It is a popular belief that the imagination of the mother affects the child in the womb. It is asserted that infants are often born with various marks and deformities corresponding in character with objects which had made a vivid impression on the maternal mind during pregnancy. This is a subject of great practical interest. We shall therefore give it the careful attention which it deserves. We have already discussed the operation of the laws of inheritance. It was then stated that the whole story of maternal influence had not been told--that the mother could communicate qualities she never possessed. The potency of imagination at the time of conception over the child has been mentioned. It is now our design to consider its effects, during the period of pregnancy, upon the physical structure and the mental attributes of the offspring. We shall have occasion hereafter, in speaking of nursing, to illustrate the manner in which the child may be affected by maternal impressions acting through the mother's milk. What can be more wonderful than this intimate union between the mother and her child? It is only equaled by that mysterious influence of the husband over the wife, by which he so impresses her system that she often comes in time to resemble him both in mental and physical characteristics, and even transmits his peculiarities to her children by a second marriage. Father, mother, and child are one. We wish here to premise that our remarks will be based upon the conclusions of skilled and scientific observers only, whose position and experience no medical man will question. All the instances to be related are given upon unimpeachable authority. They are not the narrations of ignorant, credulous people; they are all fully vouched for. We record here, as elsewhere, only the sober utterances of science. The great importance and utility of an acquaintance with them will be patent to every intelligent man and woman. The effect of the mind upon the body is well known. Strong, long-continued mental emotion may induce or cure disease. Heart disease may be produced by a morbid direction of the thoughts to that organ. Warts disappear under the operation of a strong belief in the efficacy of some nonsensical application. In olden time, scrofula, or the 'king's evil', was cured by the touch of the king. The mind of the patient, of course, accomplished the cure. Under the influence of profound mental emotion, the hair of the beautiful Marie Antoinette became white in a short time. During the solitary voyage of Madame Condamine down the wild and lonely Amazon, a similar change took place. Many other instances might be adduced; but those given are sufficient to show that strong and persistent mental impressions will exert a mysterious transforming power over the body. These facts will pave the way to the consideration of corresponding effects, through the mother's mind, upon the development of the unborn child, forming a part of herself _in utero._