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pens ; and there is reason to believe that this impression is oftenthe cause of it.

The methods taken to impress the minds of wo?nen with theapprehensions of the great pain and peril of child-birth, are veryhurtful. Few women die in labour, though many lose their livesafter it ; which may be thus accounted for. A woman after deliv-ery, finding herself weak and exhausted, immediately apprehendsshe is in danger ; but this fear seldom fails to obstruct the neces-sary evacuations, upon which her recovery depends. Thus thesex often fall a sacrifice to their own imagination, when therewould be no danger, did they apprehend none.

It seldom happens, that two or three women in a great town diein child-bed, but their death is followed by many others. Everywoman of their acquaintance who is with child dreads the samefate, and the disease becomes epidemical, by the mere force of im-agination. This should induce pregnant women to despise fear,and by all means to avoid those tattling gossips who are continu-ally buzzing in their ears the misfortunes of others. Every thingthat may in the least alarm a pregnant or child-bed woman, oughtwith the greatest care to be guarded against.

Many women have lost their lives in child-bed by the old super-stitious custom, still kept up in most parts of Britain, of tolling theparish-bell for every person who dies. People who think them-selves in danger, are very inquisitive ; and if they come to knowthat the bell tolled for one who died in the same situation withthemselves, what must be the consequence ? At any rate they areapt to suppose that this is the case, and it will often be found a verydifficult matter to persuade them of the contrary.

But this custom is not pernicious to child-bed women only. Itis hurtful in many other cases. When low fevers, in which it isdifficult to support the patient's spirits, prevail, what must be theeffect of a funeral peal sounding five or six times a-day in his ears !No doubt his imagination will suggest that others died of thesame disease under which he labours. This apprehension willhave a greater tendency to depress his spirits, than all the cordialsof which medicine can boast will have to raise them. The onlytown which has abolished this custom is Bath.

If this useless piece of ceremony cannot be abolished we oughtto keep the sick as much from hearing it as possible, and fromevery other thing that may tend to alarm them. So far, however,is this from being generally attended to, that many make it theirbusiness to visit the sick, on purpose to whisper dismal stories intheir ears. Such may pass for sympathizing friends, but theyought rather to be considered as enemies. All who wish well tothe sick, ought to keep such persons at the greatest distance fromthem.

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A custom has long prevailed among- physicians,- of prognostica-ting, as they call it, the patient's fate, or foretelling the issue ofthe disease. Vanity, no doubt, introduced this practice, and stillsupports it, in spite of common sense, and the safety of mankind.