It has also been asserted that impregnation generally excites a universal tremor in all parts of the body, and that it is associated with more than an ordinary degree of pleasure.
It must not be supposed, however, that enjoyment and impregnation bear necessarily to each other the relation of cause and effect, although this is the popular opinion. From too implicit a reliance upon this current belief, wives are often incredulous as to their true condition.
It is a fact that in some cases sickness at the stomach manifests itself almost simultaneously with the act of fecundation. Authentic instances are on record of wives reckoning their confinement nine months from the first feeling of nausea, without ever making a mistake.
In conclusion, it may be said that peculiar sensations are often experienced, frequently of a character difficult to explain; and many modern authors attach to them a marked value. In this manner it is possible for a woman to be satisfied at the moment as to the change which has taken place; yet the evidence is often deceptive, and sometimes nothing peculiar is noticed.
From the period of conception the mother has no direct knowledge of the process that is going on within, excepting by the effects of the increasing pressure upon other parts, until 'quickening' takes place, which belongs to another part of our subject.
The signs and symptoms of pregnancy will be explained in full when we come to treat of the pregnant condition in a future chapter.
HOW TO RETAIN THE AFFECTIONS OF A HUSBAND.
Ah! this is a secret indeed!—worth the wand of the magician, the lamp of Aladdin, or the wishing-cap of the fairy. What could any of these give in exchange for the love of a husband? Yet this pearl of great price, how often is it treated as lightly and carelessly as if it was any bauble of Brummagem!
'My husband,' we have heard young wives say, 'why, it is his duty to love me. Why did he marry me if he is not going to love me, love me fondly, love me ever?'
Yes, we all know