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diff --git a/old/68756-0.txt b/old/68756-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index ba334e5..0000000 --- a/old/68756-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,1533 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of The danger and immodesty of the -present too general custom of unnecessarily employing men-midwives., by -Anonymous - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: The danger and immodesty of the present too general custom of - unnecessarily employing men-midwives. - -Author: Anonymous - -Release Date: August 15, 2022 [eBook #68756] - -Language: English - -Produced by: deaurider and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at - https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images - generously made available by The Internet Archive) - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE DANGER AND IMMODESTY OF -THE PRESENT TOO GENERAL CUSTOM OF UNNECESSARILY EMPLOYING -MEN-MIDWIVES. *** - - - - - - - THE - DANGER AND IMMODESTY - OF - _The Present too general Custom of_ - UNNECESSARILY EMPLOYING - MEN-MIDWIVES. - - BEING - The Letters which lately appeared under - the Signature of - A MAN-MIDWIFE. - - WITH AN - INTRODUCTION, - A TREATISE ON THE MILK, - AND AN - APPENDIX. - - WITH CORRECTIONS - By the AUTHOR. - - LONDON: - Printed for J. WILKIE, No. 71, in St. Paul’s Church-Yard; - and F. BLYTH, John’s Coffee-House, Cornhill. - MDCCLXXII. - - - - -AN - -INTRODUCTION - -AND - -ADVICE TO THE LADIES, - -POINTING OUT - -_The DANGERS attending BACKENING their MILK the first four or five Weeks -after Delivery._ - - -To the PUBLIC. - -I have very long been convinced of the many dangerous Consequences which -attend the depraved Custom of employing Men-midwives unnecessarily—and -have been for some Years intending from Month to Month to write my Ideas -on that Subject, in order to combat the very destructive Practice, and -endeavour to awaken the slumbering good Sense of the Nation. But when I -reflected on the great Difficulty of conquering Prejudice—considered how -generally the Opinion had been adopted that “Men were the most proper -Attendants on the Labours of Women,” I confess the Task appeared too -arduous—and I was discouraged. - -I knew, that _no_ Arguments, _even if an Angel was to descend from -Heaven to utter them_, could persuade the Ladies _to be satisfied_ with -Midwives of _their own_ Sex, _after the fine Polish_ had been _once_ -RUB’D OFF which _modesty ought_ to have _work’d up_ to such a _bright_ -Pitch of _high finish’d_ Excellence, as _not_ to have been capable of -admitting the impure stain within the glossy smoothness of its beautiful -enamel!—I knew, that, assisted by the greatest Part of the Faculty (whose -_INTEREST, as well as PLEASURE_ would be at STAKE) they would leave _no -means_ untried—they would call in _every fallacious_ art to their aid, -_to continue THE DECEPTION_, by _ridiculing_ Arguments which they _could -not confute_—and that _un_married Ladies, through _an Opinion_ of the -_Virtue of their Friends_, and swayed, and _kept in Countenance_, by -_the prevalent_ Custom of the Times, would naturally _fall into the -Stream_, and _not_ be undeceived until _too far hurried by the Current_ -to be _afterwards_ able to recede.—On the other Hand, I likewise knew -that our young Men _of Fashion_ had _long ago_ resolved _to bid Adieu TO -THINKING_. Leaving _that troublesome_ Employment _to others_, they were -intent on pursuing the far nobler Gratifications _of Sense_—endeavouring -to bury in a round of _trifling_ Dissipations, _every_ Sentiment meriting -the Attention of _reasonable_ Beings that an Attempt to work on _such_ -Minds would be Absurdity in the extreme,—for, that, even _if they were -convinced_ of the two uncontrovertable Truths I wish to establish, -by being satisfied that Men were _not_ so safe as Women, and that -Men-midwives polluted the Minds of their Wives, and rendered them easy -Preys to Seduction, yet these Sentiments would have had _no_ Weight -_with them_, because they married without Love, Religion, Principle—_the -only_ Ingredients capable of forming _national_ Happiness. _Impure_ in -their _Souls, debauch’d_ in their _Persons_, Libertinism opened _the -only Avenue_ which could present them with a Prospect of Enjoyments -_adapted to their_ Sensations—_their_ Joys were independent of their -Wive’s Society—their Healths consequently were only _politely_ wish’d -for—and they would of course readily _risk_ their Wive’s Purity being -contaminated, rather than _be disappointed_ in the Pleasure of seducing -the Wives _of their acquaintance_, through the _preparatory_ Assistance -of the _Men_-midwives. The Happiness of our gay young Men _not_ being -centered within the narrow Circle of Home, _the Virtue_ of their Wives -is not in the least essential, has no Weight, _when ballanced_ with -_the Advantages_ they derive from the too _general_ Prostitution of the -Sex. They _extract Balm_ from _the Vices_ of _Other_ Women, which has -sovereign Efficacy _in healing_ any Wounds—_alleviating_ any smarts, -which they may receive, or feel, from the infidelity of _their own_ -Wives—whom they never treated as their _rational Companions_, whose -Affections they were desirous of fixing irremoveably,—but as _necessary_ -Beings to do the Honours of their Tables—furnish Heirs—and save their -Estates from being encumbered with the Payment of the Fortunes of their -younger Brothers and Sisters. The only View on _one_ side, is _Money_—on -the _other_, _Quality_—_each_ having attain’d the _only_ Object _they -aim’d at in Marriage_,—each, without any fundamental Principle of -Goodness, to restrain their Pursuits within the Bounds of Virtue, they -throw off the Mask of Decency—and riot in Vice!—Our young Men think -the Scriptures fit only to impose on Weakness. The Injunctions of the -Gospel interfere with their Enjoyments—and having never believed it’s -sacred Truths—or endeavoured to follow it’s amiable Precepts, they -never experienced the serene Tranquillity arising from the delightful -Possession of an approving Conscience. At the best, _forgetful_ even of -the Existence of a God—and laughing at the idle supposition of a future -state, they give the Reins without Controul to all their Appetites and -Passions—check’d by nothing but what _they term HONOUR_. But _THEIR -Honour_ is comprised, in—_punishing the Man with MURDER who dares to -doubt_ their veracity, or fail in Respect to their Dignity—and in paying -their Debts _to SHARPERS_, instead of rewarding the Industry of their -Tradesmen, by giving them—_their own Property_. _THEIR Honour_ does -not restrain them from defiling the Beds _of their Friends_—_BREAKING -Promises_ to _WORTHY Dependants_—or _betraying_ the Interests and Honour -of their Country for _base Wages of Iniquity_, though committed with -Confidence to their Charge, _yet sacrificed_ without Remorse, for their -_private_ Emolument. _THEIR Honour_ enforces _no single Virtue_!—AWAY -WITH SUCH HONOUR! - -I next consider’d the number of _well-disposed_ Men, who _through -Prejudice_ might _neglect_; or through Indolence, or Weakness of -Understanding, be blind to the Force of my Arguments, and of course -remain unconvinced by them—and these Obstacles, united, appeared too -formidable to be surmounted by any weak Effort I could make through the -Channel of a News Paper. At last however I took Courage and submitted my -Sentiments to the Consideration of the Public, in the Gazetteer of the -28th of March. - -I had not, at that time, any Intention of writing another Letter,—but -deriving Hopes from the favourable Impression my first seem’d to have -made on the Minds of the Considerate—and having heard weight laid on _the -Men’s Knowledge of Anatomy_ as a Reason why _they_ should _be safer_ -than Women, I wrote the second Letter to remove _that specious_, but -_mistaken_ Idea—and having _known_ some, and heard of _many_ other young -Men Midwives, who really _are ignorant_ of that Knowledge of Anatomy -which is _their only_ Recommendation _to INFATUATED Husbands_;—and a -Man Midwife, under the Signature of “Old Chiron,” having endeavoured to -abuse the World with the most scandalous misrepresentations, and _gross -Fallacies_, my last Letter appeared to expose the Danger of employing raw -young Men—or believing such _interested Deceivers_. - -I am quite indifferent about the Offence which my Letters have given _the -Ladies of Fashion_, and their _darling_ Doctors—_their “sweet Men.”_ -They are conscious my Letters convey only _a very faint_ Sketch of -their _immodest, obscene practices_. They are _too bad_ to be _exactly_ -described without using Language very unfit for the Inspection of -virtuous Women!—I place dreadful Rocks in their View, to warn them from a -Course on which their Purity would be irretrievably wreck’d: and surely -those Parents entertain _strange_ Notions of _Virtue_, who carefully keep -my Letters out of the way of their Daughters, through what _they imagine -to be_ “Delicacy!”—they would rather, in short, have them _polluted in -future—past redemption_—than instructed by my friendly Admonitions, -how to avoid the Path to Vice!—the modest, amiable, worthy, _sensible_ -Part of the Community, I am confident, will read my Pamphlet with -Candour—approve of the Sentiments contain’d in it—and recommend it to the -Perusal of others. I shall view the Censures, and Displeasure of _the -vicious_, and the _dissipated_, as the highest Eulogiums;—as Praise—which -will convey _the most genial warmth_ to my Heart—and, I trust, afford me -a pleasing Retrospect in my _latest_ Hours!— - -My Letters having succeeded beyond my most sanguine Expectation, I am now -encouraged to attack _another_ prevailing Custom among the Fair—that of -_not_ giving suck to their Infants, at least during the first five or six -weeks. - -I shall wave considering _the Propriety_ of a Mother’s giving suck -through a Sense of the _incumbent Duty_ she _owes_ her child.—Though the -Custom of backening the Milk is _unnatural_, dangerous, and too often -_fatal_, I shall lay no stress on the former, but rest it entirely on -the latter—for in _such_ an Age as the present, in which our fine Ladies -have few Ideas of any Religion—are not capable of receiving Pleasure -from _domestick_ Employments—would infinitely rather CONVERSE with _any -Men_ than their _Husbands_—leave their Children to be instructed, or -_neglected_ by Servants, and fly abroad, with eager Impatience _to game -away_ their Husbands Fortunes, and receive the _criminal_ Addresses of -_their profligate_ Admirers, at the Assembly, the Masquerade, or more -_commodious Apartments_ of _the Coterie_—laughing at the Censures of _the -few_ who have still some Regard to Decorum—and despising the Belief of -the perpetual Presence of a Being who is Witness to all their _secret -vicious Deformities_—in _such_ times it would be Folly to mention the -Dangers they expose their Infants to, from diseased Milk, want of a -tender Mother’s Care—or dream of asking them how they will answer to -the Almighty for _not_ having afforded them the Nourishment He kindly -provided for their Support?—I shall therefore only shew the Absurdity and -_danger_ of this Custom, as far as it regards the Health of _the Mother_. - -And here I must endeavour to give my Readers some Idea of that part of -the human Body which is concern’d in the formation, and absorbtion of -the Milk, in order for their understanding the Force of my arguments. - -Our Bodies are constantly, when in Health, receiving Repairs in all -their Parts, from millions of the smallest, most minute Arteries. Every -Solid, and every Juice, is form’d out of, and secreted from, Blood. Those -noxious Parts of the Blood which are not proper for these different, -_opposite_ Uses, are thrown off by insensible Perspiration. When, through -various Causes, that Perspiration is obstructed, the acrid Matter which -ought to have gone off, is absorb’d by the lymphatick Vessels, and -returns into the Blood—brings on Fevers, Gout, Rheumatism, &c. &c. - -The Lymphaticks, are numberless Vessels, which pass through spungy -Glands. These fine Tubes have a vast number of Valves, which prevent -the Lymph, (or Liquor) which runs through them from going _a contrary_ -Direction from that intended for it. These fine Vessels are dispersed -over every Part of our Bodies. The Point of a needle could not be applied -to a Spot, under the Skin, where the Mouth of a lymphatic Vessel did not -open to imbibe whatever is put in contact with it. These minute Branches -run into other Branches, so form larger Vessels, till at last they all -unite in a general Reservoir, where the Lymph which they contained, mixes -with the Chyle, (the fine Part of our Food, which is fit to be converted -into Blood) conducted there by the Lacteals, (the Lacteals resemble the -Lymphaticks—they open into the Stomach, and Bowels—they imbibe nothing -but from _our Food_) the Chyle, and Lymph, thus mix’d, run up within the -trunk of a large Vessel called the thoracic Duct, on the inside of the -back Bone, which is incessantly emptying it’s Liquor into a Vein under -the left Collar Bone, where it mixes with the Blood, is immediately -convey’d into the vena Cava, which conducts it, with the returning Blood -from the rest of the Body, (Lungs excepted) into the right Auricle of -the Heart—it thence is drove by the contraction of the Auricle, into the -right Ventricle of the Heart—by it’s contraction, into the Pulmonary -Artery—from thence through the whole Lungs, where the Blood receives a -Change from being impregnated with something received from the Air every -Inspiration. The Blood thus changed, is collected from the Lungs into the -Pulmonary Veins, and conducted into the left Auricle of the Heart; which -drives it into the left Ventricle; which forces it into a great Artery, -the Aorta—which rushes it over every other Part of the Body. - -The lymphatic Vessels prevent our Blood depending _solely_ on our Food -for supply, and by means of them we can subsist some time merely on -the Produce of our own Bodies. All these lymphatic Vessels are closely -accompanied by Arteries—whose Pulsations assist the motion of the Lymph -to it’s Reservoir:⸺Consequently the quicker and stronger they beat, -the faster the Lymph is hurried into the Blood. Hence the Reason why -Fevers occasion so speedy a wasting of the Flesh—hence Hectics bring -on Consumptions—hence People in Fevers can subsist long with little -Food,—The lymphaticks then supplying the Blood too abundantly from our -own Juices. - -The Author of Nature has ordered an extraordinary Quantity of Blood to -be prepared for the Child’s Food. Arteries run into the Glands of the -Breasts, and in passing through them, the Blood, by a most wonderful -Change, is converted into Milk!⸺by a Change, which nothing but Custom -prevents our viewing as a Miracle! - -The admired Toast of the Town cannot endure the Trouble of nursing. It -would confine her too much at home—it has too vulgar an appearance—it -is not warranted by _the Example_ of the first Circle—the Milk must -_therefore_ be backen’d.—It is denied Liberty to discharge itself by the -Out-lett Providence _intended for it_—the Child, whose Constitution _it -was calculated for_, is not suffered to have it’s Due. What becomes of -the Milk? - -It is absorb’d by the lymphatic Vessels, _contrary_ to the _original_ -Intention of Nature—and convey’d back into the Blood, in the manner -I have before described.—What is the Consequence?—The blood Vessels -become _not only highly over-charged_ with Blood, but that Blood is thus -rendered of an improper Consistence. A Fever ensues!—This Fever comes -on when the woman is _ill able to bear_ it’s Shock!—_How often_ is this -Fever _fatal_! - -The most fortunate Circumstance that can happen, is, when the Milk finds -_ANOTHER out-lett_. Probably _otherwise_ there may be a formation of -Matter somewhere—there is danger _that_ Matter may fly to some capital -Part. - -If the Woman is young, healthy, strong, it is most probable the Milk will -_not_ be absorb’d _quick enough_. The Blood will _furnish_ Milk _faster_ -than the lymphatick Vessels can imbibe it, and convey it back again. The -Breasts are painfully distended—they inflame. - -_When too late_—it is then resolved they shall be suck’d. - -During the time of Pregnancy a small quantity of Milk is lodged in -the Milk Vessels of the Breasts. This Milk, when the nine Months are -expired, is thick—clogs the Vessels. If the Woman never gave suck, the -Pores through which the Milk ought to issue to the Child, are not open -enough—they require therefore _to be clear’d_, by the _old_ Milk being -suck’d off, _the very day of the Delivery_, and to empty the Milk Vessels -of what must otherwise clog them. Some woman ought to suck this off -therefore _as soon as possible_. If the Child is put to the Breast _in -Twelve, or Sixteen Hours_ after it’s Birth, it will suck _greedily_—if -delay’d three or four Days, it is twenty to one the Child will not -attempt it for a long time. - -When therefore _the Necessity_ of the Case has overcome every Resolution -form’d for the Woman’s _not_ giving suck, and her Child is put to her -Breast, it is in vain!—the Child will not touch the Breast!—_other_ -Children—or women attempt to ease the poor Woman of her Load of Milk—this -Resource likewise fails! the thick Milk has clog’d the Vessels—the -N-pp-es, owing to the hard Distension of the Breasts, has shrunk into -them—and, besides, their Pores have never been open’d—never been -clear’d—no endeavours avail! the distress’d Woman, after having been -sadly fatigued, exhausted, finds herself disappointed of Relief!—dreadful -Symptoms soon appear! she _too probably_ falls a sacrifice to a -ridiculous—senseless—not to say a sinful deviation _from the Path of -Nature_!—how many fine young Women have lately died—and go off every -Year, from this Cause! - -But “_particular_ Women have not Constitutions strong enough to bear -giving suck. Certainly there are some Women whom it might hurt.” Granted. -Let such particular Women give suck _only_ for the first _four_, _five_ -or _six Weeks_. If those Women _then_ really find themselves too delicate -for the _longer_ continuance of such a Drain, they then _may safely_ -by degrees leave off giving suck—they have sufficiently recover’d -Strength to venture throwing the Milk gently back into the Blood. The -most delicately form’d Woman existing should _not_ dream of suffering a -single Drop of the Milk which Nature _intended for Evacuation_, to return -into the Blood, untill the Constitution is re-established—and enabled to -bear discharging itself of the Superfluities, without encountering the -Dangers which _demonstrably_ attend a contrary Practice. If a Woman is -too delicate to bear _continuing to suckle_ her Infant, surely she is -_too delicate_ to endure the flying in the Face of Nature, and _risking_ -the Fever—if she is healthy and strong, the more incumbent her duty is, -to nourish her Child—her danger too equal. In _every_ View, the salutary -Consequences attending Mothers discharging their Duty to their Children -in this point, are so obvious, so glaring, that _to me_ it is matter of -doubt whether those who fail in it are most to be condemn’d and despised -for _their want of natural Affection_—or pitied and ridiculed _for their -Folly_. - -These are my Ideas on this interesting Subject. Let those Women who -_obstinately_ persevere in a Resolution to deny their Infants their -natural Food—(and in whose Judgements my Arguments have appear’d -deficient in Weight) stand the Trial, and risk the Consequence. I most -sincerely hope the Success may answer their Wishes! - -I now refer my Readers to the following Letters. I can assert, _with -conscious Truth_ that my Sentiments on the _preceding_, and _following_ -Subjects, have been the offspring of an Heart warm’d by a Love for my -fellow-Creatures—ever most ardently solicitous for their Welfare and -Happiness, here and hereafter. - -I cannot expect _to reclaim_ any Woman who has _already used_ a _Man_, -for Reasons I gave at the beginning of this Introduction, and because, -by quitting him, she would _tacitly_ acknowledge the Truth of my -Assertions—and because none but those possess’d of the most exalted -Qualities of the Head and Heart, can have _greatness_ enough _to confess_ -they have been in an Error of _such_ a Nature. - -I am not without hopes however, of _opening the Eyes_ of _sensible_ -Men—and unmarried Women, who are _at present_ modest, and _wish_ to -_remain so_—and preventing the _former from advising_, and the _latter -from falling into_ the scandalous Custom of employing _Men_-Midwifes, -which _I know_ to be _ERRONEOUS as to it’s PRETENDED SAFETY_—_FATALLY -dangerous_ to the VIRTUE—and _CERTAINLY destructive_ of the MODESTY[1] -of my fair Countrywomen.—They may believe me when I assure them that NO -PURITY can withstand the _rude_ Shock of _such_ Intrusions—_the whitest_ -Ermine is _most_ liable to have it’s Beauties sullied! - -If I should be happy enough to hear in a few Years that I have given -the least Check to this most abandon’d of _vicious_ Practices, the -Consciousness of having done a most signal Service to the Community, will -implant genuine Pleasure—substantial Satisfaction in the Breast of - - the Public’s - most obedient - humble Servant, - - THE AUTHOR. - -[1] I make a great Distinction _between Modesty_, and _Virtue_. A Woman -_may_ be _virtuous_, _without_ being _Modest_—but it is _impossible_ -to be _modest_, without being _virtuous_. Modesty is _the guard_ of -Virtue—but it _is possible_ a _cold_ Constitution _may_ preserve -_Virtue_, even _after_ every Trace of _Modesty_ has been obliterated. - - - - -THE Danger and Immodesty, _&c._ - - - - -LETTER I. - - -In times, when every winter brings scenes of prostitution from the -privacy of darkness into the public light of day; when our ladies of -quality, and women of fashion, instead of being as remarkable for their -virtue, as for their beauty, openly cast aside every sense of shame, and -barefacedly encourage the addresses of men, who, avowedly, can have no -intention but to involve them in guilt; it is the duty of every honest -man to endeavour to trace the evil _to its source_, in order that, by -pointing out _the foul spring_ which corrupts the stream, _the fountain -may be cleared_, and the contagion which rages from it, lessened, if not -entirely removed. - -Boarding schools are, beyond doubt, seminaries, where the minds of girls -are early polluted. Let the mistress of the school be ever so virtuous, -prudent, and attentive, the vicious girls (and some such there always -must be among a number) will find sufficient opportunities to taint the -tender minds of unsuspecting innocence. Nothing can be more destructive -than bad example; and, unfortunately, the human mind is too ready to -copy those which are vicious—and _the vicious_ are more importunate and -solicitous _to corrupt_, than _the virtuous_ are to gain proselytes to -goodness. - -Though I believe _the first seeds of vice_ are imbibed at a boarding -school, yet I _by no means_ look on that education as the great cause of -these frequent adulteries. If principles of virtue have been inculcated -in infancy, they may yet, with proper care, bud out afresh under good -culture—and flourish under the influence of good advice, when those -noxious weeds are choaked up, which were planted by bad examples, but -which may wither on the cause being removed. - -_It is to the almost universal custom of EMPLOYING MEN-MIDWIVES, that I -attribute the frequent ADULTERIES which disgrace our country._ - -_Ignorance_ has spread this _shameless_ custom. Ignorance leads people -to suppose men _safer_ than women—Ignorance of _what_ the _Men_-midwives -_do_, leads modest women _at first_ to submit to employ men; and _it is -ignorance_ which leads husbands [who love their wives] to recommend, nay -even sometimes force them on their wives. They know not what stripes they -are preparing for themselves—they know not that they are removing the -corner stone on which the virtue of their wives is founded—and all this -on _a mistaken_ principle—_the idea that men are safest_. - -The Almighty, through kindness to his creatures, has so ordered the -labours of women, that even the honest part of the Men-midwife tribe -confess, that, in thirty years practice, a person might probably never -meet _with a single case_ where a good woman might not have done the -business. This confession was made to me by an eminent man-midwife, -after a practice of thirty-six years. How else would the world have -been peopled? The men have _but lately_ come into fashion. In praise of -_Scotland_ and _Ireland_ be it spoken, _the women of those countries are -still too modest to employ them_. What is the consequence? _Adulteries_ -happen _very seldom in those countries_; and every farm-house swarms -with strong, healthy, _well-limbed_ children. If Men-midwives were -requisite to bring children into the world, what would become of the -wilds of America—the plains of Africa? Even the _Hottentot women_ are too -modest to employ men—they leave that abandoned custom _to our English -ladies_—yet they are so fruitful they furnish slaves to the globe. It -is a notorious fact, that more children have been lost since women were -so scandalously indecent as to employ men, than for ages before that -practice became so general. Women have _a tenderness of feeling for their -own sex_ in labour, which _it is impossible men can ever equal them in_. -By _having felt_ the pains, and the anxieties attending child-birth, -they know how to sympathize in a woman’s sufferings. _Their_ feelings, -therefore, are _natural_. They lead them to be patient—they prompt them -_to allow nature to do her own_ peculiar work. They never dream of having -recourse to force—the _barbarous, bloody crotchet_ never stained _their_ -hands with _murder_. There _never really_ can be occasion for a male -operator, but when a deed must be done which my soul shudders at the idea -of, and which I shall not mention—but thanks to God, such instances do -not occur in a century!—To my knowledge, a lady was twice delivered in -different parts of the country of England, by common women-midwives, and -both those cases were _as unnatural_ and difficult as it is well possible -to imagine—she and the children did well—if she had employed men, it is -more than probable, _the children, at least_, would have expired under -the crotchet—or been maimed by the forceps! - -And how should this be otherwise! a long _un-impassioned_ practice, -_early_ commenced, and _calmly_ pursued, is absolutely requisite to give -men _by art_, what women attain _by nature_.—Dr. Hunter, very wisely, -very justly has said, that “Labour is nature’s work.”—Nature _ought to be -suffered_ nine hundred and ninety-nine times out of a thousand, _to do -her own work_. All the knowledge _young_ men can possibly obtain, must be -from _dead_ bodies—for is it in common sense to suppose, that a young lad -can explore the secret recesses of Venus, so as to be _physically_ well -acquainted with those parts in _living_ females? No—fires must quickly -be raised, which unavoidably will confuse all his discerning _reasoning_ -faculties—and _ART must instantly be lost in NATURE_. Dr. Hunter, indeed, -and one or two men besides, _may perhaps_, by the help of _cold_ -constitutions, and dint of very long practice, do their business _nearly -as well_ as women—by leaving all _to nature_—but, if my life and fortune -here, and salvation hereafter, depended on the life of any pregnant -woman, and that of her infant, I would stake all I held valuable on her -being attended by any old woman midwife in England, in preference to any -man in the world. Whoever reads Nihel’s Midwifery, will be satisfied of -this truth, that _women are infinitely safer than men_. - -Who can wonder at the profligacy of the times, when it is known that even -women of character soon become so callous to the bashfulness which ought -to characterize their sex (from being habituated to the familiarities -of their Men-midwives) that they will not scruple informing a male -visitor, without even blushing, “I was not very well for some days in -the country—so I came to town on purpose to be satisfied by Dr. ⸺ that -I was in a good way—_the dear man_ has told me that _the child lies -right_—and I am perfectly easy.” Monstrous! that a lady can pretend to -any degree of modesty, and yet, _not content_ with having _a strange_ man -attending her _for hours_ when in labour (most of that time intimately -acquainted with _every_ part) she can, without any compunction, send for -a man, and admit him without reserve _to the most unbounded_ liberties, -at a time too, when she is _as able_ to walk, and _do every other act_ -of life, as if she was not pregnant! Pray let me ask her ladyship, _how_ -did “_The dear man_,”—“_sweet Dr. ⸺_,” _find out_ how the child lay?—By -means _sufficient to taint the purity_, and _fully the chastity_, of -any woman breathing!—I will boldly affirm, that, whoever admits a man -to those _licentious_ freedoms, cannot pretend to answer for what _may_ -be the consequences. If _the last_ circumstance does not take place, it -must be owing, either to an extraordinary insensibility in the man, or -to the woman’s not suiting his taste, having such choice of beauties to -visit. Suppose, for argument’s sake, that the fictitious Goddess of -Chastity, Diana herself, was on earth, and employed me to satisfy her -doubts, during the months of pregnancy prior to labour—and her mind of -course, at first, free from the smallest tincture of guilty ideas—yet, if -I chose it, I could _so bewilder her reason_, that she should _lose sight -of every principle of virtue_—and not _be able_ to refuse me whatever I -chose to desire.—When a man is in free possession of the Citadel, and all -the out-works surrendered at discretion, it is then too late to attempt -guarding the town from plunder. - -But supposing these advantages are not always taken (_which I dare say -they are not_) it cannot be denied _with truth_ these visitations from -Men-midwives, remove in a great measure, the horror of those intrusions -on the advanced posts of virtue, which are its greatest safeguards—and -serve _to prepare the way_ for the addresses of gay young men, who make -it their business to seduce married women into the paths of infamy. - -If any lady, desirous of exculpating herself from my censure, pleads -that “she never admits a Man-midwife _to familiarities_ but when _in -actual labour_”—I answer, that, even _in actual_ labour—_a woman has many -intervals of ease_, for many minutes together quite free from pain—_in -those intervals_, her mind _cannot_ maintain _its spotless whiteness_—_in -those_ intervals she cannot but _be conscious_, that the _DOCTOR is -infringing on the HUSBAND_. - -But I believe there are very few women who confine the Doctor’s -familiarities to the times of real labour. Lady ⸺, Mrs. ⸺, acquiesce in -whatever he thinks right during all the months of pregnancy—and must -he not be _MORE than man_, or LESS THAN MAN, who, _roving luxuriously_ -through all the _hidden_ charms of beauty, can help being inflamed by -passion?—and, _if inflamed by passion_, he may proceed ON CERTAINTIES -... he has an _UNERRING tell-tale under his inspection_, which gives him -_an INFALLIBLE cue, when he may safely_ throw aside the mask, fearless of -any repulse. - -Shew some sense of modesty, ye Duchesses, Countesses, &c. &c. and -those inferior women, whom _ye have debauched_ by your bad examples, -will again imitate ye, in forsaking these Scandalous practices. Blush, -ye women of fashion, to own that any man, besides your husbands, _is -admitted to liberties with your persons_. No longer talk of “_dear_ -Doctor Hunter,” “_angelic_ Doctor—” “_enchanting_ Doctor—.” ... For my -own part, if I was a married man, I declare it would be _a matter of the -utmost indifference_ to me, whether my wife had spent the night _in a -bagnio_—or an hour of the forenoon locked up with a man-midwife in her -dressing room.—Let this _shameless_ custom be abolished, and then virtue -will fly back again to our metropolis, with all her train of _genuine -self-approving pleasures_—and England be _once more_ as much famed for -the chastity, as for the beauty of its women. - -Adieu, Mr. Printer—you have received this letter from a sincere admirer -of female modesty: Without it “beauty _ceases being lovely_, or wit -being engaging.” Whoever possesses it cannot be enough esteemed and -regarded—whoever is deficient in it cannot be sufficiently despised and -slighted. Ye _English_ fair, _it ought_ to be your characteristic! _but -while your fathers, husbands, and brothers are unprincipled, corrupted -senators_—you think you have a right to deviate from _your point of -honour_, since _they shew you the example in their’s_. - -To conclude—_true modesty is incompatible with the idea of employing_ - - A MAN MIDWIFE[2]. - -[2] Except when those _very rare instances_ occur, which do not happen -once in two thousand labours. - - - - -LETTER II. - - -The favourable reception my last letter met with from the public, leads -me to hope our married men will seriously reflect on the dangers which -attend the employing Men-midwives to attend their wives, except in cases -where there is the most urgent necessity for the interference of art. I -flatter myself it will not be difficult to convince _sensible_, _modest_ -women of two undeniable truths, which nothing but prejudice, or vice, can -render them blind to the force of:—First, that Men-midwives are not so -safe as women;—and secondly, that it is absolutely impossible to permit -men to take the unbounded freedoms which Men-midwives _falsely pretend -are necessary_, without throwing themselves entirely at their mercy, and, -at all events, being polluted by their needless invasion. - -The Men-midwives and their friends, have wisely chose to be silent. -They are conscious my assertions cannot be denied with any shadow of -truth, they therefore prudently have declined the combat. If they had -attempted controverting my arguments, they must have discovered the sandy -foundations on which they have established the idea of _their being -the proper_ attendants on the labours of women. Objections which they -cannot remove,—dangers which they cannot dissipate,—and impurities which -no varnish can conceal, they wish to avoid mentioning; fearful lest an -attempt to answer my letter, should display to the world the weakness and -insufficiency of their defence, and stimulate abler pens than mine to -continue the subject too long for their interest. They vainly imagine my -letter will soon be forgotten, and be consigned to oblivion amongst waste -paper. But they are mistaken,—this letter shall accompany it annually to -the press, to remind my fair countrywomen of the inestimable value of -chastity,—and to warn them from those practices which pave the way to the -most flagrant breach of it;—and I am not without hope that I shall be -joined by the friends of virtue, and assisted in the arduous talk I have -undertaken. What undertaking can be more difficult to succeed in, than an -endeavour to reform the manners of a vicious age? Yet, encouraged by the -consciousness of the rectitude of my intentions, and of the sincerity of -my wishes to repair the foundations of matrimonial happiness, I freely -offer my sentiments to the world,—let the candid weigh them in the scale -of common-sense,—and either adopt, or disregard them, as they appear to -tend to the benefit, or prejudice of mankind. The consequence of their -decision will principally affect themselves,—it will not reach to me. - -The Men-midwives are sensible, that, when they urge their knowledge in -anatomy as a reason for their being safer than women, they mean to take -advantage of _the ignorance_ of mankind. Where _very rare_, _particular_ -circumstances occur, undoubtedly the knowledge of anatomy becomes then -absolutely necessary to direct the operator in the means requisite to -save the woman’s life. In that distressed, unhappy, deplorable situation, -no modesty can possibly be violated. The poor afflicted woman, is, _if -sensible_, so taken up with anxious thoughts, and torturing pains, that -she is _not conscious_ of the transaction—and the Royal Exchange, when -crouded, might be spectators, without attracting her attention, or -interrupting her fears. It is quite different in _a very large majority_ -of labours. The woman has many intervals of ease,—she does not apprehend -there is any peculiar danger in her case:—her mind, while free from -pain, is at liberty calmly to attend to whatever is done. There is not -above one labour in a thousand where there is any occasion for the -knowledge of anatomy. I insist that _except in those very extraordinary -cases_, a knowledge of anatomy leads Men-midwives frequently to do great -mischief. _It makes them impatient._ They _know how_ to bring on the -labour pains,—they _know how to force the birth_. From _this DESTRUCTIVE -KNOWLEDGE_, numbers of children are demolished,—numbers of women are -thrown into fevers by _lacerations_ and _inflammations_, which might -have the worst consequences, and which never would have happened _if -the knowledge of anatomy_ had not _tempted men_ to have recourse _to -ART within the proper boundaries of NATURE’S empire_. For this reason, -if I was a married man, I would not employ _even a woman_ who had been -bred under a Man-midwife. Her _knowing the parts ANATOMICALLY_, and -_understanding the USE of INSTRUMENTS_, and pursuing the _teizing_, -_fiddling_ customs of the men who had instructed her, instead of -recommending her to me, would be a sufficient cause to prevent my -employing her. - -_THE ONLY SAFE KNOWLEDGE for a midwife to possess_, is, _that which is -taught by EXPERIENCE_. Whenever it _ceases_ being possible for nature, -with such assistance, to do her work, _then_, and _then only_, art ought -to be called in with instruments to aid.—Yet our young women are not -ashamed _premeditately to resolve_ on employing men, though there are -such a multitude of chances _against_ the supposition of a dead child—or -that there will be occasion for the destruction of her infant to save her -own life. It is for this wanton use of men, that I wish I had abilities -to expose their want of modesty in colours striking enough to hold out -our women to the universal ridicule of the world, and draw down on them -the contempt and indignation of the virtuous. - -Is it not laughable to hear of a _modest_ woman sending for _a man_ -to inform her _whether or not she is with child_, and _how far -gone_?—Heavens! _a little patience_ would soon have cleared up that -matter, and the most skilful man may be mistaken, _even allowing the -supposition_ (which is _NOT probable_) THAT HE MAY BE QUITE COOL, and -_experience NO FLUTTERING sensations to confuse his mind during THE -SERIOUS investigation_. Why cannot the lady _allow a few months_ to -elapse? Her doubts would then have been removed, without any _male_ -intrusions, _without SCANDALOUS VIOLATIONS of MODESTY_—without, what I -term, SHAMEFUL POLLUTIONS OF HER PERSON. - -What must Men-midwives think of those ladies, who send for them to be -inspected on such trifling occasions? _What can they avoid thinking?_ -Must they not conclude, that those ladies are restrained from adultery -_NOT by any principle_ of virtue, but by a dread of the consequences; -and, since they can admit no man to familiarities but their Man-midwife -(who is the _priviledged father confessor of England_) without losing -their reputations, they are resolved to be _as immodest_, without losing -their characters, as the depraved, profligate custom of the world can -authorize them? Men-midwives entertain each other with curious recitals -of their adventures among the fair:—Surely those women cannot justly be -pitied, who thus by their folly, or vice, furnish subjects _first_ for -their sensual _ideas_, and _afterwards_ for their mirth. - -I have been a good deal amused by hearing my letter commented on in -different companies, where the author was far from being suspected -to be present. The Men-midwives, and the ladies who receive pleasure -from employing them, never can forgive me for having exposed their -conduct. All they can however say against me, is, that I am “_very -indelicate_;”—that “_it is a shame such papers should appear_.”—Let them -be informed, Mr. Printer, that IF I AM “INDELICATE,” it is _because -THEY ARE IMMODEST_. Where _the bone_ is _corrupted_, the flesh must be -removed, and _the foul parts laid bare_, in order to be _scraped_, and -_purified_—_desperate disorders require desperate remedies_. _The “shame” -does not consist IN WHAT I WRITE but IN WHAT THEY DO_.—_Let them QUIT -THEIR PRACTICE, I will most readily throw aside my pen._ - -I should be sorry to entertain so bad an opinion of the generality of my -fair countrywomen, as to suppose them hardened by the depraved custom -of the times, beyond a possibility of being roused to a sense of danger -for themselves and infants, and to a sense of virtue. Doctor Hunter -is, beyond dispute, _the best Man_-midwife in the world—yet, let the -advocates for the _indiscriminate_ use of men lay their hands on their -hearts, and answer me ingenuously this question—Suppose any _three_ of -the _best_ Midwives in London had lost _in their lives, the same number_ -of women of fashion _Doctor Hunter_ has lost _within these two or three -years_,[3] would they not have exclaimed loudly, and _taken advantage_ -of those deaths _to prove the danger of employing women_? All England -would have rung of their mismanagement—and the women would have been -ruined!—There are women in London who have laid several thousands, and -yet never lost either a mother or an infant. - -Though the abandoned custom exculpates ladies in the estimation of a -dissipated world, yet I recommend to their confederation _how their -thoughts, during the visits_ of Men-midwives, will stand the test of the -penetrating eye of their Creator. - -I hope to live to see the day, when innate modesty will be the -characteristic of English women; and _of course_, when a lady will not be -more publickly branded with infamy for the most barefaced prostitution, -than for the effrontery which _will then_ be necessary to enable a woman -wantonly to employ - - A MAN-MIDWIFE. - -[3] I would by no means be understood to insinuate the most distant -reflection on Dr. Hunter’s management. I have not the smallest idea -that any of those deaths were in consequence of the least fault in his -execution of his business. I only mentioned them to shew that misfortunes -_may happen_ with the most able Man-midwife; and therefore that it is -cruel to name one or two accidents as proof of a woman’s being unsafe, -since they will happen to the first man in the whole world. I look on Dr. -Hunter as a most skilful anatomist; able physician; experienced, tender, -patient Man-midwife. If it was left to me to call any man to the labour -of a woman in imminent danger, and whose life was linked in mine, Dr. -Hunter is the man I would send for without a moment’s hesitation, his -skill, but, above all, his experience, AGE, and INFIRMITIES, render him -the ONLY man proper to be allowed _to take liberties_ with married women. -Yet _any woman of experience_, in my opinion, is _infinitely safer_ than -even Dr. Hunter, _except in very extraordinary cases_. - - - - -LETTER III. - - -In my two last letters, I believe I satisfied those _who are open to -conviction_, that _even the best_ Men-midwives are _not so safe_ as -women,—and that the custom is destructive of modesty, and affords those -Men-midwives _who chuse it_, finer seraglios than are in the possession -of the most luxuriant Monarchs of the East. - -There are bad consequences attending the practice which I have not -mentioned. It is productive of danger, and of many evils, even when -followed by the most eminent men in London;—who can fix limits then -to its pernicious consequences, when a set of _raw, unskillful young_ -men are turned loose through this town—round its skirts—and over the -whole kingdom, and are received by the credulous multitude with no -other recommendation than the words over the door of “⸺, _Surgeon and -Man-midwife_?” Boys think themselves qualified for Men-midwives, by -having attended one or two courses of lectures under Doctor Hunter,—or, -perhaps, without having heard any lectures at all, or ever having seen a -subject anatomized, start from behind an apothecary’s counter—and begin -their career, murdering of infants without mercy; and with impunity -laying the foundation for cancers, and the most dreadful diseases in -women;—not to mention the chance of their ruining the peace of families, -by introducing vice and discord, where health and harmony might otherwise -have gladdened their serene dwellings.—They know enough of the ways -requisite to use force;⸺they have heard female Midwives blamed for -allowing tedious labours;⸺they think they will be deemed expert, in -proportion _to the quickness_ with which they bring the child into the -world,—and the mischiefs they of course give rise to are innumerable! It -is not in the nature of things possible that _a young man_, ever so well -qualified _by study_, can be _a safe_ Midwife—how dreadful then must the -situations be of those poor women who are in the hands of the numberless -men who practice that business throughout England!⸺The people ignorantly -take for granted _THAT THE SEX constitutes knowledge—insures safety_! -The truth is, _THE SEX alone is sufficient_ to render ANY KNOWLEDGE -destructive in _general_ practice. If the men _must be introduced_ into -_the privacies_ of women, I would earnestly recommend it as _THE MOST -ESSENTIAL qualification_ requisite TO PREPARE them for the study, that -they submit to having their _VOICES made delicate_. - -And here I should have finished my letter, and the subject, if I had not -seen an Essay in the Gazetteer of the 17th, signed “Old Chiron,” which I -cannot avoid making some remarks on, before I conclude. - -The author of it uses tolerable language, and probably could write -pretty well on any other subject. He has done as much as could have -been attempted in order _to continue_ the delusive error which blinds -mankind. He knew he had _not Truth_ on his side—he has therefore -_put words together, without argument_⸺he has boldly denied, what it -is impossible to disprove⸺he has _as_ boldly _asserted WHAT NEVER -HAPPENED_—and then _laughed-off_ facts, trusting _by ridicule_ to conceal -their existence. The pen of _Junius_ could not defend the women who use -men. - -I believe _the thinking_ part of the world will join with me in opinion, -that he would have shewn more wisdom if he had remained silent. A bad -defence does harm to any cause—and _the more able_ the defender appears -in his stile and language, the worse it is for his cause when he -convinces his readers, that even _his abilities_ cannot do it service. -The more this subject is investigated, the more prejudicial it will be -to his profession.[4] A practice, _adopted_, and _continued through a -jumblement_ of IGNORANCE and VICE, can only be favoured by suffering _an -impenetrable_ shade _to veil_ actions _fit only for darkness_. - -Old Chiron has been drove so hard as to have been forced to assert that -the female Midwives always “_cram_ their patients with cordials⸺_keeping -them intoxicated during the time they are in labour_”—and that they -act like infernal fiends, “_driving_ poor women _up and down stairs, -notwithstanding their SHRIEKS_, and _shaking them so violently_ as -often to bring on convulsion fits, on pretence of hastening their -labours⸺laughing at their cries⸺and breaking wretched jests upon the -contortions of the women, whose torments would make a feeling man shudder -at the sight.”⸺I believe that it is not possible any one can be _so -sillily credulous_ as to have faith in these most _shocking, unnatural, -improbable, horrid_ recitals! Is it possible even _if such a brute_ in -an human shame found an entry into an house, that the poor lying-in -woman could _be able_ to be forced “_up and down stairs_?”⸺and _allow -herself_ to be _shook_? If _she_ was ignorant enough, and foolish enough -to consent, _would her relations_⸺_her friends_⸺anxiously attending her, -_likewise be so ignorant_ as not to know _such_ treatment was highly -improper, as well as _cruel beyond cannibal brutality_? And this too -_in England_! where bearing of children is not so very _uncommon_, so -very _extraordinary_ a circumstance, as that a Midwife could find means -to persuade people into such dreadful absurdities!—The idea _is too -ridiculous_! I have seen among my near relations, many women in labour, -as long as it was decent for a man to be present; and declare I have -always seen their Midwives treat them with the utmost tenderness. I have -enquired of several ladies of my acquaintance, each of whom has bore -many children, and always employed women, and they have all declared -they never even _heard_ of any thing in the _most distant_ manner -resembling such treatment, as this _interested_ author has abused his -talents by relating. To vouch falsehoods, and for _the most malignant_ -purposes, needs no comment. Perhaps some diabolical wretch may have -behaved in this manner⸺but is that ground enough to erect defamations -on, against the whole sex? If _such_ proof was to be admitted decisive, -I could severely retaliate on him _such_ proceedings of men, as would -melt an heart of adamant! and I could bring demonstrable evidence -to confirm the authenticity of my relations—but I have already been -called “_indelicate_”—and if I was to write the horrors my pen could -unfold—delineate facts, painting _the indecencies_, and _barbarities_ -of men _whom I could name_, I should _indeed be indelicate_. What must -then the _ACTS have been, which NO LANGUAGE can convey a description -of, without offending the virtuous_, and _shocking_ the _humane_! yet -I should look on myself as very culpable if I had instanced these men -_as standards_ for the whole profession to be judged by. I gave the -preference _to women, NOT because all men WERE BRUTES_, but because _the -greatest Saint_ on earth, _IF a MAN in health_, could not answer for his -principles being proof against the _irresistible temptations arising_ -from being _freely indulged_ in _the most luxurious_ liberties with all -_the feminine_ beauties of lovely women,—and because their knowledge of -anatomy, and their _INSTRUMENTS being ready at hand_, too often _tempt_ -them to use _force_, and do mischief in parts of the most _exquisite_ -sensibility, which _no_ art, _no_ care, _no_ remedy, can _ever_ after -repair; where, if _nature_ had been allowed to do her office, she would -have been _a safe_ operator, and all would have ended happily; and let -any impartial person decide _whether a man_, who knows every method of -forcing the birth, _or a woman_, who is conscious of being _unacquainted_ -with THAT DANGEROUS KNOWLEDGE, _are MOST LIKELY to alter the COURSE OF -NATURE, by interfering_, where she ought to be THE SOLE actor?⸺It is an -indisputable fact, that women have such a peculiar sympathy for females -big with young, that ninety-nine out of an hundred carry it to such an -excess as to be anxious about _brutes_ in that situation. I have often -heard ladies uneasy about mares they have seen with foal, and bitches -with whelp. It is _an instinct_ implanted, and interwoven with their -natures _by the Great Source_ of all things, for the wisest purposes. -Those _who have felt_ the agonies of child birth, surely must be able -to sympathize _more feelingly_ than men who can only form an idea of -them by theory. Women must be allowed to have more tenderness in their -natures than men⸺so that _in every view_ we cannot contest the point -of sensibility with them. Yet this author asserts women are improper -for Midwives because they are _most_ inhuman—because they drive their -fellow-creatures up and down stairs—and shake them into convulsion fits! -did old Chiron write ironically? or did he mean to betray the cause of -the male-practitioners, by asserting fictitious nonsense, which carries -falsehood on it’s face?⸺Let any one _view the forceps_, and then judge -_whether_ it is _a GENTLE INSTRUMENT? it speaks it’s office!_—Let any -one _view the crotchet_, crooked scissars, &c. sharp knives to be sure -are instruments fit to be trusted in every hand! they pursue _healing_ -measures! they never commit _murder_! - -The writer was pleased to confine himself to what I said of the Hottentot -women, because the heat of their climate was adapted to his purpose. I -mentioned likewise “the wilds of America,” and the kingdoms of Scotland -and Ireland. I fancy those countries are cold enough in winter. - -He has quoted the practice of the Athenians as an example for our women. -Though _Heathen virtues_ are great reproaches _on Christian vices_ (I -should have said, on the vices of people who are only _Christians in -name_, by outwardly professing what their lives are daily contradicting) -yet I should imagine _no Heathen impurities_ ought to be admitted -patterns against Christian virtues.—Our surgeons are better anatomists -than the Athenians were; but I am afraid the Athenian men were better -Christians, though they lived before the birth of our Saviour. - -“But the women of quality _do so fall in love_ with their Doctors.”—I -beg he will excuse me,—I _never_ supposed they FELL IN LOVE with THEIR -MALE INSPECTOR. _The sensations_ which _Men-midwives_ give rise to, -_deserve not_ the name which distinguishes _that NOBLE passion OF THE -SOUL_.—_LOVE, allies us to our Divine Original, elevates our ideas to -Heaven, and makes us emulous of worthy actions_! It’s signification -is _scandalously perverted_, when used to describe _the impure_ -gratifications of sense, which degrade us _below the brutes_!—_Love_, -and _Virtue_, are _inseparable_. Love never inspires the human heart, -but when _that heart is in pursuit of virtue_; when _vicious_ purposes -_pollute_ the mind, _it’s end_ is _lust_. - -“Has there ever been related an instance of so unnatural a connexion?” -_Many_ where _it has been attempted_—_several_ where it has _succeeded_. -Any person may buy the trial of Doctor Morley, where they will see that -he was _convicted_, and _fined a thousand pounds_, for seducing Mrs. -Biker. The poor woman accused the Doctor on her death-bed, and told -the whole transaction. The Doctor pleaded to his friends “_the strength -of the temptation, the frailty of nature_; and the impossibility of -any man’s _resisting such powerful charms_.” He quitted his business; -_the ladies_, however, _approved his conduct_,—it _RECOMMENDED him TO -THEIR FAVOUR_, and _he was more employed than ever_! Doctor ⸺ was forced -to feign madness to escape the rage of an injured husband, for having -frightened his wife to death! She happened to be _a virtuous_, though -_NOT a MODEST_, woman!—Count STRUENZY too was a Man-midwife.—Would he -ever have dared to lift his eye, or breathe his infamous passion to a ⸺, -if he had not been encouraged and _familiarized_ by the freedoms admitted -by the profession of a Man-midwife? Certainly no. Whoever reads the -news-papers of three years back, will find many paragraphs informing us -of prosecutions of Men-midwives for crim. con. - -“A man _never_ seen by them _but in their distress_, is sure most -unlikely to become an object _of their desire_; nor can the ladies, -however lovely in the bloom of health, be supposed _capable of retaining_ -their attractions _in the hour of agony_.”—The writer knows that neither -of these assertions are matters of fact. In regard to the first, _many -women_ see their Men-midwives _in perfect health, to be informed if they -are with child? How far gone?_ “Whether the child lies right?” and on -many other PRETENCES.—Men and women, on _such trying_ occasions, _must -give way to NATURE—there is no possibility of withstanding it_.—As to -women’s _not_ being “_attractingly lovely_ when in labour,”—there he -likewise must have been sensible that he erred from truth. Those pains -_rather add_ to beauty; and though, _during the continuance of racking -tortures, neither_ party can attend to any thing but the pains felt on -one side, and the compassion which a good man must sympathize in on the -other; yet _in the intervals_ (many there _always_ are, and _generally_ -they are _long intervals_) _no uneasiness on either side_ leaves the -minds _of both_ at liberty to entertain _other IDEAS_. - -“And if he” (the Man-midwife) “is at all to answer for their conduct, is, -I think, only to be reckoned with _FOR RECOVERING THEM so early_, and _SO -PUTTING IT IN THEIR POWER TO go abroad_ and _COQUET IT the sooner_.”—The -author is pleased to be _facetious with the ladies_! I do not at all -wonder that _those men_ who have _such foundation_ for censuring their -conduct, _presume thus_ to ridicule them for their eagerness to visit, -in order to _receive the homage_ of their _criminal admirers_! I should -have thought, however, that the subject was not of a nature which could -authorize such indecent raillery. It verifies the old proverb, “_too much -familiarity breeds contempt_.” - -As to the assertion, that “the faculty employ men to their own wives”—I -know very many instances to the contrary—and even _if this was -otherwise_, it would be by no means conclusive. Men who have _such -choice_ of fine women _to take the most licentious liberties_ with, -most probably cannot remain long faithful to their own wives—they may -therefore easily be supposed soon to become so indifferent about them, -as to be very ready to suffer their own brethren to lay them, _by way -of KEEPING UP THE FARCE_, and _blinding the world_. I take for granted -however they permit _no private examinations_. They are too much in the -secret. - -The gentleman concludes with telling us a story of Dr. Ford’s having -attended a poor woman for three days and nights, who had been ill used -by a woman.⸺What then?—It only proves that Dr. Ford _is not destitute of -humanity_, and _that there is ONE_ woman _who interfered with nature_, -and _of course did mischief_.—I know he “is a favourite with many women -of distinction”—but _those ladies BEST know HOW he has recommended -himself to their favour_. Neither Dr. Ford, nor Dr. Hunter, can presume -to affirm, that they never take the most intimate freedoms with ladies, -when there is no chance for labour.⸺Indeed, the ladies make no secret -of it—they now can submit to those examinations on the morning of an -assembly, tell their company of it at dinner, and go to a tavern to -supper! - -And now, Mr. Printer, allow me _to take my leave of you, and the public -on this theme_.—The unprejudiced will be convinced—at least it was -this flattering, this most pleasing hope, that stimulated me to write -on this subject.—I can have no sinister views—the conduct of the world -will not interfere with my happiness—for I never will marry any woman, -unless I know her sentiments correspond with mine. The public are now in -possession of all I can think on the subject—The good sense of the people -of England will decide how far my hints may conduce to their domestic -happiness.—I leave _to other pens_ to proceed on it, _in answer to any -writer who may enter the lists against me_. Whoever wishes to know my -sentiments may review these three letters. I should be an hypocrite, if -I attempted to conceal, that, as I took up my pen _for the benefit of -the community_, so I shall be _most highly gratified_, if I hereafter -find my time has been employed to purpose, in _opening the eyes of the -thoughtless_, _informing the ignorant_, and _warning the virtuous_. I -despair of shaming the immodest! - -While I live, I shall think NO WOMAN MODEST who employs - - A MAN-MIDWIFE. - -[4] I take for granted, Old Chiron is a Man-midwife. - - - - -APPENDIX. - - -As I do not wish to bewilder the Judgments of my Readers, but to convince -their Understandings,—and as I have, throughout my Letters, laid so much -Weight on the Dangers which attend hurrying the Labours of Women, I -cannot dismiss this Pamphlet into the World without endeavouring _clearly -to demonstrate_ the Utility of allowing Nature _to adhere strictly_ to -_her own_ Period for accomplishing the Birth. - -Men, who have _not_ been _accustomed to thinking_;—but whose Lives have -been spent in the various Occupations, or dissipated Pleasures of the -World, by having been habituated daily to view the common round which -Providence takes in the natural Events of Life, never felt their Wonder -and Admiration excited by considering them in the Manner which is -incumbent on reasonable, intelligent Beings. Those, on the other Hand, -whose only _real_ Enjoyments proceed from a delightful Indulgement of -the Soul in Contemplations on the astonishing Works of God, _divest_ -themselves of _that Familiarity to them_ which the hourly Evidence of -their Senses would otherwise have obscured—and render’d Matter for no -rational Reflection. - -Thus we are blind to the surprizing _progressive_ Change, which enlarges -a new born Infant, to the size of Manhood! or a small Seed, to a large -Tree!—If an Infant, _the day after its Birth_, was to walk round the -Town, in compleat symmetry of Person, and six Feet high, would not -the Miracle forcibly strike the Minds of the most thoughtless of our -Species?—The difference is made only _by Custom_. Twenty Hours, and -Twenty Years, are exactly the same in the Sight of God!—_My_ Amazement -is excited by seeing the Change wrought _in twenty Years_, to the full -in _as high a degree_, as the _same Sight_, in twenty _Hours_, would -raise the Astonishment of an embroidered Maccaroni at Carlisle House, -or, of an infinitely _more_ rational, esteemable Being; a poor, ignorant -Labourer in the Fields! - -The Work of Nature, _in Labour_, is one of it’s most extraordinary -Acts!—Untill the Parts are _in some degree prepared_ by the miraculous -Change effected in them _by the Labour Pains_, the Child could no more -enter the World than it could fly into the Clouds!—Untill the Parts are -_properly_ prepared, the Child cannot appear without _the most obvious_ -Danger. - -Every Pain has it’s Office,—it lubricates—it dilates. Where these Pains -are _not_ violent—are _not_ quick in their Return—but are lingering, -and tedious, they _plainly_ indicate that _the Woman requires great -Preparation_—Nature is _gradually_, and by _the most gentle_ Means, -forwarding _the Distension_—and if left _to herself_, will _not_ bring on -the Birth till every thing _is accommodated to her Purpose_. - -Men Midwives, seldom wait for Nature’s Moment. Women are objected to, -because they are tedious—Men are extolled for their quickness. If -Doctor ⸺ has two or three pregnant Ladies waiting, from whom he expects -handsome Payments, he will _take Merit_ from hastening the Birth—and if -any Accident happens from his Impatience, his Reputation is too well -establish’d to suffer in the Eyes of Mankind—and the Misfortune is -attributed to some of the common Casualties attending Labour, when it -derived it’s Source _solely_ from the Doctor’s having brought the Child -forward, _unnaturally_, before the Parts were pre-disposed, by a proper -distension, for it’s Reception, and Passage. I fear two Ladies died -lately owing to this very Practice. The Parts inflamed—the Inflammation -spread by Sympathy—the Bowels mortified. If these Ladies had lain-in in -the Country, and had employ’d common, plain Women, who pretended to no -Knowledge but what they derived from Experience, it is a Million to one -that the Ladies would now have been alive and well. - -The Men-midwives not only give rise to Inflammations by bringing the -Child before the Woman has felt _half the number of Pains_ which Nature -intended _to predispose_ the Parts—but likewise by _their abominable -Dilatations_. Can any Practice be more repugnant to common Sense, -than that of irritating the exquisitely sensitive nervous Fibres -of those Parts, by way of preparing them for Distension? The Men -absolutely _counteract_ the very end they pretend to have in view, by -Dilatation!—Friction must irritate—irritation must inflame—Inflammation -must _contract_. It is no Wonder if Parts so nicely constructed—highly -irritated for (perhaps) Hours, should inflame after the Birth, and be -productive of the most dreadful Consequences!—Yet their _Officiousness_ -recommends them to the Ladies!—I really cannot find Words to inform my -Readers of every Circumstance I wish to relate. I start Hints—and leave -them to pursue the Subject by an exertion of their own Reason. - -I have now entirely done with all which relates to the Danger Women and -Children run through _officious_, shameful _Impatience_. I have only -to recommend one serious Reflection to those Husbands who think their -Happiness would be interrupted by detecting any Infidelity in their -Wives. I beg they will consider _the Advantages_ they give Men-midwives, -in allowing them so many _favourable_ Opportunities of _extolling the -personal_ Charms of the Ladies, _whose Beauties_ lie open to their -_most curious_ Researches. No Men can possibly have _such critical_ -Opportunities for engratiating themselves with the Fair. _Flattery, -CRITICALLY applied_ to Women, has strange Effects. They can _accompany_ -their Flattery with _irresistible_ Persuasives. The sacred Names of -Religion and Honour _may_ be made _Subservient_ to their Purposes. The -more they are pretended to be prized in their Estimation, the more _they -may be urged in proof_ of the _bewitching_ Allurements, and _forcible_ -Power of those hidden Beauties, which have obliterated every Remonstrance -of Virtue, and stifled every Check of Conscience. The poor Woman’s -_Pity_ is excited, when she views the strongest Principles of her “dear -Man” overcome by _her_ Charms—she can only blame _herself_ for possessing -_such provoking Temptations_—she is blinded by the Assistance of -Nature—_her own Vanity_ turns Advocate for the Doctor, and acquits him of -Villainy _during the Empire of Passion_; though the _return_ of Reason, -_when too late_! discovers the Artifices which have accomplish’d her Ruin! - - THE AUTHOR. - -I hope Doctor Hunter will pardon _the latter_ part of the Reference, -at the bottom of my second Letter. I fear I misrepresented him in -attributing Infirmities to his share which I am inform’d he never yet has -experienced. His _Abilities_ are great—and if a Man _must_ be employ’d, -I think he may be called in with as much safety as any Man of his -Profession. - -☞ _As this Pamphlet recommends the employing of Women, the Publishers -have taken some Pains to procure a List of those who are eminent in their -Profession—and on the best information recommend the following Midwives -to those Ladies who have too much Modesty to employ Men—and who are -convinced by the preceding Pages that the Men are not so safe as Women._ - - Mrs. Nihell _Hay Market_ - - Mrs. Brooke } _Cross Key Court, Little Britain_ - Mrs. Stephens } - Mrs. Lee } - - Mrs. Harris _Mould Makers Row, St. Martin’s Le Grand_ - - Mrs. Reynard } _Bartholomew Close_ - Mrs. Forrest } - - Mrs. Smith } _Cow Lane, Snow-Hill_ - Mrs. Page } - - Mrs. Phillips _Garlick Hill_ - - Mrs. Andrews _Bush Lane, Cannon Street_ - - Mrs. Longbottom _Near Guy’s Hospital_ - - Mrs. Richardson _Westminster_ - - Mrs. Souden _Ratcliff Row, Old Street_ - - Mrs. Hall _Bunhill Row, Ditto_ - - Mrs. Barnet } _Somerset Street, White-Chapel_ - Mrs. Larkin } - - Mrs. Blunt _Swallow Str. Golden Sq._ - - Mrs. Lyttelton, _Amen-Corner, Paternoster Row_ - - -FINIS. - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE DANGER AND IMMODESTY OF THE -PRESENT TOO GENERAL CUSTOM OF UNNECESSARILY EMPLOYING -MEN-MIDWIVES. *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm -concept and trademark. 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