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

We have already discussed the operation of the laws of inheritance. It
was then stated that the whole story of maternal influence had not been
told--that the mother could communicate qualities she never possessed.
The potency of imagination at the time of conception over the child has
been mentioned. It is now our design to consider its effects, during the
period of pregnancy, upon the physical structure and the mental
attributes of the offspring. We shall have occasion hereafter, in
speaking of nursing, to illustrate the manner in which the child may be
affected by maternal impressions acting through the mother's milk. What
can be more wonderful than this intimate union between the mother and
her child? It is only equaled by that mysterious influence of the
husband over the wife, by which he so impresses her system that she
often comes in time to resemble him both in mental and physical
characteristics, and even transmits his peculiarities to her children by
a second marriage. Father, mother, and child are one.

We wish here to premise that our remarks will be based upon the
conclusions of skilled and scientific observers only, whose position and
experience no medical man will question. All the instances to be related
are given upon unimpeachable authority. They are not the narrations of
ignorant, credulous people; they are all fully vouched for. We record
here, as elsewhere, only the sober utterances of science. The great
importance and utility of an acquaintance with them will be patent to
every intelligent man and woman.

The effect of the mind upon the body is well known. Strong,
long-continued mental emotion may induce or cure disease. Heart disease
may be produced by a morbid direction of the thoughts to that organ.
Warts disappear under the operation of a strong belief in the efficacy
of some nonsensical application. In olden time, scrofula, or the 'king's
evil', was cured by the touch of the king. The mind of the patient, of
course, accomplished the cure. Under the influence of profound mental
emotion, the hair of the beautiful Mar