VARIATION. 68 



cial as affecting a single individual, and that 

 often suddenly and at a known time. Thus the 

 latter case is well illustrated by such paroxys- 

 mal occurrences as monstrous births of de- 

 formed, diseased, deficient and dwarf animals 

 resulting from a sudden shock to the mother 

 when pregnant. Perhaps to the same class are 

 to be referred those cases where the mother's 

 imagination has been deeply impressed at the 

 time of impregnation, and sometimes even 

 marking the offspring with some deformity cor- 

 responding with the subject of this mental im- 

 pression. It has been known for many centu- 

 ries that deformities, imbecility and other de- 

 fects in the offspring were caused by the mother 

 receiving during pregnancy a sudden fright or 

 being stricken with grief, and that the resulting 

 defect was very likely to be transmitted to pos- 

 terity. One of the most frequently cited in- 

 stances of the persistency of a suddenly acquired 

 peculiarity of this sort is that of Lambert, "the 

 porcupine man," whose skin was covered with 

 "warty projections which were periodically 

 moulted." His six children and two grandsons 

 were similarly affected, and the peculiarity was 

 observed for at least four generations, occurring 

 only in the males among his descendants. The 

 instance recorded in the book of Genesis of 

 Jacob's device to secure a large number of kids 

 which should be "ring-straked, speckled and 



