LYING-IN women principally require an early assistence. For unless they are pregnant of a monster with two heads (a case so rare, that in the practice of a thousand surgeons, in their whole life, it may not twice, nor perhaps once fall in their way) there need never be an occasion of recourse to a surgeon: for in this case, of a monster, it must be the affair of a most profoundly skilled operator and not of merely a common man-midwife. RUN over all the authors who have written on this matter, and you will find that the men-midwives, for want of right, and of true knowledge of the profession, have introduced themselves by force and violence, as one may say, sword in hand, with those murderous instruments: read the ancients, it will appear, that they cut their way in, with iron and steel, forerunners of murders. Our moderns to palliate these violences and injustices, agree on one hand, that the common and gentlest methods are to be preferred: but, on the other hand, when you tell them, that the common and gentlest methods are the hands of women, who ought therefore to be preferred to the men, and to be restored to their antient and rightful possession; then you will see the whole pack open in full cry: to arms! to arms! is the word: and what are those arms by which they maintain themselves, but those instruments, those weapons of death! would not one imagine, that the art of midwifery was an art-military? AS for we women, we can but in our weakness groan under this tyranny. Our protest, joined to that of reason and experience, avails little. Our wise innovators have a great deal more wit than we have; but it is not a wit of which we would be ambitious: for it serves them no better, than under the pretence of saving to be paid for destroying: at least it is not unfrequently so. OBJECTION the Ninth. OPINION often makes a stronger impression on us than truth. Whatever you may say to the contrary, the imagination will prevail of life, being safer in the hands of a man than of a woman. For, in short, of what importance can a woman be, who, after all, is but a woman? This is so true, that most of our women now a-days will have a man-midwife, some through prejudice, others through good œconomy, because if there are any prescriptions necessary for the patient, the man-midwife, who is also stiled the doctor, will write for them; whereas, if there is a midwife, a physician may moreover be requisite: this is an additional charge. ANSWER. A HAPPINESS founded on opinion only, is rather too slightly founded, especially in a point where not less than life is at stake. I know there are women so obstinately wedded to their opinion of certain pretended doctors, that they would not look upon it to be a good office done them, though certainly it would be one, to undeceive them. I also know that the title of doctor is so common in this country, that it ought to be very cheap.