he arterial system; hence sudden paleness succeeds, and a shrinking or
contraction of the vessels of the skin, and other membranes. By this
circumstance, I imagine, the terminations of the placental vessels are
detached from their adhesions, or insertions, into the membrane of the
uterus; and the death of the child succeeds, and consequent miscarriage.

Of this I recollect a remarkable instance, which could be ascribed to no
other cause, and which I shall therefore relate in few words. A healthy
young woman, about twenty years of age, had been about five months
pregnant, and going down into her cellar to draw some beer, was frighted by
a servant boy starting up from behind the barrel, where he had concealed
himself with design to alarm the maid-servant, for whom he mistook his
mistress. She came with difficulty up stairs, began to flood immediately,
and miscarried in a few hours. She has since borne several children, nor
ever had any tendency to miscarry of any of them.

6. In respect to the power of the imagination of the male over the form,
colour, and sex of the progeny, the following instances have fallen under
my observation, and may perhaps be found not very unfrequent, if they were
more attended to. I am acquainted with a gentleman, who has one child with
dark hair and eyes, though his lady and himself have light hair and eyes;
and their other four children are like their parents. On observing this
dissimilarity of one child to the others he assured me, that he believed it
was his own imagination, that produced the difference; and related to me
the following story. He said, that when his lady lay in of her third child,
he became attached to a daughter of one of his inferior tenants, and
offered her a bribe for her favours in vain; and afterwards a greater
bribe, and was equally unsuccessful; that the form of this girl dwelt much
in his mind for some weeks, and that the next child, which was the
dark-ey'd young lady above mentioned, was exceedingly like, in both
features and colour, to the young woman who refused his addresses.

To this instance I must add, that I have known two families, in which, on
account of an intailed estate in expectation, a male heir was most eagerly
desired by the father; and on the contrary, girls were produced to the
seventh in one, and to the ninth in another; and then they had each of them
a son. I conclude, that the great desire of a male heir by the father
produced rather a disagree