Dear Sir

When I had the pleasure of meeting M^rs. Litchfield the other day at M^r. Dicey’s I mentioned a case of inheritance in my family which she wished me to inform you of.¹

When I was a boy about 9 or 10 years of age I recollect my father² telling me that I turned in my sleep like he does, that is, with my face to the bed, in fact burrying, ⁠⟨⁠    ⁠⟩⁠ mom⁠⟨⁠en⁠⟩⁠t of turning, my ⁠⟨⁠f⁠⟩⁠ace in the be⁠⟨⁠d⁠⟩⁠   I observed that my eldest daughter³ (now 12 years old) was some years ago with her ⁠⟨⁠f⁠⟩⁠ace burried in the be⁠⟨⁠d⁠⟩⁠   and mentioning this to the nurse & saying that the child must be nearly suffocating, she replied that the child will come all right presently it was only her odd way of turning till she got all the bedcloth round her, different to her other sisters⁴ who lie on their backs and turn in the proper way— My eldest girl and my youngest child⁵ (no⁠⟨⁠  ⁠⟩⁠ ⁠⟨⁠    ⁠⟩⁠ of 4 years old) are s⁠⟨⁠tr⁠⟩⁠ikingly like me (the same species I even see in the boy the resemblance of my right hand’s forefinger slightly crooked from modelling) and both up to this day turn in sleep the perverse way— My two other girls who are quite like their mother⁶ an english woman turn both the other or proper way & not like I still do as far as I know & my wife confirms. A perhaps more ⁠⟨⁠    ⁠⟩⁠ case of inheritance is ⁠⟨⁠the i⁠⟩⁠nfluence of the moon on some of my family   My father told me that his fathers brother⁷ walked in his sleep in the time of full moon (as he did himself in a less degree) and that one day his inkhorn

which had a point at the end to stick into the school-desk was found sticking in the wooden roof (Schindeldach”)⁸ of their House at Leutschau Zipser Comitat Hungary—⁹ on to which he must have crawled in the night   I ⁠⟨⁠    ⁠⟩⁠ used to get frequently out of bed when a child during moontide only of late years I am perfectly indifferent to its influence, but up to my twenty fifth or sixth year I was as restless as my eldest girl used to be, whom we have several times discovered sitting upright in bed at full moon, though quite unconsious of it. To the best of my knowledge she has now lost this and in my boy ⁠⟨⁠n⁠⟩⁠o trace of it is visible nor in my other 2 children. Another peculiarity which I inherit from my father and which is transmitted to my son is that of the eyes which give out a red light in the dark like those of a dog. My father and I both lost this peculiarity also as we grew up but it is still to be seen in my son and known & observed by his sisters and the servants as a common occurence

None of my th⁠⟨⁠ree⁠⟩⁠ children (girls) have ever shewn a sign of this.

I shall be happy if these few facts are of any interest to you they were freshly forced to my memory when I read that wonderfully interesting book of the Expressions of the Emotions¹⁰

I have the honour to be Dear Sir with the expressions of my greatest esteem & admiration | yours truly | J. E. Boehm