvic Bones to the Glans at the end
The Corpus Cavernosum is divided  down the middle into
two parts, by a septum, or partition, and  some physiolo-
gists  on that account speak of two  cavernous  bodies, or
the Corpora Cavernosa ; it is, however, strictly one. These
two parts are rounded  on the under edge,  so  that when
-they come flat together  there is  a groove formed under-
neath,  and in this groove lies the Urethra, or urinary
passage.   They are both firmly attached  to the front
bones of  the Pelvis, under the Perineum,  by two roots
called the Crura  Penis.
   The  Corpus Spongiosum surrounds the  Canal of the
Urethra underneath, and  fills up the remainder of  the
groove, so  as to round the whole organ.  It  terminates
posteriorly in what is called the Bulb of the  Urethra.
   The whole organ is surrounded by the  skin, excepting
the end,  where we find a body  called the  Glans Penis,
which is both different and separate from either of those
described.  The  inner fold of the skin of  the Penis is at-
tached  to the termination of the Corpus  Cavernosum,
while the outer fold is  extended beyond, so that it only
partly covers the Glans, but  is  not attached  to  it,  and
may be drawn back.  This loose skin is called the prepuce,
ox foreskin, and is the part cut off in the rite of circumcis-
ion.  In some persons  it extends further over  the Glans 
96         THE MALE GENERATIVE  ORGANS.
than it does in others, but generally  leaves  more or less
of it exposed.   The Glans is probably an  enlargement of
the  peculiar erectile tissue surrounding  the  Urethra, and
is covered  by a highly sensitive and vascular skin,  of an
exceedingly delicate structure.  It is  in  the form of  a
section of  a cone, and terminates on  the  posterior  or
upper  margin by an elevated ridge, called the Corona
Glandis, behind which is a depression called the Cervix,
or Neck.   In this depression are several glands  called
the  Glandula Odorifera, which produce a whitish  secre-
tion, of a peculiar odor, that  sometimes  accumulates  in
great quantities in those who neglect proper cleanliness.
On  the under side of the Glans, the Prepuce is attached
nearly at  the  end,  by a fold or ligament, called the
Frcenum, or Ligamentum Prceputii.   This  ligament,  or
cord, is sometimes too short, and during  erection is so
pulled upon as  to cause  great annoyance ;  occasionally,
it even ruptures, or tears, causing severe pain,  with loss
of blood.
  These parts constitute the substance  of the Penis, and
are  therefore  most  essential to the performance of  its
proper functions.
  The peculiarity of  the structure of the  Corpus Caver-
nosum, and of the Corpus Spongiosum, consists in their
being full  of curiously-arranged blood-vessels and cells,
or cavities, like those  of sponge, all  communicating with
each other, and benig connected with the main  branchea
of an artery and a vein.  In ordinary states  these vessels,
excepting  the larger ones, and also the cells, are nearlv
or  quite empty,  but under  appropriate  excitement th*
blood from the artery is impelled into them  and fills them
up, in  consequence  of  which the  organ enlarges, like
sponge when filled with water.   This is  called the Phe.
nomenon  of Erection,  and it depends upon a peculiar
sensibility proper to the parts, which are therefore  some-
times  spoken of as being composed of  Erectile Tissue.
There is  no other part of the body that in any way  re.
sembles the Penis in structure, except  the Clitoris  in the
female, which has a similar Tissue, and  is  usually capa-
ble of  erection to a certain extent, in precisely the same
way.
  When the excitement is withdrawn, the blood ordinar-
ily  flows back by way  of the  cavernosus vein, and the
erection subsides, but sometimes its return  is prevented, 
THE MALE GENERATIVE  ORGANS.         97
and the erection then remains, though all excitement is
gone.  The Corpus  Spongiosum is so distinct from the
Corpus Cavernosum that erection will  sometimes  take
place in one  and not in the other,  which  necessarily
curves the organ, or draws it into the form of a bow, pro-
ducing what is termed a chordee.
  The erection, and emission of Semen, is also assisted by
a number of different muscles, particularly by one called
the Erector Penis, or Ischio  Cavernosus  Muscle.  Some-
times in erection the rush of blood  will be so sudden and
violent that the vessels will burst,  and the erectile tissue
be thus totally destroyed.   In some-persons the filling up
of the blood-vessels always occurs in a very short time,
while in others it  is the reverse ; and in like manner  erec-
tion subsides in a short time in some, while  in others it
will continue  for  a long period and subside very slowly.
This  depends upon some peculiarity  in the vital action
of the blood-vessels, not yet understood.   In  old age the
blood  generally  flows in slower, and  flows out much
quicker than  it does in youth, so that  the  erection is
longer in taking place and goes down  more rapidly.
  The uses  of the Penis,  as  before remarked, are  two-
fold ; firstly, it serves as a conduit to convey the urine
from  the body, and,  secondly, as a  conductor to carry
the semen into the female  organs.  For  the first use erec-
tion is not necessary, but it is for the  second, and, there-
fore, its  prooer occurrence is both natural and essential
to the performance of one  of the functions of our nature.
  The form of this organ varies in different animals, for
the purpose of adaptation, and is  sometimes  very singu-
lar.   In some it  is covered  with spines, so as to give
great pain to the femaje during connection, as in the cat.
while in others its structure causes that  act to be much
lengthened, as in the dog.  In birds,  the  male organ is
merely rudimentary, so that  there is no actual union,
properly speaking, but merely an emission into the female
organs.   In the human being there are occasional devia-
tions from  the ordinary  development,   and sometimes
even  peculiarities  in  structure.   Thus  instances  have
been known  of the interior  of the Corpus Cavernosum
being more or less ossified, so that a distinct bone always
existed in the middle  ol  the  organ.  This is often the
case  in Negroes, and  in some of the  lower animals it is
natural.  In  a few rare  instances the  Penis has  been
5 
98         THE MALE GENERATIVE ORGANS.
found double, or rather divided into  two parts, only one
of which, of course, contains a urethra, though both may
be capable of erection, as I observed in one  case  in my
own  practice.   Probably amputation  of  the imperfect
part might have been  safely effected, but as little  incon-
venience was experienced, it was not thought necessary.
  The various peculiarities of structure and development
that inverfere with the functions of this part will be treated
under appropriate heads as  we proceed.


     § ABSENCE AND MALFORMATION  OF THE PENIS.

  Besides  being liable to be  lost by  several accidents,
and by necessary operations, the Penis may also be de-
ficient from birth.   I  have seen instances  where it was
not more than a quarter of an inch in length, and  some-
times only a slight  swelling like a small tumor.  In such
cases,  of course, there can be no connection, but still such
men may he fathers providing all the  other parts are per-
fect, because, as elsewhere  explained, the  semen may
impregnate if it be only shed within' the  external lips,
which, of  course, may be effected in  the worst of  these
instances.   I have known instances of married couples,
with  families,  who  never had  any association,  from
similar causes.  It is unnecessary to say, however, that
marriage should  never take place in such cases without
the nature of the infirmity  being  first  known, though I
believe the law would declare any marriage binding  if
impregnation were  possible.  In giving an opinion  under
such circumstances, it is, however, difficult to  decide this
point.   In general, in healthy females,  the placing  of the
semen artificially in the  vagina will  induce conception,
but not always.  Hunter relates  an  instance where  he
advised the injection of the  semen with a syringe, after
its escape from the husband, and impregnation followed.
There  are some females, however, in whom its absorption
will not take place without  a  certain amount of  excite-
ment,  dependent upon actual  association, so that  there
will always be more or less uncertainty, and much less
probability than when no such deprivation exists.   Inde-
pendent of this, however, there are other considerations
that should forbid the marrying of men so situated, unless
with a full  knowledge of the circumstance and its con-
sequences by both.   In some of these cases,  especially 
THE MALE GENERATIVE ORGANS.         99
when a portion of the Organ is left, as after operations
and  accidents,  the difficulty may be  much remedied by
an instrument, so constructed as to fit on the part remain-
ing,  and resembling that which  is lost.  I have known
instances of conception following the use of such an in-
strument, when the  Penis itself was  not  more than a
quarter of an inch  long.  But then the semen was formed
in great quantities, and was remarkably healthy.
  In some children the Penis is  tied down to the Scro-
tum, or some other of the neighboring parts, by bands
which never allow it to be extended, and of course hinder
the  performance  of its  functions.  I  saw one child of
seven years in whom it grew flat on the Abdomen, caus-
ing  great trouble  and annoyance in  urinating, from the
direction in  which the fluid had to flow.  Nearly all such
cases can be easily corrected by a slight operation, at any
age, the adhesion  being  usually only  by the skin, but are
better attended to early in life.   The  one referred to was
put  right  very readily, and in  two years' time scarce a
trace of the  operation  could be seen.
  Occasionally the Penis will have a wrong direction, be-
ing turned so much either on one side, under, or upwards,
that association is impossible.   If this depends upon con-
traction of the skin, or of  the  muscular fibres, it may be
corrected by simply dividing them ; but if it results from
a tumor, or swelling,  that must  be removed before any
alteration can be  effected.  Aneurisms and swellings of
the  veins will sometimes bring  about such  deviations,
and so will too  long-continued erection, by rupturing
some of the cells or vessels, and  so causing accumulation
of blood.  I knew  one instance of  this kind, in  which
every  time  erection  occurred  a  large tumor was formed
on the left side, full of blood, which of  course turned the
end of the  organ to  the right side,  and thus prevented
connection.  This accident had been  caused by numerous
forcible and long-continued erections  in one night, during
•'ntoxication.  The tumor was as large as an egg,  and
when full could be distinctly felt  to pulsate.  It was also
very painful, and  appeared almost ready to burst.  The
remedies  advised  were cold astringent lotions and wear-
ing  a thin plate of smooth horn  over the part, bound on
so firmly  as  to prevent  any swelling from  accumulation
of blood.   This plan succeeded very well in giving relief,
though it is probable there will always be  more or  less
tendency to a recurrence of the trouble. 
100       THE MALE GENERATIVE ORGANS.
  Besides Scrofulous and other Tumors  in  the  Penis,
there will sometimes be bony  swellings, and accumula-
tions like calculi or stone in the bladder.  These  may
either compress the Urethra, and so prevent the passage
of the Urine and Semen, or they may curve the organ so
as to prevent its use ; in general, however, they can  be
removed.
  Sometimes the Frsenum or  cord  that  binds down the
prepuce at the end underneath, will be so short or  con-
tracted, that during erection the point of the  Glans will
be pulled under.  This not only prevents the  Semen be-
ing thrown straight forward, but even prevents connec-
tion in many instances, either by  causing severe pain,  or
by bending the end of the organ  loo  much.  This diffic-
ulty is easily remedied, by cutting through the cord  with
a pair of scissors or a lancet.   I advised a gentleman out
West how to do this, by letter, and  he wrote  afterwards
to inform me that he had succeeded perfectly, with his
razor.  It is  simply  necessary to take care to cut  only
deep enough to just sever the cord, and afterwards to keep
the parts stretched asunder, so that they do not grow to-
gether again ; a simple dressing of cloths dipped in cold
water is all that is required after.  I have known the  cord
to be eaten  through with caustic, but the plan is not so
good as  cutting,  being more  tedious and painful,  and
leaving a laiger  scar.   In some persons it has  been
broken suddenly during a violent erection, or on attempt-
ing  coition,  but  such accidents are always painful, and
are better avoided by a timely operation.

§ WANT  OF  DEVELOPMENT, OR CONGENITAL  SMALL  SIZE
                    OF THE PENIS.

  It is sometimes difficult to say whether the  Penis is too
short or not, because there is no precise standard of  limi-
tation, and  in  diligent people the  development varies
very much.   In some persons  it never  grows from the
condition in which we find it in childhood, while in others
it will attain a medium size, and in others again it  will be
nearly rudimentary.   This may also be totally independ-
ent of any deficiency in the  other organs, though  most
usually they correspond more or less.  Thus,  I have seen
a man of forty yean; of age in whom  the Penis was  only
two inches long, and about as  thick as  the little  finger, 
THE MALE GENERATIVE ORGANS.       101
but whose  Testes were of a full average  size, and  who
had  strong sexual feelings, with  a full flow of  Semen.
Sometimes  the organ can scarcely be traced at all, being
merely like a wart or small  tumor.
  When the non-development of the Penis is dependent
upon a general torpor of the Genital  Organs, more es-
pecially of the Testes, their action must be aroused  and
their functions fully  established, in the manner pointed
out in the chapter on the Testes.  If this can be done, the
Penis may be made to grow even to an advanced period
of life.
  In those  cases  in  which  the Penis  alone is not suffic-
iently developed, a different treatment is  required, as it
is simply a local effect we wish to  produce.  In some  of
these instances  the organ, though  small, is capable  of
perfect erection, and  both connection  and impregnation
may be effected by its means ;  it is not, then, a matter of
such urgent moment for any improvement to be effected,
though under certain  circumstances it  may be  desirable.
More frequently,  however, erection either  does not  take
place at all, or so imperfectly, that coition is impossible,
and the flow of Semen is so  imperfect and  irregular, that
impregnation  can seldom be effected.  Under such cir-
cumstances it is a matter of the greatest consequence  to
produce an increased development, so that  both these
functions may be  performed ;  and  it  may  be  both  new
and  pleasing to many  persons, to learn that there are
means by which this desirable end may be often attained,
even under the most unpromising circumstances.   It is
proper to remark, however, that the  cases now referred
to are those in which  the small size is congenital, or exist-
ing from birth, and not in those where the organ  has de-
creased from disease or excess,  after having been of aver-
age  development, though even in many of them, when
the  constitutional stamina is not too much impaired, the
same means will frequently restore what has been tem-
porarily lost.
  The causes that prevent the proper development of this
organ, as well as  of  others, are of course unknown  in
those cases that are congenital, because they operate be-
fore  birth, but in those that become arrested during child-
hood or youth, we generally trace it  to early masturba-
tion, blows  on the Testicles and other accidents, or  to
some severe disease which has impaired the vital energT 
102       THE MALE GENERATIVE  ORGANS.

very much.   Some diseases are particularly apt to affect
young persons  in this way, as  the Mumps, for instance,
which often make the Testes swell,
  Scarlet Fever and Measles, when severe, I have known
to seriously injure the virile power, but  not so frequently
as Rickets or Scrofula.
  To effect an  enlargement of the Penis, in addition to
every means  proper  to improve the general health and
impart stamina, there are certain mechanical and manual
applications,  the effects of which, under right  direction,
are  often of the most unexpected and pleasing character.
To  understand the nature  of  these, and their  mode of
action, it is necessary to bear in mind the anatomical
structure of  the organ, and the  requisites  for  erection.
That phenomenon, it will be recollected from our prev-
ious description, depends essentially upon the filling up
of the vessels  and  cells of the  spongy and cavernous
bodies with blood, and of course if there be  any fault in
their make or mode of connection, or if the blood does not
flow into them, erection  cannot take place.   Now this is
precisely the  fault that is found  to  exist in most of the
cases of non-development above referred to, and is what
requires to be corrected.   On  dissecting such cases after
death we find that the cells and minute vessels have never
been fully congested or filled with blood, and consequently
the  organ has not been able, to  grow  nor become erected
as it should be.  In  the  same way after long-continued
excess, or debilitating  disease, the  artery seems to  lose
its power of transmitting  the blood with sufficient vigor,
and the cells, from want of being filled, decrease in size,
and eventually  grow up more  or  less, causing  the organ
to shrink.  This is  the reason also why  absolute  sup-
pression of sexual excitement, if continued too long, will
make the organ  waste  away, instead  of  increasing  its
power, as many uninformed people suppose.
  The object to be accomplished it will be seen is to open
these cells, and cause the blood to flow into them, so as
gradually to increase their size, and  dispose  them to  fill
spontaneously, from natural excitement.
  In some persons the daily employment of a warm local
bath, with brisk rubbing,  and the  use of a stimulating
ointment, will be found efficacious ; and if  this treatment
be regularly  persisted in, under judicious direction, com-
bined with proper internal  remedies, it will  succeed in a 
           THE MALE GENERATIVE  ORGANS.       103

farge number of the cases ordinarily met  with.   It is
requisite, however, that the external and internal stimu-
lants should  be exactly  apportioned to  the wants and
capabilities of the individual's  system, and that a strict
watch should be kept upon the action and effects of each,
60 as to know when to increase or decrease their power,
and when to suspend their action altogether.   Until over
forty years of age, if the form of the organ is perfect, and
its development not  too small, a considerable change
may be effected in this way, though  the younger the pa-
tient is the more readily the parts are acted upon.
  I once had  a patient call upon me from Cuba, the son
of a  rich planter, who was troubled with this imperfection,
and who was intensely desirous that  it  might be reme-
died so as  to allow of marriage.  He  was about twenty-
three years of age, and of a strong, robust habit of body,
with excellent  health.  On examination the  Penis was
found about two inches and a half in length,  and about as
thick as the  forefinger,  properly formed, but with  little
more sensibility than any other part of the body.  The
Testicles were fully developed, and the sexual feeling was
fairly strong.   There  had  been* frequent emissions of
semen,  under strong excitement, but only partial erection,
and consequently no connection could take place.  Upon
inquiry I found that he  had been  brought up to a very
rigid code of  morals, and as he was very ambitious of dis-
tinction he made  a perfect anchorite  of himself.   The
bodily effect of such a course has been  seen—its effect on
the mind was to make him wayward, irritable and unhappy.
A short time before he came on to see me he  met with a
young lady with whom he fell  violently in  love, and im-
mediately the desire for marriage arose, but with it came
the fear that  he was tqtally incapacitated.   The new de-
sire, so strongly awakened, together  with  the fears  he
felt, operated  so  intensely upon  him that he became
almost  furiously  insane.   On  assuring him, however,
that there was  a reasonable prospect  of his attaining a
more perfect state, he  became calmer,  and  patiently sub-
mitted himself  to the prescribed treatment.
  The first object was  to induce as much heat as possible
in the organ, so  as to promote the flow of blood to it.
This was  accomplished  by the use of  a hot stimulating
lotion, two or  three times a day, followed by brisk rub-
bing with flannel and  soft brushes.  In three weeks the 
104       THE MALE GENERATIVE ORGANS.

effect of this treatment became  obvious—erections oc-
curred, partial at first, but  ultimately quite forcible, and
the organ evidently began  to  increase permanently in
size.  In addition to this he was directed to use some
stimulating drops, and to live  generously, to impart as
much vigor as possible to the Generative Organs.   The
flow of semen  soon  became much larger than before
under this treatment, and the procreative instinct much
more powerful.  There was still one fault, however, and
that was a want of power in the muscles that assist in the
erection and coition, more especially in the Erector Penis
muscle.  This was remedied by frequent shampooing, and
pressing of their fibres till they acquired volume and firm-
ness,  the same as any other muscle would do under simi-
lar treatment.
  This system was rigidly pursued for six months under
my own inspection, at the end of which time the Penis
was four inches long, when  erect, and quite  firm, so that
coition was possible.  At  this period  he was desirous to
return home, and as he was evidently determined to pur-
sue the same treatment himself, I consented to his doing
so, though I would have preferred for him to have staid
still longer.   I heard from him  eleven months after his
departure, and  he then informed me  that the improve-
ment had still  continued  till  he no  longer thought  it
necessary to proceed.  He was then intending to marry
in about three months.  The delight and gratitude of this
young man were unbounded, rescued as he was from the
very depths  of  despondency and despair, and raised, as
he  expressed it,  "to the highest pitch  of  human  hap-
piness."
  In  the  course of my practice I have had numerous
similar  cases, some of them resulting satisfactorily from
the  same treatment,  and  others  requiring a different
plan, which  I will now explain.
  When the means above described fail to induce a suffi-
cient flow of blood into the Erectile Tissue an instrument
is employed, called a  Congester.   It consists of a Tube,
the size of which is adapted to the organ, to which is fitted
an exhausting Air Pump.   The Penis being introduced
into this, the air is more or less exhausted, and the blood
of course flows into the contained part immediately.  So
great is the rush of blood, that in fact, if the exhaustion were
continued too far, or made too suddenly, the Tissue would 
THE MALE GENERATIVE ORGANS.       105
burst.   In a  short time, with care, the part  begins  to
swell and look red, and erection, more or less complete,
soon takes place.   This never Jails, unless the vitality of
the part be totally gone, or the  structure of  the  Tissues
completely disorganized.  I have seen some of the most
remarkable results follow from the use of this instrument
that were perhaps  ever witnessed in a  medical way.   I
have known patients  in whom the whole organ was not
half an inch long, and without the  slightest  tendency to
erection, and  yet the Congester has caused it to grow,
and  has  given it power, until  perfectly capable  for  its
proper use.  Sometimes  there only appears a simple pro-
tuberance, like a Tumor, while at other times the organ
is long and surprisingly small, and quite flaccid, but still
the Congester will impel the blood  into the Tissues and
produce  the effect  desired.  Sometimes, it  is true, we
cannot gain so much as would be desirable, but nearly
always sufficient for Nature's requirements, and occasion-
ally as perfect in condition as if no imperfection had ever
existed.
   In conjunction with the Congester it  is also requisite,
in most cases, to act upon  the muscle, by  shampooing,
as they are usually deficient in power, and without their
action  the Penis  cannot erect,  though it may  become
firmly congested.
   This practice of shampooing the Perineal and Genital
Muscles, to improve the erectile power, was  originated
in Asia, but has been known and practiced in Europe for
many years.   The  process is tedious and somewhat pain-
ful, and requires  both skill and knowledge in  the opera-
tion.   In Tuikey men make a regular business of it, and
succeed  admirably.  In  this  country it is  necessary  to
direct the patient himself, or hire assistants, and the con-
stant supervision of the medical  man  is therefore re-,
quired.
   It must be recollected that the various processes I have
described require a long  period to be put fully in opera-
tion, and are such  as can  be commanded only by those
who have plenty of  both time  and means at their dis-
posal.
   With those who are fortunately so situated as  to have
these essential requisites, the gain is certainly  great, and
well 'worth what it costs,  and I have never known one
who was successfully treated, who did not say he  thought 
106       THE MALE GENERATIVE ORGANS.

no price could be dear to pay.  Many a man  has been
saved from insanity or suicide by these means, and many
a domestic hearth has been made the scene of happiness
and delight,  that was previously the abode  of recrimina-
tion and despair.
  I have treated patients of all ages,  from mere youths
up to mature age ;  the oldest  I recollect being about fifty-
two.
  One  of  the most remarkable cases I ever treated was
that of a young man of nineteen, who was brought to me
by his father, himself a physician.  In this person there
was scarcely any appearance  of a Penis, but only a small
Tumor, not  projecting more than a quarter of an inch,
in the centre of which was the opening of the  Urethra.
It was  quite  sensitive, however, and seemed rather as  if
compressed  downwards.   The Testes were of average
size, and the  semen secreted  in  sufficient quantity, occa-
sionally, so that nothing  seemed wanting but the  Penis.
I at once told his father that I felt assured that  much im-
provement could be obtained, but that it would require
much  time and attention, with  great endurance on the
part of the patient himself. They were both delighted to
hear this, and the young  man testified his  desire  that I
should  commence  the treatment immediately,  which I
did.  A Congester was constructed specially for the case,
and applied daily.  The lower part was of glass, so  that
its operations could  be  seen, and  it was  observed  that
immediately  the tube was exhausted  of  air the  Penis
seemed to be drawn  forward,  and extended to full  two
inches.  The patient complained of great pain in the part
during the operation, from  the rush of blood into the
cells, and it remained  exceedingly tender  for several
days after.  The Congester was not applied again till this
soreness had subsided, but in the meantime the stimulat-
ing hot lotions were used, and shampooing of the muscles
was practiced.  It was observed that even the first appli-
cation  had evidently  caused  some protrusion,  and the
young  man  remarked that the internal sensations were
different from what he had ever before experienced.   The
internal medication in his case was of a more stimulating
character  than ordinary,  because the sexual impulse was
not very strong, and  only occasionally manifested.  His
diet was directed to  be  as nourishing  as possible, with
wine for drink, and every day he rode out  on horseback 
           THE MALE GENERATIVE  ORGANS.       107

after  a warm  bath,  followed  by brisk rubbing of the
whole surface of the body.   After the first effect had sub-
sided the Congester was  used daily, and followed by the
shampooing for ten weeks, by which time a permanent
advance had been  made.  The Penis measured  full two
inches in its ordinary state, and in the Congester was ex-
tended to three.  Partial erections occurred at times dur-
ing sleep,  and the  procreative instinct became more act-
ive and permanent.   I then directed him to return home
for three  months, and only continue the  general treat-
ment, so that I might see  if Nature herself could com-
plete  the work. At the  end of three months he came
back  to  me  with  a  still further  improvement,  though
slight.  He was then  put under the old  treatment again,
and this time the effects were still more satisfactory.   In
two months, under the  Congester,  the Penis measured
four inches, and in the  ordinary state remained  perma-
nently at three, with firm erections and copious emissions
of  semen.   Finding,  therefore, that every requirement
of Nature could be fulfilled even as he was, and  that fur-
ther improvement would evidently  take  place with the
growth of the system, I desisted from further  treatment,
and sent him home cured..  His father was as much as-
tonished as gratified,  and another physician who had seen
him and pronounced him a Hermaphrodite, would, scarcely
believe it was the same being.
   Another case wa"  that of a man who had  married  at
thirty-two, though  imperfect, from a mistaken idea that
marriage would effect a  cure.   The  result may be imag-
ined ; the misery of two  human beings could scarcely be
more complete   In his  despair a friend  brought him  to
me for my opinion.  On examination, I found the Penis
not very  small, nor in any way imperfect,  but it had
never been  perfectly erected, and  seemed incapable  of
being so.   The semen was secreted plentifully  enough,
aud the instinct was as strong  as  was desirable.   I  told
him without any hesitation  that he could he made perfect
enough for his marital  duties in a short  time, providing
he would follow strictly  my directions, and submit to my
treatment,  which he was  willing  enough to do.   The
Congester was applied, and with the happiest results.  At
the third  application a  powerful erection was produced
that  did  not subside for a considerable time, owing  to
want  of  perfect action  in  the  cavernous veins.  This, 
108        THE  MALE GENERATIVE ORGANS.
however, was soon remedied, and in two  weeks, by the
use of the Congester alone, natural erections occurred
spontaneously, as perfect as could be desired,   In  a word,
he was perfectly cured, and is now the father of two chil-
dren.
  I have also had numerous instances of persons who had
lost the power of erection from sexual and other excesses,
from  mental anxiety and from the effect of debilitating
disease.  In  a portion of  these the result also has been
favorable, though, in many,  all  vitality had left  the or-
gans before I saw  them, andjn others, the structure was
completely disorganized, so that nothing could be done.
Many  young men especially,  victims of Masturbation,
whose organs had  ceased growing, have by these  means
been rescued from impotency and imperfection.   Many
a man of mature age also,  whose  powers were unim-
paired, but who could not exercise  them,  owing to this
particular debility, has been restored to his former capa-
bility in the same way.
  The Congester is not an instrument adapted for  self-
treatment, and I would not advise any one to attempt its
use without  proper directions and supervision.   I have
known it to do  great mischief with inexperienced  people,
and fail in accomplishing any good.   In one man  who
had it applied too  forcibly  and  suddenly, the cells were
nearly all ruptured, or broken into one another,  so  that
severe inflammation  was  produced, and the power of
erection was  for ever lost.
  There are some  means, however,  that all persons  may
use, provided they  know when they are appropriate to
the case.  The pressing and shampooing may be  par-
tially  practiced by the patient himself,  though very im-
perfectly,  but  the  general directions  as to  diet  and
exercise may be observed, of course, by all.   Perhaps,
however, there is no  other functional disability so diffi-
cult to treat,  or that requires so much skill and such unre-
mitting attention.
  In addition to the means already  described, there are
some  others  occasionally  useful, but which are  not so
generally applicable.  Galvanism is sometimes an excel-
lent agent, when there is nervous insensibility combined
with the other disabilities.  A very good mode to use it,
is to galvanise the  metallic  congester, while the organ is
engaged within it.   The power must not  be  too great, 
       PLATE  XL
SECTION OF THE  PENIS,
Fig. i.—a. The Bladder.—b, b. The Ureters.—c, c. Vasa Defer-
  entia.—d, d.  Mouths of the Ureters.—e.  Prostate Gland.—/
  Veru  Montanum.—g. Seminal  Ducts.—h.  Ischio Cavernous
  Muscles.—i, i. Bulb of the Urethra.—k, k. Cowper's Glands.—
  /. Wide  part of the Urethra.—m. Narrow part.—n. Second
  wide part.—o. The Glans.—■/. The Prepuce.
The spongy structure of  the Penis is shown  on one side, and its
  blood-vessels on the other.
Fig. 2.—a, a. Corpus Cavernosum.—b. Disvision  or  Septum,—
  d. Urethra.—e. Great Vein.
108^ 
 
           THE MALE GENERATIVE  ORGANS.       109

however, nor the application continued too long, or there
will be partial paralysis.
  The French  have a practice  of Flagellation which  is
sometimes very efficacious, and will  induce erection in a
short time.  It is rather severe, however,  and few have
courage  or endurance  sufficient to  continue it long
enough to derive full benefit.  The Flagellator is made of
six or eight small  twisted thongs, about  as  thick as a
violin string, but very flexible, and about eight  inches
long.  To operate with it to the best advantage the parts
should be  made bare, and perfectly smooth, and the
Flagellator must then be applied the whole length of the
Penis, and on  the  Pubes, Perineum, and inside  of the
thighs, till the flesh is quite red and smarts.   The flog-
ging must never be  so  hard,  or long continued, as to
make any  bruises,  nor leave any soreness, but merely
sufficient to make it red and feel hot, with slight  smart-
ing.   Usually about a quarter of an hour is sufficient,
every day.  After  the Flagellation, the  parts  should be
well bathed in hot water, and the patient should recline.
  This treatment may seem singular to those who never
heard of it before, but it is undoubtedly more  efficacious,
in numerous cases, than any one could well believe who
had not seen  it  practiced.   I have known  many patients
resort to  it with the happiest results, who could not stay
with me long enough for the usual treatment. —In some
it will produce powerful erections the first time, and lead
to an influx  of blood to  the parts  that soon stimulates
their growth.
  Firing is another practice that may be  resorted to, if
others fail,  for rousing the dormant energies of these
parts, in deficient growth.— It consists in burningthe parts
with a smooth iron button,  made hot  by plunging it  in,
boiling water.  The parts are first made smooth, and then
the button is taken  out of the water and pressed suddenly
on, repeating it as  fast as possible, till the whole  length
of the organ has been operated upon.  No  part should be
touched twice, nor should the iron remain  on more than
an instant.   The pain is very  slight, and no blister  is
raised, the places only turning white at first, and after-
wards remaining red.—The firings should be  repeated
only at intervals of three or four  days, waiting  till the
effects of one are gone off before another is practiced.
  This process is  sometimes astonishingly effective,  a 
110       THE MALE GENERATIVE ORGANS.

single application producing such a powerful effect that no
further treatment is required.—Care is required, however,
not to produce too much inflammation, nor to operate
too near the Testes.
  Sometimes the development will be much less on one
side of the Penis than the other, or less in the Corpus
Spongiosum than in the Cavernosum, so that the organ will
not be straight but curved ; or it may be straight in the
ordinary state but not capable of erecting  in  all parts
alike.  This state of permanent chordee is perhaps better
treated  by the flagellation or firing  than by any  other
means, because  they can  be applied  locally, and only to
the affected part.
  In  addition  to the  derangements  and diseases  here
enumerated,  there are also many others to which  the
Penis is subject, but  these are all which especially con-
cern marriage.   In  my  work on the  "Male  Organs,"
every known affection is  fully treated upon, so that if a
man wishes to know about anything not spoken of here,
he can be sure of finding  it there.
  The Penis is, perhaps, more variable  in its form and
situation,  among  the different  Mammiferous Animals,
than any  other organ.   It is only among the Bats and
Apes that it hangs down from the Pubic Bone, like it does
in Man, being in the others always included in a sheath,
as we see in  the Horse.   In the Cat, the Rat, and some
other animals it is directed backwards, and in the Beaver it
is drawn  far back into a kind of canal, like a Vagina,
while in  the Kangaroo  it is even  surrounded by the
Sphincter Muscle of the Anus.   Sometimes  the Penis is
permanently so long  that it cannot be drawn into the
sheath in a  straight form, but  has to be bent, like the
letter S, a in the Elephant, and some others.
  Those animals that have the Penis directed backwards,
as  the  Cat, for  instance, urinate  in that direction, but
when copulating, the  organ is  drawn out of the sheath
and bent forwards.   In those  species the females of
which have a double Vagina, like the Kangaroo, the Penis
is also double, so that there is one for each passage, each
having a Tube to convey the Semen, though there  is but
one Urethra for the urine, which  opens  between the two
Glans.  The Alligator also has a double-headed Penis.
   The Glans on the end of the Penis is even more variable
than any  other part, being seldom soft and spongy,  as in 
           THE MALE GENERATIVE ORGANS.        Ill

Man, but sometimes hard, bony, and covered with sharp
points, and sometimes even it scarcely exists in any form.
In some of the Apes it is spread out like a mushroom, with
slit edges,  and  occasionally covered with  sharp,  hard
spines.  This is the case also in the Bat, and partly so in
the Shrew-Mouse, while in  the  Hedgehog it is divided
into  three  lobes.   The Hyaena has it formed like the
broad knob of a door, and in the Bear and Dog it is like
a long club.  The Glans of the Cat is covered with horny
spines directed  backwards, which probably cause  pain to
the female, and draw forth those  horrible cries which
these animals emit during  copulation.   In the  Guinea
Pig it is covered with scales, and has two horny hooks,
while in the Hare it is drawn out to one  long, thin point,
and  in some other animals  into two points.  In some it
is even covered with stiff hairs, and in many has rough
knobs, or  Tubercles.    In the  Rhinoceros the  Glans is
bell-shaped, in the Florse it is bulbous, and in some of the
Whales it is shaped like a Tongue, while in others it is
conical.  The most singular form, however, is  in that
curious  animal, the Ornithorynchus, in which it is  very
large, square, divided in two parts, and covered all  over
with spines.  It is very large  in  .he  Dog, while  in the
Raccoon it is crooked, like the letter  S, and in some
others it is formed like a hook.   In the Squirrel  its termi-
nation is flattened out, like a shovel.
                PLATE XII.

MALE GENERATIVE ORGANS  OF  A SNAKE.
A.  The Genital Organs. 
CHAPTER  VII.
            THE  SEMEN AND ANIMALCULES.


  The vivifying principle secreted by the male testes is a
yellowish-white semi fluid  substance, having  a peculiar
odor.  It is slightly viscid  and of a saltish savor, when
fresh.  On examination it  is found to  consist of two dis-
tinct parts, one nearly fluid and the other like  globules of
half-dissolved starch,  which, however, both melt together
when it is exposed some time to the  air.   The peculiar
odor of the Semen appears to be derived from some of
the parts through which it  passes, for when  taken from
the testes it has scarcely any smell at all.
  Chemical analysis shows us  that the semen differs but
little in its composition  from  other substances  found  in
the body.   In iooo parts  there are about 900 water ;  60
animal mucilage ;  10  soda ; and 30 of phosphate of lime,
with a peculiar animal principle, the composition of which
is unknown. This analysis it  must be recollected is that
of the semen as it leaves the  body, that is, the  secretion
of the Testes, Vesicles, Prostate  Gland, and other parts,
united together.  How far the  pure semen from the testes
alone  differs  from this is  not  known.   By  some  the
starchy portion only  is supposed to be produced by the
Testes.
   The Seminal Animalcula.—The most curious  peculiar-
ly of the semen, and in many respects the most import-
ant, is that there always exists in it. when perfect, a num-
ber of remarkable living beings,  called the Zoospermes, or
Seminal Animalculse.  These beings  were  discovered
many  years ago, but have not  been  accurately studied
and described  till  very recently.  The representations
and descriptions given of them in old  works  are  mostly
incorrect, and sometimes  very  extravagant,  and calcu-
             (112) 
THE SEMEN AND  ANIMALCULES.         113
Iated to mislead rather than inform.  Some physiologists,
who saw them imperfectly,  even doubted  if they were
living beings.   The perfection of that magical instrument,
the microscope, however, and the patient investigation of
such men  as  Pouchet and his coadjutors  have not only
corrected these old errors, but  have also disclosed to us
new truths, more wonderful  even than  the wild dreams
of former times.
  As far as  yet investigated,  these  Animalcules exist
universally, in  the  Semen of all animals  whatever, but
have a peculiar form and development in each.
  It is also ascertained  that they are developed  from a
species of egg, or ovum, called the seminal granules, or
vesicles.  Under the microscope, a number of these can
always be  detected, like little globules of  mucus, and
they are observed to undergo a regular series of changes
similar to those of  the  female ovary.  When first  ob-
served they are round, and merely contain  a  number of
small granules, which are the  Animalcules in a rudimen-
tary state.  At a further stage, these granules are found
to be developed into small  Animalcules, while the  con-
taining vesicles have expanded and become  elongated,
or egg-shaped.   Finally, the  vesicle breaks  open at one
end, and  the  Animalcules  escape ; being  at  first very
small,  and  gradually growing  afterwards to the size we
ordinarily see  them.
  In different beings, the form both of the Vesicle and
the Animalcule varies much, and occasionally the Zoo-
spermes undergo some remarkable  metamorphoses  be-
fore assuming their final form.
  In the human being there are about thirty Zoospermes
in each Vesicle, but in  some  beings  there are more, and
in others not so many.   The  number  of vesicles varies
very much, at different times, even  in  the  same individ-
ual.
  The precise  size of the Zoospermes is, of course,  dif-
ficult to ascertain, but M.  Pouchet estimates their length
at about the ten thousandth part of the breadth of an ordi-
nary hair, and their weight at about the hundred and forty
thousand millionth part of a grain !  A spot as large as
a  mustard  seed, he remarks,  sometimes contains fifty
thousand of them.
  Notwithstanding this extreme minuteness, we are now
tolerably well acquainted  with  their  peculiarities  of
            8 
114        THE SEMEN AND  ANIMALCULES.

structure, and even with many of their hahits, noi need
this excite much surprise, when it is recollected that vhere
are beings still smaller, that have been studird with even
greater  success.  In Figs. 3 and 4 of the accompanying
plate, the form of the human  Zoospermes is  given cor-
rectly, and   their  internal organization is   also  fairly
shown by the part marked a, a, Fig. 4, which is rupposed
to be the stomach.  In the  perfect state, each  one has a
sucker at the larger end, represented by the white dot in
Figs. 3 and 4, by which  they  can attach themselves  to
any object.  They are observed to change their skins at
certain periods, like  snakes, and  we sometimes find  the
loose  skin hanging about them in  shreds:   or cast off
quite  whole.   In some  animals they have a  number of
hairs or cilia, by the motion of which they move  in  the
fluid, and some even have perfect fins.  One Physiolo-
gist assures us  that he distinctly  saw they were  sexual,
and that he could readily distinguish the male and female !
They are usually lively and active, with  peculiar motions,
some  of which  are  performed  in concert, and  others
singly, with great perseverance  and regularity : thus a
number of them will sometimes  form into a  ring, with
their heads  all one way, and run round  and round  in
a circle for a considerable time ;  or one may be seen by
itself pushing before it a large  globule of mucus, or blood,
many times heavier than itself, for  several minutes to-
gether.   One peculiarity is  observable in all of them, and
that is an almost invariable tendency to move only straight
forward, and they will  seldom  turn  to go   back, even
though they meet with  an  obstruction, but often  attach
themselves to it by the  sucker, and remain till they die.
Very often they seem to enter into combats, and a num.
ber of them will fight till  only one  is left alive.   They
will live for  some hours  out of the body, particularly if
put in warm water, in which their motions may be readily
seen.
  The Zoospermes are not found before Puberty, nor
usually in extreme old age.  Many diseases also destroy
them, and several drugs have  the same  power.   In all
cases where  they are absent or destroyed, from whatever
cause  it may be. the semen cannot impregnate, though in
every other respect it may appear perfect, and the vigor of
the patient  seem  but  little impaired.    This has been
proved by filtering them away, and by destroying them. 
               PLATE  XIII.
SEMINAL ANIMALCULES AND VESICLES.
                   EXPLANATION.
i. One of the Vesicles, containing the Animalcules in a  rudi-
  mentary state, coiled up.—2. The Vesicle broken open, and
  the Animalcules  escaping.—3 and 4.  Perfect Animalcules.—a.
  Is the stomach and intestines. The two round white spots at
  the top indicate the mouth and the sucker by which it attaches
  itself to anything.
These are magnified many thousand times.
                                         115 
PLATE  XIV.
ANIMALCULES  UNDER  THE  MICROSCOPE.
Semen thirty hours after connection,—Animalcules dead.
116 
THE SEMEN AND ANIMALCULES.         117
The development of the Zoospermes, it will be observed, is
strictly analogous to that of the ova or egg in the females.
Thus they are first found in the form of little granules,
enclosed in a Vesicle, which bursts as  they become more
perfect, and  allows  them  to  escape.  In some animals
there is even a periodical  development of them, similar
to that  of the  ova in  the  female, with which it usually
corresponds.   In such  animals  the  Testes  are small  at
other times,  and increase  in size at  these periods, be-
cause the Vesicles only attain their full growth then.
  In  tracing the semen from its source, we find that the
animalcules are not developed till it reaches the Seminal
Vesicles, and are sometimes not perfect till it has reached
the Prostate  Gland.   In the Testicles we never find the
Zoospermes themselves, but only the Vesicles containing
the granules, which gradually develop as  the Semen pro-
ceeds further on.
  The Testes may, therefore, be compared  to the  Ovar-
ies, the Seminal Vesicles  to the Graafian Vesicles, and
the Seminal  Granules  to  the ova.  Some  Physiologists
consider the  granules  to  be the ova of the animalcules
themselves, but this we cannot yet decide, though it is
certain the animalcules originate from them.
  The importance of these facts, in giving us a correct
knowledge of the  nature  and proper treatment of many
diseases of these organs,  will  be seen as we proceed,
particularly when  treating on  Impotence  and Seminal
losses.
  The actual process  of  conception  is also made more
clear from some of these details.  For instance, the ten-
dency which  the Animalcules have to  move only straight
forward, is, in  all  probability, the  reason why they make
their way up into the  womb from  the  vagina, and im-
pregnate the egg.   If it were not  for this tendency, com-
bined with their great  motive power, the two principles
could not  be brought together.  Their power of living
for some time after emission is  also necessary to impreg-
nation,because they may not reach  their destination im-
mediately.   It is found that they  will live in the female
organs,  when  these are  healthy, as  long  as twenty-six
hours, and, of course, during any  part of that time they
may impregnate.   Sometimes conception may take place
in  a few minutes,  and  at other  times not till many
hours after fhe association of the two sexes.  It has been 
 118         THE SEMEN  AND  ANIMALCULES.

 found, on dissecting an animal, killed ten hours after con-
 nection, that the semen had not then reached  the  ovum,
 though it  usually passes "into the  womb almost  imme-
 diately.
   It is evident from this,  how incorrect it is to speak of
 the moment of conception,  as if  it were a  period certainly
 known.  No greater mistake could  be made than to sup-
 pose that it always corresponds with the  moment of con-
 nection, because it may he as much as twenty hours after,
 or more.   It is also evident, from  these facts, why it is
 that conception is possible without  actual connection.   If
 the semen  be merely deposited in the external lips  it may
 impregnate, because the Animalcules may make their
 way from thence up to the womb.  It is also of little con-
 sequence how  the semen is deposited in the  female  or-
 gans, providing it be perfect, and this explains why it is
 that conception can be effected artificially, by merely in-
 jecting the semen in the female organs with a  syringe, or
 otherwise,  which has often been  done.   The  mere pres-
 ence of  the male organ, therefore,  is not essential.   It
 was also remarked in a previous  part, that sexual feeling
 in the female was not necessary to  conception, and this
 will now be evident, when it is recollected that the Ani-
 malcules move up into the womb  by  their  own vital
 power.   It  is probable, however, that this feeling often
 conduces  to  conception, by establishing certain favorable
 conditions of the parts, and therefore that event is  not so
 likely to  occur  during sleep or unconsciousness, though
 it is possible for it to do so.
  The old idea  that it was only the  odor or aura  oi the
 semen  that ascended  into the female organs and impreg-
 nated the ovum, is too unfounded and obviously incorrect
 to need refutation.
  The presence or absence of the Zoospermes  in  the Fe-
 male Organs, and other parts, is the chief evidence sought
for in  cases of alleged  violation,  because in  such cases
they may certainly be found alive, if the act has been com-
 mitted, for as long as twenty-six hours after, and dead for
almost any  period if the fluids be dried.
  It  is thought by some  that the Animalcule  is the true
rudiment or germ of  the  future human   being, which is
 supposed to be developed from  it in  the same  way  as the
 plant  is  developed from  the seed ;  or rather the human
 being is thought to be one  of these Zoospermes  developed 
THE SEMEN AND  ANIMALCULES.        119
to a more perfect form  by the power of the egg in which
it is placed.   In proof of this we have the fact, attested
by  several  observers, that when the egg breaks open,
during its passage down the tube, from the escape of the
germinal  vesicle,  if the  Animalcule  be  then  present  it
always passes in.   We thus have a possible explanation
of the origin  of human life, if we  suppose this  minute
organism  to be the origin of the future human being.  If
they are truly  sexual we  may also have an explanation of
the cause of the difference in  sex  in ourselves, as this
may be dependent upon the sex of the Animalcules from
which we  originate.   This view, however, is not gener-
ally held,  and  is not consistent with  analogy.
  It is uncertain  in what part  the Animalcules are first
produced, though,  most probably, in the Testes ; nor is  it
clear how  they are influenced by the Seminal Vesicles
and Prostate,  though  it is well  known  that the Semen
must pass through those parts before the Animalcules
become perfect, for in  no case will it impregnate when
taken from the Testes.   It is conjectured,  in explanation
of this, that the Vesicles and Prostate  supply some pecul-
iar food or nutriment, without which the  Animalcules are
never perfect.
  There are several Drugs that will  destroy  the Animal-
cules immediately,  among which may  be mentioned,
Opium, Prussic Acid, Iodine, and Strychnine.  The latter
article even throws them into convulsions, precisely like
those seen in human beings.
  The most curious effects are produced  upon the Ani-
malcules by Alcohol.  If  only a drop or  two be put into
the warm water which contains them, they become singu-
larly excited,  and dash  about as if  in a  perfect  frenzy.
Some will whirl rapidly round  and round, till  they stop
all  at once, and are found to  be dead,  others become
more than usually pugnacious, and they will  fight with
such fvry, that in  a short time all will be slain.  Others,
again, are evidently thrown  into spasms, or attach them-
selves by their suckers, and vibrate the body in the most
energetic manner.  After a short time these effects pass
off, and they become listless and dull.  If a larger por-
tion  of  Alcohol  be  used, they are killed immediately,
many of  them being first thrown into  convulsions.   I
have good reason for supposing that similar  effects are
often produced upon them when  Alcohol  is taken inter- 
   120        THE  SEMEN AND  ANIMALCULES.

\   nally, in excess, and that many inebriates  are  thus made
   impotent.    I have  frequently  examined  the  Semen of
   impotent patients who were addicted to excessive drink-
   ing,  and have often  found them  exhibit precisely  the
   same peculiarities as above described. I feel confident also
   that  the injudicious  use  of  the drugs  above mentioned,
   often produces  impotence,  by destroying the Animal-
   cules ; and, indeed,  I have  proved this by direct experi-
   ment upon animals.  It is well  known that  confirmed
   opium-eaters nearly  always become impotent, and that
   Iodine will often cause the Testes  to waste away, proba-
   bly  by preventing the development of the Animalcules.
   In all probability, many persons are made impotent, or,
   at least, have their sexual powers much impaired, by
   these drugs  being imprudently given to them  while they
   are children.  I have seen many cases in which the Ova-
   ries and Testes were undeveloped from this cause ;  and
   I  am inclined to think that  the evil exists to a great ex-
   tent.
     In some instances  the use of Alcohol, and other drugs,
   does not absolutely destroy the Animalcules but prevents
   their full development, or makes them imperfect,  so that
   we  find them  smaller than usual or deformed.   This is
   especially the case from Alcohol and Tobacco, as shown
   by experiments upon animals,  and in all probability  this
   explains why persons who use these articles  to  excess,
   are apt to have stunted, deformed, and diseased children,
   as it is well known they often  do, and thus the vices of
   the father entail  imperfection  and disease, upon  his off-
   spring.
     The  Animalcules  are  often destroyed by many of the
   discharges which take place from  the  female organs dur-
   ing disease,  and in this way sterility often  results.  Elec-
   tricity kills them immediately,  and so will sudden cold,
   as in using cold water injections.
     Before  Puberty,  no Animalcules can be discovered,
   but the Vesicles containing them usually begin to appear
   about eleven or twelve years  of age.  In old age, the
   number of them  generally becomes less, and  very often
   none at all  are found, though  the time when  they cease
   to be found is very variable.  Some men, though in good
   health, and robust, become impotent when they are fifty,
   and others, on the contrary, retain full possession of their
   powers till over a hundred years of age.  In like manner 
THE SEMEN AND  ANIMALCULES.        121
some children  have had the Animalcules  perfectly de-
veloped at ten years of age, and some young men not till
they were twenty.  I have known those who had no trace
of them at twenty years of age, who were  nevertheless
perfect enough at twenty-three ; and I once was  cogniz-
ant of a painful instance  in which a young female of sev-
enteen was impregnated  by a boy of  eleven, she having
improperly conducted herself with him without the slight-
est suspicion  of there being any danger in doing so.
  It is important to bear in  mind  that both puberty and
decay may be either hastened  or  postponed, by  proper
attention to diet and general conduct.
  It is a singular circumstance, that though  an electrical
discharge will destroy the Animalcules instantly, yet Gal-
vanism, even in  a  very strong current, has  no  effect
whatever  upon  them,  which shows the impossibility of
preventing Conception by the use of Galvanic instruments,
as some have proposed.
  Our present comparatively perfect knowledge of the
Seminal Animalcules is  important both to Physiologists
and to the Physician, as it enables us  both to discover
disease, and, in many cases, to suggest a remedy.   For-
merly the reason could not be even surmised why certain
married persons were  childless, though both seemed to
be  in  perfect health, and in the full possession of their
sexual powers.   It is now known, however, that  in most
of these cases, though  the Semen is formed yet it con-
tains no Animalcules ;  from some  cause or other  they
have not developed,  and the Vesicles  only are found.
This condition is more or less  natural to some  men, and
they can, therefore, never become fathers,  though fully
capable of association.    In such cases of sterility,  when
no obvious  imperfection existed,  medical  men  always
assumed  that the fault  was in the female, it being an
axiom that if the male could associate and deposit Semen,
he could  impregnate.  This, however, we have shown to
be erroneous,  because  the Semen  may be  imperfect,
though it be produced.   It is wrong, therefore, to sup-
pose, as most people do, that in cases of sterility the fault
is  most frequently with  the female ; it is,  in  fact, very
often with the  male, only the principal cause of  it has
only just been discovered.  Men who are imperfect in
this way, are in the same condition as they were before
 Puberty, and are similar to Mules, many  of  whom se- 
122         THE  SEMEN  AND  ANIMALCULES.
Crete  Semen, and  can associate with the other sex, but
there  are no Animalcules in the Semen, and it cannot,
therefore, impregnate.   In  these men the sexual desire
is never  strong, nor  does  it  last long, and they are
always incapable of exciting much ardor in the other sex.
This is explained by supposing that the presence  of the
Animalcules  is necessary to excite the organs of  both,
and that without them,  their peculiar sensibility  is not
fully developed.
  A number of observed facts have made it probable that
the rudiments of the Animalcules are exceedingly minute,
and that great numbers of them are sometimes contained
in the Semen, so that a small portion of it may suffice for
impregnation for a long time.   Thus instances have been
known in which both Men and Animals have impregnated
many times though Castrated, and for a long time after.
Which is explained by supposing that, when the Testicles
were removed, a quantity of  Semen must have been left in
the Vas Deferens, Vesicles, and Prostate Gland, which be-
ing mixed with the fluids of those parts formed the discharge
which impregnated.  There  must, however,  have been a
large  number of Animalcular  Vesicles  in it,  and they
must have been at first very  rudimentary, to continue de-
veloping so long.   Some  Physiologists, in fact, suppose
that the Semen can produce the Vesicles spontaneously,
and that,  consequently, they will always  be  found in  it
when perfect, no matter what part of the body it may be
taken from.               •
  One of the  worst  forms of Spermatorrhoea, or involun-
tary seminal loss, that in which it escapes with  the urine
only,  could never  be discovered if it were  not for the
Animalcules.   In every case of  this form  of  the disease
they  can always be  detected in the urine, by  means of
the microscope, and thus the true nature of  the trouble
can be ascertained  beyond a doubt.   Before this discov-
ery was made, such a mode of seminal loss was unknown
and unsuspected, though it/ is now known  to be  more
frequent than any other, and, doubtless thousands have
died from it without having  the remotest  idea what was
wrong.
  The form of the  Animalcules  varies  in different Ani-
mals  very much, though it is  always alike  in all indi-
viduals  of  the  same  species, which  is  probably the
true  reason  why  totally different  species cannot, as a 
THE SEMEN AND  ANIMALCULES.         123
general rule,  breed together.  The outline  of  the Ani-
malcule, as  will be  seen by  the  plate of  that  of  the
human being, is almost identical with  the outline of  the
main part of the Nervous System, the large part represent-
ing the brain, and the long extremity the Spinal Marrow.
It has been  conjectured, therefore, that the Animalcule
really constitutes the first rudiment of the nervous mat-
ter, while the Ovum or Egg, as already shown,  forms  the
general organization of ail the other parts.   The form of
the Animalcule must, therefore, be adapted  to the form
of the body produced in the egg, of which it is to become
a part, and if the two be very much unlike, no union  or
impregnation can take place.
  The delineations of the Animalcules,  as given in  old
works  are nearly always false, and sometimes grossly  ex-
aggerated.  It is, in fact,  extremely difficult to  make a
proper examination of them,  owing  to their  being  so
transparent,  and differing so little in density from  the
fluid in which they are contained.   It is requisite both to
have good and powerful  Microscopes, and to be  skilled
in their use.  With regard to specimens of Semen, a Phy-
sician who sees many cases of Spermatorrhoea will never
be at a loss for sufficient.
  In the course of my  own practice  I  have examined
these  interesting beings  under every variety of  circum-
stances, and from a number of different animals, besides
from our own species.  Nothing can well be conceived
more  absorbing than such a pursuit, and no discoveries
are more suggestive of valuable and unlooked for expla-
nations, both Medical and Physiological.
  In the " Origin of Life "  the form and manner of devel-
opment of the Zoospermes of many different animals are
shown ; some of them being very curious. 
              CHAPTER    VIII.

            SEXUAL UNION, OR  COPULATION.

  When the male principle is added to the Ovum, so that
foetal development commences, the egg is said to be im-
pregnated, or, in other words, the female conceives.   Con-
ception, therefore, is the union of the two principles, and
foetal development is the result of that union.
  In  different  beings,  as  already explained,  impregna-
tion is effected  in many different ways, being sometimes
internal, by  the  act  of Copulation, and at other times
external, without  any  kind of association whatever.  In
many  of the lowest beings there is no copulation what-
ever, and frequently even no difference of sex, each indi-
vidual being Hermaphrodite, or  possessing both princi-
ples, but in all the higher beings a personal union, in some
form or other, always  takes place   This union or copu-
lation, is practiced,  however,  in  many  different ways,
some of them  exceedingly curious, and in all cases the
beings are impelled to it  by a peculiar and powerful in-
stinct, the gratification of which constitutes, perhaps, the
highest of all physical enjoyments, and leads also to other
enjoyments of a superior order.
  It is a remarkable circumstance, and one which  shows
how careful Nature has been to ensure reproduction, that
the young of all beings, at  the proper age, not only ex-
perience sexual desires, but are  also led, unconsciously
at first, to practise those peculiar positions and mpdes of
bodily union by which alone those desires can be properly
gratified.   In no instance  do young animals fail in this
particular,  though  they may have been kept carefully
secluded from  all others of their kind from the moment
of birth.   Immediately that the eggs are ripened  in the
female Ovary,  and the  Animalcules  fully developed in
the Male Testes,  the  sexual impulse is  mutually ex,
perienced, and each is  impelled to seek the society of th«
other.
            (124) 
           SEXUAL UNION,  OR COPULATION.        125

  The immediate  causes which lead to actual personal
union, between two young beings of opposite sexes in a
state  of  nature, when neither  has  seen or in any  way
known the manner of the act; have frequently been dis-
cussed by  Philosophers, and some curious experiments
have  been made for  the purpose of ascertaining them.
A careful study oi the actual process of sexual union, and
of the form and condition of the body at that time will,
however, solve  the mystery to a great extent, and will
show that  certain physical wants and adaptations inevi-
tably lead to certain peculiar manoeuvres.  The infant will
seize the breast to nurse immediately when it is born, and
has even been known to seize the finger of the  accoucher
before birth, when the hand has been in the Womb dur-
ing some operation.  This is evidently owing to a peculiar
sensitive condition of the Nerves of the Lips and Tongue,
which impel to the act of suction,  and in like manner the
peculiar  sensibility of the nerves  of the Genital Organs,
at Puberty, impels to those  peculiar acts by which  it is
similarly relieved.
  There are many circumstances  connected with each
sex which makes them attractive to the other, and which
tend  to  draw  them together.  Some of these  consist in
obvious  excitants  of  the senses, while others  are  more
mysterious in their action, though their influence is equally
perceptible.  Among most of  the  lower animals, the fe-
male always emits a peculiar odor, at the time of heat,
which, when scented  by the  male,  immediately causes in
him the sexual excitement,  and draws him towards her
by an irresistible impulse.  Without this peculiar odor he
experiences no excitement, and will not attempt to copu-
late,  but that alone will excite him  even when the female is
not present, as  experiment  has proved.   The olfactory
sense, therefore, is an important agent in this process, at
least among the lower animals.   In those beings that are
capable  of reasoning and comparing, the  sense  of  sight
may also assist, by making differences in Organization
obvious, and suggesting  adaptations.  Besides these,
however, there, are certain  other  influences, which, for
want of a more explicit term, we will call attractive, the
nature  of  which can not be  ascertained, though  their
power is obvious.   These are evidently connected with
the action of the sexual organs, being experienced only
when they are  in perfect action, and  only operating in 
126       SEXUAL UNION,  OR COPULATION.
relation  to the opposite sex.  It has been suggested that
this mutual attraction is  a species of real Animal Mag-
netism, the male being Positive, and the female Negative,
so  that  they  are  drawn irresistibly  together, like the
needle and the loadstone.
  In the Human being there are also,  at that time of life,
peculiar  moral sympathies, and  intellectual requirements,
which lead to mutual caresses and  endearing embraces,
even before the actual sexual impulse is fully awakened,
and these bring about those actions by which the novel de-
sires may be gratified, and the peculiar  sensibility of the
parts relieved.  It is probable  that in the human being
the act  of sexual  union always results, except in a state
of Nature, more from moral sympathy and intellect than
from the mere senses, though these undoubtedly operate,
especially sight and touch.
  The different Organizations of Animals make  the act
of copulation vary  very much both in its manner and dura-
tion.  In some it  is a cbmplicated act requiring intimate
internal  union, and considerable time, while in others it
is merely external and effected in a very brief period.   It
is impetuous and violent  in some, and  slow  and gentle
in others, but  is probably  productive of  intense  enjoy-
ment in all, no matter how brief may be its duration, nor
how forcible its consummation.   Some part of the proc-
ess is, however, to the  females, of some animals, ex-
tremely painful, as is evidenced by their cries and efforts
to escape, and by the exhaustion which  they afterwards
exhibit.
  The long duration of the act of Copulation in the Dog
is well known, but in  some other animals  it is much
longer, especially  among insects, with some  of whom it
continues for days, and always terminates the life of the
male, while the female  only lives sufficiently long after-
wards to deposit the fecundated egg,  and then she dies
also.
  In other animals, on the contrary, the act of copulation
is almost instantaneous, the semen being darted out in a
single jet,  and absorbed  immediately.   This is the case
in most birds, some of whom connect while on the wing.
The reason for this quickness will be obvious  on inspect-
ing their  Organs,  which  are not adapted for continued
intercourse.  In fact, it can scarcely  be  said that birds
copulate  at all, except a few species. 
           SEXUAL UNION,  OR  COPULATION.        127

  In most reptiles, also, the act is equally imperfect, as
in very few  do  the  males have a properly developed
Penis, but  merely a small bulb, or protuberance.   The
Tortoise and  the  Crocodile,  however,  have  a single
Penis, and the Alligator has a double one.  In the Lizard
and Serpents  it is also double, and  in  the  Rattlesnake
each part is also  divide*! again.  Excepting  at  the time
of copulation, this Organ, however, is not visible, being
drawn into a sheath, from which it  is thrust at the proper     »
time, by appropriate  muscles.   Some Serpents copulate
always at one particular season, and then great  numbers
assemble  together and twine  and interlace themselves
into  an immense pyramid, with  their  heads  directed
outwards.   Humboldt tells us of one of these living pyra-
mids which he met with in  South America, and which he
describes  as  being the most  fearful  and horrible sight
that  ever  met his gaze.   The whole  combined  mass
moved slowly on over  the  plain, while  each individual
writhed its body, darted out its forked  tongue, and hissed
in the  most horrible  manner.   Very few females among
the reptiles have anything like  a  Clitoris,  though  it is
found in some, as in the Tortoise, for instance.
  The Frog exhibits very well the mode  of impregnation
without copulation, though in  all probability not without
mutual pleasure.   At the time when the  female is ready
to eject fhe eggs the male climbs upon her back, embraces
her firmly around the body with his long  legs, and as the
eggs are emitted he waters them with  the semen.  They
are then left in the water by some species, and in others
are fastened to the female's back for  a while, by a thick
mucus secreted for  the  purpose.  The  embrace of the
male  Frog is  well known  to  be so powerful that the fe-
male seems nearly cut in two by his limbs, which contract
with such force, and are  so rigid, that they may even be
torn off before letting go their hold.   The object of this
powerful compression seems to be the forcing out of the
eggs, which probably could  not be effected by the female
herself.  It is for this reason that these animals are called
accoucheurs or midwives, because they cause the females
to lay their eggs.
  In male  Fishes we  seldom  find anything  like a Penis,
though  sometimes  there is an organ which partly an-
swers the purpose of one.  It is merely a cartilaginous
prolongation, like the spine of a fin, which  hangs down 
     128       SEXUAL UNION,  OR COPULATION.

     from the body.  Sometimes, in fact, it forms part of the
     anal fin, though  in  other  cases it  is  separate from it.
     Down  this imperfect organ there  runs a shallow grove,
     which  serves  as  a  conduit for the  semen.  In many
     species  there is nothing like copulation, nor do the two
     sexes ever meet, except accidentally,  but  in others the
     male organ is  applied  against the female parts at the
     time when the eggs are emitted, and the  semen is then
'    ejected upon them.   In  very few is there even the slight-
     est  entrance  effected.   The whale,  it must be  remem-
     bered is not a  Fish, but merely a mammiferous animal
     that lives in  the  water.  Its organs, therefore,  are  like
     those of the other mammifers,  and it truly  copulates, the
     male and female  standing partly erect, out of the water,
     when copulating.
       The   various forms of the sexual Organs in different
     beings of course necessitate different  modes of connec-
     tion, and probably varies much the  sensations connected
     with it, but there  is always a powerful instinct, which
     ensures  its performance  in all.   Perhaps  some of the
     most singular modes of copulation are found among In-
     sects, and other inferior  beings, and especially among
     those that are  hermaphrodite.   In some insects there is
     but one female to many males,  and no actual union ever
     takes place with  any,  the merest touch of the  female's
     body being sufficient to  satisfy the instinct of each.  This
     is the  case with  Bees, the male? of  whom will crowd
     round  the  Queen  in hundreds to touch  her body.  In
     other species,  however, the sexes  are always in equal
     couples, and when  they  copulate,  the connection  con-
     tinues  for days  together  uninterruptedly, the female
     carrying the male  about  with her on her back.  Sorn
     kinds of Hermaphrodite  Snails exhibit a very singula
     mode of mutual impregnation, each individual being pro-
     vided ,with a  number of horny darts or spears,  enclosed
     in a sheath, which they  dart at each other in turn, having
     first assumed a proper position for the amorous  combat.
     The double connection of  the common earth-worm, which
     is hermaphrodite, may be  seen on any dewy morning,
     when they rise out of  the ground, and it will  be  seen
     that it  usually continues  till the sun  rises, which would
     seem to intimate that  the continued union is productive
     of pleasure, because it can be terminated at pleasure.   In
     the perfect Hermaphrodites, who self-impregnate, it may 
SEXUAL UNION,  OR COPULATION.        129
be a question what kind of  feeling is experienced, if any
at all, because they are both  male and  female, but it is
certain that they are as strongly impelled to  the  act as
those beings that associate with an opposite sex.
  A very curious  study is  afforded  also  of the various
modes by which the two sexes  discover each other at the
proper time in those species  in which they do not live
together.   Some insects, for  instance,  have  a peculiai
song or cry, by which the female, attracts her partner,
and others are decked out in brilliant colors for the same
purpose.  Some  which come  out only at night, have a
lamp provided to light him, as  we see in the Glow-Worm
and Fire-Fly.  The peculiar cry of the Locust, the tick-
ing  of the Death-Watch,  and the chirp of  the Grass-
hopper, are intended for this purpose, and probably also
the song of the bird has, to a great extent the same ob-
ject.   In  fact, every animal has a peculiar cry, which it
utters only  when desiring the company of the  other sex,
and which is mutually understood.
   With respect to th"  feelings which the  act of coition
produces, and the instincts or desires which  lead  to it,
they probably vary indefinitely.   In  all the higher beings
the desire to cohabit arises from a specific irritation of the
Genital Organs, acting in conjunction with certain moral
sympathies and intellectual perceptions.   And when the
connection occurs in a proper manner and under proper
circumstances, it is always  productive of  intense and pe-
culiar enjoyment  to both.   This is especially the case
with human beings, and with  all others  similarly organ-
ized.   The peculiar excitement which first causes coition
to be desired, and which also makes  it so intensely pleas-
urable, arises from the  development  of  certain  parts,
namely, the Clitoris in  the female, and the Glans Penis in
the male.   The perfection of either of these organs in the
one  sex is invariably attended by a  similar perfection in
 the corresponding part of the  other sex,  so that they are.
mutually excitable, and generally pretty  equally so. We
 never  find a well-developed  and sensitive Glans  in the
 male animal, but we also find a well-developed and sen,
 sitive Clitoris in  the female, or else there is  some other
 part, as the Neck  of the Womb, for instance, which acts
 in the same manner.   In many  of the lower beings, who
 have none of these parts, it is possible that nothing like
 what we  call  sexual feeling is  ever experienced, but that
9 
130       SEXUAL UNION,  OR  COPULATION.
they are impelled to connection simply by the mysterious
workings of the parental instinct.   The careful depositing
of their eggs by insects, in  the most proper  places, and
the  patient sitting of the hen upon hers,  may be adduced
as instances of these  blind  promptings  of this instinct,
and, probably,  in  some  beings,  actual connection  is
brought about in the same way.
  The  more perfect development of the Generative Or-
gans in the higher orders of beings, and their greater sen-
sibility, especially in Man, is only in accordance with the
greater perfection of every other part of the system, and
is doubtless intended  as an additional means of increas-
ing their felicity.  The higher any being is placed  in the
scale of creation, the  more multiplied are its means of
enjoyment, and the more intense those enjoyments be-
come,  as we see in regard to true sexual intercourse, by
an actual union  of the organs of  the two sexes, or intro-
mission of the male, which is altogether  confined  to the
most perfectly organized.
  In the lower animals, the situation of the organs in the
two sexes, and  the position which they are  necessarily
compelled to assume during coition, is calculated merely
for  the perfect accomplishment of the  act, and  often
causes both  inconvenience  and  pain, but in the  higher
animals other adaptations are found.  The position which
they naturally assume, is not only adapted for the perfect
and convenient performance of the act, but also for caus-
ing enjoyment to each.  With human beings this is more
obvious than with  any other, because their capability for
enjoyment is greater.   With them the position is such as
to call forth mutual   endearment  and admiration, both
during the act and previous to it, and also to  excite sym-
pathy  and  tenderness  in the more ardent and less sensi-
tive of the two.  No other  beings, at this time, can see
each other's eyes—those windows of the soul, by  whose
glances ardor can be  aroused and  excitement subdued —
nor those  expressive  lineaments  of the face which can
call forth pity and forbearance when  timidity  conquers
love.  In many cases of attempted violation, the  vision
of the  victim's face, full of intercession and reproach, and
compelling deference and admiration, has overcome the
fury of amorous lust, and driven the would-be ravisher
awayin spite of himself.  Even in lawful marriage, sanc-
tioned by love and reason both, this  circumstance,  though 
SEXUAL UNION,  OR COPULATION.       131
it may seem of little moment, prevents many injuries and
evils to whicti the peculiar  and delicate organization of
Woman would otherwise subject her.   In fact, there is as
much design and admirable contrivance exhibited in this
particular, as there is in any action  connected with  the
human  frame,  and  with rational  beings   it  is equally
worthy  of attention.   A  proper understanding even of
such a matter as  this is  eminently calculated  to subdue
those gross and merely animal feelings with which  alone
everything of the kind is usually approached.



                  PLATE  XV
A  DROP  OF FRESH SEMEN,  AS SEEN UNDER
                THE MICROSCOPE.
The Animalcules are  here seen in full activity coursing
         about among the globules of Mucus. 
CHAPTER  IX.
                   IMPREGNATION.

  The actual process of Impregnation, or that union of
the two principles from which the  new being originates,
has always been a physiojogical mystery, and a fruitiul
theme for philosophical  speculation.   It is evident, how-
ever,  that the only way to clear up such a mystery, is to
examine the Generative Organs and their products, under
every possible  variety  of circumstances, and to do this
with  care and patience for a length  of time, so that a suffi-
cient  number of  observations may be made.  This task
has been undertaken only very recently, and consequently
our knowledge of this  mysterious process, until lately,
has been altogether incomplete and imperfect.  The in-
vestigations already  referred  to, and others which will
be mentioned further on, have developed the laws of Fe-
cundation, and removed that process  altogether from the
field of mere  speculation.  M. Pouchet was undoubtedly
the first who  clearly enunciated these  laws in  any publi-
cation, though others had arrived at them independently ;
we will, therefore, state them as he  has done, and  then
make whatever comments and further statements may  be
necessary.
  M.  P. lays  down  Ten Laws,  some of  which have
already been explained, but others will now  come first
under notice.

POUCHET'S TEN FUNDAMENTAL RULES  WHICH  GOVERN
            THE PROCESS OF  FECUNDATION.

  1st Law. Generation is essentially the same in all be-
ings,  Mankind not excepted.
  id Law.  In all  beings, the  Female  Eggs exist before
and independent  of  Conception, the  same as the Male
Semen does.
  jd Law.  The Egg  is never impregnated  in  the Ovary
or Organ that produces it.
             fl32) 
IMPREGNATION.
133
  4th Law. The Egg must always have attained a certain
development before it can be impregnated, and must also
have left the Ovary.
  $th Law.  In all beings the Eggs leave the Ovary inde-
pendent of Impregnation.
  6th Law.  In all Animals the Eggs are emitted at cer-
tain regular periods, peculiar  to  each,  at which times
there also occurs a peculiar  excitement of the female or-
gans.
  1th Law.  Conception can  never occur only when the
Semen is present at  the same time with  the perfectly de-
veloped Egg.
  %th Law.  The  Menstruation of the human female  is
strictly analogous to the periodical erotic excitement of
other animals, sometimes termed the Rut or  Heat.
  o.th Law.  Consequently Conception is necessarily con-
nected with  Menstruation, and there is, therefore, in hu-
man females, a period when impregnation can occur, and
one when it cannot, and those periods can be pointed out.
  loth Law. In the human being,  Impregnation takes
place either in the Womb, or in the very end of the Tube
next to the  Womb.
  The first of these Laws  ha^ been already well illus-
trated in our first articles, where it has been shown that
the generative process is  essentially the same  in Man-
kind as in all other  beings, though   it was  formerly
thought to  be different.  All  Animals, it was there ex-
plained, are developed from eggs, formed in  the female's
body, only in some  these eggs are impregnated  and de-
veloped internally,  and in others  externally ; and  in
some, as the human  being, for  instance, they  are very
minute, and, therefore, difficult to discover.
   There are tour different varieties of the generative pro-
cess ; the Viviparous, or that in which the eggs are impreg-
nated and developed into the new being within the body, as
 in  the Human being ; the Oviparous, or that in which the
 eggs are impregnated within  the body, but  expelled and
 hatched without, as in Birds ; the Oviviparous, or that in
 which  the  eggs are impregnated within the body, and
 hatched while they  are passing out,  as in some  Insects
 and Reptiles ; and  lastly the Marsupial variety, or that
 in which the young are half-formed within the body, and
 complete their growth without, as in the Kangaroo.  To
 one or the other of  these varieties the generation  of 
134
IMPREGNATION.
every animal can be referred, though there may be some
unimportant peculiarities in certain kinds.
  An example of Oviviparous Generation may be seen
in the common Meat-Fly, which does not lay eggs upon
the meat, but little larvae,  or maggots perfectly formed,
the eggs being hatched while passing down  the canal
from  its body.   In  some  species, the young have even
developed into perfect insects, and are ready to undergo
their metamorphose when they pass from the body of the
mother.  The young Scotpion is perfect, and  begins to
walk immediately when it is born, having been hatched and
developed within the parental body, and the  same thing
is observed in the common Aphis, or green  plrnt-louse.
Some insects can even generate both  ways, and produce
sometimes eggs and sometimes perfect young, or even
both together, in  immense numbers.   The structure of
the egg is always the same, but in  the Oviparous Ani-
mals  it has added to it a quantity of extraneous nutri-
ment,  by which the new being is formed while  in the
shell, or outer  covering.  The eggs of the Viviparous
have nothing of the  kind, because they are attached, from
the first moment of conception,  to  the mother's body,
and  derive their nutriment  from it.   The large portion
of Vitellus, or  yellow, which we see in the egg of the
chicken, is intended to  supply nutriment to  the  young,
and so is the Albumen, or white, which, with  the shell,
form no part of the egg,  properly speaking, but are
formed around it, after it leaves the Ovary, and. while
passing from the body.
  An examination of the Ovarium of the bird will make
many  of these  statements readily understood, aqd will
be found a very useful study.   It consists during the
laying period, of a large number of Ova, of various sizes,
all fastened by ligaments, or small  stems, to a central
point, which is the  true Ovarium, and from which they
all originate.  Some of the Ova, or eggs, are very mi-
nute, like  mustard  seeds, while  others are larger, and  a
few are nearly as large as  when expelled from  the body,
but  none of these have either white or shell while they
remain connected with the Ovary.  As the egg enlarges,
the ligament which holds it becomes less, and, eventually,
when it has attained its full growth, the ligament breaks,
and  the egg is dropped into  the Canal or passage, by
which it is to  escape from the body.  It then consists 
IMPREGNATION.
135
merely of the Vitellus, or yellow, and the Cicatricula, or
Germinative Vesicle, but as it  proceeds  along the pas-
sage, the white, or Albumen, is deposited around it, and
the shell forms  around the whole,  till it  assumes  the
form we usually see.  The shell and the Albumen, there-
fore,  are mere extraneous  matters,  and not  essential
parts of the egg or ovum, though necessary to its protec-
tion and development when out of the body, and it is not
unusual  for  the  egg to be  expelled  without them,  es-
pecially when the bird is diseased, or not*provided with
sufficient lime to make the shell.
  The true definition of  a viviparous animal, therefore,
is one whose  egg cannot  develop  without being  con-
nected with its body, while the egg of an  oviparous ani-
mal is capable of developing alone, merely by the applica-
tion of a proper degree of heat.
  The truth of the Second  Law is obvious in respect to
all  oviparous animals, especially birds, who are known
to have eggs, and to lay them, before  being impregnated,
but it is not so obvious in respect to viviparous  animals,
whose eggs are so small that they  are only discovered
by the microscopical  anatomist.  A consideration of  the
facts  already adduced will  prove, however, that in  the
whole class, mankind included, the law also  prevails, and
that eggs are formed and expelled  in them also  inde-
pendently of impregnation.   The celebrated Harvey was
convinced of this fact, though he had not the proof of
it, and he  laid down  an  axiom in accordance with  his
conviction which can now be received  without question,—
"Everything living,''  said he,  "comes from an egg."—
There are some of the lower animals,  it is true, that seem
to reproduce their young without eggs, by Fissiparous or
Gemmiparous Generation, but these are now known to be
only modifications of the oviparous process.  In Fissip-
arous Generation the parent simply splits  up, or divides
spontaneously, into two or more  parts, which grow into
new beings, that  also  divide again in  their turn in  the
same way, and thus  the  species are continued.   The
fresh water Polype is an instance of this mode  of gener-
ation, and if it be cut into pieces with a knife,  each part
will grow into a perfect being, which may also be divided
in the same way, apparently  without limit.  In  Gemmip-
arous Generation, the original being  simply gives  out
little buds, or germs, from its  body,  which develop into 
136
IMPREGNATION.
perfect beings, as  we see in the sponge, the buds being
sometimes cast off to develop alone, and  sometimes  all
remaining attached  to the  parent  till a  large mass of
them is formed.
  These animals that propagate by  the Fissiparous pro-
cess are all exceedingly simple in their organization, and
many of them may be  turned inside  out, like a glove,
without the slightest injury or inconvenience.  It  is prob-
able, therefore, that the whole being is merely  like an
ovary,  and that every atom of it is a germ or egg, capa-
ble of development alone, like the bud of a Tree.   Those
that propagate by the  Gemmiparous process are also
very inferiorly organized, and in all probability the buds
or germs v^hich they give off are really ova, or eggs, ex-
pelled  spontaneously.  In fact,  many of these   beings
propagate by the  oviparous  mode as well, and their
whole  substance  seems  to  resolve itself into germs of
new organizations.
  The  Third Law  says that the semen cannot reach the
eggs to impregnate them, while they remain in the Vesi-
cles of the  ovary, and  a slight consideration of the nu-
merous obstacles interposed will show that this must be
so.  In the  first place, the action  of the Fallopian tubes,
and the cilia which line their interior, as before explained,
is such that nothing ordinarily passes towards the ovary
Irom the  womb, but only in the other direction. And
besides this,  while  the  egg is in the vesicle it  is sur-
rounded by  a number of different  membranes, either of
which  would present an impassable barrier to the semen,
even if it could  reach  the exterior of the ovary.  But
there is still another obstacle, if these were overcome, as
if nature had taken special care that no such event should
take place.   The interior of the Tubes is compactly filled
with a thick mucus,  in which the  cilia work, and  through
which  the semen  could not possibly force its way.  In
fact, there  seems to be  considerable difficulty  even  in
forcing the egg down the Tubes the right way, and it is
probable that very frequently it does  not  pass down be-
fore its structure  is broken up,  so that it cannot be im-
pregnated.   This  is apparently the reason why there are
but few  women  who continue to  bear children  uninter-
ruptedly,  most of them  having more or less interval be-
tween, frequently  of years.   They form the egg regularly
every  month, and might conceive,  therefore, every ten or 
IMPREGNATION.
137
twelve months, but all the eggs do not reach the womb in
time, a large number of them being so long in passing down
the Tubes, that they are spoilt before the semen can reach
them.  Perhaps this is an express  provision, to prevent
women  from being  debilitated  by sickness, and worn
down by anxiety, as most  of them would certainly be if
they were  to  bear children  continually.  With  human
beings there are many considerations which make it un-
desirable for reproduction  to be too frequent, and this is
probably a natural check.  Some females, it is  well
known,  are not restricted in this way, but  continue to
conceive regularly a short time after every delivery.  In
such persons there  is no doubt a  uniform transmission
of the egg, which,  therefore,  always reaches the womb in
a state fit for receiving the  male semen.  In many cases
of barrenness, also, stimulating the Fallopian Tubes, at
the proper time, will remove  the disability, apparently by
quickening their action, and causing the egg to  reach the
womb earlier, and in  a better  condition for being im-
pregnated.
   The old theory of impregnation was that the semen
was absorbed, or sucked  up, into the womb and along
the Fallopian  Tubes, till it  reached  the ovarv, when  it
impregnated one of the eggs, and so stimulated it to com-
mence developing.  -It  was then supposed that this im-
pregnated  egg, after a time separated from the ovary
and passed  down  the  Tube into the womb,  where  it
formed into the Foetus.  The facts just mentioned,  how-
ever, show the fallacy of this theory, even  if the  correct
process had not been given before.
   Abundant proof  has  been obtained  that the thick por-
tion of the semen must actually touch the egg itself,  with-
out any obstruction, or there  can be no impregnation,
Spallanzani proved this by his experiment upon the .eggs
of Fishes.  He found  that if semen from  the  male fish
were put into the water along with the female eggs, they
would, after a time, begin to  develop, and ultimately form
into young Fishes, but not if the semen were kept away.
He the^i filtered the semen, and tried the thin part of it, but
that  had no  effect, though the thick part,  which con-
tained the Animalcules, impregnated immediately. Some
Physiologists had concluded that it was merely the Aura,
a kind of steam from the semen, which impregnated, and
he therefore exposed some of trie eggs to this steam,  for 
138
IMPREGNATION.
various periods of time, but  always with no effect.  The
same  results  have  also  followed experiments  made
upon other animals, for in no case did impregnation fol-
low from the mere aura of the semen, though it was ap-
plied directly to the mouth of the womb, as well as in the
Vagina.  It is therefore certain that the thick semen it-
self must touch the egg, and this it cannot do while the
egg is in the Vesicle or the Ovary,  because it  cannot
reach the Ovary.
  The fourth Law asserts further that before the egg can
be impregnated it must have acquired  a certain develop-
ment, and must have separated from the Ovary.  Reason
alone would assure us of this,  because  it is  evident that
the egg must be perfectly formed before it could be affected
by the semen, and  when it has attained this stage it  is
ripe, and is cast off  from the Ovary like a ripe fruit from
the tree.
  The precise period when  the egg leaves the Ovary ap-
pears to be when it has exhausted all the nutriment in the
vesicle, as  evidenced by the complete  absorption  of the
white fluid, and it is detached in order to seek the means
of further growth elsewhere, as the ripe seed of the plant
is thrown to the ground.
  In the great majority  of animals the egg is not impreg-
nated till it has passed a long way from the Ovary, which
is  usually deep within the body, and sometimes it even
leaves the  body before  it is fecundated.   The eggs can-
not be impregnated if taken from the Ovary, as experi-
ment  has proved,  but they must  have left it spontane-
ously, and  sufficiently long  for the peculiar change we
have before explained to take place in them.   Impregna-
tion could not take place, therefore, from the semen reach-
ing the Ovary, even if its passage there were possible.
  In the case of the bird the egg is impregnated imme-
diately it leaves the Ovary, before the shell is formed
over  it, but  not while  attached  by its  ligament.  The
female bird is provided with a peculiar pouch, or recepta
cle into which  the semen  is absorbed  at the time  c'l
copulation, and in which it will remain unchanged for a
long time.   This Pouch is so placed that the  egg passes
by it when leaving the Ovary, and in such a manner that a
portion of the semen contained in it attaches itself to it.and
thus becomes impregnated.  The quantity of semen thus
stored up is something considerable, and as only a small 
IMPREGNATION.
139
portion is needed to fecundate each egg it is possible for
a single copulation to impregnate all the eggs that may
be laid for a long time after, as we often  see in the com-
mon fowl.
  In some animals the egg is not perfect enough  for im-
pregnation even when it leaves the Ovary, but is kept for
a time longer in a peculiar Organ, provided for the pur-
pose, in which it maturates more perfectly, and  is then
expelled into the passage to meet the semen.  This is the
case with many fishes and Reptiles, and if the  egg be
taken before its sojourn in that peculiar Organ it cannot
be fecundated.
  It is evident, therefore, that the egg must have attained
a certain development before it can be impregnated,  and
that it must also have left the  Ovary for some definite
time.
  The Fifth Law, which asserts that in all beings the eggs
are formed and leave the Ovary independent of impreg-
nation, is almost proved sufficiently by the  facts already
adduced, but a few additional observations will make  it
still more clear.   With  respect to birds, this Law  was
long known  to be correct, because  they frequently pro-
duce eggs without having ever  had  any connection with
the male ; and it was also equally evident  in regard to
most fishes, whose eggs are impregnated after they leave
the body.  In frogs also, as before  stated,  the male de-
posits  his semen on the  eggs as the female  expels them
from the  body, which proves that their formation  and
expulsion is independent of impregnation.  The difficulty
in proving that this law applies to all beings, especially
to human beings, arose from want of proper observa-
tion, and  from the supposition that the egg in them  was
in some respect different to  that of Oviparous animals.
Now that the universal similarity of the egg  is proved,
however,  and that we know it is produced  by a  similar
process in all, it is also made  evident that it is formed
and emitted independent of impregnation.
  Nevertheless it must be observed that sexual excite-
ment may hasten the ripening of the  eggs, because it may
excite  the ovaries,  and expedite their functions, as  our
former observations have shown.  In some  cases it even
appears that the egg will partially develop from mere ex-
citement ; without any contact with  the  male principle,
as several instances already given have proved.  In  this 
140
IMPREGNATION.
way are produced those imperfect  fcetal growths occa-
sionally met with in the Ovaries, and which have  been
found even in  children.  And in the same way, in all
probability, arises that  partial  development of the  new
being found sometimes in the unimpregnated egg of the
bird,  many instances  of which are upon record.   This
appears still more  probable when  it is  borne in mind,
strange though the statement may  seem,  that female
birds  will often excite themselves with their beaks, when
kept away  from the male, and that they  always lay eggs
immediately  after  doing so.  These facts show  that
though impregnation  is not necessary to the maturation
and expulsion of the egg, yet the excitement consequent
upon  copulation, or other practices, may accelerate those
processes,  and even imperfectly develop  the egg after its
expulsion.   Hufeland gives us an instance of a young
girl who had been addicted from infancy to masturbation,
and who died  in consequence at  thirteen years of age, in
whose left  Ovary was found a sac containing hair, bones,
teeth, and  other fcetal remains in a most perfect condi-
tion.
   In short  the growth and expulsion of  the egg is a pro-
cess belonging to the  female system alone,  and no more
requires the influence of the male, in any way, than he
requires the influence of  the female  to cause the Testes
to form the Semen.  An inspection of the ovaries  after
puberty will show that they are constantly forming ova, at
their  regular periods, by an  action peculiar to themselves.
Just  previous to the monthly crisis one of the Graafian
Vesicles will always be found ready to burst, and if care-
fully  examined the  egg will be found in its interior.  After
the period  is over,  on the contrary, the  Vesicle is found
torn open  and  filled with blood, the  egg having been ex-
pelled, and menstruation having occurred in consequence
of its expulsion.   In fact many females, who possess
sufficient physiological knowledge, and who have  been
observant  of  their own systems, assert  that they know
precisely the time when the eggs leave their bodies, and
can readily obtain them every monthly period.
   The Sixth Law merely states that in all animals the ex-
pulsion of  the eggs occurs at regular intervals,  varying in
their duration  in the  different kinds.   In some beings
there is only one* expulsion during their lives, and this
usually terminates  their existence,  as we see in many in- 
IMPREGNATION.
141
sects.  In some the expulsion is annual, in others, bien-
nial, and  in  others again every three years, and some-
times it is as often  as daily ; in  the human being it is
monthly.   This regular Ovarian expulsion  also  occurs
along with the periodic excitement call the rut, or heat,
in the lower animals, and the  monthly period, or men-
struation, in the human being.  In fact, the  periodic ex-
citement results from  the periodic expulsion, and both are
parts of one grand phenomenon.
  The excitement caused by the expulsion of the egg is
not, in inferior beings, accompanied by such a discharge
as we observe from the human  female, though in nearly
all there is some secretion, and  in particular species it is
even colored.  In all cases,  however, the excitement of
the  parts is obvious enough, and  is sometimes quite re-
markable externally.   In some  of the Apes not only are
the external Genitals  inflamed, but also the parts around
the anus,  and even the thighs, which are sometimes cov-
ered with large Tumefactions, of a bright-red color, dur-
ing every period.  In all birds the inflamed condition of
the external  parts, while they are  laying, may be readily
seen, and it is observable also in fishes.   Occasionally
this external excitement occurs  in human  beings at such
times, and some females are always troubled then with
swollen Labia, or eruptions on the skin.
  In every instance the  excitement and flow is terminated
by the expulsion of the egg from  the Ovary,  which con-
stitutes  the crisis,  and it is always immediately on their
cessation  that we detect the  egg in the beginning of the
Tube, in the human female.  In no instance is there any ex-
citement,  or  flow, in  those  females  that have been cas-
trated, because they can have no expulsion of Ova, but in
all  those  whose functions are natural, the excitement oc-
curs at  regular periods, and  is always accompanied  by
the maturation and discharge of Ova.
  When animals are  domesticated their periods are con-
siderably  modified, being usually hastened, but still thei
almost  invariably observe a certain degree of regularity.
Many human females  are also much  affected by their
mode of life, being made  to menstruate, or flood, almost
continually,  by the  influence  of stimulating food ana
drink, and by too much artificial heat.
   The Seventh Law enunciates a most important truth,
which  is  the foundation of much valuable advice, and 
142
IMPREGNATION.
gives us the key to the true time of Conception.  It states
that Conception can never occur except when the male
semen  is deposited in the female Organs at the  same
time that the egg reaches them, or, in other words, for a
copulation to be fruitful  it must coincide with  the  expul-
sion of the egg.   The  truth of  this will be obvious from
our previous statements, for it is evident that if the  semen
cannot reach the egg while it is in the Ovary, and that
has been shown  to  be impossible, it can only do so after
it is expelled and brought into the Womb.  In fact the
egg has some further change to undergo after it  leaves
the Ovary,  before it can be fecundated, and  this  is the
reason for its being somewhat  delayed by passing down
the Tubes, on leaving which the semen can operate upon
it.  This law is strictly in accordance  with the  fact  before
mentioned, that the expulsion of the egg takes place just
when the flow is over, as that is the  time when concep-
tion usually occurs, and  when  most animals also  desire
association.   It  is not at the commencement  of the Rut
that female animals desire the male, but after the dis-
charge has continued  for-a few days,  and  just when it is
ceasing. The Slut, for instance, will repel the Dog at first,
and so will the  female Rabbit  repel  the male, and even
fight with him, until about the third day of heat, and then
she submits.  This is evidently because  the  eggs have
not descended till that time, and nature has so provided
that association  shall  only be sought when it is  likely  to
be fruitful.   If any of these animals be compelled to cop-
ulate during the  first days of the excitement there will be
no fecundation,  as  experiment  has  proved, because the
presence of  the  Semen does not then coincide with the
presence of the egg.
  The  Eighth Law is  merely a  distinct enunciation of a
truth already abundantly proved, namely : that the men-
struation of  the human female is identical  with the  pecul-
iar  excitement observed  periodically in  all  other  ani-
mals, and called the rut,  heat, or oestrum.
  According to  the Ninth Law, it is possible,  at least  in
the human being, to  designate the  precise time  when
Conception  is possible, and also that  in which it  is im-
possible.  This law also  follows naturally from  the fore-
going  explanations, they having  shown  that  the egg
remains but a certain number of days in the womb, after
which  it passes  from the body and is lost, and since the 
IMPREGNATION.
143
semen can reach the egg only while it is in the womb, or
near  to  it, it is  evident that the  days during  which it
stays there are the only ones in which Conception is pos-
sible, and  that at all  other times it is absolutely impossi-
ble.  When  we  have ascertained, therefore, the precise
time which the egg stays in the womb we know to a cer-
tainty the time  when  conception can  occur, and  also
when it cannot.  In another article  I shall point out this
time, and explain how it is ascertained.
  The Tenth Law is  important  because it localizes the
phenomena of fecundation.   According to this  law the
two principles can only meet in the Uterus, or at the
Uterine ends of the Fallopian Tubes.  The proofs of this
are many and various, and quite  sufficient to put its truth
beyond a doubt.   In the first  place  it must be borne in
mind that the Semen  cannot pass  down the Tubes, as
already shown, and consequently cannot get farther  than
the Womb.   In  fact, if animals be killed as  long  as
twenty-six hours after connection, the Semen is still  in
the vVomb, and if killed after that time it has gone no
further, but has begun to decompose. In some few cases it
has been  found a little way within the Fallopian Tube,
and more rarely nearly as far as  the middle of the Tube,
but no further.  In no instance have the Animalcules of
the Semen been found on the Ovary,nor beyond the middle
of the Tube, though sought for in hundreds of cases.   It
is true that in some cases Anatomists have thought  that
they discovered the Animalcules upon  the Ovary, but it
is now generally admitted that they were mistaken,  and
their error probably originated in this way :   There are
often fragments of Mucus  Membrane, partly organized,
which much resemble the Animalcules, and without very
close inspection may readily be mistaken for them. These
are called false Zoospermes,  and  in all probability it  was
some of these that  came  under view.  Every accurate
observer has failed to detect them in any other parts than
those mentioned.

   § WHEN CONCEPTION IS  POSSIBLE AND IMPOSSIBLE.

  Numerous observations have established the following
facts respecting the time of Conception  in the human be-
ing, and they may be  relied upon with the utmost  cer-
tainty. 
144
IMPREGNATION.
  The Graafian Vesicle,  which contains the  egg in the
Ovary, enlarges while the Menstrual flow is taking place,
and it bursts open, to let the egg escape, on  the  first,
second, third, or fourth day after the flow has ceased, but
most usually on the first day.
  The egg  is then  taken hold  of by the  fringes at the
end of  the  Tube   and  carried into  the  passage,  down
which it slowly progresses, taking from two  to six days
to reach the VVomb.
  The time,  therefore,  in which  the egg  reaches the
Womb, varies from  one or two to ten days after the Men-
strual flow has ceased.
  When the egg reaches the Womb, it would—if there
were no special provision to prevent it—immediately fall
down to its mouth, and escape from the body, but this is
provided against.   While the egg is passing down the
Tubes, or during the latter part of the flow, a peculiar
delicate membrane, or skin called  the Decidua, forms
around the  inner walls of the Womb, so as completely to
block up its mouth.   This membrane  presses against the
opening from the Fallopian Tubes also, so that when the
egg passes out of the Tube,  it presses against the mem-
brane, and  makes a hollow,  or kind of nest, in which it
lies.   This, therefore, prevents the egg from passing im-
mediately away,  and it evidently must be retained in the
Womb as long as the Decidua remains.
  The time that the Decidua remains attached also varies
from two to six days, but usually it is about four, and at
the end of that time, unless  conception occurs, it looses
from  the  walls  of  the Womb, passes out of its mouth,
down  the Vagina, and  takes  the egg along with  it, so
that both leave the body and are lost.  If Impregnation
takes place, however, or in other words, if  the male se-
men  reaches the  egg while it is thus detained, it remains,
and both it and  the  Decidua grow  fast to the Womb.
The egg then forms the  rudiment of  the  new being and
the membrane becomes  one of its coverings or envel-
opes.   It will be observed, however, that  it  remains all
the time on the outside  of  the Decidua,  between it and
the wall of the Womb.
  When the egg  and the Decidua have fallen, or, in other
words, when the egg is thrown out of  the body, there
cannot, of course, be  any conception  till  another period
comes round, because there is no egg  in the  womb to be 
IMPREGNATION.
145
impregnated.   After this  time,  therefore, Conception is
impossible, and its ordinary limits at least may be  stated
with certainty.  From  the  above  statements it will be
seen that the egg reaches the  Womb some  time between
the second  and tenth day after  the Menstrual flow has
stopped, and that it then remains there from two  to  six
days at the utmost, but after that it passes away.   Con-
sequently,  Conception  is possible  as long  as sixteen days
after every monthly fiow has stopped, but after that  time it
is  unlikely,  providing  everything  has progressed nor-
mally !   In  fact, it is hardly ever the case that it can take
place so long as  sixteen  days after, because the  egg is
seldom more  than two days  in reaching  the Womb, and
if it remains six, as an extreme limit, eight days is proba-
bly about the average.  If the truth could be ascertained,
I have no doubt but that nine out of every ten pregnant
females have conceived within the  first seven  days after
the flow, and that impregnation would  not follow con-
nection after  the Tenth  day once out of  fifty times, but
still it is requisite to state  the extreme time, and that is
probably about sixteen days.
  An instance illustrative of  this principle is recorded in
history.   Henry  II.  of France  had been long married
without  offspring,  and  had  consulted  various medical
men as to the cause, without  success, till he sent for  the
celebrated Fernel, who, upon due  consideration,  simply
advised him to associate with his spouse immediately after
the cessation of her periods.  This advice was acted upon,
and  she conceived, after being childless eleven years.   In
all probability the egg escaped in her case very soon, and
association  had never been  had before  till after it was
lost.
   Every other being also has its  limited time, but it is
various in different kinds.  I have ascertained it  in sev-
eral, and invariably, if they were not allowed to  associ-
ate with the  male till that time was passed they never
conceived.  There are signs, however, by which  an in-
telligent and  observant female  can often  ascertain that
time in her own case, and those signs we will now  ex-
plain.
   Some time  within  the  first five or six days after the
cessation of  the flow, but usually on the  first or second,
most  females experience  a  sensation  of  weight and
uneasiness, or of slight pain in the region of the Fallo-
10 
146
IMPREGNATION.
 pian Tubes, or across the abdomen, on  a line with  the
 lower edge  of the hip-bones.   This sensation may be
 very slight in some, but in others it is quite acute, and
 there are few but can  detect more or less of it if they  ob-
 serve.  This indicates the passage of the egg down  the
 Fallopian  Tube, and is  caused by its contraction.  In
 fact, many females say they can distinctly feel the Tubes
 drawing together, as they express it, and sometimes  the
 contractions may even be seen externally.   Previous to
 these contractions  the mucus discharged from the Vagina
 is usually thick and adhesive, but after they have ceased,
 it becomes  thinner and  more transparent.   This proba-
 bly indicates the passage of the egg down the Tube.
   The passage of  the egg out of the Womb, or the  fall
 of  the  Decidua,  which  makes  conception impossible
 afterwards, is  commonly  even more strongly  and con-
 stantly marked in many females.  The first indication is
 an increased flow of  thin  watery fluid  from  the Vagina,
 so abundant sometimes as to wet all the external parts,
 and not unfrequently to cause some little irritation.  Oc-
 casionally the discharge is tinged  of  a pale pink, but
 more usually it is colorless, and like the white of an egg.
 This may continue only for a few hours,  or for a day or
 two, and  is  followed  by the  escape of a small grayish
 white  clot,  somewhat  firm  and elastic.  This  clot is
 opaque, and  varies from the size of  a pea to that of a
 small bean.  It much  resembles the clots which are often
 coughed  from  the  throat in bronchial  affections, and is
 readily detected.   Just previous to this  appearing, and
^hen the thin discharge is about ceasing, there  is also
 felt  a slight contraction  and pain in the Womb,  accom-
 panied with a feeling of weight and bearing down, similar
 to what is experienced during the Menstrual flow itself.
 If this clot be  examined  with  a microscope, it  will  be
 found to consist of the Decidua and the  egg, which have
 thus been expelled.  In fact, the slight pain  and distress
 experienced are caused by the Womb contracting slightly
 to effect the  expulsion, the same as it does  during a mis-
 carriage to effect the expulsion of the Foetus.  This  is,
 then, the  phenomenon of the fall of the  Decidua, or ex-
 pulsion of the egg, called  by the French  the Ponte', or
 laying, and after it  has taken place, there can be  no im-
 pregnation till after another period.
  In some females, this expulsion of the egg is almost as 
IMPREGNATION.
147
distinctly marked as the monthly period itself, and even
causes as much distress.  In others, however, all the in-
dications are very slight, but still I believe they are gen-
erally manifested sufficiently for the time to be detected
if careful observation is made.
  The time when the expulsion occurs also varies in dif-
ferent  persons, and under different  circumstances.  On
the average, it is about the seventh or eighth day, but may
be as late as the sixteenth, or possibly later, as before ex-
plained.  The clot, of course, is always present at  the
time, and indicates it beyond a doubt.
  I have known many females who have ascertained this
time quite readily after the signs had been explained  to
them, and I believe nearly all could do so with  a little
trouble.  Many  of these  have  even  detected and pre-
served the Clot, which, on being placed under the micros-
cope, has shown them the egg and its decidua most per-
fectly.   Several of these clots I have in my Cabinet, both
of the Human being and also of Animals.   Every female
who thus ascertains the precise period of the expulsion
of the egg, oi course knows when Conception in her case
becomes impossible, because it cannot occur after the egg
has escaped.
  There are, however, many causes that may  lead  to
error, and which may deceive persons very much if they
are not acquainted with them.   Thus, some  females  are
constantly liable to mere floodings, or discharges of blood
from weakness, which  they  mistake for real Menstrual
periods,  and  thus  miscalculate.   Others, again, have
periods that are colorless, as before explained, and they,
therefore, never suspect what they are when  they really
do occur.  All females are liable  at times to these un-
usual appearances,  and  are likely, therefore, to suppose
that they have  a period when they have not, and that
they are free from it when it is actually taking place.   In
this way mistakes  are very apt to occur, unless the indi-
vidual has been sufficiently observant to detect true Men-
struation by other signs than the mere color.   It must
be  remembered that every discharge of  blood is not a
Menstrual discharge, and that  many true  Menstrual dis-
charges are perfectly colorless.  One sign can be generally
relied upon, however, to detect the true period, and that
is the  odor of the  discharge, which is  so peculiar, that
when once known it cannot be mistaken, there being  no 
148
IMPREGNATION.
other discharge resembling it.  In an  ordinary flooding,
there is  seldom  any particular odor, but this  peculiar
one  is always present at every Menstruation, though it
be as thin and colorless as water.
  It is owing to these occasional deviations and unusual
appearances that  some females have supposed they conr
ceived immediately before the  period.  They had simply
experienced a flooding, and mistook it for Menstruation.
Others have thought that  they conceived without having
Menstruated,  especially  when nursing, but in them it
had been colorless and unnoticed.
  In very many cases I have made practical use  of  these
facts  when consulted in  cases of barrenness,  and fre-
quently with the  most  satisfactory  results, as will be
shown when speaking upon that disability.
  Conception  takes place, as  a rule, within  sixteen days
after a Menstrual period, and  usually within eight or nine
days,  though it may be often difficult to  ascertain  the
period, and another phenorrienon may be mistaken for it.

             § MANNER OF IMPREGNATION.

  The precise manner  of impregnation, or  the way in
which the two principles  actually  unite, can  only be  un-
derstood by bearing in  mind the accoufit given  of the
semen in a former article.  It was there shown that the
essential part of  this principle  consists of certain little
living beings, called the Seminal Animalcules, which,
undoubtedly are the true impregnators.  If they are ab-
sent,  or if their vitality be destroyed, the Semen has no
effect whatever on the egg.   This fact has  been  ascer-
tained for some  time,  but it is only recently  that  the
probable mode in which they operate has become known.
  When speaking upon the female egg, in a former arti-
cle, it was stated  that while in the  Ovary, it contained a
peculiar body, called the Germinal  Vesicle, which, by a
spontaneous movement, was  cast  out as soon as the egg
entered the Tube in such a  way as to cause a rent, or
torn place, in the  membrane surrounding the egg.  This
bursting  open of the Ovum  had been noticed by  many
observers, but the  object of it was long a mystery, till,
fortunately, a curious discovery revealed its purpose.  It
was found that if  one of these Seminal Animalcules came
in contact with an egg, which was opened in  this way, it 
IMPREGNATION.                149
immediately passed in at the opening, and buried itself in
the interior.   The object, therefore, of the passing out of
the Vesicle, is, evidently, to open a  passage, by which
the Animalcule can reach the interior of the egg,  among
the Vitellus, or yellow, and when  there  it forms  part of
the rudiment of the future new being, as will be explained
further  on.   In this way, then,  the two principles really
unite, each being indispensable to the other, and the two
together providing all the elements for the embryo.
  This  also  explains other  circumstances  formerly no-
ticed, and shows that every peculiarity exhibited by either
of the principles has its object.  It was stated,  for in-
stance,  respecting the Animalcules, that they had a re-
markable tendency to move in a  straight-forward direc-
tion, and with considerable vivacity.   Now this tendency
is evidently calculated to carry some of them up into the
Womb, so that they may  reach the egg, and without it,
they might never arrive there.  The Semen is deposited,
during coition, in the Vagina, and was always supposed
to be absorbed or  sucked up  into  the Womb, though not
known to be so.  It is probable that  such absorption, or
suction does take place sometimes, but by no means in-
variably, I  am convinced, and I have no doubt what-
ever, that conception can occur without it.  Many females
habitually lose most or all of the Semen after every asso-
ciation,  and yet  they conceive,  though  there evidently
can  occur but little  passage of it in  either of the above
ways.  The fact appears to be,  that the Animalcules can
pass up into the Womb themselves, by their own motions,
from the tendency,  above noticed,  to move forward in
one direction.   Immediately they are deposited in the
Vagina,  if their  vitality  is  perfect,  all  that find them-
selves placed in the proper direction,  begin to move up-
wards,  and they continue  to do so  till they reach the
Uterus, as nothing seems to make them ever turn in the
opposite direction.   When any of them reach the  interior
of the Womb, if an egg be there that has been opened by
the Vesicle passing out, one of them  passes in, and thus
effects  the  impregnation.   This  fact has  actually  been
seen under  the microscope, and the entrance of the Ani-
malcule within the egg is an undoubted occurrence.  The
Decidua is  no obstacle, because  the egg is outside oi it,
as before explained.
   It  is easy to see  from  this, why it is that conception 
150
IMPREGNATION.
does not occur, as is often the case, when the male is V o
debilitated to form perfect Semen.  The Animalcules are
then too weak to  pass  up into the Womb, and conse-
quently there is no impregnation.  Any  cause, therefore,
which  weakens their  energy,  and prevents their usual
lively forward motion, is apt to prevent conception.  As
long as they are  alive,  however, provided one of them
can be conveyed to the egg, impregnation may be effected,
which  explains why some females,  whose  organs  act
energetically,  can  conceive from these debilitated indi-
viduals while  others cannot do so.   If the Womb  has
great power it may draw up the Semen, and  so allow the
Animalcules  to act, though they could not have  moved
up  themselves, as  they  ordinarily do.   In this way  the
greater energy of the female may partly make  up for the
exhaustion of  the male,  while, on the other  hand, if the
Animalcules be unusually vigorous, they may reach  the
Ovum entirely by their own unaided powers, and thus
impregnate when the female organs are totally powerless.
From this we  see why it  is that conception can  occur
during sleep,  or  even  during perfect  unconsciousness
from drugs, or blows upon  the head, though  most per-
sons suppose otherwise.  This has been proved, however,
by numerous cases in human beings, as well as by direct
experiment  upon animals, and the reason will  now be
obvious enough.   The  condition of  the female, though
she be perfectly insensible, may not prevent conception,
because the Animalcules can move up into the  Womb by
their  own  powers, and thus impregnate without any
knowledge or  concurrence whatever on  her part.   Many
cases have  been known  in which females have conceived
after having been violated but once, though people gen-
erally, and even medical men have doubted it,  and  the
possibility of  their  doing so will be  obvious  after this.
It must be  borne  in mind, also, that in  such cases the
brutal violator is usually a man of strong passions, and
of great sexual power,  which may probably  cause,the
Animalcules to be  unusually vigorous, and thus increase
the likelihood of conception.   I once knew a female who
became pregnant after  violation, during which she was
perfectly insensible, but  who never became so  after mar-
riage ; the reason why, it was  of  course  not possible to
ascertain with certainty, but  it may probably be found in
the above explanation. 
IMPREGNATION.                151
   This also shows how erroneous it is to suppose, as most
 people do, that a female cannot conceive unless she ex-
 periences sexual enjoyment, or if  the association  be re-
 pugnant to her.  There are  numbers who  never  knew
 what the sexual feeling was, and  some who have even
 suffered both pain and disgust, constantly, in association,
 and yet they have become pregnant.  Nor will this appear
 extraordinary after our explanation, which shows that the
 female may be quite  passive, so much  so, in fact, that
 conception may take place artificially, without connection.
 Experiments upon animals have proved that if the Semen
 be merely thrown into the  Vagina, at the proper  time,
 with  a syringe, it will impregnate.  And in some cases
 of malformation in married men which prevented proper
 connection, the same practice  has been advised, and with
 complete success.   In fact, the presence  in the female
 organs of the perfect male Semen,  at the proper time, is
 all that  is needed to cause conception, no matter how it
 may have come there, nor with what feelings its introduc-
 tion may have been attended.
   It should be  observed,  however, that though sexual
 feeling in the female is not absolutely necessary to con-
 ception,  yet in many cases  it may  much  conduce to thai"
 event.  Pleasurable excitement at the time of connection
 disposes the organs  to more energetic action, and  some
 females may possibly not conceive without it, though cer-
 tainly all do not  require it.   We know that this excite-
 ment  makes the  Tubes contract more  vigorously, and
 this  causes  them to  bring the egg down  earlier, and
 probably, also, it may make the womb contract, so  as to
 draw up the semen more completely.   In  many  cases
 barren females,  of a cold temperament, have conceived
 immediately after experiencing sexual feeling.
   From the foregoing statements it will be seen that Con-
 ception does not always take place at the moment of con-
 nection, nor even immediately after,  and we shall soon dis
 cover that it may be delayed for a considerable time. As
 long as a living Animalcule  remains in the female organs
 it  is possible for it  to reach the Womb, and»thus  effect
 impregnation, if  the egg be  there.  We have simply,
 therefore, to ascertain how  long the Animalcules retain
their vitality after being  emitted in  coition, and we  shall
then know the period during which  impregnation may be
delayed.  In some females the Semen is either absorber! 
152
IMPREGNATION.
or the Animalcules move up themselves, very quickly,
so that they are impregnated almost at  the moment of
emission ;  but in others there is no absorption at all, and
the Animalcules may move very slowly.  The actual
time when  the  two principles unite, therefore, after a
fruitful connection, is very different in different persons.
It appears, according to accurate observations, that the
Animalcules can remain  alive in the female organs as
long as twenty-six hours after they have been deposited
there  in connection, and  it follows,  therefore,  that the
impregnation may not take place till  that time after.  It
is found that they begin to die, usually, after the second
hour, and fewer of them are found alive as the time ad-
vances.  At twelve hours usually half of them are dead,
and at  twenty hours but few are found living, though one
or two have been  discovered  even  at the twenty-sixth
hour.   As they die  they break up, the tail separates from
the body, and both  parts begin to dissolve. It is  possible,
therefore, that the  impregnation may take place at  any
time  within twenty-six hours after connection,  and  it is
manifestly absurd to talk about the importance of a proper
state of mind at the moment of conception, as if that moment
could  be known.   Perhaps  the  most  frequent time is
within  two hours after  connection,  when the  Animal-
cules begin to die, but of course there will be great varia-
tion.   When the Womb  contracts with  energy, or the
Animalcules are .unusually vigorous,  the conception will
be quick, and when otherwise,  the  reverse.   And  this
makes  it more likely to be quick  in those of warm  tem-
peraments.
  It  is barely possible that  the  Animalcules could  live
through the latter part of the flow, if connection were had
before  it had ceased, and if so impregnation might follow
such connection.  Supposing the coition to occur twenty-
six hours before the egg reached  the Womb, some of the
Animalcules might still be living when it arrived there,
and of  course could cause its impregnation, though  un-
likely.   This is the only  possible way in which concep-
tion can bet effected before the  cessation of the monthly
flow.   In many cases,  however,  the egg reaches the
womb  in less than twenty-six hours after the flow stops,
and therefore connection may always  cause conception at
any early time  after, even immediately.   The full time,
therefore, during which impregnation  is possible  is proba- 
IMPREGNATION.
153
bly about  sixteen  days after the flow has ceased, and
possibly for the twenty-six hours before it ceases.
  It will be seen that there are so  many causes of uncer-
tainty, as already explained, that the number  of days is not
to  be relied upon as a means of Prevention, although it  be
an undoubted Physiological Fact. 
CHAPTER   X.
             GROWTH OF THE NEW BEING.

  Foetal development, or the mode  in  which the new
being first commences, and afterwards perfects itself, has,
until recently, been imperfectly understood, especially the
earliest stages.  The embryo has been  found of various
ages from a few days upwards, and also the Ovum soon
after its impregnation ;  but  the first changes in the egg,
and the manner in which  the embryo   first organizes,
have been the  closest  of  mysteries.  Certain  observa-
tions, however,  made very lately, have given  some little
insight  into these incipient stages of  our being, and the
glance  thus obtained has revealed so much that is both
curious  and useful,  that more extended observations are
being made every  day,  and, in all probability, we shall
be,  in a short time, as well  acquainted  with the organic
actions  of the  embryo of a few hours old, as we now are
with the physiology of our grown bodies.
  The first changes observed in the egg,  after impregna-
tion, are very singular, and seem to indicate that the rudi-
ment of the new organization is  formed  by a species  of
attraction, which concentrates the granular material of the
Ovum, according to a certain plan, around a vital nucleus.
If this nucleus be present, they form around it, as it were,
by  crystallization, but, if it is absent, they  scatter and
disperse.
  On inspecting the egg at the various stages of its pas-
sage from the Ovary, we  find that the first notable change
which occurs in it, is the  escape of the Germinal Vesicle,
which  takes  place  immediately it  enters  the Tubes
When it arrives in the  Womb,  it is  liable to be fecun-
dated, and if one of the  Animalcules  be present, as be-
fore explained, it passes in at the opening by which  the
Vesicle  has escaped, and thus impregnates. The Vesicle
itself appears to  play no other par?; than that  of bursting
open the Ovum, and after accomplishing this it disappears.
            (154) 
GROWTH OF  THE NEW  BEING.         155
The passage out of the Vesicle is, therefore, an indispen-
sable event, and it is also a very curious one.  If the egg
be kept in view under the solar microscope, immediately
after it has left the Ovary, this emission may be distinctly
seen in  all its stages.   First, there will be  observed a
point where the  membrane  surrounding the Vitellus, or
yellow, becomes  thin, and eventually opens, forming a
minute mouth.  Immediately after,  part of  a small glob-
ular body  appears in the opening, and gradually pro-
gresses  till it passes entirely through,  when it  drops
down and disappears.  This is the Germinal Vesicle, and,
apparently, it is of  no other  use after its expulsion, the
object  of which  is to open  a way for the Animalcule.
Its passage out is quite slow, often requiring four or  five
hours,  and sometimes not being  accomplished at all, in
whiqh  case the egg could not be  impregnated, and thus
barrenness  would  result.  In all probability, many fe-
males who have weak organs, are sterile from this cause,
the egg not having sufficient  vitality to expel the Vesicle,
and so open the way  for the Seminal Animalcule.
  Just before the Vesicle passes out, it is something  like
a minute bladder, partly full  of a transparent liquid,  and
is far too small to be seen with the  naked  eye.   In the
centre, swimming in  the fluid, are  a number of minute
granules of a long  oval  fjgure, and of a yellowish color,
which  are  closely compacted together, and form what is
called  the  Germinal Dot.  These granules  are in almost
constant and vivid motion, leaping and  springing as if
alive, but their motion  ceases entirely immediately the
Vesicle is fairly through  the  opening.  There is always
an even number of them, from twelve to twenty, varying
in different animals, but invariably the same  in all indi-
viduals of the same  species.  Immediately after its escape,
the Vesicle also breaks open, like the egg, and the gran-
ules escape, after which the whole dissolves away.
  It will be observed that the Vesicle  is first placed in
the centre of the Vitellus, and it  appears to pass to the
outer membrane along a  kind of canal which naturally
exists there, so that  after its expulsion, there is a direct
opening to  the  centre  of the  egg, which,  probably is the
path the Animalcule takes.
  After the escape of  the Vesicle, the egg undergoes some
further  change as  it  pursues its course along the Tubes,
which  are  doubtless also necessary to fit it for  being 
156         GROWTH OF  THE  NEW  BBING.
fecundated.   It  grows  larger  and  becomes  darker  In
color, and the matter of the Vitellus appears to break up,
in a great measure, or become intermixed, many of its
Vesicles being burst and emptied of their contents.      \
  It is supposed,  as before stated, that when the egg
reaches the Womb, after having been thus prepared, the
Animalcule passes  in at the opening made by the Ger-
minal Vesicle in passing out, and  that this is the actual
fecundation, or union of the two principles.  When the
Animalcule has arrived  in the interior of the Vitellus, it
is situated similarly to the  seed which is  planted  in the
ground, and. finds precisely those materials and conditions
favorable  to its growth and further development.
  The peculiar changes which the two principles undergo
immediately after their union, have not been observed in
the human being, from the difficulty of obtaining the proper
specimens, but in other beings they have  been  studied
at every stage, and judging from analogy in  other pro-
cesses, they are precisely the same in all alike.
  In other beings,  then, and no doubt in the human be-
ing also, immediately after impregnation the Vitellus,  or
yellow, forms itself into a certain definite number of cel-
lules, or  hollow globes, connected  together in a central
mass.  The number is always even, being four,  six,  or
eight, but  varying  in different species,  though always the
same in any one species,  If there  be  an odd number of
these cellules formed, they will  never  produce  a perfect
being, but a monstrosity, which shows that the perfect or-
ganization is first  formed or commenced on an even ar-
rangement of the cellules, and if that is not effected, it is
necessarily imperfect.
  As soon as the primary cellules are distinctly formed,
others begin to appear  in the interstices  between them,
till sixteen or twenty are formed, and  the original ones
increase  considerably in size.   All this occurs within a
few hours, and in a short  time after,  varying  from  an
hour or two, to a  few  days, according to the  length of
pregnancy in  different  beings, the  first rudiments of or-
gans begin to appear.   The even number of original cel-
lules first form themselves either into the Testicles or into
the Ovaries,  or, in some of the lower animals, into  the
Liver, and these are, therefore, the first parts developed.
  While this is going on,  we observe, under  the  mem-
brane which holds the original  cellules together, myriads 
GROWTH OF THE NEW BEING.         157
of minute granules, which are in constant and rapid mo-
tion, precisely like  to that of Animalcules, which  some
have even thought them to be.  This motion ceases soon
after the  first organs are  formed, and the granules all
grow together, so as to form a membrane, which becomes
the skin.  This, of  course, surrounds  the  Ovaries and
Testicles, the parts first formed, and all the other organs,
as they appear, have to be developed underneath it.
  The  smallest portion of opium stops the action of these
granules immediately, if it be placed upon them while the
ovum  is under the  microscope, and so will some  other
substances.   If they are made too hot also, as  is some-
times the case under the solar microscope,though not dried,
their motion ceases instantly.   Now this fact may be more
important than it first appears, and may give us the true
cause of many Organic Diseases of the Skin, which other-
wise can in no other way be accounted for. It is  probable
that the peculiar motion of these granules is necessary to
their proper arrangement, or to the perfect formation  of the
skin, and if anything checks or deranges  that action the
skin is in consequence organized imperfectly. This shows
that we cannot commence the study of  the  human  being
too soon, and that those who think  it is time enough after
birth are greatly mistaken.   When we find, by experi-
ments  like those above mentioned,  that opium will  arrest
the action of the skin granules in the Ovum, is it not at
least possible that it may have the same  effect in the
mother's body ? and that in this way children may have
the seeds of disease implanted in  them before they are
born, by the injudicious use of such drugs  by the mother ?
  As soon as the primary organ is  formed, which, as be-
fore remarked, is  either the  Testicle or the Ovary, and
the skin is organized around  it, then the other  parts be-
gin to  appear in succession, in the order described below.
The position of many organs  is distinctly marked before
they are formed,  by collections of granules, which are
nearly always in rapid motion, as if  arranging themselves.
This is especially the case with the eye.—The first forma-
tion, therefore, is  from cellules and granules, which ag-
glomerate  together  round  the central nuclei, and  much
resemble  the  cellular  structure  of many vegetables,
especially the Lichens, and some of the Fungi.   In fact
the matter of the egg seems to develop into the general
Organic  Structure, every part of which, bones,  Muscles, 
158        GROWTH OF THE NEW BEING.
and Organs, is first formed of cellular tissue.  By itself,
however,  the  egg can  only develop  in  this way like a
vegetable,  and only to a limited extent.  It apparently
never originates the truly animal or  spiritual part, the
Nervous  System !  This is the part by which  sentient
beings think and feel,  and which truly makes them above
mere vegetables.  Now this part, or at least the central
portion of it, the Brain and Spinal Marrow, is with good
reason supposed to  be originated from the SeminaI Ani-
malcule, which is living  to commence  with.  By  noticing
the form of the animalcule it will be seen that it is almost
identical with the form of the great nervous centres, the
largely developed upper part representing the Brain and
the long lower extremity the Spinal Marrow.  Even the
Embryo itself, in the earliest stages of its growth, has the
same outline, the  head being large, and  the lower parts
tapering off to a long thin extremity, which shortens as
it becomes older.  In  fact the general resemblance of the
new being to the  Seminal Animalcule is obvious till the
fifteenth day, and at the eight or tenth they seem almost
identical.
  According to this theory therefore the whole of the
bodily structure, excepting the nervous system, is formed
by the egg, or rather exists in  it always  when it is per-
fectly developed, independently of impregnation,  but it is
only like a framework, or shell, incapable of perfect ani-
mal life.  Into this Framework the living animalcule
makes its  way, being adapted by its form to dwell therein,
and thus  imparts what was wanting, namely, a  Nervous
System, which originates the  spiritual or animal power.
The  two  then grow together, become thoroughly  incor-
porated, and eventually form the perfect human being.
  There is, therefore,  a definite part for each principle to
play, and  we see why  it is that neither can form the per-
fect being alone.  The egg by itself will sometimes form
into a  rude  likeness of the body,  as  many  of our cases
have shown, but it is merely like the growth of a vegeta-
ble, and wanting the  other principle,  the living  animal-
cule, to vivify it, can never become a human being.
  It  must be borne in  mind,  however, that though the
Nervous System is  supposed, according to  this  view, to
originate altogether from the male, yet it is nevertheless
modified and influenced in its development  by the pecul-
iar growth of the body in which it  is contained, and that 
GROWTH  OF THE NEW BEING.         159
originates with  the  Female.  In  like manner the body
may also be influenced in its development by peculiarities
of the nervous system, and thus each sex performs about
an equal part in  the process of generation.—If  the Semi
nal Animalcule  be weak or deformed, in  all probability
the Nervous System of the new being will  be  the same,
and if the egg be imperfect the body will be deformed or
diseased, and of course the condition of either affects the
other.
  To generate a perfect human  being, we must have
from the female a perfect egg, and from the male a per-
fect and vigorous animalcule,  and  the two must come to-
gether under proper circumstances and conditions.   All
this requires perfect Organizations, and healthy action in
both, without which the new being must be imperfect in
some particular, and being born so, no after  cultivation
can completely eradicate the defect.
  I have no doubt myself but  that the greater part of the
diseases and deformities  we see, both of body and mind,
originate in this way before birth, and that in future years,
when these things are better  understood, they will be in
a great measure, if not entirely, avoided.  The Moral
Preacher and the bodily Physician will be but little  needed,
because the  evils they now labor to cure, and too  often in
vain, will be prevented.  Innate sin and constitutional dis-
ease  will be used simply as terms to describe a  former
State of things, but will be quite obselete at that day.
  As soon as the first outlines of the new Organization
are formed  another phenomenon occurs,  which, though
we cannot explain its meaning, still appears deeply inter-
esting as well as curious.  The  embryo, which much re-
sembles the Animalcule  in its form, appears to struggle
violently among the fluids and membranes by which it is
surrounded, till it perfectly frees itself, and then it begins
to turn round, slowly and regularly at first,  but eventually
extremely rapid and irregularly.  This peculiar motion has
been observed in the embryos of many different animals,
and is  evidently necessary in some way or other  to their
development.   It probably originates in the same way as
the peculiar motions observed among the forming gran-
ules, and may serve a similar  purpose.
  At the Twelfth Day we first begin to  see the new Or-
ganization and  its  envelopes distinctly  with the naked
eye.  The whole is about the  size  of a large pea, and the 
160        GROWTH OF THE NEW BEING.
remains of the vitellus, or yellow, can  be readily seen.
It is all surrounded by two membraneous coverings, the
outer one called the chorion, and the inner one the  am-
nion.    Between  these  is  a gelatinous substance,  and
within  the amnion is  a  fluid called the  liquor amnii.
The two membranes, the  liquor amnii,  and the inclosed
ovum are  called  the ovulum !   Immediately after con-
ception the uterus also  commences to  secrete, from
its inner walls, a considerable addition to the decidua.
This lines the whole  cavity, so  that  when the ovum
first passes out of the tube, it  is met by  this lining,
which  seems  to  prevent  its  entrance  into  the womb.
The ovum, however,  presses upon it,  and so makes a
depression, like a nest, in which it lies.   This prevents
its moving about, or falling to the bottom of the womb.
  The  weight  of  the entire  ovulum is about one grain.
The embryo commences in the germ, and may now be
seen about the size of  a  pin's  point.  The  vitellus re-
moves  away from it, but remains  connected by a small
pedicle or  thread-like tube, down which  it is  gradually
absorbed as nutriment.  A small white thread, scarcely
perceptible, may be seen  sometimes as early as this pe-
riod, being the commencement of the  brain and spinal
marrow.  The mouth is visible also from the twelfth to
the twentieth  day, and frequently the eyes.   These are
placed  at first  on  the side of the head, like those of quad-
rupeds, and move round to the front afterwards.
  At twenty-five days, the  embryo is  about the size  of a
large ant,  which it also resembles in form.   It  begins to
have a little more consistence, and the future bones be-
gin to  resemble  cartilage, or gristle.  A  small groove
may be seen denoting the  neck, which thus indicates the
separation of  the  head from the trunk.  The  weight is
three or four grains.
  The  first month, it  is about the size  of a  Bee, and is
somewhat like a  small worm bent together,  the arms
may be seen  like two little warts ; they are  first formed
under the skin, and shoot  out like buds, growing straight
from the body ; afterwards they become folded together,
in a curious manner  upon  the breast.   The  head is as
large as the rest  of the body, and upon it we can  now
see distinctly  the eyes, like  two  black  dots, the mouth,
like a  line, and also  the  nose.  The lower extremity is
lengthened out like a tail.   Weight, about ten grains. 
             GROWTH OF THE NEW BEING.         161

  The second month.   Every part has  now  become  much
more developed, and the general form is that of a human
being.  The  superior members are much more elongated,
and the inferior ones begin to be distinguished, forming
in the  same  manner  as the  others.  The fingers  are
united together by a membrane, like the web on a Frog's
foot.   In the ribs, clavicles, and  jaw-bones, a few points
can be  seen  ossified, the cartilage beginning  to harden
into bone.  The rudiments of the first teeth are also visi-
ble.   The weight is about  one drachm, and the length,
one inch.
  At about seventy days  the  eye-lids are visible, the nose
becomes prominent, the mouth  enlarges, and  the exter-
nal ear may be seen.   The neck is  well  defined.   The
brain is soft and pulpy, and  the heart is perfectly devel-
oped.
  Every organ is originally formed without either  blood
or blood-vessels.   The circulation which afterwards takes
place in them is merely for their subsequent develop-
ment.  The heart is perfect in all its  parts, and even has
a slight motion, before the blood is found in it.
   Three months.   All the essential parts are well defined.
The eye-lids  distinct, but firmly closed.  The lips perfect,
but  drawn tightly together.  The heart beats forcibly,
and in the larger vessels red blood is seen.  The fingers
and toes are deffined,  and  the  muscles begin to be ap-
parent.  The organs of generation are remarkably prom-
inent, but still it  is somewhat difficult, at  first to distin-
guish the  sex by these organs, notwithstanding their
development, as  the principal parts  in both are nearly
identical in form.   It can, however, be surmised by other
circumstances, as the  form of  the  head,  dorsal  spine,
thorax, and abdomen.  It now weighs about two ounces
and a half, and measures four or five inches in length.
   Four months.   The  development is remarkably  in-
creased.  The brain and spinal marrow become firmer,
the muscles distinct, and a little cellular tissue is formed.
The abdomen is fully covered  in and the  intestines are
no longer visible.  A little  of the substance called mecon-
ium even collects in the intestines, the same as is found
in them at birth.  It now weighs seven or eight ounces,
and measures six or seven inches.   The bones are ossi-
fied in a great part of their extent, and  the rudiments of
the second set of teeth are visible under the first.
II 
162        GROWTH OF  THE NEW  BEING.
  The  uterus now is so large  that it can no  longer  re-
main in the  lower part of the  pelvis, but is compelled to
rise up into  the abdomen  for more room.  This change
of position is commonly called quickening ! ' Sometimes
it takes place very gradually, so that it  is scarcely  no-
ticed, but  more frequently it  rises suddenly,  disturbing
all the  internal organs, and causing in them considerable
derangement till  they accommodate  themselves to  the
change.   This  occurrence often  causes  unnecessary
alarm, though the sickness and other unpleasant sensa-
tions are always sufficiently annoying.
  This stage corresponds with  that in which the young
and oviparous animals break the shell and escape.  The
human being, however, undergoes a still  further change,
and remains in  the womb for a period longer than that
already past, in order to become more perfected.
  From four to nine months the development is propor-
tionally  much more  rapid  than during the  first  four
months, owing to the circulation of perfect  red blood,
which  is now found the same as in the adult and is prob-
ably derived from the mother.
  Five months. Every part is considerably increased in
size, and  becomes more perfect.  The lungs enlarge,  and
are even  capable of being, to  a  certain extent, dilated.
The skin  becomes much stronger.  The situation of the
nails can  be discerned. The meconium is more abundant,
and lower down  in the intestines.   The length is  now
eight  or  ten  inches, and the weight fifteen or  sixteen
ounces.
   Six months. The nails are marked. The head becomes
 downy, from the first development of the hair.   A little
 fat is  f ormed.  Length  twelve inches, weight  from one
 and a half to two pounds.  No indications of  intellectual
 faculties.
   Seven months.  The whole being has rapidly progressed
 The nails are formed, the hair-is perfect, in the male the
 testicles  descend to the scrotum, and in  the  female the
 ovaries reach the brim of the  pelvis.   The bones are tol-
 erably firm, and  the meconium collects in the large intes^
 tines.   Length  fourteen inches, weight, about  three
 pounds.  Intellectual functions not yet exercised.
   The two remaining months are merely devoted to fur-
 ther increase in  size and weight.  No new  phenomena
 present themselves. 
              PLATE XVI-
HUMAN  EMBRYO IN THE WOMB, AT AN
               EARLY STAGE.
c, c, e, e, k.  The  Caducous  Membrane.—£,/,/•  The
  Placenta.—a, 1.   The Neck of the Uterus.—b, b.  The
  beginnings of the Fallopian Tubes.—h.   The Umbili-
  cal Vesicle.—i.  The space between the Amnion and
  Chorion.—d.   The cavity  of the Womb not yet filled 
 
             GROWTH OF THE NEW  BEING.         165

  Nine months.  Every function has become active.  The
skin becomes colored, and  perspiration occurs.   There
are no indications of the intellectual functions, but the
animal functions are remarkably active, particularly that
of taste, which no doubt  leads to the act of sucking, from
the natural desire for  its  gratification.  The  child can
now experience  all the ordinary  sensations of pain, hun-
ger, heat, and cold, and  is capable of preserving an inde-
pendent existence if brought  into the world.  (For full
particulars of these wonderful and  interesting processes,
in all kinds of beings, see " The Origin  of Life.")

                § FCETAL NUTRITION.

  The  manner  in which  the new being derives  its nutri-
ment,  or the materials by which it grows, is, in a  great
measure,  unknown  to  us,  though  we  certainly obtain
some little information about it  by a study of  the appa-
ratus employed in the process.
  For  the first fifteen or twenty days the substance called
the Vitellus, which is analogous to the yolk of the ordin-
ary egg, appears to supply most,  if not all, of the material
that is  required in the formation of the new being ; and,
indeed, this substance does not totally disappear till after
the third month, though we cannot  suppose it to be the
sole source of nutriment then.   It is also supposed by
some that the amniotic liquor, in which,  the foetus floats,
may afford some  nutriment by being absorbed through
the skin.   It is certain  that this fluid is  nutritive, and
there  is nothing impossible in its absorption.   Indeed,
children have been born alive without mouths, and  even
without heads,  and it is  difficult to  imagine any other
way they could have been nourished than by such absorp-
tion.   It is now generally conceded by Physiologists that
the material required by  the Foetus, for its nutrition, at a
later period at least, is obtained from the  blood of the
mother through the  medium of the  Placenta  and the
vessels in  the Umbilical cord.   It is,  however,  a  matter
of dispute whether the maternal  blood is sent directly, in
its ordinary state,  into the body of the child, or whether it
first undergoes a preparatory process, which most modern
authors suppose it does.
  From the earliest period of gestation, the middle  mem-
brane,  called the chorion, is covered on its  outer surface 
166        GROWTH OF  THE  NEW  BEING.
with a number of  small  protuberances, called  villosities,
which  subsequently become  true  blood-vessels.  About
the fourth month these have  increased very much in size
and number,  and  have  all become conglomerated into
one mass in form like a mushroom.  This is  called  the
Placenta.   It  is almost entirely formed of blood-vessels,
which  seem to attach themselves at one end, by open
mouths, to the open mouths of other blood-vessels on the
inner walls of the uterus.  At the other end these vessels
are drawn together and lengthened out into a  long tube
called  the  umbilical cord, or  navel string, which finally
enters  the body of the child  at the navel, and so estab-
lishes the connection between it and the mother.
  The  blood-vessels in  the placenta, umbilicus, and  foe-
tus, like those in  the  maternal body,  are of two kinds,
Arteries and veins.   The arteries, which  come from  the
left side of the heart,  carry  the pure  blood, which con-
tains all the materials for forming and nourishing every
part of the system.  The  veins contain  the blood in its
impure state, and  take  it  to the  right side of the heart,
from whence it is forced into  the lungs to be purified by
the act of  breathing.
  The  course of the blood, therefore, is from the left side
of the mother's heart along her arteries till it reaches the
arteries of the Uterus, from  thence it passes  into those
of the  Placenta, and thence into those of the Umbilicus,
which  convey it into the body of the child.  When there
it  circulates in its  arteries, supplies the  material for  its
further increase and  development, becomes  in  conse-
quence impure, and passes into its veins, the same as in
the maternal body.  From these veins it passes into those
of the umbilicus and placenta, and, apparently,  into those
of the mother, by which  it is conveyed to the  right side
of her heart,  and  by its action to her lungs, to be again
purified when  she  breathes.  Thus,  the  child uses  the
mother's heart, lungs, and stomach while in the womb,
and has, therefore, no occasion to use its own.
  The  diameter of the placenta is  about  six inches, and
its  thickness about  one  inch and a half.   The length of
the umbilical cord  is from eighteen to twenty-four inches,
its diameter about half an  inch.  These  dimensions are,
however, subject to  great variation.  Instances are men-
tioned of the cord  being five  feet long, and as thick as
the child's arm.   I have seen one myself four feet long. 
PLATE XVII.
FACE  OF  HUMAN  EM
Fig. i.—30 Days Old.
m, i. The Lower Jaw.—m, s.
  The Upper Jaw.—/. Wing
  of  the Nose.—o. The Eye.
  —n. The Nostril.
AT AN  EARLY
Fig. 2.—35 Days Old.
m, i. The Lower Jaw.—m, s.
  The Upper Jaw.—/. Wing
  of the Nose.—n. The Nos-
  trils.—0. The Eye.—g. The
  Palate.
167 
 
GROWTH OF THE NEW BEING.         169
Sometimes it will be very short, not more than eight or
ten inches.   It is composed of one artery and two veins,
twisted together like the strands of a  cable, and  of  a
sheath surrounding  them composed of  the chorion and
amnion.   Between the sheath and the vessels is a thick
gelatinous fluid, called the Gelatine of Wharton.
  This explanation, it  must be remembered,  is partly
hypothetical.   The direct passage of the blood  through
the Placenta, from the  mother's vessels  into those of ths
cord is denied  by many Physiologists, who  contend that
there is an intermediate set of vessels in  the Placenta, in
which it  first undergoes important changes.   They also
contend  that the impure blood does not  pass  through
into the mother's veins at  all, but is purified in the Pla-
centa, and   immediately  returned.  Some  have  even
averred that  the Placenta is not required at  all to supply
nourishment, but is merely  a purifying organ.   It is now
known,  indeed,  that  it is not absolutely  essential  to
either process, for children have been  born  alive, and
perfectly  formed, which merely  floated loosely in the am-
niotic liquor, having neither Placenta nor  cord, nor any
other connection with the mother.   These were probably
entirely nourished by absorption of the  amniotic liquor.
These, however, must be regarded merely as curious ex-
ceptions, there being little doubt but that fcetal nutrition
is ordinarily effected through  the  Placenta  and  cord, by
means of the  mother's blood,  somewhat in the manner
we have described.

      § PECULIARITIES  OF THE FCETAL CIRCULATION.

   From the circumstance of the foetus not using its heart
and  lungs,  like the adult, its circulation has several
modifications.
   The engine by which the blood is mainly forced along
the Arteries is the heart!   This is  divided  into  two dis-
tinct parts, each of which has two cavities,  the upper one
called the auricle, and the lower one the ventricle,  which
communicate with each other by curious valves.  In the
adult  the whole of the impure blood is poured into the
right auricle, that from the lower part of the body by the
inferior vena  cava,  and that from  the upper part by the
superior vena cava.   From the right  auricle  it passes into
the right ventricle, which pumps it into  the lungs by way 
170        GROWTH OF THE NEW BEING.
 of the pulmonary artery ; here it is purified by the act of
 respiration, and then  brought,  wh^n  pure, by  the  pul-
 monary  veins,  into the left auricle,  and  passes  from
 thence into the  left ventricle, which pumps it  into  the
 great aorta, and  from thence into the smaller arteries all
 over the body.
  The two sides  of the heart, therefore, do not communi-
 cate directly with each other,, but there is a strong parti-
 tion between  them.   In  the  foetus,  the arterial blood
 from the mother, when it leaves  the umbilical artery,  en-
 ters first  the liver, runs through its vessels, gives off the
 bile found in it, and then joins  the  vena cava  inferior.
 By this passage  it is taken  into  the right auricle, along
 with the impure blood of the vena  cava.  From the right
 auricle it  passes through a hole  in the partition directly
 into the left auricle, instead of taking  the indirect route
 by  the lungs as in  the adult, because the Lungs cannot
 act in  the Foetus.  From the left  auricle it passes into  the
 left ventricle, and is from  thence  distributed  by the  ar-
 teries  all  over the body.   This opening in the partition
 is called the foramen ovale !
  After birth when the blood begins to  pass  through  the
 lungs, this passage  closes up.   By the eighth day it is
 generally  obliterated, often much  sooner,  though occa-
 sionally  it  has  remained  open longer  without incon-
 venience.  In  some  cases,  however, the foramen ovale
 does not close at all, and the child has then what  is called
 the blue disease ! The body is of a uniform leaden, or blue
 color,  and the whole system is generally  languid  and
 sluggish.  The blue  color is caused by the dark blood of
 the veins  mixing with that of the  arteries.  These  chil-
 dren mostly die  early, but  some  live to be five or  six
 years old, and  one I saw twelve ;  but  this  is  rare.    No
 remedy can  be had for this affliction, and I have never
 known it to  cure  spontaneously.   Some children are so
 very dark for  a few days after  birth  as  to  cause great
 alarm.  This is owing to the foramen  ovale being very
open and closing slowly.  No apprehension need be ex-
perienced in such cases, as they soon come right.
  The  impure  blood from  the upper part of the fcetal
body, which is brought down by  the superior vena cava,
also enters  the  right auricle, but does  not pass from
thence through the foramen, like that  from the  inferior
vena cava.   By  a peculiar arrangement this  blood is 
GROWTH OF THE NEW BEING.         171
made to pass  down  into the right ventricle, and from
thence along the pulmonary artery, the same as  in the
adult state.   Only a very small portion, however,  passes
into the lungs,  the greater part being taken along a tube
called the ductus arteriosus into the great artery called the
aorta, where it begins to turn down to the lower  part of
the body.    In consequence of this,  the  arterial blood
going down to the lower part of the body, is mixed with
this portion  of impure, venous blood, brought  by the
ductus arteriosus from the superior vena cava ; while that
going to the head and upper part of the body remains pure.
And this is the reason why the lower part of the body is
always so much smaller than the upper parjt previous to
birth ; it receives less pure nourishment.  The head and
chest appear, at an early period, almost as large  as the
rest of the body.
  This circumstance  also explains why, in the great ma-
jority of cases, the right arm is preferred to the left, and
has more  real  power.  The place where the  ductus arte-
riosus pours the impure blood into the aorta, is  almost
immediately opposite to where the  artery is  given off
which feeds the left  arm.   In  consequence of which, in
most cases, a small portion  of this impure blood becomes
mixed with the arterial blood, and the left arm is, there-
fore, in the same situation  as the lower limbs, and like
them is comparatively imperfectly developed, while the
right arm is not liable to any such deprivation.  In some
cases the insertion of the ductus arteriosus is lower down,
so  that no  such mixture occurs.   Both arms are then
equal, and this accounts for the fact that in some persons
there is no difference.  In some cases, no doubt, early
habit may overcome this  natural  inferiority,  and even
give the preference to the  left arm ; but  such instances
are rare.
  The ductus arteriosus closes up about the same time as
the foramen ovale.
  The two veins which convey the  impure blood back to
the mother, to be purified, originate from the iliac  artery,
pass up the sides of the bladder towards the navel, enter
the sheath of the cord, and  so reach the placenta.   They
are obliterated  about the third  or fourth day after birth,
and assume the form of a cord.
  The real source of  all the blood in the body of the child
is  a mystery ;  it would certainly appear most likely tot 
172         GROWTH OF THE NEW BEING.
the whole of it to be derived from the mother, but there are
many circumstances which make it probable that the child
may form some itself, by digesting the fluid it  is sup-
posed to absorb.   This view is supported by the fact that
there is found in its  bowels at birth, and even before, a
greenish substance  like  excrement, called Meconium.
This has every appearance of being the  product of diges-
tion, though some  suppose it to be derived from the liver.
It occasionally contains hair, and other anomalous sub-
stances. 
CHAPTER  XI.
EXTRA-UTERINE  CONCEPTION, AND UNNATURAL OR MON-
                  STROUS GROWTHS.

  It sometimes  happens that a  Foetus is formed outside
of the Womb, either  on the Ovary, in the Tube, or in
some part of the Abdomen, as among the intestines, for
instance.   These  are called Extra Uterine Conceptions,
and their cause has always been  a mystery.  It was long
thought that such cases  proved  the old doctrine of Con-
ception, which supposed that the Semen was conveyed to
the Ovary and  impregnated the egg  there,  otherwise,
said  its advocates, how could the Foetus ever be found
outside the Womb if Conception take place inside ?
  The true cause of an extra Uterine conception is prob-
ably this :  Any sudden and violent emotion, as a fright,
for instance, will sometimes reverse the action  of the Fal-
lopian Tubes, so that they will convey anything from the
Womb towards  the Ovaries, or  contrary to their usual
course, so  that if an egg  should  have  passed  down near
to the Womb, but not have quite left  the Tube, it might
be taken  back  again during this reverse action.  Now,
according to our  previous explanation, it will be seen
that  the egg may be  impregnated, in  some cases, while
in the uterine end of  the Tube, because the Semen occa-
sionally penetrates so far, and  it is,  therefore, possible
that an egg so impregnated maybe conveyed to the other
end  of the Tube, or even  outside of  the Womb, by this
reverse action.   It is  not necessary for the development
of the egg that it should be in the womb, but, on the con-
trary, it will develop in any part, if it can find the requisite
conditions for  its nutrition.   In these cases, therefore,
when the egg after its impregnation is taken to the other
end of the Tube, or to the outside, it  is possible for it to
grow in  this way, though usually imperfectly, and thus
form  an extra Uterine Conception.
   It  may even  be taken, by the  motion  of the body, or
                                     (173) 
174    UNNATURAL OR MONSTROUS  GROWTHS.

work its way, after it becomes loose, to various parts of
the pelvic or abdominal cavities, where it will attach itself
and  develop.   In  other cases  it has  been known to im-
bed  itself in  the walls of the womb,  and develop there.
Several instances of Extra Uterine Conception have come
under  my notice, and  I have bestowed considerable ^at-
tention upon them.  Sometimes the development will be
indefinite, having  no  resemblance to  a  human being;
while at others it will be tolerably perfect, and attain a
large size, as large in some instances, as a foetus of five
months.  It is nearly always, however,  a monstrosity,
imperfect in some  particular.  The placenta and cord are
found,  as in the Inter-Uterine Conception, as also is the
amnion and chorion, but  only occasionally a membrane
analogous to  the decidua, this being  properly a product
of the Uterus alone.  The  expulsion of  these  products
cannot, of  course, be effected in the ordinary way, they
have either to  be removed  by an operation, which is
rarely  resorted to, or  else left to nature, in which case
they may terminate in various ways.  jSome authors say
they will occasionally be absorbed  and so disappear.  More
generally, however, labor pains come on at the  ordinary
time, decay commences, an abscess is  formed, and the re-
mains  of the foetus work through  the opening.  If she
does not immediately succumb, the wound may then heal
and  the woman perfectly recover her health.  Cases of
this kind have often been met with.   I  remember one in
which all the parts did  not come away under six months ;
the head being nearly perfect.   Sometimes the pains will
return  every nine  months, for a long time, before  decay
commences.   In  other cases, instead  of decaying, the
foetus,  with its appendages, will become callous, and form
into a hard tumor, which  may remain during the  indi-
vidual's life without causing  serious  results.   One lady
carried one of these tumors  for nine years !  And I as-
sisted at the dissection of another in whom it had existed
for thirteen years.  It was as large as the head, and fixed
on the right side of the abdomen just underneath the skin.
These  accidents,  though  serious,  are not necessarily
always fatal.   Females have been known to suffer from
them several times in succession, though sometimes the
next conception will be perfectly natural. Very generally,
however, the first  case is followed by barrenness. 
UNNATURAL OR MONSTROUS GROWTHS.     175
    § FORMATION  OF ONE  CHILD WITHIN ANOTHER.

  Fcetal development will  sometimes occur under more
extraordinary circumstances even than those already men-
tioned.  One foetus may be contained within another. A
case of this kind occurred  at  Verneuil, in France, in the
year 1804.   A child named Bissien, who differed in no
external particular from other children, always complained
of something being the matter in his left side.   A small
tumor appeared there early, but the  development of his
body and mind went on as  usual, arid nothing particular
was noticed till he was thirteen years of age.  The tumor
then suddenly increased in size, he began  to  pass  from
his  body a  quantity  of putrid matter  mixed with long
hair, fever set in and he died when about fourteen. Upon
making a post-mortem examination, there was found, be-
tween the intestines and spine, the remains  of  a foetus.
The teeth, nails, hair, and  bones, were  not like those of
a mere infant, but evidently indicated  that the  inclosed
foetus was  as old  as  the  one  in whom it was  formed !
Such cases  are extremely rare,  and I believe this was the
first that was properly observed or explained.   Singular
as it may appear,  it can be readily explained, if the de-
scription we  have given of  the process and organs of
generation  be borne in mind.
  In all such cases there have  been  two eggs impregna-
ted,  as in a  case  of twins, but only one has developed
into a child while in the womb  and  the  other has become
enclosed within its body.   The egg thus enclosed may re-
tain  its vitality, but not develop for an  indefinite period,
perhaps not till many years after that child has been born,
and  very likely there are  many cases in which  it never
does.  There is nothing more extraordinary in its devel-
opment, however, when it does take place under such cir-
cumstances, than there is in an Extra Uterine Conception
in the mother's body, because the conditions are the same.
The most wonderful circumstances are that the egg should
remain so long dormant and still  be able  to  grow after
such a lapse of time.
  I have met with several  cases of  included foetuses in
dissecting animals, and a Physiological friend informed
me that he once found one in a man of  thirty, which was
so perfect that he could perceive it to be of the male sex. 
176    UNNATURAL OR MONSTROUS  GROWTHS.

This man was,  therefore,  really pregnant with his  own
Twin Brother.
  As a proof of our explanation of the causes of Extra
Uterine Foetuses it may be  stated that, in every such  case
when its history could be traced, a fright or other accident
had been experienced about the period of conception.  It
is a singular fact also that the most of such cases have
been from illicit intercourse, in which  females  of course
are often liable to the fear of discovery and exposure, and
which, from its character, is always liable to be disturbed.
  The most convincing proof,  however, that extra uterine
conception  is owing to fright,  or disturbing violence, has
been obtained by experiments  upon Animals.  It has been
found that a blow upon the head, if it  be given about the
time of conception,  will nearly always cause an extra
uterine development.   It is dangerous, therefore, for as-
sociation ever to be practiced when any disturbance  may
be experienced immediately after.   If  conception has al-
ready taken place such violence or fright may materially
affect the development of the  new being, by suspending
the vital power for a time.  Thus a celebrated  Physiolo-
gist gave a female dog  a violent blow on the head, at the
time of conception, so  that she was  partially  paralysed
for some days, and  when she  brought forth  her young,
all of them,  except one,  either had no  hind legs, or were
deformed, or puny and weak.   In another similar exper-
iment four  deformed young  ones were born and three
others were  formed extra  uterine.  The  four  eggs  had
therefore evidently reached the womb at the time of Im-
pregnation,  while the other three were at the uterine end
of the tube,  which having its  action reversed took them
to the outside.
                § FALSE CONCEPTIONS.

  A variety  of abnormal productions are found in the
uterus,called moles and false conceptions, and also tumors,
polypi,  etc., which are in no way connected with im-
pregnation.   The mole  is an  abnormal development  of
the impregnated ovum.   It has  various forms,  but most
frequently resembles a mere shapeless mass of flesh, en-
closed in an envelope full of fluid.  On carefully dissect-
ing this substance we can usually discover some traces  of
the fcetal structure , at  other times we find nothing but
the bag of fluid.   Sometimes the production will remain 
        UNNATURAL OR MONSTROUS  GROWTHS.    177

attached to the mother by a kind  of cord and placenta,
and develop  into a shapeless monstrosity ; at others it
will be  entirely disconnected.  These growths probably
originate from a blighted ovum, which retains sufficient
life merely to develop, but not to properly organize.  I
have known them to attain a large size, and some females
to have many of them in succession.   What causes moles
we do not know, nor can we always distinguish one from
a natural pregnancy.  Occasionally they assume the most
fantastic shapes, and  resemble  the  most incongruous
objects.   It is such  cases,  no  doubt,  that originate
the statements we  sometimes hear, and  read of in  old
works, of women bringing forth animals, plants, etc! I
have seen some moles, myself, which could be easily mis-
taken for such things, by persons who  did not attentively
examine them, and whose imaginations were a little live-
ly.  A kind of imperfect Animalcule, called the Hydatid,
is also found in the uterus.  It merely resembles a bag of
jelly, and floats in a flnid.   Its size varies from that of a
pea to arhestnut.   Sometimes only one is found, at others
a number.   When removed from the  fluid in which they
live, and put in warm  water they  will often move quite
actively.  Similar beings are formed in the liver and kid-
neys.   Their origin is  unknown.

          § DEFORMITIES AND MONSTROSITIES.

   Monstrosities.  These  Anomalous  productions,  called
also lusus naiura, are of various kinds. They may either
have more parts than natural, or less,  or unnatural parts.
Sometimes there is a confusion of parts only. Thus we
sometimes  have a foetus with two heads,  or an  extra
number of  hands  or feet.   And sometimes we have
them with only one leg or arm.  Then again,  we  see
others with supernumerary parts that  resemble no  mem-
ber  in  particular.  And at other  times, we find some of
the  parts  transposed,  particularly  the  viscera.   The
causes  of  these accidents are not well understood.  An
opinion prevails very generally that they are altogether
owing to some personal violence,  or strong mental emo-
tion experienced by the mother during pregnancy.  Thus
fright, sudden joy, or the sight of any disagreeable ob-
ject are thought to be  able to produce them. In many
cases this opinion is probably correct,  so far as the mere 
178    UNNATURAL OR  MONSTROUS  GROWTHS.

fact is concerned, but some very abst rd notions are en-
tertained as to the mariner in which these causes operate.
I shall, therefore endeavor to give a scientific explana-
tion.
  A deficiency of any part, or an  imperfect development
of it,  is evidently caused by something  disturbing the
vital process, and depriving that particular part of its
power of  growth, either permanently or for a time, but
what those causes are it is impossible to tell.  Sometimes
the toes, or the fingers, or some of the limbs  become im-
perfect in  this  way, and sometimes  the heart, or some
other internal organ, and children have even been born
without heads.
  The disturbing cause may  either operate from the first,
and then there is no trace of the part, or it may operate at
a later period, and then the part is merely smaller and more,
imperfect  than the others.  Thus sometimes we see one'
arm or one leg only half  as large as its fellow, and some-
times the whole  body is dwarfish and the head large.   At
other times the roof of the mouth is imperfect, o'r an eye,
or the ear, so as to cause congenital deafness or blind-
ness, and  sometimes  the upper lip is imperfect, causing
hare-lip.
  There is no  foundation, however,  for the notion that
these deficiencies are always" caused by frights or fancies,
or that the mother can produce them by injuring herself
in the same part, or by placing her hands on it merely,
as many suppose.   In many such cases there is no doubt,
if the truth could have been  known, that the deficiency
existed before the fright was experienced,  but people are
apt to suppose  that it  must  have been  caused by the
fright merely because it followed after.
  Sometimes when there are two  Ova impregnated,  in-
stead of both forming perfectly, as in twins, or one being
included within  the other, as in the case of the boy Bis-
sien, they  will become so intermixed as to be  grafted, as
it were, one upon the  other,  or grow  together.   The
parts  where  they touch  do  not  form, and there only
develop certain  portions of the  different foetuses con-
nected together.  In  this way are produced those mon-
strosities  that we see with two  heads,  two bodies, or
many arms, or legs.   If there should  be more than  two
Ova joined together, of course  the  confusion  of parts
would be greater, and the monster still more unnatural. 
UNNATURAL OR  MONSTROUS GROWTHS.     179
    Two  perfect twins are also liable to grow together, if
  they  touch,  and so  become  connected,  in  any  part.
  Thus some have been found joined at the back, others at
  the stomach, and  some by  the side, like the Siamese
  Twins,  between whom there  was a ligament.
t    Most of these  monstrosities are probably caused  by
  some disturbing  agency at the time of conception,  or
  during  early pregnancy ; but monsters may also, per-
  haps, result  from  imperfect eggs, as before explained,
  and also from imperfect or deformed Animalcules.
    They may  originate with the male, therefore, as well
  as with the female, and I have known a  man who had
  three deformed children by one wife, and two by another,
  owing most likely, to imperfect Animalcules.
    It is certain,  however, that cases occur sometimes that
  may well excuse the common belief, especially  as people
  generally are not in  the habit  of properly connecting
  cause and effect.  Thus a pregnant mother has seen a man
  who has lost his arm, and her child when born  has  been
  similarly deficient.   No doubt, however, other  pregnant
  women  might  have been worse affected by the sight,
  and yet have  had perfect  children, and  probably she
  would have  had  the one-armed child just the same if
  the man had not been seen by her.  It is more likely that
  her child's arm was not formed at the time of her fright,
  from  some other cause, for if it  were, we  must suppose
  that the fright destroyed it, and then comes  the  question,
  how was it disposed of, and  in what way was it carried
  off?
    In Fleming's Zoology a remarkable  instance is given
  of a Cat, who  was much terrified, while with young,  by
  having  her tail severely trodden upon, and who brought
  forth, at the usual  time, five  kittens, only  one  of which
  was perfect, all the others having their tails distorted in a
  singular manner, and all alike.

      § REMARKABLE CASE OF A FCETAL MONSTROSITY.

    The case represented in the following cut is one  re-
  corded some time ago in the London Lancet.  It was the
  mother's thirteenth  pregnancy, and her previous children
  had been quite perfect.   She  had received no  fright of
  any kind, nor had she been subject to any unusual  long-
  ings. 
180     UNNATURAL OR MONSTROUS GROWTHS.
  It will be observed that the upper part of the body and
the head are quite perfect, but that from below the chest
and the  middle of  the  back, all  is imperfect, displaced,
and deformed.
  About a month previous to her confinement she had a
slight flooding, which increased, and every day more and
more blood was lost, up to the time of delivery.  This,
however, could not  have caused the monstrosity entirely,
because it is evident the deformity must have existed be-
fore the eighth month,  and was doubtless the  result of
some abnormal direction of the nerves and blood vessels.
The deficient  nutrition  of  the  parts, however,  owing to
the loss of blood by the  flooding, may have made the case
much worse.
  As an illustration of the  importance of quietude to
women during motherhood,  may be mentioned the ex-
periments of M. Dareste upon eggs while being hatched.
He found that after eggs had been carried far by railway,
and immediately put in  the incubator, the larger part of
them did not develop.  But if  they were  kept  at rest a
few days first, this did not  occur.   If the eggs were kept
shaken also by a machine,  the greater number would not
hatch  out,  and  among  those that  did hatch were many
deformed birds and monstrosities.
  In  all probability agitation,  both mental and bodily,
has an equally bad effect upon women  during gestation,
and probably also upon the ova, even in unmarried fe-
males.
  It should not be lost sight of, that the Ova of women
are the germs of future  human beings,  and that anything
which injures the ova, at any period, injures the men and
women that spring from them.
  It has also been  observed, that when  chickens  are af-
flicted with what is  called  Chicken  Cholera, the greater
part of the eggs they then lay will be barren ; or, if they
hatch out,  the  chickens coming  from  them will be de-
formed,  or dead.   Probably many  diseases may affect
women in a similar  way during gestation. 
     PLATE  XVIII.

SINGULAR  MONSTROSITY.
A. The Heart.—B. The  Liver.—C. The Stomach.—D. The
  Spleen.—E. Small Intestines.—F. The Large Intestines.—G,
  H. The Kidneys.—I. The Ureter.
The feet and legs are conjoined, only the toes being separate.
This appears to me  more like a  case that might arise  from an
  imperfect Seminal Animalcule.

                                         181 
 
CHAPTER  XII.
             TWINS AND  SUPERFCETATION.

  Twins that are both born at the same time, and of the
same age, have  evidently originated from two eggs  im-
pregnated at the same time, and Triplets from three, and
so on.   It  is a question, however, whether  it is possible
for one impregnation to  occur  after another, while the
female is yet pregnant.  This  is called  Superfcetation,
and  its possibility is by  some  denied, though there is
every  reason to believe in its possibility within certain
limits.   Dr. Ryan remarks :

  " Physiologists are at issue upon the question of super-
fcetation, that it is possible for a pregnant woman to con-
ceive a second  time.  According to Aristotle, a female
was  delivered of twelve infants, and  another of twins,
one of  which resembled her husband, the other her lover.
Some writers maintain that superfcetation is possible dur-
ing the first two months of pregnancy ;  the majority hold
it  possible in  a few  days after  conception,  before the
uterine tubes are closed by the  decidua.  This is the re-
ceived  opinion,  though cases are on record which  justi-
fied Zacchias and other jurists, to conclude that superfce-
tation  might occur until  the sixtieth day, or even later.
It is not very uncommon to see a full grown infant born,
and  another of  the second, third,  fourth, fifth or sixth
month expelled immediately after,   I  need not  cite au-
thorities  upon this point, as  obstetric works abound with
examples.  But a few  examples may be given.  Dr. Mason
published an account of a woman who was delivered of a
full-grown infant,  and in three calendar months  after-
wards  of another, apparently at the full time.   A woman
was  delivered at Strasburgh, the 30th  of April, 1748, at
ten o'clock  in the  morning, and in a month afterwards
M. Leriche discovered a second foetus, and on the 16th
of September, at five o'clock in the morning,  the woman
                                      (183) 
184:         TWINS AND SUPERFCETATION.

was delivered of a healthy full-grown infant. Degranges,
of Lyons, attests a case ;  the woman was delivered at the
full time, the 20th of January, 1780 ; in three weeks after-
wards she felt the mofions of an infant, and her husband
had no intercourse with  her for twenty-four days  after
delivery.  On the  6th of July (five months and  sixteen
days  subsequent to delivery) she  brought forward a sec-
ond daughter, perfect and healthy.  On the 19th of Janu-
ary, 1781, she presented herself and both  infants before
the notaries at  Lyons to authenticate the  fact.   Buffon
related a case of a woman in South Carolina who brought
forth  a white and black infant ; on inquiry, it was discov-
ered  that a negro had  entered her apartment after the
departure of her husband, and  threatened  to murder her
unless she complied with his wishes.  Dr. Mosely relates
a similar case.  A negress of Guadaloupe brought  forth
a black and mulatto, having had intercourse with a white
and black man the  same night.   Another negress pro-
duced a white, black, and a  piebald infant.  A domestic
of Count Montgomery's  produced a white and black child
at one birth.  Gardien  relates a similar case on  the au-
thority of M. Valentin.   A mare has produced a foal and
a mule, she  having  been impregnated by a horse,  and five
days afterwards by an ass.
  "Another argument which I have never seen, occurs
to me from analogy, which deserves mention,  namely,
that each dog will produce a distinct puppy ; this  no one
can deny, for the  offspring will resemble the  different
males that fecundate  the bitch  in succession.  If  a num-
ber of healthy, vigorous  men were to have intercourse in
succession, immediately  after the first conception, I think
it probable and possible  that similar superfcetation might
happen.   I am proud to say that Dr. Elliotson is an ad-
vocate of superfcetation ;  he  explains  Buffon's case this
way.  Magendi is of the  same opinion.   Medical men
must bear in mind that women  have had three, four, and
five children at  one  birth.   Various cases of infants of
different sizes being expelled in succession, are recorded
in our own periodicals.
  "One  of  the  Pennsylvania  newspapers, in 1827, re-
corded the case of an  Irish lady, who in eighteen months
had at three births twelve living children all born  prema-
turely.  She and her husband were healthy,  fresh-looking
people,  and only two years  married.   Cases  of twins, 
TWINS  AND  SUPERFCETATION.         185
triplets, quadruple, and quintuple births are of very rare
occurrence;  but  of  these more particularly  hereafter.
Dr. Golding, of this city, delivered a woman of six infants
during the year 1829."

 It is,perhaps,possible that eggs may be formed sometimes
during pregnancy, and possibly also the Animalcules may
make their way between  the  Deciduous Membrane and
the walls of the Womb  to impregnate  them,  and  thus
Superfcetation may occur.  I think it  likely, however,
that some of the cases mentioned may have been caused
by there being a double  Uterus, and  each one having be-
come the seat of impregnation, independent of the other,
and at a different time.
  It is a vulgar error to suppose that twins will not breed,
or that one of them will be sure to be barren, observation
having shown that there  is no  foundation whatever for
such a notion.
  The  " Origin of Life " is full of curious instances of all
these unusual cases. 
CHAPTER XIII.
DURATION OF  PREGNANCY, AND PERIOD WHEN THE CHILD
                      CAN LIVE.

  These are two questions of great interest, and about
which there has always been much dispute.
  The duration of pregnancy, or the precise term of Utero-
Gestation, is not fixed.  It appears, from accurate obser-
vation, that  there  is no  absolute  period determined by
natural  laws, and  therefore  there  is none laid down by
human enactments.  An approximation can be made, by
taking the average of a number of cases, and the  period
of limitation may also be determined  in  the same way.
The most usual period  is about nine months, or from
thirty-five to forty weeks, some females going beyond the
thirty-six weeks, and others  not so long.   Among  first
criildren, more are born under the nine  months,  than
among those that come after ; this is a fact not generally
known,  and ignorance of it has often given rise to unjust
suspicions.  It is quite possible for a female to be deliv-
ered, with the child at  full  period, in  a little over eight
months  after  marriage,  without there being any  just
grounds whatever for suspecting unfaithfulness.
  Dr. R. Lee, in his Lectures on the Theory and Practice
of Midwifery, gives the  best  summary that we have  in
the language, of our information on this  subject ; I will
therefore quote from his work, making such comments and
additions as I  may think advisable :
  "The Roman law fixed the period of gestation  at ten
lunar months.  The civil code of Prussia ordains that a
child born 302 days after the death  of  the husband  shall
be considered  legitimate.  By the law  of France, the leg-
itimacy of a child cannot be called in question who is  born
300  days  after the death or departure of the husband.
The laws of England declare that the usual period of hu-
man utero-gestation is nine calendar months,  or forty
weeks ;  farther than this  they do not fix a definite period j
            (186) 
DURATION OF PREGNANCY.          187
the law is not exact as to a few  days.  Nine calendar
months contain only 275  days, and  only 273 or 272 if
February be included.   To fix bastardy on a child in Scot-
land, absence must continue till within six months of the
birth, and a child born after the tenth month is accounted
illegitimate.
  " The difficulty of determining the precise  time  when
impregnation takes place, in  the human  subject,  renders
it almost impossible, in most cases, to calculate with ab-
solute certainty the duration of pregnancy.  We are, how-
ever, in possession of a sufficient number of observations
to establish the fact that the ordinary period is about forty
weeks, or 280 days ; but it is certain that4t does occasion-
ally exceed or fall  short of this period  by several days.
As we never can be certain of the precise day, between
the periods of menstruation, when conception occurs—
whether it takes place immediately after  the  last  period,
or before  the expected period, or midway between  these
—it is obvious that all calculations  founded upon  the ces-
sation of the catamenia must be extremely uncertain. The
error of the calculation  will be still greater if the  catame-
nia should have appeared,  or a discharge like the  catame-
nia should have occurred once or twice after conception.
Impregnation most frequently takes place soon after men-
struation, but in  others it does not  happen till a few days
before the expected period ; so that two women may have
menstruated at the same time, and one may have reached
the full period three weeks before  the other ; and to this
extent, or nearly so, an opinion  founded on this  disap-
pearance  of the catamenia may be erroneous.
   "Calculations  of the duration  of pregnancy,  founded
upon what has been observed to occur after casual inter-
course, or perhaps a single act, in individuals who can
have no motive to  tell  us  what is  false, are likely to be
much more correct; and the conclusion to be drawn from
these is, that labor usually, but not invariably, comes on
about  280 days  after conception,  a  mature child  being
sometimes born  before the expiration of forty weeks, and
at other times not until  the forty weeks have been ex-
ceeded by several days.  A case came under my observa-
tion very lately,  in which I had no doubt the  pregnancy
existed 287 days ; the labor did not take place till  287 days
had elapsed from the departure  of the  husband of this
lady for the East  Indies.  Some women are always de- 
188          DURATION OF PREGNANCY.
livered before the end of the forty weeks, according to the
usual calculation, and their children are mature.
  " In the evidenee given on the Gardner Peerage case,
the period of utero-gestation was limited, but not strictly,
by some of the witnesses, to forty weeks, or 280 days ;
by others it was extended  to 311 days.   Mr. Merriman,
whose opinion is always entitled to much respect, thinks
the greatest number of  women complete gestation in the
40th  week, and next to that in the 41st.   Of 114 pregnan-
cies,  calculated by him from the last day of menstruation,
and in which the children appeared to be mature,  3 deliv-
eries took place at the end of the 37th week ; 13 in the
38th  ; 14 in the 39th ; 33 in the 40th ;  22 in the 41st ; 15
in the 42d ;  10 in the 43d ;  and 4 in the 44th week.
  " How long before the expiration  of  the  40 weeks a
child may be born with  the power of  supporting  life has
not been determined.  Where I have  induced premature
labor for distortion of  the pelvis, before  the end of the
seventh  calendar  month from the  last  menstruation, 1
have never seen a child reared.  The  lady of the clergy-
man  in Fife,  whose case has lately given  rise to so  much
discussion,  was  delivered  175  days after marriage, and
the child lived  five months.   To what extent gestation
may  be protracted, in some cases, beyond the 280 days it
is very difficult to determine, and the opinions of the most
eminent writers  differ upon the subject.  I should suspect
some great error in the calculation where the period of
gestation exceeded 300 days.   But the experiments  made
on the lower animals  prove that there exists in them a
great variation between the shortest and  the  longest ges-
tation ; and it is difficult to comprehend why there should
not be a difference in  this  respect in the human species."
  In a trial which  took place  in this country,  in the  coun-
ty of Lancaster, Pa.,  as reported in the Medical Exam-
inerfor June, 1846, it  was  decided that Gestation may be
prolonged to three hundred and thirteen days!  The fe-
male swore that conception must have taken  place on the
twenty-third of March, 1845, and the child was not born
till the thirtieth of January, 1846, or over  eleven  months.
The  judge  directed the jury  to return a  verdict in her
favor, and I suppose this case establishes a precedent for
America.
  In a recent number of the Medical Gazette,  I find a case
reported, wherein  the period was  said to be prolonged 
DURATION OF PREGNANCY.          189
still farther.  A man left his wife  in  New South Wales,
he coming to England, and twelve months after he left she
was delivered of a child, which she claimed  to  be legiti-
mate.  He  denied this, however, and the judge in the
Consistory Court decided, without hesitation, in his favor.
Taking the  medium between these two cases, therefore,
it appears to be decided that  the extreme  limit is some-
where between eleven  and twelve months !  It must  be
recollected, however, that  both  were perfectly arbitrary,
and that, for anything known positively on  the subject, /
both may be either right or wrong.
  Except when labor is brought on prematurely by vio
lence, it usually commences at what would have been one
of the monthly periods ; or in other words, after a certain
number  of full months.   If,  therefore, a  female passes
over the ninln  month, she will probably go to the  tenth.
This  has been proved by extensive  observation, and is
only another proof of the regular method in which nature
conducts all her operations.  The  same law is also ob-
served in abortions, which generally take place at one of
the months, unless brought on suddenly by violence.
  Dr.  Ryan remarks that " Hippocrates, Aristotle, Galen,
Pliny, Avicenna, Mauriceau, Riolan, La Motte,  Hoffman,
Stchenk, Haller, Bertius, Lieutaud, Petit,  Levret, Louis,
Astruc, etc., maintained that pregnancy usually terminates
at the end of the ninth calendar month, but might be pro-
tracted to the tenth, eleventh, twelfth, and some of  them
said to the fifteenth.
   " It is also decided by a preponderating majority of the
profession, in all countries, that the term of utero gesta-
tion is not uniform ; in  other words,  not  invariably lim-
ited to nine months.  This position  is  strongly attested
by  the analogy afforded by the inferior animals ; for it
appears by the extensive observations of M. Teissier, on
the gestation of heifers, mares, sheep, swine, and rabbits,
that all these animals exceed their usual period of  deliv-
ery. (Trans, de l'Acad. des Sc, Paris,  1817).   Further ev-
idence is afforded by the vegetable kingdom, in which we
observe in the  same field,  on the same tree, shrub, etc.,
different parts  of vegetables arrive  at  maturity with  more
or less celerity.  Petit  informs  us  that many faculties of
medicine,  forty-seven  celebrated  authors,  and twenty-
three  physicians and  surgeons,  concluded  pregnancy
might be protracted to the nth  or  12th month.   He cites 
190          DURATION OF PREGNANCY.
a case on the authority of Schlegel, in which pregnancy
was protracted to the thirteenth month ;  the child was ad-
mitted to be legitimate, on account of the probity and vir-
tue of the mother, which  induced her  shopman to marry
her, and she bore two  children  by him, each at thirteen
months.  Tracy, a naval physician, relates a case at the
fourteenth month.   Dulignac, a French surgeon, positive-
ly asserts that his own wife quickened at four months and a
half, and on two occasions she went on  to the thirteenth
month and a half, and  on the third to the eleventh month.
Desormeaux relates a case of a woman who was maniacal,
who  had three children, and whose physician, after all
means had failed, recommended pregnancy.  Her  hus-
band had intercourse with her  once in three months, of
which he kept an exact account.   She was closely watched
by her domestics, and she was extremely religious  and
moral; she was delivered  at  nine months and  a half
(Velpeau).  The last author  attests a case which went to
three hundred and ten days,  and Orfila two of ten months
and a half.   I have  repeatedly knowrtwomen mistake ex-
pected delivery four, five, and six weeks."

        § PERIOD WHEN THE CHILD CAN LIVE.

  The precise period when the child can  live, if brought
into the world, is not determined, any more than the time
it may remain in the Womb.  Some children may be able
to live a considerable time before the full period of  Ges-
tation, and others may not till some time after, there be-
ing a great difference in regard  to their development.
  One may be  as fully developed at  six, as another at
seven months.  The common  opinion is that  the child
can not live if born  before seven months.  This,  however,
is incorrect.   Many instances have been known of births
at six months, and even earlier, in which the child lived,
and became strong and healthy.  Van Swieten  mentions
the case of one Fortunio Liceti, who was born before the
sixth month.   He was  not larger than  the hand, but grew
to the average size,  and lived to be seventy-one years old.
Dr. Gunning  Bedford mentions  a similar case, in his
translation of Chailly's Midwifery.  There are even cases
mentioned of children living at  five months, but  it  must
be borne in mind that it is seldom possible to determine
the exact period.  As  a general rule, however, the  child 
DURATION OF PREGNANCY.          191
does not live  till after the seventh month, though there
undoubtedly have been cases where it has lived before the
end of the sixth month.  The law adopts the medium pe-
riod, and declares the child capable of living at the end oj
the sixth month, and not before.  There  is  no reason
whatever for supposing, as some do, that it is less likely
to live at eight months than  at  seven, or that  it will  not
live at all at eight months.
   For fuller particulars, and numerous  cases illustrating
all the preceding Topics, the reader is  referred to "The
Origin of Life.'' 
PLATE  XIX.
View of the Breast about the Fourth Month.—a, a. The Breast.
 —b. The  Nipple.— c.  The Areola,  or  part  which  becomes
 brown;  it is elevated above the rest  of the Breast, as may be
 seen.—a?, d. The little Tubercles.
PLATE  XX.
Primipara, or the first      Woman who has borne
     Pregnancy.              children before.
a, a. The Neck of the Womb.—b, b, b. The Body of the Womb.
  —c. The Os Tineas, or Mouth of the Womb.—d, d. The  cut
  edges of the Vagina.—.?. The Foetus.-^/", f. The  Fallopian
  Tubes, Ovaries, and Round Ligaments.—£•. The  Placenta.

  Most of the changes produced  can be readily distin-
guished by  the  finger, after  seeing this representation,
and making a proper comparison  between  it and the
natural state in a former Plate.
            192 
PLATE  XXI.
WOMB  AT ABOUT THE THIRD,  SEVENTH

            AND NINTH  MONTHS.
*^>y.^
Figure 1, form and size of the body, neck, ard mouth of the Womb
  at about the third month —Figure 2, at about the seventh month.
  Figure 3, at the ninth month.
The references are the same in all.  a. The Neck  of the Womb.—
  b, b.  The Body of the Womb.—c.  The Os Tincse, or Mouth of
  the Womb.—d, d.  The cut edges of the Vagina.

                                         193 
                  PLATE  XXII.

THE  MODE OF  PERFORMING  THE  BALLOTT
                         MENT.
This Plate represents the mode of performing the Ballottment,
  to detect pregnancy.   The outline of the figure is the same as
  in a former Plate, and most of the organs are lettered  the
  same.
The index finger of the right hand is passed into the Vagina till
  it touches the body of the Womb, the neck being thrown back,
  owing to the tilting of the Fundus forward.  The left hand is
  pressed firmly upon the Abdomen, just over the pubic bone.
i, Is the Foetus.—2, The Placenta, connected with the Foetus by
  the cord.—3, Is the index finger of the right hand, within
  the Vigina.—4, Is the left hand.
The development of the Womb, and the change in its position,'
  are very well represented in the Plate, and so are the alterations
  in some of the other organs.   The manner in which the Blad-
  der, A, is pressed out of its usual shape and size, may be seen
  by comparing this with a former Plate.   The shortening of
  the Vagina, and the expansion of its upper part, are  also
  equally obvious, and  the  manner in which the mouth  of  the
  Womb is thrown back against the Rectum.
            194 
PLATE XXIII.
Neck of the Womb in a first  Neck of the Womb in a fe-
  Pregnancy,  very  slightly    male who has borne chil-
  opened.                    dren before, showing how
                             it admits of the introduc-
                             tion of the finger.
This is at the end of the Fifth  Month, and  the drawings
         are about one third of the natural size.
First child.
Woman who has borne
       children.
The  Neck of the Womb in  a first pregnancy, and in a
  female who has  borne children before,  at  the end of
  the seventh month
  The part  below the lower line here, shows that part
of the neck which  is contained in the Vagina.  It will
easily be seen  how much shorter this part is, and how
much more  open the  passage is, in the female who has
borne children, than in the first pregnancy.
                                      195
C34+�C 
PLATE  XXV.
THE  FOZTUS IN  ITS  MOST USUAL  POSITION.
                   EXPLANATION.
This Plate represents the Foetus in the most usual posi-
  tion, the head downwards, and the back of it present-
  ing to the right side.

The  black  spot a,  shows the situation of the heart ;
  usually immediately under that part where the sound
  is heard the strongest.—It is below the line.
          196 
PLATE  XXVI.
THE  FCETUS  IN THE NEXT  MOST FREQUENT
                    POSITION.
                   EXPLANATION.
This Plate represents the Foetus in the next most frequent
  position, the head downwards, and the back of it pre-
  senting to the left side.

The black spot a, shows the situation of the heart, as in
  the previous Plate.  It is now below the line, as  be-
  fore, but on the opposite  side.
197 
PLATE XXVII.
THE FCETUS  IN  A  PRESENTATION OF  THE
              PELVIS,  OR  BREECH.
EXPLANATION.
This Plate shows the position of the  Fcetus in a presen-
  tation of  the  Pelvis, or  Breech, which  happens,  com-
  paratively, but seldom.
The  black  spot a, denotes the situation of  the  heart,
  which is here above the line, instead of below.
In this case, as in the others, the heart may be on either
  side  of the body, according as the child faces, but al-
  ways above the line.
           198 
PLATE  XXVIIL
THE POSITION OF TWINS  AS MOST USUALLY
                   OBSERVED.
EXPLANATION.
This represents the position of Twins, as most usually
  observed, one  having a head  presentation, and the
  .other a breech.
The  heart  in  one case is above the line,  and in  the
  other below.
The head, however, may be on the right  side instead of
  the left, and so reverse the position of the  two hearts,
  but this is seldom so.
When there are more than  two, the confusion and uncer-
  tainty become still  greater.
                                     199 
PLATE  XXIX.
wo. 1.                 no. 3.
The Neck of the Womb, at  The Neck of the Womb, at
  near  the  end  of  nine    near  the  end  of nine
  months in a Primipara.     months in a woman who
                           has previously borne chil-
                           dren.
200 
THE END  OF THE NINTH MONTH.      201
  End of the Ninth Month.—There is but little difference
between this and the previous period. The mouth of the
Uterus  is more open, and in those who have had chil-
dren the finger will pass directly into the womb and feel
the child, but in primipara there is still a  small portion
of the neck  left.
   Ballottment  is now more obscure than before, as the
Foetus  is very heavy, and  quite  low down, and pretty
firmly  fixed.  Auscultation  is  distinct  enough,  but not
more so than at the previous  period.   The  swelling of
the lips, and of the veins of the  legs, may increase, and so
may the difficulty with the urine ;  but the breathing gen-
erally  becomes easier, owing  to  the Womb having de-
scended a little, and so pressing the diaphragm less.

   For fuller particulars as to Pregnancy and Child-birth
see The Matrons Manual. 
* 
MISCELLANEOUS  SUBJECTS.
               CHAPTER  XIV.

          CAUSE OF THE DIFFERENCE IN SEX.

  This has always been a  fruitful subject of discussion
both among  Physiologists  and popularly, and yet even
now but little certain is known about it.  Nevertheless, I
am of  opinion that it will eventually be perfectly under-
stood,  and that the sex of every child will be known pre-
vious to its birth.  Our knowledge at the present time, it
is true, is not perfect on this point, but still  much more
is known than what is usually supposed, and as such  in-
formation may occasionally be really  valuable, besides
being of great interest, I shall lay  it before my readers.
  All the old ideas on this subject  are utterly unfounded,
and generally as absurd as they  are erroneous.  Such,
for instance,  as  supposing that  if the parties lie on the
right side, during the act of  association,  the offspring will
be male, and  if on the left side, female.  Or imagining,
as others do,  that males are more apt to follow from con-
nection in the early part of  the day, and females when it
is practiced in the evening.   Neither is there any founda-
tion  for supposing that  it depends  upon which sex the
parents most strongly desire, as  many know well from
experience.
  The  idea about the position during the act, determining
the sex,  originated from an  unfounded  theory  of  the
Physiologists themselves,  namely, that  the  right  ovary
produced males,  and the left females.   So  generally was
this opinion  received, and  so  far did  it influence even
practical  men, that about the year 1827, a Physiologist
named Millot, published a Book on " The art of procreat-
ing the sexes at will," in which he gave directions for pro-
ducing whichever might be  desired.   He even  gave the
names  of several mothers  who were said to have suc-
ceeded in their wishes by following his  directions,  but of
course  did not enumerate those  who  were disappointed,
though experience has fully  demonstrated that they were
undoubtedly  as numerous  as the  other.  In short,  the
theory, though captivating,  is founded on an,untruth.
                                    (303) 
204     CAUSE OF THE DIFFERENCE IN  SEX.
  In several instances it has been demonstrated,  most
conclusively, that  each ovary  can produce  both sexes.
Thus, instances  have been known where one  has  been
destroyed by disease, or where it has  been naturally de-
ficient, and yet the female has borne both boys and  girls.
In one case, not only were the Ovary and Fallopian  Tube
absent entirely on one  side, but even  the corresponding
half  of the  womb itself  was imperfect, and  yet she had
borne eleven children of both sexes.
  Another  supposition entertained is,  that  the  parent
who  has most energy and power at the time of conception
determines the sex.  But this theory, also, has no known
facts to support it.
  The fact  appears to be, that the sex is determined by
the joint  action  of several distinct causes, the principal
of which at least are  known, so that the great majority of
children can be made  of whichever sex is desired, providing
certain suggestions are attended to.  And I may remark
here that this assertion is  not based upon Theory alone,
but  upon certain  observations, and  also upon a  long
series of experiments with animals. The peculiar nature
of my  practice has,  of course, brought many persons to
me for information  on this very topic, and I have there-
fore  been able to verify the correctness of my conclu-
sions.
  To understand how this can be done, I must  first stare
what has been  ascertained respecting  the influence of
relative age.  It has been found, by actual  observation
of some thousands  of  cases,  that  the older parent  most
frequently imparts the  sex, unless the age be so great as
to verge upon decreptitude.  Thus,  for instance,  when
the fathers are younger  than the  mothers, there will be
born about ninety boys  to  one hundred girls,  and very
nearly the  same when they are  of equal age.  When,
however, the fathers are from one  to six years older than
the  mothers, there  will be born  one hundred  and three
boys to  one hundred  girls ; and  when the fathers are
from nine  to eighteen years the  older,  the number of
boys will be one hundred and forty to  one hundred  girls ;
but if they  be more than eighteen years older, the number
of boys will be two hundred to the hundred girls.
  In the  same way,  just in proportion as the mothers are
the  older,  the number of girls   will predominate ;  till
when they  are from  eighteen to twenty years older than 
CAUSE  OF THE DIFFERENCE IN SEX.      205
the man, there will b2  twice as many girls as boys.  It
may, of course, happen, that this rule may not hold good
in many single families that  may be noticed, but  it will
always do so  when the average is taken of a large num-
ber, and the chances,  of course,  are in the same  ratio in
every instance.  Thus,  in every case, when the father is
over eighteen  years  older than  the mother, it is  two
chances to one that the child will  be  a boy ;  and in three
hundred such births,  there would  be just  two hundred
males to one hundred females ; while, if the mother be so
much the elder, the chances and results  will be just the
same the other way.
  The relative age, therefore, has  a most potent influ-
ence over the sexual formation, but still there are,  evi-
dently, other agencies  also, because it does not operate
in every individual  case,  and we  must, therefore,  en-
deavor to discover what those other agencies are.  My
own impression is, that in the  exceptional cases, where
the elder parent does not impart  the sex, it is owing to the
younger parent being  much the  more  vigorous.   This
view I have had many opportunities of verifying, in con-
fidential communications, and I have almost invariably
found  it correct.  This also  shows  why it is, that the
greater age is no  advantage beyond a certain period.
Thus, for instance,  if the father be  over fifty, while the
mother is under thirty-five, the rule will  change, and the
number of girls will predominate.   We  also find that the
greater number of first children are boys,  especially  if
born soon after marriage, owing to  the father being nat-
urally most powerful  then.  In illegitimate children, on
the contrary, there are most girls,  probably because in
many  of these cases the female is  more vigorous tha-
ordinary.  In those countries where polygamy predomi
nates, or where the men  have several  wives, there are
many more girls born than boys, owing, no doubt, to the
male power being weakened by excess, and expended
among so many, which causes the female power to  pre-
ponderate.   For this reason polygamy must  always  con-
tinue itself, because the number of females will constantly
be greater than the number of males ; and  if there were
no foreign admixture to take place, a nation would prob-
ably becone extinct, in time, under such an institution.
   The production of either sex, therefore, is, to a very
great extent, within our power, providing we can fulfil the 
206      CAUSE OF  THE  DIFFERENCE IN SEX.

principal of the above indications.   If, for instance, a boy
is desired, the father should be older than the mother—
say at least five years—and Conception should not be  al-
lowed to take  place  during the first five days after the
monthly period.  The  relative warmth of temperament
should also be regulated, so that the females do not pre-
ponderate, especially at the time of Conception, and dur-
ing the first two or three weeks afterwards.   If a girl  be
desired, of course the opposite conditions  should exist.
And in every case where the  age is not appropriate, the
other particulars must be the more  scrupulously attended
to.
  Many intelligent breeders of animals are practically ac-
quainted with these principles, and will undertake to breed
almost any proportion of either sex, by properly mating
the parents as to age, vigor, and frequency of association,
besides causing the offspring to  resemble  which they
please, and to partake of any general characteristics.
  Taken in conjunction with what is stated in another ar-
ticle, respecting the influence of the male in  connection
after conception, and also with what is stated  as  to the
power of the mother's imagination  over her offspring, it
will be seen that these facts are of the greatest value, and
it will one day be accounted of the utmost importance for
every one to be acquainted with them.
  There is good reason  for supposing that sex is ultimate-
ly a matter of development, and that the two are origi-
nally the same, and capable of being converted one into
the other.  The organs in each correspond  to  those  of
the other in a remarkable degree, as will be seen by com-
paring them.   The Ovaries are identical in function with
the Testes, the Fallopian Tubes answer to the Vasa Def-
erentia, the Seminal Vesicles  to the Womb, and the Ejac-
ulatory Canal to the Vagina.   The  External  Lips  of the
female are similar to the Scrotum  of  the male, and the
Clitoris is similar  to the Penis, so that we have in each
one a  corresponding organ to every one found  in the
other. The Urethra,  or urinary passage, is not connected
with the generative apparatus so closely in the female as
it is in the male, but it is not essentially so in either. The
Semen can be perfectly formed, or  even emitted without
it,  as we see in some cases of deformity ; and in some  fe-
males the Urethra has even been known to pass down the
Clitoris the same as it does down the male Penis. 
PLATE  XXX.
EXTERNAL  SEXUAL ORGANS OF HUMAN EM-
      BRYO AT FORTY DAYS OLD, VIEWED
                   IN  PROFILE.
It is not possible at this stage
 to  be fully certain of the sex,
 because all at this stage are
 alike.—p. The Corpus Caver-
 nosum,  which may develop
 either into a Male Penis, or a
 Female Clitoris  b. The Gen-
 ital Folds, which may develop
 either into the Male Scrotum,
 or the Female Large Lips  of
 the Vulva.—a, The Anus.
The under  figure  shows the
 Organs  viewed directly  ir
 front.
(307) 
 
CAUSE  OF THE DIFFERENCE IN SEX.      209
  It is  possible, therefore, that these parts  may be pri-
marily the same in all cases,  and that certain causes may
determine which particular form they shall afterwards as-
sume.   In their earlier stages, also, it may  be  that one
can be changed into the other,  since they differ  so  little,
and in this way we may account for the influence of the
male after conception.
  From what is observed in some animals, and also  in the
vegetable world, this conversion of one-sex into  the other
is actually  demonstrated.  Thus it is well known that
Bees, when deprived of their  Queen, will make another.
And this  they do  by taking  one of the larvae, or grubs,
such as produce,  under ordinary circumstances, a  com-
mon female, or worker, and treating it in a peculiar man-
ner, feeding it upon  different food, and carefully tending
it in a different way to what they ever tend the others.
The result is, that the  grub, which would have been  an
ordinary bee, under the usual conditions, is  by this treat-
ment formed  into a Queen, or perfect  female.  In this
case, then, sex is evidently a  result of  development, ef-
fected chiefly by a peculiar kind  of nutrition.   Botanists
also know that plants frequently change their sex in a re-
markable degree,  under peculiar cultivation,  some becom-
ing nearly altogether Staminate, or male, and others near-
ly altogether Pistillate, or female, though, in their  natu-
ral condition, they remain uniformly one or the other, or
a proper mixture  of both.
  A still further confirmation of  the identity of  these  or-
gans in the early  stages, is afforded by some cases of  ac-
cidental hermaphrodism.   Thus,  in many Crustaceous
Animals, as Crabs for instance, it is not at all unusual to
find a perfect Ovary on  one side, and a perfect Testicle
on the other.  I have observed the same peculiarities in
Fishes also, and in one case at least it was found in a hu-
man being.  Birds  scarcely ever have  the  Ovary devel-
oped but upon one side, the other being merely rudimen-
tary, and sometimes even formed  something like  a Tes-
ticle.
   Many circumstances make it probable that  the first stage
of  development of  the Primary  Cellules is always into
Ovaries, and if they develop no further, of course the be-
ing remains female, and all  the  other parts correspond.
If, however, any additional impulse be given, they  de-
velop further, and become Testicles, the other parts chang-
ing also, and thus forme a male. 
210      CAUSE  OF THE DIFFERENCE IN  SEX.
  Hippocrates taught that both  the male and  female se.
creted a semen, which was a kind of essence, coming from
every part of the body in each.   He also considered that
the semen, in both, consisted of  two parts, one male and
the other female,  and that when the  two  male semens
combined a  proper  boy was formed, and when the two
female semens combined a proper girl was formed.  But
if  the male part  of the father's semen united with the
female part of the  mother's,  there would  be either an ef-
feminate boy, or a boyish girl, according to which semen
predominated.
  This of course was all theory, and without the  least
foundation in fact.
  Some followers of Hippocrates went further  than this,
and undertook to give the signs by which it could be told,
in either male or  female, which semen predominated in
them, and consequently which sex they would be likely to
procreate ; but all  their signs were mere fanciful specula-
tions.
  Others consider, as before stated, that the semen from
the right testicle produced males, and that from the  left,
females ; but this theory had no better foundation than
the other.   Nevertheless, practical  rules were given,
founded upon this  theory.  Thus, those who wished  boys
were directed to tie a band round  the cord leading from
the left testicle, or even to have it cut out, so that semen
could come only from the right one.  Those who wished
girls, of course were to do the same with the right  testi-
cle, so that semen  could come only from the left one.
  No doubt  much mischief and  disappointment  was
caused by the promulgation of such a theory, but it  held
its ground for a long  time.  Hufeland first  showed its
improbability by referring to the fact, that if  a number
of fish eggs are impregnated with the same  semen, some
will form males and some females, and  not all one sex
or the other.  Those who  acted practically  upon the
theory soon found out it was not to be relied upon.  Be-
sides, men with only one testicle were known  to become
fathers of children of both sexes.
  A similar  theory was then broached in regard  to the
female ovaries—that the eggs from the right one produced
boys, and those from the  left one girls.  This, however,
was equally unfounded with  the other, and was disproved
by the fact that females  with only one active ovary had 
CAUSE  OE THE DIFFERENCE IN SEX.      211
children of each sex, the same as men with testicle only
were fathers of both boys and girls.
  One celebrated physiologist even asserted that the
womb was divided into  seven  parts, three on the  right
side for males, and three on the left for females, with one
in the middle for Hermaphrodites.  Of course this was
all  fancy—a mere speculation.
  Harvey taught that  the female semen  formed the egg
after  the  male semen came in contact with it, and  that
from this egg  the new being was  formed.  He was quite
unaware that  the egg was formed independent  of any
connection with the male.
  Buffon, still  holding to the  teaching of Hippocrates,
that each sex secreted a. semen, contended that the animal-
cules  in the male semen formed boys, and those in the
female semen  girls.
  To  understand the  most probable cause of sex, we
must  refer to the Physiology of  Generation,  as already
explained.
  The female forms the egg, and the male forms the se-
men, both independent of the other, but  the  egg cannot
develop into the  new being till the semen  unites with it.
The female ripens one or more eggs each month, at what
is called the monthly period, and these eggs are retained
in the womb, when passed there from the ovary, only for
a certain  number of days.   It is, therefore, possible for
the  conception to occur only during those days, for the
semen cannot  cause conception if there be no egg in the
womb for it to impregnate.
  The majority of conceptions occur within  eight days
after the monthly period, though  a few may occur as late
as twelve days after, or in very rare cases, perhaps four-
teen.   It may  also be possible a day before, in a very few
cases, as previously explained.   All other  times concep-
tion is impossible.
  Now, it must  be borne in mind that the  egg at first is
not quite perfect—it gradually ripens as it proceeds on its
way to the womb.  Very often  it  is  not ripe enough to be
impregnated when it first reaches the womb, but has to
remain  there  some days first,  and this is  why some fe-
males cannot conceive till some days after their periods.
In others, on the contrary, it is full ripe when it reaches
the womb, and if not impregnated immediately,  it be-
comes over ripe, and  breaks up.   In such cases, if the 
212      CAUSE! 01*  THE,  DIFFERENCE IN SEX.
woman is not impregnated immediately her period is ovef,
she cannot conceive  at  all, and  this is one reason why
many are sterile—they are always too late.
  It is upon this fact, of  the gradual ripening, or  perfect,
ing of  the egg that  the probably true theory of the chiei
cause of sex depends as we will now show.
  It must be borne in mind that the egg can be impreg-
nated only at a certain stage of ripeness, or maturity, and
that before that stage, or after it has passed, impregnation
can not take  place.   Thus, M. Coste has shown in  his
observations  upon poultry, that  their eggs can be im-
pregnated only in the upper part of the oviduct, and that
when they have passed to the lower part they are over ripe,
and can no longer be impregnated.
  And this is strictly analogous to what occurs in plants,
there is only one stage in the development of the pistil in
a flower when the pollen  can  fertilize it.   Before  that
stage arrives, or after it  has passed, fertilization  is im-
possible.
  This particular stage of maturity, or ripeness, in some
cases endures  but for a very short time, but in others it is
much more prolonged, both in plants and animals.  But
in all cases it is  the  limit within which  impregnation is
possible.
  Now it has been discovered, through observations upon
the  lower animals, first, that the sex of the  future being
developed from any egg depends, mainly, upon the stage  of
ripeness that the egg was at whett impregnated.
  Messrs. Schirac and Huber discovered, in their  obser-
vations upon bees,  that an egg  only partly developed
always produced a fe?nale, while one fully developed,  or
ripened, always produced a male.
  It was formerly thought the bees could form  a new
queen from any larva, simply by feeding it with  a pecul-
iar kind of food, but this  is now known to be a mistake ;
they can develop a barren female—that is, a working bee
—into  a fruitful female, or, queen, but can not change the
sex.
  The  queen,  or fruitful female bee,  only needs to be im-
pregnated once to make fruitful all  the eggs she may lay
for  the whole  season.  It is observed, however,  that all
the eggs she lays during the ten first months produce only
females,  while those  that  she lays  during  the last two
months produce males.  The reason of  this is  that the
   c 
OAUSE  OF THE DIFFERENCE IN SEX.     213
first eggs are  not fully ripened, or developed, while the
last ones have arrived at full maturity.   Consequently the
first are only capable of forming females, while the last
ones are perfect enough to form males.
  Acting upon this fact it is possible  to  make  her pro-
duce male eggs only.  Thus, if she be  kept from impreg-
nation during the first few weeks, till all the eggs are well
ripened,  they  will be all males, and the working bees may
treat them in  any way they please, but can never form a
female from them.
  The sex,  therefore, of  the future being depends  upon
the maturity of the egg from which it is  developed, and
consequently there are male and female eggs, and the sex
is determined even before impregnation !  Nothing which
can be done, therefore, at the time of conception, or after,
can have any influence at all upon the  sex of the child.
  Some recent observers  assure  us that  though  the sex
of  the new  being seems the same in all cases, at very
early periods,  still it is only apparently so, and that there
is  an  essential  difference from  the very first moment.
They  assert that the sex is established, and can be distin-
guished,  from the  very  first!   In fact, they assert, it
is probably established in the egg itself before impregna-
tion.

§ APPLICATION OF THE ABOVE FACTS TO  THE  PRODUC-
            TION OF SEX IN  HUMAN BEINGS.

  Although  these facts were known long ago, in reference
to plants and the lower animals, yet  it is only recently
they were recognized as being equally applicable to hu-
man beings.   This arose from the circumstance that the
true physiology of generation in human beings, and other
mammalia, has only been recently discovered.  Directly
it was ascertained that all mammiferous females, the hu-
man female included, formed  eggs, the same as birds or
bees,  at regular periods, and  that  the  new being was
formed from  those eggs,  it  was  at once  concluded that
they were subject to the same laws of development.   A
celebrated professor of Geneva, M. Thury, was one of
the first to put this to a practical test, in the following
way :
   Assuming, fn regard  to cattle,  that  at the beginning oi
the rut, or heat, the eggs would  not  be in so perfect a
state of development as later, and therefore most likely 
214      CAUSE OF THE  DIFFERENCE IN SEX.
to produce females, he gave instructions  accordingly to a
stock breeder, M.  G. Cornaz.   He advised  him, if  he
wished female young only, to let  the mothers  be impreg-
nated only at the very commencement of the heat, when the
eggs were not fully ripe.   If, on  the contrary, he wished
all male young, he advised him to not allow the sexes to
associate till later, when the eggs of the mother would be
more mature.
  The result was just as  he had predicted.   Those  be-
gotten at the very beginning of the rut were all females,
while those begotten later were all .males, with very few
exceptions.   So convincing was the experiment that  the
breeder,  M.  Cornaz, states most  emphatically he was
able to have all males, or all females, in his stock, just as
he chose, by observing these simple directions !
  The period of the rut is  longer or shorter in  different
kinds of animals, and it varies even in individuals  of  the
same species.  In all  cases, however, the eggs may be
impregnated at any time while the heat lasts, but they are
invariably not  fully developed in the early  stages, and
consequently female, and become male only at a later pe-
riod, when fully matured.
  In cows the heat lasts from twenty-four to  forty-eight
hours, varying  in  different individuals.  All that was
needed, therefore, was to find out the habit of each one,
and then allowing connection with  the  male  only in the
first half of the period, or the last, and she could be made
to produce either a male or female at will.
  The importance and value  of such  a  discovery  as this
can scarcely be  over-estimated, and it must be remem-
bered that it applies  to all animals, without exception.
  It must be borne'in mind, however, that in animals who
lay many eggs  in  succession, like birds and bees, and
with whom one impregnation affects all the eggs laid for
a long time after, it is much more difficult to use the dis-
covery practically.   Still,  even with them, the first laid
eggs almost  always produce females, because not fully
matured, and the males come after.
  It is further to be observed, that if the ovulation, or egg-
laying, be continued too long, or if from any cause the
female's  generative  organs  be much weakened, the last
laid eggs may also be imperfectly formed, and again pro-
duce only females, as at first!
  Sometimes animals that are too richly  fed, and also live 
CAUSE OF THE DIFFERENCE IN SEX.      215
in too  artificial a  state all  the time, have the  period of
heat very imperfectly marked, and with them  therefore it
would  be difficult to apply the rule successfully.   It  is
much the same sometimes even  with human females,
many of whom menstruate very irregularly.  The result
thus obtained, therefore, by  these experiments is this:
That the sex of any new being depends upon the degree
of development of the egg from which it originated at the
time when that egg was impregnated.
  When an egg is formed in  any animal, it is  not fully
perfected when first separated from the ovary, but grad-
ually develops as it progresses along the female organs.
And if the male semen  impregnate it in the early,  or im-
perfect stage,  it produces a female, but if the impregna-
tion be delayed till the egg is  fully ripe it produces a male.
  This fact  is  as fully applicable to the human  female as
to any other, and  enables us, in nearly all cases, to pro-
duce either sex at will!  We have  only to bear in  mind
that menstruation, in the  human female, is strictly anal-
ogous to the rut in other beings, and that it is caused by
the production and throwing off of the egg.
  Now the egg of the human  female is at first  only par-
tially developed, though  capable  of being  impregnated,
and it ripens more perfectly during its  stay in the womb.
If impregnation occurs in the first, or imperfect state, the
egg will develop into a girl, but if it occurs  at a later pe-
riod, when  the egg is  perfected, it will develop  into  a
boy !
   The productio-n of either sex, therefore, depends upon  the
period when impregnation  takes place,  and  either boys  or
girls can thus  be produced at will!
  The rule may be broadly stated  thus .
   To produce girls impregnation must take place only on the
last day of the monthly period, or during the two first days
after it has  stopped.
   Top7'oduce boys  impregnation must not take place till at
least three days after the complete stoppage of the monthly
flow, and better not  till the fifth or  sixth.
   The egg  remains in  the womb  not more than about
twelve days after  the stoppage of the courses, in any case,
as  already explained,  and  usually not nearly so  long ;
perhaps averaging not  more than six or eight days. This
is the  limit during which it can be impregnated, and in
the first part of this time it is not fully perfected, and can 
216     CAUSE  OF THE DIFFERENCE IN  SEX.
 produce only a female.   Later, when more perfect, it pro-
 duces a  male, and still later, when over  ripe, it decom-
 poses, or breaks up,  and can no longer produce anything,
 or be impregnated.
  There are, of course, many differences  in different in-
 dividuals, not only as to the time during which the egg
 remains in the womb, but also as to the rate at which the
 egg ripens.
  In some females the egg ripens very quickly,  and con-
 sequently they may produce boys earlier  than others,
 while some, on the contrary,  ripen it very slowly, and
 they may produce  girls to a much later date than usual.
 There are some females apparently in whom the egg is
 always perfect from the first, and they  always bear boys,
 while in others it is never perfect, and  they, on  the  con-
 trary, always bear girls.  This is why the rule may some-
 times fail, but such cases are very rare.
  To  make  quite  sure of having female offspring, how-
 ever, connection should not  take  place after the second
 day following the stoppage of the monthly flow.   And to
 make sure of male offspring it should  not take  place till
 five or six days after.
  A little study of  the peculiarities of each parent should
 be made, and then there will be  no  difficulty in so advis-
 ing as to insure either sex that may be wished.
  In a previous article  it was shown to what an extent
 sex was influenced by several causes—such as difference
of age,  temperament, and physical condition ; these were
then thought to be  the actual causes of  sex.  We  now see
 that they are only secondary causes, and  act indirectly,
through some influence on the egg or the semen.  Thus!
for instance, a female, who is feeble, will perhaps be able
to develop the eggs only enough to produce females ;  or,
they may not be capable  of impregnation  till they reach
the male stage, the first, or female  stage, being too im-
perfect.  In  a vigorous female, on the contrary,  the eggs
may be  perfect enough  in  the  very earliest, or female
stage.
  It must be remembered, also, that the semen varies in
power, the same as the egg does  in degree of  develop-
ment, and thus the relative vigor of the two parents be-
comes an important indirect  influence in the production
of sex.  But all such influences operate  only partially
and in few cases. 
CAUSE  OF THE DIFFERENCE  IN SEX.     217
  The rules to be observed, then, are simply these :
  To insure a girl, practice association only on the last
day of the monthly flow, or during the  two first days that
follow its stoppage.
  Also let the woman avoid all kind of excitement or fa-
tigue, and use the most strengthening food, to insure the
greatest vigor ;  while the man should  do  the  reverse of
this.
  To insure a boy, never practice association till the sixth
day after the stoppage of the monthly flow.
  Also, let the male live in such a manner and take such
food as will insure the greatest bodily vigor, while the fe-
male should live low, and exhaust herself  to some extent
by bodily exertion.
  By observing these rules either sex may, in most cases,
be produced at will. 
CHAPTER   XV.
     ON CONNECTION AFTER CONCEPTION, AND ITS
                    CONSEQUENCES.

  Some persons suppose that when Conception has  oc-
curred no further association should take place between
man and wife until after  delivery.   One reason assigned
for such forbearance is, that sexual connection should
not be  indulged, except  for the purpose of procreation.
This notion is, however,  manifestly absurd,  and impossi-
ble to be acted upon.   There are but few females who
can tell when Conception has taken place,  till it is con-
siderably advanced, and  they must, therefore, either wait
a long time after each act, to see if such be the case, or
be continually breaking the rule.  But, independently of
this, there is no doubt whatever, that connection is proper
after Conception as well as before, providing it be  not
repugnant or  hurtful to  the female, and is not carried to
excess.   In no case, however, should it be indulged in if
it cause her suffering, or is disagreeable to  her, for then
it will have a most injurious effect upon the  Nervous Sys-
tem, and may also  lead  to miscarriage.   The  same  evil
results may also follow from excessive indulgence even
when not hurtful or disagreeable, and this must therefore
be avoided.
  So  far, however,  from  sexual  indulgence being  im-
proper  in all  cases  after conception,  various  evils may
sometimes follow from  its denial.  I have  known   in-
stances where such denial resulted in  a peculiar nervous
frenzy,  or partial derangement, and in miscarriage.   In
short, the indications and obvious requirements of Nature
should be the guide in this case, as in all others.
  Besides these reasons, there are also others, connected
with the child, which show the important influence of  this
after-union in many ways.   It is a question  often  asked,
whether the new being is in any way affected by connec-
tion after  impregnation  ? and a notion prevails,  exten-
            $1$ 
ON  CONNECTION AFTER CONCEPTION.      219
sively, that  in  some way or other it is so.   This notion,
like many others, has probably originated  merely from
observation, without any knowledge of fts  scientific  ac-
curacy,but, recently, its  truth has been  demonstrated by
experiment, as well as by observation.  Several intelli-
gent breeders of birds, and other animals, had long re-
marked that the male could influence the offspring after
conception, as well as before, and they  acted upon this
knowledge practically, in  the production and  preserva-
tion of  particular varieties.  Dr. Delfraysse, of Cahors,
in France, was the first, however, who recorded  any
special observations of this kind.   He found that the first
connection merely gave life, or impregnated the egg, and
that  the after-connections imparted to  the young  the
colors, oi the male, and  that the more this  after-cqnnec-
tion was repeated,  the more closely would  the offspring
resemble the father.  In  what way this effect is produced
it is difficult, in the present  state of our knowledge, to
even surmise ; but,  notwithstanding this, the fact is one
of great importance.  It  has been suggested that the re-
semblance to  the male  observed in such cases resulted
from  an effect  upon  the imagination  of  the female,
through the medium of the sight, the colors being, as it
were, impressed upon her mental vision.  This, however,
is not always the case at  least, even if it  be so occasion-
ally, for a friend of mine, at my request,  tried the experi-
ment  upon a Hen that had been  blind during the whole
of her  laying period, and in  her case, the  chickens pro-
duced  from her eggs  invariably resembled the male in
color, just in proportion  to the frequency with which as-
sociation  to«k  place.  And   in  another  instance,  two
Cows, when put to  the male, were both  blindfolded,  one
having  but  one connection, and  the  other  several.
Each brought  forth a calf ; that  from the  mother  who
had  but one  connection  resembling both parents,  but
mostly the mother, while that from the other, with whom
there  had  been  several connections,  resembled  the
male  parent  in  almost every particular  of color, mark-
ing,  and  general  appearance,  though  she had been
carefully blindfolded each time.  It is not through  the
imagination alone,  therefore, that the paternal  influence
is exerted, though it may probably be so in some cases, as
for instance, in that of the Mare and the Quagga, recorded
by Sir Everard Home.   The Quagga is a species of Ass, 
220     ON CONNECTION  AFTER  CONCEPTION.

striped like the Zebra, and  one of  these, a male, impieg-
nated an English Mare, in  the Park of the Earl of Mor-
ton, in Scotland.  There was but one  connection, and
the offspring was a  Hybrid,  or Mule,  marked like the
father.  This Hybrid remained with the  mare about four
months, and probably she  might also have seen it again
about ten  months afterwards.  After  this, during  the
next five years, she had four foals by an Arabian  Horse,
and strange to say, though she had not seen  the Quagga
during this  time, they were,  nevertheless,  all marked
more or less like  him.  Now if this singular resemblance
were effected through the imagination of the mother, as
Sir Everard supposes, the  most wonderful circumstance
is, that the effect should endure so long, even after the
Quagga was removed.   It rather  makes it probable, in
my opinion, that  some permanent  influence was exerted
upon the Female Ovary, as in some other cases  that  I
shall allude  to further on, when speaking of the perma-
nent influence  of the male upon  the offspring of  the fe-
male.  I am not  disposed, however, to deny the influence
of the imagination altogether in all cases.
  In the human  being  it is, of course,  more difficult to
make corresponding  observations, but still it is not im-
possible.  My own professional ministrations have been
so confidential and so numerous, that I have enjoyed op-
portunities   of  testing  this  interesting  question very
fully, and I  am satisfied that  the  same  rule holds good
in regard to human  beings, as with the animals already
referred to.   In our  own species, however,  it is  not  in
respect to the color of the skin that the influence  of the
male  in after  connection is made manifest, so much as
in the color of the hair and  eyes, and  in  the  expression  of
the features, though the peculiar tint of  the  father's skin
as to being light or dark, is often so imparted.  Certain
propensities, habits, and modes of  thought are also given
in the same way.  I have  made  many observations  of
cases in which  all  the necessary  particulars  were fully
known to me, and invariably I have found that the child
resembled the father in proportion  to  the frequency with
which association was practiced after conception.  The
mere bodily resemblance seems to be  most readily im-
parted, especially the color and expression of the eyes,
and the color of the hair.  The mental qualities and dis-
position are more apt to vary, unless the  connection  is 
ON  CONNECTION AFTER CONCEPTION.      221
very frequent, and then in the majority of cases they will
be like those of the Father.  I have known married per-
sons act upon these principles, in order to produce cer-
tain characters in their offspring, and with great success.
In all  such cases it has been  found  that the more fre-
quently connection takes place after conception, the more
decidedly the  child will  resemble the Father, especially
in the particulars  above mentioned, while if such after-
connection take place but seldom, or not at all, it will, on
the contrary,  resemble  the mother  in the  same  way.
This fact may often  be of great service to married per-
sons,  as it gives  them  a certain  power over  their off
spring, and enables them to ensure or prevent the trans-
mission of the character  of either one at will,  if  it be de-
sirable to do so.
  This influence, it should be  remarked, does not,  how-
ever, extend to the sex of the child, which depends upon
other causes,  and this must  be considered,  because  it
might be advisable to impart the character of  one of the
parents to a male  child  but not to a  female, or the re-
verse.   When  all  these  matters are  fully understood, I
have  no doubt but  that any form of  body, any disposi-
tion, and any given  character of mind, as well  as either
sex, may be given to every child before its birth !   Such
a statement may seem strange to those who  have not
considered these matters scientifically, but, to those who
have, it will be nothing new or surprising.  I have known
breeders of Birds and other animals,  for instance, who
would undertake to produce, in a given number of young,
either ninety per cent, of males or females, just as might
be desired, and alike  in color to a hair or a feather,  be-
sides  being all endowed alike with certain  prominent
traits of character.  And when the procreation of the hu-
man being is as carefully attended to as that of these infe-
rior beings, the results will be equally certain, the Organic
and Physiological laws being the same in both, in regard
to this function.  I leave every person of common sense
to answer the question  for himself,  whether  it is not
more important to understand these laws in  relation  to
the human being than in relation to the inferior animals
alone ?—It seems clear to my mind that it is  only by at-
tending to such laws that the  human race can be truly
and permanently improved in body and mind, and made
to attain its fullest perfection of development.   By edu- 
 222      ON CONNECTION AFTER CONCEPTION.

 cation after birth, we can only partially modify and regu-
 late the development of the bodily and mental powers
 with which  the  individual is born, and very often  their
 natural force successfully resists the  most powerful  in-
 fluences we can bring to bear upon them, which  is  the
 reason why education frequently fails either in preventing
 evil or in leading to good.   By acting upon those laws,
 however, which govern the child's organization, mentally
 and bodily, before its birth, every power and quality may
 be  made to  have precisely that degree of development
 which may be most desirable, so that education will  al-
 ways  produce  the  results we wish from it, and disease
 and vice be for ever removed.   At present, however, it
 is scarcely allowable to  talk of  improving human  beings
 by such means,  though it is thought quite right, and even
 praiseworthy  to do so respecting Dogs, Horses, and
 Cows ; as if they were of the most consequence.
  My readers will bear in mind that the Law I have now
 been explaining, when fully stated is this,  That frequent
 connection after conception causes the offspring  to  re-
 semble the Father,  and that no connection afterwards, or
 but very little, causes it to resemble the Mother.  This is
 undoubtedly  true in the great majority of  cases, and the
 degree of resemblance will  usually be proportionate to
 the frequency in the one case, and to the unfrequency in
 the other.  If, therefore, no connection took  place  after
 conception, as some contend should be the case, all chil-
 dren  would  in time resemble their mothers  only, and
 diere  would be a uniform and unbroken transmission of
certain fixed characters, without any variation,  which, of
.course, would be a great evil, even if it did  not in time ex-
 anguish the race.   On the other hand, if the  after con-
nection were  always frequent, children would as constantly
resemble their Fathers,  which is equally undesirable.  To
produce a mixture  of the characters of both,  therefore,
when  it is best to do so, the after association should oc-
cur, if other considerations do not forbid it, to a moderate
extent, according to  the  peculiar habits, temperaments,
and relative vigor  and age of both parties,   This will,
however, be  better  understood  by referring  to what is
stated in another part  of this book, on the proper fre-
quency of sexual association.
  An  interesting question arises,  further, when  a female
conceives by one  man  whether connection  afterwards 
ON  CONNECTION AFTER CONCEPTION.      223
with another man would cause the child to resemble him,
the second partner ?  Of course, such a  question is  not
easy of solution in regard to human beings, but from ob-
servations made upon animals, it seems certain that the
second partner can really impart his likeness to the child
that was begotten by the first ?  So that  the second part-
ner could actually exert more influence, or impart more
resemblance than the Father himself, who only gives life,
but not form and character !
  In one instance I knew a widow who secretly married in
about three months after. the death  of her husband,  and
while, as it appeared afterwards, she was pregnant by him.
The child, however, resembled her second husband, though
there was almost a certainty that no previous infidelity
had been practiced, because the individual was at a  dis-
tance when the conception must have occurred.
  Observation has even shown that if a female have as-
sociation, at any time, with a man who  exerts a strong
influence upon her, that any children she may have after-
wards will be liable to resemble him, though they may
be by other Fathers.  This singular fact  is explained by
supposing that,  in the act of sexual union, the male not
only impregnates the  Egg then ripe, but also exerts  a
more or less permanent influence upon the Ovary, owing
to which other Eggs, yet undeveloped, have a tendency
afterwards to bring forth new beings upon the  same plan,
or  resembling each other.  This was probably the case
with the  mare impregnated by the Quagga, above re-
ferred to,  and it explains why the  Foals produced after-
wards, though begotten by a horse, still resembled the
other animal.
  Instances of a precisely  similar character  are  some-
times seen in  human beings.  Thus a female married a
second time will have children resembling the first  hus-
band, and  sometimes even in a third marriage, as I have
witnessed myself.   Such remarkable resemblances can be
explained only by supposing a permanent influence to be
exerted by the male ;  and probably that influence is likely
to be exerted most  powerfully by the first partner.   The
true explanation of these remarkable facts should be gen-
erally known,  to prevent improper and unjust suspicions,
which I have known to be entertained in such cases, and
which, in the  absence of proper information,  might well
be  excused. 
 224      ON CONNECTION AFTER CONCEPTION.

   Many persons would suppose immediately that these
 resemblances were simply the result of imagination, but
 I do not think so, at  least not always.  In another place,
 when speaking of  the influence of the male  after concep-
 tion, I give some facts to show that such results were oc-
 casionally seen, in cases where  the imagination could not
 be exercised, and many of those facts apply to the present
 question.  I have  known instances of this influence, both
 in the lower animals and in human beings in which the
 influence of the first partner was visible  for a long  time
 afterwards, and in which I  was assured  the imagination
 had no share.
   Breeders of animals are aware of many such facts, and
 have frequently stated them to me.  Thus,  for instance,
 when a mare has a mule foal by an ass, it will frequently
 happen,  if she  have  a foal afterwards  by a horse, that it
 will to a certain extent resemble the ass.   This resem-
 blance is most frequently  traced in the form  of the mouth
 and lips, and in the greater  length of the ears.   A friend
 of mine, at my request, tried some experiments  on  sev-
 eral animals  for the express purpose of testing this curi-
 ous question, and  the result was a striking  confirmation
 of the truth of  the explantion I have given.  Many  of
 these  experiments  were so managed that  the imagination
 could not possibly operate,  and yet the influence of the
 first  partner  was  distinctly perceptible during  several
 conceptions afterwards.  We can only come to  the con-
 clusion, therefore,  that the male does often  exert a per-
 manent influence on  the  female organs, and especially
 by the first acts of association.   In all  probability this
 permanent effect is most likely to be seen when the male
 is relatively the more vigorous, or where the association
 has been very frequent, but it may be manifested even
after a single act,  as was  shown in some of the experi-
ments  made by my friend.  Among other singular cases
bearing on this subject I may also mention the following,
which was told me by an old physician in Scotland, who
knew  all the  parties concerned.   A young female  was
forcibly violated by  a person whom she  did not know,
and under such circumstances that she could not see him ;
it was  known, however, by her friends who he was, but
from a wish to avoid exposure, the occurrence was kept
secret, though  unfortunately  she became  pregnant in
consequence.   The child  strongly resembled its guilty 
ON  CONNECTION'AFTER CONCEPTION.      225
parent, and what was still more singular, she married,
and had two other children which  also resembled  him,
though by her  husband, the  young man having left the
country in consequence of his offence.  Every  one will
see how naturally unjust suspicions might be entertained
in many such cases, if they were not explained.
  In the procreation of  animals such facts may be of the
greatest importance.   Life may  be given, for instance,
by the male that has the most constitutional  stamina or
vigor, and yet  particular qualities may also be obtained
from others, in which he may be deficient,
*■& 
CHAPTER  XVI.
              DOUBTFUL OR DOUBLE  SEX.

  It is generally supposed that individuals are occasion-
ally born that are both male and female, and it is certain
that sometimes it^s very difficult  to decide upon the sex,
through the form of  the  genitals  being so unusual.  In
the lower animals, perfect Hermaphrodites are not at all
unusual, especially  in those that are low  down  in the
scale of organization.  Indeed Hermaphrodism becomes
more frequent in proportion as we descend, till, in some
of the  very lowest species, there are none but Herma-
phrodites, each individual  being both male and female,
impregnating itself,  and bringing forth its own  young
without the  concurrence of any other individual.  In
none of the  so-called  Hermaphrodites in the human be-
ing, however, is this ever the case.   They cannot per-
form the  functions  of both  sexes,  though  uninformed
persons suppose  they can, not  even when the resem-
blance  to both is most perfect.  All such cases are either
of one  sex, with some  deformity  which also makes them
resemble the other, or else they are  mere monstrosities,
and, properly speaking, of no sex at all.
  The  greater number of  so-called  Hermaphrodites are
truly females, in whom  the Clitoris has assumed an un-
usual development,  so  as to resemble the male  Penis.
In some instances this development has been so large, and
the power of erection in the part so complete, that it could
be used like  the male organ, with another  female.  In
other cases, the Womb has been  extruded from the Va-
gina, and  while in  that  situation  has been  used for  a
similar purpose, and supposed by ignorant persons to be
truly a male organ.  A proper investigation, however,
soon reveals the truth in all such  instances.
  In men  we sometimes find the Scrotum  cleft, and an
opening through  it into  the bladder, which has been
taken for a Vagina.  In such formations it is occasionally
possible for one of the same sex to have connection, by
             (226) 
DOUBTFUL  OR DOUBLE SEX.          227
the unnatural passage, but, of course, without any result,
there being neither Womb nor Ovaries, and, of course,
no Ova.
  Cases  of sexual monstrosity are found of infinite va-
riety, all of which it is neither necessary nor useful to
describe.
  Many  of these deformed females who are called her-
maphrodites, also resemble  the male in other respects,
such as the form of the Pelvis and shoulders, the short-
ness of the hair, and tone of voice, and  also occasionally
in having an imperfect beard.  This has still further led
to wrong conclusions and has tended to confirm  the pop-
ular misapprehension.  M.  Beclard describes a curious
case of this kind, and I have  met  with  several such my-
self.   In one instance that I saw, a young person of six-
teen, who  had always been  considered and treated as a
boy,  was  found, upon full examination,  to be really a
girl.   The Vagina was completely closed by a membrane
across its  external  mouth, and  the  Clitoris was at the
same  time much enlarged, so that there seemed  to be
something like a male organ  but no  indication of the
usual  female  passage.  This led to  the mistake, which
probably would never have been rectified but for her fall-
ing sick, and complaining of peculiar pains in the  abdo-
men,  the  character of which  induced  an  examination,
which led  to the discovery.   It was with the greatest dif-
ficulty that I  could convince the  parents that  they had
 mistaken  the sex of their child,  whom they insisted in
 considering a boy.   I felt  certain, however,   that the
 pains complained of arose from  Menstruation,  and that
 the usual flow  would be seen  if the  Vagina were not
 closed.  I, therefore, made a thorough examination of
 the membrane, and determined  to puncture it,  so as to
 open  the  passage which I  ascertained existed beyond.
 A small incision was accordingly made,  through  which
 a  probe readily  passed  to  the  usual  depth of the Va-
 gina,  without  any difficulty.   This was kept open, and
 gradually enlarged till  the finger could  be introduced,
 when the Womb was distinctly felt  at  the top, and in a
 short time after the  Menstrual flow occurred,  and con-
 tinued regularly.  The only deformity now  existing was
 the enlarged Clitoris, and this, at the earnest request  of
 the parents  was amputated,  till it  was no larger than
 usual.  She  was now perfectly  female, and in a short 
228          DOUBTFUL  OR DOUBLE  SEX.
time, little  or no difference could be seen between her
and most other young women of the same age.   If this
had not been done, she would always have been  consid-
ered an imperfect male, or an hermaphrodite, and would
have led a life of misery in consequence.  I have since
heard that she afterward married and became a mother.
It is worthy of remark, that previous to  the operation,
her general appearance was  certainly more that of a boy
than a girl, the  hair  being quite short, the voice rough,
and the Pelvis quite narrow.   Very soon after the opera-
tion,  however, and  especially  after Menstruation had
begun, the appearance changed rapidly, so that in a short
time she differed but little from  other young persons of
her sex.  The hair grew long, the  voice softened in its
tone, and the Pelvis rapidly attained its full dimensions.
  In the year 1818, an hermaphrodite  was exhibited in
London, but on  examination by  a  medical class, she
turned out to be a female with an enlarged Clitoris.
  A celebrated Prussian physician, Rudolphi, gave a de-
scription before the Academy of Sciences, in Berlin, in
the year 1825, of the most perfect case of admixture of
the sexes perhaps ever seen.  It was a child that  died
soon after  its birth, and  which was found to possess a
Testicle on one side and an Ovary on the other, besides
a Uterus, Vagina, and Penis.  In this case the two sexes
were undoubtedly united, but had it lived, no doubt both
sets of organs- would have been  inactive,  or  one set
would  have disappeared and left the other.  No single
instance has ever been known, in the human species, in
which both sets of organs  performed  their functions in
the same  individual.   Uninformed people  judge from
mere  external  appearances,  and  these  are often de-
ceptive.
  A curious  instance  occurred a short time  ago, in one
of the Eastern States, in  which an individual who had
always passed as a man voted at an election, which was
decided by that one  vote, but the  losing party objected
to it, on the ground that the voter was a woman.  It be-
ing a case of doubtful sex, what decision  was come to I
never ascertained, but the question was a curious  one,
and must, of course, be decided by medical examination.
  In many of these cases,  the inclination of the  individ-
ual is sufficient to decide  the question, as they nearly al-
ways desire to associate with those of the opposite sex. 
DOUBTFUL  OR DOUBLE SEX.          229
   Perhaps the most complete  case  of hermaphrodism,
among the higher order of animals, was observed by Dr.
Harlan, on an Orang-Outang.  It had Ovaries, Fallopian
Tubes, Uterus, and Vagina—being a  complete female ap-
paratus,  and  also  two Testicles, Epididymi, and Vasa
Deferentia, and a perfect Penis, being a complete male
apparatus.
  Among neat cattle there are  often found instances of a
curious admixture of the sexes, in what is called  the Free
Martin.   They occur in this way.  When a cow has twip
calves, one male, and the other apparently female, the
male will  grow up into a perfect bull,  but the  other is
often of no sex at all, or rather of both.  There  is,  to  a
certain extent, a development of both sets of organs, but
each imperfect, and sometimes they will both admit the
male, and also attempt to associate with the female, but,
of course, neither act is productive, all which is fully ex-
plained, and many  curious cases given, in Origin of Life.
  The case represented by  Plates XXXI and XXXII, is
that of a  female who died in the Fever Hospital, Leeds,
England.   Her previous history was unknown, and as no
one claimed the body, it was sent to the dissecting-room,
when the  curious  conformation  of the  Genital  Organs
was  first noticed.
  It will be seen that the Clitoris is so developed as to
resemble a real Penis, and that it also has a perfect pas-
sage  or Urethra,  down it, communicating with the blad-
der,  and down which in  all probability, the urine could
flow.  In  every other respect the organs are in no wise
different from other females,  but the Clitoris could, in all
probability, erect and perform the part of a Penis.
  Fig. I shows  the appearance  when  the  Clitoris  was
lifted up towards the abdomen, and Fig. 2. when  it was
hanging down, in  its  most usual position.  In  its col-
lapsed condition, it measured  about two  inches and a
half in length, or about half the  average size of the male
Penis, and, when erect, must have measured four or five
inches in  length.   Its  diameter was probably  about an
inch and  a quarter, and its structure evidently indicated
that  it was capable of perfect  congestion and ecection.
Every other organ was normal, except the Ovaries, which
were  very large, and in appearance much resembled the
male  Testicles!  They were undoubtedly female  in their
action, however,  for she  had,  in  all  probability been
pregnant,  &£ tlisre were Corpora, Lutea. 
PLATE  XXXI.
VIEW OF THE  ORGANS WHEN THE CLITORIS
  WAS RAISED  UP TOWARD THE  ABDOMEN.
EXPLANATION.
A. a probe passed down  the  passage in the Clitoris.—
  B. The Glans of  the Clitoris or Penis. —C. The probe
  passing out of the lower end of the passage down the
  Clitoris, close by the  Meatus Urinarius, or mouth of
  the passage into the bladder, which was the same as in
  other females.—D. The folds, or rugae, in the entrance
  of the Vagina.—E. The commencement of  the  pas-
  sage down the Clitoris at the top of the Glans.
          230 
              PLATE  XXXIL

VIEW OF THE ORGANS WITH THE CLITORIS
  HANGING DOWN  IN  ITS  NATURAL  POSI-
  TION, WHEN NOT ERECT.

                      Fig. 2.
A. A. The Large Lips.—B. The Glands of the Clitoris.—
  C. C. The  Body  of the Clitoris, or Penis.—D. The
  Vagina.—E. The Opening in the Glans.
  It is probable that the Urine actually passed down the
passage in the Clitoris when  that hung down, but that it
passed out of the natural opening (at C. Fig. i)  when
the Clitoris was held up.  There seems little doubt of
this organ having been fully  capable of the usual func-
tions of the Penis with another female.
                                     231 
CHAPTER XVII.
INFLUENCE OF THE IMAGINATION OVER THE GENERATIVE
            FUNCTIONS, AT EVERY PERIOD.

  As a general rule, there can be no doubt that the sexual
instinct is first awakened by the Generative Organs, but af-
ter it has been once called into action, it may be afterwards
awakened by the imagination alone, which also exerts  a
peculiar and marked influence over its manifestations.
It is certain that if the Generative Organs do not  exist,
there will never be any sexual desire,  which  is  a  proof
that the action of the brain is merely reflex, or secondary,
and not primary.  It is  true that some infants have been
known to excite  themselves even before the organs were
perfectly formed, but such anomalies are evidently owing
to a peculiar local sensibility, constituting a disease of the
parts, and  in no way invalidate the obvious principle we
have laid down.   In all such cases the unnatural and pre-
cocious sensibility disappears immediately when the or-
gans are restored to a healthy condition.
  Sexual desire, therefore, at first, originates from a pos-
itive want, arising from organic action,  the same as hun-
ger arises from  the want of food.  Very soon, however,
this want awakens the  imagination, which often acts so
forcibly as to increase the desire  a thousand fold.  This
is especially the  case in cities, where there are  so  many
causes to call forth the instincts prematurely, and to keep
its gratification almost constantly denied.   Some peculiar
temperaments also and certain organizations, are more
disposed to a preponderance of this desire than others.
  That acute observer, J.J. Rousseau, has well exhibited
the effects of the Imagination upon  the sexual  instincts,
particularly in his " Emile."  Buffon had  remarked, be-
fore him, that young persons were more precocious in
cities than in the  country, simply because they were fed
en more stimulating f**od "^nd were warmer housed and
            #32) 
INFLUENCE OF THE IMAGINATION.       23o"
clothed.   Rousseau remarked, however, that this explan-
ation is not the true one, but  that it  is owing more to
difference in manners and habits, and this is undoubtedly
correct.  In those places where  the  people live a quiet,
simple life, with nothing to excite the imagination, sexual
manifestations are not seen till late in life, and then not
strongly ; but where the manners are  free,  and  social
observances lax, it  is the reverse, though their nourish-
ment may be poor and scant.   It is undoubted that food
and  clothing exert a great influence, and  in some cases
more than in others, but the  imagination  often exerts a
greater, particularly over the  first manifestations, as  is
well shown in the article on " Menstruation."
  It is probable that there are many causes inherent in
the present constitution of society, which,  in  spite of all
we  can do,  have an invariable tendency to inflame the
imagination on these subjects, and to direct attention to
them at an early period.  The very concealments which
are now necessary, even become  provocatives, and,  per'
haps, have more to do with these evils than we suppose
Rousseau remarks 'that children have a  peculiar sagacity
in seeing  through all these concealments,  and in detect-
ing every artifice that is made use of to blind them.  The
mysterious language that they hear, and the  half-hidden
acts of tenderness that  they see, he remarks, are only so
many stimulants to their curiosity, and, in all probability,
they learn more from  these attempted precautions,  than
from any other lessons.
  Even dress, necessary though  it be, and conducive  to
true modesty, as  it  undoubtedly is calculated  to  be, has
yet had its share  in  these  teachings.   The half-conceal-
ment—half-disclosure which it leads  to, and  sometimes
even  the  exaggeration which  it causes,  excites curiosity,
and gives the imagination  a boundless and mysterious
field to roam in.  Such evils are, perhaps,  unavoidable in
the present state of society, but the conviction arises  irre-
sistibly, to all who consider  the subject fairly, that in a
more enlightened age they will be corrected.
  Between the two sexes there is a wide difference as  to
the manner in which the imagination acts, owing to the
difference in their  characters  and organization.   In the
young woman  there are two powerful  sentiments which
oppose  each other, and  which, by their antagonism origi-
nate those caprices and  eccentricities which are so capti' 
234       INFLUENCE  OF THE IMAGINATION.
vating at the same time that they are so tantalizing.  In the
first place she naturally desires to please, and all her arts
and actions towards the other sex have this object in view.
It is essential to her happiness,  to her very existence
even, that she should endeavor to  be liked, or loved, and
no misery is so great to her as the consciousness that her
endeavors are in  vain.  That being that has not this de-
sire  of pleasing is not a woman, in character, though she
may be a female in  organization.  In the second place
there is a sentiment in woman of modesty or shame, which
controls her desire to please, and prevents her from ex-
hibiting  that  desire   in the way she would  wish  to do.
These two sentiments  are, therefore,  continually strug-
gling for the mastery, and their alternate  and intermixed
manifestations produce that bewildering  but  universally
adored mystery the female character.   Sometimes one of
these sentiments  preponderates and sometimes the other,
and  sometimes they properly control each other, and this
gives us a key to all the apparent  vagaries which this pe-
culiar character  presents.  When shame preponderates
we have prudery, when the desire  of pleasing preponder-
ates we have forwardness  or  coquetry,  and when  both
are properly  active we have that affable, engaging de-
meanor, corrected by true modesty, which makes woman
truly entitled to the name of Angel, and commands rev-
erence even when it does  not awaken Love.
  So intimately are these two sentiments connected with
the female character that we see  them exhibited at the
earliest  age, even little girls being Prudes, Coquets, and
true women, equally with those of more mature years.
  With man this is totally different.  He  desires more to
be pleased than to  please others, and has but little  of that
sentiment which would lead him to conceal his feelings.
He,  therefore, makes the  first advances, and  presses his
suit, while woman coyly resists, and pretends indifference
even when her ardor  is really equal to  his own.   Upon
two  such different characters it is obvious  the imagination
must exert a very different influence,  and with a differ-
ent degree of force.   From peculiarities in her organiza-
tion, explained in the article on menstruation, the-female
is most  under its  dominion, and it is in reference  to her,
therefore, that its power  over the Generative Functions
is most  marked, though it is manifest enough  in both.
  Many cases in  which the imagination  is  supposed to 
INFLUENCE OF THE IMAGINATION.       235
have  exerted  a peculiar power, especially in pregnancy,
have  really been  produced more by the imagination  of
other people, but still  there are sufficient authentic cases
upon record, some of which are instructing as well as in-
teresting.
  The celebrated Descartes had for his first love a young
lady who squinted, and never after could he admire any
one who saw straight.   His imagination associated  all
her charms with  that  peculiar obliquity of vision, and
could not see them if that were absent.
  Raymond Lully, the great Philosopher and Chemist,
was violently  enamored  of a beautiful Spanish  lady
named Elenora, who returned his affection, and even en-
couraged his advances  to  a certa'in extent, but whenever
he pressed her to grant him the last favor, invariably re-
fused, though evidently not offended at  his  importunity.
He discovered  eventually that her objection to a closer
intimacy arose from  her  having a Cancer in the  breast,
which she wished  to  keep secret, and thus  there was a
perpetual struggle between her love and her shame. This
discovery instantly cooled all his ardor, but did  not ex-
tinguish his love.   His imagination instantly pictured to
him how delightful it would be  to effect her cure, and
then claim his happiness as a reward, thus ensuring both
her love and her gratiude.  All his talents and time were
henceforth  devoted, almost without intermission, to this
special object, and no doubt his mind constantly revelled
in the delightful anticipation of success.   Unfortunately,
however, he  did  not succeed,  the  disease was proof
against his science, and probably more powerfnl than his
love.
  I once knew an instance myself where a young man's
desire, was quenched instantly and permanently on his
marriage,  by the  discovery that his  wife was  marked
across the  bosom by a large  Ncevi, which looked like a
burn.   Her bust was faultless in form, and his imagina-
tion had no doubt often pictured it as being, equally beau-
teous  and  perfect  in every  other respect;  when this
blemish  was so unexpectedly discovered, therefore, all his
feelings  underwent a  complete  revulsion,  and  disgust
took the place of admiration.
   Many similar instances might  be  given,  and perhaps
more cases of  mutual unhappiness after marriage arises
from such discoveries than is usually supposed.  Especially 
236       INFLUENCE OF  THE IMAGINATION.
may this be the case where young females are induced or
forced to marry old men, or those who have  been debau-
chees, as is  too often the case.  A  melancholy instance
of this kind  occurred  but a short time ago, not far from
New York, which resulted in the suicide of the unfortu-
nate victim,  her horror and disgust when the actual con-
dition of her husband was known completely overpowered
her reason.  Many under such  circumstances drag out a
miserable  life  in constant despair and  grief, while their
friends  and  the public  generally, offer congratulations
upon the excellent alliances they have  formed.  In very
many cases  the imagination, working under the veil of
ignorance, forms such perfect pictures of the object loved,
both bodily  and mentally, that humanity  as it actually
exists can  never come up to them, and  the  consequence
is that the reality is sure to disappoint.   The ardent im-
aginations of females  make them peculiarly liable to this
romantic dreaming, and  they  are,' therefore, more  fre-
quently the  victims of this* disappointment, which they
feel acutely, and many even never forget.
  How  far  the  imagination  may  influence the Sexual
Functions it is of course difficult to tell, though it is un-
deniable that it does so to a great  extent.*  In my work
on " The  Male System," this has been well exemplified
by cases,  a  few of which, with  the remarks thereon, I
shall quote.

"§ INFLUENCE OF THE MIND OVER THE  GENERATIVE OR-
                        GANS.
  It is a fact not generally known that  the mind can ex-
ert an influence over  the Generative Organs of  a most
decided character.  Not only can desire be engendered
or annihilated  by mental impressions,  in  despite of all
other conditions, but  the actual growth  or  development
of the organs themselves  can be retarded or accelerated
by the same means.   I  have known men who  never felt
sexual desire,  and whose organs were  very imperfectly
developed until a late period, and then quite suddenly the
long-suppressed feelings were experienced, and the parts
began to grow, simply from the stimulus of seeing some
person  of the  sex  who was adapted to  make the proper
impression upon their minds. Such instances are,  indeed,
by no  means  rare, as every person of  experience must
know,  and they prove that, in many cases at least, a cer- 
           INFLUENCE OF  THE  IMAGINATION.       237

tain impression  must be made upon the mind before the
mere animal feeling can  be experienced or the physical
development take place ; or, in other words, they prove
that with some persons there are only certain individuals
of the opposite  sex  who can call forth those feelings in
them, and that if they never meet with these individuals
it is probable that such feelings will never be experienced,
or at least only to a slight extent.
  A knowledge  of this fact will often explain to us many
of those distressing cases of indifference and  dislike to be
met with between  parties,  and will also  be a valuable
guide  in giving advice, particularly  in those instances
where there is only apparent impotence without any real
deficiency.
  There seems to be good reason to suppose  that the sex-
ual instinct is materially dependent upon a particular part
of the brain,  though we cannot tell what  part it is, nor
whether it is a mere development of it that  is needed or
some peculiarity of  structure or organization.  It is not
at all uncommon to  find men perfectly organized in every
respect, with vigorous minds, and with every other fac-
ulty in full  play, but yet almost  wholly destitute of desire
for sexual enjoyment.  In some of  these cases it is true
the Generative  Organs  are  small, or evidently inactive,
but in others they are of full average development, healthy
and active.   In  such cases we  can  only account for the
singular indifference exhibited by supposing that the part
of the brain which regulates the reproductive instinct has
not had sufficient power, or else that the proper object has
not yet been presented to the senses, as before explained.
   Besides this particular influence the Generative Organs
can also be much affected  by the  general action of th?
brain and  nervous  system, the  same as all  the other ox-
gans.   Thus  if a man exhaust most of his nervous en,
ergy  in thinking, or in muscular energy, the  other  func,
tions, including the generative, must be  proportionally
weakened.  I have met many  instances  of  this among
men of business, many of whom would become quite im-
potent when more  than usually absorbed in their pursuits,
and regain  their powers in a short time after their care
and anxiety were  lessened.  The following case of this
kind  I select from my note-book  as being more than
usually instructive.  The patient, a young man of twenty-
eight, had been married three years, and  had one child; 
238      INFLUENCE  OF THE IMAGINATION.
he was very fond of his wife, and she  in return recipro-
cated his affection.   He had never been addicted to ex-
cesses or abuses of any kind, and until about six months
before I saw him was in the full enjoyment of his genera-
tive powers.  About that time, however, he experienced
a sudden and severe*, loss in his  business, which had pre'
viously been very prosperous, and the  care, anxiety, and
incessant exertion he underwent in endeavoring to extri-
cate  himself from his  embarrassments, brought on vari-
ous physical and mental troubles that he had never before
experienced.  Among  the rest he found himself perfectly
impotent, having completely lost both power and desire.
This  distressed  him very much, both  for the loss itself
and also from apprehension that it was the  beginning of
general  decay.   In this dilemma he came to consult me,
and was exceedingly anxious to know my opinion as to
the prospect of his ultimate recovery.  After  a careful
examination, I felt convinced that there was no  actual
loss  of power,  but merely a temporary absence of  the
requisite nervous stimulus, owing to the excessive mental
labor and anxiety he had undergone. I therefore inquired
as to  his future prospects, and was gratified  to learn that
he was now quite relieved of his difficulties and was be-
ginning to regain his usual health and spirits.  On learn-
ing this, I unhesitatingly assured him that in a short  time
his generative powers would return, and more especially
if he could abandon all care and thought about them.   I
gave him a slight stimulus, and  some general directions
as to diet, external treatment and exercise, and arranged
to see him  twice a week.  In one  month afterwards he
was as well as ever, though he had been for nearly seven
months as impotent as  if the organs had been totally de-
stroyed.  I  have also  frequently had  business  men re-
mark to me that they were liable to experience more or
less deprivation of sexual power, and  to feel much  less
desire, at those periods of the year when trade was most
active, and their minds in consequence more absorbed.
An author  also told me that when writing any very par-
ticular part  of a book,  or when  anxiously expecting the
criticism of  the press after its issue, he was  always for a
time perfectly impotent.   In the lives of several  severe
students we have further corroboration of this fact, many
of them having  been remarkable for their coldness  and
incapacity,  particularly those engaged in absorbing  ab- 
INFLUENCE OF THE  IMAGINATION.       239
stra:t studies like the mathematics.  Sir Isaac Newton is
said to have never known sexual ardor, though in every
respect  a perfectly formed man,  and it is probable that
this was in a great measure, if not entirely,  owing to his in-
cessant and all-absorbing studies.  In short there is  no
question but that intense mental  occupation lessens sex-
ual ardor in most persons, and  that it  may sometimes
even extinguish it  altogether.   This is a fact of consider-
able importance both medically and morally, and one that
should be more fully considered than it has hitherto been.
There is no doubt  that a great part of the licentiousness
which exists, particularly in youth, is in a great measure
brought  about, or at least made  much worse, by mental
and bodily idleness. If the mind is not occupied by some
proper and congenial study, that  will pleasingly  engage
it at every leisure moment, a habit will soon be formed of
indulging lascivious thoughts during such vacant periods,
and if at the same  time a due proportion of  the vital  en-
ergy is not absorbed in physical exertion, the sexual  or-
gans will soon become so constantly and intensely excited
that such thoughts will beccme paramount over all others.
I once pointed  out the philosophy of this  to a gentleman
who had  come  to consult me  both for himself and  for
his son, aged  seventeen.  The father was nearly impo-
tent from intense occupation  in  business,  and the  son
was nearly dead from constant licentiousness and intem-
perance.  I found on inquiry that the young man  had
been  brought up  as a gentleman, and was not  even  ex-
pected to employ  himself with anything useful ;  in con-
sequence of which, from mere idleness, he resorted to li-
centiousness and drinking as a regular occupation, till he
was  scarcely capable of anything else.   Moral  suasion
was utterly useless to effect a change, and habit was too
strong for the fear of consequences to'break through, so
that it seemed as if nothing could be done but  abandon him
to his fate.  His father bitterly deplored the condition of
his son, and earnestly entreated me to give him  any in-
formation I thought likely to be of service in preventing
similar misfortunes to his younger brother.
   On explaining to him how the  sexual power and pro-
pensity is influenced by a proper exercise of the  rest of
the system, the philosophy of his own and his son's con-
dition was immediately apparent.   "Yes," exclaimed  he,
" I have  exhausted myself by over-exertion, and at the 
240       INFLUENCE OF THE IMAGINATION.
same time, I  have left my son a prey to his licentious
desires merely from idleness.   I now see plainly enough
that had  part of my burden been laid on  his shoulders it
might have saved both, but from mistaken kindness, and
false pride, I condeihned him to a life of inactivity, and
consequent depravity, and myself  to a drudgery that has
left me a mere ruin of what I was."  Now this is a case
instructive to all, and there are many others  in society
precisely similar.
  Certain mental and moral conditions are also very in-
fluential  over  the generative functions, but only tempo-
rarily, or with particular persons.  Thus some men have
found themselves   suddenly impotent, with  certain fe-
males, merely from  disgust at something  that was unex-
pectedly  displeasing in them,  and  others have experi-
enced the  same difficulty from the fear of discovery or
infection.  Some men  will experience a total  loss  of
power on finding their companions too cold, or too ar-
dent, or  meeting with some unusual difficulty, but per-
haps the  most frequent cause is  Timidity, or self-distrust.
I have  known  several men, every way competent,  who
were so  possessed  with the idea of their own  incapacity,
that they invariably became impotent whenever they at-
tempted  an approach to the other  sex.  This  timidity is
sometimes exhibited in the most striking manner,  the
patient being intensely agitated, and so nervous that his
whole frame  trembles, and his bodily powers sink  so
much that often fainting  ensues.  This  peculiarity  ap-
pears to  be constitutional, and is often seen in those who
are by no means nervous,  in the ordinary acceptation  of
the term, and who are collected enough in  regard  to
other matters.  The only  remedy for such an  infirmity is
constant  association with one object, in marriage, by which
means  a proper familiarity is  induced, and  in time the
individual  loses his distrust, and  becomes convinced of
his perfect capability.  In most of these  cases there is a
real excess of power, rather than  a deficiency, and  the
very intensity of the feeling tends to prevent its gratifi-
cation, by completely absorbing all the vital energies.   I
have frequently been consulted by  persons  so circum-
stanced as to the propriety of marriage, they fearing that
the failing 'could not be recovered from, and it has been
with the  greatest difficulty that  I could  persuade them  to
the contrary.  In every instance, however, I have found 
Influence of  the  imagination.       241
marriage to effect a cure, though it might not be  imme-
diate.   Some have  worn off their  distrust very soon,
others have  experienced it  for months,  but eventually
have been surprised that they ever did so  at all.  It is
the fear of failure that causes it  with these people, and
when that fear is found to be groundless, the cure is
complete.  In some of these cases a little medical assist-
ance is available, but its nature depends upon the pecu-
liarities of the case.  I  once saw a  man who had been
married for three years  without being able  to associate
with his partner,  and solely from this  cause.   In all prob-
ability he never would have done so,  had it  not  been for
the advice he received, and yet there was no real defic-
iency of any kind. The celebrated John Hunter gives us a
similar instance,  which he met with in his practice.  The
patient  was  perfectly incompetent,  solely from the  fear
of failure, which so operated upon him as to  always make
him fail.  Dr. Hunter was persuaded there  was no other
difficulty, and that it was merely necessary to break this
spell, he therefore required  of him, as one  essential re-
quisite of the treatment,  that he should remain  with his
companion,  but  on no  account whatever make any at-
tempt for six nights, let his desire  be  ever so strong.
The result was, that before the period fixed  had gone by,
his desire was so strong  he found it  difficult to  obey the
injunction, and feared he should have too much power
instead  of too little.  In fact,  the  cure was complete,
without any further treatment.  The only thing  required
in such cases is  a judicious and  honest physician,  who
will first ascertain that  there is  no real  deficiency, and
then explain to  the  patient the real nature of his  case
and the means by which it may be relieved.  If this be
done in a proper  and sympathizing manner, a cure  may
always be effected, but, by a wrong course  of procedure
the evil may be confirmed.
  A too great  intensity  of the sexual feeling itself will
sometimes cause  incompetency,  by  overpowering  the
patient before the act can be  properly consummated.  I
have known instances of men who always became so in-
tensely excited that  they fell into a kind  of dreamy stu-
por, and had  involuntary emissions while in that state.
This, however, can always be remedied by  proper treat-
ment.
  Several instances have come to my knowledge of men
             10 
242       INFLUENCE OF THE IMAGINATION.

being impotent, at their marriage, from their first discov-
ering some disagreeable  fact respecting their partners.
In  one instance, the  lady had a small abscess on  the
arm, which she  had hitherto  concealed, and doubtless
thought it a matter of little or no consequence, as  her
health  was good, and her appearance remarkably pleas-
ing.  Her partner, however,  thought differently,  and
such was the effect  upon  his mind, that he could never
afterwards experience the slightest desire towards her.
In some cases  such simple discoveries as false hair, or
false teeth, have had a similar effect.   It is not so much
that the circumstance is excessively disagreeable in itself
as that it is unexpected,  and its  discovery  destroys  the
dream  of comparative perfection hitherto indulged   With
uncultivated and unimaginative people such causes might
operate but slightly, or not at all, because they form no
such ideal image, but with men of refinement it is differ-
ent. There is  no doubt but that a good deal of the dis-
satisfaction, and loss of power, which  many men expe-
rience  after marriage,  is owing  to  this circumstance.
They are ignorant of the real physical and moral nature
of the being they take to their bosoms, and have  formed
a picture of her in  the  imagination very different from
the reality, so  that  when  the truth is known, their feel-
ings undergo  a complete  revulsion.   This ignorance
sometimes extends  to the most  ordinary functional phe-
nomena of the female  system, and  the first experience
even of that has, to my own knowledge, produced a very
disagreeable and lasting effect.   In short, it is in this as
in everything else,  ignorance and concealment produce
evils that only knowledge and mutual confidence' can
prevent or remove.

§ INFLUENCE OF THE MOTHER'S IMAGINATION UPON THE
                 CHILD BEFORE BIRTH.

  It is  still a question, however, whether the Imagination
of the mother can affect the  child before birth, and  if so,
in what way, and to what extent?  The popular belief in
its  influence this way is well known to be very strong,
and probably it has  some  foundation, though there  is no
question  but this belief is  carried  too far.  The well-
known case in the Bible, in which Jacob caused his fa-
ther-in-law's  animals to bring forth striped young, by 
INFLUENCE OF  THE  IMAGINATION.       243
placing peeled wands before the mothers, shows that this
notion  was  entertained  long ago, and the wonderful
marks attributed to longings, which  we  see every day,
shows that it still exists.—(Genesis, chap, xxx.)
  Hippocrates, who wrote some thousands of years ago,
relates that a celebrated Queen was accused of Adultery,
because she  was delivered of a black child, herself and
husband being  white.   The  great Physician,  however,
remarked that at the foot of her bed there hung the pic-
ture of  a Negro, and he at once cleared her from the dif-
culty, by asserting that this picture  had influenced the
child through the medium of her imagination, it being
constantly before her.  A contrary case is recorded by
the historian Heliodorus, of  an Ethiopian Queen, who
brought forth a white child in  consequence of looking, at
the moment of conception, upon a picture of Androme-
dus.  At the present  day such .explanation of how these
cases came about would not be received.
  They are not mentioned here as authentic cases, it will
be  borne  in mind, but merely to show  the  bent of the
popular belief.
  In  many old works which  people are  still  in the habit
of reading, merely from  the  name, such as "Aristotle,"
for instance, pictures are given of children resembling
animals, which are there represented to have come either
from the mother seeing such, or from having actually as-
sociated with them.  All these, however, are gross exag-
gerations, and.many of them even mere fabrications.  In
none of these  works is there anything  approaching to
science, but, on the contrary, the merest rubbish and trash,
utterly worthless for any purpose whatever.
  Among more probable cases may be mentioned that
of a lady who had a child covered with hair, and with
hands fashioned much like the paws of a bear, and which
she attributed to having often  seen a picture  of John the
Baptist,  clothed  in  a  bear's skin.   Mallebrande also
tells us of another infant which  was born  with all its
bones broken and its joints dislocated, in consequence of
the mother having seen an unfortunate  criminal broken
alive on the wheel.  In short, such instances are  numer-
ous, and they show  how firmly this belief is grafted on
the popular mind.
  It is quite common to observe, on the skin of new-born
infants, certain brown, yellow, red, blue, or black marks, 
244      INFLUENCE OE THE  IMAGINATION.
which are generally supposed to have been produced by
the mother having longed for something while pregnant.
These marks vary much in their form, size, and appear-
ance, and are usually of so indefinite a character  that a
little stretch of the imagination may easily  make them
resemble anything.  It is scarcely necessary to remark,
that there  are  but few females, if any, who do not long
for something during their pregnancy, and if this cause
could produce  such marks, but few children would be
without them, whereas they are, on  the contrary,  rather
scarce.  The fact is, that when one of these marks is dis-
covered upon an  infant, the mother begins  to  think of
something she very much wished for, and then she easily
sees that  the mark is like it, but it is very seldom the
case that any one  else  perceives the  resemblance,  unless
it has previously been suggested to them.  I have known
one of these Ncevi Materni, as they are called, taken for
half a dozen different things by as many different people.
  The real cause  of the mother's marks is a disease of
the skin, which produces an alteration in its texture.  In
general they are  of little  consequence, and remain sta-
tionary as long as the individual lives.   It is seldom that
success attends any attempts to remove them, and as a
general rule, they are better left alone,  the  effect  of an
operation being more likely to disfigure and  injure than
the mark itself.  There is one kind,  however, which dif-
fers from all the  others,  and which requires attention.
This kind presents the appearance  of little red  warts,
with flattened  tops, connected with the  skin  by  small
necks, and full  of blood-vessels.   These are called Fun-
gus Hamatodes, and they  are caused by obstructions in
the little vessels under the skin, which make the  blood
accumulate in minute  tumors, or aneurisms.   They may
continue to grow, or even ulcerate,  and lead to serious
consequences ;  it is therefore best to  remove them.   This
is done either by tying a silken string round them, to grad-
ually  strangle  them  off,  or to use a sharp  knife.  In
many cases, however, they may be  destroyed by  simply
washing them in alum  water, or a solution of sulphate of
copper, or in keeping a silver coin pressed flat upon them
for some time.
  The fear that many people have of causing these marks
is  quite amusing, and has sometimes been  acted upon
for particular purposes.  Thus I saw  some time ago, in 
INFLUENCE OF  THE  IMAGINATION.       245
a medical work, an account of a lady in England who in-
duced  her husband to buy a carriage and horses, which
she longed for, by assuring him that if he did not do so,
the child with which she was pregnant would be  marked
with them !
  In no case does the mother ever announce before the
birth what kind of a mark the child will be born with, and
yet if  she knew about the longing that caused  it, she
ought to be able to do so.  It is always after the matk is
seen that its resemblance is sought for,  and then of  course
something can be thought of that may at least be supposed
to be like it.
  In one  of  the  French  medical journals,  some years
ago, M.  Girard gave a  very curious and instructive in-
stance  of the fallacy of this popular belief.  In the  course
of his practice he became acquainted with three pregnant
females, all of whom had been so  strongly impressed by
some object presented to the mind that the children were
expected  to  be  marked, but  neither  of them were  so.
On the other hand, three  others, who had  experienced
neither frights nor longings of any  kind, had their chil-
dren terribly deformed with Naevi.  And this is, in fact,
daily seen, numbers being born with  marks, though the
mothers did not long at  all, and others being free from
them though they did long, and intensely too.  In fact,
if  their longings could  do what  some  people suppose
them capable of,  there  would be few children without
marks, for nearly all females experience these imperious
desires.  Another circumstance, too, should  be borne in
mind,—if the  imagination  can exert such a  power over
the child as to cause deformity, it can  also equally cause
beauty, or give any particular feature, if not sex, so that
every mother must  be supposed to  have the power, by
her imagination, to make her child  be just  what she
pleases.   Experience,  however, shows that  this  power
does not exist,  and no  mother who longs for a son can
be certain of bearing one  by so doing, nor  can she  by
her imagination give a Grecian nose or auburn hair.  Ii
this could be done we should  have none but  Venuses and
Apollos born, but unfortunately for the gratification ol
fond mothers it cannot be,  and this fact alone proves the
imagination is not so powerful as some suppose.
  It should be remarked, however,  that the Generative
act is certainly the most  exalted that the animal organi- 
246      INFLUENCE  OF THE IMAGINATION.

zation  can perform, and requires the greatest expendi-
ture of vitality.  The  union of the two sexes is accom
panied by an excitement more intense than is ever ex-
perienced at any other time,—in fact, it results in a posi-
tive convulsion, and often of partial derangement of mind,
as if the two parents, while giving life to  the new being,
almost, for the instant,  surrendered their own  lives.
This is the case at least when the conditions are perfect
on both sides ;  but though this excitement must of course
be always experienced by the male, yet the  female may
be perfectly passive.  In such cases it may be questioned
whether the act is  really so perfect as when both  are in
the normal condition,  and whether  this remarkable ex-
altation and expenditure of vitality is not really necessary
in both, to properly impress the  new being, and to give
it that impulse which is necessary to its most perfect de-
velopment.
  This accords with the popular notion respecting illegiti-
mate children, who are generally believed to be on the
average more talented and handsome than others.   It is
supposed that the intense warmth of temperament which,
in most of these cases, leads to the breach  of social pro-
priety,  is  advantageous to the new  being, because it is
conceived with more  energy and power.   The imagina-
tion of the parents is also more acted upon by the very
circumstances of their association.   The necessity for
deceiving others; and of practicing secrecy in their meet-
ings, together with  the charm of mutual confidence, and
perhaps the indulgence being  a forbidden  one, all con-
spire to produce an exaltation greater than the ordinary
circumstances usually give rise to.
  It is  certain also that children who are  conceived dur-
ing sickness, or when old  age has vitiated the parents'
energy, are seldom so  vigorous and healthy as others.
  After Fecundation,  the  new  being remains for nine
months connected with the mother, and its development
within  her body, is as much  a natural  function  of hen
organization  as is  Digestion or the  Circulation  of the
Blood.  Now  both these functions,  in common with all
others, are well known to be affected by moral  causes to
a great extent,  which alone would make it  probable that
Gestation is  also.  Thus, Grief, Joy, or sudden Fright,
will often prevent  Digestion entirely, and so derange the
action  of the  Heart, that the circulation will completely 
INFLUENCE OF THE  IMAGINATION.      247
cease, as in Fainting.   There is every reason to presume
therefore, that these emotions can also influence Fcetal
development, and  modify the new being both in body
and mind.   Indeed many cases have been known which
directly prove this, and no doubt the moral temperament
and bodily condition of many human beings are thus in a
great measure determined before their birth.
  In connection with this subject, it is most important to
bear in  mind  that the child must be  formed entirely
from the mother s blood.  Excepting the male Animalcule,
which forms but a minute portion of the general organi-
zation, there is not an atom of its material that can come
from any other source.   The  condition of the mother's
blood, therefore,  is of  great  consequence to its future
well-being,  for if  that  be  imperfect,  or diseased,  the
body  formed from  it  must  be  so likewise.   Now it is
well known, that  the state, and  even the composition of
the blood, is very much affected by the state  of the mind,
and by the emotions experienced.  In despondency and
grief the blood is imperfectly formed, being thin and wa-
tery, and it  circulates sluggishly through the  Heart.   On
the contrary, joy makes the circulation  brisk, and nutri-
tion perfect,  so that the blood is rich and pure, while  an-
ger makes it boil through the veins, and changes its very
composition.  In Fever, it is well known the blood is so
altered, that  when drawn from the body  it speedily putri-
fies, and it is almost the same during a violent fit of rage,
as  I have  seen when  bleeding  for a  fit of  Apoplexy
brought on by that cause.
  It is not bodily disease only, therefore, that can change
the  quality of the blood, but also the state  of  the mind
and feelings, which must be capable, therefore, of affect-
ing the child through the medium of the  blood.
  Now, when we reflect how sensitive females usually are
during Gestation, and how many causes then annoy and
disturb them, it is readily perceived  that their offspring
must of necessity be much under their moral influence,
or in other words, be affected through the imagination.
This influence, however,  is  exerted in a general way,
and not for  the production of merely local  effects, like
marks.
  It is deeply suggestive, also, to the  reflective mind, t«
contemplate  the fact that when a female  is pregnant with
a female child  there are three Generations nourished  by 
248      INFLUENCE  OF THE IMAGINATION.
the same blood at the same  time !   There is the mother
herself,—the child in her womb, —and within its body the
rudiments of the Ovaries from which, if it ever become a
mother, its children will be formed !   Who does not see
from this how literally true it is that the physical sins at
least of the parents, are visited upon the children and the
children's children ?   There are conditions of  the blood
which, no  doubt can, in this way affect both the child
that is forming and also  its  future children,  through the
rudimentary ova;, and those conditions may originate from
the Imagination.  A violent  fit of  anger in a mother,
therefore, or any  other powerful emotion,  may cause
suffering and disease both to  her child and  grand-child.
  Another fact may also be mentioned to prove  that the
child  can  be influenced by moral emotions.  It  is well
known that many diseases  of  the womb, and also mis-
carriages, are  often  caused by  fright,  anger, and grief,
and it is scarcely possible to believe that the child in the
womb is not  influenced by the same causes.   During
times of great public  excitement and danger, as in revo-
lutions and civil wars, it has been observed  that miscar-
riages are more frequent, and that more of  the children
born then are  idiotic, or become insane, than  is usually
the case.
  It is true that there has not yet  been discovered  any
nervous communication  between the  mother and child,
but this  by no means proves that the emotions of the
mother cannot influence her offspring.  The blood  itself
is regarded  by many  physiologists as  being truly living,
and this certainly is connected  in both.  But whether it
be  living or not, it is certainly the material from which
both are formed, and there  is no question as to the  emo-
tions  of the mother affecting it.
  In works on Medical Jurisprudence many  trials are re-
corded in which the  power of the mother's imagination
has been called in  question, but it has never been legally
admitted.  Some  years ago  a mulatto female in  New
York  became  the mother  of  an  illegitimate  child, the
father of which she asserted was a negro named Whistelo,
who was accordingly  arrested and brought  to trial,  as he
denied the fact.  The child  was not at all  like that of a
negro  in any particular, being whiter, and with straight
hair, but Dr. S. Mitchell contended  it  might have  been
influenced  by the  mother's  imagination, and that conse- 
INFLUENCE OF THE  IMAGINATION.       249
quently Whistelo might have been the father.  The court,
however, thought otherwise, and it was unanimously and
very properly decided that the father must have been a
white man or a mulatto, and consequently Whistelo was
acquitted.
  Many of these resemblances  which  are  supposed to
originate with the imagination of the mother may really
arise  from other causes, as  shown  by the case of  the
Quagga, given in the article on " Permanent Influence of
the Male upon the Female."  In fact, that article should
be referred to in connection with the  present one.
  It is a familiar fact to medical men that many diseases
are transmitted  from the mother to  the child while  it is
yet in the womb, and also  that many drugs  can influence
it under the same circumstances, but this must, of course,
take place  through the medium of the blood.
  To show how crude the popular notions on this subject
are, and how little they are  founded  upon correct infor-
mation, it  is only requisite to state that many people be-
lieve  it is the child  itself that  lones while  in the womb,
and they think the mark can be taken away  by giving the
child the object it wanted immediately when it is born.
Thus I have known an infant of two days old given a piece
of beef-steak to take away the supposed image of one on its
cheek.
  Some suppose the  marks are only given at quickening,
others at six months, some at three  and others  again at
any time. 
CHAPTER  XVIII.
DEFICIENCY  AND   TOTAL  LOSS  OF THE   GENERATIVE
                      POWER.

  This is a part of our subject of the very first importance,
and yet beset with such numerous and peculiar difficulties
that the precise  knowledge about it is extremely difficult
to obtain.   Dr. Curling  remarks, when  speaking of the
Testes:  "Their functions are so involved in those of
other parts, are  influenced  by such peculiar causes, and
are so dependent on and modified by particular events
and circumstances  that  the investigation  of them when
disordered, necessarily becomes of a complex and difficult
character.  The product, too, of these glands is one, the
qualities of  which it is almost  impossible  to appreciate,
and which during life is never afforded in a pure and un-
mixed state ; and further, taking into account the repug-
nance felt to such inquiries, it is scarcely surprising that
the subject has  been  but imperfectly investigated, and
rarely treated of by the pathologist and practitioner.  In-
deed, the  little information we  possess  respecting it* is
chiefly to be found under the head lmpotency, in  works
on medical jurisprudence, in which it is cursorily con-
sidered principally in relation to  points of  medico-legal
interest, and scarcely at all  in relation to practice."  And
a similar observation may be made in regard  to the Fe-
male Ovaries.
  Functional  or sympathetic  disability of the Repro-
ductive Organs  appears in two  forms, Impotence  and
Sterility which are frequently but erroneously confounded
together.   Impotence  may mean  only inability to  copu-
late, but Sterility means a total absence of the  power of
Reproduction.   Thus  a  man may be impotent without.
being sterile.  Absolute  sterility is generally incurable,
because it arises from destruction or disorganization of
the Testes, but  impotence  can  very frequently be cured
as well as prevented.  Besides, impotence  is  the  more
             (250) 
      DEFICIENCY OF  THE  GENERATIVE  POWER.    251

frequent affection, and is often merely the forerunner or
first stage of sterility, and it becomes, therefore the more
important subject to consider.
  In the female, though  there are many causes of steril-
ity, there is but one cause of positive impotence, and that
is deformity or absence of the vagina.  If this canal ex-
ist  and is  of  sufficient size, she  can  always receive the
embraces of the other sex, though they may be fruitless.
A  perfectly formed woman is, therefore, not impotent
though she may be sterile.
  With  man, however, this is different; not only  may he
be sterile from various causes, but also impotent  though
not sterile.  Desire may be strong, and the semen abund-
ant and perfect, but still he may be unable to convey it
within the  Female Organs.  There may  be no power of
erection, or the passage of  the Urethra may open in the
wrong place, or it may be obstructed  by stricture  ; in  all
which cases the man is impotent, though not necessarily
sterile, for if this  semen could be  placed, even artificially,
in  the Female Organs it  would impregnate.
  All these defects are capable, in most instances, of be-
ing remedied, as I have shown in  my work on the " Male
Organs."  The Penis can not only be made to erect, but
to  grow when too small,  and sometimes can even be made
when it is  nearly totally absent.  Its proper sensibility
can also be created or restored, and the  Urethral passage
can be either restored to its proper dimensions, or made
to  open in  the right place, so that in every respect it can
be made capable of performing its peculiar functions.
  In  like manner the Vagina can  either be enlarged or
opened  in the female, and the only cause of impotence in
her can, therefore, often be  removed.
  With  sterility,  however,  it is  not always so  easy to
deal,  depending,  as it often does, upon  peculiar  organic
deficiencies, or resulting from mysterious sympathies, it
frequently  baffles all our endeavors to understand or cure
it.   As  far as  advice can be given, however, I shall treat
upon it fully,  and I believe that  the cases  to which
the present article will apply, amount to a very large pre-
ponderance of the whole.
  The ancient Greek and Roman  females used  to hang a
wooden or metal  image of  the Male  Organs round their
necks, when they desired children, as a charm, firmly be-
lieving that it had power to make them fruitful. 
252   DEFICIENCY  OF THE GENERATIVE  POWER.

  In the long-buried cities of Herculaneum and Pompeii,
many of these images are dug up, some of  them being
most elaborately and beautifully carved.  They are  gen-
erally about an inch long, though some are of the natural
size.  A friend of  mine, a short time ago, presented me
with several of them.   In Cochin China—as I have been
assured by a medical man, long resident there—it is the
custom, when a female  remains  long barren, for the
priest to give her  a  wooden model of the Male Organ,
which has been blessed by him, and which she  uses  her-
self.  This is supposed to remove the sterility, and is im-
plicitly relied upon.
  Even in our own times and country,  charms are «ften
practiced for the same purpose, and medical means are
employed, almost as ridiculous, and quite as  useless.   In
some parts of the world the waters  of certain springs are
supposed  to make women conceive, and many resort to
them for that purpose.
  Perhaps the most frequent cause of impotence and  ster-
ility in the male, however, is Spermatorrhcea,  or excessive
seminal loss.  This may arise from many different causes,
but principally from excesses and from masturbation.  It
may occur in two ways, either visibly, as in those  who
lose it in sleep, or during the motion of the  bowels, and
it  may  also take place in an unseen form,  which is the
worst of all.
  There is, in fact, scarcely anything more important for
a man to know than the causes, effects,  and  treatment of
this terrible  affliction, and there  are  few indeed who do
not practically experience more or less of its consequences.
  It is undoubtedly the most frequent of all the causes of
impotence and sterility, and also of premature decay of
the system generally.  Every man, young or old, ought
to read the article  on Spermatorrhoea in my book,  on the
Male Organs.   If the knowledge  there given were  uni-
versally possessed  in time, much suffering,  disease, and
untimely death might be prevented.
  It should  be borne in mind, as explained  in a  former
article,  that the male is often  sterile from imperfection of
the Semen.  Sometimes there are no Animalcules  at all,
and at other times they are dead, in either of which cases
he is sterile, or incapable of impregnating.   If the imper-
fection  is not of long standing, however, he may  not be
impotent, but may still  be able to practice  association; 
       DEFICIENCY  OF THE GENERATIVE  POWER.   253

though eventually,  even that  power will be lost, for the
organs soon lose all sensibility if they are not  stimulated
by the perfect semen.
  In some men the Animalcules disappear or die for a
short time only, from disease or from taking  drugs, and
afterwards re-appear.  In others,  again,  I have found
that they only appear at a particular time of  the year,  so
that these individuals can  impregnate then,  but at all
other times are impotent.
  The power of the  Testicles,  however, and also their
size is often  capable of being much increased by  proper
medical treatment,  even in apparently hopeless cases.
  The worst cases of sterility  in the male are  those con-
nected with a wasting of the Testes, which may take place
from  numerous  causes, some  of  them   apparently
trivial,  to which all  men are more or less liable.   To
guard against  such evils, however, is easy, with  proper
information given in time.
  There are also certain mysterious causes  of sterility,
the nature of which we cannot understand.   Thus some
females will  conceive by one  man and not by another,
and some men will impregnate one  female  but not  an-
other, which shows  ihat there  is a  certain  adaptation
needed between the two, though we cannot tell in what
particular that adaptation consists.
  There are often cases, in  both  sexes, where  there is   '
neither sexual desire nor capability till some particular
object is  found, as shown in a former article on the In-
fluence of the Mind over the Generative powers, and also
in the articles  on the Power of the Imagination, and on
the Brain, all of which should be referred to  in  connec-
tion with this subject.

      § IMPOTENCE  AND STERILITY  IN  THE FEMALE.

  The principal causes of these disabilities in the female
have been explained in the previous articles,  particularly
in those upon the Ovaries and  Menstruation.   The  non-
formation of the egg, its not passing down  the tube in
time, and the non-retention of it in the Womb, are among
the  most frequent causes.    Many married  couples are
also childless because they do not associate at the proper
time as explained  in the article on Conception.
   At the  present time there are but few causes of barren- 
254   DEFICIENCY OF THE GENERATIVE POWER.

ness in  Females but what can be removed, except those
depending upon imperfect or deformed development, and
even many of these are capable of being remedied.   The
Vagina  or  mouth  of  the  Womb can be opened or  en-
larged,—the  Fallopian  Tubes can  be  opened,—and  the
Ovaries can be  stimulated to act  in cases where they have
been dormant for years.
  In nearly all  cases where a female has painful menstru-
ation, attended  by a discharge of membranes or clots, it
is  owing to  a  constriction  of the  mouth of  the womb,
which also prevents conception.  The operation for open-
ing it, therefore, relieves both the suffering and  the ster-
ility.   Opening the Tubes  is a difficult operation,  but
perfectly safe, and by any  one  well practiced in it may
always be successfully performed.
  The treatment most frequently required in females is
that for stimulating the Ovaries to form the eggs, and
strengthening the womb  to retain them sufficiently long;
a weakness or irritability of  one  or the other of these or-
gans being the most frequent cause  of female sterility
known.   Coldness is also a cause  of  barrenness some
times, indirectly, and the removal of it leads  at  once to
conception.   Diseases  of the Womb  and Vagina  also
often lead to  sterility,  especially Leucorrhcea, or  the
Whites, the discharge from which kills  the Animalcules,
and thus prevents  conception.  I have  known many fe-
males barren from this cause who conceived very readily,
by simply using an injection of  warm water before con-
nection, to  cleanse away the acrid discharge.
  Moral causes do not operate so strongly and uniformly
with the female as  with the  male, because she is in  a
great measure  passive, and may even  be made to con-
ceive in spite of herself. 
CHAPTER  XIX.
    INFLUENCE  OF DRUGS OVER THE SEXUAL POWERS.

   Canthaiudf.s, or Spanish Flies.  This article is popu-
larly supposed  to have an invariably  stimulating effect
upon the sexual powers, and many persons will be sur-
prised to learn how little  foundation there  is for such a
belief.   In  fact, upon  many persons,  Cantharides have
but little or no effect at all in that  way ; except  they are
given in such quantity as to be poisonous, and then they
only act by causing severe  inflammation, not only in
the'  genitals, but rlso  in all the neighboring parts.  It is
quite common for even a small dose to create great irri-
tation of the bladder, with complete inability to discharge
the urine, and  this may take place without any unusual
sexual excitement at all, though most usually, the gener-
ative organs are stimulated more or less.  It is a great
mistake,  therefore, to  suppose that Cantharides have a
constant  and specific  action  on the sexual organs, for
they merely create an intense irritation,  which affects
these organs along with others,  in the  same  way that
many other irritant poisons do. The popular notions  on
this  subject are utterly unfounded, and quite opposed to
the truth.
   It is  very seldom that Cantharides are of any service
whatever in the treatment of Impotence or Spermator-
rhoea, though a combination of these with  other articles
is  useful  in certain cases.  They form the main  ingre-
dient in all the  quack stimulants for the generative organs,
and  the use of them in  this  way unfortunately causes
great mischief.   Numbers of young men are permanently
ruined,  through taking these preparations of  Canthari-
des,  and I have known many married persons  rendered
hopelessly sterile from using them  as  stimulants.   I
had  one distressing case of a young man, who was per-
suaded  by  a thoughtless  friend to take  some  Spanish
Flies as  an  experiment, to see if they would not increase
                                     $55) 
256
INFLUENCE OF  DRUGS.
his desires and powers.  The quantity he took was only
a moderate dose, but the effects were  most alarming.
He completely lost all power  of discharging the urine,
though the Bladder was full almost to bursting, and ex-
perienced such agonizing pain in the  prostate and urethra
that  he was  nearly delirious.  Priapism took place, but
so far from being attended by increased pleasure, it added
to his sufferings, and yet he could  not prevent it.   For-
tunately, he  had timely assistance,  and  the immediate
danger was obviated,  but subsequently he  began  to be
troubled  with involuntary emissions in the night, and
eventually when urinating, so that he became completely
impotent, and so weak he could scarcely stand.  I treated
him, and  used every means the case would allow, but in
spite of  all, the trouble continued to some extent, and
probably always will.   He had been suffering however,
over four years when I saw him.
  I also had a case,of a young  person of  the other sex,
who  was seriously injured by Cantharides, given  as a
trick, and who had involuntary discharge of urine ever
afterwards.
  Camphor.—The  action  of Camphor upon the genital
organs is sedative rather than stimulant, and when  taken
improperly or in  excess, it  may almost entirely destroy
the sexual feeling, at least for a time.  It is, therefore,
given in  cases of priapism, and in excessive excitement,
whether  from sexual or physical causes.   If Cantharides
or any other  irritating poison  is taken, Camphor is usu-
ally a  valuable  palliative, and it is sometimes  of  great
service in certain cases of Spermatorrhoea.  If  taken in
too large doses, however, or for too long a time,  it will
cause involuntary emissions.
   Nitrate of Potash or Saltpetre.—It is commonly sup-
posed that this substance acts as a direct sedative to the
sexual organs,  and  that if taken  in any considerable
quantity, it will destroy all feeling,  but  this notion is a
very erroneous one.  Like all other  diuretics, Nitre stim-
ulates the Genital Organs, and if taken in too large doses,
it will even produce inflammation, like Cantharides.  In-
stances have  been known  where a discharge from the
urethra has followed its use, like that of Gonorrhoea, and
involuntary emissions have also resulted from it.
   Ergot  of Rye,  or  Secale  Cornutum.   This substance,
as is well known, is used to expedite delivery in females, 
INFLUENCE OF  DRUGS.            257
which it does by increasing the action of the womb.   Its
use,  however,  is  dangerous, except in  proper hands.
From recent observations,  it appears  to stimulate the
male organs also, and  the men  of those  places where it
grows among the rye are noted for their ardent desires,
while the females frequently miscarry.   The  Ergot can
not be given alone, either with  safety or advantage, but
its combination  with other  articles, forms a  valuable
remedy both for impotence and spermatorrhoea.
  Coffee and Tea —Both these articles, but especially cof-
fee, act as direct  stimulants to the  generative organs,
and  if taken in excess, may produce all  the effects of the
most powerful drugs.  I have known coffee cause pria-
pism, lascivious dreams, and involuntary emissions, and
nearly always its continued use will counteract any treat-
ment that can be followed for relief.
  Phosphorus.—This article  is  similar  in  its  action  to
Cantharides, but much more energetic, and  consequently
it  is much more dangerous  in  wrong  hands,  but when
properly administered, it is  frequently of great service.
Phosphorus should, however, never be experimented with
by those not familiar with its action, for in some cases it
will  lead to  the  most disastrous  consequences, and  its
evil effects are not easily recovered from.
  These remarks were intended to apply more especially
to the male, but they are equally applicable to the female
also.   In fact, to females they may often be of  more im-
portance  than  to  males,  because  the female  system is
more easily affected by many  of these  Drugs, and they
act upon them with more intensity.
  Phosphorus is certainly a most powerful stimulant to
the Generative Organs, and  also a most dangerous one.
Instances have occurred of men being made perfectly de-
lirious with Satyriasis, from merely  taking an ordinary
medicinal  dose  of it,  and women  from the same cause
have become so furiously excited as to  forget every con-
sideration of prudence and  decorum.   In one instance a
Physician found his patjent utterly unable  to Subdue the
ardor that consumed  him by any means whatever, until
complete exhausition ensued and he died.  In  less than
thirty  hours  this  man had cohabited sixty-five times,
without  erection having  subsided, or the flow of semen
ceased.   Similar effects are also observed upon animals,
showing that the power of this drug is specific.  A chemist
           T*7 
258
INFLUENCE OF  DRUGS.
having thrown out some of his refuse preparations, in
which was some  phosphorus, they were partly drunken
by a drake, who  immediately afterwards commenced co-
habiting with his  female companions  in the most furious
manner, and continued to do so till he fell  down dead.
  When incautiously used, in  fact, this drug is  exceed-
ingly dangerous,  and  many cases of severe suffering have
resulted from its unwarranted  employment.  Not only
will  it  cause delirium, but  it will  also  create the most
burning and destructive inflammation of the stomach and
intestines, which  nothing can subdue.  So perfectly does it
pervade the very substance of the body, that in many cases
of death from its use, the corpse has been perfectly lu-
minous, and the phosphorus  has been distinctly smelt in
the blood.  A  physician who  dissected a body of this
kind found that even  his hands, and  the instruments he
had  used,  were  luminous   and  smelt quite strongly
of it.
  Even the workmen who employ phosphonis, as match-
makers, for instance, unless they are very  careful,  are
apt to suffer seriously  in consequence of breathing its
fumes.   In some cases the  bones have even decayed,
and ulcers have formed of the most malignant character.
Children have been poisoned by eating the phosphorized
ends of matches, and I have known people made  quite
sick by only breathing the fumes of a friction match.
  Ether and other similar  articles have occasionally a
singular effect upon  the generative instinct, and awaken
it when nothing  else  will.   In many cases where  ether
has been  taken to produce insensibility, during surgical
operations, the  patient  has been, in imagination, enjoy-
ing the pleasures  of amative indulgence during the whole
period.  This has even  been  the case with  females while
in labor, and insensible from ether, several having con-
fessed, that so  far  from suffering, they actually  experi-
enced  the warmest feelings, and imagined  they were  en-
joying the  embraces of their  husbands.   In some of
these  cases  females  have experienced these  feelings
under   such circumstances  for  the first   time,  and
never  after did  so while awake.   A short  time ago I
knew an instance of a  young  married lady who  took
chloroform to have a tooth extracted,  and instead of put-
ting her to sleep it created a singular amative excitement,
which in her half-unconscious state she could not control. 
INFLUENCE OF DRUGS.
259
Her advances to the dentist were obvious  enough, but
fortunately he was a man of honor, and took no advant-
age.  In  a  short time the excitement wore off, but she
had a  distinct  recollection of her  situation,  and was
most deeply mortified and hurt when she thought of it.
  Aromatics and Spices.—These have in general  a stimu-
lating  effect on the generative organs, the  same  as on
other parts, but their power varies very much in different
persons, and under  different circumstances.  There are
various spice mixtures and combinations in popular use
for this purpose, but  they should not be indiscriminately
used.  Sometimes they are highly injurious, like  all other
stimulants, and even when they do cause  an increase of
power or feeling it is only temporary, and  often followed
by  directly opposite effects.
  In short, none of  these articles operate  specifically, in
a beneficial manner,  on  the generative organs, though
certain combinations  of them may do so under particular
circumstances.
  There is  one drug brought from the East Indies, the
Cannabis Indica, which is the most regular in its action,
and produces  the most constant beneficial effects of any
thing yet tried.   It appears to act as a special  nervous
stimulant, exciting that part of the brain which influences
the  sexual organs, so that they feel directly an  increase
of power.  It also causes great mental activity,  disposes
to cheerfulness, and induces a feeling  of warmth and com-
fort over the whole system.  Those who have taken it in
a proper manner are delighted with its effects, and never
complain of any after-depression or reaction in any way.
If given improperly,  however, or in too heavy a dose, it
first causes excitement of the wildest character,  with an
uncontrollable disposition  to bodily  activity, and  after-
wards  a complete mental  and physical prostration.  In
short, it  is most powerful  either for good or fbr evil, ac-
cording as it is used.   In the East Indies it is commonly
used, like opium in China, for the purpose of producing
pleasurable excitement, and also for removing impotence.
  A new drug  named Damiana  has lately been  much
lauded as an aphrodisiac, but experiment  has proved it
to possess no power  of  the kind to  any special degree.
It is in fact inferior to most of those named above.
  Medicines  that excite  the sexual organs are called
Aphrodisiacs, and  in various parts of  the world  they are 
260            INFLUENCE OF DRUGS.
in great demand, though but seldom  administered so as
to be of any real service.   As I have already remarked,
some  of these medicines, when  properly used, have  un-
doubted  aphrodisiac powers, but they are by no  means
applicable in all  cases.   They may frequently fail of pro-
ducing any good effect whatever,  and  sometimes  may
even cause irretrievable mischief.  Their  successful ad-
ministration, therefore,  requires a perfect knowledge of
their properties,  and an  extensive observation of their
effects under all circumstances.   It is for this reason  I
have not given any recipes for  these drugs, for  no one
can tell when they should  or should not be used, unless
they know  something about them, and the effects of tak-
ing them improperly may be so serious  that experiment
with them is dangerous.
  Medicines that  decrease the sexual powers are called
A naprhodisiacs.
  Every young  man should also read attentively  the re-
marks upon the influence  of Tobacco and Alcohol, in my
work  on the Male Organs.   The  real  power of these
drugs is but little known,  and the mischief they do to the
sexual organs is unsuspected.   Married persons  should
also be acquainted with  the facts I give, as they will show
that in many instances  the most temperate use of these
articles is  hurtful, and  that they often cause Impotence
and Sterility, as well as Insanity.
  Odors  and Scents.—It will scarcely seem  possible, to
those who  have not considered this  subject philosophi-
cally, that a mere scent can have any effect at all over the
generative  powers, but  such is undoubtedly the  fact.
The different parts of the Nervous system are so mysteri-
ously  and  sympathetically connected that any  impres-
sion, however slight, made on one nervous fibre may react
upon  others in a remote part of the organization, and thus
if we  excite the olfactory nerve  by any  peculiar  odor, it
may react  upon and excite the sexual Organs, as power-
fully as if they were directly irritated.
  That there are such odors that specially excite the sex-
ual instinct is beyond  question, though  different  people
experience their effects  in very different  degrees.   There
are also  others  that exert an opposite influence,  though
seldom in  so decided a manner. Very sensitive  people,
particularly those in whom the sexual instinct is naturally
strong, may be  as much excited by a mere scent as by  a 
INFLUENCE OF DRUGS.
261
medicine conveyed into the stomach, as I have frequently
seen.  Hysteria is often excited in this way in  females,
and various forms of nervous excitement frequently su-
pervene in the  other sex from the same cause.
  There  are  some  particular  scents  that exhibit  this
power more constantly and  to a greater degree  than
others, and several of these articles are of common use
in the toilet. An enumeration of  them would  embrace
many of the choicest  perfumes used, but it is  scarcely
possible to particularize among so many, nor is it neces-
sary.  The very origin  and  natural use of some of these
indicates  clearly enough the purpose  Nature intended
them to fulfil in the  animals from which they are taken.
Musk, especially, is an article of this kind, the aphrodisiac
effects of which I  have sometimes  seen exhibited in  the
most unequivocal manner.
  The readers of classic poetry will call to mind the story
of the " Indian Prince," who exhibited such marvellous
powers merely from  smelling the flowers of the  Nympha
odorata, and also several other instances  in  which  the
aphrodisiac power of different odors is distinctly alluded
to, showing that the general truth was known centuries
ago.  Some of these accounts are  of course  much exag-
gerated, but most of  them are  founded upon actual truths,
as I  have in some cases proved, and I believe the state-
ment about the Nympha is one that is entitled to consid-
eration.
  In Turkey an Odoriferous Pastile is in  common use in
the Harems, and  is reputed  to have  great stimulating
power.  It  is compounded principally of Musk,  Civet,
Ambergris, Cinnamon, and a variety of  vegetable  oils.
One of these Pastiles is constantly worn in the dress, and
sometimes it is powdered and rubbed over the person.
  Some of these scents, as Musk, for instance, are proba-
bly the sexual odors of  the animals from  which  they are
taken,  and  are intended to attract the  other  sex.  This
may possibly account for their peculiar power, and make
it  less singular.   Dimerbrock relates  an instance  of a
man who rubbed musk upon his genitals before cohabiting,
and who became so swollen and excited in consequence,
and his partner likewise, that  they could not separate till
a variety of refrigerant means had  been resorted to. And
in another  instance  it was  observed that one  of  these 
262
INFLUENCE OF  DRUGS.
scents excited an insane person, though  he gave no such
indications without it.
  Experiments  upon animals  have shown undoubtedly
that the odor peculiar to either sex, will  excite the  other
sex, though  the individuals may neither be  visible  nor
known to be  near.
  Musk, used internally, is one of the most powerful  and
reliable Aphrodisiacs we have, when  properly combined. 
CHAPTER   XX.
          ON THE PREVENTION OF CONCEPTION.

   This is a subject which  many persons may think not
necessary to be treated upon, but there are peculiar rea-
sons why it ought not to be passed  over in  silence.   It
has been  of late years, so  much talked of, and so many
unscientific works  have been published, pretending to
give information about it, that every one is familiar with
the idea.  To  say that there are means of preventing
conception, is only stating what every person  has already
heard, or believes,  and is, therefore nothing new.   Even
if such information were likely to be productive of  great
evil, as some imagine, it is  now impossible to prevent its
dissemination,  and it is  therefore, useless to avoid the
topic.
   Many of the  practices resorted to  for preventing con-
ception are altogether ineffective for  the purpose, and
some are decidedly hurtful, but this not being known,
people resort to them, and are both deceived and injured.
It is,  therefore, the duty of every physician to show the
inutility and  danger  of such practices, and not to  shun
the subject.
   The most  obvious means of prevention are those al-
luded to in the  Bible, as having been practiced by Onan,
and which have, doubtless,  been  in use for thousands of
years.  If the seminal fluid  be not placed within the Va-
gina,  of course there can be  no  conception, and all that
is required, therefore, is to  cease association before the
emission  occurs,  But  independently of the uncertainty
of this being done, at least in many cases,  it is not advis-
able.  There is good reason to believe that, in every act
of association,  the presence of the  male principle within
the female organs is always required, even when there is no
conception.   It is, in  all probability, more  or less absorbed
in every case, and even when it  does not impregnate,  it
prevents irritation  and exhaustion.  In  fact, without  it
                                      (263) 
&64     ON THE PREVENTION  OF CONCEPTION.

the act is merely a species of Masturbation—unsatisfac-
tory and injurious.   It  is also extremely hurtful to  the
male, and in a way not at all suspected.  When emission
occurs without the female organs, it is always more incom-
plete and slower than when it occurs within, owing to the
absence  of the customary warmth  and pressure, and of
that peculiar influence which the organs of  one sex exert
upon the other.  A portion of the semen, therefore re-
mains undischarged at the time, and escapes slowly after-
wards, thus giving  rise  to  a  weakness  and irritation of
the Urethra and Seminal Ducts, which, in time, becomes
permanent, and lays the  foundation for involuntary losses
and final impotence.
  I have known many married men much injured in this
way,  without being able to even  conjecture what had
hurt them.  And I  am  confident that much  female  ex-
haustion and nervous irritation result in the same way.
  The partial adoption  of  this plan  is  not liable to the
above objections to quite an  equal extent, but still it is
so, more or less, and it is, perhaps, still  more  difficult to
practice.  But, independent of these considerations, it
rannot be relied upon, for conception may follow  if  the
seminal fluid be placed in any part of  the Vagina, as  be-
fore explained, or perhaps even in the External Lips.   It
is true, it  is not so likely to occur under such  circum-
stances,  but still it may do so.   In  some men the  Penis
is imperfect, the opening of the Urethra being under, and
some distance down, instead of being at  the  end, so that
they can never eject the semen to the top of the  Vagina,
but only into its lower part.   Still these  men may be fa-
thers, though not  so frequently as others,  unless with
certain  females.  Dr. Dunglison, in his  Human  Physiol-
ogy, remarks of this imperfection, that " we cannot, there-
fore, regard it as an absolute cause of  impotence, but the
inference is just,  that if  the semen be not  projected far
up into the Vagina, and in the direction of  the Os Uteri,
impregnation is  not likely to be accomplished  ;  a  fact
which it might be of moment to bear  in mind, where the
rapid succession of children is an evil of magnitude."
   This  plan, therefore, diminishes the liability,  but does
not totally prevent.
   The next most general plan is the use of Injections after
association, either  for the  purpose of removing the Se-
men, or of destroying its power.  For the purpose of  re- 
         ON  THE  PREVENTION OF CONCEPTION.     265

moving it, however, they cannot always be relied  upon,
for sufficient will often be retained in the folds of the Va-
gina  to cause conception, notwithstanding the injection.
For the  same reason,  no certain  dependence  can  be
placed upon introducing any object into the Vagina be-
fore association, as a  sponge, for instance, which,  on
being withdrawn, may bring the semen with it.  In many
cases this succeeds, but often it will not, because a small
portion of semen is sure to  be left on the walls notwith-
standing, and that may impregnate.  There is  another
objection also to this, which should forbid its general use,
—the object introduced, of course,  comes immediately
before the mouth of the Womb,  and thus prevents the
contact of that part with the male  organ.  Now, this con-
tact is often  necessary, as formerly explained, and when
it does not  occur, there is simply an injurious irritation
to  the female, without any gratification.   I have known
it also cause irritation of the Meatus in the male.
  The use of injections to destroy the power oi the semen
has also  often  led  to  serious evils.  The way in which
they operate, when effective, is by killing the Seminal Ani-
malcules,  and any injection that will not  do this, will not
prevent  conception.  There  are  many substances that
will apparently kill them, but which only leave them par-
alyzed  so that  they afterwards recover,  and there are
other substances  that will  destroy them, but only when
used so strong as  to  injure the female  organs.   Very
many I have met with  seriously injured by the constant
use of powerful injections of this kind,  some having in-
flammation of the Womb and Vagina, some excoriations,
and others hoemorrhage.  Besides which, they in a short
time destroy the sensibility  of  the parts entirely,  and
lead to total indifference and sterility.  The only articles
proper  to be used  in this way, are such as  destroy  the
Animalcules without acting on  the  female organs, and
there are but few that do so.
  The employment of  injections is objectionable, how-
ever, on  other  grounds.   It is not  advisable, as  before
stated, to remove the semen from the Vagina, nor to pre.
vent its being deposited there, because it is better for it
to be absorbed even when there is no impregnation.  In
all  cases, also, it is necessary for  them to be used imme-
diately after  emission,  and the too early separation, to-
gether  with the anxiety and revulsion of feeling attend- 
266     ON  THE PREVENTION OF  CONCEPTION.

ing upon the preventive act are both agitating and inju-
rious, to say nothing of inconvenience.  Some females,
also, absorb  the Semen so quickly, that the injection can
scarcely be used in time,  and with some men the emis-
sion is so slow that the first part may impregnate before
the whole  has  been expelled.   To be in any  degree cer-
tain, therefore, when using injections, it is necessary for
the act to be to a certain extent incomplete, and this often
causes a weakness  in the male, and nervous irritation in
the female.
  Among some persons a plan has been adopted more in-
jurious than  any cf the above, though not known to be so.
It consists in forcibly compressing the male organ close to
the Scrotum, just previous to emission, so that the Semen
can  not escape.  Some men  think that by such means
nothing is  lost, and that the connection does not exhaust
them, but  this  only shows their ignorance of their own
structure.  In  all cases where  the compression  is prac-
ticed, the emission  is as complete as if nothing of the kind
bad  been done, only it takes a different course. By refer-
ring to the plate showing the internal  Male Organs, it will
be seen that  the Semen passes into the urinary passage,
from the Prostate Gland, through certain little openings
called the  Ejaculatory Ducts,  close to the Veru Monta-
num, or  little protuberance in the middle of the passage,
close to  the  Bladder.  Now the Veru Montanum is so
formed, being pointed forwards, that it directs the  Semen
along the passage towards the external opening, which is
the course it should pursue,  but when  compression is
practiced, so  as to close the passage, it can not escape in
this  direction.   Under  these cirenmstances, therefore, it
is compelled  to flow by the large end of  the  Montanum
and  enter the Bladder,  from  whence it is expelled after-
wards along with the urine.  The consequence of  this is
that  it soon begins  to take that course  always,  whether
compression  be  practiced  or not, and the man becomes
sterile in consequence.  He is also liable to inflamma-
tion  of the Urethra, Vera Montanum, and Bladder, and
suffers from  Spermatorrhoea, till eventually  his  powers
are lost  altogether.  It is, in short, a most  destructive
practice.
  M. Parent  Duchatelet gives us some curious informa-
tion  respecting  this practice in his work on " Prostitution
in Paris,"  which may be  read with profit both  by the
Physiologist  and Philosopher, 
ON  THE  PREVENTION OF CONCEPTION.     267
   I may, perhaps, as well remark here, incidentally, that
some young victims of Masturbation  practice the same
thing, under the mistaken idea that no evil ensues from
their vice if the emission does not take place.   The folly
of this  will, however, be apparent from the above  ex-
planation.
   It is evident, therefore, that the Prevention of Concep-
tion, when association is practiced, is not so easy as some
suppose,  and that no means  of accomplishing it  are
known which are both certain and harmless.

    § PREVENTION OF CONCEPTION—ABORTION, ETC.

   To  prevent  disappointment  and  criminality, it  is  j
thought advisable  to make  known the  following facts :  1
By a Law of the State of New York, and also by a special
Act of Congress, it is forbidden,  under any circumstances,  ;
to give any one such  means or such information  as may  .
enable them to prevent conception !  The law makes  no
exceptions, not even though  the  plea may be  to preserve
health or life !
   It is also  forbidden to import or sell the ordinary Mem-
branous  or Rubber Coverings used  to prevent venereal
disease.
   In regard to Miscarriage or Abortion, it should be uni-
versally known that there is no medicine whatever which
is sure to effect either the one or the other at  any time !
Nine-tenths of  the remedies advertised for such purposes
are mere deceptions, and are  not intended to have any effect
whatever; while  the remainder  are more dangerous to the
female than to the Foetus, and still uncertain in their ac-
tion.
   The operation for Abortion  is never safe at  any time, or
in any hands, and every woman who submits to it, not
only risks her health,  but puts her life in peril / 
CHAPTER  XXI.
        TOPICS OF SPECIAL INTEREST.

INFLUENCE  OF FOOD  AND DRINK  OVER  THE SEXUAL
                     POWERS.

  Those who think that food and drink exert little or no
direct influence over the sexual powers, are greatly mis-
taken.  They in fact  operate most powerfully, both  di-
rectly and indirectly, as  I  have shown in my work  on
" The Male Organs."
  It is very essential to  the preservation of the sexual
power that  the general  health should be good, and that
there should be no serious derangements of any of the vital
functions.  When the general health is impaired and the
vital  energies are low, the sexual organs are sure to  be
weakened, and  usually more in proportion than any of
the others.  Owing  to their  extensive sympathies also
they are  sure to be  affected  by the diseases of all the
other organs, and not unfrequently this sympathetic in-
jury becomes very serious.  The stomach particularly ex-
erts a great influence over the generative organs, both
beneficial and injurious.   Long-continued dyspepsia is
nearly always accompanied by weakened  sexual power
and desire, and even temporary attacks  of indigestion
will, for  a time, produce similar* effects.   On  the other
hand a healthy stomach, with perfect digestion and nutri-
tion, is highly conducive to sexual vigor.  We may even
go  much  further, and show that high  feeding  is nearly
sure to over-excite the genital organs, or, in other words,
that gluttony leads to licentiousness.  This is a truth too
often lost sight of in  the education of children, many of
whom, though predisposed to sexial ardor, are stimulated
with rich food and  exciting drinks  till their passions be-
come overpoweringly strong.  In short, the stomach ex-
erts a most decided sympathetic  influence  over  the
generative organs, and we are thus enabled by proper at
            (268) 
INFLUENCE OF FOOD AND  DRINK.       269
tention to the diet and drink, to either increase or weaken
their power to a great extent.
  Some kinds of food stimulate the sexual organs,  while
other kinds have the contrary effect  upon  them.  Shell
fish are usually stimulating, owing to the  phosphorous
they contain,  but other fish have partially this power.
Flesh meat is stimulating merely because it is nutritious,
but it is a great-mistake to suppose that it is of necessity
more  so  than  vegetables.  There are some vegetables
that are often  more stimulating than  flesh,  especially
those that are farinaceous,  or contain  much  starch, as the
potato, for instance, which, when of good quality, con-
tains most of the elements the body needs.   Most strong
tasted or aromatic vegetables have  a stimulant effect,
such as  celery, parsnips,  onions, and Asparagus  espe-
cially, and so have   all  seasoning herbs, such as  mint,
sage,  pennyroyal, and thyme.   Spices  and condiments
have a still stronger action, especially the  peppers and
nutmegs.   Mushrooms  stimulate  some  people  very
much, and Truffles  still more, and even olives exert  a
marked influence at  times.   The flesh of birds I think is
not stimulating, except that which is red, such as  ducks
and geese.  I have  several times been assured that eat-
ing freely of the Canvas-back duck, when in season, has
been  highly beneficial to  those  who were  weakened by
excess, probably partly  from its  own nature and  partly
from the wild  celery on which  it feeds.   Of  all meats,
however, turtle  has  the  greatest reputation for exciting
the generative organs, and I think with good reason.  It
is undoubtedly  highly nutritious, and it appears also to
contain some  heating principle which  specially affects
those parts.
   As  a general rule all the watery vegetables, such as
turnips, cabbage, and squash, have no such  effect as those
enumerated, and are therefore  proper when we wish to
keep down excitement.  Acid fruits also come under the
same category,  and  indeed fruits  generally, except some
highly-flavored  ones, such as  peaches or pine-apples,
which are undoubtedly aphrodisiac, except  they disagree
with the stomach.
   Tomatoes are rather stimulating, and so are most kinds
of  beans, especially  the lima bean, but peas are not so.
wheaten  bread  or wheaten flour in  any form,  is more
stimulating than the flour of any other grain, while In- 
270       INFLUENCE  OF FOOD AND DRINK.
dian meal is  probably the least so.  When we  desire an
anaphrodisiac effect,  therefore, Indian  bread should be
used, with  mush  samp  or hominy, instead  of wheaten
bread or potatoes.  Rice is unstimulating, but sago, tapi-
oca and arrowroot are the reverse.
  In regard to drinks it may be stated that  all alcoholic
liquors are highly stimulating when first taken, but they
soon lose their power if used too long or intemperately,
and  then they  become injurious.  Wine  has a more
strengthening effect than  spirits of any kind, and  ale or
porter is still better  than wine.   Those  who  desire to
keep their passions down should not take either wine or
malt liquors in any quantity.  Most of the cordials in use
are highly exciting, owing to the spices they contain, and
so are many of the so-called bitters.  Coffee is almost as
stimulating as wine, and should  never be used by those
who are disposed to  involuntary emissions,  nor by those
whose desires are  too  strong.   Tea is  different from
coffee in this respect, and is, therefore, the  better drink
in such  cases.   Milk,  though  highly nutritious,  is not
stimulating, and it therefore forms an excellent drink for
those who are disposed  to emissions or exciting dreams ;
such persons, however,  will do better  to  use cold water
only, and they should also avoid all warm  fluids, no mat-
ter how simple, because warm drinks always excite the
flow of urine, and of  course stimulate the sexual  organs
also.  Those who can not use the cold water only may
safely drink soda and mineral waters  as  much as they
choose, or lemonade, if it agree with them.
  The Turks regard all kinds of Fish as being  stimulat-
ing to the sexual powers, and they resort to them on that
account.  Some kinds besides shell fish may probably be
so,  because most  of  them undoubtedly  contain  Phos-
phorus, which is the real cause of their power when they
have any.  A French  writer, Hecquet, gives us  a curious
account of an experiment made by one of  the Sultans to
test this.   He had two Dervishes brought  before him,
men who mortified the flesh in every way, and who prac-
ticed the most rigid celibacy.  He had them  fed upon the
most stimulating and  nutritious  meats, till they became
quite  stout  and strong, and then commanded them to be
constantly attended by two of the  most beautiful  young
females in  the Harem, who were directed  to use all their
arts  to excite their amorous desires.   The Dervishes, 
TIME  FOB SEXUAL INDULGENCE.        271
however, resisted all these powerful influences and main-
tained their celibacy inviolate.   He then directed them to
be  fed on Fish, and to be waited upon in the same way.
This  course was found  to  succeed:, the rigid Dervishes
forgot their vows, love triumphed, and  the  influence  of
this peculiar diet was fully established.
  Young meats are not nearly so stimulating as those of
mature animals, nor  so nutritious.  In roasting meat,
especially Beef, when it is properly done, there is a pecu-
liar and delightful  odor given  from  what  is called  the
bark,  or brown, which  indicates  the presence of a prin-
ciple  termed Ozmazone,  which is not  found in Veal, or
Lamb.   This principle is highly stimulating, and  gener-
ous, and undoubtedly conducive to  generative power.
  In  well-prepared  soups  we smell the Ozmazone, and
then  they are  of service, but without it they can do but
little good.
  Good rich Beef, roasted,  especially the outside, is  per-
haps, as  good  an  article  for strengthening the  sexual
powers as any  that could be eaten, and it may often  be
used alternately with some of the other articles mentioned
with great advantage.
  Fat  is of little service for  this particular purpose, it
having a direct tendency, as is well known, to  form fat,
which is not required.

       §  PROPER TIME TOR SEXUAL INDULGENCE.

  The importance of this subject is  greater than at a first
glance it might appear  to be, and in giving advice, as a
medical  man, I often find  it necessary to  refer to it,  as
will be seen in  my work on The Male Organs.
  It is  well known, respecting all  the other vital func-
tions,  that their healthy  performance, and preservation,
depend materially upon  their being exercised at proper
times, and under proper circumstances, and it is the same
with the generative functions.   Many persons think, be-
cause the genital organs are usually capable of action at
any time, and under almost any circumstances, that it is
therefore of little consequence what time  is chosen,  or
under what circumstances it may occur.  This, however, is
a great mistake, as any one may soon discover by study-
ing his own experience.
  The time  for sexual indulgence  should be so chosen 
272       TIME FOR SEXUAL JNDULGENCE.
that the temporary excitement, and after exhaustion re-
sulting from it, may not interfere with any of the bodily
or mental functions, nor distress the  system by necessi-
tating too much effoi/t during any needful exertion.   Ig-
norance of this important rule;, and  consequent  neglect
of it, very often leads to  great  inconvenience, and even
serious mischief.   Sexual indulgence just after eating is
nearly certain to  be followed  by indigestion,  even if it
does not cause  immediate vomiting, owing to the tempo-
rary loss  of nervous power thereby produced,  which ar-
rests the action of the stomach.   Just before eating also,
the same evil may follow,  from the stomach being made
so weak that digestion  can not  properly commence, and
the food  consequently  ferments.  Many times  I have
heard men confirm this truth,  when  explained to them,
though they  had previously  never  dreamt  that their
troubles arose from such  a cause ; but when  our previ-
ous explanations  are borne in mind, respecting the nerv-
ous sympathies of  the sexual organs, the philosophy of it
will be evident.  The  proper  time for this  indulgence,
Jherefore, in  reference to  taking food, is at a sufficient
interval after  eating for digestion to be nearly  accom-
plished, and before another meal begins to be needed.
By observing this rule, the action of  the stomach is  not
interfered with, and no  indigestion or nausea are likely
to follow.   It is true, that  most  men experience a stronger
desire for indulgence immediately after a full  meal, partic-
ularly when stimulating drinks  have  been used, but this
does not  prove that such is the best time.  The desire
they then  experience is merely a factitious one, produced
by the general excitement of the whole system, and  the
exhaustion afterwards felt is nearly always in proportion.
In the same manner a man while under excitement from
alcohol, may feel disposed to great  bodily activity, and
may exhibit astonishing strength, but when  the stimulus
is withdrawn, he  feels a  corresponding  prostration and
lassitude.   This is the reason also why sexual indulgence
should not be sought during such excitement, for  the dis-
position is nearly sure  to be stronger than natural, and
the over-excitement is followed by proportionate exhaus-
tion.  In Poetry,  I am aware, Venus and Bacchus are as-
sociated together, but  poetry  is not  always Physiology,
nor even  common sense,  nor should the licentious furor
produced  by wine be  in any  way  considered  as  the
promptings of nature. 
            EFFECTS  OF OVER-EXCITEMENT.        273

  Upon the same principles, it is obviously injudicious to
seek indulgence just previous to any mental effort being
made,  because  the vital energy will  be too much ex-
hausted to allow of such effort being made with advan-
tage.   Nor is it advisable immediately  after any great
mental effort, because it is injurious to have two causes
of exhaustion in action at the same time.  The same re-
marks  also  apply to  muscular exercise,  which should
neither immediately follow nor closely precede sexual in-
dulgence, for the  reasons above  given.  In short, the
period  chosen should be one when both  body and  mind
can enjoy repose,  at least for a short period, both before
and after, and when none of the other functions are likely
to be disturbed.
  The  time of day is a matter of secondary importance,
or rather no preferable time  can be named, because it
must so much depend upon how the individual is circum-
stanced.   That of  course will be the best time  when the
above-mentioned  rules  can  be  most  fully  observed.
Some medical writers suggest  the  evening, because the
business of the  day is then over, and the  repose  of night
is to follow, and this probably is the best period, gener-
ally  speaking.   Others again recommend the morning,
because there is then the greatest  vigor, and in case of
conception, the offspring may be benefited thereby, This,
however, I feel assured,  is a bad suggestion, for the
business of the day will be very apt  to  oppress a man
who starts  exhausted, and the various functions of his
system will very likely be imperfectly performed.
  The  celebrated Buffon was accustomed to indulge just
after his  dinner,  and possibly in  his particular case  it
might have had no ill effect, but most certainly the practice
can not be generally advised, and there are  few persons
but what wou'd be injured  by it.
  Perhaps the best course,  when a man is much exhaust-
ed by the fatigues of the day, is to take a first sleep, for
two or three hours, and then  wake up for the  purpose,
devoting the remainder of the night afterwards to undis-
turbed repose.

 § EFFECTS OF  OVER-EXCITEMENT AND ABSTRACTION OF
                        MIND.

  Abstraction of Mind or its complete absorption in some
much-liked pursuit, is highly unfavorable to the  manifes-
             \o 
274        EFFECTS  OF OVER-EXCITEMENT.

tation  of sexual  power.  Many men who  were really
strong and  vigorous  in  their sexual systems have been
comparatively  impotent  from  mere  preoccupation  of
mind, as some of our other articles have shown.  Such
is the case also with females, who are very apt, when ab-
sorbed in their domestic duties, and in  the anxieties at-
tendant upon a family, to become completely indifferent
to amative enjoyment.   Indeed, it is a common remark
that most of them soon fail in this respect, and seldom
maintain the  ardor  they  experienced  at  first, and no
doubt for the above reason.  Those that remain childless,
or who have no care and anxiety, do not experience this
deprivation.
  A celebrated medical author relates an  instance  of a
great Mathematician who  married,  and  who,  though
every way  capable, was utterly unable  to consummate
fully the act of sexual union.  Always before it was com-
plete, some  of his mathematical Problems would come up
in his  mind, and so  completely abstract him,  that Love
was  momentarily forgotten, and the excitement  went
down.   His lady complained to  the  physician above-
mentioned,  and asked his advice.   He recommended her
to partially  intoxicate hex  husband  some  night, with
champagne,  and induce him  to  seek her  society while
experiencing, to him, the novel exhilaration.   She did so,
and the result was as  desired, so that in  a short time she
became a mother.   During the unusual excitement of the
time his mathematics were forgotten, and Love had the
desired opportunity to triumph.
  Several instances have been known where over-excite-
ment has led  to  Apoplexy,  and Paralysis.  I  know a
young man  now,  who became completely blind from ex-
cessive  excitement when -first cohabiting with a female.
And I was told a case  of a husband who actually died
while embracing his wife after a  long absence.  In an-
other instance, a man became insane from over-excite-
ment, on the occasion of his marriage, and a female who
was exceedingly amorous, completely lost the  use of her
limbs in the  same way.   Palpitations of  the heart, nerv-
ous tremblings, and partial loss of sight are frequent oc-
currences at such times in both sexes,  aud are apt to
become permanent. 
DURATION OF SEXUAL POWER.         275
         § DURATION OF THE SEXUAL POWER.

  The duration of the sexual power, like any other, ma-
terially depends on the manner in which it is used, and
this should, therefore, be duly considered by those who
think the preservation  worth striving  for.  A  certain
amount of natural indulgence is  probably essential, in
most cases, to  perfect health,  but when that amount is
exceeded of course more or less permanent injury results,
as before shown.  Every individual should, therefore,
endeavor  to discover for his own guidance the proper
limits  to his gratification, and if he will attend  to  what
has been previously stated on this point, that limit may
be readily  ascertained.   By doing this a  real gain will
always be  made,  for  the extra  duration of the power
which this will ensure will more than compensate for any
temporary denial.   With those people whose systems are
in regular action, anH whose health is nearly uniform, the
observance of a regular  period is found to be advantage-
ous, and highly conducive to the preservation of the virile
power, as it prevents both excess and premature decline.
  These hints and suggestions, though apparently simple
and commonplace, are nevertheless of great value, and if
duly observed would probably do more  towards prevent-
ing untimely decay than all the medical treatment ever
practiced.  Decay is  caused in numerous instance  by a
number of small causes operating together, and if  each of
those be  removed, as may generally be very readily done,
the decay is of course prevented.   People  are too apt to
take notice only of the more striking agents of  destruc-
tion, passing unnoticed these apparently simple  ones as
being of small consequence, while in reality they are  the
most important.
  There are few persons of good health who will attend
to the above suggestions, and  the advice formerly given,
but what may preserve their powers  to an indefinite
period of their existence, particularly if  they  practice cold
local bathing over the parts, and avoid  all improper ex-
citement.   There is no particular time of life when  the
powers of the male system decay, and they may be pre-
served to extreme old age, as many cases have   proved.
Old  Parr, for instance,  was  condemned  to  do  penance
when over a hundred years old, for an amorous intrigue,
and he had several children after that period. 
276        DURATION  OF SEXUAL POWER.

  In females, however,  the power of generation usually
ceases at the turn of life, but not the power of association,
which of course remains the same.  It is a remarkable fact
also that the disposition and the capability of enjoyment re-.
main as strong after that period as before in many, which
would seem to prove that association is quite proper as a
means of indulgence only, or  certainly the  desire for it
would become extinct.
  A remarkable instance of protracted ovulation and pre-
served power,  occurred lately in Switzerland, and was
much commented upon  in the public journals.   A widow
lady aged 68, who  lived alone in an  isolated dwelling,
was requested by a young man to give him shelter during
a storm.  At her request he remained with her four days,
and at the end  of nine months afterwards, to the aston-
ishment  of herself and friends, she became  a mother!
Her widowhood had lasted a long time, and this, probably
protracted the development of the 6va, leaving some to
be perfected much after the usual time.
  The explanations already  given will show that both
power and capability  of  enjoyment may be either in-
creased, made  to  endure,  or decreased and early  ex-
tinguished, according to the mode of life which the indi-
vidual pursues.  There are,  however, many modifying
circumstances not generally taken notice of, but which are
of considerable importance.  Some of these we will now
point out.
  There is no question but that association between per-
sons properly adapted to each other is less exhaustive, and
may be more frequently indulged, than between those who
are naturally unfitted to be companions.  And it is also
certain that the circumstances under which the association
occurs may very much determine  the  effect it will have.
It is requisite, for the act to be  truly pleasurable and.ad-
vantageous, that it should be  fully approved both by the
feelings and the  judgment, otherwise  it will  be more or
less regretted, and more or  less injury will follow,  no
matter what amount of mere animal gratification be ex-
perienced.  This is the reason why mere licentious de-
bauchery is always followed by remorse  and ill  health,
while legitimate association in marriage, with a loved and
respected partner,  leads to no such evil results.  It is a
fact equally  important to individuals  and to society  at
large, that the institution of marriage is conducive both to 
DURATION  OF SEXUAL POWER.        277
to health and happiness, and that the duration of life, in
both  sexes,  is longer in that state  than in any other.
Many men fall into a great error in regard to this subject,
and suppose that they can  realize more pleasure in the
unlicensed indulgence of the single state than when mar-
ried.   7his  is, however, a fatal mistake, for they really
enjoy less, and are after all dissatisfied with themselves,
while the duration of their powers is materially shortened.
  Some little time ago I had a very interesting conversa-
tion on this subject with a Swedenborgian, who remarked
that many of the principles laid down in my lectures ex-
actly corresponded with his  spiritual views on marriage,
and that his own experience  fully corroborated the truth
of what I had stated.  He told me that in his youth, he
was unfortunately led into a licentious course of life, and
experienced in  consequence  all  that self-accusation and
loss of real pleasure which I described, but that sinc^ his
marriage, and in consequence of  the  important  truths
learned  from Swedenborg's  writings,  he had subjected
his passions to the control  of reason, and had led, as he
had expressed it, a  new life.  He assured me that, with
the partner  of his bosom, association was never  followed
by exhaustion to either, but on  the contrary by a feeling
of increased strength and pleasure to both, and I  have no
doubt but he spoke the literal truth, for I  have been fre-
quently  told the same  by others.  He regarded this as
a spiritual  effect, while  / looked  upon  it  as a  simple
physiological one, but be that as it  may the fact is  an im-
portant one, both as regards  health and morals.
   Another important requisite for  the healthy action and
extended duration of the sexual power, in both,  is a near
correspondence  in age.   Experience has  proved beyond
doubt that when there  is great  disparity of age, in mar-
riage, the elder person is nearly sure  to  benefit at the  ex-
pense of the  younger, sometimes even sufficiently to com-
 pensate for the loss resulting from great excess.  This
fact was acted  upon  medically in former times, and is
 now even  in some countries, by procuring young females
 to sleep with old men, so that they may be  strengthened
 thereby, which  they nearly always are, though  the fe-
 males suffer a  corresponding loss, and not unfrequently
 waste and die in consequence.  Such unnatural  practices
 are,  therefore,  properly discountenanced now,  both by
 reason  and morality, though we  sometimes  see a neat 
278        DURATION OF SEXUAL POWER.
approach to them in marriage.  It  is even known that
when children sleep with old persons they suffer from it
and sometimes even die, without the cause of their sick
ness being suspected.  In all probability young men who
marry old  females suffer in the same way,  and  to an
equal extent, provided they are as exclusive in their com-
panionship,  but there are many causes that may make it
otherwise in their case.
  What constitutes a great disparity of age must of course
depend upon  various circumstances besides the number
of years.  Some persons are younger at forty, or  even
fifty, in respect to health and  probable  longevity than
others are at twenty-five or thirty, and this must be  taken
into account.  Generally speaking, however, there should
not be much more than ten years difference under any cir-
cumstances, and only half that is better, the man  being
the elder.  Besides health, this principle of similarity of
age  has an  important bearing upon the relative number
of the sexes born, as shown  elsewhere.
  The explanation of the above-mentioned fact is proba-
bly this,—all living bodies are constantly giving off por-
tions of their substance, in the form of insensible perspir-
ation, and these particles thrown off are in the  same state,
in regard to age and health or disease, as the body from
which they emanate.   The same bodies are also as coh-
stantly absorbing,  both by  the lungs and  by the skin,
whatever is presented  to them in a proper form-,  which
partly counterbalances the loss.  Young healthy persons
are therefore always  giving off  a stream of fresh whole-
some material from their bodies, and old or diseased per-
sons as constantly give off a stream of morbid and decay-
ing matter,  which explains why it is that the young suffer
and the old benefit when they  live  together.  The waste
of the  old persons is in part made up by absorbing the
fresh exhalation from the young, and they become there-
by rejuvenated, while the waste of the young persons  is
only made up by absorbing the decaying exhalation from
the old, and they in consequence speedily decay and be-
come old likewise. The celebrated Hufeland,  in his " Art
of Prolonging Life," gives some curious instances  of the
practical application of this fact which are highly interest-
ing, in a scientific point of  view, though morally  repre-
hensible.  Among others he tells us of  an old man who
 had the superintendence of a kind of almshouse, in which 
             DURATION  OF SEXUAL POWER.         279

were a large number of  young girls, in whose society he
passed nearly the whole of  his  time.   He contrived to
have a number  of  them  always  around him, so that he
was constantly in an atmosphere,  as it were,  of youthful
exhalation, and by these means he preserved his life to an
extreme old age, with all his  powers in full vigor.  A
similar practice, to a certain extent has even been adopted
in London and Paris very recently,  as was discovered in
the evidence on a police trial.   It appeared, from  a state-
ment made, that a number of poor young married females
were hired to attend at a certain  establishment  for so
many hours  in the day  to associate with  superannuated
old men.   Amd not only did these  young females asso-
ciate in company with  the aged  patients, but they also
supplied them with what ought to be kept for infantile
nutriment  alone—in short, they acted as wet nurses to
them !  The results of the practice  were said to be very
satisfactory, but fortunately there  is  not sufficient degra-
dation and poverty  in this country  to make  it available
here, though  I have known it attempted.  With persons
of equal age and similar condition of health,  the exhala-
tions are similar, and there is an equal loss and gain on
both sides.  During sexual excitement the insensible ex-
halation is much increased, and therefore the effects above-
mentioned are more evident where  there  is association,
and this perhaps explains, as my Swedenborgian  friend
remarked, why it is that  in a proper marriage no exhausti&n
at all is experienced, there being merely a reciprocal in-
terchange exactly corresponding in both.

             § PROPER AGE FOR MARRIAGE.

  The proper age for marriage can  not always be  deter-
mined by the number of years the  individual has lived,
some being fully as much developed at fourteen or fifteen
as others are at  seventeen or  eighteen.  The Law,  of
course, fixes  a definite period for each sex, as  it  is re-
quisite to do, but nature makes many variations.  The
ancient Greeks  fixed  the  period  of  marriage very late,
from an idea that it would ensue more vigorous offspring.
Some  of their lawgivers assigned  thirty  years  for the
female, and from thirty-five to forty for the male, but
others decreased this extreme period five or eight  years,
Still  leaving  it,  however,  very advanced.  The ancient 
280         PROPER AGE FOR  MARRIAGE.
Germans, according  to  Tacitus,  never allowed young
persons to marry, but compelled the strictest celibacy in
the male till five-and-twenty, and the female till twenty-
one.  This rule, we  are  assured  was  never  infringed,
and they believed that the children were more strong and
healthy, and long-lived in consequence.  At those times,
perhaps, when none of the  artificial excitants of civiliza-
tion existed, and when all lived, almost from  the moth-
er's arms, in  the constant practice of laborious muscular
exertion, with coarse  food  and thin clothing, this conti
nence might be practicable,  but it certainly is not now.
  In other parts of  the world, where the habits and social
condition of the people are different, we find the opposite
extreme,  marriages often  taking  place  between mere
children,  and females  of  twelve  years old  becoming
mothers.  Both extremes  are undoubtedly hurtful, the
too-early marriage  being,  however, probably the worse
for both  parents and children.
  A female who delays marriage till after  twenty-eight,
is liable to many uterine derangements, and runs more
risk during childbirth than  even  at a  very early  age.
Perhaps it may be said  with propriety, that it is better
for a female to marry before she is twenty-four, and not
till she has turned fifteen at least, or better still sixteen
or  seventeen,  the  medium age of eighteen  being es-
teemed the most desirable by experienced Physiologists.
Much, however, will  depend, as before stated, upon the
development of the system,  and upon the inclination.
Mothers  ought  to  be able  to, tell  whether  the develop-
ment  is  such,  in  every respect,  as  to make  marriage
allowable or not,  and it should be esteemed their duty
to ascertain  such  an important fact.   In the course of
my practice  I  have met with many cases  of deplorable
suffering both of body and mind from neglect in this  way.
  The proper age for the male is from twenty to twenty-
five.   It is true that he is capable of becoming a father at
a much earlier age, but it is not at all advantageous for
him to be so, because previous to that time  the vital en-
ergy is all required to complete the growth of the system,
and it cannot  be abstracted in the emission of semen
without  injury.  It is an  undoubted  fact  that  in  most
young men, previous to  seventeen or eighteen years of
age, the  Seminal Animalcules are very small, and  often
imperfect, which shows that though they may impregnate, 
      PRECAUTION  AT THE TIME OF MARRIAGE.    281

yet it  is not probable that perfect offspring will result
from them.   There is, however, a difference among males
as there  is among  females, though it is not perhaps  so
great as a general rule.

       §  ADVANTAGE OF TEMPORARY SEPARATION.

  It is an undoubted  fact that a  short absence, or partial
separation,  occasionally, tends both to  increase marital
pleasures,  and  to  make  them  endure  longer.  It also
makes conception  more likely,  as the organs act more
energetically after a  period of repose, and when stimu-
lated  by a short restraint.  Many eminent men are said
to have been conceived after a separation of this kind, and
their genius has been  attributed to the greater vigor expe-
rienced under such  circumstances.  It is said, for in-
stance, that Sir Isaac Newton s  father  had been absent
at sea for a long  time  previous to his being conceived,
and that both his father and mother had strongly desired
their  meeting  after  this irksome separation.   In  many
cases I have acted upon  this  principle,  in  giving advice,
and with happy results, and I have no doubt of  its being
well worthy of attention practically.
  On the same principle some authors  contend that it is
advisable always to leave  at  least  three  years between
every two  births, and they contend it  is  better both for
mother and child.   It has even been advanced as an ar-
gument why females should  know how to prevent con-
ception because it is thought that a small number of chil-
dren will be more perfect than a  large number.

       §  PRECAUTION AT THE TIME OP MARRIAGE.

  From  our previous explanations, it  will be seen that
there may be many little peculiarities of organization, and
many  conditions of  the  Genital Organs, especially  in
females, that may make the first  association not only dif-
ficult and painful, but even seriously hurtful.  An imper-
forate  or very strong Hymen, a  relatively small Vagina,
a partial closure of  the Lips,  or an irritable  condition of
the parts generally,  may  be  mentioned  among others,
and both parties ought, at such a time  at  least, to know
that such impediments occasionally exist.  In most  of
these cases a little care and gentleness may obviate both 
282      SEXUAL INDULGENCE AND HEALTH.
 pain and difficulty, while a want of it may create lasting
 trouble  and dissatisfaction.   If young persons of  both
 sexes  understood these matters in time, these minor dif-
 ficulties  would be easily overcome in every instance, and
 even more serious impediments would be so well  under-
 stood, that they would neither alarm nor disgust, as they
 now too often  do.   In all cases,  however, the existence
 of impediments of this kind should be known to mothers,
 or if they are not sufficiently  informed, and suspect them,
 the advice of a medical man should be sought.
  It appears to me  that no  young  person should enter
 into marriage totally ignorant of its duties and liabilities ;
 and common humanity — to  say nothing of prudence—
 imperatively demands that  no young female should be
 condemned to it.  I have known  many instances  of the
 terrible  consequences resulting from a neglect of  this
 necessary precaution,  and, in many cases, when I have
 been timely applied  to, I have been  the means of remov-
 ing impediments and difficulties  that  otherwise  would
 have led to deplorable results.  Owing to my books and
 lectures, a large class of cases of  this  kind constantly
 come under  my care, and I therefore speak on sufficient
grounds.

THE RELATION  OF  SEXUAL   INDULGENCE TO  HEALTH,
          CAPACITY, AND DURATION OF LIFE.

  Although it is true, as before stated, that sexual indul-
gence,  in proper amount, and in proper circumstances, is
not necessarily hurtful, and  may  even be  to  a certain
extent  beneficial,  still it exerts always a powerful in-
fluence upon  the whole system, and  this  influence, is, in
most cases, hurtful.  It  is so because the indulgence only
is usually considered, and no  thought is had as to its  pro-
priety at the time.   From  ignorance  partly and  partly
from want  of control,  people scarcely ever think for a
moment  of the possible consequences of any act of sexual
indulgence.   Nevertheless  there  are few subjects upon
which  more  thought should  be bestowed, or more  care
taken.   There is little doubt  but  that not only is health
and vigor, both of body and  mind, but also the duration
of life materially affected by this act.
  In young people it affects the growth and development
of the system.  In mature age it determines the slow or
quick approach of the period  of decline, and in old age, 
SEXUAL INDULGENCE AND  HEALTH.      283
 if it can still be  practiced, it is often the one thing that
 brings about the  final end of all.
   At any period  of life, if the sexual act consume  bodily
 vigor which is  needed for other  purposes, some part of
 the system must  suffer  in consequence ;  but how seldom
 do people wait till sure  that they  have a surplus of vigor,
 which may be  safely expended for that purpose?  And
 when we reflect upon the frequency of this act, and  beat
 in mind that it is almost always indulged in without any
 thought or care as to its consequences, we may well believe
 that every human being's whole existence has been most
 profoundly influenced by it.
   In this matter, as in most others, the  beginning is the
 most important.  If people while young  can  be properly
 informed and influenced so as to  act rationally, even to a
 small extent, in this respect, it will influence  their whole
 lives for good.  And most assuredly there are numbers of
 young people whose  ambitions and wishes in regard to
 their future lives,  do exert a powerful influence upon their
 conduct.  Show them (not tell them merely) that their ca-
 pacities, mental and bodily, and  their future health and
 happiness are to an immense extent dependent upon their
 conduct in regard  to this matter, and  you make  them
 stop to think.   Every time that  they think reason  gets
 some power of control over passion, and that power in-
 creases with every such act of  thought.   Mere  moral
 preaching  is almost valueless  as the experience  of the
 whole world shows  ; reason and timely knowledge alone
 can accomplish any good.
  Apart from its general depressing influence, injudicious
 or excessive sexual  indulgence affects different people in
 different and special  ways.  This probably arises from
 the sexual organs being differently connected, nervously,
 with other parts.  Thus, in some the stomach is always
 disordered by the sexual act, and in others  the  kidneys
 or the heart   In  young people the brain is most usually
 affected.  It is  more or less weakened or excited, so that
 the memory and  power  of  thinking are enfeebled,  and
 the disposition is changed.  The bright mind becomes
clouded, the memory fails, and the cheerful, sunny  dis-
position is succeeded by  gloom and despondency.   And
how often the remark is made, when the evil is done,
 " Oh !  had I but been better informed in  time !"
  Young people's minds  are crammed with many  things 
284      SEXUAL INDULGENCE  AND  HEALTH.
neither interesting nor  useful  in  any way, but of  the
th'ng which of all others it is important they should know
they are studiously kept in profound ignorance.
  The sexual orgasm is a  violent nervous  action, and
may easily be very dangerous, in  certain  conditions  of
the system.   It is well known to physicians  that  many
men are liable to epileptic fits after it, and to many others
it causes temporary paralysis of the brain ; severe pain in
the back of the head (in the cerebellum) is  common, and
not infrequently this will be so acute as to cause a cry of
distress, and give the impression of impending death.   I
have known men  so much troubled  in this way that they
always  dreaded copulation, though driven to  it by  the
most  imperative  desire.    Women,  also,  are similarly
affected, though more rarely, and seldom to the same ex-
tent.   In some cases the reaction of the  orgasm  on  the
womb is such that it always brings on menstruation or in
pregnancy causes miscarriage.
  When the  orgasm is brought on by masturbation,  in
either sex, these evils are likely to be much worst than
when  it results from  natural indulgence.   In fact,  many
cases of confirmed epilepsy, and St. Vitus' dance, are both
caused and perpetuated simply by masturbation, and  be-
yond doubt numerous instances of despondency, insanity
and suicide are caused in the  same way.  But even nat-
ural indulgence, in excess, or under improper conditions,
may have similar effects.
  The cerebellum, or lower brain, and the sexual organs
are intimately associated, so that any excitement  in  the
one affects the other.   This is why the excitement of  the
sexual organs and their nervous exaltation during the or-
gasm  causes  trouble in the  cerebellum by the  reflex
action. Undue action of  the brain  also by lascivious
thoughts, acts  similarly  on the  sexual organs, and in-
creases the intensity of their excitement.
  Many persons always  have bleeding from the nose
after an orgasm,  or have the  eyes  or ears so  congested
that they can not see or hear.  Others have congestion of
the blood vessels around the rectum  and prostate gland,
often resulting in copious bleeding, or in hemorrhoids, or
enlargement of the prostate.  In fact, I have reason to
believe that  piles result from undue  sexual  excitement
oftener than  from almost  any  other cause,  especially
when that excitement is kept up too long. 
          SEXUAL INDULGENCE AND HEALTH.       285

  Spasmodic stricture of the urethra also  frequently re-
sults in the same way, making urination both difficult and
painful.  At first it may only be for a short time after the
act, but eventually it becomes permanent.   Or, instead
of stricture there may be nervous irritability of the neck
of the bladder, making it difficult to retain the urine.  The
unfortunate victim of this infirmity is constantly annoyed
with the desire to  urinate, and life is made miserable in
consequence.   Wetting  the bed, by children,  is more
often caused by masturbation than is usually supposed.
  A still worse evil resulting from excessive, or ill regu-
lated sexual  indulgence is often  seen in old  age.  The
sexual  organs retain their irritability, the memory of de-
sire still remains, but the reason being enfeebled, there is
no restraint even thought of, and  then occurs  those dis-
tressing cases of old men brought up to answer  for inde-
cent exposure, assaults  upon  children,  or  unnatural
crimes.
  Such cases are  always referred to as disgusting in-
stances of  vice, and so they are, but the vice  should be
referred to  a former period, when  the man was  young.
The act in old age is simply the consequence of wrong-
doing in youth  ; and frequently that  wrong-doing can be
justly attributed to ignorance alone.
  The  command which the sexual instinct obtains over the
reason is sometimes so complete, even in healthy intellec-
tual men, as to cause a condition at  times  of almost ab-
solute  insanity.  Every  man should know  this  and  be
taught the necessity of strenuous constant endeavor not
to be  carried away by it.  The mistake  commonly made
is of blindly obeying  the impulse,  with the resolve to
stop when  there is danger of  going too far.  But this is
precisely what  often can  not be  done.   It is like giving
the horse free rein till he can no longer  be held in.  All
men should know, and especially young  men, that the
unrestrained and  ill-regulated indulgence  of the sexual
appetite may end in such a condition of body and mind
as will leave them utter helpless  slaves to it, so that they
will never be  safe from committing some folly  or dis-
graceful crime.
  A very  eminent  United  States legislator, long since
dead, who attended my private lectures many years ago,
in Washington, gave me  a  remarkable statement of his
own experience.  He candidly  confessed that he  had 
286      SEXUAL INDULGENCE  AND  HEALTH.
 often been on the very brink of ruin  and disgrace, from
 his uncontrollable desire for sexual indulgence. At times,
 he told me, he had to give himself up to  it entirely, and
 to pass day after day in erotic excesses, till  the appetite
 was fully satisfied, and then he could return  to his usual
 avocations, and for a while his brain alone would be act-
 ive.   He would  then  make intellectual efforts which as-
 tonished  all who knew him, and perform  an amount of
 mental labor almost incredible.  And thus these differ-
 ent  conditions would  alternate,  only his most intimate
 friends knowing why it was that  at certain periods noth-
 ing  in  the way of intellectual effort  could be got from
 him.  As he himself expressed it, he was brain mad half
 the time,  and sexually  mad the other  half ; there was no
 medium in either.  "And yet," said he, "1 can truly
 say that this unfortunate condition is the direct result  of
 ignorance, for  I  was  very ambitious  when  young, and
 had  I known of  the probable results of my  youthful ex-
 cesses,  I am confident  they would have been restrained ;
 but I had no idea of what  might be  the consequences in
 any  way,  and always thought I could  pull up whenever
 experience  showed I had gone too far ; but,  alas, that is
 now impossible, and I am a wretched slave to what I de-
 test for the rest of my life."
  Every youth is  capable  of  some restraint, and many
 would exercise it, if they knew what they were liable  to
 if they did not.   It is too much to expect them to deny
 themselves, when they know no urgent reason why they
should.   Moral motives alone count for very little when
 passion urges and bodily  conditions are favorable, but
when conjoined with a knowledge of future consequences,
they may  be of great assistance
  Marriage, and early marriage too, is the best safeguard
 against licentiousness.  It is  true,  married people do
abuse themselves, not unfrequently to the injury of both ;
but such cases  are exceptional.  The very conditions of
married life, when fairly entered  upon, tend to modera-
tion, and to the  perpetuation of the  virile  power.   If
there be  not marriage, there will be more or less illicit
indulgence, in spite of laws, social or moral.
  As Luther well remarked:  "A man  can no more do
 without a wife than without  food," and of the average
 man, this is strictly true. 
CHAPTER  XXII.
         PHILOSOPHY OF  AMATIVE INDULGENCE,

  Those who suppose that sexual enjoyment is altogeth*
er immoral  and unworthy of rational  beings, and those
who regard it as a mere sensual gratification, are both in
error.  Ths instinct or desire for it is innate in all beings,
and  exercises a most powerful influence, both upon in-
dividual action, and upon the destinies of nations.  That
influence may be productive of good or evil, according as
those moved by it are ignorant or properly informed, but
there is nothing necessarily wrong  in the instinct itself
that gives rise to it.  The charms of mutual love, the re-
lations of family, and the compact of society, are all de-
pendent upon it, and would never originate without it.  Dr.
Dunglison remarks,  in his " Human  Physiology," that
" In man and the superior animals, in which  each sex is
possessed  by a distinct individual, it is necessary that
there should be a union of the sexes, and that the fecun-
dating fluid of the male should be conveyed within  the
appropriate organs of the female,  in order that, from the
concourse of the matters furnished  by both sexes, a new
individual  may result.  To this union we  are incited by
an imperious instinct established within us for the preser-
vation of  the species, as the senses of hunger and thirst
are placed within us,  for the preservation  of the individ-
ual.   This has been termed the desire or instinct of repro-
duction ; and, for wise  purposes,  its gratification is at-
tended with the most pleasurable  feelings which man or
animal can experience."
v  The true origin of this instinct has been  discussed in a
former article, and frequent reference to it has been made
in connection with various other explanations, so that its
influence and uses  are tolerably well shown already.   It
undoubtedly originates  from the action of the sexual or-
gans themselves, and  its mental manifestations are merely
caused by the reflex action of those organs on the brain.
                                     (287) 
288    PHILOSOPHY  OF AMATIVE INDULGENCE.

In proportion to the activity of  the  Testes in the male,
and of the Ovaries in the female, is the extent of the sex-
ual power, and in proportion  to  the  number and sensi-
bility of the  nerves of certain parts  is the  intensity of
sexual feeling and desire.  To say that all these are  ex-
perienced in  different  degrees,  is but stating what is
generally known, though few persons know the occasional
extent of that difference.  While  some experience sexual
desire so weakly that they can easily overcome it alto-
gether, others feel it so overpoweringly, that every other
impulse besides is utterly powerless, and for the sake of
one  indulgence, all risks are run, and all consequences
madly braved. There are people even—females at least —
who  never feel even the slightest amorous propensity, and
there are others in whom it becomes  so imperious as to
cause actual mania.   It  is, therefore, very difficult to  be
strictly just  when judging of the virtues  or failings  of
people in this respect, and the utmost charity should at
least influence our thoughts, whatever prudence may point
out as requisite  in  our  actions,  There  are, no doubt
many immaculate people who owe their virtue chiefly to
organic deficiency,  which lessens the inclination to in-
dulge, and  the't  are no  doubt others that fall from un-
usual organic vigor, which, perhaps  few,  if  any, would
have been mo?e successful in  withstanding.  This is not
said, be it remembered, as an excuse for licentiousness,
nor to undervalue the power of a well-regulated mind in
controlling these impulses, but merely to  state the  case
as it  really exists.  That the  sexual powers and desires
may be either exalted or depressed by the state both of
the mind and body, has already been abundantly shown,
and  all persons with sufficient knowledge  may regulate
that  state in a great measure themselves.   It  is the duty,
therefore, of those acquainted with such truths to make
them generally   known, and  thereby hasten the  time
when the mere animal instinct will be controlled, at least
to some extent, by the intellect.
  The phenomena attendant  upon  Copulation,  or the
actual union  of the two sexes, have already been  discus-
sed,  and also the causes  that may be supposed  naturally
to lead to it.  In both  sexes, when the  union is really
desired, and  no obstacle interferes, it leads to the highest
and most absorbing excitement that animated beings can
experience.   Both  beings are thrown into a species oi 
PHILOSOPHY  OF AMATIVE INDULGENCE.    289
mental  ecstacy and  bodily fever, during which all  other
thoughts and functions are totally suspended, and all the
vital forces are concentrated in  the reproductive  system.
In the female the uterus and vagina are engorged with
blood, the labia are tumefied and irritable, and the clitoris
becomes congested, erect, and highly sensitive.  In the
male similar changes are also observed, to fit  the organ
for its peculiar use.   "It is first necessary that, under
the excitement of the venereal  desire, the organ should
attain a necessary state of rigidity, which is termed erec-
tion.   In this  state the  organ  becomes enlarged, and
raised toward  the abdomen ; its arteries beat forcibly ;
the nerves become tumid ; the skin more colored, and the
heat augmented.   It becomes also of a triangular shape,
and these changes are indicated by an indescribable feel-
ing of pleasure."—(See Dunglison.)
   At this time the adaptation of the male and female or-
gans  for each other becomes most  manifest,   and the
manner of  union is  clearly  indicated.   The Penis being
drawn up towards the abdomen, it necessarily has an up-
ward curve, which precisely adapts it in the usual  posi-
tion, to the curve of the Vagina, and  brings the mouth o:
the Urethra almost directly against the mouth of the
Womb.  The Cushion of the Mons Veneris prevents in-
jury by external  pressure, and  the increased  flow of
Mucus from the Vagina moderates the heat and lubricates
the walls of the passage.
   Dr.  Dunglison  remarks,  respecting  the  male organ,
that in all probability, " the Arteries  first respond  to the
appeal ; the organ is, at the same time,  raised by the ap-
propriate muscles ;  its  tissues  become distended; the
plexus  of veins turgid, and the return of blood is im-
peded.   In this  way  the  organ  acquires the rigidity
necessary for penetrating the parts of  the  female.  The
friction which then  occurs, keeps up the voluptuous ex-
citement and the state  of  erection.  This  excitement is
extended to the whole generative system ,  the secretion
of  the  Testicles  is  augmented ; the Sperm  arrives in
greater quantity in the Vesiculae Seminales ; the Testicles
are drawn  up towards  the  abdominal rings  by the con-
traction of  the  Dartos  and Cremaster, so  that  the Vas
Deferens is rendered shorter, and, in the opinion  of some,
the sperm filling the excretory ducts of the  Testicle, is in
this  manner  forced mechanically forward towards the 
290    PHILOSOPHY OF AMATIVE INDULGENCE.
Vesicles.  When these have attained  a certain degree of
distension, they contract suddenly and powerfully, and the
sperm is projected through the ejaculatory ducts into the
Urethra.  At this period  the pleasurable sensation is at its
height.   When the sperm reaches the Urethra, the Canal
is thrown into the highest excitement ; and the Ischio-
Cavernosus  and  Bulbo-Cavernosus  Muscles, with  the
Transversus Perinei andLevator-Ani are thrown into vio-
lent contraction :  the two first holding the Penis straight
and assisting the others in projecting the sperm along the
Urethra.  By the agency of  these muscles and  of  the
proper musclar structure in the Urethra, the fluid is  ex-
pelled, not continuously, but  in jets, as it seems  to be
sent into the  Urethra by  the alternate contractions of the
Vesiculse Seminales.   These muscular contractions are of
a reflex character, being independent  of the will, and in-
capable of being controlled by any exertion of it.   They
are induced, as in deglutition (swallowing) by a special
excitant—the food in one case, the sperm in the other."
  This highest point of enjoyment is termed the Orgasm,
and in  some it  is so  intense  that all  consciousness of
everything but the intense pleasurable excitement ceases.
The duration of the orgasm is short, it being over imme-
diately the flow of semen is ended, which it usually is in
a few seconds.  This momentary ecstasy is followed by a
state of dreamy languor and exhaustion,  which is  often
not devoid of pleasure, though of  a  different kind, and
there  is  an  almost invariable desire fcr repose.  So in-
tense  is the  orgasm in  some  cases,  that  the  individual
utters loud cries, and becomes delirious, or, occasionally,
insensible.  The  exhaustion  afterwards   is  also some-
times very great, and the individual will be almost unable
to move.
  In the  female  an orgasm  is not always experienced,
and many even know  not what it is, though they may be
capable of considerable excitement.   When it does occur,
it  is exhibited in  the same  way as  in  the other sex,
though often much more  intensely, being accompanied by
cries and  convulsive motions of the most energetic char-
acter.   The after-exhaustion is usually not so great in
them as in the other sex, and the dreamy languor is more
pleasing.  It will often endure for hours.
  In the male there can,  of course, be but one orgasm at
once, because no other  can  be experienced  till a fresh 
        PHILOSOPHY  OF AMATIVE INDULGENCE.    201

supply of  semen has been secreted, which requires more
or less time.   Some, however, can have two or three se-
cretions in an hour or two, but it is unusual, and the effort
is always very exhaustive and hurtful.   I have known an
instance in which a man has forced eight or ten orgasms
in a single night,  but, in such a case, I have  no doubt
there was a peculiar conformation of the organs, owing
to which but a  small portion of semen was emitted at
once, and probably no  more altogether than  most men
emit at once.  In general, no  repetition of the act is de-
sired under several hours, or, perhaps not for days, and
it is certainly then improper for it to be sought earlier.
  In the female  the orgasm is  not  caused by any secre-
tion, like that of the semen, and, consequently, the excite-
ment is not necessarily  subdued by the first, but  several
orgasms may follow each  other in  quick  succession.
This  is sometimes carried to a  great extent,  each one
becoming more vivid than the others, till fainting  ensues.
In general, however,  there is  but.one, as with the male,
and when there  is a  proper adaptation, the two orgasms
correspond, which  mutually  heightens the  pleasure  of
both, and conduces to conception, though not necessary
to it in all cases.
  The after state in females is not always the same, but
is often one of  sadness and weeping,  or of violent Hys-
terics.  Some females  even  say that this is always the
case  when they conceive, and  that they  thereby know
when that event occurs.  It has been even said by some
that during a vivid Orgasm, resulting in conception, they
could  see, mentally, the new being they were about to
bear, and one female assured me that in this way she had
a perfect view of the form and features of her  child as it
afterwards appeared at  birth.  Perhaps we ought rather
to  believe that  the image so strongly impressed on her
mind, at such a moment, was given to the child in con-
sequence of that impression.
   In most females there is a sudden and increased secre-
tion of mucus from the  vagina, at the moment of the  or-
gasm, which is erroneously thought, by the uninformed,
to be a species of semen, hut it has  nothing whatever to
do with conception.
   In most females the Orgasm is very difficult  to be pro-
duced, and they therefore seldom experience  it, and  in
some even it is never felt.  In others,  however, it is pro- 
292    PHILOSOPHY OF  AMATIVE  INDULGENCE.
 duced very readily, and will even occur during sleep, or
 from exciting the breasts.  Owing to this peculiar Nerv-
 ous susceptibility, sexual  excitement will  also  often fol-
 low various moral emotions, and an  Orgasm will  occa-
 sionally supervene without  there  being any licentious
 tendency.   This peculiar liability is in fact the cause of
 many female enthusiasms, which are often only the re-
 sults of thisVowerful emotion  directed by circumstances
 and education.  When strongly experienced, if conscien-
 tious motives are powerful  enough to forbid its  natural
 indulgence, it takes  some other direction,  and imparts
 that  fervor and devotion which is so amiable a part of
 the female character,  and which all  admire though few
 suspect its origin.  This  nervous susceptibilty, however,
 is  unfortunate  for them in some respects, as it makes
 them liable to undesirable  influences,  and often  over-'
 comes them in spite of themselves.
   It has been asserted by a very eminent physician, that
 it is simply owing to the susceptible state  of  the sexual
 system that many females are  so readily impressed, as it
 is termed, by  mesmerism, and similar nervous excitements,
 and that those who are uninfluenced by such agents are
 always of  cold temperaments.  The  truth  of this, as a
 general rule,  every medical man of experience must have
 perceived.
   A short time ago I induced a  lady, who  was formerly
 much addicted to mesmeric practices, to give me her ex-
 periences,  written  down, and a curious revelation it is.
 She  confessed that  whenever she was capable of  being
 acted upon mesmerically, the mesmeric state1 was always
 preceded  by  one  of  sexual excitement, often  amounting
» to a perfect Orgasm, and that if this feeling was  not ex-
 perienced, she  could  never be  mesmerised.  Sometimes
 the exaltation of the  nervous  system was  so  great, she
 could with difficulty  control herself, and  so  many Or-
 gasms would follow each other, that she would be com-
 pletely exhausted, and would faint away.
   Similar results to the above often follow intense  devo-
 tional excitement, when  carried so far as  to  overpower
 the reason—such, for instance, as the wild  fanaticism  of
 a camp-meeting, or protracted revival  meeting, the female
 actors in which are often so carried away by their fervid
 feelings as to be totally  insensible  to the nature of what
 they experience.  This I say of course, merely as aMedi- 
         PHILOSOPHY OF  AMATIVE INDULGENCE.    293

cal  Man, and from  the number  of patients I  have had
who have  been the  victims  of these exhibitions, I feel
fully justified in making the observations I have.  Hys-
teria, and  other  nervous affections, Palpitation of  the
Heart, and irregular Menstruation are a few of the evils
that I thus find produced, to say nothing of the liability
to affections of the brain,  and Chlorosis.
  One of the  most remarkable circumstances  connected
with the experience  of the sexual feeling in females, is-
the  fact that  it will often be felt with one companion,
even to excess, but not with another, though there  may
be  neither dislike nor  disinclination.  This shows  how
much it is under the influence of the  mind with them,
and to what an extent it is  modified by other  emotions.
Some little matter, perhaps a mere association of ideas,
may be sufficient to  prevent excitement entirely, or raise
it to the hija^iest  pitch.   This also shows that  there is a
natural  adaptation required between married persons,
and that marriage is never precisely what it ought to be
unless  that adaptation exists.  It is not easy, however,
to say in what that adaptation is to be found, nor can its
absence or presence be known precisely, except by expe-
rience.   To a certain extent, however,  it may  be known
whether it subsists or not before marriage, but only by
those who have made it a matter of special  study and ob-
servation.
  In addition to  its  other uses, moderate  sexual excite-
ment is, undoubtedly beneficial,  in  various ways, to the
organization generally.  It serves as a wholesome stimu-
lus to the nervous system, at ordinary times, and without
it there is  scarcely ever an exemption  from nervous af-
fections.   This accounts for the fact that married people
are always longer lived, on the average, than  those  that
remain single, notwithstanding that they have more anx-
ieties, and that married females  are subject to so many
accidents.   A celebrated  physician (Pidoux), who  had
been much employed in  the Nunneries, assures us  that
almost invariably the  nuns are  afflicted with  floodings,
and with other uterine diseases, after they attain a certain
age.
  In short, marriage, or the union of the two sexes, is or-
dained by Nature, and this  ordinance can no more be
violated without evil consequences than can  any other.
The physical enjoyments appertaining to marriage, also 
294    PHILOSOPHY OF AMATIVE INDULGENCE.

form  part  of  that  ordinance, and are undoubtedly both
proper and advantageous, within proper limits.
  In all cases where the sexual system  is mutilated, so
that none of those feelings and  desires  are experienced,
the individual remains  ever  after imperfect, both bodilj
and mentally.  Proof of this is to be seen daily in our do-
mestic animals, the nature and form of which are changed
most  curiously by  castration, or spaying.  The  most re-
markable effects of this kind, however, are seen among
human  beings,  in  those unfortunate creatures  termed
Eunuchs.  Stunted  or  deformed in  body,  imbecile in
mind, and perverse in disposition, they drag on a wretched
existence for  little more than half the usual term of hu-
man life.  Decrepid and  decayed while yet  young in
years, old age comes prematurely upon them, and an un-
timely grave  closes their imperfect career.   Nature, in
short, seems to say, that where the generative^, apparatus
is absent, the  rest of the system is not worth preserving,
and she, therefore,  leaves it to speedily decay.
  Even in after-life, when all has apparently become per-
fected, the presence and proper action of these organs is
necessary to maintain health and vigor.   If any accident
occurs by which they are  destroyed, or their powers  se-
riously impaired, everything else suffers, and  the whole
system speedily goes to decay ; without them, everything
else seems to be abandoned.
  The  sexual  system is, therefore,  necessary, at first, to
effect  the full development  of  the whole organization,
and it  is equally necessary afterwards to maintain  it in
healthy and vigorous action.
  Undue  continence in those who have natural sexual
tendencies, is always attended by a variety of evils, some
of them of a serious character,  showing that temperate
indulgence, so far  from being hurtful is both  necessary
and beneficial.  Undue continence in the male leads tc
Spermatocele, Spermatorrhoea,  and  even insanity.  In
the female, it leads to Ovarian and Uterine diseases,  Hys-
teria, and mania, and in both it  originates the most sin-
gular and distressing vagaries of  mind and thoughts.   In
severe cases, it leads to Erotomania, Satyriasis, or Nym-
phomania.
  An  instance occurred in England, of a young female
who became insane, from not being allowed to marry__
though the true cause was not suspected—and who was con- 
PHILOSOPHY OF AMATIVE INDULGENCE.    295
 fined in a private asylum in consequence ;  while there,
 one of the keepers  noticed certain peculiarities in her
 conduct, and  abused her for his own gratification.  The
 result was, however, that she  perfectly recovered her
 reason, though at the expense of her honor
   In short, it is with these  as with all other organs,  a
 temperate and proper use of them is conducive to health,
 and creates happiness, but abuse or destruction of them
[leads to misery and death.
   In connection with this subject there are a few remarks
 in my work on " The Male Organs " that may  be advanta-
 geously referred to, and as they may not be seen by many
 of the readers of this book, I will quote them:
   " Constant and healthy exercise of the whole muscular
 iystem is also of greac importance  to the preservation of
 sexual power.  It is true that if  a  man take  little exer-
 tion—particularly if  he  lives high—he will be apt to ex-
 hibit an unusual  tendency  to amorous indulgence, be-
 cause, as before remarked, gluttony and idleness  lead to
 licentiousness.  This effect, however, is only a temporary
 one, and sooner or later, the individual finds  that he has
permanently exhausted his vital energy, and that his health
 and strength are seriously impaired.  The vital power that
 may be safely expended in sexual indulgence  is only the
 surplus, after every other part of the system has appropri-
 ated its due amount, and if more be so expended, some part
 must suffer.   In other words, we may suppose that every
 healthy man has a certain stock of vital energy, which
 we will call his capital, to which he keeps adding more or
 less by the function  of nutrition ; this addition may be
 compared to interest, which may be expended without any
 loss of capital, and  of course, without making him  any
 poorer.  If, however, by excess he expends  more  than
 this addition,  the capital is proportionally diminished,
 and permanently too for it .an seldom be  made up again.
   "Now, the idle man does not expend enough vital en-
 ergy on his muscular system to  keep  it  healthy, but at
 the same time gives a superabundance of it to the sexual
 organs, so that they are  over-stimulated, and  suffer  from
 excess.   They become  habituated to great  indulgence,
 and are constantly causing a drain on the  vital power,
 that soon exhausts both principal and interest, and leaves
 the individual completely exhausted.
   " The philosophy of this has been frequently alluded to
in the course of the present work, but  it is  so important 
296    PHILOSOPHY  OF AMATIVE INDULGENCE.

that I wish  to  present  it in a strong light.  I am fully
persuaded that there is no case of precocious or excessive
sexual propensity, unless caused by disease, that cannot
be easily subdued  by muscular exercise.  No matter how
vigorously  the seminal glands  may  act, in a state of
leisure, they must become  less active  if the body be ex-
hausted by active exertion, and to this rule there is scarce-
ly any limit.  One of the  Reports of  the Massachusetts
Lunatic Asylum strongly impresses this truth, and shows
conclusively that we have, in hard labor a certain means
of subduing this propensity to its proper limits under any
circumstances.   The application of this truth to  young
persons is obvious, numbers of them being made  licen-
tious only by bodily inactivity and over-feeding."
  The  invalid  or  the man whose powers are impaired,
must, of course, husband his strength, because he  does
not require exhaustion, but only sufficient exercise to en-
sure health.
  Exercise of the mind is also equally as important as ex-
ercise of  the body.  The man  who is mentally idle, is
nearly certain to experience too strongly the force of the
animal propensities, and licentious thoughts are too often
indulged merely from  the absence of better ones.   It
must be recollected, however, that too  much mental exer-
tion, particularly  if attended with  care and anxiety, is
most destructive  to the sexual power,  and frequently
leads to impotence, as  many of our cases have shown.
Those  who wish,  therefore,  to  preserve  their  virility.
should endeavor to maintain a happy medium, laboring
with the mind sufficiently for health and utility, and en-
deavoring to preserve perfect calmness and equanimity.
  One singular circumstance may be mentioned here, in
connection with the Genital Organs, with is both curious
and important.  They appear to possess  in  an eminent
degree the power of retaining animal fluids in their sub-
stance without those fluids becoming decomposed.  Thus
in many cases sacs oi water, blood, and other fluids have
been formed and retained in these parts, both in males and
females, for months  and years,  and yet  no change  has
taken place in these fluids.   Now, in  most cases, where
such accumulations take place in other parts of the body,
decomposition  speedily ensues.  The Genital Organs,
therefore,  possess a preservative  power, and  this  is,
doubtless,  owing  to their great vitality and vigorous cir-
culation. 
ARTIFICIAL IMPREGNATION.          297
          ARTIFICIAL   IMPREGNATION,

               AS A CURE FOR STERILITY.

  Of late years much attention has been  bestowed upon
the subject of sterility, and much success has attended the
efforts of physicians to cure it.   This success has resulted
from a better knowledge of the various causes of sterility,
in both sexes,  and of the means by which  such  causes
could be removed.  Those who have read my work will
be  aware that a childless marriage may result,  on  the
part of the male,  either from actual impotence, from mal-
formation of the  organs, or from an imperfect condition
of the semen.  On the part of  the female, it may result
from various causes.  She may either be imperfect in
the  ovaries, so as  to  form no eggs, or the eggs them-
selves may  not be perfect; or she may have such  an irri-
table womb that  constant  miscarriages will  occur, even
if she does conceive.   Besides these causes,  the passage
into the womb may be too small,  or it may contract
spasmodically, and thus prevent the entrance of the se-
men.  In like manner,  the Fallopian tubes  may be so
contracted that the egg cannot pass down  them till it is
too ripe, or spoilt, and incapable  of impregnation.
   Most of these causes are capable of removal, as shown
in previous  chapters.   In the male, various malforma-
tions can be corrected ; the organs can  be strengthened,
and the testes can be made  to secrete semen more abun-
dantly,  and of a better quality.
   In the  female, also, the  ovaries can  be strengthened.
so as to form more and better ovae, or eggs ;  the irritabil-
ity of the wnmb can be removed, so that when she con-
ceives the embryo can be  retained : the Fallopian tubes
can also  be opened when  contracted  or  closed,  and the
passage into the womb can be enlarged  so  as to admit
the  semen  into  its cavity.  Thus most of the causes of
sterility are  removable, and  it is perhaps safe to say that
nine out of ten childless couples may be made to  become
parents.
   It  sometimes  happens,  however, that  the man may
have the opening  of  the  Penis  not at the  end, but far
down the organ, and in  such  a case,  though he may
have abundance of good semen, he may  fail to impreg- 
298          ARTIFICIAL IMPREGNATION.
 nate.  The semen, in such  a case, is not thrown up to
 the womb, and unless the female have unusual powers of
 absorption, it may never reach there, and of course can
 not impregnate the egg.   Such an imperfection can some-
 times be removed by making a new opening in the proper
 place,  and closing the other,—but this  can not always be
 done.
   Sometimes, also, in the female, the womb may be out
 of place, so that its  mouth is not properly presented, or
 the passage into it may contract, in  spite of all we  can
 do, with such  force  that no  semen  can possibly enter.
 This is very apt to be the case with females of very warm
 temperaments, and explains why such women often  do
 not conceive.   No doubt some females can absorb semen
 from  the  vagina, but these  are exceptions.   In most
 cases the semen, or  the  Animalcules, must  directly enter
 the womb.
   Now it is in  precisely  these cases, in which the semen
 can not reach the womb  during or soon after connection,
 from some of the causes above named, that artificial im-
pregnation is so applicable, and so generally successful.
   As we have already explained, connection is not essential
 to impregnation : the female may conceive without any
 contact whatever with the male !  All  that is  needed is
 for healthy, perfect  seminal animalcules  to  enter  the
 womb, and unite there with a perfect egg.  It matters not
 how the semen is got there, whether through the medium
 of the male organ, or through the  medium of a syringe !
 And upon this fact is  based the practice of artificial im-
pregnation.
   Experiments made  a long time ago showed that a bitch,
 when in  heat, could be  impregnated by injecting semen
 with a syringe up the vagina.   And further, that by mix-
 ing the  semen  from  different dogs, a mixed progeny
 could be produced ;  some resembling  one of the dogs,
 and some another.
   Finally, some physicians, seeing the anxiety of many
 childless  parents for offspring, and feeling sure that this
 longing could, in many cases, be  easily gratified by arti-
 ficial  impregnation,  urged  it  upon  their  patients.   A
 proposition so strange and novel was, of course, received
 with great surprise and many objections, and it  was long
 before the matter was put to the test.   Finally,  a French
 physician prevailed   upon several childless couples  to 
ARTIFICIAL IMPREGNATION.          299
adopt the  means  he suggested,  and the success which
attended them at once established the practice, till it has
now become quite common ; and no couple now in France
consent to be  without children,  if they wish them,  till
these means have  been  tried.   There are physicians
even, who make this a specialty, and do scarcely anything
else but cure sterility by artificial impregnation.
  It is true, old John Hunter had suggested this practice
to one of  his patients many years ago, and it had suc-
ceeded, but the fact had been lost sight of.  It is only in
recent times  that the  practice  has become recognized as
a legitimate one in medical practice.
  It is a curious circumstance that in an old Arab book,
published nearly twelve hundred  years ago, a case of ar-
tificial impregnation  is  fully described.  It  seems  that
in one tribe there was a famous stallion, so fleet that no
other horse  could  compete  with him, and  his master
could make  raids  and  always escape, owing to his fleet-
ness.   A  man  of  another tribe, however, who had been
injured by the  owner of the famous stallion, determined
to have one of the same breed,  so that he might  compete
with  him.   The book  relates,  therefore,  that when  his
mare was  in heat he took some cotton and soaked it in
the mucus from  her vagina ; then, during the night, he
stole  to the side of the famous  stallion, and put this cot-
ton to his nose.  The odor, of course, excited the  horse,
as it always does, and finally had such an effect upon him
that he  discharged the semen,  which the cunning Arab
caught  upon some  clean  cotton,  and then, hastening
home, he  placed it in the vagina of his mare.   The con-
sequence was that she  became pregnant, and ultimately
brought forth a male colt, which became the equal of  his
father, and the  Arab was thus able to make raids in  his
turn upon the  hostile tribe.  There was one wide, deep
ditch  in this part of the desert which only these two could
leap.
  Artificial impregnation is performed in this way.   The
physician is provided with a properly constructed syringe,
having a  long  nozzle, very small, and  properly  curved.
The semen, freshly obtained, is sucked up into the syringe,
the small end of which is pushed up into the womb, and
then the semen is injected.  Of course it is then put just
where it is wanted, and if a healthy, well formed-egg be
there  impregnation follows. 
300          ARTIFICIAL IMPREGNATION.
          HOW THE  OPERATION IS PERFORMED.

  There  are various precautions  to be observed,  how-
ever, to insure success, connected with  both sexes.  In
the first place, we must ascertain when the female passes
the egg, as explained in a previous chapter, because it is
of no use  placing the  semen  in the womb when the egg
is not there to receive it.  Nor is it any use before the egg
reaches the womb.  It is  requisite, therefore,  to make
the matter'more certain, to study the female before, dur-
ing, and after menstruation.
  Of course the most likely  time  will be immediately
after the cessation of the courses,  and from then till  six
or eight days after ;  or, in some few cases, perhaps, just
before.
  After the operation, the female  should remain perfectly
quiet for an hour or so, and avoid all violent exertion or
excitement for some time after.   If the period comes on
again at  the  usual  time, it will show that impregnation
probably  did  not  occur, and the  operation should be re-
peated a little earlier or a little later, for it  is not possible,
in all cases, to be sure of the proper time, and, occasion-
ally, the injection has to be made six or eight  times  be-
fore impregnation takes place.  I  remember one instance
in which  the operation was repeated eleven different times
in as many months, with no success, but  on the twelfth
it did succeed.
   In this case the first injection was  made the first day
after the  period, the second  the second day after, and so
on till the eleventh day ; the  twelfth injection was then
made before the flow had quite ceased, and that succeeded.
   It must be remembered that some women have  a flow
at regular periods, as usual, even after conception.   It is
therefore  necessary to be very cautious and not repeat
the injection too soon, unless there seems  to be no doubt
as to its being a real  menstruation.   In fact, it is better
to let two or even three months pass so that there may
be no risk of causing miscarriage.   With care,  however,
this accident may not necessarily occur, even if injection
be practiced after conception has  taken place.
   It is also advisable  that the man should prepare him-
self some time beforehand, by avoiding all exhaustion or
excitement, so that the semen may be abundant, and of
good quality. 
ARTIFICIAL IMPREGNATION.          301
  Although the operation is simple and easily performed,
even by the parties themselves, still it is better done by
some one  who  has  the proper instrument, and who is
familiar with the anatomy of the parts.   No injury need
be feared under any circumstances, nor any unpleasant
consequences whatever.  The only precautions to be ob-
served are, to have the  syringe  properly warmed, to in-
troduce it slowly and gently into the passage to the right
depth, and to have it filled with the semen, so that no air
may be introduced.
  As regards the  way in which the semen  must be  ob-
tained, that, of course, is a matter to be arranged between
the parties themselves and  the  physician.  I  need  only
remark that it must be freshly obtained  and used imme-
diately.
  Some physicians use a speculum when introducing the
syringe, but that is not  necessary.  It is necessary, how-
ever, to ascertain  first the  length of  the vagina and the
height of the womb,  so  as to know exactly to what depth
the syringe should penetrate.
  Details as to  the  position in which the female should
be placed,  and other matters, need not be given here, as
they can be communicated if necessary.
  During the last  five years I have performed this opera-
tion thirteen times, and have known of its  being per-
formed thirty-seven  other  times, making fifty in all.   Of
these fifty, forty-three have been successful,  and the other
seven failed, I have  no  doubt, from imperfection either in
the semen or the egg.
  In such a matter as this, strange and unusual as it may
be, I consider no  apology or  excuse  necessary.   It con-
cerns  only the  parties  themselves.  If  childless  people
wish offspring, and safe and harmless means of gratifying
them  can  be adopted,  it rests  entirely with them alone
whether they will remain without children, or obtain  them
by  these means.  As to the practice being  in any way
improper or immoral, I cannot so consider it,  but rather
the contrary.  The parentage is of course the  same, and
the child so produced is just as perfect as if it came in  the
natural way.
   Independent  of its value as a means  of insuring off-
spring, this practice may often lead to valuable results in
another way.  It is well  known  that  many childless
women  suffer from  a  variety  of complaints  which can 
302          ARTIFICIAL  IMPREGNATION.
never be removed while  they remain  childless, but which
disappear immediately they become  mothers.  Now in
such cases artificial impregnation  enables  us to  insure
them that relief which they perhaps would  never  obtain
without.
  It should also be  remarked that when impregnation
has once been effected artificially, it usually occurs after-
wards naturally, without any difficulty.
  At the termination of our great war I was waited upon
by an  officer  who had  been wounded at  the battle of
Shiloh.   The whole of the penis  was shot away, leaving
the testicles unhurt /  His secretion of semen was abund-
ant,  and it was often  ejected in large quantities, with con-
siderable excitement.  He was married only a month be-
fore joining the  army, and his wife  had  not  conceived.
Of  course any connection  v^s  out of  the  question,
although an artificial  penis had been  adapted to him, by
which he could urinate with comfort.   I>oth himself  and
wife, however, were  intensely delirious of having chil-
dren, but thought of course there  was no hope for them.
  Being aware of  his condition, i spoke  to  him  of the
practice of artificial impregnation, which he heard of with
the greatest joy, and at  once consulted with his wife on
the matter.  The  result  was thit they both agreed, and
the operation  was  performed successfully the first time.
That child is  living  now, and is as fine a boy as ever
gladdened parents' hearts.   They have resolved, when he
is seven years old to have another,  or earlier if he should
die.
  In another case the man had lost all power of erection
from paralysis, although  the secretion of semen still con-
tinued,  and  there  were  frequent emissions.  They had
had  five children before, but all were dead, and  they
never hoped  to have another.   By  accident, however,
he heard of the practice  of artificial  impregnation, and
wrote to  me  about it.  An  appointment was  made, and
he paid  me a visit with his wife.   Feeling  satisfied at the
interview, that there  was no  reason  why the  operation
should not be  performed, I undertook it at the proper
time, and repeated it four times before it was finally suc-
cessful.   The result was  all that could be wished.
  Now who shall say, in  these cases,  that there was any-
thing objectionable in the practice ?   Rather, I should
say,  they show its great value. 
ARTIFICIAL IMPREGNATION.          303
   It is true a cousin of the officer, whose case is described
 above, did complain, and thought himself injured because
 the child superseded him as heir to the officer's property,
 which he had fully calculating upon inheriting.   I have
 also heard some persons contend that  those who cannot
 have children by the usual  means should remain without
 them, and that  it is unnatural, if not even sinful,  to ob-
 tain them by artificial  means.  I leave every one  to de-
 cide this point for himself, and in the mean time am pre-
 pared to practice the operation for all who need and wish it.
   In addition to the precautions already indicated, there
 are also two others to be taken.   First, the  semen must
 be examined  microscopically to  see if  it contains  living
 animalcules, because if it does not, of course the  opera-
 tion  will be useless.  Second, the mucus of  the vagina
 must be examined, to  see if it be 100 acid or too alkaline,
 as either of these qualities may cause  the death  of the
 animalcules ; and in fact sterility is often owing to this
 very circumstance.
   Of course, if there be any organic disease of the  womb
 the operation is inadmissible, but a mere displacement is
 of no moment, and is, in fact, often cured by pregnancy.
   In conclusion, I would draw attention to the fact that ar-
 tificial impregnation has  long been practiced in numerous
 cases, though not till recently in human beings.  Horticul-
 turists, from remote times, have artificially impregnated
 plants, and crossed them in every way by placing the pol-
 len (or semen) of one kind upon  the pistil (female organ)
 of another kind.  Of  late years, also, the practice has
 become habitual of impregnating  fish eggs  (or spawn)
 by the semen taken  from a male fish, and merely  added
 to the water in which the eggs are placed.  In this way the
 semen from one male can  be made to impregnate thou-
 sands of eggs.   This is artificial impregnation.
   It  is only necessary  to bear in mind that the process of
 impregnation is the same in all beings, and  merely con-
sists in  the union of the male principle with  the female
 egg.   In some beings this occurs within the body, by the
 process  of copulation, as in human beings, and in others
it occurs without the body as in fishes, and in such  cases
the male and female may never come in contact at  all.
  It  matters not how the  semen reaches the egg, provid-
ing they come together in the right circumstances ; and 
304      When  both sexes  are capable.
in the human being they must unite in the female womb.
But their union may result  in a  new being just as cer-
tainly when they are united  artificially as when they are
brought together in the usual way.


AGE WHEN BOTH  SEXES BEGIN TO  BE CAPABLE OF BEING
     PARENTS,  AND WHEN THEY  CEASE TO  BE SO.

  The Male.—The man is  different  from the  female in
this respect, that there is no positive proof of his incapac-
ity, except in particular cases.  As long as he secrets se-
men,  and can  have connection,  no matter  how imper-
fectly, it  is presumed  he may become a  parent.  But
the female at a  certain age, becomes naturally sterile, so
that the cessation of her capability is fixed.
  The age at which the male becomes first capable varies
very much,  not only in different races and countries, but
also  in  different  individuals.  It, of course, depends on
the occurrence  of puberty, or the perfect secretion of se-
men, and this may be either unusually early or very late.
It is often much earlier than is suspected.
  In the time  of Henry  the Eighth it was decided that
procreation could not  be  effected before fourteen years,
and that if the wife of a husband under that age had chil-
dren,  they must be bastards.  But  such a decision was
absurd,  for instances  are numerous enough of perfect
capability much earlier than that.
  In  fact we  read in  the  Berkeley  Manuscripts  that
Maurice, third  Lord  Berkeley (Edward I.), was married
at eight  years old, and was  a father before  he was four-
teen.  Numerous other instances are also given of similar
precocity.   There is  one  instance recorded by a cele-
brated physician of a  young woman who slept with a boy
of ten years of  age, and encouraged him to  take liberties
with her, thinking there was no danger, but who, to her
great  shame and  surprise, became pregnant.   In fact
there is  no certain age when capability in the male  may
be said  to begin, nor is it easy to judge with certainty,
even by examination.   Many who are  undoubtedly capa-
ble show no signs of it, while others who give every in-
dication of puberty are still powerless.  I haye seen the
organs in a boy  of seven years very largely developed, 
When both sexes are  capable.      305
and  in a man of thirty scarcely more so than those of an
infant, although he secreted perfect semen.
  Of course the only proof of puberty or capability is the
secretion and emission oi perfect semen, while its non-se-
cretion is equally a proof of incapability, no matter what
may be the age or apparent perfection of the organs.
  The first semen  formed, it must be  borne in mind,  is
not always perfect, and that is the reason why many boys,
though fully capable of connection, and having abundant
secretion, still can not impregnate. Very frequently, how-
ever, it is perfect from the beginning.
  The age when man begins to be capable is, therefore,
not fixed,  and the  same may be said of the age when he
ceases to be capable, which is equally undetermined.
  There is no question but that many men retain  the vi-
rile power till extreme old age, while others lose it very
early.  As a general rule, the power begins to percepti-
bly wane  after fifty years, and by fifty-five, or sixty, the
number of animalcules in the semen becomes  constantly
less, and they become also less perfect.  As  long as a
man secretes semen containing healthy vigorous animal-
cules, he may be  the father of a perfect child, no matter
what his age may be, even though he may be incapable,
of perfect connection.  An instance of this may be found
in the case of David in his old age,  as  recorded in the
Bible.
  If the animalcules fail altogether, or become  too imper-
fect, no impregnation can  occur.  If they are  only par-
tially imperfect conception may occur, but the child will
be imperfect.  This, however, is not the case with old
men only, but often with young men, from disease or de-
bility.
  In  the  year 1813,  a curious case was brought up for
trial in the English House  of Lords, which  turned upon
this very point of age.   It was called " The Banbury Peer-
age  Case."    The  main  argument  urged  against the
claimant was  this, that his ancestor could not  have been
the son of  Lord  Banbury, because that  nobleman was
eighty years old when the child was  born !  The Judge,
however, decided that this objection was worthless.  The
law, as he truly said, fixes no age when a man becomes
incapable, while experience shows that there  is no uni-
versal natural limit.
  Dr. Gregory, of  Edinburgh, says a  man may be capa- 
 306       WHEN BOTH  SEXES ARE  CAPABLE.

 ble till a hundred  years, if not more.  Haller says till
 ninety, at least,  and it  is recorded that old Parr was a
 father in his one  hundred and fortieth year.  Sir Stephen
 Fox married  at  seventy-seven  and had four children—
 the first child  being born when he was seventy-eight,—he
 had twins the next year, and the fourth child was born
 when he was  eighty-one.   Old Parr's son was older than
 Lord Banbury when Parr himself was a father.
   Neither old age nor extreme youth,  therefore, are suf-
 ficient to make man incapable.   The law knows no limits,
 nor does science, and from seven years upwards the male
 may be fully capable of parentage.
   The Female.—There is also great uncertainty as to the
 time when the female may first become capable.  Usually
 not before  fourteen  or  fifteen,  but  numerous instances
 have  been  known  of pregnancy at thirteen, twelve, and
 even  at eleven !  In Abyssinia  and Bengal, mothers of
 eleven  are  not at  all  uncommon.   Probably with  us,
 twelve years may be considered  about  the  limit.  In  the
 year  1828,  a  lady  visited Ballston  Springs who  was  a
 grandmother,  though not  quite twenty-eight.   In  the
 Transylvania  Journal (vol.  ii. page 447) there  is a case
 recorded of menstruation at one year,  and of pregnancy
 before  ten.   The girl was  delivered  of a female child
 weighing 7^  pounds, when  she was but ten years and
 thirteen days old !  This was on the  20th of April, 1834.
   As  an almost  universal rule, pregnancy never occurs
 till after menstruation, but in some rare cases it has  oc-
 curred  before.  It  is probable,  however, that in such
 cases it was slight,  and had  simply escaped observation,
 as ivi frequently does in some women.
   A similar uncertainty  attends  also the cessation of  the
 faculty of child-bearmg.   As a general rule, this faculty
 ceases when menstruation stops.  It is well known, hew-
 ever,  that many women have borne  children after  men-
 struation had ceased for a considerable time.
   The usual age when a woman  can  no longer  become a
mother is about forty-five,  or from that to fifty, as  the
limit.   There are, however,  numerous  cases on record of
pregnancy at  fifty-two and  fifty-four years of age, and
some  even in still older women.   At a  trial in France, it
was shown  that  a  woman of fifty-eight had become a
mother, and many authors have  given  cases  up to  sixty
years, and  even more.   Beck, in his  Medical  Jurispru- 
WHEN BOTH  SEXES ARE  CAPABLE.      307
dence, quotes a case  from the Boston Medical and Sur-
gical  Journal, of a woman at Whitehall, in the  State ol
New  York, who became a  mother  at  sixty-four.  Dr.
Vandeveer, of  Long  Island,  attended a  lady in confine-
ment in her sixty-second year.
  Mr. Robertson tells us that out of one thousand cases
of pregnancy registered at the Manchester Lying-in-Hos-
pital, four hundred  and thirty-six were upwards of forty-
six years old, one was fifty-four, one fifty-three, one fifty-
two,  nine  fifty,  six  forty-nine,  eight  forty-eight,  and
thirteen forty-seven.
  In some  parts of  Africa, the girls menstruate at eight
or nine years, and the same in Persia, though it does not
appear that they begin always to bear children so soon.
Many people suppose the North American Indian females
menstruate later than the whites, but it is known not to
be the case ;  they observe about the same time.
  Many instances of very precocious puberty are on rec-
ord,  Sir Astley Cooper mentions  one at four years, and
another even at three and a half.   Dr. Francis also men-
tions one at four and a half  years, in which the  sexual
organs and the breasts were similar  to those of a full-
grown woman at the same period.
  It is related that Madame de Stael menstruated at sixty,
and  Richerand gives a case at seventy.  Majendie  and
Rush also relate cases at the  same age.
  In short, though  the limit  of menstruation and child-
bearing may be said to be from  fifty to fifty-two, still it
may be, and often is too protracted much beyond that.
  The reason for this occasional, prolongation  of capa-
bility will be understood from our previous articles.  As
long  as a  female forms perfect  eggs and retains them
long enough in the  womb, she may become a mother.
  In conclusion, we may state that though no means are
known by which the procreative power can be prolonged,
in a  woman, or brought back when extinct from  age, yet
in man it  is often different.   Many men, after having
lost nearly all sexual  power for many years, even  in ad'
vanced life, have had it restored,  by proper treatment, to
a considerable extent.   In  the course of my practice 1
have seen numerous cases of this  kind, and have  now a
man of eighty-two, fully capable, more  so, in fact, than
he was at sixty. 
308            PROOFS  OF VIOLATION.
        PROOFS  OF VIOLATION  AND UNCHASTITY.

  From what has  been already stated it will be  obvious
that actual proof of violation, or unchastity, may be very
difficult to obtain in many  cases.  In fact, positive proof
is often impossible, and for  want of it  many a female has
been unable to  obtain justice for wrong done  to her,
while many a man has been improperly condemned.
  As stated in previous articles, many undoubted virgins
would, on  examination, be pronounced unchaste,  while
many really unchaste females would  be pronounced vir-
gins.   There are, it is true, exceptional cases,  but the
fact that such do occur, makes the matter one of great
uncertainty.  The truth is, there are  no positive means
of proving, in all cays, from the appearance of the female
organs, neither  virginity,  habitual association, nor even
violation.
  There  is, however, one way in which connection  can
he proved, or even the attempt at it, if recent; providing
emission has taken place on- the part of the  male.
  If there has been any discharge of semen, either within
the  female organs or without, it can be infallibly detected,
even though much mixed with other fluids.  Its presence
may be suspected from its appearance and odor,  but the
only positive proof \s the presence  of  the animalcules, as
shown by the microscope.  If there  be  any semen present,
they can be  found ; and if  they are absent, it is  a proof
there is no semen, and consequently there has  been no
emission.
  In all cases of alleged violation, therefore, the  semen
must be sought for, both in the female parts, on her per-
son, and on her  clothing.   A considerable time may have
elapsed since the emission, and the semen  may be mixed
with blood,  or mucus, or may be fully dried, but still the
animalcules can be detected.  Their shape and general ap-
pearance is  so peculiar that they can  never be mistaken
for  any other beings, and any one accustomed to observe
them can always speak positively as to their presence or
absence.
  Semen has also  peculiar  chemical reactions, and if any
dry spots of it upon linen be held near the fire,  they be-
come of a peculiar yellowish fawn color, and a  number
of white dots make their appearance which were not seen
before.  This peuliartty alone is sufficient  to distinguish
it from any  other secretion. 
PROOFS OF  IMPOTENCE.            309
  There have been many trials for alleged violation, In
which this evidence has  been most important.   In fact,
the conviction or acquittal of the accused may often de-
pend upon it, as will be seen by referring to any good
work on medical jurisprudence.

                PROOFS OF  IMPOTENCE.

  In many trials for divorce, it is  often a question as to
the capability of one or both of the parties.  It can, of
course, always be  known whether a female is capable or
not, by the fact of  her bearing children or remaining bar-
ren.  In regard to the man,  it is always assumed that he
is capable,  so long as his  organs are perfect and he is
capable of connection.  But, as already shown,  this is a
mistake.  A man  may be  incapable merely from imper-
fection of the  semen, and this can  be proved only by ex-
amining it microscopically.
  Common justice, therefore, demands, when divorce is
claimed because the woman  does  not bear children,  that
the semen of  the  man should thus be examined to see if
the fault may not  lie with him.   I am aware that this is a
point not  yet allowed in medical  jurisprudence,  because
the fact is so new, but it is nevertheless a valid  one, and
will before long be so regarded.
  It must also be borne in mind that barrenness  may re-
sult not from any  imperfection on either side, but simply
from want of adaptation, as explained in previous articles.
Both may be  sterile in reference  to each other, but not
in reference to others.
  It is an important thing to bear in mind, however,  that
sterility in the male may exist  along with the power of
perfect connection,  and that this  peculiar state can hi
positively proved.

CAN CONNECTION  AND CONCEPTION  TAKE  PLACE DURING
      SLEEP WITHOUT THE  FEMALE'S KNOWLEDGE?

  This question has occurred as a legal one in many cele
brated trials, and  is now fully decided in  the affirmative.
It is beyond question that  a female may be violated dur-
ing sleep, and may be impregnated without knowing it.
This is a fact that should be borne in mind, as it may
often be important, 
310         CONCEPTION  DURING SLEEP.
  There are  many peculiar states of the female system
which cause a stupor so profound that Violation may un-
doubtedly be  effected  while it lasts,  without the  victim
being aroused.  Even ordinary sleep may sometimes be
heavy enough to allow of such a crime.
  It is, however,  highly improbable, though perhaps not
impossible, for such to be the case with a virgin, owing
to the  difficulties being so much  greater.  Medical  men
have held different opinions on this point, but I believe
its possibility is fully admitted in some exceptional cases.
Of courseiall such alleged occurrences should be received
with extreme  caution  and distrust, and subjected  to the
most rigid scrutiny.  For it is much more likely that the
female  is either deceiving herself, or trying to deceive
others,  than that so unlikely an event should take place.
  These remarks refer only to  natural conditions of the
female  system.   If stupefying drugs  have been  given,
there may be such insensibility and perfect unconscious-
ness that nothing may be known  on waking of what has
taken place.
  In regard to conception, there is no doubt,  as  before
stated, that it can take place while the female is perfectly
unconscious,  from any cause.  She may be simply asleep,
or in a stupor from disease or drugs, and  yet if connec-
tion takes place she may conceive.   No knowledge or
feeling on her part is at all necessary.  There  are num-
erous well authenticated cases  of this kind on record, and
I have known several myself.   Women have often been
violated while intoxicated without  knowing  anything
about it, and  conception has  followed.  Capuron men-
tions a case of this kind of a young  female whose lover
made her drunk and abused her, and she conceived, but
knew  nothing of  it till she was  four months  pregnant.
Many similar cases are recorded by other writers.
  It should be remarked, however, that in  such cases we
can scarcely conceive that any violence was practiced, be-
cause if there were the female could scarcely fail to notice,
and even feel, the  injury when awake, and  suspect the
cause.   This must especially be the case with virgins or
very young females, and when such persons assert  that
they have been violated or impregnated, and  yet know
nothing  of it  till a late period of pregnancy, there  is at
least room for grave doubt and distrust.
  On the other hand it must be remembered that in some 
         CONCEPTION FROM  FIRST CONNECTION.     311

 very young females, undoubted virgins, the organs are
 naturally in such a state as to allow of connection without
 the  least violence  or injury whatever,  and women have
 even conceived after repeated connections, who have pre-
 served the Hymen unbroken till the time of delivery.

 CAN  CONCEPTION  OCCUR FROM A FIRST CONNECTION  OR
                   AFTER VIOLATION ?

   It is a common error to suppose  that a first and only
 connection never leads  to conception.  Many women, and
 men too, have found out the falsity of this notion to their
 cost.  It is true that a first and only connection does not
 usually result in conception, but this is not owing to any
 natural law,—it is merely owing  to the difficulties ordi-
 narily attending the first act, and its consequent imper-
 fection.   In animals a single connection, even the first
 time,  usually results in impregnation,  and there is  no
 reason why it should not do so in the human female.  If
 there be a perfect egg in the proper place, and the semen
 reaches  it, conception  may take  place from  a first and
 only connection, just the same as from a later one.
   It is also equally true that conception may follow vio-
 lation, whether  the female was conscious of it or not,  in
 virgins as well  as  in  others.   Formerly it was  thought
 that whenever conception occurred it proved consent  on
 the part of the female, and many people suppose  so even
 now.   There  is  no  foundation whatever for such a notion,
 and it  has often caused  females to suffer gross injustice.
 No matter what violence they might be subject to,  or
 even if they knew nothing of it, if pregnancy followed, it
 was thought to be a proof that they must have consented,
 and also that they must have had  more than  one connec-
 tion.   The cruel injustice resulting from such erroneous
 notions has often blasted the reputations of innocent per-
 sons, and led  to despair and suicide.
  As a proof that conception may follow connection while
the female  is unconscious,  I may here  mention a case
which occurred in my practice.  A young married couple
found  it impossible  to consummate  the  marriage, owing
to the nervous fear of the lady, and to the extreme small-
ness of  the  organs.  The  slightest  attempt at  the act
threw her into convulsions from mere fear and dread.  I
advised that she should be placed under the  influence  9t 
312      STATE  OF MIND DURING DELIVERY.
 chloroform, and that  the  act should be  consummated
 while she was  unconscious.  To this she gladly agreed,
 and the experiment was attended with full success.   No
 injury resulted, and she had no recollection of the affair
 at all. Still she conceived and became the mother of a very
 fine child.  Afterwards no difficulty was experienced.

 TILL  WHAT  PERIOD MAY A PREGNANT  WOMAN  REMAIN
             IGNORANT OF HER CONDITION ?

    It is undoubtedly the fact  that many women are quite
 unaware of being pregnant  till a very late  period, some-
 times even up till the time of delivery.  To many this will
 appear very strange, but it is nevertheless true.  In sev-
 eral instances  where  females  have been impregnated
 while asleep, or during stupor, they have neither known
 nor suspected it till the natural result forced it upon their
 attention.  M. Desgranges informs us of a young female
 who allowed her lover  to have intercourse with her while
 in  the bath, having the idea that conception could not
 possibly follow under such circumstances,  She, however,
 became pregnant,  but was   totally  unaware of  it,  and
 would not believe in her situation till delivery took place.
 In fact, if a woman believes, from  any  cause, that she
 can not become  pregnant, she may not know nor  suspect
 that she is so till the last moment.  Many have been thus
 deceived from putting  implicit trust in certain precautions,
 while others have thought they could not  be pregnant be-
 cause the hymen was  unbroken, or because  the act of
 connection was only partially performed.  I have even
 known married women, who had borne  children  before,
 arrive at the period of actual labor, without an idea that
 they were  pregnant.   The possibility of  such ignorance
 should be borne in mind, as it may often  be important
 when a woman is accused of concealing  the birth of her
 child.

 § ON THE STATE OF MIND IN FEMALES AT  THE TIME OF
                       DELIVERY.

    It is not generally known, but should be, that many
■ females during pregnancy, and especially at  the  time of
 delivery, are  in a peculiar mental  condition.   Some are
 really insane for more or less of the time, others have
 peculiar  manias, and very frequently they  are  quite un-
 aware of the nature and consequences of their acts. 
HEREDITARY DESCENT.
313
  There is every reason to suppose that in many cases
where women have destroyed their infants, at birth, they
acted not from depravity, or from a desire  to get rid of
their offspring, but simply from a morbid impulse, which
made them  quite  unaware of  what they  were  doing.
Many have committed this act who had  no motive what-
ever for doing it, and some even while strongly desiring
children.  Instances are known where mothers have thus
destroyed their offspring while in this peculiar condition,
and on  recovery have known nothing about it.
  Now  if a poor woman who has been seduced or violated
kills her child, it  is at once concluded  that she  does  it
willfully and  knowingly, to get rid of it.  That such is the
case sometimes there is no doubt, but at the same time  it
must not be  forgotten that  the poor creature may be
really perfectly innocent of any criminal intention, and
may even  not have  known  at  the  time what she was
doing.
  It must also be  remembered that in  a case  of  illegiti-
mate pregnancy, the poor mother from  her dread of dis-
covery, anxiety,  shame, and sense of injustice, is much
more likely to be thrown into a morbid state of mind than
one more happily situated.  There is no  doubt but that
many have been  unjustly condemned for doing that for
which they were in no way whatever responsible.

HEREDITARY  DESCENT, AND IMPROVEMENT OF THE RACE.

  When the  mass of the human  race get  over their
present fear  of knowledge, and realize  that it is really
power for indefinite good, they will turn  their attention  to
the improvement of  the race, and human beings will be
produced superior in  every way  to any the world  has yet
seen.   Not only  can the body be perfected so as  to be
stronger and more beautiful, as well as free from disease,
but the mind also can be  made far superior to the most
gifted ever yet known.   The power of the mind depends
on the perfect development and organization of the brain,
and  there is  no question but what  the  brain can be per-
fected as well as the muscles.
  In the brain of  every kind of animal  we find  certain
parts developed which are not found at  all, or only  rudi-
mentary, in the animals below them that have less mind;
and in the human race we  find parts of the brain deveh 
314            HEREDITARY DESCENT.
oped of which we find only the imperfect traces in other
animals.   It is, therefore, only the more  perfect brain
which gives man the more perfect mind, and it is only by
perfecting the brain that we can effect further improve-
ment of mind.
  In examining the human brain there are certain parts
found, small and apparently rudimentary, whose uses are
not at all  known.   Now it  is probable that  these are
merely organs not yet perfected or  developed, but which
may be developed by judicious attention to training, inter-
marriage and selection.
  It seems to me more than probable that human beings
will, in  the  future, be  produced with brains, and conse-
quently minds, as far above those of our present greatest
men as they axe above the brutes ; and that in those days
men will comprehend and  reason understandingly upon
matters which we now esteem unfathomable mysteries,
and far above all human comprehension.
  I have full faith  that the man  of the future will be as
far  above the present man as the present man is above
the orang-outang.
  But for this to be effected marriage must be  a science,
based  upon a knowledge of physiology and  the laws of
natural selection  and hereditary descent,  instead  of  a
mere matter of chance, as it is now.
  We think it quite right and laudable to so attend to the
breeding of animals as to bring them to the most perfect
point of development, and  yet we shrink from applying
the same laws to human beings ;  yet nothing is more
certain than that the one could be perfected equally with
the other.  Let any one look at a wild, ill-bred, uncared-
for  domestic animal, and then  look at a thoroughbred of
the same kind, and note the difference—they are scarcely
like the same beings.   All the bad points are carefully
bred out, and the good  ones developed  to the utmost.
The same results would follow among human beings  if
procreation were made a science, as  I can not but hope
and believe it some  day will be.
  If men were only rational enough to see the truth and
act  upon it, we should  be able to gradually perfect the
nervous system the same as we do the other organs, and
consequently the mind also.  This in reality  is done by
education, which improves or develops the mind by caus-
ing a  more  perfect development  of the  brain.   This 
HEREDITARY DESCENT.
315
Effects not only the individual so educated, but also his
children, by the law of hereditary descent.  Parents with
well educated brains, on an average will produce children
with better developed brains at birth than those of unedu
cated parents.  And with continued careful training and
selection this course of improvement might go on indefi-
nitely ; how far we cannot even imagine, but doubtless to
the production of human beings as  far above the  highest
yet seen, mentally, as they exceed the merest brute.
   Men have  found out how to develop in animals any
mental trait  they may wish, as in the pointer and the
shepherd's dog, for instance, and they have also found out
that the young of these educated  animals are more easily
trained than the young of uneducated ones.  This is ow-
ing  to the law of hereditary descent which gives to the
brain of the young dog a similar development to that of
its parent to start with.  This advantage may be more or
less lost by want  of care in mating the parents, and  so
allowing one to spoil the other.
   In the same  manner we see particular dispositions and
qualities,  particular mental powers,  and  even insanity,
transmitted from  parent  to  child.   This is because the
child inherits the same form and kind of brain.   Now we
all know what wonderful  results  have been obtained
among animals by proper training and selection  in mat-
ing, and beyond doubt still more wonderful results would
follow among human beings  from similar care.  The hu-
man brain is more susceptible of  impressions by training
than that of any other animal,  and there seems no limit
to its capacity for development.  Hereditary descent is
also more marked in the human animal than in any other,
so that what is once gained can be perpetuated.
   I say again,  therefore, that when men have progressed
far enough to attend to these matters,  as regards their own
race, the same as they now do to the lower animals, hu-
man beings will be born immeasurably more perfect, both
bodily and mentally, than anything we can  now conceive.
   At present, however, it is considered almost blasphe-
mous to speak of such things, and, therefore,  we go on
perpetuating disease and  madness,  from  generation  to
generation, when we might easily get rid of them.
   In all forms of nervous disease,  and especially those
affecting the mind and disposition, this law of hereditary
descent is especially operative.  And this constitutes one 
316            HEREDITARY  DESCENT.

of the main  difficulties in  treating such  diseases ;  fof
what can the  physician do when the patient has been born
with a certain kind  and form of brain, making him have
inevitably certain mental and moral infirmities ?  Neither
medical treatment nor moral preaching can do much good
in such cases, and  yet  in our ignorance they are  all we
depend upon.
  Fortunately nature here steps  in  with  another  law,
which counteracts gradually the deplorable effects of man's
ignorant inattention.  This is  Darwin's " Law of Natural
Selection," or the gradual weeding  out of  the more im-
perfectly developed beings.   Those with  the most per-
fectly developed bodies  and minds,  by  their greater
capacity or power, lord it over the weaker ones, and grad-
ually push them out of existence, the same  as in a forest
the strongest growing trees inevitably  smother and kill
the more tender ones.
  At the  present time  we often gain  by education and
training a splendid development of body or mind in some
favored individual,  but  lose it when that individual dies.
Instead of perpetuating it, or even  improving upon  it in
his children, the chances are that it will be lost from want
of proper selection  in mating and inattention to the  laws
of hereditary descent.
  It is well known  that marriage is entirely a matter of
chance at the present time as to  any fitness  between the
parties.  They  may be naturally suited  to each other,  or
they may not;  but such  suitability or unsuitability  is
never taken  into account.  The consequence of  this is
that we go on perpetuating disease, insanity, and  imper-
fections of every kind when we could  just as easily get
entirely rid of these scourges.
  Even our greatest men marry without any thought as
to whether their partners are such as  they should be to
insure perfect children.   By this inattention we lose  all
the advantages  of their excellent development, and  their
children, instead of being superior to their fathers, sink
below them,  or may be, are even inferior to the  ordinary
run of children.  This is why great men or great women
so seldom have children equal to themselves, although  by
proper mating they might have offspring far superior.
  It is useless at the present time to attempt to give rules
for scientific  procreation, or even  to  lay down general
principles, for  no one would  yet  act  upon  them.  The 
INTERMARRIAGE.                317
first thing to be done is to educate the public mind up to
the point of not being afraid of the subject, and to lead
the more  advanced  minds to see its importance.   The
practical application of such knowledge will follow, and
people will  then wonder that  such an important  matter
should have been for so many ages neglected.


                    INTERMARRIAGE.

  The question is often asked whether it is proper —aside
from social  or moral considerations—for very near rela-
tions to marry ?
  It was formerly thought, and is now by many, that the
marriage of near relations, as brother and sister,  for in-
stance, must necessarily be an evil and result in diseased
offspring.   Recent investigation, however, has disproved
this, and has shown that  it is  not the mere  relationship
that causes  the  evil, but  simple  unfitness.  Any marked
peculiarity or bodily condition that is the same in both
parties, is nearly sure to be doubled'in their offspring, and
as there are few families without some  taint or some ob-
jectionable  peculiarity, the marriage of near relations
each affected  the same way, increases the  evil by doub-
ling it in their offspring.   But this is not merely because
they are relations, for two perfect strangers would equally
affect their children in the same way if they were equally
unsuited.
  Good points can be perpetuated  and increased by judi-
cious breeding as well as bad ones, as breeders of animals
well know.   And these men invariably breed in and in,
in the closest manner, often between parent  and child,
brother and sister, and grandchildren with grandparents.
So  far from this resulting in any  inferiority, the very
finest and healthiest animals are thus produced. Of course
the breeders  take care never  to breed among relations
who have any mutual  imperfections, because they do not
want to increase them ;  and if  any such imperfection
should exist they cross with some stranger till they get rid
of it,  and then they continue to  marry near relations in
the closest manner.
  Near relationships, therefore, are not objectionable in
marriage, speaking physiologically, providing the relations
are naturally suited  to  each other, but may even be an
advantage.   There  are,  however, other reasons, social 
318          DECIDING  UPON  VIRGINITY.
 and moral, which  forbid, and make them improper and
 illegal.   I merely  speak  of them here in a physiological
 sense.

       DIFFICULTY IN DECIDING UPON VIRGINITY.

  Viery tells us, in his Histoire Naturelle du Genre Hu-
 main, that certain savage  people  fasten the lips of  the
 vulva together, in young girls, with a ring,  so that con-
 nection with them is impossible without its being known.
 In Darfour they even sew the lips together, leaving only
 a little opening through which the  courses can'flow.  At
 the  time  of marriage the  husband opens  the  passage
 with his knife.
  On the  contrary, certain tribes in Asia and Africa have
 the virgins deflowered by their slaves, and  no man will
 marry a girl while she remains a virgin.  Strabo tells us
 that it was much the same with the Ancient  Armenians,
 among whom the virgins always went to one of the Tem-
 ples to be deflowered, because they could not get hus-
 bands while they  remained  virgins.   It has also been
 stated that  the  ancient  Phoenicians always  made their
 slaves deflower the virgins.
  This shows how ideas and manners vary among different
 people ; what is valued by one is despised by another.
  As before Stated, virginity  may be reproduced  (that is,
 apparently) artificially, so as  almost  to  defy detection,
 after it has been lost.  And this has been done in many
 unsuspected cases.
  It is a remarkable fact  that the hymen may be so elas-
 tic and the lips and vulva have such contractile power, in
 some females, that they  may have connection for a long
 time, and  yet preserve all the  appearances of  virginity.
Parent Duchatelet tells us, in his great work on Prostitu-
 tion, that  two girls who had been accused of  being pros-
 titutes  demanded  an examination, affirming they were
virgins.   An experienced surgeon who  examined them
stated that he could not be  sure about one of them, but
that  he thought the other might have had connection, but
he could  not be positive.  It was afterwards found that
they had  long been prostitutes, and had even had the
venereal  disease.  Jacquemin also tells us he has known
girls who had been on the town ten or twelve years who
could easily pass  for virgins.  And  Parent Duchatelet 
DECIDING UPON  VIRGINITY.
319
tells us further  that he saw a  woman fifty-one years of
age who had been a prostitute since  she was fifteen, in
whom all the organs might easily be  mistaken for those
of a young maiden.
  Most of the signs of virginity  may, therefore, be very
obscure. 
CHAPTER   XXIII.
 INFLUENCE  OF  THE  BRAIN  OVER  THE  GENERATIVE
                       POWERS.

  It is  important, in  connection with sterility, that the
direct influence of the Brain upon the Generative Organs
should be noticed, especially as it is  manifested in cases
of injury.  My book upon the Male System contains a
number of instructive  cases  of this kind, a few of which
will serve our  present purpose.
  In a forme'r part of  this work a  number of instances
were  narrated, in  which impotency followed injuries  of
the head,  and  we will  now narrate a few others, because
this is a most  important fact in many respects.
  About five  years  ago I v;as  consulted by a married
man who  had  totally lost his sexual powers from striking
his head against a beam.  The blow had stinned him for
a time,  but did not lead to any serious symptoms after-
wards.  He found, however, in  two or  three  days after
that he  was perfectly impotent, and had  so remained for
eighteen  months when I saw him.  There was  but little
loss  of  desire, with no wasting of the  Genital Organs,
nor any  other indication  whatever of  his  deprivation.
He had previously been a man of temperate habits, and
ot the time of the accident was as vigorous as most men.
The blow, it may be as well to remark, was  received  on
the top  of the head, and was not followed by any swell-
ing or  pain  in  the cerebellum, or neck.  When  I saw
him he was in perfect  health, and in good spirits, in fact,
nothing was complained  of but  this  unfortunate impo-
tency, which he was very  desirous of having  removed.
   The great point was to ascertain, ir possible, in what
way the concussion of  the brain had suspended the trans-
            (820) 
INFLUENCE OF THE  BRAIN.          321
mission of  nervous power to the  genitals,  and how it
could be restored.  I recollected that in several cases where
injuries to  the head had  paralyzed  particular  muscles,
or limbs, their power had been  restored by Galvanism,
applied so  as  to pass along the course of their Nerves
from  the spine.  It seemed to me as if the  blow had im-
paired the proper connection between the spinal marrow
and these nerves, at their roots, and  that the passage of
the electric current in some way or other restored that
connection.  It was similar, in fact, to starting the Elec-
tric Telegraph again by mending  the wires, or making
the connection perfect, after they had been destroyed by
violence.   I therefore  applied the Galvanism,  passing
the current from that part of  the spine where the Sper-
matic Nerves  originate,  to the pubes, perineum, and
neighboring parts,  applying also a stimulating liniment,
and  occasionally using the  congester.  The result was
highly satisfactory, and speedily  obtained.   At the third
application he  experienced a decided tingling about  the
perineum, and along the penis, and the next time a par-
tial erection occurred.  After persevering for five weeks,
using the Galvanism daily at first,  and then every other
day,  and  finally but twice a week, he was  fully  restored,
without any apparent tendency to a relapse.  In this case
it will be  observed, that  the injury  was not received a.t
the back of the head,  on what the Phrenologists  call  the
Organ  of Amativeness, but at the  top, nor did  it appar-
ently in any way affect the Cerebellum.
   In  another similar  instance  Impotency,  with  complete
loss of desire  also, followed a  fracture of the skull over
the left Temple, and  no means that  were used  had the
slightest effect in restoring it.  In a few months the Tes-
tes began to waste, and eventually almost  totally disap-
peared, but the general health was only slightly  affected.
   In  the American Journal of  the  Medical Sciences, for
February, 1839, Dr. Fisher relates  a curious instance of
a gentleman injured  in a  railway car.   He  was looking
out at  the  moment when a  collision occurred, and the
shock threw the back of his head against the edge of  the
window with such force as to  stun him ;  he, however, re-
covered his senses and was taken  home, but  suffered
great pain in the back part of the head and top of the neck.
His right  arm  was numbed a little,  and some  difficulty
was experienced in passing the urine, but in  two weeks 
322         INFLUENCE OF THE BRAIN.
 he was able to walk out with no other inconvenience than
 a slight dimness of sight.  About the fifth week  he dis-
 covered that he was impotent, and had lost all sexual de-
 sire.  The means used to restore his genital powers were
 only partially successful, nor was his memory so perfect as
 before, but all the other  difficulties  disappeared under
 proper treatment.
   In the  Lancet for  August, 1851, is an account of a
 medical student who  received a blow on the face in  a
 quarrel, which knocked him down so that  he fell  on the
 back of his head.  He was totally unconscious for eight
 or ten hours,  but gradually recovered, and on the follow-
 ing day even  resumed his studies, which he continued
 unremittingly for the next six weeks.  He, however, be-
 came  exceedingly irritable, with a feeling  of general un-
 easiness, and after the first week he observed the genital
 organs begin to waste,  and desire  to weaken  till he
 finally became nearly impotent, but afterwards recovered
 under proper treatment.
   Many instances have been  observed of soldiers being
 wounded in the head and suffering afterwards  under the
 same  disability, some of which were given in a  former
 article.  It is  perhaps proper to  remark,  however, that
 this is not the only, nor even  the most frequent, result of
 such injuries, as many patients so hurt suffer no depriva-
 tion of their genital powers, but have some other func-
 tions impaired.   Thus, some  lose their sight, some their
 hearing, and others become paralytic in their limbs.
   The  prospect  of  recovering the sexual powers when
 lost from injuries of this kind is very small, especially if
uhe parts have really begun to waste.  The  treatment at
 first must be that best calculated to subdue the irritation
 which is probably existing in some part of  the nervous
 system, and afterwards, if requisite, to rouse the sper-
 matic nerves to more energetic action.  Every  case, how-
 ever, will require something peculiar to itself,  which can
 only be discovered by a patient and careful attention to
 all its symptoms and peculiarities.
   A further corroboration of the facts above stated may
 also be found in certain  physiological indications  ob-
 served in  those who have died from strangulation.  It is
 well known that in very many men who have been hung,
 erections and  even seminal emissions have occurred, and
 experiments upon animals have often led to the same re- 
INFLUENCE OF  THE  BRAIN.          323
 suit.   This is attributed to the  pressure of the rope on
 the back of the head, which in some way or other excites
 the spermatic nerve.  I have even known pressure made
 on that  region purposely, in a particular manner, in or-
'der to excite erections, and frequently with perfect success.
fSome of the females in the Turkish Harems understand
 this,  and they habitually chafe, or shampoo the back of
>the  neck of their companions  of the other sex, for this
very purpose.  I have frequently made an application
'of this important fact in my practice, in cases where
there was merely a suspension of that sympathetic influ-
ence which the  brain ordinarily exerts upon the sexual
organs.
  A  full  consideration of all the  facts and  arguments
bearing  upon this influence of the brain over the sexual
functions, have  left the subject,  so far as I am concerned
in great obscurity.   That a singular  influence is often
exerted by the brain in this way, sometimes beneficially,
and  at others the reverse, is undoubted, but whether such
influence emanates from a particular part oi the brain, or
from the whole  organ is  uncertain.  The  Phrenologists
affirm that  only a particular part of the  Encephalon is
concerned in this phenomenon, namely,  the lower part
or Cerebellum, which rests upon the spinal marrow.
  But after a careful consideration  of  all the reasons
brought forward in support of this affirmation, I am not
yet convinced of its  correctness.   That many facts favor
such a theory I am willing to admit, but it is also certain
that  many others militate against it, and, as a searcher
after truth, I must consider everything that bears upon the
question, even though opposed to my previous opinion.  I
set out with firmly believing that the Cerebellum was the
organ of  the sexual  propensity, and  my  investigations
have  made me doubt it.  It is not true, I am convinced,
that  the strength of a man's propensity can be  estimated
by the development of the  Cerebellum, nor is  it true in
regard to animals either.   If it were so, we  ought to find
that  organ  largest in those who exhibit  the propensity
most, and in numerous cases it is not so, though in others
it is.    A celebrated German physiologist made some in-
vestigations bearing  on this point, of an interesting char-
acter.  He  had  numerous  opportunities  of  dissecting
horses, and curiosity induced him to weigh  the Cerebel-
lums of these animals, some of whom had been castrated 
324          INFLUENCE OF  THE BRAIN.
when young, and others left entire.   Now if the Cerebel-
lum be truly the or;-.an of Amativeness, it ought, of course,
to be  larger  in  the entire horses,  who have always
exhibited that propensity, and we should expect it would
have almost disappeared in  the others, seeing that they
could never have felt anything of-the kind.   The result
of the experiment was, however, on taking the average
of an equal number of each, that there was scarcely any
difference, or  if any at all, the castrated  ones had the
larger Cerebellums.  In  observing  idiots,  also, some of
whom we're notoriously licentious, and others directly the
reverse, I have not found  that the  development of the
Cerebellum corresponded to  the phrenological system.
Neither can it be contended that the size  of the Cerebel-
lum in the castrated animals was only the result of disease,
for no difference  could  be detected in it between  them
and the others.  All that can be said, therefore, is, that
certain agencies acting on the Cerebellum, sometimes cause
sexual manifestations, and at other times check them.
The same agencies also acting on other parts of the brain
will sometimes produce  the same results, and  sometimes
when the Cerebellum is acted upon, it is not the Genera-
tive  Organs that are affected, but the sight, hearing, or
speech, which might, therefore, just  as properly be con-
sidered under its exclusive  influence.
   It should also be stated as bearing on the subject, that
certain influences operating on various parts of the body
will often affect the Generative Organs in a decided man-
ner.   I have known a blister on the leg cause the most un-
controllable sexual desires in one man, and the application
of caustic to the throat do the same in another.  In apply-
ing blisters to the  top  of the neck also, though it is fol-
lowed by erections in some, yet in others  no such  effect
takes place, and  occasionally it will produce a nervous
twitching, like St. Vitus' Dance, in  the arms.   Flogging
the back, even when very severe, it is well  known, will
frequently cause erections and emissions, as has been ob-
served in soldiers when undergoing that  brutal punish-
ment.   Rousseau tells us in his confessions, that flogging
boys at school, in the disgraceful manner  formerly prac-
ticed, is sometimes followed by similar  results, and he re-
marks that the pain of the  punishment may be forgotten
under the powerful excitement it leads to,  a fact of deep
moral  importance.   In short, there  seems every reason 
DISGUISED  SEX.
325
to believe that the strength  of the sexual propensity is
dependent  upon  some peculiarity of the sexual organs
themselves, though it may be often modified by various
mysterious sympathies emanating from  other parts.   If
the semen be never formed, there will never be  any sex-
ual desire, and if the amount secreted be unusually large
the desire will be proportionally great, independent of all
other influences.  In those who feel desire without hav-
ing any semen, as  is sometimes the case in impotency,
or even after castration for a time, it is  only the remem-
brance of a lost pleasure.
  In treating disabilities of the Generative Organs, how-
ever,  the possible influence of  injuries to the head, even
at former periods, and long ago, should always be  borne
in mind.
  Similar facts I have also noticed in Females, showing
that the influence is similar  in both.  Some have never
conceived after receiving a  blow upon  the head, and
others have always miscarried after.   In some  it has en-
tirely destroyed all sexual feeling, and in others  it has,
for a time, excited it to a most uncontrollable height.
  For much interesting information  upon this topic, ref-
erence may be  made  to my  book  on " The Nerves and
the Nervous," in which it is more fully treated upon.

                    DISGUISED SEX.

  It would seem, at  first thought, a very difficult thing
for a person of either sex  to  pass,  successfully, and for a
long time, as being of the other sex.  And yet such things
have  been  done  repeatedly, and   most  successfully.
Women have been sailors and soldiers for years without
a suspicion as to their real sex.  In  many cases, the  de-
ception was not discovered till they died.  Young women
have also assumed male attire, and sought male occupa-
tion, because they were better paid for it, and for years
they have never been suspected.
  Even in more difficult positions,  successful  cases  of
the kind are not  infrequent.  In England, a  few years
ago, two young women agreed  to  live  together as man
and wife, the  elder  one  assuming  male attire.   They
went into business, and succeeded well  for many years,
being much respected by their neighbors, among  whom
the husband passed for a  very shrewd business man. 
326
DISGUISED SEX.
Unfortunately for rheir secret the husband died first, and
then, of course, his real sex became known.
  A short time ago there died in England the chief Medi-
cal Director of the  Military Hospitals, who had long been
known as an Eminent Medical Authority and successful
practitioner, as indeed he must have been to obtain such
a position.  To  the astonishment of every  one, it  was
discovered at  his  death, that he  was a Woman!   The
mystery was never cleared  up as to who she really was,
nor where she originally came from.  During life,  this
individual was noted for being rather  morose and  irrita-
ble, and she, or he, had fought several duels.
  I once had a successful speculator call on me for medi-
cal advice, who was well known in  financial circles for
years as a man, but whom  I discovered  to be a Woman.
She confessed to me that she assumed the disguise  after
the death of her husband in the South, she having  suffic-
ient knowledge of his business to pursue it herself.   For
all I know, she may be passing as a man now.  I am ac-
quainted with  several men  who have done business with
her without the least suspicion as to her real character.
  An officer of the 7th U.  S. Cavalry told me of a very
remarkable case of  this  kind which occurred  in his regi-
ment.  The wife of a corporal having died, it was  found
on preparing  the  body  for the funeral, that she was a
man.   She was a Mexican,  and had been married to two
men  previously.  She had  testimonials  from prominent
officers as to her capacity as laundress and nurse. At the
time  of her death her  husband was absent on an expedi-
tion, and on his  return being informed of the discovery,
he denied  the fact,  and asserted that his   wife was a
woman.   He was  so worried and harrassed  about it,
however, that finally he committed suicide. The probable
explanation of this  case is,  that she was really a woman,
with  whom men could have connection, but with an un-
usual development of the clitoris, giving  her the appear-
ance of a man, and  probably even the power of copulating
with  a woman.
  It is, of course, much more difficult for a man to pass for
a woman, than for a woman to pass for a man, because
the masculine traits are  usually more pronounced ; but
there have been cases of the kind.   Not long since a sup-
posed female attendant at certain female baths, in Lon-
don,  was discovered accidentally to be a young  man.  As 
DISGUISED  SEX.
327
many unpleasant  disclosures would have followed any
public prosecution, he was allowed to escape, but not till
he had held his position over a year.
  Such cases are not only very curious, but worth record-
ing as showing how much more common and  easy such
deceptions are than is usually supposed.

  St^P For full particulars as  to  the  marriage relation,
and the  ceremonies  attending it in all  countries, and
among  all kinds of people,  reference  may be made  to
"The Origin  of Life," in which the subject is fully
treated  upon in connection with  ev«?»y other  matter re-
lating to the association of the sexes aud generation. 
CHAPTER   XXIV.
  THE PHYSICAL AND MORAL EFFECTS OF CONTINENCE.

  By absolute Continence, is meant a voluntary abandon-
ment of sexual indulgences, in  those who are capable of,
and who have a desire for them.   When a  person ab-
stains simply from want of inclination for such pleasures
it is called  Chastity, which differs from continence, inas-
much as it  requires no effort.
  Chastity is a natural condition for many, owing to pe-
culiarity of constitution, and is therefore both proper and
beneficial.   Absolute continence, on the contrary, is an
unnatural struggle against one of  the strongest animal
instincts, and  is always more  or less injurious, as every
attempt to  evade the laws of our being must be.
  Every living thing, Vegetable as well as Animal, has, at
some period or other of  its existence, a desire, or  ten-
dency,  towards  the opposite sex, and this desire or ten-
dency should be gratified, both  for the purposes  of  pro-
creation and also because it is necessary to  the  individ-
ual's own well-being.
  To praise and recommend absolute continence as & Vir-
tue is a great mistake, and to suppose that it can be really
practiced by those who axe physically perfect, is equally a
mistake !   It  is true, we  hear  of it, and possibly some
persons think they  really are absolutely continent, but
most assuredly they deceive themselves.  Some of these
persons are really Impotent, and give themselves credit
for Continence,  when, in  fact, they are only powerless :
others who forswear natural indulgence, either abandon
themselves to  disgusting habits, a thousand times worse,
or suffer from unnatural pollutions.
  There is  a  period of life in all  perfect organizations
when sexual indulgence becomes an actual  necessity as
much so as food or drink.  In  some organizations this
necessity is of course much stronger than in others, and
the  consequences of not obeying  it  are in them propor-
            (328) 
EFFECTS OF CONTINENCE.           329
tionally  increased.  In such persons  we often observe
the  most singular mental eccentricities, and sometimes
even moral perversity, carried to excess, and not unfre-
quently  ending in mania, melancholy, suicide or  crime.
The physician often sees in cases of  forced continence
the most hideous exhibitions of Nymphomania, Satyriasis,
Priapism, and Erotomania, not unfrequently terminating
:n insanity or death.
   Besides mental and moral perversions, undue continence
also originates many  physical  derangements,  such as
various infirmities of the genital and urinary organs, soft-
ening and  inflammation of the brain or spinal marrow,
with wasting of the flesh and fever.
   The celebrated Esquirol remarks that most of the in-
sane persons who  come from  Convents  exhibit morbid
amative  tendencies.  And Mathieu gives us an instance
in his "Etudes Clinique sur les Maladies des femmes,"
of a young girl who was attacked with Nymphomania
after a fit of religious fervor, and probably from previous
undue restraint.  Many of  the so-called Perfectionists in
religion, especially  those who exhibit the phenomena of
Trance, or Convulsions, have confessed that during their
fits of excitement  they experienced the liveliest sexual
emotions.  And I have heard similar confessions  made
to me by those who have  been excited  in the same way
at love feasts and protracted meetings.
  (For much  information  on this point,  see my book
" The Nerves and Nervous.")
  In short, in all cases where the natural propensities are
unduly  restrained,  especially  from  mistaken  religious
views, there is a constant liability to  such exhibitions of
erotic furor, which are often mistaken, even by the individ-
uals themselves, for genuine devotional fervor.
  Those who are curious about details of this kind should
read the  writings of Hecquet, who had many opportuni-
ties of  becoming acquainted with  these religious enthus-
iasts.  In  my own  practice I have  had  similar facts
communicated, equally curious  and equally  instructive,
some of which will be given in another  place.  In all my
experience,  and it has been extensive, I  have  never
known a female who was subject  to fits of  intense relig-
ious excitement, such as we often see at  Camp Meetings,
but who either had some uterine disease, or was  naturally
of an ardent amative temperament 
330           EFFECTS  OF CONTINENCE.
  I have often seen the characters of these Devotees change
in the most extraordinary manner under  a proper course
of medical treatment, so that their church  friends accused
them of backsliding, and attributed the change to the in-
fluence of Satan !   Many others I have also seen changed
in a similar manner on being married; and  in one such
instance the husband was accused of leading his wife from
religion.
  The old Ascetics who swore to practice perfect  conti-
nence, have left  us many records  of their  daily  and
nightly struggles against nature,  and  of their remarkable
amative hallucinations—for which, by the  way,  they often
were called  Saints.
  This is particularly seen  in  the records left  by Ascetic
Females whose lucubrations are curious compounds,  half
pious, half erotic,  betraying either uterine disease  or in-
tense warmth of sexual feeling.
  Many medical writers  have  testified,  after long  and
careful observation, that uterine furor is very  general
among  those females who resist  all amative impulses
from religious motives.  And not unfrequently, in spite
of all their severe chastity  nature overpowers conviction,
so that the poor victim of a so-called virtue is constrained
in spite of herself  to betray her real condition.  In more
than one instance, during uncontrollable erotic furor,  ex-
hibitions and  advances of  the most libidinous character
have been made unwittingly by those renowned for hav-
ing conquered all fleshly lusts.  So much  so in  fact is this
the case that in France it is a common  proverb that the
Convent and the Confessional are the  Parents of Hysteria
and Nymphomania !
  The  terrible struggle which  many estimable  females
maintain in this way is most extraordinary,  and  not  un-
frequently terminates in insanity or death—though those
around them have no idea that  any  unusual  effort  has
been required on their part.
  In short, sexual association is a necessity of the organiza-
tion, and those who practice undue continence will always
suffer a variety of evils from which those who  do not  are
free.  It is  also the foundation of Marriage,  one of  the
fundamental institutions of civilized  society, and equally
beneficial  to individuals and  to  the community at  large.
Absolute continence is of course opposed to this institution,
and should therefore be discountenanced by all well-wish-
ers of our race. 
EFFECTS OF  CONTINENCE           331
  Statistics prove that married persons, on an average,
are longer lived  than single ones, and my own observa-
tion has convinced  me  that they are  more exempt from
disease.   So well convinced  were  the  ancients of this,
that they erected a statue to Hymen, the God of marriage,
with this inscription, " To Hymen who prolongs youth !"
  According to statjsical reports it appears that while, in
a given time, among single men between 25 and 45 years
of age, 28 will  die out of every hundred, among married
men of the same age only 18 die out of the hundred !
  It appears also that for every 78 married  men who at-
tain 48 years of age  there are only 40 single ones who do
so, and as we  advance  further in life the difference is
still more striking.   Thus, out of every hundred married
men 48 will  live to be  60 years old, but in a hundred
single men only 22 will  attain that  period of life.  And
at 80 years  of age we  find nine married men, to only
three single ones.
  Among females the  difference is still greater  in favor
of the married, notwithstanding the many dangers of ma-
ternity, and they are also less subject to disease.
  As a further  proof of  this important truth, it is  found
that out of every hundred suicides, sixty-seven are single,
and only thirty-three married !  And in seventeen hun-
dred and twenty-six insane also,  nine hundred and  eighty
are single, and only seven hundred and forty-six married.
  It is true that the unmarried state may not necessarily
be a state of Continence, but it  must either  be that or a
state of illicit or unnatural indulgence, either of which is
injurious.
  Many of the  diseases and infirmities arising from  forced
Continence are attributed to other causes, both by people
generally and also by  medical men, who have not made
these matters  their  study.  This is especially the case
with young females, whose natural modesty induces them
to carefully conceal the truth, even if they fully perceive
it themselves.  A crowd of hysterical  and nervous de-
rangements are  originated in this  way, besides various
uterine diseases.
  In describing Chlorosis, or the green sickness, which is
often the result of forced Continence, a celebrated French
writer gives us the following touching picture,  true to the
l:-fe :  "See  that young female with pale, wax-like cheeks,
languishing sunken  eyes, and  tottering steps, hanging 
832           EFFECTS OF  CONTINENCE.
her head like a withered flower, her heart palpitating and
her breathing interrupted by heavy sighs.  Her digestion
is bad, her appetite capricious, and  she  has an unnatural
tendency to  eat  strange unusual substances, which she
often craves in the most urgent  manner.  If allowed to
remain in this state too long she will continue to languish,
and  at last  descend prematurely to the tomb.  Let her
marry, however, to the  being she has constantly seen in
her dreams,  and health returns  like glorious day at the
rising of the sun.  The roses soon return  to her cheeks,
happiness brightens her eyes,  and  a  pure  wholesome
blood rushes gaily through her veins."
  Such  pictures are daily to be  seen, though none but
experienced eyes detect their meaning.  In the other sex
also we have similar experience, but not so frequently,
owing to less innate modesty, and more facility for grati-
fication.
  In history also, as well as in modern experience, we
find  numerous instances of the evil  effects of undue con-
tinence, some of which  are worthy  of being referred to.
Hippocrates  saved the life of a  young prince, who was
fading away from  some unknown cause, by advising his
marriage with the young female he  loved; and the same
service was  also  rendered to another young prince by
Erasistratus.  The  celebrated   Galen,  likewise,  being
called to treat the daughter  of a noble house, who was
pining away, detected at once that she was a victim of
forced continence,  and he assured her father that nothing
but marriage could save her life.  Much against his will
he had to consent, his daughter  refusing to  marry any
other than a young plebeian with whom she was in love.
The result proved, however, that though pride was sacri-
ficed,health was repaired and life saved.
  In that interesting work,  the   " Physiologie  des Pas-
sions," we find a curious instance of the same kind. The
subject, a young lady, was intended by  her parents for a
Nun, but having an ardent uterine temperament the idea
was  exceedingly distasteful to her,  and  she became seri-
ously sick from grief and apprehension.   At first she fell
into a dull stupor, from which she  roused only to pass
through all the stages  of  Hysteria and Nymphomania,
till  her reason seemed almost gone.   That skillful phy-
sician Alibert, being called  in, he saw at  a glance what
was  the  cause of  her  sickness,  and  promptly told her 
EFFECTS OF CONTINENCE.     '      333
parents that she must marry or die I  Their love for their
child was fortunately stronger than their fanaticism, and
they consented to her marriage.   She at once recovered
and become a happy healthy wife and mother.
  In such cases the natural action of the genital  organs
is indispensable to the health of all other parts of the sys-
tem, and their forced inaction is highly prejudicial.
  The evil  consequences of celibacy, whether it be ac-
companied by actual continence or not, are as great per-
haps  to  society as  to the individual, a  fact which many
lawgivers have recognized.  In the sacred writings of the
Persians, the Hindoos,  the Chinese, the Hebrews, and
the Turks,  we find  celibacy expressly condemned, and in
some of them it is even stated that the souls of those who
die in a state of celibacy will not enter heaven, but will
wander eternally on earth.  To avoid this it was custom-
ary to marry the dead before they were burnt.  The old
Romans and  the Greeks had express laws against celi-
bacy, and so  harrassed  those who practiced  it that the
offence was quite rare.
  Lycurgus excluded those who practiced celibacy from
all civil and military employments, forbade them  attend-
ing the public amusements, and branded  them as in-
famous.  At certain solemn fetes they were also exposed
to the ridicule of  the populace, who  promenaded them
around the public  places with shouts of laughter,  while
the women  tore  their faces and struck them with  small
whips.
  A curious instance of  the contempt which was shown
for the unmarried is found in Spartan history.  It is well
known what extreme reverence these people had for their
old men, who were invariably saluted with respect by the
young whenever they met.  On one occasion, however, an
old man was refused the customary respect by a youth,
of whom he accordingly complained to the magistrates.
The youth  on hearing the  accusation admitted its truth,
but replied, " This  old man has never married—how then
can he demand  marks of respect  from me when he will
leave no children to show them to me,  when  I am  old ?"
The reason was deemed  good, and the old man was sent
away with contempt.
  The laws of Plato tolerated celibacy in men only till
the thirty-fifth year, and  in females only till the twenty-
fifth.   After these periods they were socially outlawed. 
334           EFFECTS OF CONTINENCE.

  A Roman citizen could  not testify in any case till he
replied in the affirmative to this question, " On  thy soul
and conscience art thou married ? "
  Under Julius Caesar and many of  the other emperors,
laws were passed  to degrade those  who did not marry,
and to reward those who did.
  Even in the Romish Church, among the priests, celibacy
is comparatively a modern institution, and except  in as
far  as it  makes the Church  itself more powerful, it has
always been objected to.
  In fact, celibacy is  an unmitigated evil to society, as
continence is to the individual.  A forced abstinence from
natural indulgence leads to disease  or unnatural abuses,
while a neglect of marriage leads to licentiousness and
prostitution. In all cases where a nation has become viti-
ated by luxury and vice, it  has disregarded  marriage, as
we  see in the decline  of the Roman Empire, and of the
Grecian communities.
  In giving these remarks I presume no apology is need-
ed,  at least not to those who think, because  their  utility
must' be  apparent.  I  will now proceed to give  some
cases from my note bock, confirmatory of the statements
above made.
  To the prudish and to those who are governed by old
prejudice against such discussions, I recommend the fol-
lowing passage from Montaigne :
  " What is there then  in the genital act, necessary and
natural as it is, which should cause it to be proscribed as
a subject for rational conversation ?   We pronounce com-
monly enough the  words kill, steal, filthy, and adulterous,
but must not name the act  by which our lives begin, and
by which the race is continued !  Oh, false modesty !—oh
shameful hypocrisy !"
         CASES FROM MY  NOTE BOOK.

    UNDUE CONTINENCE FROM WORLDLY PRUDENCE.

  The first case which I extract from my notes is a good
type of a large  class, those who are continent ixoxx\ pru-
dential motives, and who' think to avoid complying with
the requirements of nature without suffering  permanent
inconvenience. 
EFFECTS  OF CONTINENCE.          335
  Case I.—The subject of this  case was a lawyer aged
thirty-one, of  good constitution, and of  active  tempera-
ment.   When he applied to me his general health was
not much affected,  but from various unusual symptoms
he had begun  to be somewhat alarmed.
  I found on inquiry that  he was naturally very amative,
but at the same time very prudent, and uncommonly fond
of money.   He had made up his  mind not to marry till
he had secured a fortune, and was able to support a family
in good style.   This he expected to do before he was forty,
and in the meantime sexual gratification  was  to  be fore
sworn.
  His fear of consequences and of exposure kept him from
illicit intercourse except very rarely, and he had too mucb
good sense to practice self-abuse, except when quite young.
He entertained  the notion, as  many others do, that his
reproductive powers could be held in abeyance, as it were,
and yet be found ready when he could afford to employ
them.   In fact I have no doubt but he promised himself
extra indulgence  then to make up  for his prudential
restraint.
  The only serious inconvenience experienced  up to his
twenty-eighth year was nightly  emissions, which  somfr
what affected  his mind, making him, as he expressed it,
not quite so bright as usual.   These,  however, became
gradually less frequent, but the effects  increased! His
memory especially began to fail, and also his power ofap*
plication, so that he had to drive himself to his work, in-
stead of feeling it a pleasure, as formerly.
  At times he would feel nearly well and energetic  as
ever he  did, but then would follow a period of terrible
depression and  languor, which he was  strongly tempted
to relieve by using  stimulants, but fortunately did not.
  His consolation  was in thinking that he could keep on
at least  as well as  he was, until  the hoped-for period of
his retirement, when  all would  come right again.  The
symptoms had, however, become so much more strongly
marked, and his periods of depression or fits of  the hor-
rors, as  he called  them,  so much more  frequent, and so
much longer in their duration, that  he began  to fear he
might be too far gone to recover.
  In this state he called upon me, and  I  found he had a
tolerable idea of his  condition, though  unwilling  to  do
what nature demanded.   "I  know,"  said he,  "that  I 
336           EFFECTS OF CONTINENCE.
ought to marry for my health's sake, but  my business is
not yet in a satisfactory state, and I can not he  troubled
now with domestic matters, they would unsettle my mind,
though I  have no  doubt I should  be very happy with a
wife and family."
  In vain I argued with him on the folly of such a course,
and tried to show  him of how much more consequence
his health and happiness were than any amount of mere
money ;  he tacitly agreed with  me, but unfortunately
had the idea that he could still hold over by the help of
medicine.
  I told him unhesitatingly that this was  a vain depend-
ence,  and that I should only deceive him  if  I  made him
any promise that  would favor it.  The utmost that  could
be done, I  fully assured him, was to correct  the  evil al-
ready  done, sufficient to make marriage  proper, so that
nature herself might have a chance  to work.   His sexual
powers had become considerably impaired, but still were
capable of renovation, by judicious treatment and con-
duct, if such renovation were  advisable.  It would, how-
ever, have been useless to restore his powers unless they
were to be naturally employed, because they would other-
wise fail again worse than ever.
  In spite -of all,  however, he determined  to try his pow-
ers of endurance still further, and accordingly procured a
Nervous stimulant which was  recommended to him and
kept on as  before.  I lost sight of him  for about nine
months, and then received a letter dated from  a cele-
brated water-cure establishment, informing  me  that he
was worse, and that he would shortly come on to consult
me again.
  The letter states :  "I  found myself so  much worse
about four months ago, that I was compelled to leave my
business, and abandon the medication I had till then per-
sisted in.  In my despair I came on  here, to  try the cure
all treatment, but to my sorrow it has failed also.  I am
worse, and growing worse !  You  can have  no idea, my
dear sir, what I have suffered, and yet with little or no
bodily ailing, at least  none that is  very apparent.   Day
after day have I sat in my office  trying in vain to fix my
mind  on a  case.  I could not  do  it  to  save  my life.
My mind would fly to the stars or to the depths of the
sea, or even lose  itself altogether, but would not fix upon
what I wished to  study.   After hours spent in these vain 
EFFECTS  OF CONTINENCE.          337
attempts I would rush out in a state of absolute despair,
and conceal myself from very shame and vexation.  And
then,  oh ! who can  imagine the torture I underwent i
You may, my dear sir,  from having seen  so many similar
cases, but others I am sure can not, and I would  rather
die than  attempt to explain my condition to my friends.
  " My head has also begun to pain me,  especially in the
back  part of it. and is constantly full and heavy, as  if
packed  with lead,— my eyes often become dim,  and a
rushing sound fills my ears, till I become quite  confused.
Latterly, also, I have suffered considerably from palpita-
tion of the heart, and my bowels and stomach are quite
irregular in  their action.   The emissions I have not seen
now for six months, and this  I think must be  a good
sign.   I  am, however,  troubled  with a very frequent de-
sire to urinate,  and my water is often thick and cloudy.
  " Now, my dear Doctor, I am determined to follow your
advice, providing you can sufficiently restore me !  There,
however, is a new apprehension, my sexual powers and
desires  have decidedly lessened, especially since  I have
used  the cold  water, and I begin to fear I  never can
marry,—in  which case I say  solemnly, 7" do not want
to live.   You must, therefore, be candid  with me when I
come, and  tell me the truth, as nearly as  you can, for  I
wish  to know the worst at once.  As for the fortune, let
it go to the dogs !  Only let me be again a man, and  I
care not what labor or privation is before me, nor what
station  I occupy,  Remember,  therefore,  your decision
is my fate, but  do with me and direct me as you  choose.
I shall be with  you in two weeks.   Yours, etc."
  On seeing this  gentleman, I  found he really had, as he
remarked, gone  down hill at  a rapid rate, and I by no
means felt  sanguine  of his recovery.   From Jiis excel-
lent constitution, however, and from his  not having been
exhausted by excesses of any kind,  I did not despair, but
put him at once under proper treatment.
  The worst sign was precisely that which he thought the
best, namely, the stopping  of the  nightly emissions.   I
suspected at once that the discharges still occurred, but in
another  and unseen form, much more dangerous.  I ex-
plained  to him how, in  such cases, the semen began at
last to flow out with the urine,  by which  means so much
was lost that the ordinary emissions ceased altogether
This was a new light  to  him, and he at  once called to 
338          EFFECTS OF  CONTINENCE.
mind a number of symptoms which seemed to  prove mj
position.  To make it  certain, however, I  at  once sub-
mitted a portion of the  urine to microscopical examina-
tion, as is my custom, and the result left no doubt as to
the existence of the trouble.   The urine in the morning
contained an  immense quantity of  semen, and  I  found
that more  or less escaped every time  the bladder was
emptied.
  On reading my book on The Male Generative Organs,
which he had not seen before, the truth broke  at once
upon him, and he remarked that if he had perused that
work earlier, particularly  the  part  referring to seminal
losses, he should not have delayed as he had done.
  The first thing to be done was to remove the irritabil-
ity  and relaxation of the seminal Ducts, which  was the
immediate cause of the  semen flowing out with the  urine.
The result was  perfectly satisfactory, the  urinary  losses
ceasing entirely, so that the old nightly emissions  again
commenced at intervals, and his desires and powers evi-
dently began to return.  The administration of my Aphro-
disiac  Remedy, with  strict attention to diet, and general
hygienic measures, made the improvement still  more
manifest, but it was necessary for him  to abandon busi-
ness altogether, and live perfectly at ease.
  In six months he was  decidenly restored, to a very great
extent,  though  not fully to  the  condition  he  enjoyed
originally.   I saw, however, that the system could recu-
perate its energies, to a great extent, sufficient, in  short,
to allow of his marrying with physiological propriety, pro-
viding he continued in the proper course, which he was
determined to do.
  In ten months after my seeing him he did marry, and
the  result, was very satisfactory.   He is now the  happy
Father of two healthy children, and  in the enjoyment of
very tolerable health  himself.   His sexual powers, how-
ever, are inferior to what they ought to be, and  to what
they would have been had he married earlier, but still, as
he expresses it in one of his letters, sufficient for the mu-
tual happiness of himself and partner.  His mind has, to
a great extent, recovered its  powers, but he is not even
now capable of any continued mental efforts, as in former
times.
  Here, then, is the result, under favorable circumstances.
If this man had not been prcperly  instructed in regard to 
EFFECTS OF CONTINENCE.           339
his case in time, he would have become incurably, hope-
lessly powerless, and  probably insane, unless his bodily
deterioration had terminated his existence.  As it is, he
has now a reasonable  prospect of  existence and of con-
siderable  enjoyment of life, though  probably in a much
less degree, and for a shorter time than he  otherwise
would.

  UNDUE  CONTINENCE,  FROM   MISTAKEN  NOTIONS  OF
                       RELIGION.

  This  was a minister of  the  Gospel, a man  of earnest
piety,  and  of  the  most perfect self-denying character.
He conceived the idea that it was his duty to fly from all
fleshly lusts, and devote himself eutirely to his religious
ministrations.   This he did  most scrupulously, till  he
was twenty-seven years old, though with hard struggling
against the  promptings of sin.   " I have,"  said he, "pass-
ed entire  nights combating my evil thoughts,  and resist-
ing  those  physical manifestations  which indicate  our
earthly longings.   In  spite of  all my efforts, however, 1
realize  too forcibly how weak we are, and what an empire
the old Adam has over our souls.  Of myself, I see too
well I can do but little, and my sole dependence is upon
assistance from above."—
  With this man it was much more difficult  to deal, ow-
ing to his peculiar  notions about sin.  I could only tell
him that,  in his circumstances,  that sin really lay, accord-
ing to my notions,  in what he  considered his only virtue,
and that both his well-being and his power of doing good
depended entirely upon his obeying the laws of nature.
  His principal reason for applying to me  was the singu-
lar state  of his  feelings, and  a peculiar  distress in his
head.   He was subject at times  to fits of  excitement of
the most violent character without any apparent provo-
cation,  and even when quite alone.    At  such times  he
could not rest, but seemed  impelled to  move quickly
about in spite of himself, while anger and  rage, he knew
not what for,  filled his mind.  At other times, on the
contrary,  he fell into a state of dreamv languor or mental
torpor,  so profound that he was scarcely conscious of his
own existence,  and utterly indifferent to anything that
occurred.
  Before  any of these attacks he  usually experienced a 
340           EFFECTS OF CONTINENCE.
buzzing in the ears, with a throbbing in the large veins of
the neck accompanied by a redness of the eyes and a kind
of whirling in the brain, which  occasionally even made
him feel quite giddy.
  In all respects the life of this man was irreproachable.
He was strictly temperate in eating and drinking, took
plenty of exercise in the open air, and cultivated a cheer-
ful, contented tone of mind.   His general health too, un-
til quite recently, had been quite fair, with  the exception
of a constipated  state of the bowels.
  His genital development was  perfect, and his amative
propensity  quite  strong, or, physiologically speaking, he
formed a  large  quantity of semen, the  excess of which
nature intended  to be expelled  according to the laws of
his organization.  This natural expenditure not going on,
however.a constant struggle became necessary, the organs
trying to retain  the fluid with which they  were overbur-
dened, but being compelled at times to allow it to escape
in the form of nightly emissions.   This overcharged con-
dition of the seminal organs kept the brain also in a con-
stant state  of excitement from  the powerful efforts  re-
quired to overcome the feelings and desires engendered
by the seminal stimulus.  And in this way was produced
the different moral paroxysms into which he was plunged.
  It  was with difficulty I could make him see and admit
his actual condition, and on no  account would he admit
that  the natural remedy I  advised was necessary.   He
had made up his mind to a life of celibacy,  let the conse-
quences be what they might, and he merely wished me to
give  him medicines to palliate his troubles and to deaden
his sexual feelings, so that they would not require so
much effort to overcome them.
  This I of course refused to do, because it required more
or less injury to  the organs themselves,  and my duty was
to heal, not to hurt.   I candidly told him that as long as
his organization  remained perfect those feelings must be
experienced, and that as long as he persisted in his celi-
bacy he would always have the same trouble in struggling
against them.  As to injuring the organs, or checking their1
action, as he expressed it, I of course refused to  do  any
thing of the kind.
  Finding that my views of  duty would  not allow me to
treat him as he wished he  left, and for  a  time  I heard
nothing of  him.   Afterwards I learned, however, that 
EFFECTS  OF CONTINENCE.           341
some of  his admirers -and he had many of them—sent
him on a voyage  to  Europe, in the hope that change of
scene and air would  benefit him.   This, however, did  no
good, and finally he died in a private lunatic asylum in
France, after suffering intensely both in body and mind.

                A VICTIM TO BUSINESS.

  This was  a  mercantile gentleman  who  remained un-
married till his forty-fifth year, when he retired from busi-
ness  with a hundred thousand  dollars, and  married  a
young lady with whom  he had kept company for nearlj!
fifteen years.   For the previous six or seven years he had
suffered more  or less in the same  way as the  gentleman
in the first case, but as  his business was well regulated,
and  he had excellent agents, his  own deficiencies were
not so apparent, neither  to himself nor  to others.  His
stomach and  bowels had become  very irregular, and  he
was troubled with an almost  constant  desire to  urinate,
but otherwise his bodily health was quite passable.
  In regard to his sexual powers he admitted that for the
last three years he had experienced a sensible diminution,
so much so in  fact that he scarcely ever felt any desire at
all.   Formerly he was accustomed at  irregular intervals,
to have illicit  indulgence,  which  had  doubtless  delayed
his  decay considerably,  but when  about forty-one  years
of age he unfortunately attended a lecture on " Amative-
ness," by a Phrenologist.
  bn this lecture he was  told that all sexual connections
except for the  purpose of procreation were improper, and
that the true way to  preserve  the generative  powers was
not to use them except for that purpose.  He accordingly
practiced the  strictest continence  after  this,  and found
that his  amative propensity  became  gradually  weaker,
till at last it seemed almost  entirely  extinguished.  He
consoled himself, however,  by  thinking that all would
come right at his marriage, and that his present  state of
rest would only give him greater power afterwards.
  Neither he  nor the phrenologist  whom he consulted
were aware that urinary  spermatorrhea had taken  place in
consequence  of his  continued continence, and  that his
sexual organs had nearly become powerless.   Such, how-
ever, was the case,  and to his  horror he found on  his
marriage that  he  was almost impotent! 
342
EFFECTS  OF CONTINENCE.
  The state of mind of a man so circumstanced may be
better imagined  than  described.   " Here I am," said he
tome, " a poor,  wealthy, imbecile wretch!  In  my sense-
less pursuit of riches I have lost that which all the wealth
in the world cannot recompense me for.   Had I known
ten years ago what I have since  learned from  your book
("The Male Organs"), I should now have been fifty thou-
sand dollars poorer in money, perhaps, but a healthy per-
fect man ;  I might also have become a proud and happy
father, which alas, I now never expect to be."
  This was one of the most unpromising cases I ever had
to deal with, as I candidly told him, but still  I undertook
to do  the best I could.
  By  means of a good tonic regimen and diet, sea bath-
ing, shampooing of the genitals and the use of the Aphro-
disiac Remedy, he began in three  months to have some
slight indications of  power,  and in  six months much
stronger indications.   It was  not  possible, however,  to
make a permanent restoration because  the  testes were
considerably  zuasfcd!  They  were not  so  far  gone as
to be totally inactive, but it took them  a long time to
form any considerable quantity of semen, which of course
made  his periods of power and inclination very rare.
  Even what he  did gain, small though it was, was much
more  than he ever expected, for he fully believed he was
incurable and totally impotent.    Had I  seen him two
years  before  I would  have  answered for making him
comparatively perfect, for I  gathered  from what he told
me, that no wasting of the testes had then taken place,
and till that occurs no case is hopeless.
  In addition to these  I could quote a large number of
other  cases to show  the evils  of undue continence, and
especially some very curious ones in young females, who
were brought to  me as being chlorotic and hysterical, but
these  are quite sufficient for my present purpose.  I have
had a priest who declaimed against  sexual indulgence as
improper, and who adduced his own case as  a proof that
continence  was possible, came to  me to be  cured of  a
loathsome  infirmity  which  that  very  continence had
caused. 
CHAPTER  XXV.
 THE CONSEQUENCES OF  SEXUAL EXCESSES AND ABUSES.

  These consequences are  much  more  frequently seen
than those of continence, and people are  more generally
aware that they are  of  a hurtful  character, though  the
actual extent and nature of the injuries resulting from
them are not suspected.
  From a variety of causes, many of which are but little
known, a majority of human beings are addicted to  ex-
cess in  sexual indulgences, and  to various  unnatural
modes of gratification.  The reason for this is a matter
deserving of earnest investigation, though unfortunately
it has hitherto  received but  little attention.  The theo-
logian is  content to ascribe these, in common  with all
other human  frailties, to original sin, and  seeks their
source only  in a depraved  soul.    But the enlightened
student of human nature as it really is, recognizes various
direct and indirect influences, some belonging  to the in-
dividual's own organization, and  others to the objects
and circumstances  by which he is surrounded.   These
influences  often impel man  to  that  course of  conduct
which his reason condemns, and which produces untold
misery and pain.
  Among these influences may be mentioned Hereditary
Tendency, Excessive development, or morbid irritability
of the Genital Organs, vicious  associations, stimulating
food and drink, and various social institutions more or
less opposed to nature's requirements.
  In those persons who have little or no knowledge of
the consequences of sexual abuse, these influences oper-
ate almost unchecked, but in those who have such knowl-
edge, the fear  of those consequences operates more or
less as a restraint.  The  influence, however, is frequently
so powerful as  to overcome  all such restraints,  and  the
victim falls into the gulf with his eyes wide open, but still
impelled by a force from which he has neither the powe*
                                     (343) 
344        SEXUAL EXCESSES AND ABUSES.
nor the desire to  escape.   There is good reason to be-
lieve that sexual excesses and abuses produce, directly or
indirectly, a very large amount of human suffering and
disease, more, perhaps,  than any  other cause.  People
generally only observe the  more palpable and direct con-
sequences of  these vices,  while the indirect  results of
them are lost sight of, or attributed to other causes.
  The sympathies of the sexual Organs are  both exten-
sive and complicated, in consequence of which their de-
rangements often affect remote parts of the system, and
in many different ways, appearing like so many different
diseases.  This is especially exemplified in Venereal dis-
eases, and particularly in  Syphylis, the different stages and
hereditary modifications of which, extending as they may
do  over  several generations, are  only just now being
understood even by medical men.   (On  this point I would
refer my readers to my Treatise on Venereal Diseases, in
which all this is fully explained.)
  The  connection between the Sexual Organs and the
Nervous System, especially  the Brain, if- another  import-
ant matter, also, but little studied or understood, and yet
it is of the most overwhelming importance.  Not  only
may the  bodily health of  human beings be  affected by
peculiarities in the action and development of their  Sex-
ual  organs, but the tone and ability of their Minds, and
also their moral tendencies are under the same influences.
  It is  requisite for the welfare of society, perhaps  even
for  its very existence, that certain actions should be called
virtuous, and be held up to praise, and  that others of an
opposite  tendency should be called vicious, and  be  con-
demned.   Every one is interested in the maintenance of
that social order which experience has shown to be  most
productive of  human happiness, and we must, therefore,
as rational beings, approve of whatever is favorable to
the  maintenance of that order, and disapprove of what-
ever militates against it.   It may be requisite with  this
end in view to condemn,  or evea to  punish, in many
cases, where our consciences  so  far from blaming, see
only cause for pity and regret.  The regulation of society
must have for its end the general good,  and to secure this
it is often the case that individuals  aie  sacrificed for the
public benefit.
  Thus,  for  instance, a particular (rime,  or immoral
action, is punished the same in all who  .xunmit it, though 
SEXUAL EXCESSES  AND  ABUSES.         345
we know  that it must  have been  much more  crimina.
properly speaking, in some than in others.  Thus, for in-
stance, in  sexual immorality,  the  degree of culpability,
properly measured, must be infinitely varied for the same
offence, though all are punished for it alike.
   Some human beings are strongly impelled to seek sex-
ual indulgence from the peculiarity of their organization,
from disease, or  from hereditary tendency, while others,
on the contrary, are  but slightly impelled, and others
even avoid it, except  at rare  intervals.   It is therefore,
evident that, under the same circumstances, the  effort of
self-denial, or resistance to temptation, is required to be
much greater in some cases than in  others, and of course
the possibility of  successfully resisting the temptation is
proportionably less.
   Society, however can not consider the distinction,  be-
cause it is impossible to ascertain the  relative degrees of
criminality,  and, therefore, similar criminal  acts must
entail similar penalties on all alike.
   The institution of rewards and punishments has become
such a fundamental principle  in our social order that,
whatever we may, in many cases, think of its abstract
justice, we  can not consent to its being abolished.   Till
better motives than fear, and the  hope of reward can be
generally instilled, we must not do  away with these,  for
if we do, we shall have nothing to fall back upon.
   The philosophic mind, which traces  cause and effect, and
which draws its conclusions from reasoning and not from
passion, must often pity the criminal as a victim,  and con-
scientiously exonerate him from  all moral blame, even
when admitting the necessity for his punishment,— so true
it is that  our social duties and requirements are often at
variance  with our conscientious  convictions.  As Indi-
viduals, in our own hearts, we  must often have charity, or
■?ven commiseration for those that social duty compels us
co condemn ; and, in  fact, with reflective minds this is
ordinarily the case.
   These remarks I have made  to prevent the  possibility
of my being  misunderstood, or misrepresented.  In  the
course of this book I shall show numerous causes dispos-
ing, or even  impelling  human beings to immoral acts,
and which causes many can not escape  from.   I do  not
wish it to  be understood, however, that I  advocate, on
this account any  radical change in o\xx public conduct to* 
346        SEXUAL EXCESSES AND ABUSES.
wards  these  persons for such acts, but merely that we
think of them justly and charitably in our own minds, and
that we  strive  to remove, or modify, such  unfavorable
causes, and so prevent others being equally unfortunate.
As men  become  more experienced,  the science of pre-
venting evil will be generally studied, and  then such in-
consistencies as I have alluded  to will gradually cease.
The present little book,  I trust, will do something to-
wards attracting attention to these matters, and lead those
who read it to reflect and reason on  human frailties,  as
well as condemn them.
  Sexual abuses commence at a much earlier period of
life, in many cases, and their injurious  effects are also
much earlier exprerienced, than  is usually  supposed.   A
precocious development of the sexual organs, or a ten-
dency to preternatural exaltation of the genital instinct is
by no means uncommon, and from either cause the most
injurious habits may be practiced even in Infancy.  Many
persons suppose that such manifestations  never com-
mence  till the age oi puberty, but this  is  a  mistake, they
are  sometimes observed, unmistakably, while children
are yet in their nurse's arms.
  It is an error  to suppose that no injury can result ex-
cept from a loss oi  Semen, for long before that fluid has
begun  to be formed both mind and body may be irretriev-
ably ruined by nervous excitement and exhaustion.  This
is  of necessity the case with females, who form no Se-
men, and it is also equally the case  with males, though
few persons are aware of the fact.
  One  of the most obvious principles of Animal Physiol-
ogy is, that no vital  action whatever can occur  except
through the agency of the Nervous power.—whether we
think, eat, digest,  walk, or speak,  every muscle is  moved,
every secretion is produced, and every idea is eliminated
by  the stimulus  of the  mysterious  Nervous fluid,  the
grand  excitant and moving power in all Organic or Vital
processes.
  If the Nervous power be deficient  in  any organ, that
organ will work  imperfectly, to a corresponding degree,
and if it be absent  altogether  the organ  can not work at
all, any more than a  Steam  Engine can  work without
Steam.  Any cause,  therefore which decreases the  re-
quisite amount of nervous energy in  the system  causes
imperfect  or inefficient action,  either locally or generally,
and thus predisposes to disease and premature decay. 
SEXUAL EXCESSES  AND ABUSES.         347
  We require so much nervous power to think, so much
to digest, so much for  muscular exercise, and  so much
for all the other organic processes, and in a healthy con-
dition of the system there is always enough for the proper
performance of them all.   If, however, any one function
be performed in an exaggerated degree, so as to exhaust
more of  the nervous power than properly should be ex-
pended upon it, the others must of necessity receive less
than they naturally should do, and must be  imperfectly
performed.
  Instances of this kind  are often seen among business
men, who expend  so much of their nervous power in in-
tense mental exertion,  owing to  pressure  of  business,
that they have not enough left to  effect digestion, nutri-
tion, and  all the other processes necessary to  the mainte-
nance and continuance of the  system.  In consequence
of which they become dyspeptic, debilitated  and impotent,
and after living miserably they  at  last drop off, in an
orthodox  business way, long before they naturally might
be expected to do  so.
  Such men suppose that pills, bitters, and stimulants, or
a day or two of relaxation once a year or so will make all
right;  but they too often find  out their mistake, and be-
come first rate patients, always on the books, and calcu-
lated upon  for  so many  "hundreds" a year,  by  their
physicians,  with as much  certainty as his bank is calcu-
lated upon by the  banker  for his dividends.
  In the  same  way other men  think they can  expend
most of their nervous power in  sexual  excesses, and yet
perform  sufficiently well  all the ordinary organic func-
tions at the same  time, but they likewise discover  their
error, and frequently too  late to retrieve it.
  The  performance of  the generative act requires more
nervous power than perhaps any other organic  function,
and of course it exhausts  in a corresponding degree.  So
also does mere sexual excitement, and therefore  indulg-
ence in either should be regulated on proper physiological
principles.  Excesses of this kind are the most injurious
of all. and the evils resulting from them  are amongst the
most irremediable.
  Different  periods of life, as also different conditions of
the system,  require different amounts of nervous power,
and also  to have it differently distributed.
  In adults the body is only required to maintain itself, o( 
348         SEXUAL  EXCESSES AND ABUSES.
to hold its own, but in youth it must not only do this but
also increase ox grow to perfect itself. There is, therefore,
required at this period an extra amount oi nervous power,
and if it is not supplied the body becomes in consequence
imperfectly formed.   Anything, therefore, which  causes
great nervous exhaustion is peculiarly hurtful in  youth,
and its evil effects are  seen afterwards throughout the
whole of the individual's life.
  This is the reason  why sexual abuses are so very injuri-
ous in young persons, and why their effects are  so often
irremediable.  Numbers have their growth arrested in this
way, and remain more  or less dwarfed or weakly devel-
oped, while  in others the internal organs are imperfectly
formed, and in consequence always act imperfectly, thus
causing a liability to disease, and to premature  old age, or
untimely death.
  Such instances come every day under the notice of the
observant physician, and are in  fact everywhere  to be
met with, though  there are  few who understand them
aright.  Those, however, who bear in mind the physio-
logical principles above  laid down, will be able to explain
them, and to comprehend why our  efforts to cure such
evils so often fail.
  No matter in what form  sexual abuses are practiced
during youth, the same consequences to a greater or lesser
degree, may be expected to  follow, and, generally  speak-
ing, the earlier the abuses are practiced the more serious
are the after consequences, because of the more imperfect
stage at which the system is arrested.   This is the reason
why infantile masturbation, in both sexes, is so hurtful.
There  is nothing  similar to the loss of semen, oi later
years,  but  there  is  an  equal if  not  greater amount of
nervous excitement and  exhaustion, and for want  of the
power thus wasted the system cannot perfect itself.
  In like manner sexual abuses are extremely hurtful in
the decline of life,  because then there is a less amount of
nervous power eliminated, owing to  the decaying energy
of the system, and  anything which unduly exhausts it
still further hastens the period  of  its final  extinction.
Many old men have  experienced  this to their cost, in ex-
pending as much vital power in one sexual act, imper-
fectly performed, as  would have sufficed for the ordinary
purposes of existence for a month.
  In short, it is only after  the system has perfected its 
SEXUAL EXCESSES  AND ABUSES.         349
growth, and before it begins to decay that sexual indulg-
ences can be practiced with impunity, except in the most
prudent and temperate  manner.   In  the  prime of life,
with a perfect healthy acting body, there is more nervous
power produced than the system  requires  merely to live
with, and this surplus may be  safely expended in  sexual
indulgence.
  But even at this  stage, if exhausting labor have to be
performed,  whether  bodily or  mental,  or if  sickness
makes an extra drain upon the nervous power, or lessens
the quantity of it produced, sexual indulgences must be
correspondingly abbreviated.
  These are the true  principles which should regulate the
conduct of human beings in these important matters, and
just in proportion as  they understand and act upon them,
will they be able  to avoid those evils which ignorance or
inattention of such things are  sure.to entail upon them.
  I shall now proceed to detail a series of  Cases in illus-
tration  of  these matters, taking  them mostly as I find
them in my note book, and  making such comments and
explanations as I may think requisite.   They are not ar-
ranged systematically, so  as to apply only to certain
topics,  but are  taken  promiscuously, to   illustrate all,
though I shall endeavor to  make  some of  the  first  ones
refer more especially to the principles  just laid down. 
CHAPTER   XXVI.
         MISCELLANEOUS  CASES.

               RETARDED DEVELOPMENT.

  This was a remarkable instance of Retarded Develop-
ment from Masturbation, which, fortunately, was partially
corrected by the subject of it having his  attention awak-
ened  in  time.  I shall  first let the individual speak for
himself,  and make my comments and explanations when
I think most useful.

           To  Dr. F.  Hollick, Box 3606,

                             New York City N.  Y*
My dear sir :
  A short time ago, I attended your Lectures on Paren-
tal Physiology, in Philadelphia, and  from hearing them
I have determined to address  you.   I am one of  those
truly pitiable  creatures of whom you  spoke in  the  early
part of your discourse, when referring to fnfantile Mas-
turbation, and I am, perhaps, as painful an instance  of
the awful effects of this practice as you ever saw.  When
you first  spoke upon this subject, and portrayed  the ter-
rible after  consequences,  I was plunged  in  despair, and
truly  felt desirous  to "shuffle  off this  mortal coil"  as
soon as possible, for to live as I am is impossible.  Your
final remarks, however, gave me some hopes that possi-
bly it  might not be too late for me to  recover, at  least  to
some  extent, and it is  for  the  purpose of having your
opinion on  this point that I now address you.  On your
opinion depends  much  I assure you ; — I will not, how-
ever, say further on this point, but  proceed to my state-
ment,  which shall he full and truthful, in every particular,
though it has cost me a severe struggle  to  make such a
confession, and  it never would have been made, had I
* This address will always find me at any time.
           (350) 
MISCELLANEOUS  CASES.            351
not heard your Lecture.  From your excellent discourse,
however, I felt full confidence both in your skill and in
your kind sympathy, and I therefore reveal to you  what
I have hitherto concealed from every human being, and
which, had I not  met with you,  I should have carried a
secret to the grave.
  I am the son of parents well to do in  the world, and
who have always, to the best of their knowledge, striven
to do what was best for  me.  Unfortunately, however,
their kind attentions were but imperfectly realized, owing
to their want of proper information.
  In early childhood I was very stout and robust, full of
animal spirits, and active to an unusual degree.   Every-
thing seemed to promise  that I  should grow up a well-
developed  man,  but,  alas, all  such expectations  were
doomed to be disappointed.                   >
  My parents kept a female help expressly to attend upon
me, whose whole time was  occupied in playing with me
and taking me about.  One day she took  me with her to
see some of her friends who lived in a very low  part of
the City (Baltimore), and  while engaged gossiping, she
left me to play with the children of the neighbors, who
were  swarming all  around.  They were as  depraved,
miserable, and vicious, perhaps, as could be found, and
child  as  I  was, being not over six years  of age, I could
not  help thinking their  conduct  and   language  very
strange.   It  was new and exciting,  however, and  that
was  enough  to make it interesting,  so  that in a  short
time 1 cast off all restraint, and became fully  initiated
into many of their habits and sayings, which I  thought
especially excellent, no doubt.  Among the  rest was one
precocious ragamuffin, older than  the rest, who under-
took to explain to them various mysterious points in
physiology and parentage,  and the  uses of certain  parts
of their bodies, to which my attention had never before
been directed.  This was done practically, there being both
girls and boys present, and none  having the slightest ob-
jection to any  kind  of exposure, but rather courting it.
The revelations which I then heard, given in the grossest
manner, and the  sights I  saw, have never been effaced
from my mind, but, young as I was at the time,  they are
as fresh and vivid now as  if it occurred but yesterday.
  Among other things, we were all of both sexes, taught
the habit of Masturbation, to the  pleasurable  feelings 
o\52
MISCELLANEOUS CASES.
from which I was  peculiarly liable, owing to my temper-
ament, I suppose, and from that time I began to give my-
self up to the habit.  I had command  enough of myself
to keep it secret from my parents, because I felt instinct-
ively  there was something in  it they would condemn,
though I knew not why.  My attendant knew, and rather
encouraged it than otherwise, because it often  relieved
her of the trouble of attending me.   In fact, the whole
group, at the time of the initiation, were surprised, in the
very midst of their proceedings, by my nurse and one of
her female friends, who seemed to consider it a capital
joke,  and highly  amusing, by the way they  laughed
about it, when describing the scene to their companions.
She, however, frightened me out of telling any one else
about it, by assuring me I  should  be severely punished
if I did, and besides this, I did not  want to do so—it was
my secret, and in my way I felt quite important about it.
  From  this  time on I continued more  or less, almost
constantly, to practice this  habit, in various ways, till  it
became a perfect furor, and at eight years of age I  have
kept awake for hours together, in the night, in this way.
  The immediate consequences  were, that I became puny
and weak,  and  irritable  in my disposition, to such an
extent that I was both wretched myself and a source of
constant discomfort to those around me.  To  add to my
misfortune, my  parents placed me under the care  of  a
Physician, who drugged me, and sent me to the sea  side,
but all to no purpose, for I did not  improve in the slight-
est degree.  Study I could only pursue at intervals, and
in a very flighty manner, and  as my memory was bad, I
fell far behind my schoolmates.
  Things continued more or less  in this way till I was
fourteen years of age, when puberty became established,
and I began to  form Semen.  In consequence of this, I
suppose my sexual desires and feelings grew stronger, or
perhaps I should say they then first became natural, and
I indulged more frequently than ever.   I  have frequently
expended the semen four or five times  a day,  for several
days together,  till I became so weak I could  scarcely
walk, and quite childish in my mind.  My friends all
thought I was in a Consumption, and none  of them  ever
expected me to live.
  From that time till now / have never grown, and I am
over twenty-one !  Neither do  I  seem in any way further 
MISCELLANEOUS  CASES.            353
developed.  I am no  heavier,—my voice  has the same
sound, and my Sexual Organs are quite as small as they
were at fourteen years of age.   In some  respects, how-
ever, I am better than I was, and I attribute it all to this
circumstance.  I was one day passing down the  street
and looking into a bookstore window, I saw your Book
on  " The Male Organs," and from curiosity went in  and
bought  it.   The perusal  of  that book first  opened my
eyes, and made me begin to think that my weakness and
sickness was caused solely by Masturbation.   It is  true,
I had partially suspected this before, but the impression
was not strong enough to  make me leave off the habit.
Now, however, I determined to do so,  and by hard striv-
ing I partially succeeded.
  At times I had felt, for a year or two past, much better,
and my mind became a little stronger,  and more settled,
so  that I made up a little  for my past deficiency,  and
began to reflect upon  my situation.  While in these
favorable moods I did  pretty well, and  conquered my
fatal inclinations, but when  the  mood passed off, I fell
back again.
  It was in my seventeenth year  when I purchased your
Book, and from then  till now I have been struggling in
this way, and, on the whole, perhaps, 1 have gained, but
still very little, and latterly I have begun to fear I should
never be much otherwise than I am.   This fear began to
haunt me continually, and I had made up  my  mind to
come to New York to  see you, when I noticed the  Ad-
vertisement of your Lectures here, and, to  my great joy,
had an opportunity  of hearing you.  After I left the Lec-
ture-room, I determined, in the  first  place, to  write to
you, and then if you thought there might possibly he any-
thing done  for me, I would visit you  personally.   I am
rich enough in  this  world's goods, having inherited con-
siderable property,  and  am both able and willing to re-
compense you to any extent you may think requisite,
within a reasonable amount.  Money  I value no more
than the dust under my feet, for unless I can be made a
man I shall not need it.
  I have thus, my dear sir, made  a sufficient confession,
I hope, to enable you to judge of my case, and I  trust
you  will render me  your reply as promptly as possible, for
you  may well imagine the agony of suspense in which I
am. 
354
MISCELLANEOUS CASES.
   Upon fully considering  this letter, I concluded that it
was possible that the subject of it could be helped, though
to what extent was uncertain, and  so I informed him.
The result was an interview, in which I found him, as his
letter described,  half developed, pu/iy, and weak minded,
but still with indications that originally he had been pos-
sessed of a good constitution.  There were also indica-
tions that nature was even now endeavoring  to recover
her lost ground, and some little growth, with occasional
increase of mental power, gave hopes for the future.
   At his earnest request I  at once commenced to advise
and to treat him,  his circumstances fortunately being such
that he could live as I choose to direct.  In the first place
I prescribed such a regular course of diet, daily exercise,
bathing, and friction of the skin, as I thought most likely
to promote his general  health and bodily growth.   With
that I also commenced  to  treat the genital organs in  the
most active manner, feeling assured  that their develop-
ment would stimulate the whole organization,  and add to
the power of both body and mind.
   The  Congester was used daily, with shampooing, and
my Aphrodisiac Remedy was also used, though very care-
fully.  The result began to be obvious  in less  than three
months ! The genital organs increased in size and power.
The semen was secreted in greater quantity, and the sexual
desire became strong and natural.   The whole body also
soon began to develop most obviously, so that his friends
made remark of it, and his mind became more manly in
its tone, and more steady, so that he was capable of  more
continued mental exertion, and soon extended his acquire-
ments   considerably.   One  difficulty,  however,  arose
which  I  had forseen, but could not altogether prevent.
His continued practice  of masturbation had of course both
weakened and irritated  the  genitals, so  that when the se-
men began to be secreted in greater quantity it could not
be retained, and  he suffered  from spermatorrhoea.    To
such an extent did  this evil prevail, especially in  the
urinary form (as described  in  my  book on "The  Male
Organs ") that I feared it would counteract all  I could  do
By degrees, however, it was overcome, and then the real
advance commenced in earnest,
  In the course of the next two years  he seemed almost
to leap forward, so rapid was his growth, till I feared he
would become sickly and weak from  it.  By good  tonic 
MISCELLANEOUS  CASES.            355
treatment, however, and constant care, this danger  was
avoided, and he continued  to  advance,  so that in his
twenty-fifth year he was nearly up to the average standard
of young men of  that age in size, weight and strength.
His mind was also quite active, and of good ordinary ca-
pacity, though not capable of very powerful or long con-
tinued efforts.  No one who had known him formerly
ever supposed it possible for  him to become what he was,
and he himself felt so elated  that he entirely overlooked
the actual deficiencies ^which still existed,  and thought
himself perfect enough.
  His  greatest pleasure was  in writing regularly to me,
and  constantly noting  the different stages of advance-
ment, and speculating as to the future.  I never knew a
patient more  gratified  or more grateful.   In  one of his
letters he remarks,  " such as I  now am you have made
me,  for without your assistance and  advice I certainly
should not be now in existence !"
  The sexual powers of this young man became quite good,
though irregular in their manifestation, and he was  fully
capable of the duties of  married life, but not so frequently
as in the generality of persons at his age.
  On this case I shall make but few comments, because it
tells its own tale, in most respects, and the instruction  it
conveys must be obvious.   The principal  facts indicated
by it are the arrest of development  caused by the loss of
nervous power from sexual abuse, and the recommence-
ment of growth when the sexual power became restored,
If the sexual organs had  not grown, and  became active,
no other development would have occurred to any useful
extent, and if their weakness  and irritability had not been
overcome he would soon have died from spermatorrhoea.
  It was also fortunate  that proper attention was bestow-
ed in time, before the period  when growth is possible had
passed.  In several such instances I  have been consulted
too late, when the time had gone by, that is for the body
generally, though  the sexual organs  may often be much
perfected until nearly the  thirtieth year, and of course the
energy  of the system—especially of the mind—along with
them.
  The moral lessons which such a case conveys, particu-
larly respecting the patient's  childhood, must, I think, be
clear to all, and do not  need  special  remark.  There are 
356
MISCELLANEOUS CASES.
more  children exposed  to  similar evils  than  is usually
supposed.


  Similar cases to the above I often have communicated
to me, not only by males but also by females, many of
whom are taught such practices by their domestics or at
school.
  In one such instance the  patient was perhaps the most
wretched victim  of alternate excitement and depression
of the nervous system ever  seen.   At times she was sub-
ject to fits of  almost frenzied agitation, and was so rest-
less, both bodily and mentally,  that she could  not sit
down, nor  sleep, nor speak  on  the same  subject two
minutes together.  At other times she would be perfectly
listless,  and almost as if suffering from congestion of the
brain.   Indifferent to all about her, powerless and torpid
she seemed altogether too low ever to rally again.
  All  that could  be ascertained about the origin of her
suffering was  that she had been  taught the practice of
masturbation by a female domestic when about ten years
old.   She had never menstruated  though nineteen years
of age when  I saw her,  and she had many peculiar im-
perfections in her organization.  The pelvis and internal
organs were unusually small, while the external  genitals
were  remarkably large,  and singularly irritable.   Her
head was also small, and her muscular system  lax.
  The case was interpreted easily enough by these signs.
Her development was imperfect and  irregular from the
nervous  excitement and exhaustion  she had undergone
just previous  to puberty, from the  habit that had been
taught her.
  E ;ery means was tried to lessen  the irritation of her sys-
tem, and to perfect her development, but all failed.   She
died before her twentieth year, almost a maniac.


  MICROSCOPICAL  EXAMINATION  OF  THE
                       URINE.

  No. i. Represents the appearance  of the Semen  when
perfectly healthy, as seen under the  microscope.   It was
a portion lost in consequence of straining at stool, from
constipation,  as  is very often the case. 
MISCELLANEOUS CASES.
357
  No. 2.  This is a portion  of Semen  contained in the
urine oi a person who had debilitated himself by mastur-
bation  in  early life.  There  are  a few animalcules, but
they are imperfect and very feeble.  This  individual had
but faint amative desires, and but little power.   It is pos-
sible that a man so  circumstanced may be  capable of as-
sociation,  to  a limited  extent, and may even  become  a
Parent, but his children, if he have any, are sure to be
either  deformed,  still  born, or  constitutionally  weak I 
358
MISCELLANEOUS  CASES.
Most usually, however, there is no impregnation, or if
there be, miscarriage takes place.
  The  reason for this is  obvious enough to those  who
know the part which the Animalcules perform in origin-
ating the new being.
  No. 3. This was  also taken' from  the urine of a man
who had long suffered from Urinary Seminal  loss, and
who had become nearly impotent, with great decay of his
mental powers, gloomy feelings, general debility, and all
those distressing symptoms of constitutional decay, which
invariably follow this disease, if  it is not checked.
  In this case the Animalcules are all dead, and the parts
of the  body  detached  from each other.  Impregnation
from this semen could never take.place, though the person
might still at times, retain slight powers  of association.
Many  men  are  circumstanced in this  way — especially
those long addicted to excesses of any kind, and also
business men, exhausted by too much anxiety and mental
labor.
  No. 4. This view  was taken from  a  man  wholly and
hopelessly impotent, and in the last stages of decay, bodily
and  mental.   Of course,  at this  stage, there is neither
power  nor desire.   The  semen is  utterly destitute  of
animalcules and almost substance.  It passes almost con-
stantly in the urine, and is merely like gum water.  Dur-
ing  the second and third stages, a  man may  recover,
with proper assistance, but in the last stage there is no
hope.  There are many married  people  without children,
owing  to  these imperfections in the male, though it is
generally thought that it must be from the  female.   Some
men are even naturally imperfect in this way, and  never
can be parents, though apparently Jike  other men.  The
true reason for weakly and deformed children,  and also
for frequent miscarriages is also often in the male, though
not suspected.
  (Dr.  H. is  daily making microscopical examinations of
this  kind, both for  those  who  call  upon him,  and for
others.
  Persons at a distance, who can not possibly pay a per-
sonal visit to Dr. H. need not  give  up all hopes  of re-
ceiving proper treatment in any of the above affections.
Dr.  H. can suggest a means by which  the necessary ex-
aminations can be made perfectly, without their  coming,
so that he can advise by regular correspondence, as he
does constantly with many.) 
MISCELLANEOUS  CASES.
359
  It is scarcely necessary to add, that the  strictest confi-
dence and secrecy is observed in all communications,  per-
sonal or  otherwise,  and that the  most careful  atten-
tion is bestowed upon every case.
  Some  years ago  I was waited on by a married couple
of high standing in society, to get my advice in regard to
their being childless.   They had been married nine years,
both were young, and apparently perfectly healthy.  The
gentleman informed  me that, independent of the gratifi-
cation to their own feelings, which were  intense for off-
spring, it was of the utmost importance they should have
a child  on other accounts.  It seems a large  property
was so  left  that their child would  inherit it, if they had
one, or  themselves, as  its heirs,  even if it died, while if
they died childless, it would go  to a distant connection of
the family, who was already enormously rich, and a very
undeserving personage into the bargain.
  Here  there were both happiness and wealth at stake,
and I was  requested  to do or suggest anything in my
power.
  The parties were fully communicative, and disposed to
hear anything, or to discuss anything that I thought nec-
essary.  The result was that I became fully convinced
the  lady was in no way  whatever imperfect, but fully
capable  of Conception,  and consequently the fault was
with the Husband.  On stating this to him he was amazed,
and quite incredulous, for, said  he, how am I wrong?  I
enjoy the same feelings and  the  same  powers  as other
men, and have a copious Seminal  Secretion.   I  then ex-
plained to him in what I thought the difficulty consisted,
and a Microscopical examination of the Semen was  at
once instituted.  My surmise proved to be correct.  There
were only a few, very imperfect  animalcules contained  in
it, utterly  inefficient  for the  purpose of impregnation.
The examination was, of course frequently repeated,  to
make sure that this was the normal condition, and always
with the  same results.
  On the true state of affairs being made obvious  to him
he became unusually thoughtful,  and evidently brooded'
over the matter most intensely.   At last, he remarked,
in a half abstracted manner, "Well, it has always been
my strongest desire that Maria (his wife), or her children
shomd inherit this property, and it shall  be  so,—if pos-
sible 1  So now, Doctor, what can  be done7 " 
360
MISCELLANEOUS CASES.
   I told him at once that I believed the case was hope-
 less, for the imperfection in his case was not the result of
 weakness, disease, or over-indulgence, such as can often
 be recovered from, but  was evidently constitutional, and
 I  therefore  could hold out no prospect of its removal.
 He made  me the most liberal offers if I could succeed in
 making him capable, but I told him at once I could not
 deceive him.
   Soon after this they returned to  Europe  where the
 property lay, and I  heard no  more from them  for four
 years,  when one day the gentleman again called  upon
 me, and after stating  that they had been traveling for
 some time,  requested me to  call and see  his wife, who
 was  somewhat indisposed, and desirous of seeing me.
 On inquiring after his health, I found him just about the
 same as usual, only much stouter, as is often the case
 with such constitutions  on approaching forty years  of
 age.   He  was unusually cheerful, however, and on  leav-
 ing,  remarked, in a matter-of-course way, and with  an
 evident effort to  be  unconcerned—" By-the by,  Dr., our
 little one is  not  very well either,  and 1 shall be much
 obliged if you will pay  particular attention  to him, for
 you know how much depends on his life !"
  The  announcement took me quite by surprise, and he
 probably saw by my look that it did  so, for  he  at  once
 apologized for not having told me of their good fortune
 before, knowing how I should be interested in it. " But,"
 said he, " it  is now three years old nearly,  and I forgot
 that you had not  been  informed of the happy event.   I
 of course made no remark, but  paid  my visit, and found
 the mother and child only a little inconvenienced by the
journey and  change  of air.  In a  short time they  were
quite well  again.
  A happier couple I  have seldom seen than they were.
The  child was adored  by both,  and fortunately seemed
likely to live to reward them for their care and affection.
  There was, however, a  little awkwardness and restraint
in their manner to me,  and an evident avoidance of the
subject of  our first conference.   Only  on  one occasion.
just on the eve of his departure for Canada, did he allude
to it.   He then remarked, " Doctor, could  any one else
find out what you told me four years ago ? "  " No, sir,"
said I,  " only by the  same means.   "Oh,"well," said he,
 "lam  glad  of that, though it's of no consequence now, 
MISCELLANEOUS  CASES.
361
because matters have turned out right at last you see, and
Maria's property will not go to those who had no right to
it." To this I replied not, and he went away. Six months
after he died of apoplexy quite suddenly, to the great dis-
tress of his wife, who was sincerely attached to him. Her
grief in fact made her quite sick, and for some time her
life was despaired of, but finally she recovered, apparently
more from love to her child  than from a desire to live on
her own account.  In  fact  her whole  existence seemed
devoted to her son,  whom she watched with unremitting
care.
  One  day that he was somewhat indisposed, I was called
to see him, and found with her an old female friend, one
of those who-always  say whatever comes uppermost,
without thinking of  consequences.  I  had just assured the
mother that nothing serious was the matter with the child,
as indeed her family physician  had stated just  before,
when the female friend, an old lady, remarked  that the
child had a thick neck, and " what  a  pity it would be if it
took after its father, and was  apoplectic ! "  I could not
forbear looking toward the mother, whose eyes met mine,
and I saw at  once that she detected  my after-thought in
a moment, when I  gravely  said I thought there  was  no
danger !
  Some days after she requested to see me, on the eve of
her final departure for Europe.  A candid admission was
made to me that my first judgment had not been invalid-
ated by what had occurred.  Suffice it to say, the husband
had determined,  with  her  concurrence, that a  child at
least should inherit the coveted wealth, even if one of theirs
could not, and hence they had secretly adopted one  They
had thought I might imagine a change had occurred in
him, and that matters were  perfectly natural, which was
the reason why our first consultation was never referred
to.  The old  lady's  remark,  however, and my manner of
replying, showed the mother that I was not deceived, and
hence  the confession.   Of course it was no concern  of
mine, and I could only assure  the mother that the secret
was  perfectly safe.  They  had  been,  I fully  believe,
almost as happy as  if really parents.
  On another occasion I had for a patient a married gen-
tleman, btit childless,  who had unfortunately got  en- 
362             MISCELLANEOUS CASES.
tangled with an  intriguing mistress who was perpetually
extorting money  from him.  Being rich, however, this
was not of  serious moment, but at last the lady became
pregnant, and in due time was safely delivered of a son.
My patient was now informed that  he must make ample
provision for this new comer and its mother for life, or
some very  disagreeable  disclosures  should be  made.   I
was not aware of this event till the child was ten months
old.   The gentleman then mentioned it to me to explain
the great embarrassment and trouble under which he la-
bored, and  which was acting very prejudicially upon his
health.  I  was then treating him  for spermatorrhoea,
which had begun to weaken his powers and to affect his
mind.  My microscopical examination had shown me that
he was seminally  imperfect, like the gentleman  in the
previous case, and I at once saw that he could not be the
father of the young stranger.  He, however, had no idea
of this, and was   really desirous of settling upon it a
handsome annuity, but some unexpected embarrassments
had made it difficult for him then  to do so.  Being my
patient I, considered it my duty to tell him the  truth, to
prevent his being imposed upon.  He was both astonished
and indignant on learning this unexpected fact, and would
at once have had a final, and not very friendly interview
with the lady, but the fear of consequences deterred him.
  Now here was a  terrible state of embarrassment for a
man, with no apparent means of getting clear.  He must
either be plundered and imposed upon, to maintain the off-
spring of another man, or he must be disgraced, and his
domestic happiness destroyed by a disclosure of his own
improper doings.   What was to be done ?  In his despair
he was almost  driven to  suicide,  but by degrees his mind
was calmed, and I induced him  to consider his predica^
rnent in a proper manner with a  view to  his extrication.
  After consideration I told him  I thought I saw a means
which might be successful, and though not called upon to
do anything of the  sort as a medical man, yet out of con-
sideration  for  an  old and liberal patient,  I  consented to
try.  At my suggestion the lady  was induced to visit me
as a patient, she being a little indisposed.   I saw at once
that she-was a designing  intriguante, but evidently not
overburdened with  information, and  readily impressed
by a confident manner of speaking.
  After attending with all due consideration to  her own 
MISCELLANEOUS  CASES.
363
case, the  conversation was gradually turned towards the
gentleman her friend, who, I remarked, was one of those
peculiar beings that medical men like myself occasionally
met with, whose  bodily imperfections would  never be sus-
pected !   This piqued her curiosity, as I intended it to do,
and led her to inquire  more closely what kind of imper-
fections  I alluded to ?  The  matter  being thus  entered
upon, I at once told her, in an off-hand manner, that it
was impossible for him ever to be a father !   The  an-
nouncement seemed to come upon her like a clap of thun-
der, and for some time she remained silent.  Finally, how-
ever, putting on a  show of offended dignity, she remarked
that perhaps I  was not aware  of the relation in which the
gentleman and herself stood?   "Excuse  me, madam,"
said I, "but I am aware  of your liaison perfectly well."
" Oh !" said she, " that is  not what I mean ; you do  not
know then, it seems, that he is the father of my son, now
ten months old ?"  " No, madam," said I.  " Nor can such
be the case ; it is an utter impossibility ! "
  This assertion  brought  on  a perfect scene oi rage and
assumed grief at being suspected, but finally the tempest
cooled down, and she  began to talk more coolly.  I told
her  that I had no wish to give offense, and was entirely
ignorant that my friend was accused of being the parent
till just now, and that in all probability she was deceived
herself. Finally she seemed to change her tactics, doubt-
less from  a consciousness  of being in  the wrong, and at
last  asked me, with evident interest, if the peculiar im-
perfections which  I spoke of  in  the gentleman could be
proved?   I assured her it could be, and that if called upon
in evidence I could readily prove it beyond a doubt. This
put her completely to a nonpluss, and  she went off quite
crest fallen.
  At my suggestion the gentleman entirely discontinued
his visits to her, and treated her in quite a cool manner,
as if he no longer  had any fear.   This created a disposi-
tion  on her part to come to terms, and by the agency of
a legal friend, who visited her  for the purpose, and hinted
something about a possible prosecution for attempted im-
position, matters were finally arranged, and  for a  reason-
able consideration she  and the child went away, and my
patient was relieved from his embarrassments.

  On another occasion I had a patient who  died of con-
sumption  at the age of twenty-eight leaving a widow and 
364
MISCELLANEOUS CASES.
 a son aged three years.   It had been what the French
 call a marriage de convenance, in which there was neither
 affection nor even respect on either side.
   This gentleman  made one  of those unjust wills by
 which his widow had the  enjoyment of a handsome in-
 come for life, providing she never married again.  The
 disposition of considerable property  also  depended on
 the life of the child being preserved till he became of age.
 Now the  widow had no desire whatever for another mar-
 riage—probably  from her experience of the first,—and
 was quite satisfied with her condition.   She almost idol-
 ized her  child, and  devoted every moment to his care.
 He was perfectly robust, and no apprehension whatever
 crossed her mind in regard to his health  till in his fifth
 year.  She then visited a part of the country where lived the
 connections of her late husband, with whom she had never
 been at all acquainted.   The marriage had been altogether
 the work  of so-called friends on both  sides, and respect-
 ing  the family or antecedents of her husband,  she knew
 very  little previous to their union, and  cared nothing
 about after.
   Being now,  however, quite free from all  restraint, and
 in the neighborhood, she  naturally sought some further
 information respecting him that was gone.   To  her great
 consternation, she learnt that his whole family had always
 been  noted for their  tendency  to Consumption.  Very
 few of them were then left, the majority in every branch,
 having died quite  young, and not one having been known
 to live over twenty-eight years, which was  the age of her
 husband  at his death.   It  was, in fact, generally  called
 the doomed family, and an old nurse thoughtlessly remarked,
 as a matter of course, that little Charley, strong  as he
 looked, would  never see  his  thirtieth year, even if he
 passed childhood.  The mother  became at once almost
 frantic with despair.  She  looked upon her darling boy
 as doomed also, and thought with horror of the day when
 he would  be  taken away from her, perhaps when  just
 bursting into manhood and promise.
  I have  never seen a woman so entirely possessed by
one idea as she was with this.   She left the neighborhood
at once where  she had  learnt this fatal news, and  began
revolving  numerous plans to  escape the threatened evil,
but with no confidence in any of them.  Finally, she came to
 me, to ask my advice as to the probable success of a re- 
MISCELLANEOUS  CASE9.
365
MoVal to another part of the  globe.   Our consultation
was, of course, confidential and full in every respect, be-
cause I felt it necessary to arrive at the true cause of her
eyident terror and apprehension.  I had previously been
her medical adviser, as well as her husband's, whom I had
also known before his marriage.
  Now, it so happened that he had consulted me immedi-
ately after their marriage, in reference to his sexual pow-
ers,  which were  rapidly  failing, as I  discovered from
Urinary Spermatorrhoea.  This was  arrested,  and  he
partially recovered, but only imperfectly.  In the course
of Microscopical examinations, I discovered  that he was
then totally impotent, there being but a very few animal-
cules in his Semen, and all imperfect, though he had to a
certain extent,  the ordinary sexual powers.
  This fact I had intended to make known to him in or-
der to explain better  his real condition, and  also why he
had no family;  To my surprise, however, he announced
to me one day that  his wife waspregnant!  Of course I
did not then  feel called upon to state what I knew, more
especially as the expectation of an heir seemed  to give
him great pleasure.   His health also was evidently fail-
ing, and I expected his  death from Consumption  even
before it occurred.  This secret therefore was mine alone,
and would have been buried with me, but for the present
state of affairs.  I knew that this man was not the father
of the  child whose  mother was then  suffering from such
terrible apprehensions.  I felt  perfectly assured,  in mak-
ing the assertion  I  afterwards  did, and I had no doubt
but that my accusation would both be admitted and par-
doned, for the  sake of the consolation it would bring.  I
therefore said at once, in  the most decided and emphattic
manner, that the child was in  no danger whatever from
his connection with the family of the late Mr.-----/  The
way in which I said  this  evidently caused both surprise
and interested attention,  and in a  somewhat confused
manner she asked me to explain what I meant?   I  then
remarked without any comment, and as a matter merely
of professional interest, that the boy was perfectly safe
jom that source, because  it was impossible M-----could
Iiave been at that time his  Father ?
  It is not necessary  to attempt a description of the  con-
fusion,  shame, and pretended anger which at first  fol-
lowed.  Suffice it to say all this  passed off, and in tear- 
'666             MISCELLANEOUS  CASES.
ful humility, but with eager earnestness, I was  asked it
this was beyond doubt.  I assured her it  was so, and  that
her child ran no risk of  inheriting the Consumptive  fate
of her late husband.  Of course I could not say what risk
he might run  from his real father, because he  was un-
known to me.                           ,
  The  peculiar mental condition of this woman, at this
time was one of the most  curious I had ever met with.
Consternation at the discovery of what she had no doubt
thought past  discovery, and  shame  at thinking  I  had
known it so  long,  was intermixed with  real  joy  and
thankfulness at the escape of her  child.   I  of course  as-
sured her that the secret was as safe as if it really rested
with her alone, and to me  it had no other  interest than a
professional one,  and would never have  been disclosed
even to her, but under such circumstances.
  Immediately afterwards  she departed with her  child for
France, where she intended to bring  him up away from
all the  associations of her own previous  life.
          SOFTENING OF  THE  BRAIN.

  This is a much more frequent disease than most people
have any idea of.  It  is the same disease, essentially, as
that called Spinal Consumption, of which  the  old writers
tell us so much-
  The causes of  this justly dreaded disease were till lately
unknown, or but vaguely suspected, and a variety of
Theories were invented to account for it.  Lately, how-
ever, its  connection with Sexual derangement,  in many
cases,  has been established conclusively, and  to make
this clear, we must give a little Anatomical and Physio-
logical explanation.
  The  substance of the Brain and of the Nervous System
generally, is essentially  different, both  in its structure
and  composition, from  all the other parts of the body
and therefore it requires to be nutrified in a different way,
and  by different materiel from  any other  part.   All the
Vital Organs may be perfect, and the Muscular system
well developed and supported, owing to the special nu-
trition  being complete, and yet the Nervous System may
be in a state of decay.   It is true, that decay of the Nerv- 
CONNECTION  BETWEEN
THE BRAIN AND THE SEXUAL ORGANS.
The two halves of the Brain are separated, to show they
  are distinct from each other, and to show their con-
  nection with the Sexual Centres.
                   367
L 
t 
MISCELLANEOUS CASES.             369
bus  System  is soon followed by decay of all the other
parts, but it may commence independently of any imper-
fection  in  thenfi, and even while they are as perfect as
usual.
  The actual materiel, or substance, of the Nervous Sys-
tem  is  almost identical with that of the Seminal fluid in
Man, and the Ovce in Woman.
  In all probability, the same vital effort which calls forth
the Generative Elements also  creates, at the same time,
the Nervous substance.  Whenever, therefore, the pro-
duction, or nutrition, of the one is imperfect, so is that of
the other.  There is, therefore, not only a close sympathy,
but a real coincidence of origin, and mutual dependence
of existence, between these two most mysterious portions
of our being.   The  Brain  and the Sexual apparatus are
placed at the opposite extremities  of the  body,  like the
two  poles of a Galvanic Pile, each being connected with
the Spinal marrow, which  unites them.  When one of
these Poles is  overcharged with vital power, the other is
undercharged,  and  when  one is exhausted the  other is
soon in  the same condition.
  This explains at once why excessive mental exertion is
often followed by sexual  impotence, and why, on  the
contrary, sexual abuse so frequently destroys the intellect.
Softening of the brain is caused by an actual  deficiency
of some of the substances composing it, and these sub-
stances  are precisely  those that are carried off by the
seminal discharge.  When a man expends too much se-
men, therefore, he does the same thing as  if he really
destroyed a portion of his brain, because  he takes away
that  which is  necessary to nutrify  it.  Nature will  not
produce enough of these substances to make brain and to
allow of licentious indulgence at the same time.   In this
way  arises softening, or chronic decay of the brain, a dis-
ease which may be very slow  in its  progress, but every
step  of which weakens the intellect more  and more, and
which eventually causes  either death or idiocy.
  It  is  not willful  licentiousness alone, however,  which
leads to softening of  the  brain, but more frequently it
arises from urinary spermatorrhoea.
  In treating softening of the brain, or the sexual diffi-
culties from which  it arises, it will  readily be seen that
quite a  different course is required from that which is
pursued in other  diseases.  It is not  only necessary to 
370            MISCELLANEOUS  CASES.
arrest  the nervous decay and seminal  loss, but also to
supply such substances as will make more new brain, or
new generative elements, and this none of the ordinary
medicaments will do.   There are  but  few things in fact
that are suitable for this purpose, and it requires an accu-
rate knowledge of their real properties, and  of the true
chemical composition of the nervous and seminal  matters
to know how to properly combine and  apply them.   The
ordinary cordials and  invigorators  are  mere excitants, or
stimulants as elsewhere explained, and only excite for a
time the little nervous or generative matter  that is left,
but  do  not  stop its decay, nor cause  a  new  production
of it.
  The condition of a person suffering  from softening of
the brain is, in the main, much  like that of one suffering
from confirmed  spermatorrhoea,  and it  requires careful
microscopical  examinations  to  tell which of  the two
troubles  is being experienced, or  if both exist together.
Usually,  however, there is more mental imbecility in soft-
ening of  the brain; with  a greater change of character.
The patient feels that  his mind is passing away.   He can
not think clearly, and  has a sensation as if  his head were
really empty, and as  if  he would like  every  moment  to
close his eyes and go off!  There is no  possibility  of rous-
ing a man in this state, nor of doing him good in any
way, till the waste of the brain is arrested and the  process
of renovation recommences.
  Many patients remark,  after their recovery, that they
used literally to lose themselves, and forget who and where
they were.  One gentleman assured me that on waking
in the morning he would  frequently be half an  hour  or
more before he could  make out  who he was, and what  he
should do.  It would  partly come in his mind and then
go out again, till he got some stimulant, and  then, for a
time, he  would gradually come round.   The fact was,
that his ideas were previously only half formed and im-
perfect, owing to  the imperfect condition of his brain.
He could no more think perfectly than a  man can  labor
hard who has weakened muscles.


                   § nervousness.

  It is scarcely necessary  to remark that Nervousness is
very general, and spoken of as something which  all peo- 
MISCELLANEOUS  CASES.             371
pie are supposed to be acquainted  with, but still it is
something which no one can  describe  or define.  The
term  nervous  is applied to such a variety of bodilv and
mental derangements, combined so differently in different
people,  that it is  scarcely possible  to  find two nervous
people whose experience is the same.  This, however,
need  not  surprise us when we  reflect upon the functions
of the nervous system,  and its associations  with  every
part ot the organization.  Itself the  source of all organic
power, upon which  every part depends, and by  which
alone the  whole is maintained in action,  it cannot experi-
ence the slightest derangement without affecting  all that
is dependent upon it.   If the integrity of  the brain and
spinal marrow be  impaired, we  not   only  experience
mental imbecility, or moral perversity, but derangements
of the vital organs  also, though in their  structure they
may be  apparently as perfect as we could wish.
  Even a  slight  affection  of the  great nervous centres
causes a  sympathetic derangement  of   everything  else,
which is the reason  why nervous people  suffer from  such
a  complication of  symptoms, for  without having  a
single organic disease they suffer the peculiar effects of
almost every disease known.  Once correct the  vitiated
condition  of the  nervous system in these cases, and all
the symptoms vanish at once, so that the patient passes
in a single day almost, from  the extremest misery to well
being and happiness.  Uninformed people either ridicule
such cases, or else attribute them  to mere  deception  or
wilfulness, but those who know their nature  look upon
them  as among the most interesting that can be met with,
and eminently deserving of true sympathy.
  A deranged  condition of  the nervous  system  arises
either from actual decay or change in the nervous matter
itself, as in softening of the brain,  or  else from sympa-
thetic irritation, as in various derangements of the sexual
organs.   In fact  the nervous system becomes deranged
through the influence of other parts in  nearly every in-
stance, and seldom suffers from any disease  originating
within itself   In the majority of  cases sexual derange-
ment  precedes or accompanies  nervous derangement, and
must be corrected before the nervousness can be  over-
come.
  In nervous females the womb or ovaries  are affected,
and in nervous men  the testes  or prostate  gland, almost 
372
MISCELLANEOUS  CASES.
invariably, and to those who are  acquainted  with the
physiology and connections of these different parts of our
organization, this mutual action and reaction will be  no
mystery.
  The great misfortune of nervous people is,  that they
are seldom treated for the disease under which they really
labor, but only for the secondary derangements to which it
has given  rise.   The effects only being observed, while
the cause remains unnoticed.   For instance, a female will
have  chronic  irritation of the womb  or  ovaries, giving
rise to the  most curious train of nervous derangements
and symptoms, and will be treated with the  utmost  skill
as a nervous patient without the slightest benefit, but once
remove the ovarian or uterine irritation and  the nervous-
ness ceases at  once.  Numbers of men  also lose  their
judgment and memory,  and become wretched to the last
degree from urinary loss of semen, which must  be stop-
ped before  any assistance can be rendered to them.
  The intimate mutual relation of the Nervous  and  Sex-
ual systems will be made more evident by an inspection
of the Plate of the " Arervous and Sexual Centres."
  The Brain is  composed of two perfectly distinct halves,
either of which  may act, or become diseased, without the
concurrence of the other ; the  same as  either Testicle or
Ovary may act  perfectly, or become diseased, independ-
ently of any action or affection of the other.
  The Testicles in  the Male, and the Ovaries in the Fe-
male, are precisely  similar, both  in their organic func-
tions and in  their sympathetic relations.  In fact,  they
are identical in every  respect, in the earlier stages  of
development.   The Testicles  are  merely more  fully de-
veloped Ovaries, in the  same way that all the Organs  of
the Male Generative  system are more perfect  develop-
ments of corresponding  parts in the female.
  The two Sexual Centres, and the two Nervous Centres,
stand to each other in the relation of Electric Poles, being
Positive and Negative reciprocally.  If an undue amount
of power be concentrated,  or  expended in a Sexual  Cen-
tre, the opposing Nervous  Centre must be proportiona-
bly deficient in power, and on  the  contrary if the Nerv-
ous Centre be  overexcited, the opposing Sexual Centre
must become torpid.
  All this is more fully  explained in Dr. Hollick's Book,
" The Nerves and the Nervous." 
MISCELLANEOUS  CASES.             373
§ PERFECT RECOVERY FROM IMPOTENCE, BROUGHT ON BY
                      EXCESSES.

  In this case we have an example of a very large class,
persons naturally of powerful Sexual Organizations, capa-
ble, in the first vigor of virile power, of the  most con-
tinuous and exalted enjoyment, but from  ignorance alone,
becoming dissipated,  debilitated,  and impotent.   It also
shows that, in even the worst of such cases, it is gener-
ally possible, by the use of proper remedies, to recover most
of what had been lost, and  to rejuvenate  the Sexual Or-
gans after their functions are thought to  be entirely ex-
tinct.
  The individual living at a distance communicated with
me by the following letter.
                   To  Dr. Hollick,

                             " New York City, N. Y.
 " My  Dear Sir,

  '' A fortunate chance having  thrown in my way your
 invaluable and unique Book on ' The Male Generative
 Organs,' I have determined to address you  in regard to
 my case, feeling fully assured that if any mortal man can
 assist me it is you.
  " Not to  lose time, or to occupy  you unnecessarily, I
 will make my statement as brief as possible.
  '' I was born in affluent circumstances, well brought up
 and well educated, and at twenty-one years  of age found
 myself the uncontrolled master of quite a respectable  in-
 come,  and in the enjoyment of  a large circle of  friends
 and acquaintances.  I had never been  much  addicted to
 the usual  vice  of young people, Masturbation,  though
 constantly in the midst of it, neither had I ever been  in-
 temperate, and at  twenty-one I was healthy, full  of ani-
 mal spirits, and capable of the most perfect  physical en-
joyment. "  About my eighteenth  year, my sexual  desires
became very strong, but my position, and prudential con-
siderations, prevented me from  running into excesses.
 Besides this, I looked forward to my majority as  a time
when I could  indulge as I should wish, without any con-
trol, and thus repay  myself for past restraint. 
374
MISCELLANEOUS  CASES.
  " Had it not been for my guardian I should have mar-
ried as soon as I was of age, and had I done so it would
have saved me incredible suffering, and a broken-down
constitution.   He, however, dissuaded me  from  it from
pecuniary motives, and ignorantly sacrificed  my health
and happiness to filthy lucre.
  " I formed several attachments of an illicit character,
and being led  away by my powerful sexual  propensities,
I indulged to  excess.  How much,  I need not  perhaps
specify, but suffice it to say, that till my twenty-fifth year
it was almost my sole  occupation, and till  that  period  I
felt no diminution  of  power.  But  soon afterwards  my
appetite for these indulgences began to lessen, and by de-
grees my powers also.  I had neither desire nor  capabil-
ity so often as before, and frequently for a  considerable
period would  be  totally indifferent.   This falling off in
my Sexual powers was also followed by a  lassitude and
debility,  both  bodily and  mental, which unfitted me  for
any  active exertion whatever.  I became  dull, listless,
peevish,  or morose, my appetite  failed me, and all  the
symptoms of confirmed dyspepsia set in.  My condition,
in fact, became so bad that  I  consulted a physician,  but
only about my general health, for I dared not then speak
on other matters.   He gave me directions as to  my diet,
and  directed  some  tonics,  with  cold bathing.   These
did me some good for a time, but I rapidly fell off again,
and became worse than before, especially Sexually.  In
fact, I was nearlly Impotent, and in my despair I resorted
to many of the Cordials and Antidotes which I  saw adver-
tised, in  the hope that they would restore me.  Some of
them did stimulate me for a time, and I began to hope I
was  going to recover, but,  alas, it was soon over, and I
felt that I  was worse than before, and that my  general
health had also been  much  injured  by these remedies.
I then gave up all  hope nearly, and  came to the melan-
choly conclusion that I must drag out a short-lived, mis-
erable existence in the best way I could.   This has,con-
tinued till now, my twenty-ninth year, when a gleam of
hope has been awakened by perusing your book.
  " Now, Doctor, I want you to deal candidly and honestly
with me, and tell me  plainly if a person in my  situation
has any prospect of recovery.  I don't wish to be deceived,
and would rather know the worst at  once.
  " I will tell you plainly, I am as nearly Impotent as  a 
MISCELLANEOUS CASES.
375
man can  be ; not being capable of Sexual communion
more than once in two or three months, and that in the
most imperfect manner, with no enjoyment, and scarcely
with any Seminal flow at  all.   My Organs are wasted,
and my desires for the other sex are almost extinct— in
fact,  I  am  becoming  a woman- hater!  Of my state of
mind I can scarcely trust myself to speak.  Doctor, I am
perhaps the  most utterly wretched  being that  lives !  I
sit and  mope for hours together, with  the  most gloomy
images  crowding upon me, and black  despair  hovering
over all.  Fearful apprehensions constantly haunt me of
some impending evil, and I distrust every one who comes
near me.   This I know is wrong ; but  / can not help it!
A dark cloud  seems constantly weighing upon me, and
casting a gloom on all my thoughts.  Reason I can not,
for my judgment and  memory are  nearly gone, and  my
mind is not under my control.
  " Of my bodily sufferings I will not now speak, though
they are severe enough, I can  assure  you.  Suffice it to
say here, that my system is thoroughly  debilitated and
run down, and that scarcely a single function is perfectly
performed.
  " Doctor, I am a mere wreck, and I fear too much broken
and shattered to be ever repaired.  Perhaps I  am only
showing my imbecility by indulging even  in a  hope, but
I could  not resist the  impulse to address  you.  Had I
read your book, Doctor, when I was twenty-one,  oh,
what  might  I not have been ?  It maddens me to  think
how terribly  I have paid for my ignorance.   But I must
now stop.   I have written  this under the influence of
stimulants, I confess it to  my further shame, but I could
not have  made the  effort without.  The  effect of  the
stimulant  is now passing away,  and  oh  the sinking which
I feel coming on  is horrible  to think of,—but it is done.
I have written to you, Doctor, and earnestly pray you
will speedily reply.   Tell me if it he possible for me to be
helped, I will not dare  to say recovered, and if  you will
take me under your care.   The expectation of your an-
swer will somewhat  buoy me up till I hear  from you,—
but what  this  answer may be I dare not even imagine.
Write soon,  Doctor, and let me  know my  doom.
                    "Yours, despairingly, 
376
MISCELLANEOUS CASES.
   On the receipt of this letter, I at once wrote for him tc
 come to see me, as I considered a personal interview de-
 sirable.   On his arrival I certainly found as unpromising
 a case as could be well imagined, but still I did not de-
 spair, and without making any definite promise I agreed
 to advise him.
   In conjunction with appropriate  general treatment,  I
 commenced  giving him the Aphrodisiac Remedy,  and
 carefully watched the result.
   In a short  time it became evident that he was recover-
 ing, and I gave him  leave to return home, having  first
 arranged to  correspond  with him regularly, and supply
 him with the medicine.
   In six months he was so much restored that no further
 treatment seemed called for, and I requested him to send
 me a full account of his condition at that time, to put on
 record, as a contrast to  his first statement.  The follow-
 ing is what I received:

             To Dr.  Hollick,  New York.

 " My Dear  Sir:
   " According to your request I  send you a report of my
 present  situation, as  I fejel I  ought to do, if it will be
 either useful  or interesting, for there is nothing, it seems
 to me, which I can do for you but what gratitude calls on
 me to do.  I merely request that if  you make use of my
 letters it will be in such a way that  no one who knows
 me can recognize them.
   "I am now, my dear sir, I verily believe, the happiest man
 living!  I am quite  well in health,  in every way, my
 mind is clear, my spirits  buoyant,  and my  strength
 greater than  I have ever known  it before !  In fact, I am
 quite gay, and instead of moping at  home, as I used to
 do, afraid to  see any  one, and thinking life a burden,  I
 am constantly on foot, whistling or singing, as I used to
 do when a boy.  My friends wonder what has happened,
 and  can scarcely think it is really me.   I  dare not tell
 them the cause of my happy change, however, because it
 Would expose the secret of  my former misery, and that  I
 could not bear.
   " The greatest change, however, is in my sexual organs,
 whose functions I had thought lost.   I am now nearly as
powerful as  ever J was, and am evidently gaining still, 
MISCELLANEOUS CASES.            377
every day.  In fact, I intend, if you think it proper, to
marry, which at one time I never dared  to look forward
to !   It is now the dream of my life, and if you give me
leave, it  seems to me there is little else I can ask for.
Please be plain on this  point,  and tell me candidly if  I
may, and how soon ?
  " How evident it now is to me, as you explained, that all
my  other troubles arose from decay and  derangement of
my  sexual organs.  Immediately they began  to  improve
and gain strength, I became better in every way, just in the
same  proportion.   How  silly the  practice  now seems
of giving tonics and stimulants for the stomach  or liver,
to try and cure them  while the sole cause of all their dis-
ease is left untouched
  " In conclusion, my dear sir, I am a perfectly well man,
and I  firmly believe that your advice and medicine would
make  any one so.
  " May you enjoy as much happiness as I do.  I can not
wish you better—and may I be able to  show myself as
grateful to you as I ought and  wish to be.
                         " Yours, ever truly,
  Being satisfied that  he might  marry with propriety, I
gave him leave to do so, and he is now the happy father
of two healthy children, and  younger by ten years than
when I first saw him !
  This case I have been more particular  in describing in
detail, because it is a good example of a  large class that
came under my care.
resuscitation of the sexual power in an OLD MAN.

  This individual was aged sixty-six when he called  on
me, and had been for some three or four years almost en-
tirely impotent.   In fact, he had begun  to  think that his
powers were  really gone  from age, and he scarcely ever
thought of their being in any degree restored. His health
was very good, and his years had evidently affected him 
378
MISCELLANEOUS  CASES.
but little in other ways, which made him sometimes won-
der why he should fall off in this respect alone, and  dis-
posed him to ask my opinion.
  I told him without any hesitation that proper treatment
would act  favorably upon him, but I could not judge to
what extent.   He  accordingly commenced following my
advice, and in three months afterwards sent me the fol-
lowing letter :

                  To Dr. Hollick,

                             New  York City, N. Y.
" My Dear Sir:
  '" I wish you to send me a  fresh supply of the Aphro-
disiac Remedy.  I still have some, but I wish to be sure
of not getting short.
  " In regard to the effect of your treatment, it has worked
a real miracle !  I am almost  as young,  in  one way at
least, as I was at forty, and I assure you that were  I  not
prudent, I might easily be led into  some folly.   What
surprises me  most, however, is my not suffering in any
way from my indulgences.  I was somewhat afraid when
my powers were first revived  of using  them, for fear it
might do me an injury, but incredible as it may appear, I
feel no ill-effects whatever afterwards. Pn fact, I feel less
lassitude after sexual indulgence than I used to  do, and
it seems as if my organs were really stronger.
  " To say how much my happiness has been increased,
and how much I  feel indebted to you, is unnecessary.

                               " Yours, truly,
  This old man I knew when he was past seventy-two, and
there was then no indication of decay in his  powers.   I
have known some instances of even older persons being
much benefitted in a similar manner.
   BARRENNESS IN A FEMALE OF THIRTY-SIX, CURED.

  In many instances  barrenness  is  caused simply by a
torpid condition of the genital organs, which prevents the
absorption  of  the seminal fluid.   The  lady  referred to 
MISCELLANEOUS CASES.
379
was an i nstance of this kind, and the result  shows the
power of the  Aphrodisiac  Remedy alone in such  cases.
Her husband had  obtained some of the remedy from me
without saying definitely for what purpose he  wished it;
the letter will tell why.


               Dr. Hollick, New York.
" Dear Sir:
  " You will recollect probably that I requested you, as a
personal favor, to  let me have some of your Aphrodisiac
Remedy.   I will now tell you what I wished  it for, and
what has resulted from its use.
  " I had been married nearly twelve  years, and with no
prospects of being blessed  as a father, when I read your
book, ' The Marriage Guide.'  The perusal of that work
led me to think that our childless condition was owing to
my lady's extreme indifference, she having always been
perfectly cold in her temperament, and I thought possibly
your remedy might change  this, and cause her to conceive.
I accordingly procured some from you, and she agreed to
take it.
  " The effect has been as surprising as satisfactory.   I
need only say that she is entirely changed in her tempera-
ment, and is now, our doctor tells us, five mon'ths pregnant.
for the first time !
  " If  any one had told me before this that any remedy
could effect such a change I should have laughed at them,
but such is the fact, and I inform you of it, because I know
it will both interest and please you,  and  because I think
you are  justly entitled  to  know what your remedy has
done.
                              " Yours truly,
GREAT  LOSS OF SEXUAL  POWER AND SEVERE NERVOUS
        DERANGEMENT IN A MERCHANT,  CURED.

  This gentleman, like a great  many more of his class,
had completely exhausted his  nervous power  by intense
application  to business.   He  had made  his fortune and
lost his health.  The following is a part of the  incoherent
letter he first addressed me. 
380            MISCELLANEOUS  CASES.
             To Dr. Hollick, New  York.

" My Dear Sir :
  " Will you be so kind as to tell me at once if you can
do me  any good ?  I  am a merchant, age forty-one.
Good constitution naturally, fully grown, and formerly of
excellent health.
  " About seven years ago I began my present business,
which required me to exert all my energies, and to apply
myself unremittingly.  For the first two  or three years I
held out well, but gradually my energy began to fail, my
digestion became disordered, and  I felt miserably weak,
low-spirited and  dejected.   In fact, I  became a perfect
hypo, and had I  not been blessed with  a  good and trust-
worthy ag^nt,' my business  must have utterly failed, 'or I
could not, during half my time, pay proper attention to it.
  " I found it utterly impossible to apply myself regular-
ly or to stick to anything—my  mind wandered away in
spite of me, and the smallest forcing of attention to any-
thing threw me into utter confusion,
  " For the last two years this has been much worse, and
now  I have many bodily ailings too. I cannot sleep well,
and wake  in the morning with difficulty, and feeling as if
I had been intoxicated the night before, which I never
am.
  " Besides all this,  I find  myself sexually impotent.  My
powers  have been getting  less for the last three years,
and are now almost extinct. In fact, I have a repugnance
to the association, and am utterly incapable either of giv-
ing or di receiving enjoyment.
  " Doctor, I can not say  more ; this has required great
effort, and I feel weary.  Your experience will probably
show you  exactly how I am, in all that is not here told.
Try  what you can do for a wretched debilitated man, to
whom money is no more than the dirt under  his feet if he
can but get well.  Tell me  at once if you can help me.
                               " Yours, &c,
  I made no hesitation in promising this gentleman that
he could be helped, providing he could fully relax from
his business.   This he did effectually by selling out and
investing his money.
  He commenced at once using the Aphrodisiac Remedy 
MISCELLANEOUS  CASES.
381
and observing proper rules  of  regimen and diet which  I
gave him.   In two months he was a new man, and by the
fourth month he wrote me a letter from  the  country of
which the folowing is an abstract:

  ....  " Doctor, I don't need you any longer  now,
nor do I  think  I ever shall again, if you will  only let
me always have some of that medicine by me.  Don't think
this ungenerous.   I mean  it to be complimentary.  From
the very first dose I felt it would cure me.  It seemed to
satisfy,  as it were, my nervous  system, like food does a
hungry stomach.   All  my  anxiety and apprehension left
me. I felt calm, cheerful,  able to apply myself, and dis-
posed to be active.   My  mind  cleared up  as if the sun
had suddenly broke in upon it, and  I  began to digest so
heartily that I  gained flesh rapidly.
  " My sexual powers also axe fully restored !  I need say
no  more on this point, except  to assure  you that your
caution as to being temperate shall be faithfully observed,
though I am free to confess it requires an effort now !
  Note.—I do not wish it to be supposed that a similar
result would  follow  in all apparently similar cases,  by
simply following  the same  course.   In  many instances
there are other matters to be  attended to, and other de
rangements to be corrected, before the remedy can act
This was a case of simple seminal and nervous exhaus^
tion, uncomplicated.
CURE OF SEXUAL IMPOTENCE AND INDIFFERENCE, IN CUBA.

  Some two years ago a gentleman from Cuba called upon
me to see if I could render him any assistance.  He was
only thirty-five years old,  but quite  impotent, and alto-
gether indifferent to the other sex.  He had been origin-
ally oi an unusually warm temperament, and had indulged
to excess, till his  powers became so exhausted that - he
could do so no longer.   His general health had held out
pretty well, though latterly it had begun to  fail,  and he
suffered from severe attacks of nervous depression. 
382
MISCELLANEOUS CASES.
  His desire for a  restoration  of  his  Sexual powers was
so great that nothing seemed too dear to pay for it,—in-
deed, he assured me he would  not care to live as he was.
Unfortunately,  before I saw him,  he had injured  himself
by taking a stimulating Cordial, which he saw advertised,
and I had in the first place to overcome the ill-effects of
that.  I then commenced treating him, and in less than a
month he experienced such evident  indications  of resto-
ration that he arranged to return home, taking  sufficient
of the Aphrodisiac Remedy with him to perfect the cure.

  A. short time after he sent me the  following letter :


            To Dr.  Hollick, New York.

" Dear  Doctor :

  " I send this by the Brig-----, just to say that I am
now  as good as ever, and am too busy enjoying  myself to
write much.  You know I have much lost time to make
up for.
  "I am afraid that in  the exuberance of my new-born
strength I shall be  apt to need  your services again.  It
is hard to restrain  one's self when  all seems to  prompt
to indulgence,  in spite of your caution.  To give  you an
idea  of how I am now, I will give you an account  of  one
of my adventures.
REMARKABLE  CASE  OF  IMPOTENCY  AT NEW  ORLEANS,
                       CURED.

  This patient, like numerous other high-spirited and im-
petuous young  Southerners, had thoughtlessly delivered
himself to  unrestrained Sexual  indulgences, till he  had
become completely exhausted  and  powerless.  In  this
predicament  he was  strongly  urged by  his friends to
marry, as a most advantageous opportunity of doing so
presented itself, and they knew no reason  why he should
not.   He was also extremely  desirous of forming the
union, the young lady and he  having become ardently
attached to each other, but, alas, his condition forbade it.
He thus wrote to me in describing his case. 
MISCELLANEOUS  CASES.
383
  •   •  .  .   "Sexual union is scarcely possible at all.
At times I have imperfect indications of power, but they
never com°  when  I  will them,  and they disappear in
spite of  all  my efforts to perpetuate them.   Oh ! how
mortified I have been at  my vain attempts with females
lately, and how wretched I have felt at the thoughts that
it must always  be so.   Doctor, I can not live in  this way
—I don't care to do so.  And then in regard to this pro-
posed marriage, what can I do, what can I say, how can
I possibly  excuse myself ?  Oh, Doctor, this  is misery
indeed,—help me, and name your reward."
  After being treated for six weeks he felt so far restored
as to arrange for his marriage, and in three months from
the time of his first consulting me, that event  took place.
He then wrote to me another letter, from which I extract
the following:

  .   .   .  .  "All my  fears are dissipated.   I have no
apprehensions as to  the future, and feel  myself in every
way as capable as  I could desire, and much more so than
I deserve to be, perhaps.   No failures have  occurred,
nor have I any reason to dread them in future.   In fact,
it is rather restraint that I need now."
CURIOUS CASE OF LOSS OF SEXUAL  POWER IN A MARRIED
                     MAN, CURED

  This  was one of those curious cases occasionally met
with,  in which the Sexual  power suddenly  fails a man
without any previous warning, and  from no very obvious
cause.
  The individual was  forty years of age, had been mar-
ri*ed fifteen years, and had four children.   His health was
good, his habits regular, and his  Sexual powers naturally
quite strong.  He had never been addicted to Sexual ex-
cesses at any period of life,  and had never felt symptoms
of decay come on
  All at once he found  himself  quite indifferent  to the
caresses of his partner, and quite incapable of sexual as.
sociation.  To use his own expression, "the parts seemed 
384            MISCELLANEOUS  CASES.
 dead, and utterly refused to perform  their office."   His
 alarm  and mortification  at  this unexpected  occurrence
 may be conceived, and the  most gloomy  apprehensions
 took possession of his mind.  He not only thought that
 his Sexual powers were totally and  unaccountably gone,
 but he also feared that it was only the beginning of com-
 plete bodily decay, and visions of premature old age and
 death loomed  fearfully before him.   Matters were also
 made much worse by the fact of his partner being natu-
 rally of a warm temperament, and of course chagrined at
 his impotent condition.   Under  such circumstances  un-
 pleasant surmises arose in her mind as to the  cause of his
 indifference, which he was unable to  dispel, and thus both
 were made wretched.
   In this condition he sought me, and I  commenced  the
 investigation of his case.  From  his  statement however,
 I  could  discover no very obvious cause  for  his sudden
 deficiency, and therefore concluded that  it arose from
 want of sufficient Seminal an.. Arer~vous Nutrition, brought
 about by some unusual combination of circumstances.
 The Aphrodisiac Remedy was  therefore given to him,
 with proper general advice, and with full  confidence on
 my part as to the result, though he felt sorrowfully  du-
 bious.
  After the third  day, he felt certain that his powers were
 returning, and  in two weeks, to  use his  own  remark, he
 was  " a man again."   It is now several  years since  this
 occurrence, and he  still retains his  usual  vigor, though
occasionally requiring a few doses of the  Remedy, as he
says, to keep him quite right."
  But for  proper treatment, he would  have remained
perfectly impotent,  and his  general health would soon
have decayed also.
A CASE OF INVOLUNTARY AND INSTANTANEOUS SEMINAL
 EMISSION, WHICH HAD  ALWAYS EXISTED, FULLY CURED.

  This individual was a perfect type of thousands of men
that are daily to be met with.  In his youth he  had been
much addicted to masturbation, and in  consequence, his
sexual organs and sensibilities were so  preternaturally
irritable  that sexual union was  utterly impossible.  He
had a plentiful seminal secretion, but the slightest attempt
at connection, or even thinking about it at times, brought 
MISCELLANEOUS  CASES.
385
on immediate emission, so that he was in reality powerless,
and had always been so.  He had taken, I believe, every
cordial and  tonic  that was advertised,  but all  to no  pur-
pose, and scarcely a hope of relief seemed left.
  By some accident he fell in with the " Marriage Guide,"
and that induced him  to seek me.
  Proper treatment soon stopped the involuntary emis-
sions, but still any attempt at connection brought them
on too soon, so that the  act could not be consummated. For
this trouble I gave him  the  Aphrodisiac Remedy, to nu-
trify and  tone the  parts, and  improve the  quality of the
seminal fluid.
  The most perfect success followed this course, and in a
short time his  powers  of retention were  perfect, so that  he
married, and is now a father.
  This trouble of too quick emission is  very common, and
is both annoying and  hurtful, for it is  sure  eventually to
bring on involuntary emission.
HABITUAL  AND  SUDDEN  CESSATION OF SEXUAL POWER
                        CURED.

  This case was very curious, though not uncommon  in
certain  degrees.   The  patient was as  vigorous,  and
healthy, sexually as any man, and when  alone his feelings,
desires and  the  action  of his  organs were perfect, but
always on attempting  connection he became powerless,
and without seminal loss !  Aftertoards  he would become
as perfect as he was  before, but never could remain so at
the proper time.
  After taking the Aphrodisiac  Remedy for six  weeks,
with general treatment, his condition improved so much
that  for  the first  time  in  his  life his powers were fully
manifested.  The trouble, however, had existed  so long,
and had become so fully established, that he is compelled
even now to undergo treatment.
  Many men are troubled in this way, more or less, but I
believe all may be completely relieved,  unless too far ad-
vanced in life. 
38«
MISCELLANEOUS CASES.
DISTRESSING CASE OF INABILITY AT  THE TIME OF  MAR-
                    RIAGE,  CURED.

  In this instance a young man found himself at the time
of his marriage perfectly impotent, from inability to retain
the  seminal fluid—the emission occurring always on the
instant of his making an attempt.  His shame and despair
may be imagined, and I verily believe that nothing saved
him from committing suicide but the fact  that he had read
my  book on  the  " Male Organs," and  thought  I  could
help him.
  I  advised him to feign sickness for a time, as a reason
for  his situation, while he underwent  proper treatment.
This he did, and before two  weeks the difficulty was over,
arid has never returned since.
  Besides those above described,  and  which are only
specimens of hundreds which could be given of the same
kinds, there are numerous  others of a different charac-
ter, and  which can  only be  perfectly understood by per-
sons acquainted with the physiology of generation. Those
persons who have read my books will understand this at
once, and perceive that these cases are the most interest-
ing of all that can come under a physician's  notice.
  There  are some men impotent because  their testes form
no semen from having become torpid.  Others form it, but
of an imperfect kind, watery, and without animalcules.
In some  men  again, there  is  a peculiar loss of nervous
sensibility in the organs, owing to which there is no proper
feeling, and though there may be desire  yet there is neither
enjoyment nor efficient capability.
  In  the same manner females  are  often sterile from
causes but little known or  suspected.   The ovaries may
be torpid the same as the male testes, and then they form
no Ova or eggs, and sometimes these are formed, but im-
perfectly.  In this case,  they either cannot be impregnated
or else they germinate  into monstrosities, as shown else-
where.
  In the greater part of such cases the Aphrodisiac Rem-
edy, conjoined with proper treatment, usually effects a
cure, unless there be virulent disease or organic defect.
  Numbers  of childless couples who  have called on  me,
have had their dearest wishes fulfilled, who otherwise
would have had no hope whatever.  In  such cases, how-
ever, it is necessary first to know in which party is the de- 
MISCELLANEOUS  CASES.
387
ficiency, and this can generally be ascertained by a care-
lul consultation.
  The beneficial effects of proper  treatment have also
been  equally apparent in numerous cases of the  most
distressing  nervous debility  and irritability!   In these
the Aphrodisiac Remed;; acts  in the  most beneficial man-
ner, soothing the excitable, giving strength  to the debili-
tated,  and new power to the imbecile.
  Many men, unable  to  attend to their budness  from
nervous debility, have been completely  cured in a very
short  time, and others have had  their mental powers so
much improved as to be much more capable than ever
they were before.   The common expression of these men
after  treatment  is  that their   minds  seem " to  clear
up," or "brighten," so that mental labor is a pleasure in-
•tead  of a burden, and application does not distress them. 
INDEX  OF  SUBJECTS.
                                          PAGE
                 CHAPTER  I.
General  View  of  the  Reproductive Func-
   tions.......................................  l3

                 CHAPTER II.
Description  of  the External Generative Or-
   gans of the Human Female................  19

                 CHAPTER III.
Description  of  the  Internal Generative Or-
   gans of the Human Female................  31
The Ovaries............................  .....  31
The Fallopian Tubes.............................  45
The Womb....................................  49
The Vagina..................................■• •.  5°

                 CHAPTER IV.
The Female  Egg,  or Ovum.................--  59

                 CHAPTER V.
Menstruation.................................  64

                 CHAPTER VI.
The Male Generative Organs.................  83
The Testicles...................................  83
Anomalies in the size and apparent number of the
   Testes.....................................  89
The Penis--............................--  95
Absence and Malformation of the Penis...........  98
Want of Development, or Congenital small size of
    the Penis.................................. 100
         388 
                INDEX OF SUBJECTS.            389

                 CHAPTER VII.
The Semen and Animalcules..................  112

                 CHAPTER VIII.
Sexual Union, or Copulation.................. 124

                 CHAPTER  IX.
Impregnation.................................  132
Pouchet's Ten Fundamental Laws which govern the
    process of Fecundation....................... 132
When Conception is possible and impossible........ 143
Manner of Impregnation.......................... 148

                  CHAPTER X.
Growth of the New Being.................... 154
Fcetal Nutrition.................................. 165
Peculiarities of the Fcetal Circulation............169

                  CHAPTER  Xl.
Extra-Uterine  Conception, and  Unnatural or
    Monstrous Growths.......................  173
Formation of one Child within another............ 175
False Conceptions................................ 176
Deformities and Monstrosities................-- 177
Remarkable Case of a Fcetal Monstrosity......... 179

                 CHAPTER XII.
Twins and Superfcetation..................... 183

                 CHAPTER XIII.
Duration of Pkegnancy and  Period when the
    Child can  Live............................. 186
Period when the Child  can Live................... 190 
390
INDEX OF SUBJECTS.
     MISCELLANEOUS  SUBJECTS.

                CHAPTER XIV.
Cause of the Difference in Sex................ 203
Application of the above Facts to the Production of
    Sex in Human Beings  ....................... 213

                 CHAPTER XV.
On  Connection  after Conception and its Con-
    sequences.....................  ...........218

                CHAPTER XVI.
Doubtful, or Double Sex...................... 226

                CHAPTER XVII.
Influence of the Imagination  over the Gen-
    erative Functions, at every  Period....... 232
Influence of the Mind over the Generative Organs. . 236
Influence  of  the Mother's  Imagination  upon  the
    Child before  Birth........................... 242

               CHAPTER  XVIII.
Deficiency and  Total Loss of the Generative
    Power. .................................... 250
Impotence and Sterility in the Female............ 253

                CHAPTER  XIX.
Influence of Drugs over the Sexual  Power.. 255

                CHAPTER XX.
On  the Prevention of Conception..... ....... 263
Prevention of Conception—Abortion, etc.......... 267 
INDEX OF  SUBJECTS.
391
                 CHAPTER  XXI.
Topics of Special Interest.................... 268
Influence of Food and Drink over the Sexual Powers. 268
Proper Time for Sexual Indulgence................ 271
Effects of Over-exci*ement and Abstraction of Mind 273
Duration of the Sexual Power...................275
Proper Age for Marriage........................ 279
Advantage of Temporary Separation..............281
Precautions at the Time of Marriage.............. 281
The  Relation of Sexual Indulgence  to Health, Ca-
    pacity, and Duration of Life.................. 282

                 CHAPTER  XXII.
Philosophy of Amative Indulgence............. 287
Artificial Impregnation as a Cure for  Sterility...... 297
How the Operation is Performed.................. 300
Age when Both Sexes begin to be  Capable of being
    Parents, and when they Cease  to be so........  304
Proofs of Violation and Unchastity............... 308
Proofs of Impotence.............................. 3°9
Can Connection and  Conception take place  during
    Sleep without the female's knowledge ?......... 309
Can  Conception occur  from a first  Connection or
    after Violation ?.............................. 3"
Till what Period may a Pregnant Woman remain Ig-
    norant of her Condition ?...................... 312
On the State of Mind in Females at the Time of De-
    livery....................................... 312
Hereditary Descent, and Improvement of the Race. 313
Intermarriage................................... 3T7
Difficulty in Deciding upon Virginity.............. 318

                CHAPTER  XXIII.
Influence  of the Brain over the Generative
    Powers.....,..,............................32° 
392
INDEX 0E SUBJECTS.
                CHAPTER XXIV.
The Physical  and  Moral Effects of Conti-
    nence....................................... 328
        CASES  FROM MY  NOTE-BOOK.
Undue Continence from Worldly Prudence... 334
Undue Continence from  Mistaken Notions of Re-
    ligion...................................... 339
A Victim to Business............................. 341

                CHAPTER  XXV.
The Consequences   of  Sexual  Excesses  and
    Abuses..... ................................ 343

                CHAPTER XXVI.
Miscellaneous Cases............................ 350
Retarded Development......................... 350
Microscopical Examination of the Urine............ 356
Softening of the Brain................  ........... 366
Nervousness..................................... 370
Perfect Recovery from  Impotence  brought  on by
    Excesses................................... 373
Resuscitation of the Sexual Power in an Old Man . . 377
Barrenness in a Female of Thirty-six Cured......378
Great Loss of Sexual Power and Severe Nervous
    Derangement in a Merchant, Cured............ 379
Cure of Sexual Impotence and Indifference, in Cuba 381
Remarkable Case  of  Impotency at  New Orleans,
    Cured...................................... 382
Curious Case of Loss of Sexual  Power in a Married
    Man, Cured................................383
A Case  of Involuntary arid Instantaneous Seminal
    Emission, which had always existed, fully Cured. 384 
                INDEX OF SUBJECTS.             393

Habitual and Sudden  Cessation of Sexual  Power
    Cured...................................... 385
Distressing Case of  Inability at the Time of Mar-
    riage, Cured............................... 386



              CONCLUDING PART.
Dr. Hollick's Aphrodisiac Remedy............. 3^5
General Description  of Aphrodisiacs.......... 397 
 
       DR. HOLLICK'S

APHRODISIAC REMEDY,
   THE ONLY SURE AND RELIABLE AGENT
            FOR THE
     PERMANENT CURE OF
 IMPOTENCE,  STERILITY,
             AND
  NERVOUS AND SEXUAL DEBILITY,
         IN EVERY FORM ;
BEING THE CELEBRATED REMEDY USED FOR SO MANY
           YEARS IN

   DR. HOLLICK'S EXTENSIVE PRACTICE,
DEVOTED EXCLUSIVELY TO SUCH CASES, AND
   NOW FOR THE FIRST TIME OFFERED
            TO THE
PUBLIC. 
 
General   Description   of  Aphrodisiacs,
               AND   HISTORY   OF

   Dr.  Hollick's  aphrodisiac Remedies.
  Medical Remedies are classified and named according
to the mode in which they act.   Some affect one  part of
the system, and others affect other parts.  Those which
act upon the sexual organs, so  as to preserve or  restore
their powers,  are called  Aphrodisiacs.  Remedies of
this kind have always been eagerly sought, and paid for
at any price : even gold itself has not been more eagerly
prized,  and at this hour will be given in profusion for a
good Aphrosidiac, though begrudged for anything else—
for nothing does a man more crave than sexual  power,
and nothing does he more fear or regret to lose.
  Numerous remedies called Aphrodisiacs have been in
use  in  different parts of the world for ages past, with
more or less repute ;  but their employment never resulted
in much good, and often in much  positive injury.  It is
the  same  at the present day—the greater part of such
remedies now in use have  no effect at all,  and those
which do act had better be left alone.   This arises from
the fact that they are administered  only empirically, and
without any knowledge of  their true  powers  or  of their
variable effects under different circumstances.
  When I first began to use the common remedies of this
kind, I found that they were, for the most part, only tra-
ditional compounds, often dating back to  the dark ages,
and given  merely  because the physician did not know
what else to give.  Some of them, it is true, acted as pow-
erful stimulants, giving them temporary power at the cost
of future debility, but the greater part  were either utterly
inoperative, or else acted only on other parts  of the sy~"
tern ; in short, they were not Aphrodisiacs !
            (39?) 
398
APHRODISIAC  REMEDIES.
  •I, therefore, set to work to investigate the whole sub-
ject of man's sexual nature,  and the action of all Aphro-
disiac Remedies upon it for myself   For years I experi-
mented with them,  in thousands  of  cases, both simply
and variously combined,  carefully noting their effects
and thus by degrees finding out the true  value of  each,
and how and when to use it.   No one  else, I  really be-
lieve, ever went into this subject more thoroughly, or with
more  extensive opportunities for experiment and investi-
gation.   My lectures and my books  made me so exten-
sively known in connection with this subject, that  cases
of every kind came to me in abundance from  all  parts,
and I  was  thus  enabled to study practically  wh:t had
been before only speculated upon.
  The result was, after endless trials,  the formation of  a
compound possessing true Aprhodisiac powers ! which,
when  judiciously employed, invariably  increases and
maintains sexual power, or  restores it when lost.   This
remedy, from its great success in all cases not past aid, of
impotence, sterility,  and  natural deficiency became very
celebrated,  and  my practice — which  comprised   only
such  cases—rapidly extended.   Every  day  the demand
for my Aphrodisiac increased, and I soon found a diffi-
culty in procuring enough for my professional use, on ac-
count of the limited supply and great cost of many  of the
ingredients.
  Many of the most powerful and reliable Aphrodisiacs
are among  the rarest  of Nature's  products, and are ob-
tained only  from the least known  and most  inaccessible
parts  of  the world ;  Musk,  for instance, which is a pow-
erful Aphrodisiac, and of which  I use a large quantity, is
always  worth its weight in gold, and often  much  more.
There are, however, other substances  still more valuable,
for which I have often given hundreds of dollars  for  a
few grains.   Some of these  are natural and  some  artifi-
cial products, obtained by  chemical  means, and  which
can be produced only at immense cost.  The great power
of most  of  these articles fortunately  makes a small por-
tion go a long way in use, or they  could scarcely be em-
ployed at all.  In my remedy, there are altogether thirty-
three different ingredients, and of some of them not more
than the hundredth part of a grain can  be used at a  dose.
Each  of these  ingredients has  some peculiar power ol
its own, or is necessary to  the full development of the 
APHRODISIAC REMEDIES.
399
power of some other ingredient, so that the whole act to-
gether in  producing that wonderful effect for which this
Remedy is so  celebrated.
  At the same time, however, that it acts so energetically
as an Aphrodisiac, it has no  ill-effect in any other way,
but is perfectly harmless to all parts of the system.
  It will be readily  seen that such  a remedy must neces-
sarily be costly, and can never  come  into common use :
it  must, in fact, ever remain a special luxury for  those
who have been favored with Fortune's golden  gifts, or
for those who  are willing to make great sacrifices.  As a
natural  consequence, my  constantly  increasing demand
for these  rare articles made them still more  scarce and
dear,  till finally, I began to  fear that my supply would
run short; I,  therefore, sent agents to all those  parts
from which they are obtained with instructions  to  regu-
larly buy up, and pre-engage, all that  could be procured.
This, of course, took a long time to accomplish, and en-
tailed an  enormous expense, but it  was the only  sure
course,  and was  crowned  with success.  A  supply has
thus been  ensured, which  enables me not only to  pro-
vide all my patients with sufficient, but also leaves a sur-
plus, so that I can now prepare the Remedy for public
sale, as I have constantly been importuned  to do, but
for the reason given was unable to do previously.
  In this  way originated the Aphrodisiac Remedy, the
most  unique   medicine perhaps ever compounded, and
the most  exceptional in its  effects.  No advertising or
other means   for  disposing of  it  are necessary, for its
value is so well known that the difficulty will rather be
in supplying all who want  it.  Numbers of my patients
always keep as much by them as I can spare to one per-
son for  fear of running  short, and  many of  them would
give thousands of  dollars rather than run any risk of
ever being without it.
  As  regards  the obtaining of  this Remedy, or  any sim-
ilar one, I may as well remark here that no one  else but
myself  can possibly  supply it !  Not only  because the
proportions of the various articles comprising it, and the
manner of combining them, is  a secret only known to
myself,  but because fhe  whole quantity produced of many
of the most valuable articles, is in my hands, or secured
to me alone, by always paying large sums in advance, so
that no one else can obtain a grain.  This  I was com 
400           APHRODISIAC  REMEDIES.
pelled to do in order to secure a sufficient  supply, and to
make sure that my patients would not be disappointed.
Many of the artificial products are not made for public
Bale, and, to obtain  them, I am obliged to purchase all
that certain skillful chemists can produce, and at a rate,
too, which offers  inducement enough to them to keep up
the manufacture for me alone ; besides this, some of the
articles  are made by myself, by a process which I have
never disclosed.
  It is, therefore, impossible  for any one else to  supply
an  Aphrodisiac Remedy like this,  because no one else
can obtain the components, nor knows how  to combine
them.  All other so-called Aphrodisiacs can  be formed
only of the more common and inefficient remedies, such
as are to be found in most apothecaries' shops, but they
in no respect resemble mine.
  The subtle and apparently mysterious way in which this
Remedy operates surprises most people, and it is therefore
necessary  to give  an explanation  of its physiological
action.   Medical  agents act in different ways, some as
stimulants to particular parts of the body, some as  altera
atives, and others again as special excitants of particular
organs :  thus some act on the bowels, some  on the kid-
neys, some on the heart, and others on the skin.   A few
act on the nervous system through the brain, like alcohol
and opium.  Usually, they excite in the  first place, and
afterwards act as sedatives, or stupify.  The Indian Hemp
or Haschisch, is of  this class, and usually forms  one of
the main ingredients  in  all  common Exhilirants and
Aphrodisiacs.  It is a dangerous drug when so used, and
utterly valueless,  when used alone, for any such purpose,
but when  properly combined with  other  articles, it be-
comes a valuable  auxiliary.
  Woe to those who use it and opium  for the purpose of
intoxication !  Alcohol is harmless compared with them  !
  The true Aphrodisiac, as I compound it, acts upon the
brain  and nervous system, not as a stimulant, but as a
tonic and nutritive agent, thus sustaining  its  power and
the power of the sexual organs also, which is entirely de-
pendent upon the nervous power.
  A man's sexual vigor represents merely his excess  of ner-
vous vigor.  All the functions, both of body  and mind,
are carried on only by nervous power, which enables each
organ to  perform  its peculiar function.   The  heart, 
APHRODISIAC REMEDIES.            401
stomach, lungs and every other organ, act only from the
stimulus which the nerves bring to them from  the brain
and spinal marrow.  Cut these nerves through  and stop
the supplv, and they act no longer.
  Now, every man only possesses a certain  amount of
nervous power, which  varies in quantity according to the
health and natural vigor of his system ;  if, therefore, too
much of this power is employed in one of the functions,
the others must run short, and, of course be imperfectly
performed.  Thus, if a man thinks too much, his  brain
uses  up so much of his nervous power that he has not
enough for  other purposes, and some organs  must act
imperfectly.  Most likely his stomach will be one of these,
and then he becomes dyspeptic, or he may have heart dis-
ease  or liver complaint, or any of those numerous dis-
eases which  we commonly see—all of which spring  origi-
nally from impaired nervous action.
  An  imperfectly acting stomach again re acts on the
whole system, because  it prevents proper nutrition, and
thus  causes  general weakness or debility.   No act, how-
ever, exhausts more of  nervous power than  the sexual
act!  and this  is why its too frequent performance is so
terribly injurious,  and  why the votaries of Venus so fre-
quently become debilitated, weak-minded and  impotent.
  Whenever the system generally, or any particular part
becomes debilitated, and performs its  peculiar function
imperfectly, we use some medicine to stimulate it or im-
prove  its action.   Thus we employ various bitter tonics
to help the stomach in dyspepsia, and use aphrodisiacs in
sexual impotence.
  It  has long been known, as a general truth that there is
an intimate  connection between the  nervous  and sexual
systems, but it has hitherto been generally thought  to  be
merely sympathetic.  It is now  known, however, that the
composition of the nervous substance and the seminal fluid
are almost identical, that in fact they are essentially nearly
the same thing. It has also been ascertained that in all cases
of severe nervous or mental derangement, the  actual sub-
stance of the  brain and nerves either wastes away or un-
dergoes a destructive  change.   And  in the same way, in
all cases of confirmed  loss of sexual  power, the seminal
substance either wastes or becomes destructively changed
in a  similar manner.   But what is  still more  important,
the destruction or  injury of either one of these  element* 
402
APHRODISIAC REMEDIES.
of our systems brings on inevitably a similar evil to  the
other.   Every man, therefore, who becomes impotent, is
in imminent danger of becoming of weak intellect, and
every one whose nervous substance is seriously impaired
will almost  certainly  lose his sexual powers.  The two
are intimately dependent, the one  on the other, and  are
affected for  good or for evil, by the same external and
internal causes.
  At the present time a number of causes are in constant
operation on most  men, exceedingly destructive  both to
their nervous and their sexual powers, causing an actual
waste of  brain  and  seminal substance, and  entailing
bodily suffering and mental deficiency to an unknown  ex-
tent.
  This has,  of  course, originated  plenty of  remedies as
they are called, which are put forth as infallible by those
who  kuow nothing of the nature of these evils, and who
care nothing for the effect which  follows after the remedy
is sold.
  In all such cases it is requisite, in the first  instance, to
arrest further change or waste, and then  effect a  restora-
tion, if that be possible. To effect this renovation we must,
of course, use such means as will really create new brain or
seminal substance.   The same as we create new muscle in
rases  of muscular weakness. That  this can be done is  un-
doubted, for each portion of the  organization assimulates
those peculiar elements needed for its nutrition, and  when
we know what those elements are, and whence they can be
obtained, we can supply them.  It  is not possible to nourish
and renovate the nervous and sexual systems by the same
elements alone that nourish  and renovate the muscular
system, though these are necessary as adjuncts ;  there is
needed  in addition certain rare  elements that are found
only in  the  nervous and seminal  substances and which
can be supplied only by the  special remedies,  like  the
Aphrodisiac.
  For convenience, I have it so put up, in a dry form, air
and water tight, that it  can  be  kept uninjured, for any
length of time, in  any climate,  and under any circum-
stances.   It can also be taken without the inconvenience
of measuring, using liquids, or any other  troublesome re-
quirement, thus ensuring secrecy and facility of use. let a
man be situated however he may.  A gentleman can keep
it  in his vest pocket without any fear of detection  from 
APHRODISIAC  REMEDIES.
408
smell, or appearance.   It will go anywhere by post, with
perfect safety, and in such a form that no one through
whose hands it passes would  ever suspect  its  nature, or
that it was anything peculiar !
  There are no agents for it anywhere at present, nor will
there be except they are specially mentioned in my books,
so that it can only be obtained from me personally by ad-
dressing through the  post to " Doctor F. Hollick, New
 York, Box  3606."  I do this to avoid trouble, and also to
prevent counterfeiting which would be sure to be practiced
if it were generally sold through agents.
  It is scarcely necessary  for  me to repeat that there is
nothing whatever in this preparation that  can  be in any
way hurtful under any circumstances.
  It is not  a  mere stimulant, or Injurious Excitant,
acting only for the moment, but a true Nervine and Sex-
ual Tonic and Renovator, producing new Nervous and
Sexual material, when these have been wasted  by excess,
abuse, or disease.
  Several of the articles which compose the Aphrodisiac
Remedy,  have been  used from  time  immemorial,  in a
crude form, and separately, but no scientific combination
of the whole was ever possible till now.
  The celebrated  Dream Drug of the  East, the Indian
Hemp, is often used as an Aphrodisiac, and will some-
times cause erotic dreams.  This, however, is only occa-
sional, and such an effect is always followed by unusual
debility,  terminating  at last,  if  its use is  continued, in
complete sexual impotence.
  In the  Harems of Turkey, a compound is used  called
in Arabic. " Love's  Assistant !"  It  is  composed  of
various  stimulating  spices, with opium and Musk, and
nas some power, when first used, but at  last it eventually
causes general weakness and decay  both of  body and
mind.  The late  Sultan of Turkey used this compound
till he was  nearly an  idiot; and  at last  died from sheer
exhaustion.
  In China they  have a  Pill  somewhat similar to this,
and  which causes almost identically the   same results.
Some time ago  this  Chinese Remedy  was brought  to
France, and sold in Paris  under the  name of  Honneur
de  la Famille !  {Honor of the Family)  this  being  its
Chinese name,—the  evil  results from its use, however,
soon caused it to be but little called for. 
APHRODISIAC  REMEDIES.
   In some parts-of Arabia and Africa, an Aphrodisiac has
 also been long employed, as we can  see from allusions
 in old Chronicles, and in various Poems.   Even in the
 Hebrew Scriptures the Mandrake is spoken of as being
 so used.   The Hindoos have always been great lovers of
 Aphrodisiacs, and they possess some powerful ones, which
 however, they use without knowledge, and  consequently
 derive but little good from them, and much  harm.
  All  these articles,  after  much trouble, time, and ex-
 penses, I have obtained and analyzed, so as to know ex-
 actly what they were. i
  The Aphrodisiac Remedy contains what is really good
 and effective in all of them,  without any of their hurtful
 qualities.
  The Common  Aphrodisiacs are merely compounds of
 Spanish flies. Opium,  Strychnine, Arsenic, Phosphorus and
 similar drugs ; most of them are rank poisons.
  Among other names used for Aphrodisiacs, by  the
 Turks, Arabians, and Hindoos, we find the  following.
 Parent of  Pleasure !—Delight  of  Paradise !—Fam-
 ily Multiplier !—Youth  Prolonger !—Hope of  the
 Aged !—Brain Strengthener  I—Fountain of Power !
 —Strength Giver !—and numerous  others, all indicat-
 ing the same powers.  All of these various articles there-
 fore, imperfect though they are, have still gained a repu-
 tation, and are eagerly sought.   How much more valu-
 able, therefore, must  be a compound which  combines the
 excellences of all, without any hurtful qualities  whatever I
  Although  never advertised, and only known  through
 the reports of those  who had been restored by its  use,
 the Aphrodisiac of Dr. Hollick  has become known, and
 sought for in all the  principal  cities of  Europe !  Many
 persons of eminence have regularly obtained it, privately,
 and in more than one instance the wishes and hopes of
 married people of high rank, have been  fulfilled through
 its means.
  Its fame has even reached Turkey, and in Constantino-
ple itself, the Aphrodisiac is rapidly supplanting the hurt-
 ful and inefficient drugs formerly in use.
  No public announcement is needed therefore to sell the
 Aphrodisiac, but only to let those persons know they can
 now have it who have so long been wishing for it in vain.
  In most ordinary cases of Sexual Debility, One package
 of the Aphrodisiac usually restores the virile power com- 
APHRODISIAC REMEDIE3.
405
 pletely, and in  all cases enough to show that entire res-
 toration is only a question of time.   When the  system is
 much run down, however, and the decay has existed  for
 a  long period,  the remedy must be persisted in for a
 longer time, and  several packages may be  needed.   Old
 persons, or those worn  down by excesses,  should take it
 regularly to prevent further decay,—and so should those
 who over-indulge to ward off the consequences of their in-
 discretion.
   If no sufficient restoration follows a fair trial of the
 Aphrodisiac Remedy it may safely be inferred, that there
 is  either a natural imperfection, or some Organic Disease,
 most probably there is loss of semen in the urine /  In all
 such cases, the person should at once consult Dr. Hollick,
 for the purpose  of having a thorough examination, and a
full treatment till the difficulty is removed.
   Females who are Childless, cold in temperament, Nerv-
 ous, and sexually feeble, are as  much  benefited  by the
 Remedy as males, and many  a  solitary hearth  has  been
 blessed with children through its use.
   For those who can  not  possibly visit Dr. Hollick, he
 will  explain a  simple mode of examination,  by which
 the  facts of the case can  be fully ascertained,  so  that
 the  patients at  a distance can be treated by correspond-
 ence with perfect success.   All Dr. Hollick's  Medicines
 are  put  up in  a form to  go by post,  without any risk
 of detection.  Hundreds of patients are constantly being
 prescribed for in this way, with  perfect success.

  §ST All letters are destroyed  as soon as  notes are
 taken of the case.

  The Aphrodisiac Remedy is put up in such a manner
 that it will go anywhere by Post like a letter, without any
 risk of Inspection or detection.  It will also keep unhurt for
any length of time, in any climate and in any circumstances !
 It may be carried unobserved in  the  vest pocket, and re-
quires no liquids, nor any measuring, or apparatus of  any
kind when taken ; being in a solid form, divided into grad-
uated doses, and without smell or taste. 
406
APHRODISIAC REMEDIES.
    PRICE  FIVE DOLLARS  PER  PACKAGE.

  For which  it will be sent free by post, to any address.

  B^° To Prevent Counterfeiting, and  to make sure
that no one can be imposed upon by pretenders, Dr. Hol-
lick does not  sell his Remedy through agents (unless spec-
ially mentioned in his publications), but it will be  for-
warded free through the post,  to  any address in  any
part of the United States.

  B^" All orders for the Remedy must be addressed to

              JD3T- F-  HOLLICK,
Box 3606, New York City. 
DR.  HOLLICK'S  BOOKS.
THE
MARRIAGE   GUIDE:
      OR, NATURAL HISTORY OF


CrElTERiLTIOlT.
                PRICE, ONE DOLLAR.


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                       (407) 
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(408) 
 
 
 
WQ H739ma 1883




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