allowing any passage for the Catamenia, although exceptions to this law are frequently mentioned by men of science,[365] which have probably arisen from the observation of an occasional sanguineous discharge from the vessels of the vagina; and which, says _Burns_,[366] are neither regular as to the monthly period, nor of the same quality as that of the menses, and he concludes by remarking, that he has never known any instance where menstruation was perfect and regular during the whole of pregnancy. _Dr. Denman_[367], whose authority upon such a question must carry with it very considerable weight, says, “a suppression of the _Menses_ is one of the never-failing consequences of conception, at least I have not met with a single instance to the contrary.” Conception is succeeded by many important changes in the constitution, that are indicated by affections of various parts, and which, therefore, to a certain degree, afford _signs_ of a woman having conceived; and indeed in the earlier periods of pregnancy, they afford us the only means of judging of the fact; and although they are necessarily ambiguous and uncertain, yet _Dr. Denman_ observes, that from the common occurrence of the case, and the particular attention which is paid to it, a faculty of discrimination is acquired which generally prevents error. The medical jurist, however, can never receive such testimony as satisfactory, and it is fortunate that the law rarely requires elucidation upon this point, for in those cases of violent death in which it may be important to ascertain the fact, the light of dissection will assist our decision; and in cases where the plea of pregnancy has been set up, in bar of punishment, it will not avail, unless it be so far advanced as to render our investigation easy and satisfactory. The following symptoms may be said to afford the earliest indications of pregnancy: the disappearance of the catamenia; nauseating sickness, or vomiting, chiefly occurring in the morning, and after meals, and which in some cases is almost coeval with conception, and often resembles sea-sickness, both in the violence of its symptoms, and the obstinacy with which it resists every measure of relief; vertigo and drowsiness; heart-burn and diarrhæa, frequently supervene; the appetite becomes depraved; there is a feverish diathesis; the breasts swell, and the nipples are surrounded by an areola, or brown circle, which is more or less dark according to the complexion of the woman; the countenance becomes altered, the eyes appearing larger, and the mouth wider; and a peculiar sharpness is given to every feature; the temper also becomes unnaturally peevish, and the sleep is broken and disturbed. Subsidence, or falling in of the abdomen is recorded by the old French proverb as another sign of pregnancy, “Dans une ventre plat Un enfant il y a.”