Its
mother had been covered by a hart.
Writing in 1557, Lycosthenes reports the mythical birth of a
serpent by a woman. It is quite possible that some known and
classified type of monstrosity was indicated here in vague terms.
In 1726 Mary Toft, of Godalming, in Surrey, England, achieved
considerable notoriety throughout Surrey, and even over all
England, by her extensively circulated statements that she bore
rabbits. Even at so late a day as this the credulity of the
people was so great that many persons believed in her. The woman
was closely watched, and being detected in her maneuvers
confessed her fraud. To show the extent of discussion this case
called forth, there are no less than nine pamphlets and books in
the Surgeon-General's library at Washington devoted exclusively
to this case of pretended rabbit-breeding. Hamilton in 1848, and
Hard in 1884, both report the births in this country of fetal
monstrosities with heads which showed marked resemblance to those
of dogs. Doubtless many of the older cases of the supposed
results of bestiality, if seen to-day, could be readily
classified among some of our known forms of monsters. Modern
investigation has shown us the sterile results of the connections
between man and beast or between beasts of different species, and
we can only wonder at the simple credulity and the imaginative
minds of our ancestors.
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