106 SEX-LORE 



Jews, etc. The Bible or Prayer Book is often put 

 under the woman's pillow to protect her. 



It sometimes happens, though rarely, that part of 

 the foetal membrane tears off during birth and clings 

 to the advancing head of the child. This piece of 

 membrane is called a caul, and is supposed to bring 

 good luck to the original owner, and even to others 

 who may come to possess it. In England adver- 

 tisements for cauls were sometimes inserted in The 

 Times newspaper. In 1779 twenty guineas was the 

 price for one; in 1848 it had dropped to six guineas. 

 Sailors believe that the possession of a caul on board 

 a ship will prevent shipwreck and drowning. Great 

 value is also attached to the piece of navel cord 

 which is left on the child's body to dry up. It is 

 sometimes put into a little bag and hung on the 

 child's neck as an amulet. 



Perhaps one of the strangest customs and yet not 

 strange, after all we have heard about the primitive 

 mind is that of the couvade. The couvade consists 

 in the lying-up of the man when his wife gives birth 

 to a child. He pretends to go through labour, and 

 is waited on by his friends and sometimes even by 

 his wife, who has to get out of bed straight after her 

 confinement. Various explanations of this quaint 

 custom have been offered. The people themselves 

 hardly seem aware of its origin. Some say it is to 

 mislead the devil or evil spirits, so as to ward off an 

 attack on the man's wife. Another interpretation is, 

 that as the father gives the soul to the child, he must 

 take precautions just as if he were giving birth to 

 the child. Again, another reason given is that it 

 signifies the man's sympathy with his wife and his 



