"She now, at length, submitted to an examination _per vaginam_, which I made from behind, as she stood erect by the bed. The finger failed at first to reach the os and cervix uteri, until, on pressing upwards, as far as possible, I found the uterus lying transversely, the os higher than the body, pointing to the right side, and the body of the uterus lodged in the left side of the pelvis, near the groin, where it seemed to be firmly fixed. I now made her kneel on the bed, with the head low, so as to elevate the nates, and cautiously tried through the rectum, as well as _per vaginam_, to raise the uterus from its position into the median line, but without success. An attempt on the following day was with no better result.... After the interval of a month, I made another examination _per vaginam_, also of the nipples, and found no change in either. After the interval of another month I found the nipples and areolae precisely as at first; but, to my great satisfaction, the uterus had nearly righted itself in position, and the body of it was rounded and plainly enlarged. The lady also hinted a suspicion that she had quickened."... "In this instance my suspicion of pregnancy (which at first was very slight) rested on the interruption of menstruation alone. The health improved from the time of quickening, and the pregnancy went on. I may add that I have no doubt the latero-version of the womb occurred at the period of the miscarriage;... and that its righting itself, at length, was the consequence of its increasing bulk."[30] Such is the practice of man-midwifery! We observe that, in this revolting case, the disgrace, the shame, the infamy of the poor patient was endured in vain, and that after all the tentatives, and "manipulations," and experiments, so perseveringly repeated by the accoucheur, without any beneficial result whatsoever, nature alone was the true physician. We will conclude this chapter of horrors in the strong and earnest language of the late Sir Anthony Carlisle, with the conviction that his burning words will go right home to the hearts of those who may not hitherto have given a thought to this fearful violation of the rights of nature. "The woman who sacrifices her modesty to fashion, her person to indignity, and her husband's honour to the sneers and contempt of her male midwife, is below contempt. She is a disgrace to her sex! "It is my firm opinion that the practice of man-midwifery compromises the character and morality of our country. It is demoralizing to society, an insult to virtuous women, and a foolscap to men. If not checked and abolished, the pretensions to female modesty, and a respect for the decorums of society, will eventually be altogether excluded from the female character." CHAPTER III.