To Stephen Paul Engleheart 2 June [1869]1
Down
June 2d
My dear Sir
Will you do me a favour by observing during next few weeks any women just towards the end of parturition especially in a bad labour; you will, I believe, observe that at the last & worst efforts & pains, they close the orbicular muscles round the eyelids, like a Baby when crying; now what I want to know is whether this muscular contraction cause a few tears to flow. Of course the woman must not be crying from suffering in the ordinary sense. I want to hear about the same point during violent retching, when nothing is actually thrown from the stomach, which cd. get into the nose, & thus irritate the membrane, & cause tears.— I shd be very grateful for any information on above point.—2
As I am writing I will ask one other question: have you heard any credible account of good being derived in dyspepsia & nervous weakness from “Pulvermachers Volta-Electric Chain bands”; I see he quotes, Sir C. Locock, H. Holland, Ferguson &c, &c.—3
Are all the statements quackery & lies, or wd it be worth my trying as an experiment?
Forgive me troubling you & believe me | Yours sincerely | Ch. Darwin
Footnotes
Summary
Asks about orbicular muscles in eyes of women suffering in labour.
Inquires about treatment for dyspeptic weakness involving "Volta-Electric Chain bands".
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-6771
- From
- Charles Robert Darwin
- To
- Stephen Paul Engleheart
- Sent from
- Down
- Source of text
- American Philosophical Society (Mss.B.D25.398)
- Physical description
- ALS 4pp
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 6771,” accessed on 26 September 2022, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-6771.xml
Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 17