WWwM'^' ' " . / PLAIN FACTS FOR Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2017 with funding from Duke University Libraries https://archive.org/details/plainfactsforold01kell 1 PLAIN FACTS FO §LD AND BY J. K. KELLOGG, M. D., MEJtBER AXEKICAiJ PUBLIC HEALTH ASSOCIATION, AMERICAN SOCIETY POB THE ADVANCEMENT OP SCIENCE, AMERICAN SOCIETY OP MI- CROSCOPY, MEMBER MICH. STATE BOARD OF HEALTH, MEDICAL SUPERINTENDENT OF THE BATTLE CREEK SANITARIUM, AUTHOR OP NUMEROUS WORKS ON HEALTH, ETC. e 36 PUBLISHED BY # I. : e '. BURLINGTON, IOWA. 1884. DUNG, Entered, according to Act of Congress, In the year 1879, by J. H. KELLOGG, M. D.. In the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington, D. C. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. p PREFACE. The publishers of this work offer no apology for presenting it to the reading pubhc, since the wide prevalence of the evils which it exposes is sufficient wan-ant for its publication. The subj ects with which it deals are of vital consequence to the human race ; and it is of the utmost importance that every effort should be made to dispel the gross ignorance which almost universally prevails, by the wide diffusion, in a proper manner, of information of the character con- tained in this volume. This book has been written not for the young only, nor for any single class of persons, but for all who aie old enough to be capable of understanding and appreciatmg it. The prime object of its preparation has been to call attention to the great prevalence of sexual excesses of all Idnds, and the heinous crimes resulting from some forms of sexual transgression, and to point out the terrible results which inevitably follow the violation of sexual law. vi PREFACE. In order to make more clear and comprehensible the teachings of nature respecting the laws regulat- ing the sexual function, and the evils resulting from their violation, it has seemed necessary to preface the practical part of the subject by a concise description of the anatomy of reproduction. In this portion of ■ the work especial pains has been taken to avoid any- thing like indelicacy of expression, yet it has not been deemed advisable to sacrifice perspicuit}’^ of ideas to any prudish notions of modesty. It is hoped that the reader "will bear in mind that the language of science is always chaste in itself, and that it is only tlwough a corrupt imagination that it becomes invest- ed with impurity. The author has constantly en- deavored to impart information in the most straight- forward, simple, and concise manner. Tlie work should be judiciously circulated, and to secure this the publishers will take care to place it in the hands of agents competent to introduce it with discretion ; yet it may be read without injury by any one who is sufficiently mature to undei-stand it. Great care has been taken to exclude from its pages those accounts of the habits of vicious persons, and descriptions of the mechanical accessories of \ice, with w hich many works upon sexual subjects abound. PREFACE. Vll The first editions of tlie work were issued with no httle anxiety on the part of both author and pub- lishers as to how it would be received by the reading public. It was anticipated that no little adverse crit- icism, and perhaps severe condemnation, would be pronounced by many whose education and general mode of thought had been such as to unfit them to appreciate it ; but it was hoped that persons of more thoughtful and unbiased minds would receive the work kindly, and would readily co-operate with the publishers in its circulation. This anticipation has been more than realized. Wherever the book has been introduced, it has met with a warm reception ; and of the several thousand persons into whose hands the work has been placed, hundrexls have gratefully acknowledged the benefit which they have received from its perusal, and it is hoped that a large propor- tion have been greatly benefited. The cordial reception which the work has met from the press everywhere has undoubtedly contrib- uted in great measure to its popularity. The demand for the work has exhausted several editions in rapid succession, and has seemed to require its preparation in the greatly enlarged and in every way improved form in which it now appears. The addition of two VUl PREFA CE. whole chapters for the purpose of bringing the sub- ject directly before the minds of boys and girls in a proper manner, adds greatly to the interest and value of the work, as there seemed to be a slight deficiency in this particular m the former editions. J. H. K. Battle Creek, Mien., October, iS'jg. CONTENTS. PAGE. INTRODUCTION, 1& SEX IN LIVING FORMS. Living beings — Animals and vegetables — Life force — Reproduction — Spontaneous generation — Sim- plest form of generation — Hermapbrodism — Sex in plants — Sex in animals — Other sexual differen- ces — Men and women differ in form — Modern ma- •» nia for female pedestrianism — 3,000 quarter miles in 3,000 quarter hours — A female walking-match — The male and female brain — Vital organs of man and woman — Woman less muscular, more endur- ing — A pathological difference — Why a woman does not breathe like a man — The reproductive el- ements — Sexual organs of plants — Polygamous flowers — The female organ of flowers — Sexual organs of animals — The spermatozoon — The ovum — Fecundation — Fecundation in flowers — Union of the ovum and zoosperm — Curious modes of re- production— Human beings are developed buds — Fecundation in hermaphrodites — Development — Unprotected development — Partial protection ix CONTENTS. PAGB. of the ovum — Development in the higher animals and in man — The uterus — Uterine gestation — The primitive ti-ace — Curious relations to lower animals — Simplicity of early structures — The stages of growth — Duration of gestation — Uterine j life — How the unborn infant breathes — Parturi- | tion — Changes in the child at birth — Nursing — Anatomy of the reproductive organs — Male or- j gans — The prostate gland — Female organs — Pu- j berty — Influence of diet on puberty — Bnmettes , naturally precocious — Remarkable precocity — i Premature development occasions early decay — Early puberty a cause for anxiety — Changes which occur at puberty — Menstruation — Nature of menstruation — A critical period — Important hints — Menorrhagia — Dysmenorrhoea — Amenor- rhcea and chlorosis — Hysteria — Prevention better than cure — Extra-uterine pregnancy — Twins — jMonsters — Hybrids — Law of sex — Heredity — Ante-natal influences — Law universal — A source of crime — Circumcision — Castration 25 THE SEXUAL RELATIONS. Sexual precocity — Astonishing ignorance — Inherited passion — Various causes of sexual precocity — Senile sexuality — Marriage — Time to marry — Application of the law of heredity — Early mar- L CONTENTS. xi PAGE- riage — Mutual adaptation — Disparity of age — Courtship — Long Courtships — Flirtation — Youthful flirtations-Associations-Polyandry — Divorce — Who may not marry — Do not be in a hurry . 116 CHASTITY. Idental unchastity — Amativeness — Unchaste conver- sation — Causes of unchastity — Early causes — Diet vs. chastity — Clerical lapses — Tobacco and vice — Bad books — Idleness — Dress and sensual- ity — How young women fall — Fashion and vice — Reform in dress needed — Round dances — Physical causes of unchastity — Constipation — Intestinal worms — Local uncleanness — Irritation of the bladder — Modern modes of life 174 CONTINENCE. Continence not injurious — Does not produce impotence - — Difi&culty of continence — Helps to continence — The will — Diet — Exercise — Bathing — Relig- ion 205 MARITAL EXCESSES. Object of the reproductive functions — Results of ex- cesses — Effects upon husbands — Testimony of a French physician — Continence of trainers — A cause of throat disease — A cause of consumption CONTENTS. PAGE. — Effects on wives — The greatest cause of uterine disease — Legalized murder — Indulgence during menstruation — Effects upon offspring — Indul- gence during pregnancy — Effect upon the char- acter — A selfish objection — Brutes and savages more considerate — What may be done — Early moderation 216 PREVENTION OF CONCEPTION: ITS EVILS AND DANGERS. Conjugal onanism — “ Male continence” — Shaker views — Moral bearings of the question — Unconsidered murders — The charge disputed — Difiiculties — Woman’s rights— What to do — A compromise 250 INFANTICIDE AND ABORTION, Not a modern crime — Causes of the crime — The nat- ure of the crime — Instruments of crime — Ke- sults of this unnatural crime — An unwelcome child — The remedy — Murder by proxy 271 THE SOCIAL EVIL. Unchastity of the ancients — Causes of the “ social evil ” — Libidinous blood — Gluttony — Precocious sexuality — Man’s lewdness — Fashion — Lack of early training — Sentimental literature — Poverty — Ignorance — Disease — Eesults of licentiousness — Thousands of victims — Effects of vice ineradica- CONTENTS. xiii PAGE. ble — The only hope — Hereditary effects of vene- real disease — Man the only transgressor — Origin of the foul disease — Cure of the “ social evil ” — Prevention the only cure— Early training — Teach self-control — Mental culture — Early associations 284 SOLITARY VICE. Alarming prevalence of the vice — Testimony of emi- nent authors — Not a modem vice— Victims of all ages — Unsuspected rottenness — Causes of the habit — Evil associations — Corruption in schools — Wicked nurses — Not an uncommon case — The instmctor in vice — Local disease — An illustrative case — Other physical causes — Influence of stim- ulants — Signs of self-abuse — Suspicious signs — General debility — Early symptoms of consump- tion — Premature and defective development — Sudden change in disposition — Lassitude — Sleep- lessness — Failure of mental capacity — Fickleness — Untrustworthiness — Love of solitude — Bash- fulness — Unnatural boldness — Mock piety — Con- fusion of ideas — Round shoulders — Weak backs — Pains in the limbs — Stiffness of the joints— Paralysis — Gait — Bad positions — Lack of devel- opment of the breasts — Capricious appetite — Eat- ing clay — The use of tobacco — Unnatural pale- ness — Acne — Biting the finger nails — Palpita- tion of the heart — Hysteria — Chlorosis — Epilep- CONTENTS. PAGE. tic fits — Wetting the bed — Unchastity of speech — Positive signs — Results of secret vice — Efiects in males — Local efiects — Urethral irritation — Stricture — Enlarged prostate — Urinary diseases — Priapism — Piles — Prolapsus of rectum — Exten- sion of irritation — Atrophy — Varicocele — Noc- turnal emissions — Exciting causes — Are occa- sional emissions necessary or harmless ? — Emis- sions not necessary to health — Eminent testimony — Diurnal emissions — Cause of diurnal emis- sions — Internal emissions — An important cau- tion — Impotence — General eflFects — General de- bility — Consumption — Dyspepsia — Heai't-disease — Throat affections — Nervous diseases — Epilepsy — Pailure of special senses — Spinal irritation — Insanity — A victim’s mental condition pictured — Efiects in females — Local efiects — Leucorrhoea — Uterine disease — Cancer of the womb — Ster- ility — Atrophy of mammae — Pruritis — General eflfects — A common cause of hysteria — Efiects upon offspring — Treatment of self-abuse and its effects — Prevention of secret vice — Cultivate chastity — Timely warning — Curative treatment of the effects of self-abuse — Cure of the habit — .How may a person help himself? — Hopeful cour- age — General regimen and treatment — Mental and moral treatment — Exercise — Never overeat — Eat but twice a day — Discard all stimulating CONTENTS. XV PAGB. food — Stimulating drinks — Sleeping — Dreams — Can dreams be controlled ? — Bathing — Improve- ment of general health — Prostitution as a remedy — Marriage — Local treatment — Cool sitz bath — Ascending douche — Abdominal bandage — Wet compress — Hot and cold applications to the spine — Local fomentations — Local cold bathing — Ene- mata — Electricity — Internal applications — Use of electricity — Circumcision — Impotence — V ari- cocele — Drugs — Rings — Quacks — Closing advice 315 A CHAPTER FOR BOYS. Who are boys ? — What are boys for ? — Boys the hope of the world — Man the masterpiece^How a no- ble character is ruined — The marvelous human machine — The two objects of human existence — The nutritive apparatus — The mo^dng ap- paratus — The thinking and feeling apparatus — The purifying apparatus — The reproduc- tive apparatus — How a noble charaeter and a sound bod-y must be formed — The downhill road — Self-abuse — A dreadful sin — Self-murderers — What makes boys dwarfs — Scrawny and hol- low-eyed boys — Old boys — What makes idiots — Young dyspeptics — The race ruined by boys — Cases illustrating the effects of self-abuse — Two young wrecks — A prodigal youth — Barely es- caped — A lost soul— The results of one trans- Xvi COISTTENTS. PAGE. gression — A hospital case — An old offender — The sad end of a young victim — From bad to worse — An indignant father — Disgusted with life — Bad company — Bad language — Bad books — Vile pictures — Evil thoughts — Influence of other bad habits — Closing advice to boys and young men 419 A CHAPTER FOR GIRLS. Girlhood — How to develop beauty and loveliness — The human form divine — A wonderful process — Hu- man buds — How beauty is marred — A beauty- destroying vice — Terrible effects of secret vice — Remote effects — Causes which lead girls astray — Vicious companions — Whom to avoid — Senti- mental books — Various causes— Modesty woman’s safeguard — A few sad cases — A pitiful case — A mind dethroned — A penitent victim — A ruined girl — The danger of boarding-schools — A desper- ate case — A last word — A few words to boys and girls 470 INTRODUCTION. OOKS almost without number have been writ- ten upon the subject treated in this work. Unfortunately, most of these works are utterly unre- liable, being filled with gross misrepresentations and exaggerations, and being designed as advertising me- diums for ignorant and unscrupulous charlatans, or worse than worthless patent nostrums. To add to their power for evil, many of them abound with pic- torial illustrations which are in no way conducive to virtue or morahty, but rather stimulate the animal propensities and excite lewd imaginations. Books of this character are usually widely circulated; and their pernicious influence is fully as great as that of works of a more grossly obscene character. In most of the few instances in which the evident motive of the author is not of an unworthy character, the man- ner of presenting the subject is unfortunately such that it more frequently than otherwise has a strong tendency in a direction exactly the opposite of that intended and desired. The writer of this work has endeavored to avoid the latter eAul by adopting a style of presentation quite different from that gener- ally pursued. Instead of restricting the reader’s at- tention rigidly to the sexual function in man, his mind is diverted by frequent references to corre- 2 [ 17 ] 18 INTBOD BCTION. Objections Considered. Speaking of Sexual blatters Improper. sponding functions in lower animals and in the vege- table kingdom. By this means, not only is an addi- tional fund of information imparted, but the sexual function in man is divested of its sensuality. It is viewed as a fact of natural history, and is associated with the innocence of animal life and the chaste love- liness of flowers. Thus the subject comes to be re- garded from a purely physiological standpoint, and is liberated from the gross annual instinct which is the active cause of sensuahty. There are so many weU-meaning individuals who object to the agitation of this subject in any manner whatever, that it may be profitable to consider in tliis connection some of the principal objections which are urged against imparting information on sexual subjects, especially against giving knowledge to the young. I. Sexual matters improper to he spoken of to the young. This objection is often raised, it being urged that these matters are too delicate to be even suggested to children ; that they ought to be kept in total igno- rance of all sexual matters and relations until nature indicates that they are fitted to receive them. It is doubtless true that children raised in a perfectly nat- ural way would have no sexual thoughts until pu- berty, at least, and it woifid be better if it might be so ; but from facts pointed out in succeeding por- tions of this work, it is certain that at the present IA^T£OD UCTION. 19 Information Eagerly Sought. Mock Modesty. time children nearly always do have some vague ideas of sexual relations long before puberty, and often at a very early age. It is thus apparent that by speaking to children of sexual matters in a proper manner, a new subject is not introduced to them, but it is merely presenting to them in a true hght a sub- ject of which they already have vague ideas ; and thus, by satisfying a natural curiosity, they are saved from supplying by their imaginations distorted images and exaggerated conceptions, and from seeking to ob- tain the desired information from evil sources whence they would derive untold injury. What reason is there that the subject of the sexual functions should be treated with such maudlin secrecy ? Why should the function of generation be regarded as something low and beastly, unfit to be spoken of by decent people on decent occasions ? We can con- ceive of no answer except the worse than beastly use to which the function has been so generally put by man. There is nothing about the sexual organism which makes it less pure than the lungs or the stom- ach. “ Unto the pure all things are pure,” may have been written especially for our times, when there is such a vast amount of mock modesty ; when so much pretense of virtue covers such a world of iniquity and vice. The young lady who goes into a spasm of virtuous hysterics upon hearing the word “ leg,” is perhaps just the one who at home riots her imag- ination in voluptuous French novels, if she commits no grosser breach of chastity. The parents who are 20 INTRODUCTION. Is Knowledge Dangerous ? Bad Sources of Information. the most opposed to imparting information to the yoimg are often those who have themselves indulged in sexual excesses. In the minds of such persons the sexual organs and functions, and everything even re- motely cormected with them, are associated only witli ideas of lust and gross sensuality. No wonder that they wish to keep such topics in the dark. With such thoughts they cannot well bear the scrutiny of ■vdidue. Sexual subjects are not, of course, proper subjects for conversation at all times, or at any time in a spirit of levity and flippancy. 11. Knowledge is dangerous. Very true, knowledge is dangeroirs, but ignorance is more dangerous stih ; or, rather, partial knowledge is more dangerous than a more complete understand- ing of facts. Children, young people, wiU not grow up in innocent ignorance. If, in obedience to custom, they are not encoui-aged to inquire of their parents about the mysteries of life, they wiU seek to satisfy then- curiosity by appealing to older or better informed .companions. They wiU eagerly read any book which promises any hint on the m 3 ^sterious subject, and will embrace every opportunity, proper or improper — and most likely to be the latter — of obtaining the coveted information. Knowledge obtained in this uncertain and irregular way must of necessity be very imreliable. Many times — generally, in fact — it is of a most corrupting character, and the clandes- INTIiOBUCTIOy, 21 I Knowledge thongh Dangerous Will Be Obtained. Man Deficient in Instinct. I tine manner in which it is obtained is itself corrupt- | ing and demorahzing. A child ought to be taught I to expect aU such information from its parents, and it ought not to be disappointed. Again, while it is true that knowledge is danger- ous, it is equally true that this dangerous knowledge will be gained sometime, at any rate ; and as it must come, better let it be imparted by the parent, who can administer proper warnings and cautions along with it, than by any other individual. Thus may the child be shielded from injury to which he would otherwise be certainly exposed. in. Young people should he left to find out these things for themselves. If human beings received much of their knowledge through instinct, as animals do, this might be a proper course ; but man gets his knowledge largely by in- struction. Young people will get their first knowl- | edge of sexual matters mostly by instruction from some source. How much better, then, as we have already shown, to let them obtain this knowledge from the most natural and most rehable source ! The following paragraph from Dr. Ware is to the point : — “ But putting aside the question whether we ought to hide this subject wholly from the young if we could, the truth, it is to be feared, is that we cannot if we would. Admitting it to be desirable, every man of experience in life will pronounce it to be im- 22 I NT BOB UCTION. Wlien to Impart Knowledge. How to Instruct. practicable. If, then, we cannot prevent the minds of children from being engaged in some way on this subject, may it not be better to forestall evil impres- sions by implanting good ones, or at least to mingle such good ones with the evil as the nature of the case admits ? Let us be at least as wise as the crafty enemy of man, and cast in a little wheat with his tares ; and among the most effectual methods of doing this is to impart to the young just and religious views of the nature and purposes of the relation which the Creator has established between the two sexes.” When Shall Information Be Given ? — It is a matter of some difficulty to decide the exact age at wliich information on sexual subjects should be given to the young. It may be adopted as a safe rule, how- ever, that a certain amount of knowledge should be imparted as soon as there is manifested a curiosity in this direction. If there is reason to beheve that the mind of the child is exercised in this direction, even though he may have made no particular inquiries, information should not be withheld. How to Impart Proper Knowledge . — No little skill may be displayed in introducing these subjects to the mind of the young pei-son in such a way as to avoid arousing his passions and creating sexual ex- citement. Perhaps the general plan followed in the fii-st portion of this work wiU be found a very pleas- ant and successful method if studied thoroughly and well executed. INTMOD UCTION. 23 Instruct by Degrees, The “ Silver Spade Theory. AE information should not be given at once. First obtain the chbd’s confidence, and assure him by can- dor anl unreserve that you will give him aU needed information ; then, as he encounters difficulties, he will resort for explanation where he knows he will receive satisfaction. When the little one questions, answer trutlifuUy and carefully. The following paragraph by Dr. Wilkinson is sug- gestive : — “ When we are little boys and girls, our fibrst in- quiries about our whence are answered by the author- itative dogma of the ‘ silver spade ; ’ we were dug up with that implement. By degrees the fact comes forth. The public, however, remains for ages in the silver-spade condition of mind with regard to the sci- ence of the fact ; and the doctors foster it by telling us that the whole subject is a medical property. . . There is nothing wrong in the knowing ; and, though the passions might be stimulated in the fiist moments by such information, yet in the second instance they will be calmed by it ; and, ceasing to be inflamed by the additional goad of curiosity and imagination, they will cool down under the hydropathic influences of science. Well-stated knowledge did never yet con- tribute to human inflammation ; and we much ques- tion whether the whole theory of the silver spade be not a mistake ; and whether children should not be told the truth from the first ; that before desire and imagination are born, the. young mind may receive, in its cool innocency, a knowledge of the future ob- 1 24 I N'T RO DUG T ION. Tested by Experience. Benefit from Timely Warning. jects of powers and faculties which are to be sub- ject afterward to such strong excitements.” The experience of hundreds in the circulation of this work has proven beyond all chance for ques- tion the truth of the foregoing remarks, and often in a most striking manner. Scores of persons have written us, “ I would give all I possess in this world could I have had a copy of ‘ Plain Facts ’ placed in my hands when I was a lad,” or, “ Words cannot ex- press the gratitude I would now feel had some kind friend imparted to me the invaluable information which this book contains ; it would have saved me a life of wretchedness.” We have had the satisfaction of knowing in numerous instances that the virtue and happiness of whole families have been secured by the timely warnings of danger which parents have obtained from this work. We are glad to be able to feel that it is now thoroughly demonstrated that intel- ligent persons who have given this subject thought universally approve of the objects of the work and the manner of presenting the subject adopted in it. Those who at first question the propriety of dis- cussing the subject so freely and thoroughly as is here done, lose their prejudice entirely upon giving the work a careful perusal. In numerous instances it has occurred that those who were most decided in their denunciations have become the most zeal- ous and efiicient agents in its circulation after be- coming more fully acquainted with it. SEX IN LIVING FORMS. )IFE, in its great diversity of forms, has ever . been a subject of the deepest interest to ra- tional beings. Poets have sung of its joys and sorrows, its brilliant phantasies and harsh realities. Philosophei’s have spent their lives in vain at- tempts to solve its mysteries ; and some have held and thought that life was nothing more than a stu- pendous farce, a delusion of the senses. Moralists have sought to impress mankind with the truth that “ life is real,” and teeming with grave respon- sibilities. Physiologists have busied themselves in observing the phenomena of life, and learning, therefrom, its laws. The subject is certainly an interesting one, and none could be more worthy of the most careful attention. Living Beings. — Man possesses life in common with other beings almost infinite in number and variety. The hugest beast that roams the forest or plows the main is no more a living creature than the smallest insect or microscopic animalcu- lum. The “ big tree ” of California and the tiny , blade of grass which waves at its foot are alike imbued with life. All nature teems with life. ( 35 ) 26 PLAIN PACTS FOP Living Beings. The Microscopic World. The practiced eye detects multitudes of living forms at every glance. The universe of life presents the most marvelous manifestations of the infinite power and wisdom of the Creator to be found in all his works. The student of biology sees life in myriad forms which are unnoticed by the casual observer. The micro- scope reveals whole worlds of life that were un- known before the discovery of this wonderful aid to human vision, — whole tribes of living ora:an- isms, each of which, though insignificant in size, possesses organs as perfect and as useful to it in its sphere as do animals of greater magnitude. Under a poweidul magnifying glass, a drop of water from a stagnant pool is found to be peopled with curious animated forms ; slime from a damp rock, or a speck of green scum from the surface of a pond, presents a museum of living wonders. Through this instrument the student of nature learns that life in its lowest form is represented by a mere atom of living matter, an insignificant speck of trembling jelly, transparent and struct- ureless, having no organs of locomotion, yet able to move in any direction ; no nerves or organs of sense, yet possessing a high degree of sensibility ; no mouth, teeth, nor organs of digestion, yet capa- ble of taking food, growing, developing, producing other individuals like itself, becoming aged, infirm, and dying, — such is the life history of a living ■ creature at the lower extreme of the scale of ani- OLD AND YOUNG. 27 Higher Forms. Man. Animals and Vegetables. mated being. As we rise higher in the scale, we hnd similar little atoms of life associated together in a single individual, each doing its proper share of the woik necessary to maintain the life of the individual as a whole, yet retaining at the same time its own individual life. As we ascend to still higher forms, we find this association of minute living creatures resulting in the production of forms of increasing complicity. As the structure of the individual becomes more complex and its functions more varied, the greater is the number of separate, yet associated, organisms required to do the work. In man, at the very summit of the scale of ani- mate existence, we find the most delicate and won- derfully intricate living mechanism of all. In him, as in lower, intermediate forms of life, the life of the individual is but a summary of the lives of all the numberless minute organisms of which bis body is composed. The individual life is but the aggregate life of all the millions of distinct indi- viduals which are associated together in the human organism. Animals and Vegetables. — The first classifica- tion of living creatures separates them into two great kingdoms, animals and vegetables. Although it is very easy to define the general characteristics of each of these classes, it is impossible to fix upon any single peculiarity which will be applicable in every case. Most vegetable organisms remain sta- 28 plain facts fop Animaloula. Organized Living Beings. tionary, while some possess organs of locomotion, and swim about in the water in a manner much re- sembling the movements of certain animals. Most vegetables obtain their nutriment from the earth and the air, while animals subsist on living matter. A few plants seem to take organic matter for food, some even catching and killing small insects. O O It is found impossible to draw the precise line between animals and vegetables, for the reason just mentioned. The two kingdoms blend so inti- mately that in some cases it is impossible to tell whether a certain microscopic speck of life is an animal or a vegetable. But since these doubtful creatures are usually so minute that several mill- ions of them can exist in a single drop of water, it is usually of no practical importance whether they are animal or vegetable, or sometimes one and sometimes the other, as they have been supposed to be by some biologists. All living creatures are organized beings. Most possess a structure and an organism more or less complicated; but some of the lowest forms are merely little masses of a transparent, homogeneous jeUy, known as protoplasm. Some of the smallest of these are so minute that one hundred millions of them could occupy the space of a cube one- thousandth of an inch on each side ; j^et each one runs its course of life as regularly as man himself, performing its proper functions even more per- fectly, perhaps. OLD AND YOUNG. 29 Life Force. Old View. New Theory. Life Force. — To every thinking mind the ques- tion often recurs, What makes the fragrant flower so different from the dead soil from which it grows ? the trilling bird, so vastly superior to the inert atmosphere in which it flies? What subtle power paints the rose, and tunes the merry song- ster’s voice ? To explain this mystery, philoso- phers of olden time supposed the existence of a certain peculiar force which is called life, or vital force, or vitality. This supposition does nothing moie than furnish a name for a thing unknown, and the very existence of which may fairly be doubted. In fact, any attempt to find a place for such a force, to understand its origin, or harmonize its existence with that of other well-known forces, is unsuccessful ; and the theory of a peculiar vital force, a presiding entity present in every living thing, vanishes into thin air to give place to the more rational view of the most advanced modern scientists, that vital force, so-called, is only a man- ifestation of the ordinary forces of nature acting through a peculiar arrangement of matter. In other words, life depends, not upon a peculiar force, but upon a peculiar arrangement of matter, or organiza- tion. It is simply a peculiar manifestation of the force possessed by atoms exhibited through a pecul- iar arrangement of atoms and molecules. This ar- rangement is what is known as organization ; and bodies which possess it are known as organized or living bodies. The term life mav be understood a.s Life tlie Result of Organization. Nutrition and Reproduction. referring to the phenomena which result from or- ganization. That life results from organization, not organi- zation from life, is more consonant with the accepted and established facts of science than the contrary view. We might adduce numerous facts and arguments in support of this view of the nature of life, but wiU not do so here, as we have considered the subject at some length elsewhere.* Nutrition and reproduction are the two great functions of life, being common not only to all animals, but to both animals and plants, to all classes of living creatures. The object of the first, is the development and maintenance of the indi- vidual existence ; the second has for its end the production of new individuals, or the preservation of the race. Nutrition is a purely selfish process ; reproduction is purely unselfish in its object ; though the human species — unlike the lower an- imals, which, while less intelligent, are far more true to nature — too often pervert its functions to the most grossly selfish ends. The subject of nutrition is an important one, and well worthy the attention of every person who values life. The general disregard of this subject is undoubtedly the cause of a very large share of the ills to which human flesh is heir; but our limited space forbids its consideration here, and we shall confine our attention to reproduction. *See “Science and the Bible,” pp. 36-46. OLD AND YOUNG, gl Reproduction. Spontaneous Generation. Reproduction. As before remarked, reproduction is a function common to all animals and to all plants. Every organized being has the power to repi’oduce itself, or to produce, or aid in producing, other individuals like itself. It is by means of this function that plants and animals increase or multiply. When we consider the great diversity of char- acters illustrated in animal and vegetable life, and the infinite variety of conditions and circumstances under which organized creatures exist, it is not surprising that modes of reproduction should also present great diversity both in general character and in detail. We shall find it both interesting and instructive to consider some of the many difierent modes of reproduction, or generation, observed in dififerent classes of living beings, pre- vious to entering upon the specific study of repro- duction in man. Before doing thus, however, let us give brief attention to a theoretical form of generation, which cannot be called reproduction, known as Spontaneous Generation. — By this term is meant the supposed formation of living creatures directly from dead matter without the intervention of other living organisms. The theory is, in sub- stance, an old one. The ancients supposed that the frogs and other small reptiles so abundant in the 32 PLAIN FACTS FOR An Ancient Theory. No Life without Previous Life. vicinity of slimy pools and stagnant marshes, were generated spontaneously from the mud and slime in which they lived. This theoiy was, of course, abandoned when the natural history of reptUes became knoAvn. For several thousand years the belief was still held that maggots found in decaying meat were produced spontaneously ; but it was discovered, centuries ago, that maggots are not formed if the flesh is pi'otected from flies, since they are the larvcB, or young, of a species of this insect. A relic of the ancient belief in spontaneous genera- tion is still found in the supposition that horse-hair snakes, so-called, are really fonned from the hairs of horses. This belief is quite common, but science long ago exposed its falsity. When the microscope was discovered it revealed a whole new world of infinitesimal beings which were at first supposed to be of spontaneous origin ; but careful scientific investigation has shown that even these mere specks of life are not independent of parentage. M. Pasteur and, more recently, Prof. Tyndall, with many other distinguished sci- entists, have demonstrated this fact beyond all reasonable chance for question. It is, then, an established laAv that every living organism orighiates with some 'previously exist- ing living being or beings. It may be queried, If it be true that life is but a manifestation of the ordinary forces of matter, — OLD AND YOUNO. 33 Matter Cannot Organize Itself. God the Originator of Life. which are common to both dead and living matter, — being dependent upon arrangement, then why- may it not be that dead matter may, through the action of molecular laws, and without the inter- vention of any living existence, assume those peculiar forms of arrangement necessary to consti- tute life, as supposed by the advocates of the theory in question ? It is true that some who ' recognize the fact that life is the result of or- ganization maintain the doctrine of spontaneous generation ; that is, the production of life without any agency other than the recognized forces of nature being brought about simply by a fortuitous combination of atoms. Although this doctrine cannot be said to be inconsistent with the theory of life presented, yet it is by no means a legitimate or necessary result of it ; and observation proves its falsity. The testimony of all nature, as almost universally admitted by scientific men, is that life originated through a creative act by the first Great Cause, who gave to certain bodies the requisite arrange- ment or organization to enable them to perform cei’tain functions, and delegated to them the power to transmit the same to other matter, and thus to perpetuate life. The Creator alone has the power to originate life. Man, with all his wisdom and attainments, cannot discover the secret of organ- ization. He may become familiar with its phenom- ena, but he cannot unravel, further, the mystery 3 34i PLAIN FACTS FOR Vegetables Organize. Animals only Assimilate. of life. The power of organizing is possessed only by the lower class of living or organized bodies, those known as vegetable organisms or plants. A grain of wheat, a kernel of corn, a potato, when placed under favorable conditions, takes the inert, lifeless particles of matter which lie about it in the earth and air, and organizes them into living substances like itself. To man and animals the Creator delegated the power to form their own peculiar structures from the vitalized tissues of plants. Thus, both animal and vegetable life is preserved without the neces- sity of continued acts of creative power, each plant and each animal possessing the power not only to preserve its own life, but also to aid, at least, in the perpetuation of the species. The record of creation in Genesis harmonizes perfectly with this view, it being represented that God formed (organ- ized or arranged) man, animals, and vegetable productions from the earth. Simplest Form of Generation. — Deep down beneath the waters of the ocean, covering its bot- tom in certain localities, is found a curious slime, which, under the microscope, is seen to be composed of minute rounded masses of gelatinous matter, or protoplasm. By watching these little bodies in- tently for a few minutes, the observer will dis- cover that each is a living ci’eature capable of moving, growing, and assuming a vaiiety of shapes. Continued observation will reveal the fact that OLD AND YOUNG. 35 Simplest Form of Generation. Sex. these little creatures multiply ; and a more careful scrutiny will enable him to see Aow they increase. Each divides into two equal parts so nearly alike that they cannot be distinguished apart. In this case the process of generation is simply the pro- duction of two similar individuals from one. A small quantity of slime taken from the sur- face of a stone near the bottom of an old well, or on the seaside, when placed under the microscope, will sometimes be found to contain large numbers of small, round, living bodies. Careful watching will show that they also multiply by division ; but before the division occurs, two cells unite to form one by a process called conjugation. Then, by the division of this cell, instead of only two cells, a large number of small cells are formed, each of which may be considered as a bud formed upon the body of the parent cell and then separated from it to become by growth an individual like its parent, and, like it, to produce its kind. In this case, we have new individuals formed by the union of two individuals which are to all appearance entirely similar in every particular. Sex. — Rising higher in the scale of being, we find that, with rare exceptions, reproduction is the result of the union cf two dissimilar elements. These elements do not, in higher organisms, as in lower forms of life, constitute the individuals, but are produced by them ; and being unlike, they are produced by special organs, each adapted to the 36 PLAI]^ FACTS FOE Males and Females. Hermaphrodism. formation of one kind of elements. The two classes of organs usually exist in separate individ- uals, thus giving rise to distinctions of sex; an individual possessing organs which form one kind of elements being called a male, and one possessing organs for the formation of the other kind of elements, a female. The sexual differences be- tween individuals of the same species are not. however, confined to the sexual organs. In most classes of plants and animals, other sexual difier- ences are very great. In some of the lower orders of animals, and in many species of plants, the male and female individuals are so much unlike that for a long time after they were well known, no sexual relation was discovered. Hermaphrodism. — An individual possessing both male and female organs of reproduction is called an hermaphrodite. Such a combination is very rare among higher animals ; but it is by no means uncommon among plants and the lower forms of animal life. The snail, the oj'-ster, the earth- wonn, and the common tape-worm, are ex- amples of true hermaphrodites. So-called human hermaphrodites are usually individuals in whom the sexual organs are abnormally developed so that they resemble those of the opposite sex, though they really have but one sex, which can usually be determined with certainty. Only a very few cases have been observed in which both male and female organs were present. OLD AND TO UNO. 87 Persons of no Sex. Sex in Plants. There is now living in Germany an individual who bears the name of a woman; but learned physicians have decided that the person is as much man as woman, having the organs of both sexes. What is still more curious, this person has the feelings of both sexes, having loved at first a man, and afterward a woman. There have been ob- served, also, a very few instances of individuals in whom the sexual organs of neither sex were present. It thus appears that a person may be of both sexes or of no sex at all. Sex in Plants. — To one unacquainted with the mysteries of plant life and growth, the idea of attaching sexuality to plants seems very extraor- dinary ; but the botanist recognizes the fact that the distinctions of sex are as clearly maintained in the vegetable as in the animal kingdom. The sexual organs of the higher orders of plants are flowers. That part of the flower which produces seeds answers to the female ; another part, which is incapable of forming seeds, answers to the male. The fertile and sterile flowers are sometimes pro- duced on separate plants. Very frequently, they are produced upon separate parts of the same plant, as in the oak, walnut, and many other forest trees, and Indian corn. In the latter plant, so familiar to every one, the “ tassel ” contains the male flowers, and the part known as the “ silk, ” with the portion to which it is attached — which becomes the ear — the female or fertile flowei's. 38 PLAIN FACTS FOR Sex in Animals. Sexual Differences. In a large number of species, the male and female organs are combined in a single flower, making a true bermapbrodite. Sex in Animals. — As previously remarked, individuals of opposite sex usually difier much more than in the character of their sexual organs only. Among higher animals, the male is usually larger, stronger, and of coarser structure than the female. The same contrast is observed in their mental characters. With lower animals, especially insects, the opposite is often observed. The female spider is many times larger than the male. The male ant is small in size when compared with the female. Nevertheless, in all classes of animals the difference in the structure and the functions of the sexual organs is the chief distinguishing character. These differences are not so great, however, as they might at first appear., The male and female organs of reproduction in man and other animals, which seem so dissimilar, when studied in the light shed' upon this subject by the science of embryology, are found to be wonderfully alike in structure, differing far more in appearance than in reality, and being little more than modifications of one general plan. Every organ to be found in the one sex has an analogue in the other which is complete in every particular, coixesponding in function, in structure, and usually in position. Other Sexual Differences. — In this country there is between five and six indies difference in OLD AND YOUNG. 39 General Physical Differences. Woman not Naturally Athletic. height and about twenty pounds difference in weight between the average man and the average woman, the average man being about five feet, eight inches in height, and weighing one hundred and forty -five pounds ; while the average woman is five feet, two or two and one-half inches in height, and weighs one hundred and twenty-five pounds. The relation of the sexes in height and weight varies in degree in different countries, but is never changed. The average height and weight of Amer- ican men and women is considerably above that of the average human being. Men and Women Differ in Form. — The dif- ferences in form are so marked that it is possible for the skilled anatomist to determine the sex of a human being who has been dead for ages, by an examination of the skeleton alone. In man, the shoulders are broad, the hips narrow, and the limbs nearly straight with the body. In woman, the shoulders are narrow and usually rounded, and set farther back, the collar-bone being longer and less curved, giving the chest . greater prominence ; while the hips are broad. The consequence of these differences is that woman is generally less graceful and naturally less skillful in the use of the extremities than man^ and hence less fitted for athletic sports and feats requiring great dexterity. A girl throws a stone awkwardly, less from want of practice than from a natural peculiarity of physical structure. A 40 PLAIN FACTS FOR Female Pedeetrianism. iDlmmanity to ‘Woman, woman walks less gracefully than a man, owing to the greater relative breadth of her hips, requir- ing a motion of the body together with that of the limbs. In consequence of this peculiarity, a wo- man is less fitted for walking long distances. Modern Mania for Female Pedestrianism. — Nothing could be much more inhuman 'than the exhibitions made in satisfying the mania for fe- male pedestrianism which has recently arisen. Not long since, in walking down one of the principal streets of Boston, we passed, in going a distance of thirty rods, three illuminated placards announcing to the public that in as many different public halls four female pedestrians were exhibiting their walk- ing talents for the gratification of the crowds of bawdy loafers and jockeys who congregated to criticize their several “points,” and bet on their walking capacity, as though they were horses on a race-course or hounds on a fox hunt. 3,000 Quarter Miles in 3,000 Qnarter Honrs. — We visited the halls and ascertained that two of these misguided women were attempting the feat of walking respectively 2,700 and 3,000 quar- ter miles in an equal number of successive quarter hours. This would require almost incessant exer- tion for nearly twenty-eight days in one case, and for more than thirty-one days in the other, with- out at any time a period of unbroken rest longer than ten minutes. Such a procedure, in the light of physiology, is a greater inhumanity than the OLD AND YOUNG. 41 A Female Walking Match. A Shameful Show. most merciless Boston teamster would inflict upon his dumb brutes. Why does not Mr. Bergh exer- cise his function in such cases ? We did not won- der that the poor women looked pale and sufiering, and trudged along with a limping gait. A Female Walking Match. — At another hall we found two women engaged in a “ walking match.” The hall was so crowded with specta- tors — with very few exceptions of the male sex — that it was with difficulty the narrow track could be kept clear. The sixty hours for which the walk was to be continued had nearly expired, and the excitement grew more intense each moment. One of the walkers, who was' a few miles in advance, strode on at a pace almost marvelous, constantly stimu- lated to greater efforts by the coarse shouts of the masculine audience, who evidently took the same sort of interest in the proceeding that they would in a dog race or a cock fight. The other was pale and spiritless, and it seemed with difficulty that she dragged herself along to keep upon the track until the last. At times she seemed to be almost fainting, as the result of the long-continued excite- ment and fatigue ; but she managed to keep going until nine minutes before the slow moving clock had measured off the sixty hours, when, she be- came too ill to be longer able to stand, and was carried oflT the track. The cheers for the winner were as vigorous as 42 PLAIN FACTS FOR ■Woman in the Ring. The Male and the Female Brain. though a rebel fort had been captured, a million people emancipated from slavery, or some great and noble deed of honor or daring had been done ; but no one thought of the injury which had been done the contestant. We turned away in disgust. The ancient Greeks and Romans amused them- selves with witnessing the gladiatorial contests of their male slaves; but it was left for civilized America to introduce woman into the “ ring ” and make her show her paces on the race-course. An ungraceful figure she cuts, and a repulsive spectacle she presents ; and worst of aU is the havoc which she makes with her health. At the very time that these four female pedestrians were making their disgraceful exhibit in Boston, in another part of the same city lay a helpless invalid who was once as noted a “ female walkist ” as any of them, made hopelessly ill by the same disregard of the plainest laws of nature. Tiie Male and the Female Brain. — But there are other important physical differences to which we must call atteiition. Man possesses a larger brain than woman, but she makes up the defi- ciency in size by superior fineness in quality. The female brain differs from the masculine organ of mentality in other particulars so marked that one who has given the subject attention can determine with perfect ease the probable sex of the owner of almost any skull which might be presented to him. This difference in the confox’mation of the skull is OLD AND YOVNQ. 43 Vital Organs of Man and Woman. Woman Less Muscular. undoubtedly due to a difference in mental charac- ter, which, in turn, depends upon a diflerence in cerebral development. Faculties which are gener- ally largely developed in one are usually smaller in the other, and the reverse. Tital Organs of Man and Woman. — The anat- omist also observes an interesting difference in the size of the various vital organs. For example, while a woman has a heart proportionally smaller than the same organ in man, she has a larger liver. Thus, while less well fitted for severe physical ex- ertion by less circulatory power, she has superior excretory poiyeirs.. . / .. - — — • ■ j Woman Less Mnscnlar, More Enduring. — This peculiarity of structure is perfectly harmoni- ous with the fact which expeiience has established so often as to make the matter no longer a question, that woman is less fitted for severe muscular exer- tion than man, but possesses in a superior degree the quality known as endurance'. With a less robust frame, a more delicately organized constitu- tion, she will endure for months what would kill a robust man in as many’ weeks. More perfect elimination of the wastes of the body secures a higher grade of vitality. On no other hypothesis could we account for the marvelous endurance of the feminine part of the civilized portion of the human race, ground down under the heel of fash- ion for ages, “stayed,” “corseted,” “laced,” and thereby distorted and deformed in a manner that 44 PLAIlSr FACTS FOB A Pathological Difference. Do Women Breathe Naturally? ■would be fatal to almost any member of the mas- culine sex. A Pathological Difference. — Most physiologists mention another particular in which woman differs materially from man ; viz., in naturally employing, in respiration, chiefly the upper part of the lungs, while man breathes chiefly with the lower part of the lungs. For several years we have carefully studied this question, and we have been unable to And any physiological or anatomical reason suffi- cient to account for this fact, if it be such. Why a Woman Does not Breathe Like a Man. — It is undoubtedly true that most women do breathe almost exclusively "with the upper part of the chest; but whether this is a natural peculiar- ity, or an acquired, unnatural, and depraved one, is a question which we are decidedly inclined to an- swer in harmony with the latter supposition, bas- ing our conclusion on the following undeniable facts : — 1. In childhood, and until about the age of puberty, respiration in the boy and the girl is ex- actly the same. 2. Although there is a change in the mode of resphation in most females, usually soon after the period of puberty, marked by increased intercostal respiration and diminished abdominal or deep res- piration, this change can be accounted for on other than physiological grounds. 3. We believe the cause of this modification of OLD AND YOUNG. 45 Obstacles to Natural Respiration. The Reproductive Elements. respiration is the change in dress which is usually made about that time. The young girl is now be- coming a woman, and must acquire the art of lacing, wearing a corset, “ stays,” and sundry other contrivances by means of which to produce a “ fine form” by distorting and destroying all natural grace and beauty in the “ form divine.” 4. We have met a number of ladies whose good fortune and good sense had delivered them from the distorting influence of corset-wearing and tight-lacing, and we have invariably observed that they are as capable of deep respiration as men, and practice it as naturally. We are thoroughly convinced that this so-called physiological difference between man and woman is really a pathological rather than a natural dif- ference, and is due to the evils of fashionable -dress, which we have exposed at some length in another work exclusively devoted to that subject.* In short, we believe that the only reason why women do not, under ordinary circumstances, breathe as do men, is simply because they can not breathe naturally. Tlie Reproductive Elements. — As has been previously observed, in all except the very lowest forms of life, two elements are necessary to the production of a new individual, or a reproduction of the species — a male element and a female ele- ment. The special organs by means of which * “Evils of Fashionable Dress, and How to Dress Healthfullv.” 4G FLAJ^ FACTS FOB Sexual Organs. Plants. these elements are produced, brought together, and developed into the new individual in a more or less perfect state, are termed sexual organs, as we have already seen. As an introduction to the spe- cific study of the sexual organs in the human species, let us briefly consider the Sexual Organs of Plants. — As already re- marked, flowers are the sexual organs of plants. • Nothing is more interesting in the natural world than the wonderful beauty, diversity, and perfect adaptability to various conditions and functions, which we see in the sexual parts of plants. An exceedingly interesting line of study, which has occupied the attention of many naturalists, is the wonderful perfection displayed in the adaptability of the male and female parts of plants to each other. Without burdening the reader with un- necessary technicalities of detail, we will briefly notice the principal parts of vegetable sexual orerans as illustrated in flowers. Complete flowers are made up of four parts, two of which, the stamen and 'pistil, are essential, while the other two, the calyx and corolla, are accessory. The calyx is that part which surrounds the flower at its outer and lower part. It varies greatly in form and color, but is most frequently of a green or greenish color. Just within the calyx is the corolla, which usu- ally forms the most attractive, sho^vJ^ and beau- tiful part of the flower. The beautifully colored OLD AJ^B YOUNG, 47 Vegetable Husbands. Polygamous Flowers. petals of the rose, geranium, dahlia, and other similar flowers, form their corollas. Yegetable Husbands. — Within the cup formed by the calyx and corolla are placed the stamens and pistils of the flower, the flrst being the male organs proper, and the second the female organs of the flower. The stamen is composed of a stem or filament, at the summit of which are placed two little sacks called the anther, which contain a fine, microscopic dust, the pollen, which contains the male reproduc- tive element of the flower. This part of the plant corresponds to the male organ of reproduction in animals. A stamen has been called, not inaptly, a vegetable husband. Some flowers have many sta- mens, or vegetable husbands, which reminds us of the custom in Thibet and some other Eastern countries which allows a woman to have several husbands. Polygamous Flowers. — The great naturalist, Linnaeus, whose name was immortalized by his careful study and classification of organized life, made the number of stamens possessed by various flowers the basis of a systematic classification. For example, a flower having but one stamen w'^as classed as monandria, which means, literally, one husband ; one having two stamens was class- ified as diandria ; flowers having a large number of male organs were termed polyandria, or many husbands. I 1 48 PLAIN FACTS FOR The Female Organs of Flowers. Sexual Organs of Animals. The Female Organ of Flowers. — The 'pistil occupies the very center of the flower. It pro- duces and contains in a cell, the female element, termed the ovule. It is surmounted by the style and the stigma. A series of plants in which the sexual organs are not visible to the eye are termed cryptogamia, which means literally, hidden marriages. As we proceed to study the anatomy of the human sexual appai’atus we shall be constantly struck with the remarkable correspondence between animals and vegetables in the structure and func- tions of the sexual apparatus. Sexual Organs of Animals. — The male repro- ductive element is called a spermatozoon or zoo- sperm. The female element is called an ovum, ' literally, an egg. The Spermatozoon. — The male reproductive ele- ment of animals is formed by an organ called the testis, or testicle, of which each male possesses two. They are elastic, glandular bodies, and are formed within the cavity of the abdomen, near the kid- neys, but usually pass out of the abdominal caNuty and descend to their permanent position before birth. The opening in the abdominal wall is usu- ally completely closed in a short time ; but occa- sionally it remains open, giving rise to congenital hernia, an accident in which a loop of intestine fol- lows the testicle down into the scrotum, either com- pletely or partially. In a few animals, as in the 1 OLD AND YOUNG. 4 .'^' Anomalous Cases. Human Spermatozoa. porcupine, the opening is never fully closed, and the testis remains in the cavity of the body most of the time, passing out only at certain periods. We also occasionally meet cases of human beings in which the testes have never descended from their place in the abdominal cavity, giving the individuals the appearance of eunuchs. This con- dition, however, though an abnormal one, does not in any way interfere with the function of the organs, las those who happen to possess it often imagine. We have also met with cases in which the organs were movable, and could readily be pressed up into the abdominal cavity, through the unclosed inguinal cavity, which afforded them a passage downward in the process of development. As before remarked, these peculiarities do not af- fect the functions of the organs in any appreciable degree, although they not infrequently give rise to some apprehension on the part of those subject to them. The left testicle is sometimes a little smaller than the right, another fact which is seized upon by quacks as a means of exciting the fears of young men who have been addicted to bad habits, although the peculiarity is generally without important sig- nificance. The testicles are connected with the urinary pas- sage by means of two ducts which terminate near the base of the bladder, at which point they con- nect with the urethra. We need not dwell at fur- 4 50 PLAIN PACTS poll Description of Spermatooza. Development. ther length upon the structure oi the testicles, as this subject receives fuller attention elsewhere. Human spermatozoa are about of an inch in length. Those of reptiles are very much larger.- One of the remarkable features of these minute elements is their peculiar movements. While alive, the filamentous tail is in constant action in a manner strongly resembling the movements of the caudal appendage of a tadpole. This wonder- frl property led the earlier observers to believe that they were true animalcula. But they are not to be regarded as such, though one can scarcely make himself believe otherwise while watching their lively evolutions, and apparent volitionary movement from one point to another. Snermatozoa originate in the testis as cells, which are filled with granules. After a time, each granule acquires a long appendage, and then the cell has become converted into a bundle of small zoosperms. Development still continues, until fi- nally the thin pellicle on the outside of the bundle is ruptured, thus liberating the young spermatozoa, which speedily complete their full development. The spermatozoon is pure protoplasm, which is the basis of all life, and its power of spontaneous mo- tion is due to this fact. In man, the formation of spennatozoa continues with greater or less rapidity from puberty to old ao-e though at the two extremes of existence they are imperfectly developed. When not dis- OLD ALTB Y0U2LG. 51 TIio Seminal Fluid. The Human Ovum. _ charged from the body, they are said to be ab- sorbed. Some physiologists claim that they are composed of a substance identical with nerve tis- sue, and that by absorption they play a veiy important part in the development and mainte- nance of the nervous system. It is asserted by good authorities that the repro- ductive element in man is not so well developed as to be really fit for the reproduction of the species before the age of twenty-four or twenty-five. After the age of forty-five or fifty, the reproduc- tive elements deteriorate in quality, and become again unfitted for vigorous procreation. The fully developed zoosperms are suspended in a transparent, gelatinous fluid, which, mingled with the secretion of the prostate gland and other fluids which it meets during its expulsion from the body, constitutes the semen. The Ovum. — The female element of generation, the ovum, is produced by an organ called the ovary, of which there are two in each individual. In size and form, the ovary closely resembles the testicle. Like the latter organ, also, it is formed within the body early in the process of develop- ment ; but instead of passing outward and down- ward, as does the testicle, it remains within the ’■■bdominal cavity, suspended in place by ligaments, it is connected with a duct which receives the ovum as it is discharged, and conveys it to the uterus. '62 PLAIN FACTS FOR Size of the Ovum. Fecundation. The human ovum varies in size from yts- to ihj of an inch in diameter, and consists of a single cell. Ova are not formed in such large numbers as zoo- sperms. As a general rule, in the human female, a single ovum is developed and discharged once in about four weeks, during the period of sexual activity. Fecundation. — It is often asked, and the ques- tion has elicited some discussion. Which is the principal reproductive element ; the zodspei-m, or the ovum ? The ancients supposed the male ele- ment to be the essential element, being simply nourished and developed by the female ; but mod- ern research in biological science does not sustain this view. Probably neither one enjoys especial preeminence ; for neither can undergo complete development without the other. In verj^ rare cases, the ovum has been observed to undergo a certain amount of development of itself; but a perfect individual can be produced only by the union of the two kinds of elements, which process is known as fecundation. The instant this union occurs, the life of a new individual begins. AH the changes which result between that moment and the birth of the individual are those of devel- opment only. Indeed, the same existence contin- ues from the instant of the union of the two elements, not only until birth, but through growth, the attainment of maturity, the. decline of life, and even until death. OLD AND YOUNG. 53 Different Modes of Fecundation. In Flowers. It is interesting to observe the different methods by which fecundation is effected, both in plants and animals, for this is a process common to both. Fecundation in Flowers. — The great natural- ist, Linnaeus, was the first to explain the repro- ductive process in plants. He tells us that “the flower forms the theater of their amours; the calyx is to be considered as the nuptial bed ; the corolla constitutes the curtains; the anthers are the testes; the pollen, the fecundating fluid ; the stigma of the pistil, the external genital aperture ; the style, the vagina, or the conductor of the prolific seed ; the ovary of the plant, the womb ; the reciprocal action of the stamens on the pistil, the accessory process of fecundation.” Thus marvelous is the analogy between the re- productive organs and their functions in plants and animals. Through this one vital process we may trace a close relation between all the forms of life, from the humblest plant, or even the mere specks of life which form the green scum upon a stagnant pool, to man, the masterpiece of creation, the high- est of all animated creatures. In all the realm of Nature there can be found no more remarkable evi- dences of the infinite skill and wisdom of the Cre- ator of all things. In many instances the action of plants seems al- most to be prompted by intelligence. At the proper moment, the corolla contracts in such a way as to bring the stamens nearer to the stigma, or in con- FLAIN FACTS FOR Curious Facts. Mechanical in Flowers. tact ■with it, so as to insure fecundation. In some aquatic plants the fio'wers elevate themselves above the surface of ■water ■while the process of fecunda- tion is effected, submerging themselves again im- mediately afterward. Other veiy curious changes occur in flowers of different species during the reproductive act. The stigma is observed to become moistened, and even to become distinctly odorous. Often, too, it be- comes intensely congested with the juices of the plant, and sometimes even acquires an uncommon and most remarkable degree of contractility. This is the case ■with the stigma of the tulip and one variety of sensitive plant, and is in these plants observed to occur not only after the application of the pollen to the stigma, but when excited by any other means of stimulation. The flowers of some plants, during and after fecundation, also show an increase of heat, in some cases so marked as to be readily detected with the thermometer. This is said to be the case ■with the arum of Italy, In some plants in which the pistil is longer than the stamens, thus elevating the stigma above the anthers, the female organ is often observed to bend over and depress itself so as to come within reacli of the anthers. In most instances the fecundation of flowers is chiefly effected through a purely mechanical proc- ess, though in these cases also we see a wonderful adaptation of parts to conditions. OLD AND YOUNG. 55 Wise Provision of Nature. Fecundation in Animals. When the male and female parts of flowers are situated on different plants, as is the case in the willow, the poplar, the melon vine, and many other species, the pollen of the male flower is wafted by the wind or gentle breeze to the stigma of the female flower, which will usually be found at no very great distance, although fertilization may take place in this way at very considerable dis- tances. Bees, moths, and many other species of insects, serve a very important purpose in this work, transporting the fertilizing dust upon their wings, antennae, sucking-tubes, and feet. Small birds, and even the humble snail, which would scarcely be credited with any useful function, are also very serviceable in the same direction. The part performed by insects in the reproductive proc- ess of many plants is so great that they have been very poetically termed “ the marriage priests of flowers.” Nature provides for thorough fecundation in these cases by placing the plants which bear the male and the female flowers near each other. This fact accounts for the unproductiveness of certain varieties of strawberries unless mixed with plants of some other variety, it being well known to nursery-men that some varieties produce only the female parts of flowers. Modes of Fecxindation in Animals. — The modes by which fecundation is effected in animals are still more various and wonderful than in plants. 56 PLAIN FACTS FOR Fecundation in Fish and Keptiles. In Higher Animals. In some of the lower animals, as in most fish and reptiles, both elements are discharged from the bod- ies of the parents before coming in contact, there be- ing no contact of the two individuals. In this class of animals the process is almost wholly analogous to fecundation in those plants in which the male and female flowers are on different plants or difier- ent parts of the same plant. In the female fish, a large number of ova are developed at a certain sea- son of the year known as the spawning season. Sometimes the number reaches many thousands. At the same time, the testicles of the male fish, which are contained within the abdominal cavity, become distended with developed zoosperms. When the female seeks a place to deposit her eggs, the male closely follows ; and as she drops them upon the gravelly bottom, he discharges upon them the zoosperms by which they are fecundated. The proc- ess is analogous to some species of frogs. When the female is about to deposit her eggs, the male mounts upon her back and rides about until the eggs are all deposited, discharging upon them the fertilizing spermatozoa as they are laid by the female. In higher orders of animals, fecundation takes place within the generative organs of the female by contact between the male and the female organs. To effect this, there are necessitated certain acces- sory organs, the penis in the male and the vagina in the female. OLD AND YOUNG. 57 Union of the Elements. Curious Modes of Reproduction. Nothing in all the range of nature is more re- markable than the adaptation of the two varieties of sexual organs in each species. This necessary provision is both a powerful means of securing the perpetuation of the species, and an almost impassa- ble barrier against amalgamation. The act of union, or sexual congress, is called coitus or copulation. It is accompanied by a peculiar nervous spasm due to excitement of spe- cial nerves principally located in the penis in the male, and in an extremely sensitive organ, the clitoris, in the female. The nervous action referred to is more exhausting to the system than any othei' to which it is subject. Union of the Ovum and Zcdsperm. — The zoo- sperms not only come in contact with the ovum, but penetrate the thin membrane which incloses its contents, and enter its interior, where they dis- appear, becoming united with its substance. In the ova of certain fishes, small openings have been observed through which the spermatozoa find en- trance. Whether such openings exist in human ova is an undecided question ; but it is probable that they do. Carious Modes of Reprodaction. — A peculiar kind of reproduction is observed in a variety of polyp, a curious animal which very much resem- bles a shrub in appearance. It attaches itself to some solid object, and then, as it grows, sends out little protuberances resembling buds. Some of 58 FLAIN FACTS FOB, Eeproduction in Polyps. Uiiniim Beings Are Developed Buds. these sepad’ate and fall ofl'. swimming about as sep- arate animals. These never become like the par- ent polyp ; but they lay eggs, which hatch, and be- come stationary polyps like their grandparent, and in their turn throw off buds to form swimming polyps. In this case we have two kinds of gener- ation combined, alternating with each other. Plant-lice afford a curious illustration of a sim- ilar generation. Males and females unite and produce eggs. The creatures produced by the hatching of eggs are neither males nor perfect females. They are imperfect females. They are all alike, so that no sexual union occurs. Instead of laying eggs, they produce live young like them- selves, which appear to be developed from internal buds similar to the external buds of the polyp. After this method of reproduction has continued for eight or ten generations, a few perfect individ- uals appear, and the first process is repeated. The common honey-bee affords another illustra- tion like the last. A virgin queen sometimes lays eggs, which always produce males, or drones. After union with a male, she lays eggs in the royal cells which become perfect females like herself. She also seems to have the power to lay, at will, unfecundated eggs, from which drones, are pro- duced. Human Beings Are Developed Buds. — It has been very aptly suggested by an eminent physiolo- gist that the ovum and zodsperm may be correctly OLD AND YOUNG. 59 Fecundation in Hermaphrodites. Development of the Germ. considered as internal buds. Thus it would appear that generation is universally a process of budding. A child is but a compound bud, an offshoot from its parents. This idea is not a mere fancy, but has a scientific basis. As all the exquisite details of the most beautiful flower are in essence contained within the tiny bud which first makes its appear- ance, so is the developed human being, the full- grown man or woman, virtually contained within the tiny cell called the ovum 'after it has been im- pregnated or fecundated by the zoosperms. In short, men and women are blossoms in a strictly scientific sense. Fecundation in Hermaphrodites. — The proc- ess of fecundation in hermaphrodite animals is very peculiar. In some cases, as in the snail, the union of two individuals is usually necessary, though each possesses both kinds of organs. In other cases, as in the tape-worm, the oyster, and numerous other mollusks, a single individual has the power to fertilize its own ova, thus being wholly independent. Human hermaphrodites are usually so deformed that fecundation is not ef- fected, which is a fortunate safeguard against the multiplication of such monstrosities. < Development. — After the union of the two ele- ments, known as fecundation or conception, if the conditions are favorable, development occurs, and the little germ is in due process of time developed into an individual which is an exact counterpart OLD AND TOUNQ. Cl Development in the Higher Animals. The Uterus. one, and fastens them upon her back, observing great regularity in arrangement. These several devices are evidently for the purpose of protecting, in some degree, the young individual during the helpless stage of its- existence. Development in the Higher Animals and Man. — Higher animals are less prolific, and their development is a more complicated process ; hence, their young need greater protection, and, for this reason, the ova, instead of being discharged from the body of the female after fecundation, are re- tained.* As we have seen that a suitable receptacle is sometimes provided outside of the body, so now a receptacle is needed, and is provided in the inte- rior of the body of the female. This receptacle is called The Uterus. — This is a hollow, pear-shaped or- gan, located in the median line, just behind the bladder, between it and the rectum. It is sup- ported in place by various ligaments and by the * Curious examples of internal development sometimes occur in animals which usually deposit eggs. Snakes have been known to produce both eggs and living young at the same time. At the an- nual meeting of the American Society for the Advancement of Science, at Detroit, Mich., in August, 1875, we had the pleasure of examining a specimen, exhibited by Prof. Wilder, of a chick which had undergone a considerable degree of development within the ovary of the hen. It had a head, a rudimentary brain, and , in- ternal viscera, but no feathers nor limbs. It was, in fact, an egg hatched before it had been laid. The anomaly excited much in- terest at that time and since among biologists. 62 PLAIN FACTS FOP Conception. Uterine Gestation juxtaposition of other organs. Its larger end is directed upward, and communicates upon each side with a very narrow tube which is prolonged out- ward on either side until it nearly touches the ovary of the same side. Its lower and smaller end fills the internal extremity of the passage pre- viously described as the vagina. When an ovum is matured, it escapes from the ovaiy into the narrow tube referred to, called the Fallopian tube, and passes down into the cavity of the uterus. If fecundation does not occur, it is expelled or ab- sorbed after six to twelve or fourteen days. If copulation occurs, however, zodsperms are brought into the cavity of the uterus, and, coming in con- tact with the ovum, fecundate it. This is concep- tion. When the natural process is allowed to pro- ceed, development occurs. Uterine Gestation. — This is the term applied to the process last referred to. We shall not at- tempt to describe in detail this most wonderful and intricate of all living processes ; but will sketch only the chief points, leaving the reader who would obtain a more complete knowledge of the subject to consult any one of the numerous physiological and obstetrical works which deal with it in a very exhaustive manner. As soon as the ovum is impregnated by the male element, it begins a process of symmetrical di- vision. The first division produces two cells out of the single one which first existed. By the next OLD AND YOUNQ. QS The Primitive Trace. Curious Relation to Lower Animals. division, four segments are produced ; then eight, sixteen, etc. While this process is going on, the ovum becomes adherent to the internal wall of the uterus, and is soon enveloped by its mucous mem- brane, which grows up about and incloses it. The Primitive Trace. — When the process of segmentation has advanced to a certain point, the cells are aggregated together in a compact layer at the surface. Soon a straight line appears upon this layer, which is called the 'primitive trace. This delicate line becomes the basis for the spinal column; and upon and about it the whole individ-^ ual is developed by an intricate process of folding, dividing, and reduplication of the layer of cells. One end of the line becomes the head, and the other becomes the tail. Even man has a caudal appendage at an early stage of his existence. Af- ter a further lapse of time, little excrescences, buds, or “ pads,” appear in the proper positions to represent the arms and legs. After further devel- opment the ends split up into fingers and toes, and by the continued development of the parts, perfect arms and legs are formed. Curious Relation to Lower Animals. — It is a very remarkable fact that in the lower animals we have numerous examples in which the permanent condition of the individual is the same as some one of the stages through which man passes in the process of development. The same author pre- viously quoted makes the following interesting statements : — 64 PLAIN FACTS FOR Simplicity of Early otractiires. Development of Organs. The webbed feet of the seal and omitho- rhynchus typify the period when the hands and feet of the human embiyo are as yet only partly subdivided into fingers and toes. Indeed, it is not uncommon for the ‘ web ’ to persist to some extent between the toes of adults ; and occa.sionally chil- dren are born with two or more finders or toes united to their tips. . “With the seal and the walrus, the limbs are pro- truded but little beyond the wrist and ankle. With the ordinary quadrupeds, the knee and el- bow are visible. The cats, the lemurs, and the monkeys form a series in which the limbs are suc- cessively freed from the trunk, and in the highest apes they are capable of nearly the same move- ments as the human arm and leg, which, in their development, passed through all these stages.” Simplicity of Early Structures. — The first structures formed are exceedingly simple in form. It is only by slow degrees that the great complic- ity which characterizes many organs is finally attained. For example, the heart is at first only a straight tube. By enlargement and the formation of longitudinal and transverse partitions, the fully developed organ is finally produced. The stomach and intestines are also at first but a simple straight tube. The stomach and large intestine are formed by dilatation ; and by a growth of the tube in length while the ends are confined, the small intes- tines are formed. The other internal organs are successively developed by similar processes. OLD AND YOUNG. 65 The Stages ot‘ Growth. A Summary. The Stages of Growth. — At first insignificant in size — a simple cell, the embryonic human being steadily increases in size, gradually approximat- ing more and more closely to the human form, until, at the end of about nine calendar months or ten lunar months, the new individual is prepared to enter the world and begin a more independent course of life. The following condensation of a summary quoted by Dr. Austin Flint, Jr., will give an idea of the size of the developing Jbeing at dif- ferent periods, and the rate of progress : — At the end of the third week, the embryon is a little less than one-fourth of an inch in length. At the end of the seventh week, it is three- fourths of an inch long. The liver, lungs, and other internal organs are partially formed. At the eighth week, it is about one inch in length. It begins to look some like a human be- ing, but it is impossible to determine the sex. At the third month, the embryon has attained the length of two to two and one-half inches. Its weight is about one ounce. At the end of the fourth month, the embryon is called a fetus. It is from four to five inches long, and weighs five ounces. At the fifth month, the fetus is nearly a foot long, and weighs about half a pound. At the sixth month, the average length of the fetus is about thirteen inches, and its weight one and a half to two pounds. If bom, life could con- tinue a few minutes. 5 66 PLAIN FACTS FOP. Duration of Gestation. Uterine Life. At the seventh month, the fetus is from four- teen to fifteen inches long, and weighs two to three pounds. It is now viable (may live if born). At the eisfhth month, the length of the fetus is from fifteen to sixteen inches, and its weight from three to four pounds. At the ninth month, the fetus is about seven- teen inches long, and weighs from five to six pounds. At birth, the infant weighs a little more than seven pounds, the usual range being from four to ten pounds, though these limits are sometimes exceeded. Duration of Gestation. — The length of time required for the development of a human being is usually reckoned as about forty weeks. A more precise statement places it at about two hundred and seventy-eight days. This limit is often varied from. Cases have occurred in which a much longer time has been required, and num- berless cases have occurred in which human beings have been born several weeks before the expira- tion of the usual time, as stated. There is some uncertainty respecting the exact length of the pe- riod of gestation, which grows out of the difficidty of determining, in many cases, the exact time when conception takes place. Uterine Life. — The uterine life of the new in- dividual begins with the impregnation of the ovum, which occurs the instant it is brought in contact OLD AN'D YOUNG. 67 Uespiration of Fetus. The Blood the Medium of lnliuo .oe. with the zoosperms of the male. While in the uterus, the young life is supported wholly hy the mother. She is obliged to provide not only for her own sustenance, hut for the maintenance of her child. And she must not only eat for it, but breathe for it as well, since it requires a constant and adequate supply of oxygen before birth as much as afterward. How the Unborn Infant Breathes. — Oxygen and nutriment are both supplied to it through the medium of an organ called the placenta, which is a spongy growth composed almost entirely of blood- vessels, and is developed upon the inner wall of the uterus, at the point at which the ovum at- taches itself after fecundation. The growing fetus is connected with this vascular organ by means of a sort of cable, called the umbilical cord. The cord is almost entirely composed of blood-vessels which convey the blood of the fetus to the pla- centa and return it again. The fetal blood does not mix with that of the mother, but receives oxy- gen and nourishment from it by absorption through the thin walls which alone separate it from the mother’s Wood. The umbilical cord contains no nerves, as there is no nervous connection between the mother and the child. The only way in which the child can be influenced by the mother is through the me- dium of the blood, to changes in which it is very susceptible, as we shall see more clearly hereafter. 68 PLAIN FACTS FOB Parturition. Painless Labors. The cord is attached to the body of the child at the point called the navel, being cut oflf at birth by the accovxheur. With the placenta, it is expelled soon after the birth of the child, and constitutes the shapeless mass familiarly known as the after- birth, by the retention of which the most serious trouble is occasionally caused. Parturition. — At the end of the period of de- velopment, the young being is forcibly expelled from the laboratory of nature in which it has been formed. In other words, it is born ; and this proc- ess is termed parturition. Though, at first thought, such an act would seem an utter impossibility, yet it is a very admirable illustration of nature’s adap- tation of means to ends. During the months of gestation, while the uterus has been enlarging to accommodate its daily increasing contents, the gen- emtive passages have also been increasing in size and becoming soft and distensible, so that a seem- ing impossibility is in due time accomplished with- out physical damage, though possibly not without intense suffering. However, it is a most gratify- ing fact that modem medical science may do much to mitigate the pains of childbirth. It is possible, by a proper course of preparation for the expected event, to greatly lessen the suffering usually under- gone ; and some ladies assert that they have thus avoided real pain altogether. Although the cui-se pronounced upon the feminine part of the i-ace, in consequence of the sin of Eve, implies suffering in OLD AND TO UNO. 69 Barbarian Women. Changes in the Child at Birth. the parturient act, yet there is no doubt that the greater share of the daughters of Eve are, through the perverting and degenerating influences of wrong habits and especially of modern civilization, compelled to suffer many times more than their maternal ancestor. We have sufficient evidence of this in the fact that among barbarian women, who are generally less perverted physically than civil- ized women, childbirth is regarded with very little apprehension, since it occasions little pain or in- convenience. The same is true of many women among the lower laboring classes. In short, while it is true that more or less suffering must always accompany the parturient act, yet the excessive pain usually attendant upon the process is the re- sult of causes which can in many cases be removed by proper management beforehand and at the time of confinement. After being relieved of its contents, the uterus and other organs rapidly return to nearly their original size. Changes in the Child at Birth. — In the sys- tem of the child a wonderful change occurs at the moment of its expulsion into the outer world. For the first time, its lungs are filled with air. For the first time they receive the full tide of blood. The whole course of the circulation is changed, and an entirely new process begins. It is surprising in how short a space of time changes so marvelous can be wrou£rht. 70 PLAIN FACTS FOR Nursing. Child Influenced through the Milk. Nursing. — The process of development is not fully complete at birth. The young life is not yet prepared to support itself ; hence, still further pro- vision is necessary for it. It requires prepared food suited to its condition. This is provided by the mammcB, or breasts, of the female, which are glands for secreting milk. The fully developed gland is peculiar to the female ; but a few instances have been known in which it has been sufficiently developed to become functionally active in men, as well as in young girls, though it is usually inactive even in women until near the close of gestation. It is a curious fact that the breasts of a new-born child occasionally contain milk. The first product of the mammae is not the proper milk secretion, but is a yello\vish fiuid called colostrum. The true milk secretion begins two or three da5^s after delivery. The lacteal secretion is influenced in a very re- markable manner by the mental conditions of the mother. By sudden emotions of grief or anger, it has been known to undergo such changes as to produce in the child a fit of indigestion, vomiting, diarrhea, and even convulsions and death. Any medicine taken by the mother finds its way into the milk, and often afiects the delicate system of the infant more than herself. This fact should be a warning to those nursing mothers who use stim- ulants. Cases are not uncommon in which delicate infants are kept in a state of intoxication for OLD AXD YOUNG. .71 ■ Anatomy of Keproduction. Male Organs. weeks by the use of alcoholic drinks by the mother. The popular notion that lager-beer, ale, wine, or alcohol in any other form, is in any degree necessary or beneficial to a nursing woman is a great error which cannot be too often noticed and condemned. Not only is the mother injured, instead of being benefited by such a practice, but great injury, sometimes life-long in its conse- quences, is inflicted upon the babe at her breast who takes the intoxicating poison at second hand, and is influenced in a fourfold degree from its feebleness and great susceptibility. Anatomy of the Reproductive Organs. Having now considered the functions and some- what of the structures of the principal organs of reproduction, we may obtain a more definite idea of the relation of the several organs of each class by a connected review of the anatomy of the parts. Male Organs. — As previously stated, the ex- ternal organs of generation in the male are the penis and the testicles, the latter being contained in a pouch called the scrotum. The penis is the organ of urination as well as copulation. Its structure is cellular, and it contains a vast number of minute coils of blood-vessels which become turgid with blood under the influence of sexual excitement, producing distention and erection of 72 PLAIN FACTS FOB. The Seminal Fluid. The Prostate Gland. the organ. A canal passes through its entire length, called the urethra, which conveys both the urine and the seminal fluid. The organ is pro- tected by a loose covering of integument which folds over the end. This fold is called the fore- skin or 'prepuce. ' The fluid formed by each testicle is conveyed by the vas deferens, a curved tube about two feet in length, to the base of the bladder. Here the vas deferens joins with another duct which communi- cates with an elongated pouch, the vesicula senii- noMs, which lies close upon the under side of the bladder. The single tube thus formed, the ejacu- latory duct, conveys the seminal fluid to the ure- thra, from which it is discharged. As the production of seminal fluid is more or less constant in man and some animals, while its discharge is intermittent, the vesiculte seminales serve as reservoirs for the fluid, preserving it until required, or allowing it to undergo absorption. Some claim that the zobsperms are matured in these organs. They always contain seminal fluid after the age of puberty. During coition, their contents are forcibly expelled by a spasmodic con- traction of the muscles which surround them and the ducts leading from them. The Prostate Gland. — Surrounding the ejac- ulatory ducts and their openings into the urethra at the base of the bladder is the prostate gland, which produces a peculiar secretion which forms a OLD AND YOUNG. 73 The Utriculus. Cowper’s Glaada. Female Organs. considerable portion of the seminal fluid, being mingled with the secretion of the testes during its ejaculation. This gland sometimes becomes the seat of somewhat serious disease. In old age it usually becomes somewhat indurated, and often to such an extent as to seriously affect the health and comfort of the individual by interference with urination and by occasioning pain. Anterior to this organ, in the urethra, is a curi- ous little pouch, the utriculus, which corresponds to the vagina and uterus in the female. Just in front of the prostate gland are two small bodies known as Cou^per’s glands. They secrete a fluid which combines with the seminal secretion. Female Organs. — The ovaries, uterus, or womb, Fallopian tubes, and vagina have already been described in part. The external organs of the fe- male are included in the term vulva or pudenda. The most superficial parts are the labia, two thick folds of integument. Just within these are two thinner folds, the labia minora or nymphce. These, together with the clitoris, situated just above, are extremely sensitive organs, being the chief seat of sexual sense in the female. At the lower part is the opening to the vagina, which in the virgin is usually partially guarded by a thin membrane, the hymen. This is not always a re- liable test of virginity, however, as commonly regarded, since it may be destroyed by disease or 74 PLAIN FACTS FOB The Vagina. The Fallopian Tube. Pabertj'. accident, and may exist even after the occurrence of pregnancy. The vagina extends from the vulva to the lower end of the uterus, which it incloses, passing between the bladder and the rectum. The lower extremity of the uterus presents a small opening which leads into its interior. Upon either side, at its upper and larger end, is a minute opening, the mouth of the Fallopian tube. The latter organs extend from the uterus outward nearly to the ovaries, toward which they present a number of small filaments, one of which is in contact with each ovary. These filaments, together with the interior of the tubes, are covered with a peculiar kind of cells, upon which are minute cilia, or hairs, in constant motion. Veiy curiously, they all move in the same direction, toward the cavity of the uterus. When an ovum escapes from the ovary in connection with menstru- ation, it is by these delicate hairs propelled along a filament of tissue to the Fallopian tube, and thence by the same means is conveyed to the uterus. It may come in contact with the zoosperms at any point between the ovary and the lower orifice of the uterus, and thus undergo fecundation. Puberty. — For a certain period after birth, the sexual organs remain in a partially developed con- dition. This period varies in duration with difler- ent animals ; in some cases being very brief, in oth- ers, comprising several years. Upon the attainment of a certain age, the individual becomes sexually OLD d.NB fOUi/G. i o Influence of Climate on Puberty. Other Causes which Affect Puberty. perfect, and is then capable of the generative act. This period is called puberty. In man, puberty commonly occurs between the ages of ten and fif- teen years, varying considerably in different cli- mates. In this country, and in other countries of about the same latitude, puberty usually occurs at the age of fourteen or fourteen and one-half years in females, and a few months later in males. In cooler climates, as in Norway and Siberia, the change is delayed to the age of eighfeen or nine- teen years. In tropical climates it is hastened, oc- curring as early as nine or ten years. In warm climates it is no uncommon thing for a girl to be a mother at twelve ; and it is stated that one of the wives of Mahomet was a mother at ten. Other causes besides climate tend to hasten the occurrence of this change, as habits, temperament, constitutional tendency, education, and idiosyncrasy. Habits of vigorous physical exercise tend to de- lay the access of puberty. For this reason, together with others, country boys and girls generally ma- ture later than those living in the city by several months, and even a year or two. Anything that tends to excite the emotions hastens puberty. The excitements of city life, parties, balls, theaters, even the competition of students in school, and the vari- ous causes of excitement to the nervous system which occur in city life, have a tendency to hasten the occurrence of the change which awakens the sexual activities of the system into life. Hence, 76 PLAIN FACTS FOE Influence of Diet on Puberty. Proper Articles of Diet. " these influences cannot but be considered prejudi- cial to the best interests of the individual, mentally, morally, and physically, since it is in every way desirable that a change which arouses the pas- sions and gives to them greater intensity should be delayed rather than hastened. Influence of Diet on Puberty. — The dietary has a not unimportant influence in this respect. Stimulating food, such as peppei', vinegar, mustard, spices, and condiments generally, together with tea and coSee, and an excess of animal food, have a clearly appreciable influence in inducing the pre- mature occurrence of puberty. On this account, if on no other, should these articles be prohibited to children and youth, or used very sparingly. Those who advocate the large use of meat by children and youth have not studied this matter closely in all its bearings. While it is true that children and growing youth require an abundance of the nitrog- enous elements of food which are found abun- dantly in beefsteak, mutton, flsh, and other varie- ties of animal food, it is also true that in taking those articles of food they take along with the nu- trient elements properties of a stimulating charac- ter, which exert a decidedly detrimental influence upon the susceptible systems of children and youth. At the same time, it is possible to obtain the same desirable nitrogenous elements in oatmeal, unbolted wheat flour, peas, beans, and other vegetable pro- ductions, which are wholly free from injurious OLD AND YOUNG. 77 Caution in Kegard to Diet. Brunettes Naturally Precocious. properties. We are positive from numerous obser- vations on this subject, that a cool, unstimulating, vesretable or farinaceous diet would deter the de- o velopment of the sexual organism for several months, and perhaps for a year or two. While it might not be in all cases desirable to do this, it would at least be wise to adopt such measures in cases in which the child is unavoida- bly exposed to influences which have a tendency to hasten the change. It is important to add in this connection a word of caution against the adoption of a dietary too abstemious in character. It is necessary that an abundance of good, wholesome food, rich in the elements of nutrition, should be taken regularly. There is no doubt that many young ladies have induced conditions of serious disease by actual starvation of the system. A young woman who attempts to live on strong tea or coSee, fine-flour bread, and sweet cake, is as certainly starving her- self as though she were purposely attempting to commit suicide by means of starvation, and with as much certainty of the same result. Brunettes Naturally Precocious. — It has been observed that in girls the occurrence of puberty is earlier in brunettes than in blondes ; and in gen- eral it makes its appearance earlier in persons of a nervous or nervo-bilious temperament, than in per- sons of a lymphatic temperament or phlegmatic nature. 78 FLAIN FACTS FOR Rsniarkable Prevocit}'. Premature Development. Early Decay. Certain nationalities and families are marked by the earlier occurrence of puberty than in others. In Jews, the change is commonly a year or two in advance of other nationalities in this country. It also occurs somewhat sooner in negroes and creoles than in white persons, the African race seeming to retain something of the precocity occasioned by the tropical influence of its native clime. Remarkable Precocity. — Cases occasionally oc- cur in which puberty makes its appearance at the age of three or four years. Indeed, a case has been reported in this country in which a female child possessed all the characteristics which are usually developed at puberty, from biidh. In this case the regular periodical changes began at birth. Premature Development Occasions Early De- cay. — A fact which is of too great importance to allow to pass unnoticed, is that whatever occasions early or premature sexual development, also occa- sions premature decay. Females in whom puberty occurs at the age of ten or twelve, by the time their age is doubled, are shriveled and Avrinkled with age. At the time when they should be in their prime of health and beauty, they are prema- turely old and broken. Those women who mature late retain their beauty and their strength many years after their precocious sisters have become old, decrepit, and broken down. Thus, the ma- trons of thirty and forty j'ears in colder climates are much more attractive in appearance than the OLD AND YOUNG. 79 Early Puberty a Cause for Anxiety. Changes which Occur at Puberty. maidens of sixteen ; while quite the reverse is true in this and other countries where sexual develop- ment is unduly hastened. Early Puberty a Cause for Anxiety. — The un- naturally early appearance of puberty is a just cause for apprehension, since it usually indicates an inherent weakness of the constitution. When there are reasons for fearing its occurrence, active measures should be taken to occasion delay if pos- sible. We call especial attention to this point, since there are many who erroneously suppose the early occurrence of puberty to be a sign of su- perior vigor. Changes which Occur at Puberty. — The changes which occur in the two sexes at this pe- riod have been thus described : — “ In both sexes, hair grows on the skin covering the symphysis pubis, around the sexual organs, and in the axillte (armpits). In man, the chest and shoulders broaden, the larynx enlarges, and the voice becomes lower in pitch from the elonga- tion of the vocal cords ; hair grows upon the chin, upper lip, and cheeks, and often exists upon the general surface of the body more abundantly than in woman.” The sexual organs undergo enlarge- ment, and are more frequently excited. The tes- ticles first begin the secretion of the seminal fluid. “ In woman, the pelvis and abdomen enlarge, but the whole frame remains more slender, the muscles and joints less prominent, the limbs more L so PLAIN PACTS FOP Liability of Derangement. Suggestions Concerning Treatment. rounded and tapering [than in the male]. Locally, both external and internal organs undergo a con- O O siderable and rapid enlargement. The mammae enlarge, the ovarian vesicles become dilated, and there is established a periodical discharge of one or more ova, accompanied, in most cases, by a san- guineous fluid from the cavity of the uterus. These changes, so varied and extraordinary, often occur within a very short space of time ; and as they are liable to serious derangement, espe- cially in the female, great care should be taken to secure for the individual the most favorable condi- tions until they are successfully effected. It is, however, a fact deserving of mention, that many of the ills which are developed at this particular period are quite as much the result of previous indiscretions and mismanagement as of any imme- diate cause. A few suggestions with regard to the proper treatment of individuals at this age may be in place. 1. Do not allow the boy or girl to be over- worked, either mentally or physically. Great and important changes are occurring within the body, and nature should not be overtaxed. 2. Keep the mind occupied. While excessive labor should be avoided, idleness should be as care- fully shunned. Some light, useful employment or harmless amusement — better some kind of work — should keep the mind fully occupied with whole- some subjects. OLD AND YOUNG. 81 Watch Carefully the Associations. Menstruation. 3. Abundant exercise out-of-doors is essential for both sexes. Sunshine and fresh air are as nec- essary to the development of a human being as for the expanding of a flower bud. 4. Watch carefully the associations of the youth. This should be done at all times, but especially just at the critical period in question, when the general physical disturbances occurring in the sys- tem react upon the mind and make it peculiarly susceptible to influences, especially those of an evil character. 5. None too much care can be exercised at this important epoch of human life, provided it is prop- erly applied ; but nothing could be more disastrous in its consequences than a weak solicitude which panders to every whim and gratifles every per- verted appetite. Sv/ih care is a fatal error. Menstruation. — The functional changes which occur in the female are much more marked than those of the male. As already intimated, the peri- odical development and discharge of an ovum by the female, which occurs after puberty, is accom- panied by the discharge of a bloody fluid, which is known as the jiowers, menses, or catamenia. The accompanying symptoms together are termed the process of menstruation, or being umvell. This usually occurs, in the human female, once in about four weeks. In special cases, the interval may be a week less or a week longer ; or the variation may be even greater. Dalton describes the proc- ess as follows : — 6 82 PLAIN FACTS FOB Premonitory Symptoms. Duration of Menstrual Period. “ When the expected period is about to come on, the female is affected by a certain degree of dis- comfort and lassitude, a sense of weight in the pelvis, and more or less disinclination to society. These symptoms are in some cases slightly pro- nounced, in others more troublesome. An unusual discharge of vaginal mucus then begins to take place, which soon becomes yellowish or rusty brown in color, from the admixture of a certain proportion of blood ; and by the second or third day, the discharge has the appearance of nearly pure blood. The unpleasant sensations which were at first manifest, then usually subside ; and the discharge, after continuing for a certain period, begins to grow more scanty. Its color changes from a pure red to a brownish or rusty tinge, until it finally disappears altogether, and the female re- turns to her ordinary condition.” The menstrual function continues active from puberty to about the forty-fifth year, or during the period of fertility. When it finally disappears, the woman is no longer capable of bearing children. The time of disappearance is termed the “ change, of life,” or menopause. Exceptional cases occur in which this period is greatly hastened, arriving as , early as the thirty-fifth year, or even earlier. In- • ; stances have also been observed in which menstru- i ation continued as late as the sixtieth year, and even later ; but such cases are very rare ; and if procreation occurs, the progeny is feeble and senile. , OLD AND YOUNG. 83 Nature of Menstruation. Discharge of the Ovum. With rare exceptions, the function is suspended during pregnancy, and usually, also, during the period of nursing. Nature of Menstruation. — There has been a great amount of speculation concerning the cause and nature of the menstrual process. No entirely satisfactory conclusions have been reached, how- ever, except that it is usually accompanied by the maturation and expulsion from the ovary of an ovum, which is termed ovulation. But menstrua- tion may occur without ovulation, and vice versa. Menstruation is not peculiar to the human fe- male, being represented in the higher animals by what is familiarly termed the “ rut.” This is not usually a bloody discharge, however, as in the hu- man female, though such a discharge has been observed in the monkey. It has been quite satisfactorily settled that the discharge of the ovum from the ovary generally takes place about the time of the cessation of the flow. Immediately after the discharge, the sexual desires of the female are more intense than at other times. This fact is particularly manifest in lower animals. The following remark by Prof. Dalton is especially significant to those who care to appre- ciate its bearing : — “ It is a remarkable fact, in this connection, that the female of these [domestic] animals will allow the approaches of the male only during and imme- diately after the oestrual period [rut] ; that is, just 84 PLAIN FACTS FOR A Critical Period. Important Hints, ■when tlie egg is recently discharged, and ready for impregnation. At other times, when sexual inter- course would be necessarily fruitless, the instinct of the animal leads her to avoid it ; and the con- course of the sexes is accordingly made to corre- spond in time with the maturity of the egg and its aptitude for fecundation.” The amount of fluid lost during the menstrual flow varies greatly "with diflerent individ'uals. It is estimated at from three ounces to half a pint. In cases of deranged function, it may he much greater than this. It is not all blood, however, a consider- able portion being mucus. It is rather difficult to understand why the discharge of so considerable a quantity of blood is required. There is no benefit derived from a very copious discharge, as some suppose. Facts seem to indicate that in general those enjoy the best, health who lose but small quantities of blood in this manner. A Critical Period. — As the first occurrence of menstruation is a very critical period in the life of a female, and as each recurrence of the function renders her especially susceptible to morbid influ- ences, and liable to serious derangements, a few hints respecting the proper care of an individual at these periods may be acceptable. Important Hints. — 1. Avoid taking cold. To do this, it is necessary to avoid exposure ; not that a person must be constantly confined in a warm room, for such a course would be the surest way in OLB AND YOUNG. 85 How to Prevent Colds. Best during Menstruation, which to increase the susceptibility to cold. Noth- ing will disturb the menstrual process more quickly than a sudden chilling of the body when in a state of perspiration, or after confinement in a warm room, by exposure, without sufficient protection, to cold air. A daily bath and daily exercise in the open air are the best known means of preventing colds. 2. Intense mental excitement, as well as severe physical labor, is to be sedulously avoided during this period. At the time of its first occurrence, special care should be observed in this direction. Intense study, a fit of anger, sudden grief, or even great merriment, will sometimes arrest the process prematurely. The feeling of malaise which usu- ally accompanies the discharge is by nature in- tended as a warning that rest and quiet are re- quired ; and the hint should be followed. Every endeavor should be made to keep the individual comfortable, calm, and cheerful. Feelings of ap- prehension arising from a continual watching of symptoms are very depressing, and should be avoided by occupying the mind in some agreeable manner not demanding severe efibrt, either mental or physical. There is no doubt that many young women have permanently injured their constitutions while at school by excessive mental taxation during the catamenial period, to which they were prompted by ambition to excel,, or were compelled by the 80 PLAIN FACTS FOR ’v^'hy Young Women Break Down. Custom of Indian W^omen. “ cramming ” system too generally pursued in our schools, and particularly in young ladies’ semina- ries. It is not to be supposed, however, that the moderate amount of sound study required by a correct system of teaching would be injurious to a healthy young woman at any time, and we have no doubt that a very large share of the injury which has been attributed to over-study during the catamenia has been induced by other causes, such' as improper dress, exposure to taking cold, keep- ing late hours, and improper diet. If there is any class of persons deserving of pity it is that large class of girls and young women who are in every large city employed as clerks, seam- stresses, flower makers, and in other taxing and confining occupations. In order to keep their sit- uations they are required to he on hand daily, being allowed no opportunity for rest at the men- strual period. In many cases, too, they are com- pelled to remain upon their feet all day behind a counter, or at a work table, even at periods when a recumbent position is actually demanded h}^ nat- ure.^ There shoidd he less delicacy in relation to this subject on the part of young women, and more consideration on the part of employers. Here is a field for philanthropic efibrt which is well worthy of the best efi'orts of any person of influence who will engage in it. Custom of Indian Women.— The ease with which Indian women perform the parturient act is OLD AND YOUNG. 87 Hebrew Women, Results of Recklessness. proverbial. They suffer scarcely at all from the pains of childbirth ; and without doubt one reason of this is the preservation of their sexual health by rest during the menstrual period. At those seasons they invariably absent themselves from the lodge, and enjoy absolute rest. We may readily suppose, from the nature of some of the Mosaic laws, that a custom somewhat similar prevailed among the an- cient Hebrew women. If the hardy women of the forest are benefited by rest, certainly our more del- icate females may be thus benefited. All need a degree of rest ; with some it should be absolute. The reckless manner in which some young women treat themselves at the menstrual period, is quite appalling to one who is acquainted with the painful and inveterate character of the evils which arise from such abuse. It is no uncommon , thing for young ladies to attend balls, visit skating rinks, and otherwise expose themselves to the influences in every way the best calculated to do them the most harm at this particular period, observing- not the slightest precaution. Such recklessness is really criminal; and the sad consequences of physical transgression are sure to follow. A young lady who allows herself to get wet or chilled, or gets the feet wet, just prior to or during menstruation, runs the risk of imposing upon herself life-long injury. Mothers should look carefully after their daughters at these periods, and impress upon them the impor- tance of special care. 88 FLAIIf FACTS FOR Health Hints. Obey the Demands of Nature. 3. A third hint, which is applicable to both sexes and at all times, is the necessity of attending promptly to the demands of nature for relief of the bowels and bladder. School-girls are often very negligent in this respect ; and we have seen the most distressing cases of disease which were en- tirely attributable to this disregard of the prompt- ings of nature. Obstinate constipation and chronic irritation of the bladder are common effects. When constipation results, purgatives in the shape of pills, salts, or “ pleasant purgative pellets,” are resorted to with the certain result of producing only tem- porary relief, and permanent damage. To escape these evil consequences, do this : 1. Establish a regular habit of relieving the bowels daily at a certain hour ; 2. Discard laxative and cathartic drugs of every kind; 3. To aid in secur-- ing a regular movement of the bowels, make a liberal use of oatmeal, wheat-meal, fruit, and veg- etables, avoiding fine-flour bread, sweetmeats, and condiments ; 4. Take daily exercise, as much as possible short of fatigue ; if necessarily confined in- doors, counteract the constipating influence of sed- entary habits by kneading and percussing the bowels with the hands several minutes each day ; b. Never resist the calls of nature a single moment, if possible to avoid it. In this case, as in numer- ous others, “ delay is dangerous.” Ladies who de- sire a sweet breath — and what lady does not — should remember that retained feces are one of the OLD AND YOUNG. 89 Cause of Foul Breath. XJnhealthful Dress. most frequent causes of foul breath. The foul odors which ought to pass out through the bowels find their way into the blood and escape at the lungs. A medical man whose sense of smell is delicate soon learns to know a constipated person by the breath. As one says, “What is more offensive than the breath of a costive child ? ” Boerhaave, a famous old Dutch physician, left to his heirs an elegantly bound volume in which, he claimed, were written all the secrets of the sci- ence of physic. After his death, the wonderful book was opened, when it was found to contain only the following sentence : — “ Keep the head cool, the feet warm, and the bowels open.” An old Scotch physician once gave the following- advice to Sir Astley Cooper for the preservation of health : — “ Keep in the fear of the Lord, and your bowels open.” 4. Perhaps nothing tends more directly to the production of menstrual derangements — as well as uterine diseases of every sort — than fashionable modes of dress. We have not space here to give to the subject the attention it deserves ; it will be found treated of in works devoted to the subject of dress exclusively. Some of the most glaring evils are, — (1) Unequal distribution of clothing. The trunk, especially the abdomen and pelvis, is covered with 90 PLAIN FACTS FOR Protection of the Limbs. Tight Lacing. numerous layers of clothing, an extra amount being caused by the overlapping of the upper and lower garments. Very frequently, the amount of cloth- ing upon these, the most vital parts, is excessive. At the same time, the limbs are sometimes almost in a state of nudity. A single cotton garment, or at most one of thin flannel, is the only protection af- forded to the limbs beneath the skirts, which often serve no better purpose than to collect cold air and retain it in contact with the limbs. A thin stocking is the only protection for the ankles, and a thin shoe is the only additional covering afforded the feet. Under such circumstances, it is no wonder that a woman catches cold if she only steps out- of-doors on a chilly or damp day. (2) Another glaring fault is in the manner of suspending the skirts. Instead of being fastened to a waist or suspended so as to give them support from the shoulders, they are hung upon the hips, l)eiug drawn tight at the waist to secure support. By this means, the organs of the pelvis are pressed down out of place. The uterus becomes congested, and painful menstrual derangements ensue. (3) Tight lacing, or compressing the waist with a corset, is a barbarous practice which produces the same ^results as the one last mentioned. Re- form in all of these particulars is an imperative necessity for every woman who desires to secure or retain sexual health. It is of the greatest importance that carefu! OLD AND YOUNG, 91 Beginning of Menstruation. Menorrhagia. attention should be given to the proper establish- ment of the menstrual function at the outset of a woman’s life of sexual activity. The first two years will be quite likely to have a deciding influ- ence respecting her health during her whole future life. If a woman can get through the first two years after puberty without acquiring any serious uterine or ovarian disease, she will stand a good chance of enjoying a good degree of sexual health during the balance of her life. The foundation of a great share of the many thousands of cases of uterine disease is laid during this period. At this early period the daughter is usually too young to appreciate the importance of observing slight deviations from the standard of health, even if .she were able to recognize them. Hence it is a duty which no mother should neglect, to inquire into the exact frequency of the periods, the amount and character of the discharge, and other points necessary to ascertain whether or not there is any deviation from the natural condition of health. If there is pain, it is a certain evidence of something seriously wrong. If there is irregularity in any particular, it is a matter well deserving of serious attention. Menorrhagia. — This condition is that in which there is a too profuse discharge of blood. The system is weakened by the loss, and, so much so, in many cases, that the individual does not recover her accustomed strength before the occurrence of 92 FLAIK FACTS FOF False Delicacy. Eemedial Appliances. the next period, when she becomes weakened still more. By a continuance of this periodical loss, the person may be reduced to a state of almost utter helplessness. A deathly pallor of the coun- tenance, extreme emaciation, loss of strength, and general debility mark the effects of the constant drain upon the system. Thousands of young wo- men continue to suffer in this way year after year, until their constitutions are almost hopelessly wrecked, being deterred by false notions of mod- esty or delicacy from consulting a proper medical adviser and finding relief. The observance of a few simple precautions, and the application of proper remedies, will check the unnatural loss in most of these cases very promptly. In the first place, absolute rest, chiefiy in a supine position, must be observed not only during the men- strual period, but for a few days previous to its commencement. If this does not restrain the fiow, then cool and even cold compresses may be applied to the lower part of the abdomen and to the small of the back. In severe cases no harm will come from the use of an ice-compress, made by inclosing pounded ice between the folds of a towel. Great care must be taken to make the hands, arms, feet, and limbs thoroughly warm by the application of warm bottles and woolen blankets. These meas- ures will scarcely fail to accomplish the desired end, if employed thoroughly and judiciously. It may be well to add just here that the popular fear OLD AND TOUNQ, 93 Directions for the General Health. The Hip Bath and Douche. of using cold in such cases is groundless. No harm can come so long as the extremities are kept warm, and the circulation well balanced. The pa- tient must not be made chilly, however. It is also of importance that the patient be kept mentally (piiet as well as physically so. Much good will result from these simple meas- ures at the time of the period ; but a radical cure can only be effected by removing the cause of the difficulty. The patient’s general health must be improved, and local congestion must be removed. This will be accomplished by attention to general hygiene, gentle exercise out-of-doors between the periods, abundance of good food, tonic baths and other necessary treatment if there is derange- ment of the digestive organs, and daily hip baths with a local douche. The hip bath should be taken in water of a temperature of 92° at the be- ginning. After five minutes the temperature may be lowered 5°. After five minutes more, it may be lowered a few degrees more. By taking a warm foot bath at 95° or 100° at the same time, quite a cool bath may be endured without chilling. The bath should be continued 15 minutes to 30 min- utes, according to the strength of the patient. A shorter bath than this will do little good, as the sedative efiect will not be obtained. The douche may be taken at the same time with the bath, or before, as is most convenient. The fountain or sypjion syringe should be employed. 94 PLAIN FACTS FOP Bj'smenorrhcea. Treatment of the Malauy. and the water used should range from 95° to 105°, as best suits the sensations of the patient, being cooled a little toward the last. In general, the hot douche, of a temperature fi'om 100° to 115°, or even 120°, is not only more agreeable, but much more beneficial. By these simple remedies alone we have success- fully treated scores of cases of this sort. In some cases other remedies may be required, and in nearly all, accessory remedies can be employed to advan- tage ; but the measures described are the main features of the most successful mode of treatment. Dysmenorrlioea. — This condition is that in which there is more or less pain and difficulty in connec- tion w'ith the menstrual process. The causes are various, as congestion of the uterus, malformation, and displacement or distortion of the organ. Some of these conditions require the attention of a skilled physician to remedy ; but aU will be palliated more or less by a course of treatment similar to that described for the previous condition. A warm sitz or hip bath just at the beginning of the period will often give almost magical relief. The application of fomentations over the lower part of the abdomen, and the corresponding portion of the spine, or of hot bags, bottles, etc., in the same localities, is a measure of great utility. The patient should be covered warm in bed, should keep quiet, and great care should be used to keep the extremities well warmed. The use of electricity is a very valuable OLD AND YOUNG. 95 Amenorrhoea and Chlorosis. Hysteria. aid in numerous cases, but this requires the services of a physician, who should always be employed in severe cases when within reach. In many cases of this form of disease the suffer- ing is so great that the constant dread of its period- ical repetition becomes a source of great unhappi- ness, and casts a gloom over the life of an individ- ual who would otherwise be as happy as could be desired. Amenorrhoea and Chlorosis. — These are se- rious disorders which require prompt and vigorous attention. They depend less frequently on disorder of the sexual organs themselves than upon some disorder of the general system. They usually demand the attention of a competent physician, and require a more accurate description of their nature and of proper modes of treatment than we have space to give here. Hysteria.— From the most remote ages of med- ical history this disease has been regarded as inti- mately connected with morbid states of the female organs of generation, especially the uterus. That it is not exclusively produced by causes of this kind is evidenced by the fact that men also some- times suffer from this curious malady. The phases which it assumes are so numerous that we shall not attempt an accurate description of it ; neither is this required, as there are few who are not famil- iar with its peculiar manifestations. It simulates almost every disease. Even consumption and other 9Q PLAIN FALLS FOR Serious Diseases Simulated. Cause of Hysteria. formidable maladies have been so completely simu- lated by this disorder as to deceive physicians of long experience. We have met cases in which young ladies were supposed to be in the last stages of pulmonary disease, were apparently gasping al- most their last breath, panting, coughing, and ex- periencing the usual symptoms which accompany tuberculous disease of the lungs, when, upon mak- ing a thorough physical examination of the chest, we could find no evidence of pulnuonary disease. In one case we incurred the everlasting displeasure of a young lady by disclosing the real state of af- fairs ; but Ave were repaid in seeing an immediate disappearance of the symptoms, and complete recov- ery within six weeks, although the young woman had been considered hopelessly ill by her friends and physicians for six months, and was tenderly watched over, petted,' and mourned by friends as one who must soon fall a victim to fell disease. The foundation of this disease is almost always laid in some indiscretion by means of which dis- ease of the uterus is induced, and the most careful attention to this part of the organism is required. It should not be treated as a trivial matter which is wholly the result of a diseased imagination, and requires only mental ^treatment, since it is a real malady, dependent upon morbid states of the sys- tem. It requires substantial and thorough treat- ment as much as rheumatism, dyspepsia, or any other of the numerous diseases to which humanity is subject. OLD AND YOUNG. 97 Prevention Better than Cure. Extra-Uterine Pregnancy. Prevention Better tlian Cure. — We might mention numerous other diseased conditions which grow out of inattention to the laws of health re- lating to the sexual organism ; hut to dwell longer upon this part of the subject would be to depart from the plan of this work, and we must forbear. This whole class of maladies is noted for obstinacy in great numbers of cases when the morbid condi- tions have existed for a long time. In addition it should be remarked that some of the most inveter- ate disorders of the nervous system originate in this same manner. The thousands of ladies who are suffering with spinal irritation, organic disease of the spine and other nervous disorders, are wit- nesses to this fact. It is apparent, then, that pre- vention of these serious maladies by attention to sexual hygiene, especially to the hygiene of men- struation at the first establishment of that function, is a matter of gravest importance. In fact, atten- tion to hygiene is about all that is required. With this, drugs will be rarely required ; without, they will be utterly useless. Extra-Uterine Pregnancy. — Sometimes the ovum becomes fecundated before reaching the uterus, and, instead of passing onward into that organ as usual, remains in its position in the Fal- lopian tube or even on the surface of the ovary. Occasionally an ovum falls into the cavity of the abdomen instead of passing into the tube. Even in this situation it may be fecundated. Impreg- 7 98 PLAIN FACTS FOB Multiple Berths. Incredible Fecundity. nated ova thus left in abnormal positions, undergo a greater or lesser degree of development. They commonly result in the death of the mother. Twins. — The human female usually matures but one ovum at each menstrual period, the two ovaries acting alternately. Occasionally two ova are ma- tured at once. If fecundation occurs, the result will be a development of two embryos at the same time. In rare cases, three or even four ova are matured at once, and by fecundation produce a cor- responding number of embryos. As many as five children have been born alive at one birth, but have not lived more than a few minutes. The occurrence of multiple pregnancies may be explained by the supposition that ova matured sub- sequent to the first fecundation are also fecundated. In lower animals, the uterus is often divided into two long segments which afibrd room for the devel- opment of a number of young at once. Some an- cient writers make most absurd statements with regard to the fecundity of females. One declares that the simultaneous birth of seven or eight in- fants by the same mother was an ordinary occur- rence with Egyptian women ! Other statements still more extravagant are made by writei’s. For example : A traveler in the seventeenth century wrote that he saw, in the 3mar 1630, in a church near the Hague, a tablet on w^hich was an inscrip- tion stating that a certain noted countess gave birth at once, in the year 1276, to 365 infants, who were OLD AND TO UNO. 99 Monsters. Explanation of Popular Errors. all baptized and christened, the males being all called John, and the females, Elizabeth. They all died on the day of their birth, with their mother, according to the account, and were buried in the church, where a tablet was erected to their memory. Monsters. — Defects and abnormalities in the de- velopment of the embryon produce all degrees of deviation from the typical human form. Excessive development may result in an extra finger or toe, or in the production of some peculiar excrescence. Deficiency of development may produce all degrees of abnormality from the simple harelip to the most frightful deficiency, as the absence of a limb, or even of a head. It is in this manner that those unfortunate individuals known as hermaphrodites are formed. An excessive development of some parts of the female generative oi’gans gives them a great degree of similarity to the external organs of the male. A deficient development of the male or- gans renders them very similar in form to those of the female. Redundant development of the sexual organism sometimes results in the development of both kinds of organs in the same individual in a state more or less complete. Cases have occurred in which it has become necessary, for legal pur- poses, to decide respecting the sex of an individual sufiering from defective development, and it has sometimes been exceedingly difficult to decide in a given case whether the individual was male or fe- male. 100 PLAIN FACTS FOB The Carolina and Siamese Twins. Hybrids. Such curious cases as the Carolina twins and Chang and Eng were formerly supposed to be the result of the union of two separate individuals. It is now believed that they are developed from a single ovum. It has been observed that the prim- itive trace — described in a previous section — some- times undergoes partial division longitudinally. If it splits a little at the anterior end, the individual ^11 have a single body with two heads. If a par- tial division occurs at each end, the resulting being will possess two heads and two pairs of legs joined to a single body. More complete division produces a single trunk with two heads, two pairs of arms, and two pairs of legs, as in the case of the Carolina twins. Still more complete division may result in the formation of two perfect individuals almost en- tirely independent of each other, physiologically, but united by a narrow band, as in the remarkable Siamese twins, Chang and Eng. In a curious case reported not a great while ago, a partially developed infant was amputated from the cheek of a child some time after birth. The precise cause of these strange modifications of development is as yet, in great degree, a mystery. Hybrids. — It is a well-known law of biology that no progeny result from union of animals of. different species. Different varieties of the same species may in some cases form a fertile union, the result of which is a cross between its two parents, possessing some of the qualities of each. The mule OX.U AMD YOUNG. 101 Hybrids Fterile. Law of Sex. is the product of such a union between the horse and the ass. A curious fact is that the offspring of such unions are themselves sterile almost without exception. The reason of this is that they do not produce mature elements of generation. In the mule, the zoosperms are either entirely absent or else very imperfectly developed; hence the fact' that a colt having a mule for its sire is one of the rarest of curiosities, though a few instances have been reported. This is a wise law of nature to pre- serve the purity of species. Law of Sex. — If there is a law by which the sex of the developing embryon is determined, it probably has not yet been discovered. The influ- ence of the will, the predominant vitality of one or the other of the parents, and the period at which conception occurs, have all been supposed to be the determining cause. A German physician some time since advanced the theory that the two testicles and ovaries produce elements of different sexual character, the right testicle forming zoosperms capable of producing only males, and the right ovary producing- ova with the same peculiarity. The left testis and the left ovary he supposed to form the female elements. He claimed to have proved his theory by experiments upon animals. Even if true, this theory will not be made of prac- tical importance. It is, in fact, nothing more than a revival of an old theory held by physicians who flourished more than two thousand years ago. 102 PLAIN FACTS FOB A Plausible Theory. Heredity. More recently another German physician has advanced the theory that the sex may be con- trolled at will by observing the time of fecunda- tion. He asserts that when fecundation occurs shortly after menstruation, the result ■will be a female; but if impregnation occurs later in the month, and prior to the three or four days preced- ing the next menstrual period, a male 'will almost certainly be produced. This theory was proposed by Prof. Thury of the academy of Geneva, who claims to have thoroughly tested it in a great variety of ways, and always with an affinnative result. Dr. Heitzman, of New York, an instructor in pathological histology, and an eminent physiolo- gist, informs us that he has thoroughly tested this theory, and finds it to be entirely reliable. There are numerous facts which seem to corroborate the truth of this theory, and future investigations may give to it the dignity of an established physiolog- ical fact. Heredity. — The phenomena of heredity are among the most interesting of biological studies. It is a matter of common observation that a child looks like its parents. It even happens that a child resembles an uncle or a grandparent more nearly than either parent. The same peculiarities are often seen in animals. The cause of this resemblance of ofispring to parents and ancestors has been made a subject of careful study by scientific men. W e shall present OLD AL^D YOUNG. 103 The Doctrine of Pangenesia. Illusti'atiTe Experiments. the most recent theory adopted, which, although it he but a theory, presents such an array of facts in its support, and explains the phenomena in ques- tion so admirably, that it must be regarded as something more than a plausible hypothesis. It is the conception of one of the most distinguished scientists of the age. The theory is known as the doctrine of pangenesis, and is essentially as fol- lows : — It is a fact well known to physiologists that every part of the living body is made up of cellu- lar elements which have the power to reproduce themselves in the individual, thus repairing the damage resulting from waste and injury. Each cell produces cells like itself. It is further known that there are found in the body numerous central points of growth. In every group of cells is found a central cell from which the others originated, and which determines the form of their growth. Every minute structure possesses such a center. A simple proof of this fact is found in the exper- iment in which the spur of a cock was grafted upon the ear of an ox. It lived in this novel sit- uation eight years, attaining the length of nine inches, and nearly a pound in weight. A tooth has been made to grow upon the comb of a cock in a similar manner. The tail of a pig survived the operation of transplanting from its proper position to the back of the animal, and retained its sensi- bility. Numerous other similar illustrations might be given. 104 PLAiy FACTS FOR Development of Cells. The Problems of Heredity Explained. The doctrine of pangenesis supposes that these centers of nutrition form and throw off not only cells like themselves, but very minute granules, called gemmules, each of which is capable, under suitable circumstances, of developing into a cell like its parent. These minute granules are scattered through the system in great numbers. The essential organs of generation, the testicles in the male and the ova- ries in the female, perform the task of collecting these gemmules and forming them into sets, each of which constitutes a reproductive element, and contains, in rudimentary form, a representative of every part of the individual, including the most minute peculiarities. Even more than this : It is supposed that each ovum and each zoosperm con- tains not only the gemmules necessary to repro- duce the individuals who produced them, but also a number of gemmules which have been ti’ansmitted from the individuals’ ancestors. If this theory be true, — and we can see no sound objection to it, — it is easy to understand all the problems of heredity. The gemmules must be very small indeed, but it may be suggested that the molecules of matter are smaller still, so this fact is no objection to the theory. It will be seen, then, that each spermatozoon, or zoosperm, actually contains, in an embryonic condition, every organ and tissue of the individual producing it. The same is true of the ovum. In OLD AND YOUNG. 105 The Theory Confirmed. Ante-Natal Influences. other words, the reproductive elements are com- plete representatives, in miniature, of the parents, and contain all the elements for producing an offspring possessing the same peculiarities as the parents. Various modifying circumstances suffi- ciently explain the dissimilarities between parents and children. This theory is strikingly confirmed by the fact, previously mentioned, that in certain cases the ovum alone, a single reproductive element, may undergo a degree of development approaching very near to completion. It is supposed that fecunda- tion is chiefly necessary to give to the gemmules the requisite amount of nourishment to insure development. As we shall see hereafter, this matter has a veiy important bearing upon several practical questions. Ante-Natal Influences. — There can be no man- ner of doubt that many circumstances which it is entirely within the power of the parents to supply, exert a powerful influence in molding both the mental and the physical characteristics of offspring. By carefully availing himself of the controlling power given him by a knowledge of this fact, the stock-raiser is enabled to produce almost any re- quired quality in his young animals. Pigeon fan- ciers show wonderful skill in thus producing most curious modifications in birds. The laws of hered- ity and development are carefully studied and ap- plied in the production of superior horses, cows. 106 PLAIN FACTS FOR Keckless Generation. Law Uniyei-sal. dogs, and pigeons ; but an application of the same principles to the improvement of the human race is rarely thought of. Human beings are generated in as haphazard and reckless a manner as weeds are sown by the wind. No account is taken of the possible influence which may be exerted upon the future destiny of the new being by the phys- ical or mental condition of parents at the moment when the germ of life is planted, or by the mental and physical conditions and surroundings of the mother while the young life is developing. In- deed, the assertion of a modem winter that the poor of our great cities virtually “ spawn children,” with as little thought of influences and conse- quences as the fish that sow their eggs broadcast upon the waters, is not so great an exaggeration as it might at first sight appear to be. Law Universal. — Men and women are con- stantly prone to forget that the domain of law is universal. Nothing comes by chance. The revo- lutions of the planets, studied by the aid of the telescope, and the gyrations of the atoms, seen only by the eye of science, are alike examples of the controlling influence of law. Notwithstanding this sad ignoi’ance and disregard of this vitally impor- tant subject, the effects of law are only too clearly manifested in the crowds of ‘umetched human be- ings with which the world is thronged. An old writer sagely remarks, “ It is the greatest part of our felicity to be well born nevertheless, it is the OLD AND TOUNO. 107 A Source of Ciiine. Crinnnality Hereditary. sad misfortune of by far the greater portion of humanity to be deprived of this inestimable “ fe- licity.” I A Source of Crime. — Who can tell how many of the liars, thieves, drunkards, murderers, and prosti- tutes of our day are less responsible for their crimes against themselves, against society, and against Heaven, than those who were instrumental in bringing them into the world ? Almost every vil- lage has its boy “ who was born drunk,” a stagger- ing, simpering, idiotic representative of a drunken father, beastly intoxicated at the very moment when he should have been most sober. An interesting study of this question has recently ^ been made by Mr. Dugdale, a member of the Prison Association of the State of New York. When visiting ‘the various jails of the State, he found in one six persons detained for crimes of vari- ous character, between all of whom there was a family relation. Upon further inquiry, he found that of the same family there wei’e twenty-nine relatives in the vicinity, seventeen of whom were criminals. Still further investigation developed the following facts : — Within seventy-five years, a family of 1200 per- sons have sprung from five sisters, several of whom were illegitimate, and three of whom were known to be unchaste, and who married men whose father was an idle, thriftless hunter, a hard drinker, and licentious. 108 PLAIN FA\~T& FOB The Juke Family. Legislation Needed. Of this family, the history of hut 709 was traced. Of these, the facts set forth iu the following in- complete summary were found to be true : — Paupers, 280 Years of pauperism, 798 Criminals, 140 Years of infamy, ■ 750 Thieves, 60 Murderers, ' 7 Prostitutes and adulteresses, 165 Illegitimate children, 91 No. of persons contaminated by syphilitic disease, . . 480 Cost to the State in various ways, §1,308,000 Without doubt a complete summary would m.ake this showing still more appalling, since of the 709 whose histories were traced, it was in many in- stances impossible to determine whether the indi- viduals were guilty of crime or unchastity or not, even where there were grounds for suspicion. Such cases were not included in the summary. No amount of argument on this question could be so conclusive as are these simple facts concerning the “Juke” family. It is certainly high time that our legislators began to awaken to this subject, and consider whether it wordd be an unprofitable experiment to make some attempt to prevent the multiplication of criminals in this manner. We are not prepared to offer a plan for securing such an end ; but it is very clearly important that some- thing should be done in this direction. OLD AND YOUNG. 109 Transniitted Sezuad Depravity. Cause of Disease and Deformity. It is an established physiological fact that the character of offspring is influenced by the mental as well as the physical conditions of the parents at the moment of the performance of the generative act. In view of this fact, how many parents can regard the precocious — or even mature — manifesta- tions of sexual depravity in, their children without painful smitings of conscience at seeing the legiti- mate results of their own sensuality ? By debas- ing the reproductive function to an act of self- ish animal indulgence, they imprinted upon their children an almost irresistible tendency to vice. Viewing the matter from this stand-point, what wonder that licentiousness is rife ! that true chas- tity is among the rarest of virtues ! Prof. 0. W. Holmes remarks on this subject: “ There are people who think that everything may be done if the doctor, be he educator or physician, be only called in season. No doubt; but in sea- son would often be a hundred or two years be- fore the child was born, and people never send so early as that.” “ Each of us is only the footing up of a double column of figures that goes back to the first pair. Every unit tells, and some of them are 2 )lns and some minus. If the columns do n’t add up right, it is commonly because we can’t make out all of the figures.” It cannot be doubted that the throngs of deaf, blind, crippled, idiotic unfortunates who were “born so,” together with a still larger class of dwarfed. 110 PLAIN FACTS FOR The Child a Eeflection of the Parent. Results of Attention to Laws. diseased, and constitutionally weak individuals, are the lamentable results of the violation of some sex- ual law on the part of their progenitors. If parents would stop a moment to consider the momentous responsibilities involved in the act of bringing into existence a human being; if they would reflect that the qualities imparted to the new being will aflect its character to all eternity ; if they would recall the fact that they are about to produce a mirror in which will be reflected their own char- acters divested of all the flimsy fabrics which deceive their fellow-men, revealing even the secret imagin- ings of their hearts, — there would surely be far less of sin, disease, and misery born into the world than at the present day ; but we dare not hope for such a reform. To effect it, would require such a revo- lution in the customs of society, such a radical re- form in the habits and charactei's of individuals, as nothing short of a temporal millennium would be able to effect. It is quite probable that some writers have greatly exaggerated the possible results which may be attained by proper attention to the laws under consideration. All cannot be equally beautiful ; every child cannot be a genius ; the influence of six thousand years of transgression cannot be ef- faced in a single generation ; but persevering, con- scientious efforts to comply with every requirement of health, purity, morality, and the laws of nature, will accomplish wonders in securing healthy chil- OLD AND YOUNG. Ill Effect of Lust upon the Child. Transmission of Qualities. dren with good dispositions, brilliant intellects, and beautiful bodies. This is not the proper place to describe in detail a plan to be pursued ; but the few hints given, if rightly appreciated, may enable those interested in the subject to plan for themselves a proper course. In concluding the subject, we may summarize its chief points as follows, for the purpose of impress- ing them more fully upon the mind : — 1. If a child is begotten in lust, its lower passions will as certainly be abnormally developed as peas will produce peas, or potatoes produce potatoes. If the child does not become a rake or a prostitute, it will be because of uncommonly fortunate sur- roundings, or a miracle of divine grace. But even then, what terrible struggles with sin and vice, with foul thoughts and lewd imaginations — the product of a naturally abnormal mind — must such an individual suffer ! If he is unsuccessful in the conflict, is he alone to blame ? Society, his fellow- men, will censure him alone ; but He who knoweth all the secrets of human life will pass a more leni- ent judgment on the erring one, and mete out pun- ishment where it most belongs. 2. The same remarks apply with equal force to the transmission of other qualities. If the interest of the parents is only for self, with no thought for the well-being of the one whose destiny is in their hands, they can expect naught but a selfish charac- ter, a sordid, greedy disposition, in the child. 112 PLAIN FACTS FOB Influence During Gestation. Proper Development. 3. The influence of the father is, at the outset, as great as that of the mother. The unhappy or im- moi'al thoughts of one alone at the critical moment when life is imparted, may fix for eternity a foul blot upon a character yet unformed. 4. If during gestation the mother is fretful, com- plaining, and exacting ; if she requires to be petted and waited upon ; if she gratifies every idle whim and indulges every depraved desire and perverted appetite — as thousands of mothers do — the result will surely be a peevish, fretful child, that will de- velop into a morose and irritable man or woman, imperious, unthankful, disobedient, willful, glutton- ous, and vicious. If such undesirable results would be avoided, the following suggestions should be regarded : — 1. For the beginning of a new life, select the most favorable time, which will be when the bodily health is at its height ; when the mind is free from care and anxiety ; when the heart is joyous, cheer- ful, and filled with hope, love, high aspirations, pure and beautiful thoughts. If, as one writer says, it is the duty of every human pair engaging in the reproductive act to bring into existence the most perfect specimen of the race of which they are capable, then it becomes a monstrous crime to enter into relations which may produce a contrary result. This may be a truth hard to accept, but who is pre- pared to dispute it on logical or moral grounds ? 2. If a child has been properly conceived, the OLD AND YOUNG. 113 CultiTatioQ of Desirable Qualities. Circumcision. duty then devolves upon the mother to secure its proper development. Is beauty desired, let the mother he surrounded with beautiful objects ; and let her mind dwell upon such objects. If an active mind and brilliant intellect are required, the mother should devote considerable time to study and men- tal labor of a pleasant nature. The moral nature should be carefully cultivated, to insure a lovely disposition. No angry words or unhappy feelings should be tolerated. Purity of heart and life should he maintained. The husband should do his part by supplying favorable surroundings, suggesting cheer- ful thoughts, and aiding mental culture. 3. After birth, the mother still possesses a mold- ing influence upon the development of her child through the lacteal secretion. Every mother knows how speedily the child will suffer if nursed when she is exhausted by physical labor or when suffer- ing from nervous excitement, as anger or grief. These facts show the influence which the mental states of the mother exert upon the child even when the act of nursing is the only physical bond between them. It would be a happy day for the race which should witness the recognition of the fact that in- fants, even human beings in embryo, possess rights which are as sacred as those of adult human beings. Circumcision. — The fold of integument called the prepuce, which has been previously described, has upon its inner surface a large number of glands 8 PLAIN FACTS FOR lii A Salutary Custom. Castration. which produce a peculiar secretion. Under certain circumstances, and from inattention to personal cleanliness, this secretion may accumulate, and then often becomes the cause of irritation and se- rious disease. To prevent such disorders, and to insure cleanliness, the Jewish law required the re- moval of the prepuce, which constituted the rite of circumcision. The same practice is followed by sev- eral modern nations dwelling in tropical climates ; and it can scarcely be doubted that it is a very salutary one, and has contributed very materially to the maintenance of that proverbial national health for which the Jews are celebrated. Emi- nent physicians have expressed the opinion that the practice would be a salutary one for all men. The maintenance of scrupulous cleanliness, by daily cleansing, is at least an imperative duty. In some countries, females are also circumcised by removal of the nymphse. The object is the same as that of circumcision in the male. The same evils result from inattention to local cleanli- ness, and the same measure of prevention, daily cleansing, is necessitated by a similar secretion. Local cleanliness is greatly neglected by both sexes. Daily washing should begin with infancy and continue through life, and will prevent much disease. Castration. — This operation consists in the re- moval of the testes of the male. It does not at once obliterate the sexual sense, especially if per- OLD AND YOUNG. 115 Effects of Castration. Spaying and its Effects. formed after puberty, but of course renders the individual impotent, or incapable of reproduction. Persons upon whom it has been performed are called eunuchs. It was a very common custom in ancient times, being usually prompted by the jeal- ousy of rulers, who allowed no males but eunuchs to associate with their wives and concubines. The effect upon the male is to render him effeminate in appearance and weak in mind. If performed be- fore puberty, the growth of the beard is scanty, and the voice never acquires that deepness of tone natural to the masculine voice. ' An analogous operation, termed spaying, is per- formed upon females, consisting in the removal of the ovaries ; effects similar to those in the male, sterility without entire immediate loss of sexual sense, being the usual result. Spaying is much more rarely performed than castration. Both op- erations are now quite rare, seldom being resorted to except in surgical cases. Castration is still practiced in some Eastern countries. The Sexual Relations, f UST in proportion as the perpetuation of the race is more important than the existence of any single individual, the organs of reproduction may in a certain sense be said to rank higher than any other organs of the human frame, since to them is intrusted the important duty of performing that most marvelous of all vital processes, the pro- duction of human beings. That this high rank in the vital economy is recognized by nature, is shown by the fact that she has attached to the abuse of the generative function the most terrible penalties .which can be inflicted upon a living being. The power of abuse seems to be almost exclusively con- fined to man ; hence, we find him the only one of all living creatures subject to the awful penalties of sexual transgression. The use of the reproductive function is perhaps the highest physical act of which man is capable : its abuse is certainly one of the most grievous out- rages against nature which it is possible for him to perpetrate. No observing person can doubt that the sexual relations of men and women determine in a great degree their happiness or misery in life. This subject, then, deserves due attention and care- ful consideration. It is of no use to scout it ; for 116 OLD AND YOUNG. 117 Importance of the Subject. Sexual Precocity. . it will inevitably obtrude itself upon us, no matter bow sedulously we attempt to avoid it. It can be rightly considered only with the most perfect can- dor, with the mind unbiased by passion, and prayer- fully anxious to know and do what is right. In the following paragraphs of this section are considered some of the evils out of which grows much of the sexual suffering of men and women : — Sexual Precocity. — There are two periods in human life when the sexual instincts should be totally dormant ; and they are so when nature is not perverted. The first is the period reaching from infancy to puberty. The second is the period reached in advanced age. If raised strictly in accordance wdth natural law, children would have no sexual notions or feelings before the occurrence of puberty. No prurient speculation about sexual matters would enter their heads. Until that period, the reproductive system should lie dormant in its undeveloped state. No other feeling should be exhibited between the sexes than that brotherly and sisterly affection which is so admirable and becoming. Fortunate, indeed, would it be for humanity if this natural state always existed ; but it is a lam- entable fact that it is rarely seen in modern homes. Not infrequently, evidences of sexual passion are manifested before the child has hardly learned to walk. It has been suggested that this precocity is nothing remarkable or unnatural, since it is often 118 PLAIN FACTS FOP Early Development and Early Decay. Afitonishing Ignorance. seen in little lambs and other young animals. To this it is only necessary to reply that the develop- ment of the sexual instincts perfectly corresponds with the longevity of the animal; if short-lived, like the §heep, only a short period intervenes between birth and the attainment of the sexual appetite and virility. If the animal is intended for long life, as is the case with man, these manifestations are de- layed until a much later period, or should be. Certain insects perform the sexual act as soon as they acquire their perfect form ; but they perish as soon as the act is completed. Astonishing Ignorance. — It is astonishing how ignorant and indifferent the majority of people are upon this subject. A friend related to us an inci- dent which fairly illustrates the terrible apathy which prevails among pai’ents. While teaching a country school, he learned that a large number of children, boys and girls, of ages varjdng from eight to twelve and fourteen years, were in the habit of collecting together in bams and other secluded places, and in a state of nudity imitating the “ Black Crook ” with all possible additional nasti- ness. Horrified at such a monstrous evil, he has- tened to inform the parents of the corruption in their midst. Imagine his astonishment when he was met with an indiflTerent laugh and the response, “ Pooh ! it’s only natural ; perfectly harmless ; just like little pigs ! ” As though pigs were models for » human beings ! OLD AND YOUNG. HQ Fruits of Parental Carelessness. Indications of Precocity. It is not pleasant to consider what must have , been the moral status of parents who could hold such views ; and it is no wonder that they should produce such children. Doubtless they learned, too late, that those “natural” manifestations were the outgrowth of incipient vices, planted and fos- tered by themselves, which in later years destroyed shame and gave loose rein to lust. Often the manifestation of sexual precocity is less gross, but almost equally fraught with danger, nevertheless. Dr. Acton, a distinguished English surgeon whom we shall frequently quote, makes the following excellent remarks upon this subject : — “Slight signs are sufficient to indicate when a boy has this unfortunate tendency. He shows marked preferences. You will see him single out one girl, and evidently derive an unusual pleasure (for a boy) in her society. His penchant does not take the ordinary form of a boy’s good nature, but little attentions that are generally reserved for a later period prove that his feeling is different, and sadly premature. He may be apparently healthy, and fond of playing with other boys; still there are slight, but ominous, indications of propensities fraught with danger to himself. His play with the girl is different from his play with his brothers. His kindness to her is a little too ardent. He fol- lows her, he does not know why. He fondles her with a tenderness painfully suggestive of a vague dawning of passion. No one can find fault with 120 PLAIN FACTS FOR A Cause for Anxiety. A Caution to Parents and Ifurses. him. He does nothing wrong. Parents and friends are delighted at his gentleness and politeness, and not a little amused at the early flirtation. If they were wise, they would rather feel profound anxiety ; and he would be an unfaithful or unwi«e medical friend who did not, if an opportunity occurred, warn them that such a boy, imsuspicious and inno- cent as he is, ought to be carefuUy watched and re- moved from every influence calculated to foster his abnormal propensities. i “ The premature development of the sexual in- clination is not alone repugnant to all we associate with the term childhood, but is also fraught with danger to dawning manhood. On the judicious treatment of a case such as has been sketched, it probably depends whether the dangerous propensity shall be so kept in check as to preserve the boy’s health and innocence, or whether one more shat- tered constitution and wounded conscience shall be added to the victims of sexual precocity and care- less training. It ought not to be forgotten that in such cases a quasi-sexual power often accompanies these premature sexual inclinations. Few, per- haps, except medical men, know how early in life a mere infant may experience erections. Fre- quently it may be noticed that a little child, on being taken out of bed in the morning, cannot make water at once. It would be well if it were recognized by parents and nurses that this often depends upon a more or less complete erection.” I -> OLD AND YOUNG. 121 Passion. Hereditary Predisposition. We have been not more disgusted than shocked to see parents, whose intelligence ought to teach them better, not only winking at, but actually en- couraging, these premature manifestations of pas- sion in f’-'eir children. They may yet learn, by bitter experience, the folly of their course, unless they make the discovery in time to avert the ca- lamitous results which threaten the future of their children, by careful reformatory training. Inherited Passion. — It is important to inquire the cause of this precocity. Said a father of our acquaintance, when remonstrated with for encour- aging his infant son in a ridiculous flirtation, “I did just so when I was of his age.” In this case the cause was evident. The child was only acting out the disposition bequeathed him by his parent. How often do the secret follies of parents stand out in bold relief in their children. Such a legacy is nothing to be proud of. We again quote from Dr. Acton some observa- tions on the causes of this disorder, — for a grave disorder it is, — as follows ; — “I should specify hereditary predisposition as by no means the least common. . . ‘ . I believe that, as in body and mind, so also in the passions, the sins of the father are frequently visited on the children. No man or woman, I am sure, can have habitually indulged the sexual passions . . . without, at least, running the risk of finding that a disposition to follow a similar career has been 122 PLAIN FACTS FOR Varioxis Causes of Sexual Precocity. Juvenile Parties. inherited by the otFspring. It is in this way only that we can explain the early and apparently almost irresistible propensity in generation after generation indulging similar habits and feelings.” Yarious Causes of Sexual Precocity. — An- other very powerful predisposing cause of sexual precocity will he alluded to under the head of “ Marital Excesses.” The irritation caused by worms in the rectum, by local irritation or un- cleanliness, or by iiTitation of the bladder, are exciting causes which are not infrequent. The latter cause is indicated by another symptom, the frequent wetting of the bed at night. Such a symptom doubly demands immediate attention. The juvenile parties so common now-a-daj’s, at which little ones of both sexes, of ages varying from four or five years to ten or twelve, with won- derful precocity and truthfulness imitate the con- duct of their elders at fashionable dinners, cannot he too much deprecated. Such associations of the sexes have a strong tendency to develop prema- turely the distinctive peculiarities of the sexes. This is well evidenced by the fact that on such oc- casions one of the most common and popular enter- tainments is sham maiTiages. Parents gi’eatly eiT in encouraging or allowing their children to engage in amusements of so dangerous a character. They are productive of no good, and are almost without exception productive of positive and serious injury. Modern modes of life, improper clothinsf, the OLD AND YOUNG. 123 Defective Scliool System. Senile Sexuality. forcing system of cramming in schools, the im- modest example of older persons, and especially the irritating, stimulating articles of diet which are daily set before children, as well as older peo- ple, undoubtedly have a poAverful influence in stimulating the development of the sexual pas- sions. This subject is again referred to under the heading, “ Chastity.” Obscene books and papers, lewd pictures, and evil communications are telling causes which will be further noticed elsewhere. Senile Sexuality. — As with childhood, old age is a period in which the reproductive functions are quiescent unless unnaturally stimulated. Sexual life begins with puberty, and, in the female, ends at about the age of forty-flve years, the period known as the menopause, or tmm of life. At this period, according to the plainest indications of nat- ure, all functional activity should cease. If this law is disregarded, disease, premature decay, possi- bly local degenerations, will be sure to result. Nat- ure cannot be abused with impunity. The generative power of the male is retained somewhat longer than that of the female, and by stimulation may be indulged at quite an advanced age, but only at the expense of shortening life, and running the risk of sudden death. Says Parise, “ One of the most important pieces of information which a man in years can attain is ‘to learn to become old betimes,’ if he wishes to attain old age. 124 PLAIN FACTS FOR Limit of Sexual, Activity. Marriage. Cicero, we are told, was asked if ke still indulged in the pleasures of love. ' Heaven forbid,’ replied he, ‘ I have forsworn it as I would a savage and a furious master.’ ” Some learned physicians place the proper limit of man’s functional activity at fifty years, if he would not render himself guilty of shortening his days by sensuality. Other reasons for this course will appear hereafter. When the passions have been indulged, and their diminishing vigor stimulated, a horrid disease, satyr- iasis, not infrequently seizes upon the imprudent individual, and drives him to the perpetration of the most loathsome crimes and excesses. Passions cultivated and encouraged by gratification through life Avill thus sometimes assert a total supremacy in old age. Marriage. — The scope and plan of this work will allow of but the briefest possible consideration of this subject upon which volumes have been written, much to no purpose other than the multi- plication of books. We shall devote no space to consideration of the origin of the institution, its expediency, or varied relations, as these topics are foreign to the character of this work. The primary object of marriage was, undoubt- edly, the preservation of the race, though there are other objects which, under special circumstances, may become paramount even to this. These latter we cannot consider, as only the relations of the OLD AND YOUNG. 225 Time to Marry. Customs of Different Nations. reproductive functions in marriage oome properly within our province. The first physiological question to be consid- ered is concerning the proper age for marriage. Time to Marry. — Physiology fixes with accu- racy the earliest period at which marriage is ad- missible. This period is that at which the body attains complete development, which is not before twenty in the female, and twenty-four in the male. Even though the growth may be completed before these ages, ossification of the bones is not fully ef- fected, so that development is incomplete. Amoncr most modern nations, the civil laws fix- in O' the earliest date of marriage seem to have been made without any reference to physiology, or with the mistaken notion that puberty and nubility are identical. It is interesting to note the different ages established by different nations for the en- trance of the married state. The degenerating Romans fixed the ages of legal marriage at thirteen for females, and fifteen for males. The Grecian legislator, Lycurgus, placed the ages at seventeen for the female, and thirty-seven for the male. Plato fixed the ages at twenty and thirty years. In Prussia, the respective ages are fifteen and nine- teen; in Austria, sixteen and twenty; in France, sixteen and eighteen, respectively. Says Mayer, “ In general, it may be established that the normal epoch for marriage is the twentieth year for women, and the twenty-fourth for men.” 126 rLAIN FACTS FOR Application of the Law of Heredity. Early Marriage. Application of the Law of Heredity.— A mo- ment’s consideration of the physiology of heredity will disclose a sufficient reason why marriage should be deferred until the development of the body is wholly complete. The matrimonial rela- tion implies reproduction. Reproduction is ef- fected through the union of the ovum with the zoosperm. These elements, as we have alreadv seen, are complete representatives of the individ- uals producing them, being composed — as supposed — of minute gemmules which are destined to be developed into cells and organs in the new being, each preserving its resemblance to the cell within the parent which produced it. The perfection of the new being, then, must be largely dependent on the integrity and perfection of the sexual elements. If the body is still incomplete, the reproductive elements must also be incomplete ; and, in conse- quence, the progeny must' be equally immature. Early Marriage. — The preceding paragraph con- tains a sufficient reason for condemning early mar- riage ; that is, marriage before the age^ mentioned. It is probable that even the ages of twenty and twenty-four are too early for those persons whose development is uncommonly slow. But there are other cogent reasons for discountenancing early marriages, also drawn from the physiology of re- production, to say nothing of the many reasons which might be urged on other grounds. 1. During the development of the body, all its OLD AND YOUNG. 127 Effects of Early Marriage. Mutual Adaptation. energies are required in perfecting the various tis- sues and organs. There is no material to be spared for any foreign purpose. 2. The reproductive act is the most exhaustive of all vital acts. Its effect upon an undeveloped person is to retard growth, weaken the constitu- tion, and dwarf the intellect. 3. The effects upon the female are even worse than those upon the. male ; for, in addition to the exhaustion of nervous energy, she is compelled to endure the burdens and pains of child-bearing when utterly unprepared for such a task, to say nothino- of her unfitness for the other duties of a O mother. With so many girl-mothers in the land, is it any wonder that there are so many thousands of unfortunate individuals who never seem to get beyond childhood in their development ? Many a man at forty years is as childish in mind, and as immature in judgment, as a well-developed lad of' eighteen would be. They are like withered fruit plucked before it was ripe ; they can never become like the mellow and luscious fruit allowed to ma- ture properly. They are unalterably molded ; and the saddest fact of all is that they will give to their children the same imperfections ; and the children will transmit them to another generation, and so the evil will go on increasing, unless checked by extinction. Mutual Adaptation. — Another question of very great importance is that of the mutual adaptation 128 PLAIN FACTS FOR An Erroneous Theory. Duplicates not Desirable. of the individuals. To this question we can devote but a very brief consideration, and that will be more of the nature of criticism than of a set of formal rules for governing matrimonial alliances. A writer of some note, whose work on this and kindred subjects has had quite an extensive circu- lation, advocates with great emphasis the theory that parties contemplating marriage should in all cases select for partners individuals as nearly like themselves as possible. Exact duplicates would, in his opinion, make the most perfect union at- tainable. To make his theory practicable, he is obliged to fall back upon phrenology ; and directs that a man seekinsf a wife, or a woman seeking a husband, should obtain a phrenological chart of his head and then send it around until a counterpart is found. If the circle of one’s acquaintance is so fortunate as to contain no one cursed with the same propensities or idiosyncrasies as himself, the newspapers are to be brought into requisition as a medium of advertising. If so strange a doctrine as this were advocated by an obscure individual in some secluded hamlet, or found only in the musty volumes of some for- gotten author, it surely would be unworthy of notice ; but coming as it does from a quite popular writer, and being coupled with a great amount of really valuable truth, it is sufficiently important to deserve refutation. A brief glance at the practical working of the theory will be a sufficient' exposure of its falsity. OLD AND YOUNG. 129 A Criticism. A Cause of Unbaianced Minds. According to this rule, a man or woman of large combativeness should select a partner equally in- clined to antagonism ; then we should have — what ? the elements of a happy, contented, harmo- nious life ? No ; instead, either a speedy lawsuit for divorce, or a continual domestic broil, the nearest approach to a mundane purgatory possible. The selfish, close-fisted, miserly money-catcher must marry a woman equally sordid and stingy. Then together they could hoard up, for moths and rust to destroy, or for interested relatives to quar- rel over, the pictorial greenback and the glittering dollar, each scrimping the other down to the finest point above starvation and freezing, and finally dying, to be forgotten as soon as dead by their fellow-men, and sent among the goats at the great assizes. A shiftless spendthrift must choose for a helpmeet (?) an equally slovenly, thriftless wife. A man with a crotchet should select a partner with the same morbid fancy. A man whose whole men- tal composition gravitates behind his ears, must find a mate with the same animal disposition. An individual whose mental organization is sadly un- balanced, is advised to seek for a wife a woman with the same deficiencies and abnormalities. Any one can see at a glance the domestic dis- asters which such a plan of proceeding would entail. Men and women of unbalanced tempera- ments would become more unbalanced. An indi- vidual of erroneous tendencies, instead of having 9 180 PLAIN FACTS FOB A Degenerating Plan* Opposites not Desirable. tlie constant check of the example and admoni- tions of a mate of opposite tendencies, would be, by constant example, hastened onward in his sin- ful ways. Thus, to all hut a very small propor- tion of humanity, the married state would be one of infelicity and degeneration. And what would be the pi’ogeny of such unions ? The peculiarities and propensities of the parents, instead of being modified and perhaps obliterated in the childi'en by corresponding differences in charac- ter, would be doubly exaggerated. The children of selfish parents would be thieves ; those of spend- thrifts, beggars ; those of crotchety parents, mono- maniacs ; those born of sensual parents, beastly debauchees. A few generations of such a degener- ating process would either extenninate the x’ace or drive it back to Darwin’s ancestral ape. It must not be inferred, fi’om our strictures upon the theory mentioned, that we would advocate the opposite course, that is, the contraction of mar- riage by individuals of wholly dissimilar tastes, aims, and temperaments. Such alliances would doubtless be quite as wret led in their results as those of an opposite ch -er. It 's with this as with nearly aU other t ojv' uS j the, - Tie course lies between the two extie .e Pari-^-- who are nego- • - ' ^ tiating a life partnersi^q^tyho’ ' careful to as- sure themselves that there . jufficient degree of congeniality of temperan^vi. o make ch close and continued association agieeable. , OLD AND YOUNG. 131 disparity of Age. Evils of Ill-Mated Marriages. Disparity of Age. — Both nature and custom seem to indicate that the husband should be a little older than the wife. Several reasons might be given for this ; but we need not mention them. When, however, the difference of ages reaches such an extreme as thirty, forty, even fifty or more years, nature is abused, good taste is offended, and even morality is shocked. Such ill-sorted alliances are disastrous to both parties, and scarcely more to one than the other. An old man who forms a union with a young girl scarce out of her teens — or even younger — can scarcely have any very elevated motive for his action, and he certainly exposes him- self to the greatest risk of sudden death, while in- suring his premature decay. A king once chai-ac- terized such a course as “the pleasantest form of suicide.” It is doubtless suicidal, but we suspect there are some phases of such an unnatural union which are not very enjoyable. One reason of the great danger of such marriages to the did is the exhaustive effects of the sexual act. As previously noted, in some animals it causes im- mediate death. Di Acton makes the followinof pertinent n narks “So seric f, indee(?"ls''tbe paroxysm of the ner- vous systc dnceo. A fie sexual spasm, that its immediate net always unattended with dange? and .n. oh weak hearts have died in the a j. Ever} nov, ' and then we learn that men are found .ead on the nitrlit of their weddin"” O O 132 PLAIN FACTS FOR Effect of Late Marriages on Men. Sold for Gold. “ However exceptional these cases are, they are warnings, and should serve to show that an act which may destroy the weak should not be tam- pered with, even by the strong.” “ There are old men who many young wives, and who pay the penalty by becoming martyrs to paralysis, softening of the brain, and driveling idiocy.” Dr. Gardner quotes the Abbd Maury, as follows : “ I hold as certain that after fifty years of age a man of sense ought to renounce the pleasures of love. Each time that he allows himself this grati- fication is a 2odlet of earth thrown upon his coffin.’' Dr. Gardner further says : “ Alliances of this sort have taken place in every epoch of humanity, from the time of the patriarchs to the present day, — alli- ances repugnant to nature, — between men border- ing on decrepitude and poor young girls, who are sacrificed by their parents for position, or who sell themselves for gold. There is in these monstrous alliances something which we know not how to brand sufficiently energetically, in considering the reciprocal relations of the pair thus wrongfulh' united, and the lot of the children which ma}- result from them. Let us admit, for an instant, that the marriage has been concluded with the full consent of the young girl, and that no external pressure has been exerted upon her Avill — as is gen- erally the rule — it will none the less happen that reflection and experience will tardily bring regi’ets. OLD AND YOUNG. 133 Happiness Impossible. Efifects on Children. and the sharper as the evil will be without reme- dy ; but if compulsion, or what is often the same thing, persuasion, had been employed to obtain the consent which the law demands, the result would have been more prompt and vehement. From this moment the common life becomes odious to the un- happy victim, and culpable hopes will arise in her desolate heart, so heavy is the chain she carries. In fact, the love of the old man becomes ridiculous and horrid to her, and we cannot sufficiently sym- pathize with the unfortunate person whose duty [?] it is to submit to it. If we think of it an instant, we shall perceive a repulsion such as is only in- spired by the idea of incest. ... So what do we oftenest observe ? Either the woman violently breaks the cursed bands, or she resigns herself to them ; and then she seeks to fill up the void in her soul by adulterous amours. Such is the somber perspective of the sacrilegious unions which set at defiance the most respectable instincts, the most noble desires, and the most legitimate hopes. Such, too, are the terrible chastisements reserved for the thoughtlessness or foolish pride of these dissolute gray-beards, who prodigalize the last breath of their life in search of depraved voluptuousness.” The parents, the perpetrators of such an outrage against nature, are not the only sufferers. Look at the children which they bring into the world ! Let Dr. Gardner speak again ; — “ Children, the issue of old men, are habitually IM PLAIN FACTS FOR Senile Children. Effect of Age on Seminal Fluid. marked by a serious and sad air spread over their countenances, which is manifestly very opposite to the infantile expression which so delights one in the little children of the same age engendered under other conditions. • As they grow up, their featui'es take on more and more the senile character; so much so that every one remarks it, and the world regards it as a natural thing. The old mothers pre- tend that it is an old head on young shoulders. They predict an early death to these children, and the event frequently justifies the horoscope. Our attention has for many years been fixed upon this point, and we can affirm that the greater part of the offspring of these connections are weak, torpid, lymphatic, if not scrofulous, and do not promise a long career.” In old age the seminal fluid becomes greatly de- teriorated. Even at the best, its component ele- ments could only represent decrepitude and inffi-m- ity, degeneration and senility. In view of such facts, says Dr. Acton, — “We are, therefore, forced to the conclusion that the children of old men have an inferior chance of life ; and facts daily observed confinn our deduc- tions. Look but at the progeny of such marriages ; what is its value ? As far as I have seen, it is the worst kind — spoilt childhood, feeble and precocious youth, extravagant manhood, early and premature death.” Unions of an opposite character to those just con- OLD A JVD TO UJSr G . 135 YouDg Husbands and Old Wives. A Domestic Hell. sidered, wherein a young man marries a woman much older than himself, ar-e more rare than those of the other class. They are, perhaps, less deplor- able in their physical effects, but still highly repre- hensible. They are seldom prompted by pure motives, and can be productive of no good. Chil- dren resulting from such unions are notably weak, unbalanced, and sorry specimens of humanity. We have scarcely referred to the domestic misery which may result from these disgraceful unions. If a young girl is brought home by a widower to preside over his groAvn-up daughters, perhaps old enough to be her mother, all the elements are pro- vided for such a domestic hell as could only be equaled by circumstances precisely similar. If children are born, neither father nor mother is fit to act the part of a parent to them. The father, by reason of his age, is fitful, uncertain, and childish ; to-day too lenient, to-morrow too exacting. The mother is pettish, childish, indulgent, impatient, and as unskilled in government as unfit for mother- hood. In the midst of all this misrule, the child grows up undisciplined, uncultivated, unsubdued ; a misery to his parents, a disgrace to his friends, a dishonor to himself. “What shall I do with him? and what will he do with me ? ” was the question asked by a girl of eighteen whose parents were urging her to marry an old man ; and every young woman would do well to propound it under similar circumstances. 136 PLAIN FACTS FOR No Set Buies Useful. Courtship. Were we disposed to define more specifically the conditions necessary to secure the most harmonious matrimonial unions, it would be useless to do so ; for unions of this sort never have been, and never will be — with rare exceptions — formed in accord- ance with a prescribed method independent of any emotional bias. Nor is it probable that such a plan would result in remedying, in any appreciable de- gree, existing evils. It is a fact too patent to be ignored that a very large share of the unhappiness in the world arises from ill-mated marriages ; but it is also true that nearly the whole of this unhap- piness might be averted if the parties themselves would endeavor to lessen the difierences between them by mutual approximation. Courtship. — We cannot well avoid devoting a few paragraphs to a part of the subject so impor- tant as this, especially as it aflbrds an opportunity for pointing out some evils too patent and too per- ilous to be ignored. Courting, in the sense in which we use the word, is distinctly an American custom. The social laws of other civilized countries are such as to preclude the possibility of the almost unrestrained associa- tion of the sexes in youth which we see in this country. We do not olier this fact as an argument in favor of foreign social customs, by any means, although in this one particular they often present great advantages, since in the majority of instances other evils as gi'eat or even greater are encouraged. OLD AND TO UNO. 137 Evils of Courting. Ancient Customs. We mention the fact simply for the purpose of bringing into bold relief the evils of the character- istic American looseness in this particular. A French matron would be horrified at the idea of a young man asking her daughter to accompany him alone on an evening ride, to a lecture, concert, or other place of amusement, and much more should he ask the privilege of sitting up all night in the parlor with the light turned down, after the rest of the family had retired. Among respectable people in France such liberties are not tolerated ; and a young man who should propose such things would be dismissed from the house instantly, and would be regarded as unfit for association with virtuous people. If a young man caUs upon a young lady for the purpose of making her acquaintance, he sees both her and her mother, or an aunt or older sister. He never sees her alone. If he invites her to ride, or to accompany him to an entertainment of any sort, he must always invite her lady friend also ; she goes along at any rate. There is afforded no chance for solitary moonlight strolls or rides, nor any other of the similar opportunities made so com- mon by American courting customs. We are no advocates of the formal modes of conti’acting mat- rimonial alliances common among many nations, and illustrations of which we find at all ages of the world. For example, among the ancient Assyrians it was a custom to sell wives to the highest bidder, at auction, the sums received for the handsomer 138 FLJIN FACTS FOB. Selling 'Wives. Betrothal of Infants. one being given to tbe less favored ones as a dowry, to secure a husband for every woman. The same custom prevailed in Babylon in ancient times, and has been practiced in modern times in Russia. At St. Petersburg, not many years ago, an annual sale of wives was held on Whit Sunday, after the same plan followed by the Assyrians. Among the eaily Jews it seems to have been the custom for parents to select wives for their sons. In the case of Isaac, this important matter was intrusted to an old and experienced servant, who was undoubtedly considered much more competent to select a wife for the young man than he was himself. The same custom has been h.'inded down even to the present time among some oriental na- tions. In many cases the parties are not allowed to see each other until after the wedding ceremony is completed. The Hungarians often betroth their cliildren while they are yet in their cradles, as did the Mexicans and Brazilians of the last centuiy. In some countries it has even been customary to betroth girls conditionally before they were born. The primitive Moravians seem to have adhered to the ancient Jewish custom in some degree, though making the selection of a wife a matter of chance. The old people did all the courting there was done, which was not much. When a young man desired a wife, a helpmeet was selected for him by casting lots among the marriageable young ladies of the community, and the young man was obliged to OLD AND YOUNG. 139 Moravian Customs. A Superstitions Rite. abide by the decision, it being supposed that Prov- idence controlled the selection. We are not pre- pared to say that the young man ran any greater risk of getting an uncongenial or undesirable life companion by this mode of selection than by the more modern modes in vogue among us. As before remarked, we do not present these customs as illustrations of what might be consid- ered a proper mode of conducting the preliminary steps of matrimonial alliances. On the contrary, we unhesitatingly pronounce them decidedly ob- jectionable on moral grounds if not on others, and we can readily see that such unions must have been in many cases exceedingly unsatisfactory. In various other countries, marriage customs quite the opposite from those described have been in vogue. In Irving’s “ Knickerbocker’s History of New York,” a somewhat humorous account is given of a custom which has prevailed in some parts of this country as well as others, even within the memory of persons living at the present day, and is, indeed, said to be not yet altogether obsolete in Finland. The author, in dwelling upon the social customs of the early Dutch settlers of New York, describes “ a singular custom prevalent among them, commonly known by the name of bundling , — a superstitious rite observed by the young people of both sexes, with which they usually terminated their festivities, and which was kept up with re- 140 PLAIN FACTS FOR Primitive Customs. Long Courtships. ligious strictness by the more bigoted part of the community. This ceremony was likewise, in those primitive times, considered as an indispensable pre- liminary to matrimony, their courtships commenc- ing where ours usually finish, — by which means they acquired that intimate acquaintance with each other’s good qualities before marriage, which has been pronounced by philosophers the sure basis of a happy union. Thus early did this cunning and ingenious people display a shrewdness of making a bargain, which has ever since distinguished them.” “ To this sagacious custom, therefore, do I chiefiy attribute the unparalleled increase of the Yanokie or Yankee race ; for it is a certain fact, well au- thenticated by court records and parish registers, that, wherever the practice of bundling prevailed, there was an amazing number of sturdy brats an- nually born into the State, without the license of the law, or the benefit of clergy.” Long Cora’tslups. — Chiefly for the reasons pre- sented in the preceding paragraphs, we are opposed to long courtships and long engagements. They are productive of no good, and are not infrequently tlie occasion of much evil. There may be circum- stajices which render a prolonged engagement nec- essary and advisable ; but, in general, they are to be avoided. On the other hand, hasty marriages are still more to be deprecated, especially when, as is too commonly the case, the probability is so great that passion is the actuating motive far more than true OLD AND YOUNG. 141 Matrimonial CSiancea. Emotions alone not a Safe Guide. love. Marriage is a matter of most serious conse- quences, and deserving of the most careful deliber- ation. Too often matrimony is entered upon with- out any more substantial assurance of happiness as the result than the individual has of securing a valuable prize who buys a ticket in a lottery scheme. In the majority of cases, young people learn more of each other’s real character within six weeks after marriage than they discovered during as many months of courting. To every young man and woman we say. Look well before you leap ; consider well, carefully, and prayerfully. A leap in the dark is a fearful risk, and will be far more likely to land you in a domestic purgatoiy than anywhere else. Do not be dazzled by a handsome face, an agreeable address, a brilliant or piquant manner. Choose, rather, modesty, simplicity, sin- cerity, morality, qualities of heart and mind, rather than exterior embellishments. “It is folly,” suggests a friend, “ to give advice on these subjects, for no one will follow advice on this point, no matter how sensible and reasonable he may be on all other subjects. The emotions carry the individual away, and the reason loses control.” This is all too true, in nearly all cases. We believe in affection. The emotions have their part to act. We have no sympathy with the the- ories of those who will have all marriages made by rule. But reason must be allowed a voice in the matter ; and although there may be a time when 14-2 PLAIN FACTS FOR Control the Emotions. Flirtation. the overwhelming force of the emotions may force the reason and judgment into the background, there has been a time previous when the judg- ment might have held control. Let every young man and woman be most scrupulously careful how he allows emotional excitement to gain the ascend- ency. When once reason is stifled, the individual is in a most precarious situation. It is far better and easier to prevent the danger than to escape from it. Flirtation. — We cannot find language suffi- ciently emphatic to express proper condemnation of one of the most popular forms of amusement indulged in at the present day in this country, under the guise of innocent association of the sexes. By the majority of people, flirtation is looked upon as harmless, if not useful, as some even consider, claiming that the experience gained by such associations is valuable to young persons, by making them familiar with the customs of so- ciety and the ways of the world. We have not the slightest hesitation in pronouncing flirtation as pernicious in the extreme. It exerts a malign in- fluence alike upon the mental, the moral, and the physical constitution of those who indulge it. The young lady who has become infatuated with a pas- sion for flirting, courting the society of ^mung men simply for' the pleasure derived from their atten- tions, is educating herself in a school wliich will totally unfit her for the enjoyment of domestic OLD AND TOUNG. 143 Evils of Flirtation. The Mala Flirt. peace and happiness should she have all the condi- tions necessary for such enjoyment other than those which she herself must furnish. More than this, she is very likely laying the foundation for lifelong disease by the dissipation, late hours, late suppers, evening exposures, fashionable dress- ing, etc., the almost certain accompaniments of the vice we are considering. She is surely sacri- ficing a life of real true happiness for the transient fascinations of unreal enjoyment, pernicious excite- ment. It may be true, and undoubtedly is case, that the greater share of the guilt of flirtation lies at the door of the female sex ; but there do exist such detestable creatures as male flirts. In gen- eral, the male flirt is a much less worthy charactei' than the young lady who makes a pastime of flir- tation. He is something more than a flirt. In nine cases out of ten, he is a rake as well. His ob- ject in flirting is to gratify a mean propensity at the expense of those who are pure and unsophisti- cated. He is skilled in the arts of fascination and intrigue. Slowly he winds his coils about his vic- tim, and before she is aware of his real character, she has lost her own. Such wretches ought to be punished in a purga- tory by themselves, made seven times hotter than for ordinary criminals. Society is full of these lecherous villains. They insinuate themselves into the drawing-rooms of the most respectable fami- 144 FLAIN FACTS FOR A Loathaome Social Leper. Youthful Flirtatious. lies ; they are always on hand at social gatherings of every sort. They haunt the ball-room, the the- ater, and the church, when they can forward their infamous plans by seeming to be pious. Not in- frequently they are well supplied with a stock of pious cant, which they employ on occasion to make an impression. They are the sharks of so- ciety, and often seize in their voracious maws the fairest and brightest ornaments of a community. The male flirt is a monster. Every man ought to despise him ; and every woman ought to spurn him as a loathsome social leper. Youtliful Flirtatious. — Flii-ting is not confined to young men and women. The contagion extends to little boys and girls, whose heads ought to be as empty of all thoughts of sexual relations as the ■vacuum of an air-pump of air. The intimate as- sociation of young boys and girls in our common schools, and, indeed, in the majority of educational institutions, gives abundant opportunity for the fostering of this kind of a spirit, so prejudicial to healthful mental and moral development. Every educator who is alive to the objects and interests of his profession knows too well the baneful influ- ence of these pi’emature and pernicious tendencies. Many times has the teacher watched ■with a sad heart the withering of all his hopes for the in- tellectual progress of a natui'ally gifted scholar by this blighting influence. The most dangerous period for boys and girls exposed to temptations of OLD AND YOUNG. 145 A Critical Period. Scliool Association of the Sexes. this sort is that just following puberty, or between the ages of twelve and eighteen or twenty. This period, a prominent educator in one of our Western States once denominated, not inappropriately, “ the agonizing period of human puppy hood.” If this critical period is once safely passed, the individual is compai'atively safe; but how many fail to pass through the ordeal unseared ! The most painful phase of this subject is the tacit — even, in many cases, active — encouragement which too many parents give their children in this very direction, seemingly in utter ignorance of the enormity of the evil whi ch they are winking at or fostering. Parents need enlightenment on this sub- ject, and need to be aroused to the fact that it is one of the most momentous questions that can arise in the rearing and training of children. Scliool Association of the Sexes. — The subject of the co-education of the sexes has been discussed from numerous stand-points. Among other phases of the subject to be considered is the moral influence upon each sex. There can be no doubt that the natural plan for the education of children contem- plates their association during the years of growth and development, mental, moral, and physical. It is an easy deduction that there must be certain ad- vantages from this natural order of things. There are, undoubtedly, such advantages; but the obser- vation of every teacher of experience must have con- vinced him that there are also certain evils which 10 146 PLAIN FACTS FOB Family Familiarities. Decline in Modesty. are liable to arise out of this arrangement, some of which are of a very grave character. The evils referred to, hoAvever, in our opinion arise from faulty management on the part of teachers and others who have the care of young persons during the period when they are acquiring an education. The familiarities which are allowable in the family circle, under the eye of watcliful parents and the re- straints of close relationship, may tend to virtue; but the same familiarities transferred to the school- room or the boarding-house, become a broad step- ping-stone to vice. It is a neglect of this fact or a disposition to ignore it, that leads to the worst evils which grow out of the association of the sexes dur- ing school-life. The freedom of manner which is often exhibitcil by the youth of opposite sex toward each other in their associations at school as well as in the parties and social gatherings which grow out of the ac- quaintances formed at school, is one of the greatest foes to virtue. The marked decline in modesty and of deportment in the young, visible to all observing and reflecting persons, during the last quarter of a century, is a painful evidence of the tendency of the times in a direction contrary to pure and healthy morals. A certain boldness of manner which a quar- ter of a century ago would have been fatal to the reputation of any young wmman, has become exceed- ingly common among all classes of society, and, in- deed, is looked upon bv many as an evidence of OLD AND YOUNO. 147 Improper Training. Evil Fruit. “smartness.” We believe it to be the solemn duty of every parent to raise a voice of warning and re- straint against this grooving evil before it shall have assumed such proportions as to become uncontrolla- ble. This deterioration in manners is often the re- sult of improper training or discipline at school. A little boy or girl leaves the parental roof modest, even to bashfulness, respectful to elders, and reserved in manner to persons of the opposite sex. In a few weeks or months what a change is wrought! The blushing cheek, nature’s sign of innocent shame- facedness, is no longer seen. The respectful and deferential manner and bashful mien have quite disappeared. Deteriorating influences have been at work, and a mischief has been wrought which may bear its evil fruit during many long years to come. Parents and teachers, and all who have any- thing to do in caring for the young during their early years, ought to labor earnestly to erect a bar- rier against these demoralizing influences. Another question of importance in connection with the co-education of the sexes is the effect upon the mental and physical development of women. It has been claimed, and by eminent authorities too, that woman is mentally inferior to man, and that on this account it is cruel to demand of her the same amount or kind of mental labor in the procurement of an education as in the case of young men. This question has grown to very large proportions within the last decade, and we cannot hope to consider it 148 PLAIN FACTS FOB So-called Break Downs. Too Much Mince Pie. at length in the few pages which we can devote to the subject here; but we wish to call attention to one or two points which in our opinion have a spe- cial bearing on the subject. First, we shall atiirm that the great majority of the so-called break downs of young ladies in schools in which they are obhged to compete with their brothers of the same age, are the result of inatten- tion to the laws of health relating to diet, dress, ex- ercise, personal habits, etc. We have had an oppor- tunity to know the facts in a very large number of these cases, and we have yet to meet a single case in which a young woman naturally strong and well has broken down in consequence of doing an amount of mental work proper for a young man of the same age and average ability. It is much more fashion- able to say of a young lady who has broken down at school that “she studied too hard,” than that she ate too many late suppers or too much mince pie, or that she attended too many evening parties. It is much less humiliating to attribute a break-down to excessive mental apphcation than to gross neglect of the plain laws of health, relating to exercise, per- sonal cleanliness, etc. Improper di’ess alone is sufficient as a cause to account for the greater number of the failures in health observed among young ladies during then- school-days. The tight-lacing, wearing of tight shoes with French heels, inattention to the equable clothing of the limbs, wearing heavy skirts sus- OLD AND YOUNG. 149 Excessive Brain Labor. Mental Derangement. pended from the hips, and a variety of other trans- gressions in this direction of a similar character, are responsible for most of the breakdowns which are attributed to overstudy. If we add to these the cases which may justly be charged to other viola- tions of the laws of health, there will be found left but few which cannot be accounted for on more ra- tional grounds than the supposition that the brain and nervous system have been overworked in the acquisition of knowledge. It may be granted that now and then a case of deranged health may be found which may be justly charged to excessive brain labor ; but when the cir- cumstances of these cases are investigated, it is al- most universally found that the real cause after all is the employment of various stimulating means by which a system of cramming is kept up, exciting the student to the most extraordinary efforts to ex- cel, which may be at the expense of health through neglect or direct violation of physiological laws. The claim that young women are unable to com- pete with their brothers in the pursuit of knowledge on account of deficient mental capacity, has been made, as before remarked, by mo,st eminent author- ities. We are prepared to show, however, that the arguments adduced in support of the claim are not really based upon scientific grounds. We have in another work taken occasion to show the fallacy of these arguments at some considerable length. We have not space to fully elucidate the arguments 150 PLAIJ:T FACTS FOB Woman as a Thinker. Average Size of Brains. which we have elsewhere ^adduced, but would in- vite attention to one fact, which well illustrates the unfairness of the arguments used to support the doc- trine of the inferiority of woman as a thinker. We refer to the assertion that the mental inferiority of woman is 'proven by the relative smallness of the feminine brain. The fact that the average female brain is smaller than the average male brain, has been too well established to be disputed ; but this by no means settles the que.stion. The matter of quality must be taken into consideration as well as quantity. The fact that one man’s brain is larger than another does not prove him to possess greater mental ability. The London bricklayer whose brain weighed sixty -seven ounces, more than that of the famous Cuvier, wms unable to read or write, and was possessed of no remarkable degree of mentality. Again, the Chinese possess larger brains, on the average, than Europeans ; but who will affirm that they are mentally their superiors. Many of the most eminent men of science and art have been pos- sessed of small brains, some approaching nearly to the average size of idiots’ brains. It cannot be dis- puted that in these cases the matter of quality has been proven to be more important than quantity. But another point of importance must not be ig- nored. A most patent unfairness seems to have been perpetrated by the advocates of woman’s mental in- feriority in making the comparison of their cerebral OLD AND YOUNG. Ij] Comparison of Brains. Woman’s Superiority. development with that of men. The comparison made is an absolute one, without reference to the rel- ative size of men and women. If we compare the proportionate size of the male brain to the rest of the body, or the relation of the average male brain to the average male body, with the same relation be- tween the average female brain, and the weight of the average female, we shall find that the figures are reversed. That is, it will appear that the average female brain is larger in proportion to the size of her body than the average male brain. It thus appears that so far as the evidence goes to prove anything, it proves that women are possessed of greater mental capacity than men. Viewed from this stand-point, we see no hope for the maintenance of the mental superiority of men, except by falling back upon the rejected argument based upon quality. It should be remarked that there is a possibility that some girls, particularly those not naturally strong, require to be specially favored at the estab- lishment of the menstrual period. At this critical time, girls should not be required to do the full amount of mental or muscular labor, which they may be able to perform with ease at other times. But this is no argument against the co-education of the sexes, since the same would be true if the girl was in a school consisting entirely of girls. Another fact worth remembering in this connec- tion is that girls are, as a rule, a year or two ahead of their brothers in mental development, so that 152 PLAIN FACTS FOR Influence of Education. Co-edncation of the Sexes. they can afford to lag behind a little during the ac- cess of puberty without any risk of getting behind their male school-mates of the same age. We think it will be well for those who have the most interest in 'this subject, to carefully consider it in all its bearings before taking strong grounds against one-half of the human race. Such a consid- eration, we are confident, will result in the conclu- sion that men and women are mentally equal un- der equal circumstances. It will not be denied that the influence of education and heredity acting through a long series of ages, has resulted in modi- fying both men and women in such a way as to make them different mentally, so far as their tastes are concerned, and their aptitude for special offices in the economy of the world ; but this fact does not necessarily militate against the co-education of the sexes, since both alike require the fundamental ele- ments of knowledge, and the mental discipline by means of which further knowledge may be acqumed. Much harm has resulted to woman by the manner of treatment to which she has been subjected. At the very begianiag of life she is often looked upon as “only a girl,” and is treated accordingly, petted, coddled, spoiled, because she is regarded as of less consequence than her baby brother, destined to be a plaything, an ornament, or necessary appendage to a home, rather than the peer of man. Let two in- dividuals start in life exactly alike, such different modes of treatment would result in the production OLD AND TOVNO. 153 Eqnal Chance for Women. Divorce a Crying Evil. of most profound differences. We do not say that woman, — that girls, — should be treated exactly like persons of the opposite sex ; but we would have the two sexes given a more equal chance in the world. Let woman have an equal chance with man from her start in life, giving her equally good opportuni- ties for building up a rugged constitution, and ac- quiring mental and moral culture, and we will risk her to stand up beside him as his peer in any of the walks of life except those in which success is solely dependent upon the size of muscle and bone ; and even in these positions woman has shown her ability to compete with him, by her greater power of endur- ance. Divorce. — Another of the crying evils of the day, and one which menaces in a most alarming man- ner the most sacred interests of society, is the facil- ity with which divorces may be obtaiued. In some State the laws regulating divorce are so notoriously loose that scores and even hundreds of people visit the State referred to every year with no other object than to obtain a dissolution of the bonds of matrimony. The effect of this looseness in the laws is to encourage hasty, inconsiderate marriages, and to make escape from an uncongenial partner so easy that the obligation to cultivate forbearance and to acquire mutual adaptation which may not at first exist, is wholly overlooked. The Bible rule for divorce, laid down by the Great Teacher, is little regarded in these degenerate ]54 PLAIN FACTS FOR Infamous Practices. Shameful Advertisements. days. He made adultery the only legitimate cause for divorce ; yet we now see married people break- ing asunder their solemn marriage ties on the oc- currence of the most trivial difficulties. If a couple become tired of each other and desire a change, all they have to do is to forward the fee to a New York or Chicago lawyer, and they will receive back in a short time the legal papers duly signed, grant- ing them the desired annulment of their vows. Although countenanced by human laws, there can he no doubt that this shameless trifling with a divine institution is regarded by High Heaven as the vilest abomination. In no direction is there greater need of reformatory legislation than in this. The marriage contract should be recognized in our laws as one which cannot be made and broken so lightly as it now is. It should be annulled only for the most serious ofienses. The contrary course now pursued so frequently is most detrimental to morals. Our divorce laws virtually offer a pre- mium for unchastity. Not infrequently we see among the advertise- ments in the newspapers notices like the following : “ The undersigned is prepared to furnish divorces to parties desiring the same at moderate rates, in short time, and without publicity. .” The animus of these advertisements is fraud. The parties so engaged are the vilest scoundrels ; and that they are allowed to continue to ply their nefarious vocation is a foul blot upon the enlight- t OLD AND YOUNG. I55 ^\^lo May not Marry. A Cause of Increasing Disease. ened civilization of a so-called Christian country. A publisher who will insert such a notice in his journal, would advertise a brothel if he dared. While there is so much interest in the suppression of obscene literature, we would suggest that the proper authorities should direct their attention to the suppression of unlawful divorces, and the proper punishment of the villains engaged in forwarding this nefarious business. Who May not Marry. — Many writers devote much space in laying down rules which are to be implicitly followed by those seeking life partners: We have attempted nothing of the sort, both from its impracticability, and from the fact that such rules are never followed ; and if the attempt should be made to follow the prescribed rules, we are not sure that more good than harm would be the re- sult. Hence, we shall content ourselves with call- ing attention to a few facts of grdat importance respecting the conditions which imperatively forbid marriage, and which cannot be violated without the certain entailment of great sufiering. I. Persons suffering with serious disease of a character communicable to others by contagion or by hereditary transnyission. Many people wonder why it is that diseases are so much more numerous and varied in modern times than in the earlier ages of the race. There has been an evident increase within a few centu- ries. While there are, undoubtedly, numerous in- 156 PLAIN FACTS FOR Human Life Shortening. Transmissible Diseases. fluencing causes, one which cannot be overlooked is the hereditary transmission of disease, which pre- serves those disorders which already exist, and adds new ones which originate from new exciting causes. By this means, the human race is undoubtedly being weakened, human life shortened, and diseases multiplied. Compare the average age of human beings of the present day, less than forty }^ars, with the longevity of the early members of the race, who lived more than as many score of years. Some mighty deteriorating influence has been at work ; and we hazard nothing in the assertion that the marriage of diseased persons and kindred violations of the laws of human hygiene have been not unim- portant factors in producing this most appalling diminution in the length of human life. Amona: the diseases which are most certain to be transmitted are pulmonary tuberculosis, or con- sumption, syphilis, cancer, leprosy, epilepsy, and some other nervous disorders, some forms of skin disease, and insanity. The list might be extended; but these are the more common. Persons sufiering with these disorders have no right to marry, for at least four reasons : — (1) It is a sin against the ofi*spring of such unions, who have a right to be bom well, but are forced to come into the world with weakly consti- tutions, diseased frames, and the certainty of pre- mature death. The children of consumptive and syphilitic parents rarely sui’vive infancy. If they OLD AND YOUNG. 157 A Sin against Ofifspring. An Ineradicable Disease. do, it is only to suffer later on, as they surely will, and, perhaps, to communicate the same destructive diseases to other human beings ; but these diseases rarely extend beyond the third generation, the. line becoming extinct. The most heart-rending specta- cles we have ever met have been the children of parents suffering with the diseases mentioned. Their appearance is characteristic ; no physician of experience can fail to detect the sins of a profligate parent in a syphilitic child. Every feature indi- cates the presence of a blighting curse. There are those who assert that a man who has suffered with disease of the character last men- tioned may marry after the lapse of two or three yeai-s from the disappearance of the active symp- toms of the malady. Such assertions we consider as most dangerous and pernicious. The individ- uals who make them are well acquainted with the fact that of all diseases this is the most difficult to eradicate when once the system has become thor- oughly infected by it. Not only three years but thirty years may elapse after active symptoms disappear, yet the disease may break out again in a new and still more serious and complicated form. It may even lie entirely dormant or latent in the system of the parent during his lifetime, but break out in all its terrible destructiveness in his children. A man or woman who has once suffered with this fell disease is contaminated for life ; and it is a crime for such an one to entail upon inno- 158 PLAIJ^ FACTS FOR A Crime against the Race. Consumption Communicable. cent, unoffending human beings such a terrible leg- acy. Such a person has no right to marry ; or if married, has no right to perpetuate the results of his sins in offspring. It is never safe to say to a man who has once been infected that he is cured. If a cure ever takes place, it is exceedingly rare. (2) It is a crime against the race. One of the primary objects of marriage is reproduction. As members of the human race, it is the duty of par- ents to produce a high type of human beings, at least to do all in their power to produce healthy offspring. If they cannot do this, and are aware of the fact, they are guilty of abuse of the repro- ductive function in bringing sickly offspring into the world to suffer. (3) It is injurious to the contracting parties themselves. If a person has a communicable dis- ease, as syphilis, leprosy, and some bad forms of skin disease, the disease will certainly be commu- nicated to the wife or husband, and so a double amount of suffering will be entailed. The dread disease, consumption, rightly called the scourge of civilization, is now well known to be communi- cable. A few years ago we were consulted by an old gentleman, a native of Canada, who was suffer- ing with pulmonary disease. We inquired re- specting the history of the malady. Said lie, “Doctor, it may seem strange, but I believe I inhr- ited consumption from my wife, who died of con- sumption a few years ago.” Excepting the wrong OLD AND YOUNG. 169 ■ Modifying Influence of Marriage. A Carious Physiological Fact. use of the term inherit, we were not prepared to dispute the old gentleman’s ideas respecting the origin of his disease. Living in close association for years with his wife, who was slowly dying with disease of the lungs, it was quite possible for him to have received the disease from her. So many cases of this kind have been reported that it is now generally believed by medical men that con- sumption is communicable from one person to an- other by the reception into the system of the well person of the exhalations from the lungs of the person affected. Anotlier point worthy of mention here is the well-known fact that the intimate association of married people modifies even the physical form of both. Almost every one has noticed how much alike in appearance married people who have lived many years together come to be. This physical change undoubtedly extends further than to the features only. The whole constitution is modified. A remarkable illustration of this fact is found in the frequent observation that the children of a woman by a second husband often resemble in ap- pearance the first husband much more than their own father. It has been observed that the chil- dren of negro women, even by husbands of pure negro blood, are much lighter in color than usual if she has had a child by a white man previously. The same fact is observed in lower animals. In England, some years ago, a cross was effected 160 PLAIN _ FACTS FOB Moral Obligation. Persons with Similar Tendencies Must not Marry. between a male zebra and several young mares. Not only the hybrid colts resulting from this union, but all the colts afterward foaled by the same mares, from other horses, were striped like the zebra. In view of these facts, it is evident that the system of the woman, at least, may be profoundly affected in a similar manner by constitutional weaknesses, as well as by other individual peculiari- ties possessed by her husband. No person suffering with a contagious or infec- tious disease has any right to communicate the same to another. Indeed, it is the moral duty of every person so affected to do all in his power for the protection of others from the same cause of suffering. 2. Persons having a marked hereditary tendency to disease must not marry those having a similar tendency. Every physician knows only too well the power- ful influence of hereditary causes in determining the length of human life. Persons, one or both of whose parents have died of consumption, are very likely to die of the same disease, and frequently at about the same age. The children of such parents are commonly feeble and puny, and die early if they survive infancy. When both parents possess the consumptive tendency, the chance for life in the offspring is very poor indeed. The same may be said of those suffering with cancer, epilepsy, insan- ity, etc. Persons with a strong tendency to any Should Cousias Marry? Cripples and DefectiTes. one of the diseases mentioned should in no case marry. If there is but a slight morbid tendency, marriage may be admissible, but only with a part- ner possessing robust health. 3. Should cousins marry ? Writers have devoted a good deal of attention to this subject, and we have been shown statistics, re- ports of imbecile asylums, etc., for the purpose of proving that the marriage of cousins results in the production of idiots, and other defectives ; but the results of more careful examinations of the subject invalidate the views heretofore held, and it must be acknowledged that when both parties are healthy there is no more liability of mental incom- petency in the children of cousins, than in the off- spring of persons more remotely related. It must be added, however, that there are other reasons why the marriage of cousins is not to be generally recommended. Besides the fact that the feeling ex- isting between cousins is often only that which is felt by brothers and sisters for each other, there is the still more important fact that on account of the blood relation, unions of this kind are more apt than others to bring together persons having similar morbid tendencies. 4 . Persons having serious congenital deformities should not marry. The reason for this rule is obvious. Persons suf- fering with serious congenital defects, as natural blindness, deafness, deformity of the limbs, or de- ll 1G2 PLAIN PACT a FOR Criminals Should not Marry. The Drunkard’s Legacy. fective development of any part, will be more or less likely to transmit the same deformities or de- ficiencies to their children. There are, of course, cases of natural blindness, as well as of disability in other respects, to which this rule does not apph', the natural process of development not being seri- ously defective. It has even been observed that there is a slight tendency to the reproduction in the offspring, of deformity which has been artifi- cially produced in the pai’ents, and has existed for a long time. Many ancient nations observed this rule. Infants born cripples were strangled at birth or left to die. A Spartan king was once required by his people to pay a heavy fine for taking a wife who was infe- rior in size. 5. Criminals should not marry. It has been satisfactorily shown by thorough and scientific investigation that criminals often receive their evil proclivities from their parents. What are known as the criminal classes, which are re- sponsible for the greater part of the ciime com- mitted, are constantly and greatly on the increase. There is no doubt but that inheritance is lar^elv responsible for the continued increase of crime and criminals. A drunkard begets in his child a thirst for liquor, which is augmented by the mother’s use of ale or lager during gestation and nuking, and the child entem the world with a natural taste for intoxicants. A thief transmits to his offspring a OLD AND rOUNG. 163 Disproportion in Siae. Disparity of Ape. secretive, dishonest, sneaking disposition; and the child comes into the world ticketed for the State prison by the nearest route. So with other evil tendencies. By legislation or by some other means, measures should be speedily adopted for the pre- vention of this rapid increase of criminals, if there is any feasible plan which can be adopted. We offer no suggestion on this point, but it is one well Avorthy of the consideration of philanthropic statesmen. 6. Persons xvho are greatly disproportionate in size should not marry. While good taste would suggest the propriety of this rule, there are important physiological reasons for its observance. While the lack of physical adaptitude may be the occasion of much suffering and unhappiness in such unions, especially on the part of the wife, being even productive of most serious local disease, and sometimes of sterility, it is in childbirth that the greatest risk and suffering is incurred. More might be said on this point, but this is sufficient for those who' are willing to profit by a useful hint. i 7. Persons between whom there is great disparity of age should not marry. The reasons for this have already been given at length, and we will not repeat. In general, the husband should be older than the wife, from two to five years. The husband may often be ten or twelve years the senior of the wife ; but when mox’e 164 I‘LAiy FACTS FOR Incompatible Temperaments. Marriage of Very Different Races. than that, the union is not likely to he a profitable or happy one, if it is not absolutely productive of suffering and unhappiness. The ancient Greeks required that the husband should be Gventy years older than the wife ; but this custom was no more reasonable than that of another nation which re- quired that only old and young should marry, so that the sobriety of the old might restrain the frivolity of the young. 8. Persons who. are extremely unlike in teraper- ament should not marry. Persons who are so unlike in temperament and tastes as to have no mutual enjoyments, no congen- iality of feeling, will be incompatible as husband and wife, and the union of such persons will be anything but felicitous. No definite rule can be laid down ; but those seeking a companion for life would do well to bear this caution in mind, at the same time remembering that too great similarity of character, especially when there are prominent de- fects, is equally undesirable. 9. Marriage between widely different races is unadvisable. While there is no moral precept directly in- volved in marriage between widely different na- tions, as between whites and blacks or Indians, ex- perience shows that such marriages are not only not conducive to happiness, but are detrimental to the ofispring. It has been proven beyond room for question that mulattoes are not so long-lived as either blacks or whites. OLD A jSTD r 0 DAT O . 165 Should Paupers Marry? General Apathy on the Subject. 10. Persons who are unable to sustain them- selves or a family should not marry. Both moral and social obligations — if the two obligations may exist independently — forbid mar- riage to a young man Avho is scarcely able to pro- vide for himself, much less to support a wife and a family. The theory advocated by some that two can live almost as cheaply as one, so that a saving will be made by a union of two in marriage, is a most fallacious one. There may be occasional ex- ceptions, but in general, young people who marry with this idea in their heads find that they have reasoned not wisely. It will not be disputed that a married couple may live upon what is often spent foolishly by a young man ; but a young man can be economical if he will ; and if he does not learn economy before marriage, it is likely that he never will learn it. The marriage of paupers, to beget pauper chil- dren and foist them upon the community for sup- port, is an outrage against society. We believe it is not improper to speak out plainly upon this sub- ject, and in no uncertain tone, notwithstanding the popular prejudice which cries, “Hush, be quiet; don’t interfere with individual rights, don’t dis- turb the peace of society,” whenever anything is said which has a bearing on a regard for propriety in matters relating to one of the most ancient, the most sacred, and the most abused of all divinely appointed human institutions. We have never 166 1‘LAIN FACTS FOR An Icelandic Custom. Patagonian Good Sense. been able to account for this strange averseness to the consideration of this phase of the matrimonial question, and the determined effort often made to ignore it whenever it is broached. We purpose to speak out, notwithstanding the feeling referred to, since we believe this to be a crying e\ul ; and we have no fears but that we shall have the hearty indorsement of every individual who can so far lay’ aside his prejudices as to allow his native com- mon sense a fair chance to influence his judgment. In the country of Iceland, a land which is scarcely more than semi-civilized, if a young man wishes to marry, the first thing to be considered is his pecuniary situation. Before he can take to himself a wife, he must appear before the proper authority and present evidence that he is able to support a wife and family in addition to providing for himself. Even the bai'barous natives of Pat- agonia shoAv an equal degree of good sense, the chief of each tribe requiring that eA^ery young man who AAUshes to marry shall first proA^e himself com- petent to provide for a family, having attained the requisite degree of proficiency in hunting and fish- ing, and having possessed himself of at least two horses and the necessary equipments. In this country, — a ciAulized, so-called Christian country, blessed Avith all the enlightenment of the nineteenth century, what do we see ? Instead of any regulation of the sort, the utmost indifference to such clearly important considerations. If young OLD AND YOUNG. 167 Important Questions Neglected. Ministers Kemies in Duty. people profess to love each other and wish to marry, no one of their friends thinks of asking, “ How are they going to live after they are mar- ried ? Has the young man a trade ? Has the young lady been so educated as to be self-sustain- ing if necessary ? Has the young man a home or the wherewithal to obtain one ? Has he a good situation, with prospects of being able to support his wife comfortably and provide for a family ? ” These, or similar questions are sometimes asked, but little respect is paid to them by any one, least of all by the young people themselves, who ought to be most interested. The minister never in- quires respecting the propriety of the wedding at which he is to officiate, and invokes the blessings of Heaven upon a union which, for aught he knows, may be the grossest violation of immutable laws, Heaven-implanted in the constitution of the human race. The friends tender their congratula- tions and wishes of “much joy,” when in three cases out of four the conditions are such that a preponderance of grief is an inevitable certainty, and “much joy” an utter impossibility. There are exceptions to all general rules ; but it is a fact of which almost any one may convince himself that a man or a woman seldom rises much higher than the level reached at marriage. If a young man has no trade then, it is more than probable that he will never be master of one. If he has not fitted himself for a profession, he will IQg PLAIN FACTS F'OU Improvident Husbands. A Typical Dialogue. most likely never attain to such a rank in society. He will, in all probability, be a common laborer, living “from hand to mouth,” with nothing laid by for a rainy day. A wag says that a young couple just married, and for the first time awakened to the full con- sciousness of the fact that they must provide for themselves or starve, held the following dialogue : Husband. “ Well, wife, what are we going to do ? How shall we live ? ” W’^ife. “ Oh, my dear, we shall get along very well, I am sure ; you love me, do n’t you ? ” H. “ Certainly, dear, but we can- not live on love.” W. “We can live on bread and water ; so long as we have each other, it doesn’t matter much what we have to eat.” “That’s so, my dear ; well, you furnish the bread, and I Avill skirmish around after the water.” This exact dialogue may never have taken place; but the circumstances which might have called it out have occurred thousands of times. How many times has a dependent woman who had hastily married an improvident husband awakened at the end of a short honeymoon to find that she had only a limber stick or a broken reed to lean upon, instead of a self-reliant, independent, self-sustain- ing man, able to promde for her the comforts of a home and to protect her from the rudeness and suffering of privation and want. In our estimation it is as much a sin for a man to assume the obligation of caring for a wife and OLD AND YOUNG. 169 A Plain Truth. Moral Requisites. family when he has no reasonable grounds for be- lieving himself able to do so, as for a man to go in debt a few hundreds or thousands of dollars, and agree to pay the same when required, though per- fectly well aware that he will probably be unable to do so. Hence we say again, with emphasis, the improvident should not marry ; and we shall insist upon urging this truth, notwithstanding the fact that the very class of persons referred to are usu- ally of all classes the most anxious to enter the matrimonial state at the earliest possible moment, and the most certain to bring into the world large families of children still more improvident than themselves. 11. Do not marry a person tvhose moral charac- ter will not hear the closest scrutiny. By this we do not mean that absolute perfection should be required, as this would interdict marriage altogether ; but we wish to warn every young man against marrying a young woman who treats lightly or contemptuously matters which should be treated with profound respect ; who uses the name of Deity flippantly or rudely ; who treats her parents disre- spectfully ; who never cares to talk of subjects of a spiritual nature; who is giddy,’ gay, dressy, thoughtless, fickle. Such a young woman will never make a loving, patient, faithful, helpful wife. We wish also to warn every young woman against choosing for a husband a man who has a strong leaning toward infidelity ; who does not be- / 170 PLAIN FACTtS FOli Do not Marry a Tobacco-User. A Sad Popular Error. lieve in human responsibility ; who makes a mock of religion ; who is addicted to profanity ; who is either grossly intemperate or given to moderate tippling, be it ever so little, so long as he does not believe in and practice total abstinence ; who uses tobacco ; who is a jockey, a fop, a loafer, a schem- ing dreamer, or a speculator ; who is known to be unchaste, or who has led a licentious life. The man who has no love for his Maker will be likely to have little for his wife and children. He who does not acknowledge his responsibility to a higher power wiU soon forget his obligations to the wife he has promised to love and cherish. The man who is not willing to sacrifice the gi’atification af- forded by such pernicious habits as dram-drinking and tobacco-using to insure the comfort and happi- ness of his wife and children, is too selfish to make any wom.an a kind husband. There is no greater eiTor abroad than that held by not a few that “ a reformed rake makes the best husband.” The man whose afiections have been consumed in the fires of unhallowed lust is incapa- ble of giving to a pure-minded woman the love that she expects and deserves. A person cannot pass through the fire unscathed. The scars burned into the character by the flames of concupiscence are as deep and lasting as those inflicted upon the body, and even more so. Only “ in the regeneration ” will the marks and scars of the reformed reprobate be wholly effaced. OLD AXD YOUJSra. 171 Martyred Women. Demand Eeform before Marria<;e. We willingly grant that there have been numer- ous instances in which noble women have by years of patient effort reformed their erring husbands, re- storing them to the paths of virtue and sobriety from which they had wandered. We do not deny that it can be done again ; but we do not hesitate to say that the experiment is a most perilous one for any woman to undertake, and one which not more than one woman in a hundred can bring to a successful termination. The hazard is terrible. Perhaps it is on this very account that many young women run the risk ; but they rarely understand what they are doing. The woman who marries a drunkard w;ill, ten chances to one, die a heart- broken drunkard’s wife, or follow her husband to a drunkard’s grave. It is never safe for a woman to marry a man who has been for years an habitual drunkard, since he may relapse at any time ; and the man who has only indulged moderately should be thoroughly reformed and tested before the chances are taken “ for better or worse.” Let him prove himself well first. A proposition to reform on condition of marriage should be dismissed with disdain. If a young man will not determine to do right because it is right, his motives are sordid; and the probability is very great that so soon as some stronger incentive appeals to his selfishness, he will forget his vows and promises and relapse into his former vices. 172 PLAIN FACTS FOR Do BOt iDe in a Hurry. A Philosopher's Opinion. Do Not Be in a Hni’ry. — In conclusion, per- haps we could give no more important advice than this : Do not he in a hurry to marry. There is little danger that this advice will do harm, for ten illustrations of the evil results of hasty marriage are seen to one in which the opposite mistake is made. It rarely happens that a marriage made without consideration and due deliberation on the part of both parties is a happy one in its results. There are exceptional cases in which this kind of matrimonial alliances result very satisfactorily ; but these cases are quite exceptional. The business of selecting a partner for life, one who is expected to sustain the closest relation possible between human beings, who must be prepared to share in another’s sorrows as well as joys, to S3rmpathize with anoth- er’s aspirations and appreciate another’s motives and, sentiments, — such a task is certainly one of the most serious of an individual’s life and ought to be entered upon with calmness, deliberation, and, unbiased judgment and entire self-control. When making a decision which must affect seriously an individual’s whole life-time, passion, caprice, and all motives calculated to bias the judgment, should be laid aside. The happiness and usefulness of a whole life-time may be marred by a word. There is too much pending to be in a hurry. A certain philosopher once "compared a man about to marry to one who was about to put his OLD AND YOUNG. 173 The Eels and Serpents, A Moral well Drawn, hand into a sack in which were ninety-nine ser- ■ pents and one eel ; the moral of which is that there are ninety- nine chances to one against a fortunate selection.” If this is true of a man about to marry, it is probably equally true that a woman under the same circumstances has nine hundred and ninety- nine chances against, for one in favor of, a fortu- nate selection. Chastity. S HOU shalt not commit adultery.” “Wlio- soever looketh on a woman to lust after her, hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.” In these two scriptures we have a complete defi- nition of unchastity. The seventh commandment, with the Saviour’s commentary upon it, places clearly before us the fact that chastity requires purity of thought as well as of outward acts. Im- pure thoughts and unchaste acts are alike viola- tions of the seventh commandment. As we shall see, also, unchastity of the mind is a violation of natural law as well as of moral law, and is ^dsited with physical punishment commensurate to the transgression. Mental Uncliastity. — It is vain for a man to suppose himself chaste who allows his imagination to run riot amid scenes of amorous associations. The man whose lips delight in tales of licentious- ness, whose eyes feast upon obscene pictures, who is ever ready to pervert the meaning of a harmless word or act into uncleanness, who finds delight in reading vivid portrayals of acts of lewdness, — such a one is not a virtuous man. Though he may never have committed an overt act of unchastity, if he 174 OLD AND YOUNG. 175 Chastity. Mental Uncleannesa. cannot pass a handsome female in the street with- out, in imagination, approaching the secrets of her person, he is but one grade above the open liber- tine, and is as truly unchaste as the veriest debauchee. Man may not see these mental adulteries, he may not perceive these filthy imaginings ; but One sees and notes them. They leave their hideous scars upon the soul. They soil and mar the mind ; and as the record of each day of life is photo- graphed upon the books in Heaven, they each appear in bold relief, in all their innate hideousness. O purity ! how rare a virtue ! How rare to find a face which shows no trace of sensuality ! One turns with sadness from the thought that human “ forms divine ” have sunk so low. The standard of virtue is trailing in the dust. Men laugh at vice, and sneer at purity. The bawdy laugh, the ribald jest, the sensual glance, the obscene song, the filthy tale, salute the eyes and ears at every street corner, in the horse-car, on the railroad train, in the bar-room, the lecture hall, the workshop. In short, the works and signs of vice are omni- present. Foul thoughts, once allowed to enter, the mind, stick like the leprosy. They corrode, contaminate, and infect like the pestilence ; naught but Al- mighty power can deliver from the bondage of concupiscence a soul once infected by this foul blight, this moral contagium. 176 FLAIX FACTS FUli Unchastity of %Iie Mind. Physical Effects of Mental Unchastity. Mental Uncleanness. — It is a wide-spread and deadly error, that only outward acts are harmful ; that only physical transgression of the laws of chastity will produce disease. We have seen all the efl'ects of beastly abuse result from mental sin alone. “ I have traced serious affections and very great suffering to this cause. The cases may occur at any period of life. We meet with them frequently among such as are usually called, or think them- selves, continent young men. There are large classes of persons who seem to think that they may, without moral guilt, excite their own feelings or those of others by loose or libidinous conversa- tion in society, provided such impure thoughts of acts are not followed by masturbation or fornica- tion. I have almost daily to tell such persons that physically, and in a sanitary point of view, they are ruining their constitutions. There are young men who almost pass their lives in making carnal acquaintances in the street, but just stop short of seducing girls ; there are others who haunt the lower classes of places of public amusement for the purpose of sexual excitement, and live, in fact, a thoroughly immoral life in all respects except act- ually going home with prostitutes. WTien these men come to me, laboring under the various fonns of impotence, they are surprised at my suggesting to them the possibility of the impairment of their OLD AND YOUNG. 177 Daydreaming. Amativeness. powers being dependent upon these previous vi- cious habits.” * “ Those lascivious day-dreams and amorous rev- eries, in which young people — and especially the idle and the voluptuous, and the sedentary and the nervous — are exceedingly apt to indulge, are often the sources of general debility, effeminacy, dis- ordered functions, premature disease, and even premature death, without the actual exercise of the genital organs ! Indeed, this unchastity of thought — this adultery of the mind — is the beginning of immeasurable evil to the human family,” f Amativeness. — Certain phrenologists contend that the controlling center of the sexual passion is the cerebellum, or little brain, which is situated at the lower and back part of the head. They ap- parently love to dwell upon the theme, and ride their hobby upon all possible occasions, often in the most disgusting manner, and always leaving the impression that they must be themselves suf- fering from perversion of the very function of which they speak. There may be some doubt whether the function called amativeness is located in the cerebellum at all ; at least, it is perfectly certain that amative- ness is not the exclusive function of the cerebellum. Says Carpenter, the learned physiologist, “The seat of the sexual sensation is no longer supposed to be in the cerebellum generally; but probably in its * Acton. 12 t Graham. 178 FLAiy FACTS FOR Lust not LoTe. A Natural Instinct Perverted. central portion, or some part of the medulla oblon- gata.” The cerebellum is intimately connected with the principal vital organs ; hence, if it is largely devel- oped, the individual will possess a well-developed physical organism and a good degree of constitu- tional vigor. He will have vigorous health, and probably strong sexual powers ; not, however, as a special function, but for the same reason that he will have a good digestion. To the majority of mankind, apparently, ama- tiveness, or sexual love, means lust. The faculty has been lowered and debased until it might almost be considered practically synonymous with sensuality. The first step toward reform must be a recognition of a higher and purer relation than that which centers every thought upon the grat- ification of the animal in hmnan nature. If one may judge from the facts which now and then come to the surface in society, it would appear that the opportunity for sensual gratification had come to be, in the world at large, the chief attraction between the sexes. If to these observations we add the filthy disclosures constantly made in police couids and scandal suits, we have a powerful con- firmation of the opinion. Even ministers, who ought to be “ ensamples to the flock,” are rather “ blind leaders of the blind,” and fall into the same ditch rvith the rest. This perversion of a natural instinct, and these OLD AND YOUNG. 179 Filthy Dreamers. Unchaste Conversation. sudden lapses from virtue which startle a small portion of community and afford a filthy kind of pleasure to the other part, are but the outgrowths of mental unchastity. “Filthy dreamers,” before they are aware, become filthy in action. The thoughts mold the brain, as certainly as the brain molds the thoughts. Rapidly down the current of sensuality is swept the individual who yields his imagination to the contemplation of lascivious themes. Before he knows his danger, he finds him- self deep in the mire of concupiscence. He may pre- serve a fair exterior ; but deception cannot cleanse the slime from his putrid soul. How many a church- member carries under a garb of piety a soul filled with abominations, no human scrutiny can tell. How many pulpits are filled by “ whited sepulchers,” only the Judgment will disclose. Unchaste Conversation. — “Out of the abun- dance of the heart the mouth speaketh.” “ Every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of Judgment.” “ By thy words thou shalt be condemned.” Matt. 12 : 34, 36, 37. In these three brief sentences, Christ presents the whole moral aspect of the subject of this paragraph. To any one who will ponder well his weighty words, no further remark is necessary. Let filthy talkers but consider for a moment what a multitude of “ idle,” unclean words are waiting for account in the final day ; and then let them consider what a load of condemnation must roil ISO PLAIN PACTS POP Filthy Talkera. Demoralizing Gossip. upon their guilty souls when strict justice is meted out to every one before the bar of Omnipotence, and in the face of all the world — of all the universe. The almost universal habit among boys and young men of relating filthy stories, indulging in foul jokes, making indecent allusions, and subjecting to lewd criticism every passing female, is a most abominable sin. Such habits crush out pure thoughts ; they annihilate respect for virtue ; they make the mind a quagmire of obscenity ; they lead to overt acts of lewdness. But boys and youths are not alone in this. More often than otherwise, they gain from older ones the phraseology of vice. And if the sin is loath- some in such youthful ti’ansgressors, what detesta- ble enormity must characterize it in the old. And women, too, are not without their share in this accursed thing, this ghost of vice, which haunts the sewing-circle and the parlor as well as the club- room. They do not, of course, often descend to those black depths of vulgarity to wliich the coai’ser sex will go, but couch in finer terms the same foul thoughts, and hide in loose insinuations more smut than words could well express. Women who think themselves rare paragons of virtue can find no greater pleasure than in the discussion of the latest scandal, speculations about the chastity of Mrs. A. or Mr. B., and gossip about the “ fall ” of this man’s daughter or the amorous adventui'es of that woman’s son. OLD AND YOUNG. 181 Causes of tJnchastity. Perverting Influence of Civilization. Masculine purity loves to regard woman as chaste in mind as well as in body, to surround her witl conceptions of purity and impregnable virtue ; but the conclusion is irresistible that those who can gloat over others’ lapses from viidue, and find de- light in such questionable entertainments as the most recent case of seduction, or the newest scandal, have need to purify their hearts and re-enforce their waning chastity. Nevertheless, a writer says, and perhaps truly, that “ the women comprise about all the real virtue there is in the world.” Certainly if they were one-half as bad as the masculine por- tion of humanity, the world would be vastly worse than it is. Causes of Uncliastity. — Travelers among the North American Indians have been struck with the almost entire absence of that abandonment to vice which might be expected in a race uninfluenced by the moral restraints of Christianity. When first discovered in their native wilds, they were free from both the vices and the consequent diseases of civilization. This fact points unmistakably to the conclusion that there must be something in the re- finements and perversions of civilized life which is unfavorable to chastity, notwithstanding all the re- straints which religion and the conventionalisms of society impose. Can we find such influences ? Yes ; they abound on every hand and leave their blight in most unwelcome places, oft unsuspected, even, till the work of ruin is complete. 182 PLAIN FACTS FOB Early Causes. Diet vs. Chastity. Early Causes. — The earliest of all causes is hereditary predisposition. As we have shown, a child conceived in lust can no more be chaste by nature than a negro can be a Caucasian. But back of this there is a deeper cause, as we shall see, one that affects parents as well as offspring. Between infancy and puberty, are in operation, all those in- fluences mentioned under “ Sexual Precocity.” The frequent custom of allowing children of the opposite sex to sleep together, even until eight or ten years of age, or longer, is a dangero\is one. We have known of instances in which little boys of seven or eight have been allowed to sleep with girls of fourteen or sixteen, in some of which most shameful lessons were taught, and by persons who would not be suspected of such an impropriety. In one instance a little boy of eight, occupying the same bed with three girls several years older, was used for illustration by the older girl in instructing the younger ones in the 'modus operandi of repro- duction. The sexes should be carefully separated from each other at least as early as four or five years of age, under all circumstances which could afford opportunity for observing the physical dif- ferences of the sexes, or in any -way serve to excite those passions which at this tender age should be wholly dormant. Diet vs. Chastity. — From earliest infancy to impotent old age, under the perverting influence of civilization, there is a constant antagonism between OLD AND TOUNG. 183 Beginning of Vice. How the Passions Are Excited. diet and purity. Sometimes — rarely we hope — the helpless infant imbibes the essence of libidinous desires with its mother’s milk, and thence receives upon its forming brain the stamp of vice. When old enough to take food in the ordinary way, the infant’s tender organs of digestion are plied with highly seasoned viands, stimulating sauces, animal food, sweetmeats, and dainty tidbits in endless variety. Soon, tea and coffee are added to the list. Salt, pepper, ginger, mustard, condiments of every sort, deteriorate his daily food. If, perchance, he does not die at once of indigestion, or with his weakened forces fall a speedy victim to the dis- eases incident to infancy, he has his digestive organs impaired for life at the very outset of his existence. Exciting stimulants and condiments weaken and irritate his nerves and derange the circulation. Thus, indirectly, they affect the' sexual system, which suffers through sympathy with the other or- gans. But a more direct injury is done. Flesh, condiments, eggs, tea, coffee, chocolate, and all stimrdants, have a powerful influence directly upon the reproductive organs. They increase the local supply of blood ; and through nervous sym- pathy with the brain, the passions are aroused. Overeating, eating between meals, hasty eating, eating indigestible articles of food, late suppers, react upon the sexual organs with the utmost cer- tainty. Any disturbance of the digestive function 184 . PLAIN FACTS FOR Clerical Lapses. AVho Is Kesponsible ? deteriorates the quality of the blood. Poor blood, filled with crude, poorly digested food, is ins- tating to the nervous system, and especially to those extremely delicate nerves which govern the reproductive function. Irritation provokes con- gestion ; congestion excites sexual desires ; excited passions increase the local disturbance ; and thus each reacts upon the other, ever increasing the injury and the liability to future damage. Thus, these exciting causes continue their insid- ious work through youth and more mature years. Right under the eyes of fathers and mothers they work the ruin of their children, exciting such storms of passion as are absolutely uncontrollable. Clerical Lapses. — Our most profound disgust is justly excited when we hear of laxity of morals in a clergyman. We naturally feel that one whose calling is to teach his fellow-men the way of truth, and right, and purity, should himself he free from taint of immorality. But when we consider how these ministers are fed, we cannot suppress a mo- mentary disposition to excuse, in some degree, their fault. When the minister goes out to tea, he is served with the richest cake, the choicest jellies, the most pungent sauces, and the finest of fine- flour hread-stufis. Little does the indulgent host- ess dream that she is ministering to the inflamma- tion of passions which may imperil the virtue of her daughter, or even her o-wn. Salacity once aroused, even in a minister, allows no room for OLD AND TO UNO. 185 Tebacco and Vice. A Grave Charge Against Tobacco. reason or for conscience. If women wish to pre- serve the virtue of their ministers, let them feed them more in accordance with the laws of health. Ministers are not immaculate. The remedy for the dangers to chastity arising from this source, is pointed out in the article on “ Continence.” Tobacco and Vice. — Few are aware of the in- fluence upon morals exerted by that filthy habit, tobacco-using. When acquired early, it excites the undeveloped organs, arouses the passions, and in a few years converts the once chaste and pure youth into a veritable volcano of lust, belching out from its inner fires of passion torrents of obscenity and the sulphurous fumes of lasciviousness. If long- continued, the final effect of tobacco is emasculation ; hut this is only the necessary consequence of pre- vious super-excitation. The lecherous day-dreams in which many smokers indulge, are a species of fornication for which even a brute ought to blush, if such a crime were possible for a brute. The mental libertine does not confine himself to bagnios and women of the town. In the foulness of his imagination, he invades the sanctity of virtue wherever his erotic fancy leads him. We are aware that we have made a grave charge against tobacco, and we have not hesitated to state the naked truth ; yet we do not think we have exaggerated, in the least, the pernicious in- fluence of this foul drug. As much, or nearly as ! 8<3 PLAIN FACTS FOR Bad Books. Mr. Comstock’s Testimony. much, might be said against the use of liquor, on the same grounds. Bad Books. — Another potent enemy of virtue is the obscene literature which has flooded the land for many years. Circulated by secret agen- cies, these books have found their way into the most secluded districts. Nearly every large school contains one of these emissaries of evil men and their Satanic master. Some idea of the enor- mity and extent of this evil may be gained from the following quotations from a published letter of Mr. Amthony Comstock, who has been for some time employed by the Young Men’s Christian As- sociation in suppressing the traffic by arresting the publishers and destroying their goods : — “ I have succeeded in unearthing this hydra- headed monster in part, as you will see by the following statement, which, in many respects, might be truthfully increased in quantity. These I have seized and destroyed : — “ Obscene photographs, stereoscopic and other pictures, more than one hundred and eightj^-two thousand ; obscene books and pamphlets, more than five tons ; obscene letter-press in sheets, more than two tons ; sheets of impure songs, catalogues, handbills, etc., more than twenty-one thousand ; obscene microscopic watch and knife charms, and finger-rings, more than five thousand ; obscene neg- ative plates for printing photograplis and stereo- scopic views, about six hundred and twenty-five r OLD AND TOUNO. 187 Astonishing Abominations. Dissemination of Obscene Books. obscene engraved steel and copper plates, three hundred and fifty ; obscene lithographic stones de- stroyed, twenty ; obscene wood-cut engravings, more than five hundred ; stereotype plates for printing obscene books, more than five tons ; ob- scene transparent playing-cards, nearly six thou- sand; obscene and immoral rubber articles!, ovei thirty thousand ; lead molds for manufacturing rubber goods, twelve sets, or more than seven hundred pounds ; newspapers seized, about four thousand six hundred ; letters from all parts of the country ordering these goods, about fifteen thou- sand; names of dealers in account-books seized, about six thousand ; lists of names in the hands of dealers, that are sold as merchandise to forward circulars or catalogues to, independent of letters and account-books seized, more than seven thou- sand; arrest of dealers since Oct. 9, 1871, more than fifty.” “ These abominations are disseminated by these men first obtaining the names and addresses of scholars and students in our schools and colleges, and then forwarding circulars. They secure thou- sands of names in this way, either by sending for a catalogue of schools, seminaries, and colleges, under a pretense of sending a child to attend these places, or else by sending out a circular purporting to be getting up a directory of all the scholars and students in schools and colleges in the United States, or of taking the census of all the unmarried 188 PLAIN FACTS FOR A Nefarions Business. Wholesome Laws. people, and ofiering to pay five cents per name for lists so sent. I need not say that the money is seldom or never sent, but I do say that these names, together with those that come in reply to advertisements, are sold to other parties ; so that when a man desires to engage in this nefarious business, he has only to purchase a list of these names, and then your child, be it son or daughter, is liable to have thrust into its hands, all unknown to you, one of these devilish catalogues.” “ Since the destruction of the stereotype plates of old books, secret circulars have been discovered , of a notice to dealers that twelve new books are in course of preparation, and will soon be ready for delivery.” ' Says Hon. C. L. Merriam, as quoted by Dr. Lewis : “We find that the dealers in obscene liter- atuie have organized circulating libraries, which i ai'e under the charge of the most vicious boys in the schools, boys chosen and paid by the venders, and who circulate among the students, at ten cents a volume, any of the one hundred and forty-four obscene books heretofore published in New York . City.” i Largely through the influence of Mr. Comstock, laws have been enacted which promise to do much toward checking this extensive evil, or at least causing it to make itself less prominent. Our newspapers still abound with advertisements of various so-called medical works, “Marriage Guides,” | OLD AND YOTJNQ. 189 Laws Ineffectual. A Poisoned Literature. Idleness. etc., which are fruits of the same “ upas-tree ” that Mr. Comstock has labored so faithfully to uproot. It is a painful fact, howevei-, that the total an- nihilation of every foul hook which the law can reach will not effect the cure of this evil, for our modern literature is full of the same virus. It is necessarily presented in less grossly revolting- forms, half concealed by beautiful imagery, or embellished by wit ; but yet, there it is, and no law can reach it. The works of our standard authors in literature abound in lubricity. Popular novels have doubtless done more to arouse a pru- rient curiosity in the young, and to excite and foster passion and immorality, than even the ob- scene literature for the suppression of which such active measures have recently been taken. The more exquisitely painted the scenes of vice, the more dangerously enticing. Novel-reading has led thousands to lives of dissoluteness. Idleness. — This evil is usually combined with the preceding. To maintain purity, the mind must be occupied. If left without occupation, the va- cuity is quickly filled with unchaste thoughts. Nothing can be worse for a child than to be reared in idleness. His morals will be certain to suffer. Incessant mental occupation is the only safeguard against unchastity. Those worthless fops who spend their lives in “ killing time ” by lounging about bar-rooms, loafing on sti’eet corners, or strutting up and down the boulevard, are any- .. IPO PLAIN FACTS FOP Sentimental Young Women. Dress and Sensuality. thing but chaste. Those equally worthless young women who waste their lives on sofas or in eas}'- chairs, occupied only with some silly novel, or idling away life’s precious hours in reverie — such cseatures are seldom the models of purity one would wish to think them. If born with a natural propensity toward sin, such a life would soon en- I gender a diseased, impure imagination, if nothing ^ worse. i Dress and Sensuality. — There are two ways in which fashionable dress leads to unchastity ; viz., 1. By its extravagance; 2. By its abuse of the ' body. How does extravagance lead to unchastity ? By creating the temptation to sin. It affects not those ' gorgeously attired ladies who ride in fine carriages, and live in brown-stone fronts, who are surrounded with all the luxuries that wealth can purchase — i fine apparel is no temptation to such. . But to less j favored — though not less worthy — ones, these mag- nificent displays of millinery goods and fine trappings are most powerful temptations. The poor seamstress, who can earn by diligent toil hardh^ enough to pay her board bill, has no legitimate way by which to deck herseK with the finery she admires. Plainly dressed as she must be if she remains honest and retains her virtue, she is scorn- ! fully ignored by her proud sisters. Everj"where i she finds it a generally recognized fact that “ dress makes the lady.” On the street, no one steps ! OLD AND YOUNG. 191 How Yjung Women Fall. Allurements of Vice. aside to let her pass, no one stoops to regain for her the package that slips from her weary hands. Does she enter a crowded car, no one offers her a seat, though she is trembling with fatigue, while the showily dressed woman who follows her is accommodated at once. She marks the difference ; she does not pause to count the cost, but barters away her self-respect, to gain the respect, or defer- ence, of strangers. How Young Women Fall. — It has been au- thoritatively stated that there are, in our large cities, hundreds of young women who, being able to earn barely enough to buy food and fuel and pay the rent of a dismal attic, take the advice offered by their employers, “ Get some gentleman friend to dress you for your company.” Others spend all their small earnings to keep themselves “respectably” dressed, and share the board and lodgings of some young rou^ as heartless as incon- tinent. Persons unaccustomed to city life, and thousands of people in the very heart of our great metropolis, have no conception of the frightful prevalence of this kind of prostitution. Young women go to our large cities as pure as snow. They find no lucrative employment. Daily con- tact with vice obtunds their first abhorrence of it. Gradually it becomes familiar. A fancied life of ease presents allurements to a hard-worked sewing- girl. Fine clothes and comfortable lodgings in- crease the temptation. She yields, and barters her 192 PLAIN PACTS FOB A Commendable Reform. Faahion and Vice. body for a home without the trouble of a marriage ceremony. Wealthy women could do more to cure the “ social evil ” by adopting plain attire than all the civil authorities by passing license laws or regu- lating ordinances. Have not Christian women a duty here ? A few years ago, some Nashville ladies made a slight move in the right direction, as indicated in the following paragraph ; but we have not heard that their example has been fol- lowed : — “ The lady members of the first Baptist Church, of Nashville, Tenn., have agreed that they will dispense with all finery on Sunday, wearing no jewels but consistency, and hereafter appear at church in plain calico dresses.” A more radical reform would have been an ex- tension of the salutary measure to all other days of the week as well as Sundav ; though we see no reason for restricting the material of clothing to calico, which might, indeed, be rather insufficient for some seasons of the year. Fashion and Tice. — Let us glance at the sec- ond manner in which dress lends its infiuence to vice, by obstructing the normal functions of the body. 1. Fashion requires a woman to compress her waist with bands or corsets. In consequence, the circulation of the blood toward the heart is obstructed. The venous blood is crowded back into the delicate organs of generation. Congestion OLD AND YOUNG, I93 Depraving Influence of Dress. iteform in Dress Needed. ensues, and with it, through reflex action, the un- natural excitement of the animal propensities. 2. The manner of wearing the clothing, suspending several heavy garments from the hips, increases the same difficulty by bringing too large a share of clothing where it is least needed, thus generating unnatural local heat. 3. The custom of clothing the feet and limbs so thinly that they are exposed to constant chilling, by still further unbalancing the circulation, adds another element to increase the local mischief. All of these causes combined, operating almost constantly, — with others that might be mentioned,, —produce permanent local congestions, with ova- rian and uterine derangements. The latter affec- tions have long been recognized as the chief patho- logical condition in hysteria, and especially in that peculiar form of disease known as nyimphomania, under the excitement of which a young woman, naturally chaste and modest, may be impelled to the commission of the most wanton acts. The pernicious influence of fashionable dress in occa- sioning this disorder cannot be doubted. RefoFiEi in liress Needed. — The remedy for these evils, the only way to escape them, is refor- mation. The dress must be so adjusted to the body that ©very organ will be allowed free move- ment. N© corset, band, belt, or other means of constriction, should impede the circulation. Gar- ments should be i-^ospended fiorn the shoulders by 13 194 PLAIN FACTS FOE Fashionable Dissipation. Highly Seasoned Food. means of a waist, or proper suspenders. The limbs should be as warmly clad as any other por- tion of the body. How best to secure these re- quirements of health may be learned from several excellent works on dress reform, any of which can be readily obtained of the publishers of this work or their agents. Fashionable Dissipation. — The influence of so important an agent for evil in this direction as fash- ionable dissipation, cannot be ignored. By fashion- able dissipation we mean that class of excesses in the indulgence in which certain classes, usually the more wealthy or aristocratic, pride themselves. Among this class of persons a man who is known to be a common drunkard would not be recognized ; such a person would be carefully shunned ; yet a total abstainer would be avoided with almost equal care, and would be regarded as a fanatic or an ex- tremist at least. With persons of this class, wine- drinking is considered necessary as a matter of pro- priety. Along with wine are taken the great vari- ety of highly seasoned foods, spices, and condiments in profusion, with rich meats and all sorts of deli- cacies, rich desserts, etc., which can hardly be con- sidered much less harmful than stimulants of a more generally recognized character. These indulgences excite that part of the system which generally needs restraint rather than stimu- lation. A participant, an ex -governor, recently de- scribed to us a grand political dinner given in honor OLD AND YOUNG. 195 Popular Gormandizing, Tendency of Luxury. of a noted American citizen, which began at 5 P. M., and continued until nearly midnight, continuous courses of foods, wines, etc., being served for nearly six hours. Similar scenes have been enacted in a score of our large cities for the same ostensible pur- pose. Knowing that public men are addicted to such gormandizing on numerous occasions, we do not wonder that so many of them are men of loose morals. The tendency of luxury is toward demoraliza- tion. Rome never became dissipated and corrupt until her citizens became wealthy, and adopted lux- urious modes of living. Nothing is much more con- ducive to sound morals than full occupation of the mind with useful labor. Fashionable idleness is a foe to virtue. The young man or the young woman who wastes the precious hours of life in listless dreaming, or in that sort of senseless twaddle which forms the bulk of the conversation in some circles, is in very great danger of demoralization. Many of the usages and customs of fashionable society seem to open the door to vice, and to insidiously, and at first unconsciously, lead the young and in- experienced away from the paths of purity and vir- tue. There is good evidence that the amount of immorality among what are known as the higher classes is every year increasing. Every now and then a scandal in high life comes to the surface ; but the great mass of corruption is effectually hid- den from the general public. Open profligacy is of 196 PLAIN FACTS FOR Round Dances. The Dance of Death. course frowned upon in all respectable circles ; and yet wealth and accomplishments will cover a mul- titude of sins. This freedom allowed to the vile and vicious is one of the worst features of fashionable society. Such persons carry about them a moi’al atmosphere more deadly than the dreaded upas-tree. Bound Dances. — Whatever apologies may be offered for other forms of the dance as means of exercise under certain restrictions, employed as a form of calisthenics, no such excuse can be framed in defense of “ round dances,” especially of the waltz. In addition to the associated dissipation, late hours, fashionable di'essing, midnight feasting, exposures through excessive exertions and improper dress, etc., it can be shown most clearly that danc- ing nas a direct influence in stimulating the pas- sions and provoking unchaste desires, which too often lead tc unchaste acts, and a^e in th^^mselves violations of the requirements of strict morality, and productive of injury to both mind and body. Said the renowme^l i'etrarch, “ The dance is the spur of lust — a circle of wiiicli the devil himself is the center. Many women that use it have come dishonest homt, jio?.-: indifierent, none better.” We camiot do better onan to quote on this sub- ject from a little work entitled, “The Dance of Death,” the author of which has given a great amount of attention to this subject, and presents its evils in a very forcible light, as follows : — OLD AND YOUNG. 197 A Scene of Vice. Stimulating the Passions. “ A score of forms whirl swiftly before us under the softened gaslight. I say a score of forms — but each is double— they would have made two score before the dancing began. Twenty floating visions — each male and female. Twenty women, knit and growing to as many men, undulate, sway, and swirl giddily before us, keeping time with the delirious melody of piano, harp, and violin. “ But draw nearer — let us see how this miracle is accomplished. Do you mark yonder couple who seem to excel the rest in grace and ardor. Let us take this couple for a sample. He is stalwart, agile, mighty ; she is tall, supple, lithe, and how beautiful in form and feature ! Her head rests upon his shoulder, her face is upturned to his ; her naked arm is almost around his neck ; her swelling- breast heaves tumultuously against his ; face to face they whirl, his limbs interwoven with her limbs ; with strong right arm about her yielding waist, he presses her to him till every curve in the contour of her lovely body thrills with the amorous contact. Her eyes look into his, but she sees nothing ; the soft music fills the room, but she hears nothing ; swiftly he whirls her from the floor or bends her frail body to and fro in his embrace. “With a last, low wail the music ceases. Her swooning senses come back to life. Ah, must it be ! Yes ; her companion releases her from his embrace. Leaning wearily upon his arm, the rapt- ure faded from her eye, the flush dying from her 198 PLAIN FACTS FOli Enervating Pleasures. An Eminent Woman’s Confession. cheek — enervated, limp, listless, wom out — she is led to a seat, there to recover from her delirium and gather her energies as best she may in the space of five minutes, after which she must yield her body to a new embrace.” “■ And now tell me, friend of mine, did you not recognize an old acquaintance in the lady we have been watching so closely ? No ! Then believe me ; she is no other than the ‘ pure and lovely girl’ you so much admired earlier in the evening, the so de- sirable wife, the angel who was to ‘ haunt your dreams.’ ” The author just quoted publishes in his little work a letter from a woman of great ability and strength of mind, of unblemished character and national reputation, wi’itten in response to his re- quest for her opinion of the dance. The statements made in this remarkable letter are so clear and con- vincing that every parent ought to read it. We quote the chief portions as follows : — “ ' I will venture to lay bare a young girl’s heart and mind by giving you my own experience in the days when I waltzed. “ ' In those times I cared little for Polka or Yar- sovienne, and still less for the old-fashioned “Money Musk ” or “ Yirmnia Reel,” and wondered what people could find to admire in those “ slow dances.” But in the soft floating of the waltz I found a strange pleasure, rather difiicult to intelligibly de- scribe. The mere anticipation fluttered my pulse. OLT) AND YOUNG. 199 tJncomprehended Pleasures. The Sensuous Waltz. and when my partner approached to claim my promised hand for the dance, I felt my cheeks glow a little sometimes, and I could not look him in the eyes with the same frank gayety as heretofore. “ ‘ But the climax of my confusion was reached when, folded in his warm embrace, and giddy with the whirl, a strange, sweet thrill would shake me from head to foot, leaving me weak and almost powerless, and really almost obliged to depend for support upon the arm which encircled me. If my partner failed from ignorance, lack of skill, or innocence, to arouse these, to me, most pleasurable sensations, I did not dance with him the second time. “ ‘ I am speaking openly and frankly, and when I say that I did not understand what I felt, or what were the real and greatest pleasures I derived from this so-called dancing, I expect to be believed. But if my cheeks grew red with uncomprehended pleas- ure then, they grow pale with shame to-day when I think of it all. It was the physical emotions en- gendered by the contact of strong men that I was enamored of — not of the dance, nor even of the men themselves. “‘Thus I became abnormally developed in my lowest nature. I grew bolder, and from being able to return shy glances at first, was soon able to meet more daring ones, until the waltz became to me and whomsoever danced with me, one lingering, sweet, and purely sensual pleasure, where heart beat 200 PLAIN PACTS FOR The Downward Koad. The Same Experience GeneraL against heart, hand was held in hand, and eyes looked burning words which lips dared not speak. “ ‘ All this while no one said to me, You do wrongr: SO I dreamed of sweet words whispered during the dance, and often felt while alone a thrill of joy in- describable yet overpowering when my mind would turn from my studies to remember a piece of temer- ity of unusual grandeur on the part of one or another of my cavaliers. “ ‘ G ir ls t alk to each other. I was still a school girl, although mixing so much with the world. "We talked together. We read romances that fed our romantic passions on seasoned food, and none hut ourselves knew what subjects we discussed. Had our parents heard us, they would have considered us on the high road to ruin. “ ‘ Yet we had been taught that it was right to dance ; our parents did it, our friends did, and we were permitted. I will say also that all the girls with whom I associated, with the exception of one, had much the same experience in dancing ; felt the same strangely sweet emotions, and felt that almost imperative necessity for a closer communion than that which even the freedom of a waltz permits, without knowing exactly why, or even comprehend- ing what. “ ‘ Married now, with home and children around me, I can at least thank God for the experience which will assuredly he the means of preventing my little daughters from indulging in any such danger- OLD AND YOUNG. 201 A Warning to Mothers. Physical Causes of Unchastity. ous pleasure. But, if a young girl, pure and inno- cent in the beginning, can be brought to feel what I have confessed to have felt, what must be the ex- perience of a married woman ? Site knows what every glance of the eye, every bend of the head, every close clasp means, and knowing that, recipro- cates it, and is led by swifter steps and a surer path down the dangerous, dishonorable road. “‘I doubt if my experience will be of much serv- ice, but it is the candid truth, from a woman who, in the cause of all the young girls who may be con- taminated, desires to show just to what extent a young mind may be defiled by the injurious effects of round dances. I have not hesitated to lay bare what are a young girl’s most secret thoughts, in the hope that people will stop and consider, at least, before handing their lilies of purity over to the arms of any one who may choose to blow the frosty breath of dishonor on their petals.’ ” Much more might be added on this important subject, would the limits of this work allow ; but this must suffice. We beg the reader to consider carefully and prayerfully the facts pi’esented before deciding that dancing is so harmless as many per- sons suppose. Physical Causes of Unchastity <, — Some of the physical causes of impurity in women have been previously referred to, since it is through physical injuries that unhealthful clothing exerts its influ- ence. Too little is generally known of the intimate 202 PLAIN FACTS FOR Effects of Constipation. Intestinal 'Wonns. connection between physical and mental conditions. Doubtless, many vices originate in physical imper- fections. Indeed, when the full bearing of phys- ical influences upon the mind is allowed, it is diffi- cult to avoid pleading extenuating circumstances in the cases of the greatest share of transgressors of both moral and civil laws. This principle is espe- cially applicable to sexual relations. In males, one of the most general physical causes of sexual excitement is constipation. The vesicula seminalis, in which the seminal fluid is stored, is situated, as will be remembered, at the base of the bladder. It thus has the bladder in front, and the rectum behind. In constipation, the rectum becomes distended v^h feces, efiiete matter which should have been promptly evacuated instead of being al- lowed to accumulate. This hardened mass presses upon the parts most intimately concerned in the sexual act, causing excessive local excitement. When this condition is chronic, as in habitual con- stipation, the unnatural excitement often leads to most serious results. One of these is the produc- tion of a horrible disease, satyriasis, the nature of which has been previously indicated. Constipation in females has the same tendenc}', though the dangers are not quite so great. The ir- ritation is sufficient, however, to lead to excitement of the passions. Intestinal worms often produce the same result in children. I OLD AND YOUNG. 203 Irritation of the Bladder. Modern Modes of Life. Local uncleanliness is another very frequent cause which is often overlooked. The natural local secretions quickly become a source of great irrita- tion if not .removed by daily washing. Certain anatomical peculiarities sometimes exist in the male which greatly aggravate this difficulty, and for which circumcision, or an equivalent operation, is the remedy. Irritation of the bladder, producing incontinence of urine, is another enemy to chastity. It should receive prompt attention and treatment. In chil- dren, this irritability is indicated by wetting of the bed at night. In cases of this kind, allow the child little drink in the latter portion of the day. See that the bladder is emptied just before he goes to bed. Wake him once or twice during the night, and have him urinate. Use all possible means to remove the cause of irritation by giving him plenty of out-of-door exercise and a very simple, though nutritious, diet. Avoid meat, eggs, and condiments. Modern Modes of Life. — Aside from all of the causes already enumerated, there are many other conditions and circumstances, the result of modem habits of living, that tend directly toward the ex- citement of sensuality. Superheated rooms, seden- tary employments, the development of the mental and nervous organizations at the expense of the muscular, the cramming system in schools, too long confinement of school-children in a sitting position, * the allowance of too great freedom between the 204 PLAIN FACTS Demoralizing Influence of Balls. Modern Habits of Eating and Drinking. sexes in the young, the demoralizing influence of most varieties of public amusement, balls, church fairs, and other like influences too numerous to mention, all tend in the one direction, that of ab- normal excitation and precocious development of the sexual functions. It is not an exaggeration to say that for one con- forming to modern modes of living, eating, sleeping, and drinking, absolute chastity is next to an abso- lute impossibility. This would certainly be true without a special interposition of Providence ; but Providence never works miracles to obviate the re- sults of voluntary sin. Continence. ‘Z^ONTINENCE differs from chastity in being entire restraint from sexual indulgence under all circumstances, while chastity is only restraint from unlawful indulgence. As we have both phys- ical and mental chastity, so continence should be both mental and physical. Many of the observa- tions on the subject of “ Chastity ” apply with equal force to continence. The causes of incontinence are the same as those of unchastity. ,The same re- lation also exists between mental and physical continence as between mental and physical chastity. The subject of continence evidently has a some- what wider scope than that of chastity, as generally understood ; but as we have considered the latter subject so fully, we shall devote less space to this, leaving the reader to make the application of such preceding remarks as reason may suggest to him are equally appropriate here. Without stopping to consider the various circum- stances under which absolute continence is expedi- ent, or desirable, or morally required, we will pro- ceed at once to examine the question, Is continence harmful ? Continence not Injurious. — It has been claimed by many, even by physicians, — and with consider- 205 20G PLAIN FACT! FOR Continence not Injurious. Contrary View Based on Prejudice. able show of reason, — that absolute continence, after full development of the organs of reproduction, could not be maintained without great detriment to health. It is needless to enumerate all the differ- ent arguments employed to support this position, since they are, with a few exceptions, too frivolous to deserve attention. We shall content ourselves chiefly with quotations from acknowledged author- ities, by which we shall show that the popular notions upon this subject are wholly erroneous. Their general acceptance has been due, without doubt, to the strong natural bias in their favor. It is an easy matter to believe what agrees well with one’s predilections. A bare surmise, on the side of prejudice, is more telling than the most powerful logic on the other side “ We know that this opinion is held by men of the world, and that many physicians share it. This belief appears to us to be erroneous, without foun- dation, and easily refuted.” * The same writer claims “ that no peculiar disease nor any abridgment of the duration of life can be ascribed to such continence.” He proves his posi- tion by appealing to statistics, and shows the fal- lacy of arguments in support of the contrary rfew. He further says ; — “ It is determined, in our opinion, that the com- merce of the sexes has no necessities that cannot be restrained without peril.” * Mayer. OLD AND YOUNG. 207 - Popular Error. Does not Produce Impotence. “ A part has been assigned to spermatic plethora in the etiology of various mental affections. Among others, priapism has been attributed to it. In our opinion, this malady , originates in a disturbance of the cerebral nerve power ; but it is due much less to the retention of sperm than to its exaggerated loss ; much less to virtuous abstinence than to moral depravity.” There has evidently been a wide-spread decep- tion upon this subject. “ Health does not abso- lutel}'’ require that there should ever be an emission of semen, from puberty to death, though the indi- vidual live a hundred years ; and the frequency of involuntary nocturnal emissions is an indubitable proof that the parts, at least, are suffering under a debility and morbid irritability utterly incompatible with the general welfare of the system.” Does not Produce Impotence. — It has been declared that strict continence would result in im- potency. The falsity of this argument is clearly shown by the following observations : — “ There exists no greater error than this, nor one more opposed to physiological truth. In the first place, I may state that I have, after many years’ experience, never seen a single instance of atrophy of the generative organs from this cause. I have, it is true, met the complaint, but in what class of cases does it occur ? It arises, in all instances, from the exactly opposite cause, abuse ; the organs be- come worn out. and hence arises atrophy. Phys- 208 PLAIN FACTS FOR Ko Suffering with the Chaste. Difficulty of Continence. iologically considered, it is not a fact that the power of secreting semen is annihilated in well- formed adults leading a healthy life and yet re- maining continent. No continent man need be de- terred by this apocryphal fear of atrophy of the testes, from living a chaste life. It is a device of the unchaste — a lame excuse for their own inconti- nence, unfounded on any physiological law.”* The truth of this statement has been amply con- firmed by experiments upon animals. The complaint is made by those whose lives have j been far otherwise than continent, that abstinence - occasions sufiering, from which indulgence gives re- ^ lief. The same writer further says that when such a patient consults a medical man, “he should be told — and the result would soon prove the correct- ness of the advice — that attention to diet, gymnastic exercise, and self-control, will most effectually re- lieve the symptoms.” Difficulty of Continence. — Some there are who urge that self-denial is difiicult ; that the natural promptings are imperious. From this they argue that it cannot but be right to gratify so strong a passion. “ The admitted fact that continence, even at the very beginning of manhood, is frequenth’ productive of distress, is often a struggle hard to be borne — still harder to be completely victorious in — is not to be at all regarded as an argument that it is an evil.” f * Acton. t Ibid. OLD AND YOUNG. 209 Helps to Continence. The Will. But if rigid continence is maintained from the first, the struggle with the passions will not be nearly so severe as after they have once been al- lowed to gain the ascendency. On this point, the following remarks are very just : — “ At the outset, the sexual necessities are not so uncontrollable as is generally supposed, and they can be put down by the exercise of a little energetic will. There is, therefore, as it appears to us, as much injustice in accusing nature of disorders which are dependent upon the genital senses, badly di- rected, as there would be in attributing to it a sprain or a fracture accidentally produced.” * Helps to Continence. — As already indicated, and as every individual wdth strong passions knows, the w^arfare with passion is a serious one if one determines to lead a continent life. He needs the help of every aid that he can gain. Some of these may be named as follows : — The Will. — A firm determination must be formed to lead a life of purity ; to quickly quench the first suggestions of impurity ; to harbor no unchaste desire ; to purge the mind of carnal thoughts ; in short, to cleave fast to mental continence. Each triumph over vicious thoughts will strengthen virtue ; each victorv w^on will make the next the easier. So strong a habit of continence may be formed that this alone Avill be a bulwark against vice. * Mayer. 14 210 PLAIN FACTS FOR Condiments. Exercise. Diet . — He who would keep in subjection his animal nature must carefully guard the portal to his stomach. The blood is made of what is eaten. Irritating food will produce irritating blood. Stim- ulating foods or drinks will surely produce a corre- sponding quality of blood. Irritating, stimulating blood will irritate and stimulate the nervous system, and especially the delicate nerves of the reproductive system, as previously explained. Only the most simple and wholesome food should he eaten, and that only in such moderate quantities as are required to replenish the tissues. The custom of making the food pungent and stimulating with condiments is the great, almost the sole, cause of gluttony. It is one of the greatest hindrances to virtue. Indeed, it may with truth be said that the devices of modern cookery are most powerful allies of unchastity and licentiousness. This sub- ject is particularly deserving of careful, candid, and studious attention, and only needs such investiga- tion to demonstrate its soundness. Exercise . — Next to diet as an aid to continence, perhaps of equal importance with it, is exercise, both physical and mental. It is a trite proverb, the truth of which every one acknowledges, that “ Satan finds some mischief still for idle hands to do,” and it is equally true that he always has an evil thought in readiness — speaking figuratively — to instill into an unoccupied mind. A person who desires to be pure and continent in body and mind OLD AND rOUNO. 211 Testimony of Eminent Physicians. Exercise and Chastity. must flee idleness as he would the devil himself ; for the latter is always ready to improve upon the advantages afibrded by an idle moment, an hour given to reverie. We have the strongest testimony from the most eminent physicians in regard to the efficacy of ex- ercise in overcoming abnormal sexual desires, Mr. Acton relates the following statement made to him by a gentleman who has become distinguished in his profeffiion : — “‘You i-may be surprised, Mr. Acton,’ said he, ‘ by the statement I am about to make to you, that before my marriage I lived a perfectly continent life. During my university career, my passions were very strong, sometimes ahnost uncontrollable, but I have the satisfaction to think that I mas- tered them ; it was, however, by great efibrts. I obliged myself to take violent physical exertion ; I was the best oar of my year, and when I felt par- ticularly strong sexual desire, I sallied out to take my exercise. I was victorious always, and I never committed fornication. You see in what vigorous health I am ; it was exercise alone that saved me.’” Says Carpenter, on the same subject, in a text- book for medical students, “ ‘ Try the eflect of close mental application to some of those ennobling pur- suits to which your profession introduces you, in combination with vigorous bodily exercise, before you assert that the appetite is unrestrainable, and act upon that assertion.’ ” 212 PLAIN FACTS FOP. Work vs. Unchastity. Danger of Dozing. Walking, riding, rowing, and gymnastics are among the best modes of physical exercise for sedentary persons ; but there is no better form of exercise than working in the garden. The culti- vation of small fruits, flowers, and other occupa- tions of like character, really excel all other modes of physical exercise for one who can engage in them with real pleasure. Even thohgh distasteful at first, they may become very attractive and in- teresting if there is an honest, persevering desire to make them so. The advantages of exercises of this kind are evident. 1. They are useful as well as healthful. W^hile they call into action a verv large number of muscles by the varied movements required, the expenditure of vital force is remuner- ated by the actual value of the products of the labor : so that no force is wasted. 2. The tillasre of the soil and the dressing of vines and plants bring one in constant contact with nature in a manner that is elevating and refining, or at least afibrds the most favorable opportunities for the cultivation of nobility and purity of mind, and ele- vated principles. Exercise carried to such excess as to produce ex- haustion is always injurious. The same is true of mental labor as of physical exercise. Plenty of sleep, and regular habits of retiring and rising, are important. Dozing is bad at any time ; for it is a condition in which the will is nearl}’ dormant, though consciousness still lingers, and the imagina- OLD AND TO UNO. 21 -1 Effects of Late Study. Bathing. BeU^OH. tion is allowed to run wild, and often enough it will run where it ought not. Late study, or late hours spent in any manner, is a sure means of pro- ducing general nervous irritability and sexual ex- citement through reflex influence. Bathing . — A daily bath with cool or tepid water, followed by vigorous rubbing of the skin with a coarse towel and then with the dry hand, is a most valuable aid. The hour of first rising is generally the most convenient time. How to take different kinds of baths is explained in other works devoted to the subject.* General and local cleanliness are indispensable to general and local health. Religion . — After availing himself of all other aids to continence, if he wishes to maintain purity of mind as well as physical chastity — and one can- not exist long without the other — the individual must seek that most powerful and helpful of all aids, divine grace. If, in the conflict with his ani- mal nature, man had only to contend with the de- grading influences of his own propensities, the battle would be a serious one, and it is doubtful whether human nature alone — at least in any but rare cases, — would be able to gain the victory ; but, in addition to his own inherent tendencies to evil, man is assailed at every point by unseen agencies that seek to drag him down and spoil his soul with lust. These fiendish influences are only felt, not seen, from which some argue that they do not exist. *See “Uses of Water” and “The Household Manual.*' 314 PLAIN FACTS FOB The Only Way of Escape. Necessity of Divine Aid. Such casuists must find enormous depths for human depravity. But who has not felt the cruel power of these unseen foes ? Against them, there is but one safe, successful weapon, “ the blood of Christ which cleanseth from all sin.” The struggling soul, beset with evil thoughts, will find in prayer a salvation which all his force of will, and dieting, and exercising, will not, alone, insure him. Yet prayer alone will not avail. Faith and works must always be associated. All that one can do to work out his own salvation, he must do ; then he can safely trust in God to do the rest, even though the struggle seems almost a use- less one ; for when the soul has been long in bond- age to concupiscence, the mind a hold of foul and lustful thoughts, a panorama of unchaste imagery, these hateful phantoms will even intrude them- selves upon the sanctity of prayer and make their victim mentally unchaste upon his knees. But Christ can pity even such ; and even these degraded minds may yet be pure if with the psalmist they continue to cry, with a true purpose and unwaver- ing trust, “ Create in me a clean heard, 0 God, and renew a right spirit within me.” “ Purge me with hyssop, and I .shall be clean ; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.” At the first suggestion of an evil thought, send up a mental prayer to Him whose ear is always open. Praj^er and impurity are as incompatible as oil and water. The pure thoughts that sincere OLD AITD YOUNG. 215 Influence of Prayer, Necessity for Self-Help. jirayer will bring, displace the evil promptings of excited passion. But the desire for aid must he sincere. Prayer will be of no avail while the mind is half consenting to the evil thought. The evil must be loathed, spurned, detested. It would seem almost unnecessary to suggest the impropriety of resorting to prayer alone when sexual excitability has arisen from a culpable neg- lect to remove the physical conditions of local ex- citement by the means already mentioned. Such physical causes must be well looked after, or every attempt to reform will be fruitless. God requires of every individual to do for himself all that he is capable of doing; to employ every available means for alleviatinsr his sufFerino-s. Marital Excesses. < 3 ^ DTLT seems to be a generally prevalent opinion that the marriage ceremony removes all restraint from the exercise of the sexual functions. Fevr seem to even suspect that the seventh command- ment has any bearing upon sexual conduct within the pale of matrimony. Yet if we may believe the confessions and statements of men and women, legalized prostitution is a more common crime than illicit commerce of the sexes. So common is the popular error upon this subject, and so strongly fortified by prejudice is it, that it is absolutely dangerous for a writer or speaker to express the truth, if he knows it and has a disposition to do so. Any attempt to call attention to true principles is mocked at, decried, stigmatized, and, if possible, extinguished. The author is vilified, and his work is denounced, and relegated to the ragman. Ex- tremist, fanatic, ascetic, are the mildest terms em- ployed concerning him, and he escapes with rare good fortune if his chastity or virility is not assailed. We are not going to run any such risks, and so shall not attempt to enunciate or maintain any theory. We shall content ourselves with plainly stating established physiological facts by quotations from standard medical authors, leaving each reader 216 OLD AND rOTINQ. £17 Object of the Keprodiicfive Functions. How to Study Human Functions. to draw conclusions and construct a practical for- mula for himself. Object of the Reproductive Functions.— Man, in whatever condition we find him, is more or less depraved. This is true as well of the most culti- vated and refined ladies and gentlemen of the great centers of civilization, as of the misshapen denizens of African jungles, or the scarcely human natives of Australia and Terra del Fuego. His appetites, his tastes, his habits, even his bodily functions are per- verted. Of course, there are degrees of depravity, and varieties of perversion. In some respects, savages approach more nearly to the natural state than civilized man, and in other particulars, the latter moi’e nearly represents man’s natural condi- tion ; hut in neither barbarism nor civilization do we find man in his primitive state. In consequence of this universal departure from his original normal condition, — the causes of which we need not here trace, since they are immaterial in the consideration of this question, — when we wish to ascertain with certainty the functions of certain organs of the human body, we are obliged to compare them with the corresponding organs of lower animals, and study the functions of the latter. It is by this method of investigation that most of the important truths of physiology have been de- veloped ; and the plan is universally acknowledged to he a proper and logical one. Then if we wish to ascertain, with certainty, the 218 FLAIK FACTS FOR Reproduction iQ Lower Animals. Testimony of Physicians. true function of the reproductive organs in man, we must pursue the course above indicated; in other words, study the function of reproduction in lower animals. We say lower anirmls, because man is really an animal, a member of the great animal kingdom, though not a beast — at least he should not be a beast, though some animals in human fonn approach very closely to the line that separates humanity from brutes. We are brought, then, for a solution of this problem, to a considera- tion of the question, What is the object of the re- productive act in those members of the animal king- dom just below man in the scale of being? Let science tell us, for zoologists have made a careful study of this subject for centuries. We quote the following paragraphs from one of the most distinguished and reliable of modern phys- iologists ; * the facts which he states being con- finned by all other physiologists : — “Every living being has a definite term of life, through which it passes by the operation of an in- variable law, and which, at some regularly ap- pointed time, comes to an end. . . . But while individual organisms are thus constantly perishing and disappearing from the stage, the particular kind, or species, remains in existence. . . . This pro- cess, by which new organisms make their appear- ance, to take the place of those which are destroyed, is known as the process of reprodioction or gen- eration. Dalton. OLD AXD YOUXQ, 210 Laws of Geiieratiou. Natural Adaptations. “ The ovaiies, as well as the eggs which they con- tain, undergo, at particular seasons, a periodical de- velopment, or increase in growth, ... At the approach of the generative season, in all the lower animals, a certain number of the eggs, which were previously in an imperfect and inactive condition, begin to increase in size and become somewhat altered in structure.” “ In most fish and reptiles as well as in birds, this regular process of maturation and discharge of eggs takes place but once in a year. In different species of quadrupeds it may take place annually, semi-annually, bi-monthly, or even monthly ; but in every instance it recurs at regular intervals, and exhibits accordingly, in a marked degree, the peri- odic character which we have seen to belong to most of the other vital phenomena.” “ In most of the lower orders of animals there is a periodical development of the testicles in the male, corresponding in time with tha,t of the ovaries in the female. As the ovaries enlarge and the eggs ripen in the one sex, so in the other the testicles increase in size, as the season of repi’oduction ap- proaches, and become turgid with spermatozoa. The accessory organs of generation, at the same time, share the unusual activity of the testicles, and become increased in vascularity and ready to per-, form their part in the reproductive function.” “ Each of the two sexes is then at the same time under the infiuence of a corresponding excitement. 220 FLAIN FACTS FOR Lessons of Instinct. Most Fruitful Period. The Tinusual development of the genital organs reacts upon the entire system, and produces a state of peculiar activity and excitability, known as the condition of ‘ erethism.’ ” “ It is a remarkable fact, in this connection, that the female of these animals will allow the ap- proaches of the male only during and immediately after the cestral period ; that is, just when the egg is recently discharged, and ready for impregnation. At other times, when sexual intercourse would be necessarily fruitless, the instinct of the animal leads her to avoid it ; and the concourse of the sexes is accordingly made to correspond in time with the maturity of the egg and its aptitude for fecunda- tion.” “ The egg, immediately upon its discharge from the ovary, is ready for impregmation. If sexual in- tercourse happens to take place about that time, the egg and the spermatic fluid meet in some part of the female generative passages, and fecundation is accomplished. . . If, on the other hand, coitus ,, do not take place, the egg passes down to the uterus unimpregnated, loses its vitality after a short time, and is finally carried away with the uterine secretions.” “ It is easily understood, therefore, why sexual intercourse should be more liable to be followed by pregnancy when it occurs about the menstrual epoch than at other times. . . Before its dis- charge, the egg is immatui’e, and unprepared for OLD AND YOUNG. 221 Law of Periodicity. Summary of Principles. impregnation ; and after the menstrual period has passed, it gradually loses its freshness and vitality.” The law of periodicity, as it alfecl^ the sexual activity of males of the human species, is indicated in the following remarks by the same author : — “ The same correspondence between the periods of sexual excitement in the male and female, is visible in many of the animals [higher mammals], as well as in fish and reptiles. This is the case in most species which produce young but once a year, and at a fixed period, as the deer and the wild hog. In other species, on the contrary, such as the dog, the rabbit, the guinea-pig, etc., where several broods of young are produced during the year, or where, as in the human subject, the generative epochs of the female recur at short intervals, so that the par- ticular period of impregnation is comparatively in- definite, the generative apparatus of the male is almost always in a state of full development ; and is excited to action at particular periods, apparently by some influence derived from the condition of the female.” The facts presented in the foregoing quotations from Dr. Dalton may be summarized as follows : — 1. The sexual function is for the purpose of producing new individuals to take the place of those who die, and thus preserve the species from becoming extinct. 2. In the animal kingdom generally, the repro- ductive function is necessarily a periodical act, de- i>22 FLAi:^ FACTS FOR Analogies in the Animal Kingdom. A Significant Fact. pendent upon the development of the reproductive organs of both the male and the female at stated periods. 3. In those exceptional cases in which the or- gans of the male are in a state of constant devel- opment, sexual congress occurs, in lower animals, only at those periods when the periodical develop- ment occurs in the female. 4. Fecundation of the female element can only take place about the time of periodical develop- ment in the female. 5. The desire for sexual congress naturally exists in the female only at or immediately after the time of periodical development. 6. The constant development of the sexual or- gans in human males is a condition common to all animals in which development occurs in the female at short intervals, and is a provision of nature to secure a fruitful union when the female is in read- iness, but not an indication for constant or fre- quent use. 7. The time of sexual congress is always deter- mined by the condition and desires of the female. An additional fact, as stated by physiologists, is that, under normal conditions, the human female experiences sexual desire immediately after men- struation more than at any other time. It has, indeed, been claimed that at this period only does she experience the true sexual instinct unless it is abnormally excited by disease or otherwise. OLD AND YOUNG. 223 Important CJonclusions. Opinions of Learned Authors. From these facts the following conclusions must evidently be drawn : — 1. The fact that in all animals but the human species the act can be performed only when repro- duction is possible, proves that in the animal kingdom in general the sole object of the function is reproduction. Whether man is an exception, must be determined from other considerations. 2. The fact that the males of other animals be- sides man in which the sexual organs are in a state of constant development do not exercise those organs except for the purpose of reproduction, is proof of the. position that the constant develop- ment in man is not a warrant for their constant use. 3. The general law that the reproductive act is performed only when desired by the female, is suf- ficient ground for supposing that such should be the case with the human species also. The opinions of writers of note are given in the following quotations ; — “ The approach of the sexes is, in its purest con- dition, the result of a natural instinct, the end of which is the reproduction of the species. Still, however, we are far from saying that this ultimate result is, in any proportion of cases, the actual thought in the minds of the parties engaged.” “ The very lively solicitations which spring from the genital sense, have no other end than to insure the perpetuity of the race.”* ■*Dr. Gardner. 224 PLAIN FACTS FOP. Important Hints. Unperverted Instinct a Safe Guide. “ ObservatioH fully confirms the views of induc- tive philosophy ; for it proves to us that coitus, exercised otherwise than under the inspirations of honest instinct, is a cause of disease in both sexes, and of danger to the social order.” * “It is incredible that the act of bringing men into life, that act of humanity, without contradic- tion of the most importance, should be the one of which there should have been the least supposed necessity for regulation, or which has been reg- ulated the least beneficially.” t “ But it may be said that the demands of nature are, in the married state, not only legal, but should be physically right. So they are, when our phys- ical life is right ; but it must not be forgotten that few live in a truly physical rectitude.” | “ Among cattle, the sexes meet by common in- stinct and common will; it is reserved for the human animal to treat the female as a mere victim to his lust.” § “ He is an ill husband that uses his ivife as a man treats a harlot, having no other end but pleasure. Concerning which our best rule is, that although in this, as in eating and drinking-, there is an appetite to be satisfied, which cannot be done without pleasing that desire, yet since that desire and satisfaction were intended by nature for other ends, they should never be separated from those ends.” * Mayer. t Dunoyer. t Gardner. § Quarterly Keview. OLD AKD TO UNO. 225 Marriage not a License for Lust. Results of Excesses. ' “ It is a sad truth that many married persons, thinking that the flood-gates of liberty are set wide open, without measures or restraints (so they sail in the channel), have felt the final rewards of intemperance and lust by their unlawful using of lawful permissions. Only let each of them be tem- perate, and both of them modest.”* Says another writer very emphatically, “ It is a common belief that a man and woman, because they are legally united in marriage, are privileged to the unbridled exercises of amativeness. This is wrong. Natui'e, in the exercise of her laws, recognizes no human enactments, and is as prompt to punish any infringement of her laws in those who are legally married, as in those out of the bonds. Excessive indulgence between the married produces as great and lasting evil effects as in the sine^le man or woman, and is nothino- more or less than legalized prostitution.” Results of Excesses. — The sad results of ex- cessive indulgences are seen on every hand. Nu- merous ailments attributed to overwork, constitu- tional disease, or hereditary predisposition, know no other cause and need no other explanation. Effects tcpon Husbands . — No doubt the principal blame in this matter properly falls upon the hus- band ; but it cannot be said that he is the greatest sufferer ; however, his punishment is severe enough to clearly indicate the enormity of the transgres- * Jeremy Taylor. 15 22G PLAIN FACTS FOR Effects upon Husbands. Evils Certainly Follow. sion, and to warn him to a reformation of his habits. The following is a quotation from an eminent med- ical authority : — “ But any warning against sexual dangers would be very incomplete if it did not extend to the ex- cesses so often committed by mamed persons in ignorance of their ill effects. Too frequent emis- sions of the life-giving fluid, and too frequent ex- citement of the nervous system are, as we have seen, in themselves most destructive. The result is the same within the mandage bond as without it. The married man who thinks that because he is a married man he can commit no excess, however often the act of sexual congress is repeated, will suffer as certainly and as seriously as the unmarried debauchee who acts on the same principle in his indulgences — perhaps more certainly from his very ignoi'ance, and from his not taking those precau- tions and following those rules which a career of vice is apt to teach the sensualist. Many a man has, until his marriage, lived a most continent life ; so has his wife. As soon as they are wedded, in- tercourse is indulged in night after night, neither party having any idea that these repeated sexual acts are excesses which the system of neither can bear, and which to the man, at least, are absolute ruin. The practice is continued till health is im- paired, sometimes permanently, and when a patient is at last obliged to seek medical advice, he is thunderstruck at learning that his sufferings arise 0L3 AI^D TOUA^G. 227 A Pernicious Error. Astonishing Excesr'cs. from excesses unwittingly committed. Married people often appear to think that connection may be repeated as regularly and almost as often as their meals. Till they are told of the danger, the idea never enters their heads that they are guilty of great and almost criminal excess ; nor is this to be wondered at, since the possibility of such a cause of disease is seldom hinted at by the medical man they consult.” “ Some go so far as to believe that indulgence may increase these powers, just as gymnastic exer- cises augment the force of the muscles. This is a popular error; and requires correction. Such pa- tients should be told that the shock on the system each time connection is indulged in, is very power- ful, and that the expenditure of seminal fluid must be particularly injurious to organs previously de- bilitated. It is by this and similar excesses that premature old age and complaints of the generative organs are brought on.” “ The length to which married people carry ex- cesses is perfectly astonishing.” “ Since my attention has been particularly called to this class of ailments, I feel confident that many of the forms of indigestion, general ill health, hypo- chondriasis, etc., so often met with in adults, de- pend upon sexual excesses That this cause of illness is not more generally acknowledged and acted on, arises from the natural delicacy which medical men must feel in putting such questions to 228 PLAIX FACTS FOR Cause of III Efifects. Testimony of a French Physician, tlieir patients as are necessary to elicit the facts.” “ It is not the body alone which suffers from ex- cesses committed in married life. Experience every day convinces me that much of the languor of mind, confusion of ideas, and inability to control the thoughts, of which some married men complain, arise from this cause.”* The debilitating effects of excessive sexual in- dulgence arise from two causes ; viz., the loss of the seminal fluid, and the nervous excitement. With reference to the value of the spermatic fluid, Dr. Gardner remarks : — “ The sperm is the purest extract of the blood. . . . . Nature, in creating it, has intended it not only to communicate life, but also to nourish the individual life. In fact, the re-absorption of the fecundating liquid impresses upon the entire econ- omy new energy, and a virility which contributes to the prolongation of life.” Testimony of a French Physician. — A French author of considerable note,t remarks on the same subject : — “ Nothing costs the economy so much as the pro- duction of semen and its forced ejaculation. It has been calculated that an ounce of semen was equiv- alent to forty ounces of blood. . . . Semen is the essence of the whole individual. Hence, Fernel has said, ‘ Totus homo semen est.’ It is the balm * Acton. t Paiise. 1 OLD AXD TO UXO. 229 Continence of Trainers. A Cause of Throat Disease. of life. .... That which gives life is in- tended for its preservation.” It may be questioned, perhaps, whether physi- ology will sustain to the fullest extent all the state- ments made in the last quotation; but perhaps physiology does not appreciate so fully as does pathology the worth of the most vital of all fluids, and the fearful results which follow ils useless ex- penditure. Continence of Trainers. — “ The moderns who are training are well aware that sexual indulgence wholly unfits them for great feats of strength, and the captain of a boat strictly forbids his crew any- thing of the sort just previous to a match. Some ti-ainers have gone so far as to assure me that they can discover by a man’s style of pulling whether he has committed such a breach of discipline over night, and have not scrupled to attribute the occa- sional loss of matches to this cause.” * A Cause of Throat Disease. — The disease known as “ clergyman's sore throat ” is believed by many eminent physicians to have its chief or- igin in excessive venery. It is well known that sexual abuse is a very potent cause of throat dis- eases. This view is supported by the following from the pen of the learned Dr. X. Bourgeois : — “We ought not, then, to be surprised that the physiological act, requiring so great an expenditure * Acton. 230 PL AIK FACTS FOR A Cause of Chronic Diseases. A Cause of Consumption. of vitality, must be injurious in the highest degree, when it is reiterated abusively. To engender is to give a portion of one’s life. Does not he who is prodigal of himself precipitate his own ruin ? A peculiar character of the diseases which have their origin in venereal excesses and masturbation is ehronicity.” “ Individual predispositions, acquired or hered- itary, engender for each a series of peculiar ills. In some, the debility bears upon the pulmonary organs. Hence results the dry cough, prolonged hoarseness, stitch in the side, spitting of blood, and finally phthisis. How many examples are there of young debauchees who have been devoured by this cruel disease ! It is, of all the grave maladies, the one which venereal abuses provoke the most frequently. Portal, Bayle, Louis, ssly this distinctly.” A Cause of Cousumption. — This fatal disease finds a large share of its victims among those ad- dicted to sexual excesses, either of an illicit nature or within the marriage pale, for the physical effects are essentially identical. This cause is especially active and fatal with sedentary persons, but is suf- ficiently powerful, to undermine the constitution under the most favorable cix’cumstances, as the fol- lowing case illustrates : — The patient was a 3'oung man of twenty-two, large, muscular, and well developed, having un- commonl}^ broad shoulders and a full chest. His OLD AND YOUNG. 231 Effects on Wives. Civilized Women Deteriorating. occupation liad been healthful, that of a laborer. Had had cough for several months, and was spit- ting blood. Examination of lungs showed that they were hopelessly diseased. There was no trace of consumption in the family, and the only cause to which the disease could be attributed was ex- cessive sexual indulgence, which he confessed to have practiced for several years. Effects on Wives. — If husbands are great suf- ferers, as we have seen, wives suffer still more terribly, being of feebler constitution, and hence less able to bear the frequent shock which is suf- fered by the nervous system. Dr. Gardner places this evil prominent among the causes “ the result of which we see deplored in the public press of the day, which warns us that the American race is fast dying out, and that its place is being filled by em- igrants of different lineage, religion, political ideas, and education.” The same author remarks further on the results of this with other causes which largely grow out of it : — “ It has been a matter of common observation that the physical status of the women of Christen- dom has been gradually deteriorating ; that their mental energies were uncertain and spasmodic ; that they were prematurely care-worn, wrinkled, and enervated ; that they became subject to a host of diseases scarcely ever known to the professional men of past times, but now familiar to, and the 232 PLAIN FACTS FOR 1 The Age of Womb Disea£eti. A Cause of Hysteila. common talk of, the matrons, and often, indeed, of the youngest females in the community.” So prevalent are these maladies that Michelet says with truth that the present is the “age of womb diseases.” Every physician of observation and experience has met many cases illustrative of the serious ef- . fects of the evil named. Some years ago, when acting as assistant physician in a large dispensary in an Eastern city, a young woman applied for examination and treatment. She presented a great variety of nervous symptoms, prominent among which were those of mild hys^ria and nervous exhaustion, together with impaired diges- tion and violent palpitation of the heart. In our inquiries respecting the cause of these dhEculties, we learned that she had been married hut about six months. A little careful questioning elicited the fact that sexual indulgence was invariably practiced every night, and often two or three times, occasionally as many as four times a night. We had the key to her troubles at once, and or- dered entire continence for a month. From her subsequent reports I learned that her husband would not allow her to comply with the request, but that indulgence was much less frequent than before. The result was not all that could be de- sired, but there was marked improvement. If the husband had been willing to “do right,” entire recovery would have taken place with rapidity. ' 1 L .. -- _j 23 '^ OLD AND YOUNG. The Greatest Cause of Uterine Disease. Legalized Murder. Another case came under our observation in which the patient, a man, confessed to having in- dulged every night for twenty.years. We did not wonder that at forty he was a complete physical wreck. The Greatest Cause of Uterine Bisease. — Dr. J. R. Black remarks as follows on this subject : — “ Medical writers agree that one of the most common causes of the many forms of derangement to which woman is subject consists in excessive cohabitation. The diseases known as menorrhagia, dysmenorrhoea, leucorrhoea, amenorrhoea, abortions, prolapsus, chronic inflammations and ulcerations of the womb, with a yet greater variety of sympa- thetic nervous disorders, are some of ’the distress- ing forms of these derangements. The popular way of accounting for many of these ills is that they come from colds or from straining lifts. But if colds and great strain upon the parts in question develop such diseases, why are they not seen among the inferior animals? The climatic alter- nations they endure, the severe labor some of them are obliged to perform, ought to cause their ruin ; or else in popular phrase, ‘ make them catch their deaths from cold.’ ” Legalized Murder. — A medical writer of con- siderable ability presents the following picture, the counterpart of which almost any one can recall as having occurred within the circle of his acquaint- 234 PLAIN FACTS FOR Abusive “Marital Rights.” Reckless Marriages. ance ; perhaps numerous cases will be recalled by one who has been especially observing : — “ A man of great vital force is united to a woman of evenly-balanced organization. The hus- band, in the exercise of what he is pleased to term his ' marital rights,’ places his wife, in a short time, on the nervous, delicate, sickly list. In the blind- ness and ignorance of his animal nature, he re- quires prompt obedience to his desires ; and, igno- rant of the law of right in this direction, thinking that it is her duty to accede to his wishes, though fulfilling them with a sore and troubled heart, she allows him passively, never lovingly, to exercise daily and weekly, month in and month out, the low and beastly of his nature, and eventually, slowly but surely, to kill her. And this man, who has as surely committed murder as has the con- victed assassin, lures to his net and takes unto him another wife, to repeat the same programme of legalized prostitution on his part, and sickness and premature death on her part.” Prof. Gerrish, in a little work from which we take the liberty to quote, speaks as follows on this subject : — “ One man reckless of his duty to the commu- nity, marries young, with means and prospects in- adequate to support the family which is so sure to come ere long! His ostensible excuse is love ; his real reason the gratification of his carnal instincts. Another man, in exactly similar circumstances, but OLB AND . YO UNO. 235 Marriage witliout Love. Very Little Bifiference. too conscientious to assume responsibilities which he cannot carry, and in which failure must com- promise the comfort and tax the purses of people from whom he has no right to extort luxuries, forbears to marry ; but, feeling the passions of his sex, and being imbued with the prevalent errors on such matters, resorts for relief to unlawful coition. At the wedding of the former, pious friends assemble with their presents and congrat- ulations, and bid the legalized prostitution God- speed. Love shields the crime, all the more easily because so many of the rejoicing guests have sinned in precisely the same way. The other man has no festival gathering. , . . Society applauds the first and frowns on the second ; but, to my mind, the difference between them is not markedly in favor of the former.” “We hear a good deal said about certain crimes against nature, such as pederasty and sodomy, and they meet with the indignant condemnation of all right-minded persons. The statutes are especially severe on offenders of this class, the penalty being imprisonment between one and ten years, whereas fornication is punished by imprisonment for not more than sixty days and a fine of less than one hundred dollars. But the query very pertinently arises just here as to whether the use of the con- dom and defertilizing injections is not equally a crime against nature, and quite as worthy of our detestation and contempt. And, further, when we 236 PLAIN FACTS FOR Legalized Crimes. Accidental Pregnancies. consider the brute creation, and see that they, guided by instinct, copulate only when the female is in proper physiological condition and yields a willing consent, it may he suggested that congress between men and women may, in certain circiim- stanqfis, he a crime against nature, and one far worse in its results than any other. Is it probable that a child born of a connection to which the woman objects will possess that felicitous orgard- zation which every parent should earnestly desire and endeavor to bestow on his offspring ? Can the unwelcome fruit of a rape be considered, what every child has a right to be, a pledge of affection ? Poor little Pip, in ‘ Great Expectations,’ spoke as the representative of a numerous class when he said, ‘ I was always treated as if I had insisted on being born, in opposition to the dictates of reason, relig- ion and morality, and against the dissuading argu- ments of my best friends.’ We enjoin the young to honor father and mother, never thinking how undesei’ving of respect are those whose children suffer from inherited ills, the result of the selfish- ness and carelessness of their parents in begetting them. “ These accidental pregnancies are the great im- mediate cause of the enormously common crime of abortion, concerning which the morals of the peo- ple are amazingly blunted. The extent of the practice may be roughly estimated by the number of standing advertisements in the family news- OL'I) AND TO UNO. 237 Indulgence during Menstruation. Revolting Facte. papers, in which feticide is warranted safe and • secret. It is not the poor only who take advan- tage of such nefarious opportunities ; but the rich shamelessly patronize these professional and cow- ardly murderers of defenseless infancy. Madame Restell, who recently died by her own hand in New York, left a fortune of a million dollars, which she had accumulated by producing abortions.” A husband who has not sunk in his carnality too far below the brute creation will certainly pause a moment, in the face of such terrible facts, before he continues his sensual, selfish, murderous course. Indulgence during Menstruation. — The fol- lowing remarks which our own professional expe- rience has several times confirmed, reveal a still more heinous violation of nature’s laws : — “ To many it may seem that it is unnecessary to caution against contracting relationships at the period of the monthly flow, thinking that the in- stinctive laws of cleanliness and delicacy were sufficient to refrain the indulgence of the appe- tites ; but they are little cognizant of the true condition of things in this world. Often have I had husbands inform me that they had not missed having sexual relations with their wives once or more times a day for several years ; and scores of women with delicate frames and broken-down health have revealed to me similar facts, and I have been compelled to make personal appeals to the husbands.” * * fTflrdnp.v. 238 PLAIN PACTS FOP A Cause of Venereal IXisease. A Wise Jewish Law. The following is an important testimony by an eminent physician * upon the same point : — “Females whose health is in a weak state ^ . . . become liable, in transgressing this law, to an infectious disorder, which, it is commonly supposed, can only originate or prevail among disreputable ! characters ; but Dr. Bumstead and a number of other eminent authorities believe and teach that gonorrhoea may originate among women entirely virtuous in the ordinary sense of the term. That excessive venery is the chief cause that originates this peculiar form of inflammation, has long been the settled opinion of medical men.” It seems scarcely possible that such enormity could be committed by any human being, at least i by civilized men, and in the face of the injunctions ; of Moses to the Jews, to say nothing of the evident indecency of the act. The Jews still maintain their integrity to the observance of this command of their ancient lawgiver. “ Reason and experience both show that sexual _ ; relations at the menstrual period are ver}^ danger- ous to both man and woman, and perhaps also for the offspring, should there chance to be concep- tion.” t i The woman suffers fi-om the congestion and nervous excitement which occur at the most in- opportune moment possible. Man may suffer physical injury, though there are no grounds for j *Dr. J. R- Black. t Mayer. OLD AND TOTJNQ, 239 Effects upon Offspring. Cause of Sickly Children* the assertions of Pliny that the menstrual blood is se potent for evil that it will, by a mere touch, I'ust iron, render a tree sterile, make dogs mad, etc., or that of Paracelsus that “of it the devil makes spiders, fleas, caterpillars, and all the other insects that people the aii'.” Effects upon Olfspring. — That those guilty of the transgression should suffer, seems only just ; but that an innocent being who had no part in the sin — no voice in the time or manner of its advent into the world — that such a one should suffer equally, if not more bitterly, with the transgress- ors themselves, seems anything but just. But such is nature’s inexorable law, that the iniquities of the parents shall be visited upon the children ; and this fact should be a most powerful influence to prevent parental transgression, especially in this direction, in which the dire consequences fall so heavily and so immediately upon an innocent be- ing. Says Acton, “ The ill effects of marital excesses are not conflned to offending parties. No doubt can exist that many of the obscure cases of sickly children, born of apparently healthy parents, arise from this cause ; and this is borne out by investi- gations amongst animals.” Breeders of stock who wish to secure sound prog- eny will not allow the most robust stallion to as- sociate with mares as many times during the whole season as some of these salacious human males per- 240 PLAIN FACTS FOR A Lesson from Stock Breeders. Overburdened Mothers. form a similar act within a month. One reason why the offspring suffer is that the seminal fluid deteriorates very rapidly by repeated indulgence. The spermatozoa do not have time to become ma- turely developed. Progeny resulting from such immature elements will possess the same deficiency. Hence the hosts of deformed, scrofulous, weazen, and idiotic children which curse the race, and tes- tify to the sensuality of their progenitors. Another reason is the physical and ner\"ous exhaustion which the parents bring upon themselves, and which totally unfits them to beget sound, healthy offspring. The effects of this evil may often be traced in a large family of children, nearly all of whom show traces of the excesses of their parents. It com- monly happens, too, that such large families are on the hands of poor men who cannot earn enough to give them sufficient food and comfortable clothing, with nothing whatever to provide for their educa- tion. The overburdened mother has her strength totally exhausted by the excessive demands upon her system incident to child-bearing, so that she is unable to give her children that culture and -train- ing which all children need. More than as likely * as not she feels that they were forced upon her, and hence she cannot hold for them all that tender sympathy and affection a mother should feel. The little ones grow up ignorant and often vicious ; for want of home care drives them to the street. Thus does one evil create another. OLD AND YOUNG. 241 Criminal Becruits. Indulgence during Pregnancy. It is certainly a question which deserves some attention, whether it is not a sin for parents to bring into the world more children than they can properly care for. If they can rear and educate three children properly, the same work would be only half done for six ; and there are already in the world a sufficiency of half-raised people. From this class of society the ranks of thieves, drunkards, beggars, vagabonds, and prostitutes, are recruited. Why should it be considered an improper or im- moral thing to limit the number of children accord- ing to the circumstances of the parents ? Ought it not to be considered a crime against childhood and against the race to do otherwise ? It is seriously maintained by a number of distinguished persons that man “ is in duty bound to limit the number of his children as well as the sheep on his farm ; the number of each to be according to the adequacy of his means for their support.” Indulgence during Pregnancy. — Transgres- sions of this sort are followed by the worst results of any form of marital excess. The mother suffers doubly, because laden with the burden of support- ing two lives instead of one. But the results upon the child are especially disastrous. During the time when it is receiving its stock of vitality, while its plastic form is being molded, and its various organs acquiring that integrity of structure which makes up what is called constitutional vigor, — during this most critical of all periods in the life of the new 16 242 PLAIN FACTS FOR Effect upon the Character. Inherent Tendency to Vice. being, its resources are exhausted and its structure depraved — and thus constitutional tendencies to disease produced — by the unnatural demands made upon the mother. Effect upon the Character. — StUl another ter- rible consequence results from this practice so con- trary to nature. The delicate brain, which is being- molded, Avith the other organs of the body, receives its cast largely from those mental and nervous sen- sations and actions of the mother which are the most intense. One of the most certain effects of sexual indulgence at this time is to develop ab- normally the sexual instinct in the child. Here is the key to the origin of much of the sexual precoc- ity and depravity which curse humanity. Sensu- ality is bom in the souls of a large share of the rising generation. What wonder that prostitution flourishes in spite of Christianity and ci-vdl law ? It is scarcely necessary to say that all medical tes- timony concurs in forbidding indulgence during gestation. The same reasons require its interdic- tion during the nursing period. The fact that fecundation would be impossible during pregnancjq and that during this period the female, normally, has no sexual desire, are other powerful arguments in favor of perfect continence at this time. We quote the following from a work on health by Dr. J. R. Black : — “ Coition during pregnancy is one of the ways in which the predisposition is laid for that terrible OLD AND YOUNG, 24^^ The Laws of Heredity. , Certainty of Transmissioru disease in children, epilepsy. The unnatural ex- citement of the nervous system in the mother by such a cause cannot operate otherwise than by in- flicting injury upon the tender germ in her womb. This germ, it must he remembered, derives every quality it possesses from the parents, as well as eveiy particle of matter of which it is composed. The old notion of anything like spontaneity in the development of the qualities of a new being is at variance with all the latest facts and inductions concerning reproduction. And so is that of a cre- ative fiat. The smallest organic cell, as well as the most complicated organism, in form and quality, is wholly dependent upon the laws of derivation. “ These laws are competent to explain, however subtle the ultimate process may he, the great di- versities of human organization and character. Im- pressions from without, the emotions, conduct, and play of the organic processes within, are never alike from day to day, or from hour to hour ; and it is from the aggregate of these in the parents, hut especially of those in the mother immediately be- fore and after conception, that the quality of the oflfspring is determined. Suppose, then, that there is every now and then an unnatural, excited, and exhausted state of the nervous system produced in the mother by excessive cohabitation, is it any wonder that the child’s nervous system, which de- rives its qualities from those of its parents-, should take its peculiar stamp from that of the parent in whom it lives, moves, and has its being ? PLAIN FACTS FOR 244 A Cause of Epilepsy. A Selfish Objection. “ In the adult, epilepsy is frequently developed by excessive veneiy ; and the child bom with such a predisposition will be exceedingly liable to the disease during its early years when the nervous system is notoriously prone to deranged action from very slight disturbing causes. “ The infringement of this law regulating inter- course during pregnancy also reacts injuriously upon the mental capacity of the child, tending to give it a stupid, animalized look ; and, there is also good reason to believe, aids in developing the idiotic condition.” A Selfish Objection. — The married man will raise the plea that indulgence is to him a necessity. He has only to practice the principles laid down for the maintenance of continence to entirely re- move any such necessity should there be the slight- est semblance of a real demand. Again, what many mistake for an indication of the necessity for in- dulgence, to relieve an accumulation of semen, is in fact, to state the exact truth, but a call of nature for a movement of the bowels. How this may occur, has already been explained, as being due to the pressure of the distended rectum upon the in- ternal organs of generation situated at the base of the bladder. It is for this reason, chiefly, that a good share of sexual excesses occur in the morning. But, aside from all other considerations, is it not the most supreme selfishness for a man to consider only himself in his sexual relations, making his OLD AND YOUNG. 94,5 Brutes and Savages More Considerate. A Wholesome Lesson. wife wholly subservient to his own desires ? As a learned professor remarks, in speaking of woman, “ Who has a right to regard her as a therapeutic agent ? ” Brutes and Savages More Considerate. — It is only the civilized, Christianized (?) male human being who complains of the restraint imposed upon him by the laws of nature. The untutored bar- barian, even some of the lowest of those who wear the human form, tbgether with nearly all of the various classes of lower animals, abstain from sexual indulgence during pregnancy. The natives of the Gold Coast and many other African tribes regard it as a shameful offense to cohabit during gestation. In the case of lower animals, even when the male desires indulgence, the female resents any attempt of the sort by the most vigorous resistance. Are not these wholesome lessons for that portion of the human race which professes to represent the accumulated wisdom, intelligence, and refinement of the world ? Those who need reproof on this point may reflect that by a continuance of the evil practice they are placing themselves on a plane even below the uncouth negro who haunts the jungles of Southern Africa. We quote the following from the pen of a tal- ented professor in a well-known medical college : — “ I believe we cannot too strenuously insist upon this point — that sexual intercourse should never be undertaken with any other object than procreation. 246 PLAIN FACTS FOR WLat May Be Done? Proper Lin^itations. and never then unless the conditions are favorable to the production of a new being who will be likelj to have cause to thankfully bless his parents for the gift of life. If this rule were generally ob- served, we should have no broken-nosed Tristram Shandys complaining of the carelessness of their fathers in begetting them.” * c> o What May Be Done? — But what is the prac- tical conclusion to be drawn from all the foregoing ? What should people do ? what vmy they do ? Dr. Gardner offers the following remarks, which par- tially answer the questions : — “ We have shown that we can out prejudice to health by the exercise of continence. Self-restraint, the ruling of the passions, is a virtue^ and is within the power of all well-regulated minds. Nor is this necessarily perpetual or absolute. The passions may be restrained within proper limita- tions. He who indulges in lascivious thoughts may stimulate himself to frenzy ; but if his mind were under proper control, he would find other em- ployment for it, and his body, obedient to its potent sway, would not become the master of the man.” What are the “ proper limitations,” every person must decide for himself in view of the facts which have been presented. If he find that the animal in his nature is too strong to allow him to comply with what seems to be the requirements of natural law, let him approximate as nearly to the truth as *Dr. Gerrisb. * ^ RIGHT ’ with- OLD AND YOUNG. 247 A Diversity of Opinion. A Commendable Compromise. possible. “ Let every man be fully persuaded in bis own mind,” and act accordingly, not forgetting that this is a matter with serious moral bearings, and, hence, one in which conscience should he on the alert. It is of no use to reject truth because it is unpalatable. There can be nothing worse for a man than to “ know the truth and do it not.” It is but fair to say that there is a wide diversity of opinion among medical men on this subject. A very few hold that the sexual act should never be indulged except for the purpose of reproduction, and then only at periods when reproduction will be possible. Others, while equally opposed to the ex- cesses, the effects of which have been described, limit indulgence to the number of months in the year. Read, reflect, weigh well the matter, then fix upon a plan of action, and, if it be in accor dance with the dictates of better judgment, do not swerve from it. If the suggestion made near the outset of these remarks, in comparing the reproductive function in man and animals — viz., that the seasons of sex- ual approach should be governed by the inclination of the female — were conscientiously followed, it would undoubtedly do away with at least three- fourths of the excesses which have been under con- sideration. Before rejecting the hint so plainly offered by nature, let every man consider for a mo- ment whether he has any other than purely selfish arguments to produce against it. 248 PLAIN FACTS FOR Early Moderation. Effects of Violence. Early Moderation. — The time of all others when moderation is most imperatively demanded, yet least likely to be practiced, is at the beginning of matrimonial life. Many a woman dates the be- ginning of a life of suffering from the first night after marriage ; and the mental suflTering from the disomstincf and even horrible recollections of that night, the events of which were scarred upon her mind as well as upon her body, have made her equally as wretched mentally as bodily. A learned French writer, in referring to this subject, says, “ The husband who begins with his wife by a rape is a lost man. He will never be loved.” We quote the following very sensible words from Dr. Napheys : — “ It sometimes happens that marriage is consum- mated with difficulty. To overcome this, care, management, and forbearance should always be employed, and anything like precipitation and vio- lence avoided.” Cases have come under our care of young wives who have required months of careful treatment to repair the damage inflicted on their wedding night. A medical writer has reported a case in which he was called upon to testify in a suit for divorce, which is an illustration of so gross a degree of sensuality that the perpetrator certainly deserved most severe punishment. The victim, a beautiful and accomplished young lady, to please her par- OLD AND YOUNG. 249 A Terrible Case. Sensible Neighbors. ents, was married to a man much older than her- self, riches being the chief atti’action. She at once began to pine, and in a very few months was a complete wreck. Emaciated, spiritless, haggard, she was scarcely a shadow of her former self. The physician who was called in, upon making a local examination, found those delicate organs in a state of most terrible laceration and inflammation. The bladder, rectum, and other adjacent organs, were highly inflamed, and sensitive in the highest de- gree. Upon inquiring respecting the cause, he found that from the initial night she had been sub- jected to the most excessive demands by her hus- band, “ day and night.” The tortures she had un- dergone had been terrific ; and her mind trembled upon the verge of insanity. She entered suit for divorce on the charge of cruelty, but was defeated, the judge ruling that the law has no jurisdiction in matters of that sort. In another somewhat similar case which came to our knowledge, a young wife was delivered from the lecherous assaults of her husband — for they were no better — by the common sense of her neigh- bor friends, who gathered in force and insisted upon their discontinuance. It is only now and then that cases of this sort come to the surface. The majority of them are hidden deep down in the heart of the poor, heart-broken wife, and too often they are hidden along with the victim in an early "rave. Prevention of Conception i ITS EVILS D^ISTGrERS. HE evil considered in tlie preceding section is by far the greatest cause of those which will be dwelt upon in this. Excesses are habitually practiced through ignorance or carelessness of their direct results, and then to prevent the legitimate result of the reproductive act, innumerable devices are employed to render it fruitless. To even men- tion all of these would be too great a breach of propriety, even in this plain-spoken work; but accurate description is unnecessary, since those who need this warning are perfectly familiar with all the foul accessories of evil thus employed. We cannot do better than to quote from the writings of several of the most eminent authors upon this subject. The following paragraphs are from the distinguished Mayer, who has already been fre- quently quoted : — “ The numerous stratagems invented by debauch to annihilate the natural consequences of coition, have aU the same end in view.” Conjugal Onanism. — “The soiling of the con- jugal bed by the shameful maneuvers to which we have made allusion, is mentioned for the first time in Gen. 38 : 6, and following verses : ‘ And it came to pass, when he [OnanJ went in unto his brother’s 250 OLD AND rOUNQ. 251 Conjugal Onanism. Possible Origin of Monsters. - - - — - * wife, that he spilled it on the ground, lest that he should give seed to his brother. And the thing which he did displeased the Lord; wherefore he slew him.’ “ Hence the name of conjugal onanism. “ One cannot tell to what gi’eat extent this vice is practiced, except by observing its consequences, even among people who fear to commit the slight- est sin, to such a degree is the public conscience perverted upon this point. Still, many husbands know that nature often succeeds in rendering nuga- tory the most subtle calculations, and reconquers the I’ights which they have striven to frustrate. Ho matter; they persevere, none the less, and by the force of habit they poison the most blissful moments of life, with no surety of averting the result that they fear. So, who knows if the in- fants, too often feeble and weazen, are not the fruit of these in themselves incomplete procreations, and disturbed by preoccupations foreign to the generic act ? Is it not reasonable to suppose that the cre- ative power, not meeting in its disturbed functions the conditions necessary for the elaboration of a normal product, the conception might be from its origin imperfect, and the being which proceeded therefrom, one of those monsters which are de- scribed in treatises on teratology ?” “ Let us see, now, what are the consequences to those given to this practice of conjugal onanism. “ We have at our disposition numerous facts 252 PLAIN FACTS FOR Detestable Practices. Pollution of tbe Marriage Bed. which rigorously prove the disastrous influence of abnonnal coitus to the woman, but we think it useless to publish them. All practitioners have more or less observed them, and it will only be necessary for them to call upon their memories to supply what our silence leaves. ‘ However, it is not difficult to conceive,’ says Dr. Francis Devay, ‘ the degree of perturbation that a like practice should exert upon the genital system of woman by provoking desires which are not gratified. A pro- found stimulation is felt through the entire appa- I’atus ; the uterus, fallopian tubes, and ovaries enter into a state of orgasm, a storm which is not appeased by the natural crisis ; a nervous super- excitation persists. There occurs, then, what would take place if, presenting food to a famished man, one should snatch it from his mouth after having thus violently excited his appetite. The sensibilities of the womb and the entire repro- ductive system are teased for no purpose. It is to this cause, too often repeated, that we should attribute the multiple neuroses, those strange af- fections which originate in the genital system of woman. Our conviction respecting them is based upon a great number of observations. Further- more, the normal relations existing between the married couple undergo unfortunate changes ; this affection, founded upon reciprocal esteem, is little by little effaced by the repetition of an act Avhich pollutes the marriage bed ; from thence proceed OLD AND YOUNG. , £53 Domestic Harmony Destroyed. A Cause of Cancer. certain hard feelings, certain deep impressions which, gradually growing, eventuate in the scan- dalous ruptures of which the community rarely know the real motive,’ “ If the good harmony of families and their re- ciprocal relations are seriously menaced by the invasion of these detestable practices, the health of women, as we have already intimated, is fear- fully injured. A great number of neuralgias ap- pear to us to have no other cause. Many women that we have interrogated on this matter have fortified this opinion. But that which to us has passed to the condition of incontestable proof, is the prevalence of uterine troubles, of enervation among the married, hysterical symptoms which are met with in the conjugal relation as often as among young virgins, arising from the vicious habits of the husbands in their conjugal inter- course. . . Still more, there is a graver afiec- tion, which is daily increasing, and which, if nothing arrests its invasion, will soon have at- tained the proportions of a scourge ; we speak of the degeneration of the womb. We do not hesi- tate to place in the foremost rank, among the causes of this redoubtable disease, the refinements of civilization, and especially the artifices intro- duced in our day in the generic act. When there is no procreation, although the procreative faculties are excited, we see these pseudo-morphoses arise. Thus it is noticed that polypi and schivrus [cancer] 254 FLAIN FACTS FOR A General Calamity. Danger of Preventives. of the womb are common among prostitutes. And it is easy to account for the manner of action of this pathogenetic cause, if we consider how prob- able it is that the ejaculation and contact of the sperm with the uterine neck, constitutes, for the woman, the crisis of the genital function, by appeasing the venereal orgasm and calming the voluptuous emotions under the action of which the entire economy is convulsed.” “ We may, we trust, he pardoned for remarking upon the artifices imagined to prevent fecundation that there is in them an immense danger, of incal- culable limits. We do not fear to be contradicted or taxed with exaggeration in elevating them into the proportions of a true calamity.” The following is from an eminent physician* who for many years devoted his whole attention to the diseases of women and lectured upon the subject in a prominent medical college : — “It is undeniable that all the methods em- ployed to prevent pregnancy are physically in- jurious. Some of these have been characterized with sufficient explicitness, and the injurj^ result- ing from incomplete coitus to both parties has been made evident to all who are willing to be convinced. It should require but a moment’s con- sideration to convince any one of the harmfulness of the common use of cold ablutions and astringent infusions and various medicated washes. Simple *Dr. Gardner. OLD AND YOUN&. 255 Bad Effects of Preventives. Cobwebs for Protection. and often wonderfully salutary as is cold water to a diseased limb, festering with inflammation, yet fev/ are rash enough to cover a gouty toe, rheu- matic knee, or erysipelatous head with cold water. . . . Yet, when in the general state of nervous and physical excitement attendant upon coitus, when the organs principally engaged in this act are congested and turgid with blood, do you think you can with impunity throw a flood of cold or even lukewarm water far into the vitals in a con- tinual stream ? Often, too, women add strong- medicinal agents, intended to destroy by dissolution the spermatic germs, ere they have time to fulfill their natural destiny. These powerful astringents suddenly corrugate and close the glandular struct- ure of the parts, and this is followed, necessarily, by a corresponding reaction, and the final result is debility and exhaustion, signalized by leucorrhcea, prolapsus, and other diseases. “ Finally, of th§ use of intermediate tegumentary coverings, made of thin rubber or gold-beater’s skin, and so often relied upon as absolute prevent- ives, Madame de Stael is reputed to have said, ‘ They are cobwebs for protection, and bulwarks against love.’ Their employment certainly must produce a feeling of shame and disgust utterly destructive of the true delight of pure hearts and refined sensibilities. They are suggestive of licen- tiousness and the brothel, and their employment degrades to bestiality the true feelings of manhood 256 PLAIN FACTS FOP A Feaiiul Risk. Moral and Ph.vsical Degradation. and the holy state of matrimony. Neither do they give, except in a very limited degree, the protection desired. Furthermore, they produce (as alleged by the best modern French writers, who are more familiar with the effect of their use than we are in the United States) certain physical lesions from their irritating presence as foreign bodies, and. also from the chemicals employed in their fabrica^tion, and other effects inseparable from their employ- ment, ofttimes of a really serious nature. “ I will not further enlarge upon these instru- mentalities. Sufficient has been said to convince any one that to tiifle with the gi’and functions of our organism, to attempt to deceive and thwart nature in her highly ordained prerogatives — no matter how simple seem to be the means employed — is to incur a heavy responsibility and run a fear- ful risk. It matters little whether a railroad train is thrown from the track by a frozen drop of rain or a huge bowlder lying in the way, the result is the same, the injuries as great. Moral degradation, physical disability, premature exhaustion and de- crepitude are the result of these physical frauds, and force upon our conviction the adage, which the history of every day confii’ms, that ‘honesty is the best policy.’ ” Within the last ten years we have had under treatment many hundred cases of ladies suffering from ailments of a character peculiar to the sex ; and in becoming acquainted with the history of in- OLD AND YOUNG. 257 Sad Cases. A Palpable Violation of Nature’s Laws. dividual cases we have, in many instances, found that the real cause of the disease which had sapped the vitality and undermined the constitution slowly hut surely until cheerful health and freshness had given place to suffering, debility, and, in many cases, most deplorable melancholy, was the very crime against nature mentioned in the preceding paragraphs. The effects of these sins against nature are frequently not felt for years after the cause has been at work, and even then are seldom attributed to the true cause. In some instances we have known persons to suffer on for many years without having once suspected that the cause of their suffer- ings was a palpable violation of nature’s laws. Uterine diseases thus induced are among the most obstinate of diseases of this class, being often of long standing, and hence of a very serious charac- ter. Dr. Wm. Goodell of Philadelphia has recently called attention to the fact that the prevention of conception is one of the most common causes of prolapsus of the ovaries, a very common and pain- ful disease. Not infrequently, too, other organs, particularly the bladder, become affected, either through sympathy or in consequence of the con- gested condition of the contiguous parts. A difficulty which we liave often met with has been the inability to convince those who have been guilty of the practices referred to, of the enormity of the sin against both soul and body. In spite of all 17 258 PLAIN FACTS FOR i Shaker Views. A ContraBt. warnings, perhaps supplemented by sufferings, the practice will often be continued, producing in tht end the most lamentable results. Too often it is the case that this reluctance to obey the dictates of Nature’s laws is the result of the unfeeling and unreasonable demands of a selfish husband. Shaker Views. — The Shakers do not, as man> suppose, believe wholly in celibacy. They believe in marriage and reproduction regulated by the nat- ural law. They, also, "would limit population, but not by interfering with nature ; rather, by follow- ing nature’s indications to the very letter. They believe “that no animals should use their repro- ductive powers and organs for any other than the simple purpose of procreation.” Recognizing the fact that this is the law among lower "animals, they insist upon applying it to man. Thus they find no necessity for the employment of those abominable contrivances so common among those who disre- gard the laws of nature. Who ^vill not respect the purity which must characterize sexual relations so governed? Such a method for regulating the number of offspring is in immense contrast "with that of the Oneida Community, which opens the door to the unstinted gratification of lust, separates the reproductive act entirely from its original pur- pose, and makes it the means of mere selfish, sen- sual, beastly — worse than brutish — gratification. Those who are acquainted with the history of i the founder of this community are obliged to look * Acton. 1 OLD AND YOUNG. 259 A Gigantic Brothel. A Den of Licentiousness. upon him as a scheming sensualist who well knows the truth, but deliberately chooses a course of evil, and beguiles into his snares others as sensual as O himself. The abominations practiced among the members of the community which he has founded are represented by those who have had an inside view of its workings as too foul to mention. It seems almost wonderful that Providence does not lay upon this gigantic brothel his hand of vengeance as in ancient times he did upon Sodom, which could hardly have been more sunken in infamy than is this den of licentiousness. It is, indeed, astonishing that it should be tolerated in the midst of a coun- try which professes to regard virtue and respect the marriage institution. We are glad to note that popular opinion is calling loudly for the eradica- tion of this foul ulcer. Only a short time ago a convention of more than fifty ministei’s met at Syracuse, N. Y., for the express purpose of consid- ering ways and means for the removal of this blot “by legal measures or otherwise.” We sincerely wish them success ; and it appears to us that the people in that vicinity would be justified should they rise en masse and purge their community of an evil so heinous, in case no civil authority can be induced to do the work of expurgation.* * Just as this edition is going to press we receive the gratifying information that the younger members of the Community have be- come disgusted with their sensual life and announced that their former vile practices will be discontinued. Mr. Noyes with a few followers has sought refuge in Canada. — J. k. 2C0 PLAIN FACTS FOR Moral Bearings of the Question. Unconsidered Murders. Moral Bearings of the Question. — Most of the considerations presented thus far have' been of a physical character, though occasional references to the moral aspect of the question have been made. In a certain sense — and a true one — the question is vrholly a moral one ; for what moral right have men or women to do that which will injure the integrity of the physical organism given them, and for which they are accountable to their Cre- ator ? Surely none ; for the man who destroys himself by degrees, is no less a murderer than he who cuts his throat or puts a bullet through his brain. The crime is the same — being the shorten- ing of human life — whether the injury is done to one’s self or to another. In this matter, there are at least three sufferers ; the husband, the wife, and the offspring, though in most cases, doubtless, the husband is the one to whom the sin almost exclu- sively belongs. Unconsidered Murders. — But there is a more startling phase of this moral question. It is not impossible to show that actual violence is done to a human life. It has been previously shown that in the two elements, the ovum of the female, and the sper- matozoon of the male, are, in rudimentary form, all the elements which aro to make up the “ human form divine.” Alone, neither of these elements can become anything more than it already is ; but the instant that the two elements come in contact. OLD AND YOUNG. 261 Embryonic Life. Prevention Peally Murder. fecundation takes place, and the individual life begins. From that moment until maturity is reached, jmars subsequently, the whole process is only one of development. Nothing absolutely new is added at any subsequent moment. In view of these facts, it is evident that at the very instant of conception the embryonic human being possesses all the right to life it ever can possess. It is just as much an individual, a distinct human being, possessed of soul and body, as it ever is, though in a very immature form. That concep- tion may take place during the reproductive act cannot' be denied. If, then, means are employed with a view to prevent conception immediately after the accomplishment of the act, or at any subsequent time, if successful, it would be by de- stroying the delicate product of the conception which had already occurred, and which, as before observed, is as truly a distinct individual as it can ever become — certainly as independent as at any time previous to birth. Is it immoral to take human life ? Is it a sin to kill a child ? Is it a crime to strangle an infant at birth ? Is it a murderous act to destroy a half- formed human being in its mother’s womb ? Who will dare to answer “ No,” to one of these ques- tions ? Then, who can refuse assent to the plain truth that it is equally a murder to deprive of life the most recent product of the generative act ? Who can number the myriads of murders that 262 PLAI2T FACTS FOR Tlie Charge Disputed. Life Begins with Conception. have been perpetrated at this early period of ex- istence ? Who can estimate the load of guilt that weighs upon some human souls ? and who knows how many brilliant lights have been thus early extinguished ? how many promising human plant- lets thus ruthlessly destroyed in the very act of germinating ? It is to be hoped that in the final account the extenuating infiuence of ignorance may weigh heavily in the scale of justice against the damning -^iestimony of these “unconsidered murders.” The Charge Disputed. — It will be urged that these early destructions are not murders. Murder is an awful word. The act itself is a terrible crime. No wonder that its personal application should be studiously avoided ; the human being who would not shrink from such a charge would be unworthy of the name of human — a very brute. Neverthe- less, it is necessary to look the plain facts squarely in the face, and shrink not from the decision of an enlightened conscience. We quote the following portions of an extract which we give in full else- where ; it is from the same distinguished author- ity * whom we have frequently quoted : — “There is, in fact, no moment after conception when it can be said that the child has not life, and the crime of destroying human life is as heinous and as sure before the pei’iod of ‘ qiiickening ’ has been attained, as afterward. But you stiU defend * Gardner. OLD AND YOUNG. 263 Serious DiiBculties. Servitude of Woman. your horrible deed by saying: ‘Well, if there be, as you say, this mere animal life, equivalent at the most to simple vitality, there is no mind, no soul destroyed, and, therefore, there is no crime com- mitted.’ Just so surely as one would destroy and root out of existence all the fowls in the world by destroying all the eggs in existence, so certain is it that you do by your act destroy the animal man in the egg and the soul which animates it. . . . Murder is always sinful, and murc'er is the willful destruction of a human being at any period of its existence, from its earliest germinal embryo to its final, simple, animal existence in aged decrepitude and complete mental imbecility.” Difficulties. — Married people will exclaim, “ What shall we do ? ” Delicate mothers who have already more children on their hands than they can care for, whose health is insufficient to longer endure the pains and burdens of pregnancy, but whose sensual husbands continue to demand indulgence, will echo in despairing tones, while acknowledging the truth, “ What shall we do ? ” We will answer the question for the latter first. Mr. Mill, the distinguished English logician, in his work on “ The Subjection of Woman,” thus rep- resents the erroneous view which is popularly held of the sexual relations of the wife to the husband : “ The wife, however brutal a tyrant she may be chained to — though she may know that he hates her, though it may be his daily pleasure to torture 264 PLAIN PACTS FOR Woman's Kights An Important Question Considered. her, and though she may feel it impossible not to loathe him — he can claim from her and enforce the lowest degradation of a human being, that of being made the instrument of an animal function con- trary to her inclinations.” Woman’s Rights. — A woman does not, upon the performance of the marriage ceremony, surren- der all her personal rights. The law recognizes this fact if her husband beats her, or in any way injures her by physical force, or even by neglect. Why may she not claim protection from other maltreat- ment as well ? or, at least, why may she not refuse to lend herself to beastly lust ? She remains the proprietor of her own body, though married ; and who is so lost to all sense of justice, equity, and even morality, as to claim that she is under any moral obligation to allow her body to be abused ? Since the first edition of this work was published, we have many times been appealed to by suffering wives in the most pathetic terms. In many in- stances the poor wife was suffering with local dis- ease of a serious character, making sexual ap- proaches in the highest degree painful as well as repugnant ; yet notwithstanding this, the demands of the husband for the gratification of his bestial passions were, in many instances, in no degree less- ened by a knowledge of the facts in the case. In cases like these it is often a very delicate and exceedingly difficult task to point out the duty of the suffering wife and mother. The duty of the OLD AND TOUNO. 2C5 What To Do. A Compromise. husband is very plain, and to him the wise physi- cian will appeal in a manner which cannot fail to arouse him to a sense of his duty if there is yet left unconsumed by the fires of lust even a vestige of genuine manhood. Wliat to Bo. — Now^to the question as asked by the first parties — married people who together seek for a solution of the difficulties arising from an abandonment of all protectives against fecundation. The true remedy, and the natural one, is doubtless to be found in the suggestion made under the heads of ■“ Continence ” and “ Marital Excesses.” By a course of life in accordance with the principles there indicated, all of these evils and a thousand more would be avoided. There would be less sensual enjoyment, but more elevated joy. There would be less animal love, but more spiritual com- munion ; less grossness, more purity ; less develop- ment of the animal, and a more fruitful soil for the culture of virtue, holiness, and all the Christian graces. “ But such a life would be impossible this side of Heaven.” A few who claim to have tried the ex- periment think not. The- Shakers claim to prac- tice, as well as teach, such principles ; and with the potent aids to continence previously specified, it might be found less difficult in realization than in thought. A Compromise. — There will be many, the vast majority, perhaps, who will not bring their minds 266 PLAIN FACTS FOB Weakness of the Fle^. A Better "Way, Not the Beet Way. to accept the truth which nature seems to teach, which would confine sexual acts to reproduction wholly. Others, acknowledging the truth, declare “the spirit willing” though “the flesh is weak.” Such will inquire, “ Is there not some compromise by means ot which we may escape the greater evils of our present mode of life ? ” Such may And in the following facts suggestions for a “ better way,” if not the best way, though it cannot be recom- mended as wholly free from dangers, and though it cannot be said of it that it is not an unnatural way ; — “Menstruation in woman indicates an aptitude for impregnation, and this condition remains for a period of six or eight days after the entire comple- tion of the flow. During this time only can most women conceive. Allow twelve days for the onset of the menses to pass by, and the probabilities of impregnation are very slight. This act of conti- nence is healthful, moral, and irreproachable.”* It should be added to the above that the plan suggested is not absolutely certain to secure im- munity from conception. The period of abstinence should certainly extend from the beginning of menstruation to the fourteenth day. To secure even reasonable safety, it is necessaiy to practice further abstinence for three or four days previous to the beginning of the flow. Many writers make another suggestion which * Gardner. OLD AND YOUNG. 267 Valuable Hints to the Married. A Valuable Testimony. would certainly be beneficial to individual health ; viz., that the husband and wife should habitually occufiy separate beds. Such a practice would un- ' doubtedly serve to keep the sexual instincts in abeyance. Separate apartments, or at least the separation of the beds by a curtain, are recom- mended by some estimable physicians, who sug- gest that such a plan would enable both parties to conduct their morning ablutions with proper thor- oughness and without sacrificing that natural mod- esty which operates so powerfully as a check upon the excessive indulgence of the passions. Many will think the suggestion a good one and will make a practical application of it. Sleeping in single beds is reputed to be a European custom of long- standing among the higher classes. This subject cannot be concluded better than by the following quotations from an excellent and able work entitled, “ The Ten Laws of Health ” * : — “ The obvious design of the sexual desire is the reproduction of the species. . . , The gratifica- tion of this passion, or indeed of any other, beyond its legitimate end, is an undoubted violation of natural law, as may be determined by the light of nature, and by the resulting moral and physical evils.” “ Those creatures not gifted with erring reason, but with unerring instinct, and that have not the liberty of choice between good and evil, cohabit ♦J. R. Black, M. D. 268 PLAIN FACTS FOR Jlan’s Reason No Excuse. Necessity for Limitation. only at stated periods, when pleasure and repro- duction are alike possible. It is so ordered among them that the means and the end are never sep- arated; and as it was the all- wise Being who endowed them with this instinct, without the re- sponsibility resulting from the power to act other- wise, it follows that it is his law, and must, ^ therefore, be the true copy for all beings to follow having the same functions to perform, and for the same end. The mere fact that men and women have the power and liberty of conforming or not conforming to this copy does not set them free from obedience to a right course, nor from the consequences of disobedience.” “ The end of sexual pleasure being to reproduce the species, it follows, from the considerations just advanced, that -svhen the sexual function . is di- verted from its end, reproduction, or if the means be used when the end is impossible, harm or injury should ensue.” “ Perhaps the number is not small of those who think there is nothing wrong in an unlimited in- dulgence of the sexual propensity during married life. The marriage vow seems to be taken as equivalent to the freest license, about which there need be no restraint. Yet, if there is any truth in the law in reference to the enjoyment of the means only when the end is possible, the necessity of the limitation of this indulgence during married life is clearly as great as for that of any other sensual pleasure. OLD AND YOUNG. 269 Excesses Forbidden by Natural Law. The Ore^test tSnfferers. “ A great majority of those constituting the most highly civilized communities, act upon the belief that anything not forbidden by sacred or civil law is neither sinful nor wrong. They have not found cohabitation during pregnancy forbid- den ; nor have they ever had their attention drawn to the injury to health and organic devel- opment, which such a practice inflicts. Hence, a habitual yielding to inclination in this matter has determined their life-long behavior. “ The infringement of this law in the married state does not ptoduce in the husband any very serious disorder. Debility, aches, cramps, and a tendency to epiUptic seizures, are sometimes seen as the effects of great excess. An evil of no small account is the steady growth of the sexual passion by habitual unrestraint. It is in this way that what is known as libidinous blood is nursed as well among those who are strictly virtuous, in the ordinary meaning of the term, as among those who are promiscuous in their intercourse. “ The wife and the offspring are the chief suf- ferers by the violation of this law among the married. Why this is so, may in part be ac- counted for by the following consideration: Among the animal kind it is the female which decides when the approaches of the male are allowable. When these are untimely, her instinctive prompt- ing leads her to resist and protect herself with ferocious zeal. No one at all acquainted with the 270 * PLAIN FACTS. The LessoR from Lower Animals. Woman’s Kesponsibility. remarkable wisdom nature invariably displays in all lier operations, will doubt that the prohibition of all sexual intercourse among animals during the period of pregnancy must be for a wise and good purpose. And, if it serves a wise and good purpose with them, why should an opposite course not serve an* unwise and bad purpose with us? Our bodies are very much like theirs in structure and in function ; and in the mode and laws that govern reproduction there is absolutely no differ- ence. The mere fact that we possess the power to act otherwise than they do during that period, does not make it right. “ Human beings having no instinctive prompting as to what is right and what is wrong, cohabita- tion, like many other points of the behavior, is left for reason or the will to determine ; or, rather, as things now are, to unreason ; for reason is neither consulted nor enlightened as to what is proper and allowable in the matter. Nature’s rule, by in- stinct, makes it devolve upon the female to de- termine when the approaches of the male are allowable. “ But some may say that she is helpless in the matter. No one dare to approach her without consent before marriage ; and why should man not be educated up to the point of doing the same after marriage ? She is neither his slave, nor his property ; nor does the tie of marriage bind her to carry out any unnatural requirement.” Infanticide and Abortion, [^EW but medical men are aware of tlie enor- mous proportions which have been assumed by these terrible crimes during the present century. That they are increasing with fearful rapidity and have really reached such a magnitude as to seriously affect the growth of civilized nations, and to threaten their very existence, has become a patent fact to observing physicians. The crime itself differs little, in reality, from that considered in the last section, the prevention of conception. It is, in fact, th-^ same crime postponed till a later period. We quote the following eloquent words on thi-s subject : — “ Of all the sins, physical and moral against man and God, I know of none so utterly to be con demned as the very common one of the destruc- tion of the child while yet in the womb of the mother. So utterly repugnant is it that I can scarcely express the loathing with which I ap- proach the subject. Murder ! — murder in cold blood, without cause, of an unknown child ; one’s nearest relative ; in fact, part of one’s very being ; actually having, not only one’s own blood in its being, but that blood momentarily interchanging ! Good God ! Does it seem possible that such de- 271 272 PLAIN FACTS FOR A Terrible Crime, Not a Modem Crime. pravity can exist in a parent’s breast — in a moth- er’s heart ! “ ’Tis for no wrong that it has committed that its sweet life is so cruelly taken away. Its coming is no disgrace ; its creation was not in sin, but — its mother ‘don’t want to be bothered with any more brats ; can hardly take care of what she has got ; is going to Europe in the spring.’ “We can foi’give the poor deluded girl — seduced, betrayed, abafndoned — who, in her wild fren2y, de- stroys the mute evidence of her guilt. We have only sympathy and sorrow for her. But for the married shirk who disregards her divinely-ordained duty, we have nothing but contempt, even if she be the lordly woman of fashion, clothed in purple and fine linen. If glittering gems adorn her person, within there is foulness and squalor.” * Not a Modern Crime. — Although this crime has attained remarkable proportions in modern times, it is not a new one by any means, as the fol- lowing paragraph will suffice to show : — “ Infanticide and exposure were also the custom among the Romans, Medes, Canaanites, Babjdon- ians, and other Eastern nations, with the excep- tion of the Israelites and Egyptians. The Scan- dinavians killed their offspring from pure fantasy. The Norwegians, after having carefully swaddled their children, put some food into their mouths, placed them under the roots of trees or under the * Gardner. OLD AKD TO UNO. 270 Infanticide among Various Nations. How the Ancients Keasoned. rocks to preserv^e them from ferocious beasts. In- fanticide was also permitted among the Chinese, and we saw, during the last century, vehicles going round the streets of Pekin daily to collect the bodies of the dead infants. To-day there exist foundling hospitals to receive children abandoned by their parents. The same custom is also observed in Japan, in the isles of the Southern Ocean, at Otaheite, and among several savage nations of North America. It is related of the daggers of Guinea, that they devour their own children,” * The Greeks practiced infanticide systematically, their laws at one time requiring the destruction of crippled or weakly children. Among all the vari- oiTS nations, the general object of the crime seems to have been to avoid the trouble of rearing the children, or to avoid a surplus, objects not far dif- ferent from those had in view by those who prac- tice the same crimes at the present time. The destruction of the child after the mother has felt its movements is termed infanticide ; before that time it is commonly known as abortion. It is a modern notion that the child possesses no soul or individual life until the period of quickening, an error which we have already sufficiently exposed. The ancients, with just as much reason, contended that no distinct life was present until after birth. Hence it was that they could practice without scruple the crime of infanticide to prevent too great 18 * Burdach. 1 274 PLAIN PACTS FOR The Crime Excused by Plato. Abortion Most Common. increase of population. “ Plato and Aristotle were advocates of this practice, and these Stoics justified this monstrous practice by alleging that the child only acquired a soul at the moment when it ceased to have uterine life and commenced to respire. From hence it resulted that, the child not being animated, its destruction was no murder.” The prevalence of this crime will be indicated by the following observations from the most reliable sources : — “We know that in certain countries abortion is practiced in a marmer almost public, without speak- ing of the East, where it has, so to speak, entered into the manners of the country. We see it in America, in a great city like New York, constitut- ing a regular business and not prevented, where it has enriched more than one midwife.” “ England does not yield to Germany or France in the frequency of the crime of infanticide.”* “Any statistics attainable are very incomplete. False certificates are daily given by attending phy- sicians. Men, if they are only rich enough, die of ‘ congestion of the brain,’ not ‘ delirium tremens ; ’ and women, similai-ly situated, do not die from the effects of abortion, but of ‘inflammation of the bowels,’ etc.” “ Infanticide, as it is generally considered (de- stroying a child after quickening), is of very rare occurrence in New York, whereas abortions (de- *Jardien. OLD A>ND YOUNG. 275 Alfirming Frequency of the Crime. The Moloch of Fashion. stroying the embryo before quickening) are of daily habit in the families of the best informed and most religious ; among those abounding in wealth, as well as among the poor and needy.” * “ Perhaps only medical men will credit the asser- tion that the frequency of this form of destroying hnman life exceeds all others by at least fifty per cent, and that not more than one in a thousand of the guilty parties receive any punishment by the hand of civil law. But there is a surer mode of punishment for the guilty mother in the self- executing laws of nature.” f “ From a very large verbal and written corre- spondence in this and other States, I am satisfied that we have become a nation of murderers.” % Said a distinguished clergyman of Brooklyn in a sermon, “ Why send missionaries to India when child-murder is here of daily, almost hourly, occur- rence ; aye, when the hand that puts money into the contribution-box to-day, yesterday or a month ago, or to-morrow, will murder her own unborn offspring ? » "The Hindoo mother, when she abandons her babe upon the sacred Ganges, is, contrary to her heart, obeying a supposed religious law, and you desire to convert her to your own worship of the Moloch of Fashion and Laziness and love of Greed. Out upon such hypocrisy ! ” Writers tell us that it has even become the boast * Gardner. t Black. X Beamy. 276 PLAIN FACTS FOR Pernicious Knowledge. CauecS of the Crime. of many women that they “know too much to have babies.” Says the learned Dr. Storer, “Will the time come, think ye, when husbands can no longer, as they now frequently do, commit the crime of rape upon their unwilling wives, and persuade them or compel them to allow a still more dreadful violence to be wreaked upon the children nestling within them — children fully alive from the very moment of conception, that have already been fully de- tached from all organic connection with their par- ent, and only re-attached to her for the pui’poses of nutriment and growth, and to destroy whom ' is a crime of the same nature, both against our Maker and society, as to destroy an infant, a child, or a man ? * Says another well-known author, “ Ladies boast to each other of the impunity with which they have aborted, as they do of their expenditures, of their dress, of their success in society. There is a fashion in this, as in all other female customs, good and bad. The wretch whose account with the Al- mighty is heaviest with guilt too often becomes a heroine.” f Causes of the Crime. — Many influences may combine to cause the mother ruthlessly to destroy her helpless child : as, to conceal the results of sin ; to avoid the burdens of maternity ; to secure ease and freedom to travel, etc., or even from a false *“Is It I?” t A Woman’s Thoughts about Women. OLD AND YOUNG. 277 Men Mo&t to Blame. The Nature of the Crime. idea that maternity is vulgar ; but it is true, be- yond all question, that the primary cause of the sin is far back of all these influences. The most unstinted and scathing invectives are used in char- acterizing the criminality of a mother who takes the life of her unborn babe ; but a word is seldom said of the one who forced upon her the circum- stances which gave the unfortunate one existence. Though doctors, ministers, and moralists have said much on this subject, and written more, it is rea- sonable to suppose that they will never accomplish much of anything in the direction of reform until they recognize the part the man acts in all of these sad cases, and begin to demand reform where it is most needed, and where its achievement will effect the most good. As was observed in the remarks upon the subject of “ Prevention of Conception,” this evil has its origin in “ marital excesses,” and in a disregard of the natural law which makes the female the sole proprietor of her own body, and gives to her the right to refuse the approaches of the male when unprepared to receive them without doing violence to the laws of her being. The Nature of the Crime. — “The married and well-to-do, who by means of medicines and opera- tions produce abortions at early periods of preg- nancy, have no excuse except the pretense that they do not consider it murder until the child quickens. “No, not murder, you say, for ‘there has not 278 FLAIN FACTS FOR When Does Life Begin? When is Destruction Sinful? been any life in the child.’ Do not attempt to evade, even to man, a crime which cannot be hidden from the All-seeing. The poor mother has not herself felt the life of the child perhaps, but that is a quibble only of the laws of man, founded indeed upon the view, now universally recognized as incorrect, that the child’s life began when its movements were first strong enough to be per- ceptible. There is, in fact, no moment after con- ception when it can be said that the child has not life, and the crime of destroying human life is as heinous and as sure before the period of ‘ quicken- ing’ has been attained as afterward. But you still defend your horrible deed by saying, ‘Well, if there be, as you say, this mere animal life, equiv- alent at the most to simple vitality, there is no mind, no soul destroyed, and therefore, there is no crime committed.’ Just so surely as one would destroy and root out of existence all the fowl in the world by destroying all the eggs in existence, so certain is it that you do by your act destroy the animal man in the egg, and the soul which ani- mates it. When is the period that intelligence comes to the infant ? Are its feeble first strag- glings any evidence of its presence ? Has it any appreciable quantity at birth ? Has it any valu- able, useful quantity even when a year old ? When, then, is it, that destruction is harmless or comparatively sinless ? While awaiting your met- aphysical answer, I will tell you when it is sinful. OLD AND YOUNG. 279 Murder Defined, Iiistruni'enta of Crime. Murder is always sinful, and murder is the willful destruction of a human being at any period of its existence, from its earliest germinal embryo to its final, simple, animal existence in aged decrepitude and complete mental imbecility.” * “ There are those who would fain make light of this crime by attempting to convince themselves and others that a child, while in embryo, has only a sort of vegetative life, not yet endowed with thought, and the ability to maintain an independ- ent existence. If such a monstrous philosophy as this presents any justification for such an act, then the killing of a newly-born infant, or of an idiot, may be likewise justified. The destruction of the life of an unboin human being, for the reason that it is small, feeble, and innocently helpless, rather aggravates than palliates the crime. Every act of this kind, with its justification, is obviously akin to that savage philosophy which accounts it a matter of no moment, or rather a duty, to de- stroy feeble infants, or old, helpless fathers and mothers.” f Instruments of Crime. — “ The means through which abortions are efiected are various. Some- times it is through potent drugs, extensively ad- vertised in newspapers claiming to be moral ! — the advertisements so adroitly worded as to convey under a caution the precise information required of the liability of the drug to produce miscarriages. * Gardner. t Black. 280 FLAIK FACTS FOB A Nefarious Trade. Besults of this Unnatural Cri^ne, Sometimes the iaformation is conveyed through secret circulars ; hut more commonly the deed is consummated by professed abortionists, who ad- vertise themselves as such through innuendo, or through gaining this kind of repute by the fre- quent commission of the act. Not a few women, deterred by lingering modesty or some sense . ; shame, attempt and execute it upon themij^ ’ and then volunteer to instruct and encom^^^ others to go and do likewise.” * Eesults of this Unnatural Crime. — It is the universal testimony of physicians that the effects of abortion are almost as deadly upon the mother as upon the child. The amount of suffering is vastly greater ; for that of the child, if it suffer at all, is only momentary, in general, while the mother is doomed to a life of suffering, of misery, if she sur- vives the shock of the terrible outrage against her nature. It has been proved by statistics that the danger of immediate death is fifteen times as great as in natural childbirth. A medical author of note asserts that a woman suffers more injury from one abortion than she would from twenty normal births. Says Dr. Gardner on this point : — “We know that the popular idea is that women are worn out by the toil and wear connected with the raising of large families, and we can willingly concede something to this statement ; but it is cer- tainly far more observable that the efforts at the «■ Black. OLD AND YOUNG. 281 An Unwelcome Child. A Terrible Punishment. present day, made to avoid propagation, are ten thousand-fold more disastrous to the health and constitution, to say nothing of the demoralization of mind and heart, which cannot be estimated by red cheeks or physical vigor.” Au Unwelcome Child. — But suppose the moth- er does not succeed in her attempts against the life of her child, as she may not ; what fearful results may follow ! Who can doubt that the murderous intent of the mother will be stamped indelibly upon the character of the unwelcome child, giving it a natural propensity for the commission of mur- derous deeds ? Then again — sickening thought — suppose the at- tempts to destroy the child are unsuccessful, re- sulting only in horrid mutilation of its tender form ; when such a child is born, what terrible evidences may it bear in its crippled and mis- shapen body of the cruel outrage perpetrated upon it ! That such cases do occur is certain from the following narrative, which we might confirm by others similar in character : — “ A lady, determined not to have any more chil- dren, went to a professed abortionist, and he at- tempted to effect the desired end by violence. With a pointed instrument the attempt was again and again made, but without the looked-for result. So vigorously was the effort made, that, astonished at no result being obtained, the individual stated that there must be some mistake, that the lady 982 PLAIN FACTS FOU llomble Mutilation. The Kemedy. could not be pregnant, and refused to perform any further operations. Partially from doubt and par- tially from fear, nothing further was attempted; and in due process of time the woman was deliv- ered of an infant, shockingly mutilated, with one eye entirely put out, and the brain so injured that this otherwise robust child was entirely wanting in ordinary sense. This poor mother, it would seem, needs no future punishment for her sin. Ten years face to face with this poor idiot, whose imbecility was her direct work — has it not punished her sufficiently ? ” The Remedy. — Whether this gigantic evil can ever be eradicated, is exceedingly doubtful. To effect its cure would be to make refined Christians out of brutal sensualists; to emancipate woman from the enticing, alluring slavery of fashion; to uproot false ideas of life and its duties, — in short, to revolutionize society. The crime is perpetrated in secret. Many times no one but the criminal her- self is cognizant of the evil deed. Only occasion- ally do cases come near enough to the surface to be dimly discernible ; hence the evident inefficiency of any civil legislation. But the evil is a desperate one, and is increasing ; shall no attempt be made to check the tide of crime and save the sufferers from both physical and spiritual perdition ? An effort should be made, at least. Let every Christian raise the note of warning. From every Christian pulpit let the truth be spoken in terms too plain for mis- OLD AND TO UNO. 2SS The Radical Cure. Murder by Proxy. apprehension. Let those who are known to be guilty of this most revolting crime be looked upon as murderers, as they are ; and let their real moral status be distinctly shown. All of these means will do something to effect a reform ; but the radical cure of the evil will only be found in the principles suggested in the section devoted to the consideration of “ Marital Excesses.” The adoption of those principles and strict adher- ence to them would effectually prevent the occur- rence of circumstances which are the occasion of abortions and infanticides. Murder by Proxy. — “There is, at the present time, a kind of infanticide, which, although it is not so well known, is even more dangerous, because done with impunity. There are parents who recoil with horror at the idea of destroying their offspring, although they would greatly desire to be disem- barrassed of them, who yet place them without re- morse with nurses who enjoy the sinister reputa- tion of never returning the childi’en to those who have intrusted them to their care. These unfortu- nate little beings are condemned to perish from inanition and bad treatment. “ The number of these innocent victims is greater than would be imagined, and very certainly exceeds that of the marked infanticides sent by the public prosecutor to the Court of the Assizes.” V \ \ The Social Evil. (>o f LLICI'T iritercourse has been a foul blot upon ^ ^ humanity from the earliest periods of history. At the present r lent, it is a loathsome ulcer eating at the h- f cirilization, a malignant leprosy Av^hieh sho";^ _ ;s hideous deformities among the fairest results o;i modern culture. Our large cities abound •with dens of -vice "whose habituds shamelessly promenade the most public streets and flaunt their infamy in the face of every passer-by. In many large cities, especially in those of Conti- nental Europe, these holds of “vice are placed under the supervision of the la'w by the requirement that every keeper of a house of prostitution must pay for a license ; in other words, must buy the right to lead his fellow-men “ do'wn to the depths of hell.” In smaller cities, as weU as in large ones, in fact, from the great metropolis down to the country -vdl- lage, the haunts of vice are found. Every army is flanked by bands of courtesans. Wherever men go, loose women follow, penetrating even to the wildness of the miner’s camp, far beyond the verge of ci'vdlization. But brothels and traveling strumpets do not fully represent the vast extent of this monster e'vil. There is a class of immoral women — probably ex- 284 OLD AND YOUNG. 285 Vice Abounds. TJnchastity of the Ancients. Deeding in numbers the grosser class just referred to — who consider themselves respectable ; indeed, who are considered very respectable. Few are ac- quainted with their character. They live in elegant style and mingle in genteel society. Privately, they prosecute the most unbounded licentiousness, for the purpose of gain, or merely to gratify their lewdness. “ Kept mistresses ” are much more nu- merous than common prostitutes. The numerous scandal and divorce suits which expose the infidelity of husbands and wives, are sufficient evidence that illicit commerce is not con- fined to the unmarried ; but so many are the facili- ties for covering and preventing the results of sins of this description it is impossible to form any just estimate of their frequency. The incontinence of husbands and the unchastity of wives will only ap'pear in their enormity at that awful day when eveiy one shall “ stand before the judgment-seat ” and hear the penalty of his guilty deeds. Unchastity of the Ancients.-^We are prone to believe" that the present is the most licentious age the world has ever known ; that in the nine- teenth century the climax of evil has been reached ; that the libidinous blood of all the ages has culmi- nated to produce a race of men more carnal than all predecessors. It is a sickening thought that any previous epoch could have been more vile than this ; but history presents facts which disclose in ancient times periods when lust was even more un- 286 PLAIN FACTS FOR Aatediluvian Wickedness. Egypt a Hot-bed of Vice. controlled than now ; when vice was universal ; and when virl ue was a thing unknown. A few refer- ences to historical facts will establish this point. We do not make these allusions in any way to jus- tify the present immorality, but to show the part which vice has acted in the overthrow of nations. From the sacred record we may judge that before the flood a state of corruption prevailed which was even greater and more general than any that has ever since been reached ; only eight persons were fit to survive the calamity which swept into eter- nity that lustful generation with their filthy deeds. But men soon fell into vice again, for we find among the early Assyrians a total disregard of chastity. Her kings reveled in the grossest sen- suality. No excess cf vice could surpass the licentious- ness of the Ptolemies, who made of Alexandria a bagnio, and all Egypt a hot-bed of vice. Herodotus relates that “ the pyramid of Cheops was built by the lovers of the daughter of this king ; and that she never would have raised this monument to such a height except by multiplying her prostitutions.” History also relates the adventures of that queenl}- courtesan, Cleopatra, who captivated and seduced by her charms two masters of the world, and whose lewdncss surpassed even her beauty. Tyre and Sidon, Media, Phoenicia, Syria, and all the Orient, were sunk in sensuality. Fornication was made a part of their worship. Women carried OLD AND YOVNG. 287 Licentious Worship. Prostitution in Greece. through the streets of the cities the most obscene and revolting representations. Among all these nations a virtuous woman was not to be found ; for, according to Herodotus, the young women were by the laws of the land “ obliged, once in their lives, to give themselves up to the desires of stran- gers in the temple of Venus, and were not permitted to refuse any one.”* St. Augustine speaks of these religious debauch- eries as still practiced in his day in Phoenicia. They were even continued until Constantine de- stroyed the temples in which they were prosecuted, in the fourth century. Among the Greeks the same corruptions pre- vailed in the worship of Bacchus and Phallus, which was celebrated by processions of half-nude girls “performing lascivious dances with men dis- guised . as satyrs.” In fact, as X. Bourgeois says, “ Prostitution was in repute in Greece.” The most distinguished women were courtesans, and the wise Socrates would be justly called, in modern times, a libertine. The abandonment to lust was, if possible, still more complete in the times of the Roman emperors. Rome astonished the universe “ by the boldness of its turpitudes, after having astonished it by the splendor of its triumphs.” The great CjBsar was such a rake that he has been said to have “ merited to be surnamed every ^Bourgeois. 288 PLAIN PACTS FOR Monstrous Debaucheries. Empires Rotten with Vice. woman’s husband.” Antony and Augustus were equally notorious. The same sensuality pervaded the masses as reigned in the courts, and was stimu- lated by the erotic poems of Ovid, Catullus, and other poets of the time. Tiberius displayed such ingenuity in inventing refinements in impudicity that it was necessary to coin new words to designate them. Caligula com- mitted the horrid crime of incest with all his sisters, even in public. His palace was a brothel. The Roman empress, Messalina, disguised herself as a prostitute and excelled the most degraded courte- sans in her monstrous debaucheries. The Roman emperor Vitellius was accustomed to take an emetic after having eaten to repletion, to enable him to renew his gluttony. With still grosser sensuality he stimulated his satiated passions Avith philters and various aphrodisiac mixtures. Nero, the most infamous of the emperors, com- mitted rapes on the stage of the public theaters of Rome, disguised as a wild beast. '' ^ If this degraded voluptuousness had been con- fined to royalty, some respect might yet be enter- tained for the virtue of the ancients ; but the foul infection was not restrained within such narrow bounds. It invaded whole empires until they fell in pieces from very rottenness. ^Tiat must have been the condition of a nation that could tolerate such a spectacle as its monarch riding through the streets of its metropolis in a state of nudity, drawn I OLD AND TOVN&. 289 Vice in the Thirteenth Century. Tall of the Nations. bjf women in the same condition ? Such a deed did Heliogabalus in Rome. In the thirteenth century, virtue was almost as scarce in France as in ancient Greece. Nobles held as mistresses all the young girls of their domains. About every fifth person was a bastard. Just before the Revolution, chastity was such a rarity that a woman was actually obliged to apologize for being- virtuous ! In these disgusting facts we find one of the most potent agents in efiecting the downfall of the na- tions. Licentiousness sapped their vitality and weakened their prowess. The men who conquered the world were led captive by their own beastly passions. Thus the Assyrians, the Medes, the Grecians, the Romans, successively fell victims to their lusts, and gave way to more virtuous success- ors. Even the Jews, the most enlightened people of their age, fell more than once through this same sin, which was coupled with idolatry, of which their seduction by the Midianites is an example. Surely, modem times present no worse specta- cles of carnality than these ; and wiU it be claimed that anything so vile is seen among civilized na- tions at the present day ? But though there may be less grossness in the sensuality of to-day, the moral turpitude of men may be even greater than that of ancient times. Enlightened Christianity has raised the standard of morality. Christ’s com- mentary upon the seventh commandment requires .19 290 PLAIN PACTS FOS Causes of the “'Social Evil.’* Libidinous Blood, a more rigorous chastity than ancient standards demanded, even among the J ews ; for had not David, Solomon, and even the pious Jacob more wives than one ? Consequently, a slight breach of chastity now requires as great a fall from virtue as a greater lapse in ages past, and must be at- tended with as severe a moral penalty. We have seen how universal is the “ social evil,” that it is a vice almost as old as man himself, which shows how deeply rooted in his perverted nature it has become. The inquiry arises. What are the causes of so monstrous a vice ? so gross an outrage upon nature’s laws ? so withering a blight upon the race ? Causes of the “Social Evil.” — A vice that has become so great an evil, even in these enlight- ened times, as to defy the most skillful legislation, which openly displays its gaudy filthiness and mocks at virtue with a lecherous stare, must have its origin in causes too powerful to be ignored. Libidinous Blood. — In no other direction are the effects of heredity to be more distinctly traced than in the transmission of sensual propensities. The children of libertines are almost certain to be rakes and prostitutes. History affords numerous exam- ples in illustration of this fact. The daughter of Augustus was as unchaste as her father, and her daughter was as immoral as herself. The sons of David showed evident traces of their father’s fail- ino' Witness the incest of Amnon, and the vo- II . OLB AND YOUNG. 291 Solomon’s Voluptuousness. David's Great Sin. luptuousness of Solomon, who had seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines. Solomon’s j son was, likewise, a noted polygamist, of whom the record says, “ He desired many wives.” His son’s son manifested the same propensity in taking as many wives as the debilitated state of his kingdom enabled him to suppoit. But perhaps we may be allowed to trace the origin of this libidinous pro- pensity still further back. A glance at the geneal- ogy of David will show that he was descended from Judah through Pharez, who was the result of an incestuous union between Judah and his daugh- ter-in-law. Is it unreasonable to suppose that the abnormal passion which led David to commit the most hein- ous sin of his life in his adultery with Bath-sheba and subsequently procuring the death of her hus- band, was really an hereditary propensity which had come down to him through his ancestors, and which, under more favorable circumstances, was more fully developed in his sons ? The trait may have been kept dormant by the active and simple habits of his early years, but asserted itself in full force under the fostering influence of royal idle- ness and luxury. In accordance with the known laws of heredity, such a tendency would be the legitimate result of such a combination of circum- stances. The influence of marital excesses, and especially sexual indulgence during pregnancy, in producing 292 PLAIN FACTS FOR Gluttony. Condiments. Tea, Coffee, and Tobacco. vicious tendencies in offspring, has been fully dwelt upon elsewhere in this work, and will not he re- considered here, it being only necessary to call attention to the subject. Physiology shows con- clusively that thousands of parents whose sons have become libertines and their daughters courte- sans, have themselves implanted in their characters the propensity which led to their unchastity. Gluttony. — As a predisposing cause, the influ- ence of dietetic habits should rank next to heredity. It is an observed fact that “ all libertines are great eaters or famous gastronomists.” The exciting in- fluence upon the genital organs of such articles as pepper, mustard, ginger, spices, truffles, wine, and all alcoholic drinks, is well known. Tea and cofiee directly excite the animal passions through their influence upon the nerve centers controlling the sexual organs. When children are raised upon such articles, or upon food with which they are thoroughly mingled, what wonder that they occa- sionally “turn out bad”? How many mothers, while teaching their children the principles of vir- tue in the nursery, unwrittingly stimulate their passions at the dinner table imtil vice becomes almost a physical necessity ! Nothing tends so powerfully to keep the pas- sions in abeyance as a simple diet, free from condi- ments, especially when coupled with a generous amount of exercise. The influence of tobacco in leading to unchastity OLD AND YOUNG. 293 Precocious Sensuality. Man’s Lewdness. has been referred to in another connection. This is assuredly a not uncommon cause. When a boy places the first cigar or quid of tobacco to his lips, he takes — if he has not previously done so — the first step in the road to infamy ; and if he adds wine or beer, he takes a short cut to the degrada- tion of his manhood by the loss of virtue. Precocious Sexuality. — The causes of a too early development of sexual peculiarities, as mani- fested in infantile flirtations and early signs of sex- ual passion, were dwelt upon quite fully in a pre- vious connection, and we need not repeat them here. Certain it is that few things can be more dangerous to virtue than the premature develop- ment of those sentiments which belong only to pu- berty and later years. It is a most unnatural, but not uncommon, sight to see a girl of tender age evincing all those characters which mark the wan- ton of older years. Man’s Lewdness. — It cannot be denied that men are in the greatest degree responsible for the “ social evil.” The general principle holds true here as elsewhere that the supply is regulated by the demand. If the patrons of prostitution should withdraw their support by a sudden acquisition of virtue, how soon would this vilest of traffics cease ! The inmates of brothels would themselves become continent, if not virtuous, as the result of such a spasm of chastity in men. Again, the ranks of fallen women, which are 294 PLAIN PACTS POP Woman’s Frailty. Unfair Discrimination. Fashion. rapidly thinned by loathesome diseases and honid deaths, are largely recruited from that class of un- fortunates for whose fall faithless lovers or cun- ning, heartless libertines are chiefly responsible. The weak girl who, through too much trust, has been deceived and robbed of her dearest treasure, is disowned by relatives, shunned by her acquaint- ances, and turned out upon a cold world with- out money, without friends, without a character. What can she do ? Respectable employment she cannot find, for rumor follows her. There seems to be but one door open, the one which she herself so uninientionally opened. In despair, she enters the “ open road to hell,” and to her fii-st sad error adds a life of shame. Meanwhile, the villain who be- trayed her still maintains his standing in society, and plies his arts to win another victim. Is there not an unfair discrimination here ? Should not the seducer be blackened with an infamy at least as deep as that which society casts on the one be- trayed ? Fashion. — The temptation of dress, fine cloth- ing, costly jewelry, and all the extravagances with which rich ladies array themselves, is in many cases too powerful for the weakened virtue of poor seamtresses, operatives, and servant girls, who have seen so much of vice as to have lost that instinctive loathing for it which they may have once experi- enced. Thinking to gain a life of ease, with means to gratify their love of show, they barter away OLD AND YOUNG. £95 Lack of Early Training, Erect the Barriers Early. their peace of mind for this world, all hope for the next, and only gain a little worthless tinsel, the scorn of their fellow-creatures, and a host of loath- some diseases. Lack of Early Training. — It is needless to demonstrate a fact so well established as that the future character of an individual depends very largely upon his early training. If purity and modesty are taught from earliest infancy, the mind is fortified against the assaults of vice. If, instead, the child is allowed to grow up untrained, if the seeds of vice which are sure to fall sooner or later in the most carefully kept ground are allowed to germinate, if the first buds of evil are allowed to grow and unfold instead of being promptly nipped, it must not be considered remarkable that in later years rank weeds of sin should flourish in the soul and bear their hideous fruit in shameless lives. Neglect to guard the avenues by which evil may approach the young mind, and to erect barriers against vice by careful instruction and a chaste ex- ample, leaves many innocent souls open to the as- saults of evil, and an easy prey to lust. If chil- dren are allowed to get their training in the street, at the corner grocery, or hovering around saloons, they will be sure to develop a vigorous growth of the animal passions. The following extract is from the writings of one whose pen has been an inesti- mable blessing to American youth : — “ Among the first lessons which boys learn of their 296 PLAIN FACTS FOR Early Departures. Sentimental Literature. fellows are impurities of language ; and these are soon followed by impurities of thought. . . . When this is the training of boyhood, it is not strange that the predominating ideas among young men, in relation to the other sex, are too often those of impurity and sensuality. . . . We can- not be surprised, then, that the history of most young men is, that they yield to temptation in a greater or less degree and in different ways. With many, no doubt, the indulgence is transient, acci- dental, and does not become habitual. It does not get to be regarded as venial. It is never yielded to without remorse. The wish and the purpose are to resist ; but the animal nature bears down the moral. Still, transgression is always followed by grief and penitence. “ Witli too many, however, it is to be feared, it is not so. The mind has become debauched by dwelling on licentious images, and by indulgence in licentious conversation. There is no wish to re- sist. They are not overtaken by temptation, for they seek it. With them the transgression be- comes habitual, and the stain on the character is deep and lasting.” * Sentimental Literature. — In another connec- tion, we have referred particularly to the bawdy, obscene books and pictures which are secretly cir- culated among the youth of both sexes, and to their corrupting influence. The hope is not en- * Ware. . . . - OLD AND YOUNG. 297 Pernicious Books in Public Libraries. Religious Novels. ti?’ely a vain one that this evil may he controlled ; but there seems no possible practicable remedy for another evil which ultimately leads to the same result, though by less gross and obscene methods. We refer to the sentimental literature which floods the land. City and school libraries, circrdating libraries, and even Sunday-school libraries, are full of bouks which, though they may contain good moral teaching, contain, as well, an element as in- compatible with purity of morals as is light with midnight darkness. Writers for children and youth seem to think a tale of “courtship, love, and matrimon3?'” entirely indispensable as a me- dium for conveying their moral instruction. Some of these “ religious novels ” are actually more per- nicious than the fictions of well-known novelists who make no pretense to having religious instruc- tion a particular object in view. Sunday-school libraries are not often wholly composed of this class of works, but any one who takes the trouble to examine the books of such a library will be able to select the most pernicious ones by the external appearance. The covers will be well worn and the edges begrimmed with dirt from much handling. Children soon tire of the shallow sameness which characterizes the “moral” parts of most of these books, and skim lightly over them, selecting and devouring with eagerness those portions which re- late the silly narrative of some love adventure. This kind of literature arouses in cluldrerv prema- 298 PLAIN FACTS FOB. An Avenue to Vice. Govern the Child's Eeading. ture fancies and queries, and fosters a sentimental- ism which too often occasions most unhappy re- sults. Through their influence, young girls are often led to begin a life of shame long before their parents are aware that a thought of evil has ever entered their minds. The following words from the pen of a forcible writer * present this matter in none too stronsr a light;— “ You may tear your coat or break a vase, and repair them again ; but the point where the rip or fracture took place will always be evident. It takes less than an hour to do your heart a damage which no time can entirely repair. Look carefully over your child’s library ; see what book it is that he reads after he has gone to bed, with the gas turned upon the pillow. Do not always take it for granted that a book is good because it is a Sunday-school book. As far as possible, know who wrote it, who illustrated it, who published it, who sold it. “ It seems that in the literature of the day the ten plagues of Egypt have returned, and the frogs and lice have hopped and skipped over our parlor tables. “Parents are delighted to have their children read, but they should be sure as to what they read. You do not have to walk a day or two in an in- fested district to get the cholera or typhoid fever; •* T. De Witt Talmage. OLD AND TO UNO. 299 The Way to Kuin Cheap. Poverty. and one wave of moral unhealtli will fever and blast the soul forever. Perhaps, knowing not what you did, you read a bad book. Do you not remember it altogether ? Yes ! and perhaps you will never get over it. However strong and ex- alted your character, never read a bad book. By the time you get through the first chapter you will see the drift. If you find the marks of the hoofs of the devil in the pictures, or in the style, or in the plot, away with it. “ But there is more danger, I think, from many of the family papers, published once a week, in those stories of vice and shame, full of infamous suggestions, going as far as they can without ex- posing themselves to the clutch of the law. I name none of them ; but say that on some fashion- able tables there lie ‘ family newspapers ’ that are the very vomit of the pit. “ The way to ruin is cheap. It costs three dol- lars to go to Philadelphia ; six dollars to Boston ; thii'ty-three dollars to Savannah ; but, by the pur- chase of a bad paper for ten cents you may get a through ticket to hell, by express, with few stop- ping places, and the final halting like the tum- bling of the lightning train down the draw-bridge at Norwalk — sudden, terrific, deathful, never to rise.” Poverty. — The pressing influence of poverty has been urged as one cause of prostitution. It cannot be denied that in many cases, in large 300 PLAIN FACTS FOR Poverty no Excuse. Ignorance. cities, this may be the immediate occasion of the entrance of a young girl upon a life of shame; but it may still be insisted that there must have been, in such cases, a deficiency in previous train- ing ; for a young woman, educated with a proper regard for purity, would sooner sacrifice life itself than virtue. Again, poverty can be no excuse, for in every city there are made provisions for the re- lief- of the needy poor, and none who are really worthy need suffer. Iguorauce. — Perhaps nothing fostei-s vice more than ignorance. Prostitutes come almost entirely from the more ignorant classes, though there are, of course, many exceptions. Among the lowest classes, vice is seen in its grossest forms, and is carried to the greatest lengths. Intellectual cul- tui'e is antagonistic to sensuality. As a general rule, in proportion as the intellect is developed, the animal passions are brought into subjection. It is true that very intellectual men have been great libertines, and that the licentious Borgias and Medicis of Italy encouraged art and litera- ture ; but these are only apparent exceptions, for who knows to what greater depths of Auce these individuals might have sunk had it not been for the resti’aining influence of mental culture ? Says Deslandes, “In proportion as the intellect becomes enfeebled, the generative sensibility is auo-mented.” The animal passions seem to survive when all higher intelligence is lost. We once saw OLD AND YOUNG. 301 Disease. Nymphomania. Various Maladies. an illustration of this' fact in an idiot who was brought before a medical class in a clinic at Belle- vue Hospital, New York. The patient had been an idiot from birth, and presented the most revolt- ing appearance, seemingly possessing scarcely the intelligence of the average dog; hut his animal propensities were so great as to be almost uncon- trollable. Indeed, he showed evidences of having been a gross debauchee, having contracted venereal disease of the worst form. The general prevalence of extravagant sexual excitement among the in- sane is a well-known fact. Disease. — Various diseases which cause local irritation and congestion of the reproductive or- gans are the causes of unchastity in both sexes, as previously explained. It not unfrequently hap- pens that by constantly dwelling upon unchaste subjects until a condition of habitual congestion of the sexual organs is produced, young women become seized with a furor for libidinous com- merce which nothing but the desired object will appease, unless active remedial measures are adopt- ed under the direction of a skillful physician. This disease, known as nym2)homania, has been the occasion of the fall of many young women of the better classes who have been bred in luxury and idleness, but were never taught even the first lessons of purity or self-control. Constipation, piles, worms, pruritis of the genitals, and some other less common diseases of the urinary and gen- 302 PLAIN FACTS FOR Results of Licentiousness. A Fearful Malady. ital systems, have been causes of sexual excitement which has resulted in moral degradation. Results of Licentiousness. — Apparently as a safeguard to virtue, nature has appended t'o the sin of illicit sexual indulgence, as penalties, the most loathsome, deadly, and incurable diseases known to man. Some of these, as gonorrhea and chancroid, are purely local diseases ; and though they occasion the transgressor a vast amount of suffering, they may be cured and leave no trace of their presence except in the conscience of the in- dividual. Such a result, however, is by no means the usual one. Most frequently, the injury done is more or less permanent", sometimes it amounts to lass of life or serious mutilation, as in cases we have seen. And one attack secures no immunity from subsequent ones, as a new disease may be contracted upon every exposure. By far the worst form of venereal disease is syphilis, a malady which was formerly confounded with the two forms of disease mentioned, but from which it is essentially different. At first, a veiy ‘ slight local lesion, of no more consequence — ex- cept from its significance — than a small boil, it rapidly infects the general system, poisoning the whole body, and liable forever after to develop itself in any one or more of its protean fomis. The most loathsome sight upon which a human eye can rest is a victim of this disease who pre- sents it well developed in its later stages. In the OLD AND TOUNO. 303 The Terrible Punishment. Thousands of Victims. . large Charity Hospital upon Blackwell’s Island, near New York City, we have seen scores of these unfortunates of both sexes, exhibiting the horrid disease in all its phases. To describe them would be to place before our readers a picture too revolt- ing for these pages. No pen can portray the woe- begone faces, the hopeless air, of these degraded sufferers whose repentance has come, alas! too late. No words can convey an adequate idea of their suflferings. What remorse and useless regrets add to the misery of their wretched existence as they daily watch the progress of a malignant ulceration which is destroying their organs of speech, or burrowing deep into the recesses of the skull, penetrating even to the brain itself ! Even the bones become rottenness ; foul running sores appear on different portions of the body, and may even cover it entirely. Perhaps the nose, or the tongue, or the lips, or an eye, or some other prom- inent organ, is lost. Still the miserable sufferer lingers on, life serving only to prolong the torture. To many of them, death would be a grateful release, even with the fires of retiibutive justice before their eyes ; for hell itself could scarcely be more awful punishment than that which they daily endure. Thousands of Yictims. — The venturesome youth need not attempt to calm his fears by thinking that these are only exceptional cases, for this is not the truth. In any city, one who 304 JPLAIN FACTS FOB Efiecw of Vice fueradl«able. Contamination without Transgression. has an experienced eye can scarcely walk a dozen blocks on busy streets without encountering the woeful effects of sexual transgression. Neither do these results come only from long-continued violations of the laws of chastity. The very first departure from virtue may occasion all the worst effects possible. Effects of Yice IneradicaMe. — Another fear- ful feature of this terrible disease is that when once it invades the system its eradication is impos- sible. No drug, no chemical, can antidote its viru- lent poison or drive it from the system. Various means may smother it, possibly for a life-time ; but yet it is not cured, and the patient is never safe from a new outbreak. Prof. Bumstead, an ac- knowledged authority on this subject, after obseiw- ing the disease for many years, says that “ he never after treatment, however prolonged, promises im- munity for the future.”* Dr. Van Buren, professor of surgery at Bellevue Hospital Medical College, New York, bears the same testimony. Prof. Van Buren also says that he has often seen the disease occur upon the lips of young ladies who were entirely virtuous, but who were engaged to men who had contracted the disease and had communicated it to them by the act of kissing. Virtuous wives have not infrequently had their constitutions hopelessly ruined by contracting the disease from husbands who had themselves . been * Venereal Disease. OLD AND YOUNG. 305 The Only Hope. A Cause of Scrofula. inoculated either before or after marriage, by illicit intercourse. Several such unfortunate cases have fallen under our observation, and there is reason to believe that they are not infrequent. The Only Hope. — The only hope for one who has contracted this disease is to lead a life of per- fect continence ever after, and by a most careful life, by conforming strictly to the laws of health, by bathing and dieting, he may possibly avoid the horrid consequences of the later stages of the mal- ady. Mercury will not cure, nor will any other poison, as before remarked. The following strong testimony on this subject we quote from an admirable pamphlet by Prof. Fred. H. Gerrish, M. D. “ The diseases dependent upon prostitution are appallingly frequent, a distinguished surgeon re- cently declaring that one person in twenty in the United States has syphilis, a malady so ineradica- ble that a profound observer has remarked that ‘ a man who is once thus poisoned will die a syphilitic, and, in the day of Judgment, he will be a syphilitic ghost.’ Prof. Gross says : ‘ What is called scrofula, struma, or tuberculosis, is, I have long been satis- fied from careful observation of the sick and a pro- found study of the literature of the subject, in a great majority of cases, if not invariably, merely syphilis in its more remote stages.’ Though there are doubtless many of us who believe that a not inconsiderable proportion of scrofulous and phthis- •20 V 306 PLAIN FACTS FOR Hereditary Effects of Venereal D!:iease. A Tenible Picture. ical cases are clearly due to other causes than syphilis, we must admit that this statement con- tains a very large element of truth.” Hereditary Effects of Teuereal Disease. — The transgressor is not the only sufferer. If he marries, his children, if they survive infancy, will in later years show the effects of their father’s sin, exhibiting the forms of the disease seen in its later stages. Scrofula, consumption, cancer, rickets, dis- eases of the brain and neiwes, decay of the hones by caries or necrosis, and other diseases, arise in this way. But it generally happens that the child dies be- fore birth, or lingers out a miserable existence of a few days or weeks thereafter. A most pitiable sight these little ones are. Their faces look as old as children- of ten or twelve. Often their bodies ! become reduced before death to the most wretched i skeletons. Their hollow, feeble cry sends a shud- der of hoiTor through the listener, and impresses indelibly the terrible consequences of sexual sin. Plenty of these scrawny infants may be seen in the lying-in hospitals. No one can estimate how much of the excessive mortality of infants is owing to this cause. In children who survive infancy, its blighting influence may be seen in the notched, deformed teeth, and other defects ; and very often it will be found, upon looking into the mouth of the child, that the soft palate, and perhaps the hard palate as OLD ANT) TOUN-O. 007 Mail tile Only Transgressor. Origin of the Fonl Disease. well, is in a state of ulceration. There is more than a suspicion that this disease may be trans- mitted for several generations, perhaps remaining latent during the life-time of one, and appearing in all its virulence in the next. Man the Only Transgressor. — Man is the only animal that abuses his sexual organization by making it subservient to other ends than repi’oduc- tion ; hence he is the only sufferer from this foul disease, which is one of the penalties of such abuse. Attempts have been made to communicate the dis- ease to lower animals, but without success, even though inoculation was practiced. Origin of the Foul Disease. — Where or when the disease originated, is a mystery. It is said to have been introduced into France from Naples by French soldiers. That it originated spontaneously at some time can scarcely be doubted, and that it might originate under circumstances of excessive violation of the laws of chastity is rendered proba- ble by the fact that gonorrhea, or an infectious disease exactly resembling it, is often caused^ by excessive indulgence, from wdiich cause it not in- frequently occurs in the newly married, giving rise to unjust suspicion of infidelity on both sides. Read the following from a noted French physi- cian : — “The father, as well as the mother, communi- cates the syphilitic virus to the children. These poor little beings are attacked sometimes at their 308 PLAIN PACTS FOB Infaut Victims. Cure of the “ Social Evil.” birth ; more often it is at the end of a month or two, before these morbid symptoms appear. “ I recall the heart-rending anguish of a mother whom I assisted at her fifth confinement. She re- lated to me her misfortune : ‘ I have already brought into the world four children. Alas ! they all died duiing the first months of their existence. A frightful eruption wasted them away and killed them. Save me the one that is about to be born ! ’ cried she, in tears. The child that I delivered was sickly and puny. A few days after its birth, it had puiulent ophthalmia ; then, crusted and ulcerated pustules, a few at first, numerous afterward, cov- ered the entire sui-face of the skin. Soon this mis- erable little being became as meager as a skeleton, hideous to the sight, and died. Having questioned the husband, he acknowledged to me that he had had syphilis.” * Cure of the “ Social Evil.” — With rare excep- tions, the efibrts of civil legislation have been di-. rected toward controlling or modifjfing this vice, rather than extirpating it. Among other devices adopted with a view to effect this, and to mitigate in some degree the re- sulting evils, the issuing of licenses for bi’othels has been practiced in several large cities. One of tlie conditions of the license makes it obligatoiy upon the keepers of houses of ill-repute and their inmates to submit to medical examination at stated * Bourgeois. OLB AND YOUNG. SQQ License Not a Remedy. Legalized Vice. intervals. By this means, it is expected to detect the cases of foul disease at the outset, and thus to protect others by placing the infected individuals under restraint and treatment. It will be seen that for many reasons such examinations could not be eflective ; but, even if they were, the propriety of this plan of dealing with the vice is exceedingly questionable, as will appear from the following con- siderations : — 1. The moment that prostitution is placed under the protection of law by means of a license, it at once loses half its disrepute, and becomes respecta- ble, as do gambling and liquor-selling under the same circumstances. 2. Why should so vile a crime as fornication be taken under legal protection more than stealing or the lowest forms of gambling ? Is it not a lesser Clime against human nature to rob a man of his money by theft or by deceit and trickery than to snatch from him at one fell swoop his health, his virtue, and his peace of mind ? Why not as well have laws to regulate burglary and assassination, allowing the perpetrators of those crimes to ply their chosen avocations with impunity under cer- tain prescribed restrictions ; if robbery, for instance, requiring the thief to leave his victim money enough to make his escape to another country; or, if murder, directing the assassin to allow his intended victim time to repeat a sufficient number of Ave Marias to insure his safe transit through purgatory or to I i PLAIN FACTS FOR OlO Prevention the onlj' Cure. Early Training. pay a priest for doing the same ? Such a couree would not be inconsistent Avith the policy which legalizes that infamous traffic in human souls, prostitution. 3. By the use of certain precautionary measures the fears of many will be allayed, so that thousands whose fear of the consequences of sin would other- wise have kept them physically virtuous, at least, erroneously supposing that the cause for fear has been removed, will rash madly into a career of vice, and will learn only too late the folly of their course. Prevention the Only Cnre. — Those who have once entered upon a career of sensuality are gener- ally so completely lost to all sense of purity and right that there is little chance for reforming them. Tliey have no principle to Avhich to appeal. The gratification of lust so degrades the soul and he- numbs the higher sensibilities that a votary of vo- luptuousness is a most unpromising subject for re- formatory efforts. The old adage that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure Ls strikingly exemplified in this case. The remedy must be ap- plied before the depths have been reached. It was Avell said by a celebrated phA'sician to a young man beginning a life of vice, “ You are entering upon a career from which you will never turn back.” Early Training. — The remedy, to be effective, must be applied early, the earlier the better. Les- sons on chastity may be given in early infancy. The remedy may be applied even further back than OLD AND YOUNG. 311 Inculcate Virtue Early. Teach Self-Conl rol. tins ; children must be virtuously generated. The bearing of this point will be fully appreciated in connection with the principles established in the preceding pages of this work, and which have al- ready been sufficiently elucidated. Children should be early taught to reverence vir- tue, to abhor lust ; and boj^s should be so trained that they will associate with the name of woman only pure, chaste, and noble thoughts. Few things are more deeply injurious to the character of woman, and more conducive to the production of foul imaginations in children, than the free dis- cussion of such subjects as the “ Beecher scandal ” and like topics. The inquisitive minds and lively imaginations of childhood penetrate the rotten mysteries of such foul subjects at a much earlier age than many persons imagine. The inquiring minds of children will be occupied in some way, and it is of the utmost importance that thej^ should be early filled with thoughts that will lead them to noble and pure actions. Teach Self-Control. — One important part of early training is the cultivation of self-control, and a habit of self-denial, whenever right demands it. Another most essential part of a child’s moral training is the cultivation of right motives. To present a child no higher motives for doing right than the hope of securing some pleasant reward, or the fear of suffering some terrible punishment, is the surest way to make of him a supremely selfish 312 PLAIN FACTS FOR Teach True Principles. Impregnable Virtue. man, with no higher aim than to secure good to himself, no matter what may become of other peo- ple. And if he can convince himself that the pleasure he will secure by the commission of a cer- tain act will more than counterbalance the probable risk of suffering, he will not hesitate to commit it, leaving wholly out of the consideration the ques- tion, Is it right ? or noble ? or pure ? A love of right for its own sake is the only solid basis upon which to build a moral character. Children should not be taught to do right in order to avoid a whip- ping, or imprisonment in a dark closet, — a horrid kind of punishment sometimes resorted to, — or even to escape “ the lake of fire and brimstone.” Neither should they be constantly coaxed to right- doitig by promised rewards, — a new toy, a book, an excursion, nor even the pleasures of Heaven. All of these incentives are selfish, and invariably nar- row the character and belittle life when made the clxief motives of action. But rather begin at the earliest possible moment to instill into the mind a love for right, and truth, and purity, and virtue, and an abhorrence for their contraries ; then will he have a woi thy principle by which to square his life ; then will he be safe from the assaults of pas- sion, of vice, of lust. A mind so trained stands up- on an eminence from which all evil men and devils combined cannot displace it so long as it adheres to its noble principles. OLD A^S'D TOUNO. 313 Mental Ciiltuve. Influence of the Study of Natijre. Mental Culture. — The cultivation of the phys- ical organization must not he neglected. Health- ful mental discipline should receive equal attention. By healthful mental discipline is not meant that kind of superficial “cramming” and memorizing which constitute the training of the average school, but sound culture ; a directing of the mind from facts to underlying principles ; a development of the reasoning powers so as to bring the emotions and passions into subjection ; the acquirement of the power to concentrate the mind, one of the best methods of cultivating self-control, — these are some of the objects and results of sound culture of the mind. To supply the mind with food for pure thoughts, the child should be early inspired with a love foi' nature. The perceptives should be trained, the child taught to observe closely and accurately. The study of the natural sciences is a most val- uable means of elevating the mind above grossness and sensuality. To be successful in this direction, parents must cultivate a love for the same objects themselves. Take the little ones into the coun- try, if they are not so fortunate as to live there, and in the midst of nature’s glories, point their impressible minds upward to the Author of all the surrounding loveliness. Gather flowers and leaves and call attention to the peculiarities and special beauties of each, and thus arouse curiosity and cultivate habits of close observation and attention. j 314 PLAIN FACTS, Early Associations. Fortify the Ulind. Early Associations. — As children grow older, j watch their associations. Warn them of evil in- fluences and evil pi-actices. Make home so at- tractive that they will enjoy it better than any other place. Cultivate music ; its mellowing, har- monizing, refining influence is too great to be prudently withheld. Children naturally love mu- .«ic ; and if they cannot hear it at home, they will go where they can hear it. Supply attractive I books of natural history, travels, interesting and instructive biographies, and almost any other books but love-sick novels, and sentimental relig- ious story-books. Guard against bad books and bad associates as carefully as though they were deadly serpents, for they are, indeed, the artful emissaries of the “old serpent” himself. A taste once formed for reading light literature destroys the relish for solid reading ; and usually the taste, once lost, is never regained. The fascination of bad companionship once formed around a person is broken with the greatest difficulty. Hence the I necessity for watching for the very beginnings of evil and promptly checking them. The mind should be thus fortified against the trifles and follies of fashionable life. It should be elevated into a sphere far above that occupied by those who pass their time in fashionable drawing- rooms in silly twaddle, with thrumming a piano, with listless day-dreaming, or in the gratification j of perverted tastes and depraved instincts in any 1 other of the ways common to fashionable life. Solitary Vice^ ^llF illicit commerce of the sexes is a heinous sin, self-pollution, or masturbation, is a crime cloubly abominable. As a sin against nature, it has no parallel except in sodomy (see Gen. 19:6, Judges 19 : 22). It is the most dangerous of all sexual abuses, because the most extensively practiced. The vice consists in any excitement of the genital organs produced otherwise than in the natural way. It is known by the terms, self-pollution, self-abuse, mas- turbation, onanism, manustupration, voluntary pol- lution, solitary or secret vice, and other names sufficiently explanatory. The vice is the more extensive because there are no bounds to its indul- gence. Its frequent repetition fastens it upon the victim with a fascination almost irresistible. It may be begun in earliest infancy, and may continue through life. Even though no warning may have been given, the ti'ansgi’essor seems to know, instinctively, that he is committing a great wrong, for he carefully hides his practice from observation. In solitude he pollutes himself, and with his own hand blights all his prospects for both this world and the next. Even after being solemnly warned, he will often continue this worse than beastly practice, deliber- 315 TjIG plain facts for Alarming Prevalence of the Vice. A Secret Cause of Demonilization. ately forfeiting his right to health and haj)piness for a moment’s mad sensuality. Alarming Prevalence of the Tice. — The hahit is hy no means confined to hoys ; girls also indulge in it, though, it is to he hoped, to a less fearful extent than boys, at least in this country. A Rus- sian physician, quoted by an eminent medical pro- fessor in New York, states that the hahit is uni- versal among girls in Russia. It seems impossible that such a statement should he credible ; and j’^et we have not seen it contradicted. It is more than probable that the practice is far more nearly uni- versal everyAvhere than even medical men are willing to admit. Many young men who have been addicted to the vice, have, in their confes- sions, declared that they found it universal in the schools in which they learned the practice. Dr. Gardner speaks of it as “ the secret cause of much that is perverting the energies and demoral- izing the minds of many of our fairest and best.” He further says : — “ Much of the worthlessness, lassitude, and phys- ical and mental feebleness attributable to the mod- ern Avoman are to he ascribed to these habits as j their initial cause.” “Foreignei’s are especially struck Avith this fact as the cause of much of the physical disease of our young women. They rec- ognize it in the physique, in the sodden, colorless countenance, the lack-luster eye, in the dreamy indolence, the general carriage, the constant de- W PLAIN FACTS FOB ,S18 Testimony of Adam Clarke. An Unsuspected Cause of Disease. destructive evils ever practiced by fallen man. In many respects it is several degrees worse than common whoredom, and has in its train more awful consequences, though practiced by numbers who would shudder at the thought of criminal connection with a prostitute.” * “ However revolting to the feelings it may be to enter upon such a subject, it cannot be passed over in silence without a great violation of duty. Un- liappily, it has not been hitherto exhibited in the awful light in which it deserves to be shown. The worst of it is that it is seldom suspected. ’ There are many pale faces and languid and nerv- ous feelings attributed to other causes, when all the mischief lies here.” f We scarcely need add further eHdence of the fearful extent of this evil, but will conclude with the following : — “ The pernicious and debasing practice of mas- turbation is a more common and extensive evil with youth of both sexes than is usually sup- posed.” “ A great number of the evils which come upon the youth at and after the age of puberty, arise from masturbation, persisted in, so as to waste the vital energies and enervate the physical and mental powers of man.” “ Manj’- of the weak- nesses commonly attributed to growth and the changes in the habit by the important .transforma- ■»Dr. Adam Clarke. t Sir W. C. Ellis. OLD AND TO UNO. 319 Not a Modern Vice. Unsuspected Rottenness. tion from adolescence to manhood, are justly refer- able to this practice.” * Not a Modern Yice. — That this vice is not en- tirely a modern one is proved by the fact that in many ancient writings directions are given for treating its effects. Even Moses seems to have recognized disorders of this class. Hippocrates and others devoted considerable attention to them. Victims of all Ages. — The ages at which the habit may be practiced include almost the whole extent of human life. We have seen it in infants of only three or four years, and in old men scarcely less than sixty, in both extremes marked by the most unmistakable and lamentable consequences. Cases have been noted in which the practice was begun as early as two years of age. It is common among African boys at nine and ten years of age, according to Dr. Copland. Uususpected Kottenness. — Parents who have no suspicion of the evil, who think their children the embodiment of purity, will find by careful ob- servation and inquiry, — though personal testimony cannot be relied upon, — that in numerous instances their supposed virtuous children are old in corrup- tion. Such a revelation has brought dismay into many a family, only too late in some cases. Not long since a case came under our care which well illustrates the apathy and blindness of parents with respect to this subject. The parents of a * Boston Medical and Surgical Journal. S20 PLAIN FACTS FOR A Marked Case. The “Human Form Divine” Debased. young man whose mind seemed to be somewhat disordered, sent word to us through a friend re- specting his condition, asking advice. We sus- pected from the symptoms described the real cause of the disease, and urged prompt attention to the case. In a short time the young man was placed under our immediate care without encouragement of a cure, and we gave the case still closer study. The characteristic symptoms of disease from self- abuse were marked, but the father was positive that no influence of that kind could have been at work. He had watched his son narrowly from in- fancy, and did not believe it possible for him to have been guilty. In addition, the young man had long been remarkable for his piety, and he did not believe there could be any possibility of his be- ing guilty of so gross a crime. A short time sufiiced, however, to secure the in- disputable evidence of the fact by his being caught in the act by his nurse. This young man was a sad example of what havoc is made with the “human form divine” by this debasing vice. Once a bright boy, kind, afiec- tionate, active, intelligent, the pride of a loving mother and the hope of a doting father, his mind had sunken to driveling idiocy. His vacant stare and expressionless countenance betokened almost complete imbecility. If allowed to do so, he would remain for hours in whatever position his last movement left him. If his hand was raised, it re- OLD AND YOUNG. 821 The Awful End. Causes of the Habit. mained extended until placed in a position of rest by his attendant. ’ Only with the utmost difficulty could he be made to rise in the morning, to eat, drink, or walk. Only by great efforts could he be aroused from his lethargy sufficiently to answer the most simple question. The instinctive de- mands of decency in regarding the calls of nature were not respected. In short, the distinguishing characteristics of a human being were almost whol- ly obliterated, leaving but a physical semblance of humanity ; a mind completely wrecked, a body undergoing dissolution while yet alive, a blasted life, no hope for this world, no prospect for the next. In the insane asylums of the country may be seen hundreds of these poor victims in all stages of physical and mental demoralization. Causes of the Habit. — It is needless to reca- pitulate all the causes of unchastity which have previously been quite fully dwelt upon, nearly all of which are predisposing or exciting causes of solitary as well as of social vice. Sexual precoc- ity, idleness, pernicious literature, abnormal sexual passions, exciting and irritating food, gluttony, sedentary employment, libidinous pictures, and many abnormal conditions of life, are potent causes in exciting the vile practice ; but by far the most frequent causes are evil associations, wicked or ignorant nurses, and local disease, or abnormality. These latter we will consider more particularly, as they have not been so fully dwelt upon elsewhere. 21 322 PLAIN PACTS FOP,. Evil AssociatioDS. Dangers at Schools. Evil Associations.— A child may have been reared with the greatest care. From infancy he may have been carefully shielded from all perni- cious influences, so that at the age of ten or twelve, when he is for the first time sent away to school, he may be free from vice ; but when he associates with his fellow-students, he soon finds them prac- ticing a habit new to him, and being unwarned, he speedily follows their filthy example and quickly becomes fascinated with the vice. Thousands have taken their first lessons in this debasing habit at school. Teachers and scholars testify that it is often practiced even in school hours, almost under the teacher’s eyes ; but where the infection most quickly spreads is in the sleeping apartments, where more than one occupy the same bed, or where sev- eral sleep' in the same room. Nothing is more indispensable to purity of body and of morals than a private sleeping room and single bed for each student. Such an arrangement would protect the youth from the reception of much evil, and would allow an opportunity for privacy which every young man or youth needs for his spiritual as well as physical benefit. Not the least benefit of the latter class is the opportunity for a thorough cleansing of the whole body every morning, which is almost as indispensable to purity of morals as cleanliness of body. The same sugges- tion is fully as applicable to the sleeping arrange- ments of girls. The exceptional cases in which this plan would not be the best are very few indeed. OLD AND rOUNQ. 323 Cornivitiun in Schools. The Foe of Genius. Corruption in Schools. — Says Dr. Acton, “I cannot venture to print the accounts patients have given me of what they have seen or even been drawn into at schools. I would fain hope that such abominations are things of the past.” The entrance of a single corrupt boy into a school which may hav-e been previously pure — though such schools must be extremely rare — will speedily corrupt almost the entire membership. The evil infection spreads more rapidly than the contagion of small- pox or yellow fever, and it is scarcely less fatal. ' This danger exists not in public or city schools alone, but in the most select and private schools. A father who had kept his two sons under the care of a private governess for several years, and then placed them in a small school taught by a lady, and composed of a few small children from the most select families, was greatly astonished when in- formed by a physician that his sons showed symp- toms of the effects of self-abuse. He was totally incredulous; but an investigation showed that they had already practiced the vile habit for several years, having learned it of an infantile school-mate. We were acquainted with one instance in which a primary school in a secluded and select commu- nity was nearly broken up by the introduction of this vile habit through a corrupt student. Many a watchful teacher has seen the light of growing intelligence suddenly dim and wane in the eye of his favorite student just when he was giving the 324 PLAIN FACTS FOB Wicked Kurses. Not an Uncommon Case. most promise of developing unusual talents in lit- erature, mathematics, or some one of the natural or physical sciences, and has been compelled to watch the devastating influence of this deadly upas tree that often claims the best and fairest human flow- ers as its victims. TVicked Nurses. — In those cases in which the habit is acquired at a very early age, the work of evil is usually wi’ought by the nume, perhaps through ignorance of the efiects of the habit. In- credible as it seems, it is proved by numerous instances that it is not an uncommon habit for nurses to quiet small children by handling or tit- illating their genital organs. They find this a speedy means of quieting them, and resort to it regardless or ignoi'ant of the consequences. Not an Uncommon Case. — Prof. Lusk, of Belle- vue Hospital College, New York, related to his medical class in our hearing a case which came under his observation in which all of the children in a large family had been taught the habit by a wicked nurse for the purpose of keeping them quiet after they were put to bed. The vileness that wmuld lead a person to thus rob childhood of its innocence, and blast its prospects for this life and the next, is base enough for the commission of almost any crime. Indeed, the crime could hardly have been a worse one had the nurse referred to in the above case in cold blood cut the throats of those innocent children ; perhaps it might have been better for the children. * OLD AND TOVNG. 325 Dangerous Nurses. “Hired lilan.” “Hired Girl.” A gentleman once declared that if he should detect a person teaching this crime to his child he would shoot him on the spot ; and if homicide is allowable under any circumstances, it seems to us it would be extenuated by such an aggravation. If occasional bad associations will work an im- mense damage to the youthful character, what terrible injury may be wrought by an agent of sin, an instructor in vice, who is within the house- hold, who presides in the nursery, and exerts a constant influence ! No one can estimate it. Acton remarks on this point, “ I need hardly point out how very dangerous this is. There seems hardly any limit to the age at which a young child can be initiated into these abomina- tions, or to the depth of degradation to which it may fall under such hideous teaching. Books treating of this subject are unfortunately too full of accounts of the habits of such children.” In not a few instances the “hired man” has been the means of communicating to innocent little boys the infamous knowledge which, fortu- nately, they had not acquired in babyhood. With no knowledge of the evil they are committing, they begin the work of physical damnation which makes a hell of life and leads to endless death. The “ hired girl ” is often an equally efiicient agent for evil in the instruction of little girls in this debasing vice. Some time ago, the very intel- ligent parents of a bright family of children were ,S26 FLAIN FACTS FOR A Young Victim Saved. Tbe Instructor ia Vice. awakened to the importance of this subject from the perusal of the first edition of this work, and upon investigation were horrified to find that theii- oldest child a promising daughter of ten, was al- ready a victim to the vile practice, having been initiated by a “hired girl.” After using in vain every means he could bring to bear upon the case, the father brought her to us, and with tears in his eyes gave his story. After telling of his unsuccessful attempts to effect a reform, he de- clared that he would far prefer to place his daugh- ter in the grave than to see her grow up a wretch- ed victim of this vice. We were most happy to be able, after a few weeks’ treatment, to restore her to her parents, as we hope, permanently re- formed. Not a few such cases are constantly com- ing to the attention of the medical profession. The Instructor in Vice. — Are these lines pe- rused by any one who has ever taught another this vice so vile, and so certainly followed by penalties so terrible — penalties not upon the instigator but upon the hapless victim ? let such a person clothe himself in sackcloth and ashes, and do penance for the remainder of his life. The onN way in which he can hope to atone even in some small degree for such a heinous crime, is b}’' doing all in his power to warn those in danger against this sin. Ulien all men receive their just deserts, what ^vill be the punishment of such a one who has not, by thorough repentance and a life spent in trying to undo the OLD AND YOUNG. 327 Local Disease. Aiti IllustratiT® Case. work of ruin so foully wrought, in some measure disburdened himself of the consequences of his act ! Sending children very early to bed before they are weary, “ to get them out of the way,” or for punishment, is a grave error, as this may give rise to the vice. Confining children alone in a room by themselves is an equally reprehensible practice, as it favors the commission of the act, at least, and may afford a favorable opportunity for its discov- ery. Allowing children to form a habit of seeking solitude is an evil of the same nature. Local Disease. — In the male, a tight or long foreskin is a frequent cause of the habit. The constant contact of the prepuce with the most sen- sitive part of the organ increases its sensibility. The secretion is retained, and accumulates, often becoming hardened. In this manner irritation is set up, which occasions uncomfortable feelings, and attracts the hands to the part. Owing to the great degree of excitement due to irritation, but a slight provocation is necessary to arouse voluptuous sen- sations, and then the terrible secret is revealed. The child readily discovers how to reproduce the same, and is not slow to commit a frequent repeti- tion of the act ; and thus the habit is formed. An Illustrative Case. — A case in which the vice originated in this manner was recently under our observation. The patient was a man of con- siderable intellectual power and some culture, but showed unmistakable signs of his early indiscre- 328 PLAIN FACTS FOR An Organic Cause of the Habit. Difficulty of Beform. tion. He stated that although he mingled quite freely -with other boys of his age, he obtained no knowledge of the habit from others. He often heard allusions which he did not understand, and of which he did not, fortunately, discover the meaning. But he was afflicted with congenital 'phimosis, the prepuce being so tight that retraction was impossible. This, together with urinal irrita- tion, — which occasioned nocturnal incontinence of urine, — constipation, and highly seasoned food, pro- duced so much local irritation as to occasion fre- quent erections, and an increased secretion. He soon noticed that there was an accumulation of hardened secretion beneath the foreskin, and in at- tempting to remove this, he accidentally provoked voluptuous sensations. He speedily abandoned himself to the habit, often repeating it several times a day. Beginning at the age of twelve years, he continued it for three or four years. Soon after acquiring the habit, he became aware of its tendencies, through reading books upon the subject, but he found himself so completely en- slaved that abstinence seemed impossible. One resolution to reform after another was formed, only, to be speedily broken. His imwholesome diet, habitual constipation, and especially the unfortu- nate organic difficulty .in his genital organs, pro- duced an almost constant priapism, which was only relieved, and then but temporarily, by the act of pollution. His sedentary habits increased the dif- ficulty to an extreme degree. OLD AND YOUNG. A Final Victory, Other Physical Causes. In the meantime, his constitution, naturally weak, was being gradually undermined. He suf- fered from constant headache, heart-burn, pains in the back and limbs, weakness, and lassitude. Yet he attributed none of these ailments to the true cause. After the lapse of three or four years thus spent, and after repeated ineffectual attempts, by a powerful effort of the will, by the aid of prayer, and by adopting a more wholesome diet, he suc- ceeded in getting the mastery of his vice. But the local difficulties still continued in a great degree, and under particularly aggravating circumstances occasioned a relapse at long intervals. After a time, the local difficulties grew less and less, and enabled him to gain a complete victory over the habit, though the results of previous sin still re- mained, for which he desired treatment. This case wiU serve as a fair illustration of many of similar character, in which the child acci- dentally makes the discovery which leads him to work his own ruin. Other Physical Causes. — Constipation, piles, irritable bladder, fissure of the anus, local unclean- liness, and pruritis of the genital organs, will pro- duce the habit in both males and females in the manner described. Sleeping on feather beds in- creases the local congestion, and thus favors the exciting influences of any of the above-named causes. It may, perhaps, itself be the exciting cause. 330 PLAIN FACTS FOR Singular Causes. Influence of Stimulants. Vv e once treated a patient who was affected with stone in the bladder, and who asserted that the constant irritation which he suffered in the end of the penis was only relieved by friction. This might readily be the cause of masturbation, though in this case the vice had been acquired many years before, and was still continued in spite of all efforts to reform. Lying upon the back or upon the abdomen fre- quently leads to self-abuse by provoking sexual excitement. Certain kinds of exercises, as climb- ing, in particular, have been attended by the same results. It is said that children sometimes expe- rience genital excitement amounting to pleasure as the result of whipping. lufluence of Stimulants. — The use of stimu- lants of any kind is a fruitful cause of the ^dce. Tea and coffee have led thousands to perdition in this way. The influence of tobacco is so strongly shown in this direction that it is doubtful if there can be found a boy who has attained the age of puberty and has acquired the habit of using to- bacco, who is not also addicted to this vile practice. Candies, spices, cinnamon, cloves, peppermint, and aU strong essences, powerfully excite the genital organs and lead to the same result. It should be further added that there is evidence that a powerful predisposition to this vice is trans- mitted to the children of those who have them- selves been guilty of it. OLD a:^b young, 331 Signs of Self-Abuse. Two Classes of Signs. Signs of Self- Abuse. — The net which this vice weaves around its victims is so strong, and its ' meshes are so elaborately interwoven with all his thoughts, his habits, and his very being, when it has been long indulged, that it is important to be able to detect it when first acquired, as it may then be much more easily overcome than at any subsequent period. It is often no easy matter to do this, as the victim will resort to all manner of ! cunning devices to hide his vice, and will not scru- ple to falsify concerning it, when questioned. To I be able to accomplish this successfully, requires a I careful study, first, of the signs by which those who indulge in the practice may be known, and, j secondly, of the habits of the individuals. In considering the subject it will be found that there are two classes of signs, as follows : — ! 1. Those which may arouse suspicion, but any i one of which, taken singly, would not be an evi- ! dence of the practice. 2. Those which may be regarded as positive. Several suspicious signs together may constitute a positive sign. Under these two heads, we will consider the signs of this vile habit. It is well to bear in mind the fact that one or two suspicious signs are not evidence of the dis- ease. It is likewise well to remember that the | habit may be found where least looked for, and where one would have a right to expect perfect purity. Prejudice must be allowed no voice upon PLAIN FACTS FOR r,32 Suspicious Signs. General Debility. either side. A writer has said that every young- person under puberty ought to he suspected of the disease. We can hardly indorse this remark, in full, but it would be at least -wise for every guar- dian of children to criticize most carefully their liabits and to quickly detect the first indications of sinful practices. Parents must not think that their children, at least, are too good to engage in such sinful abuses. It is most probable that their children ai*e very like those of their neighbors ; and any amount of natural goodness is not a pro- tection against this insidious vice when it presents itself as a harmless pleasure to the unwarned and ignorant child. Suspicious Signs. — The following symptoms, occurring in the mental and physical character and habits of a child or young person, may well give lise to grave suspicions of evil, and should cause parents or guardians to be on the alert to root it out if possible ; — 1 . General dehility, coming upon a pi’eviously healthy child, marked by emaciation, weakness, an unnatural paleness, colorless lips and gums, and the general symptoms of exhaustion, when it can- not be traced to any other legitimate cau3«, as in- ternal disease, worms, grief, overwork, poor air or poor food, and when it is not speedily removed by change of air or appropriate remedial measures, may safely be attributed to solitary vice, no mat- ter how far above natural suspicion the individual OLD AND YOUNG. Ecirly Symptoms of Consumption. Defective Development. may be. Mistakes will be rare indeed when such a judgment is pronounced under the circumstances named. 2. Early symptoms of consumption — or what are supposed to be such — as cough, and decrease in flesh, with short breathing and soreness of the lungs — or muscles of the chest — are, not infre- quently, solely the result of this vice. That such is the case may' be considered pietty surely de- termined if physical examination of the lungs reveals no organic disease of those organs. But it should be remembered that solitary vice is one of the most frequent causes of early consumption. Several cases which strikingly prove this have fallen under our own observation. 3. Premature and defective development is a symptom closely allied to the two preceding. When it cannot be traced to such natural causes as overstudy, overwork, lack of exercise, and other influences of a similar nature, it should be charged to self-abuse. The early exercise of the gen- ital organs hastens the attainment of puberty, in many cases, especially when the habit is acquired early, but at the same time saps the vital energies so that the system is unable to manifest that in- creased energy in growth and development which usually occurs at this period. In consequence, the body remains small, or does not attain that devel- opment which it otherwise would. The mind is dwarfed as well as the body. Sometimes the 334 PLAIN FACTS FOR Dwarfing Influence of the Vice. Sudden Change in Disposition. mind suffers more than the body in lack of devel- opment, and sometimes the reverse is true. This defective development is shov^n, in the physical or- ganization of males, in the failure of the voice to inerease in volume and depth of tone as it should ; in deficient growth of the beard ; in failure of the chest to become full and the shoulders broad. The mind and character show the dwai-fing influence by failure to develop those qualities which es- pecially distinguish a noble manhood. In the female, defective development is shown by men- strual derangements, by defective growth either in stature, or as shown in unnatural slimness, and in a failure to develop the graces and pleasing char- acter which should distinguish early womanhood. Such signs deserve careful investigation, for they can only result from some powerfully blighting influence. 4. Sudden change in disposition is a sign which may well arouse suspicion. If a boy who has pre- viously been cheerful, pleasant, dutiful, and gentle, suddenly becomes morose, cross, peevish, irritable, and disobedient, be sure that some foul influence is at work with him. When a girl, naturally joy- ous, happy, couifiding, and amiable, becomes unac- countably gloomy, sad, fretfuh dissatisfied, and unconfiding, be certain that a blight of no insig- nificant character is resting upon her. Make a careful study of the habits of such children ; and if there is no sudden illness to account for the OLD AND YOUNG. 335 Lassitude. Sleeplessness. Failure of Ment plain facts for Effects upon the Nervous System. Important I'acts. of these was the cause of the effects observed in these eases. Some have attributed all the evil to one cause, and some to the other. Tliat the loss of semen is not the only cause, nor, perhaps, the chief source of injury, is proved by the fact that most deplorable effects of the vice are seen in children before puberty, and also in females, in whom no seminal discharge nor anything analogous to it occurs. In these cases, it is the nervous shock | alone which works the evil. Again, that the seminal fluid is the most highly i vitalized of all the fluids of the body, and that its rapid production is at the expense of a most ex- haustive effort on the part of the vital forces, is well attested by all physiologists. It is further be- lieved by some eminent physicians that the seminal fluid is of gi'eat use in the body for building up ami replenishing certain tissues, especially those of the nerves and brain, being absorbed after secretion. Though this view is not coincided in by all physi- ologists, it seems to be supported by the following facts : — 1. The composition of the nerves and that of spermatozoa is nearly identical. 2. Men from whom the testes have been removed before puberty, as in the case of eunuchs, are never fully developed as they would othenvise have been. ‘ The nervous shock accompanying the exercise of the sexual organs — either natui’al or unnatural — is the most profound to which the system is subject. ^ 1 , OLD AND YOUNG. 365 Exhausting Effects. General Debility. The whole nervous system is called into activity; and the effects are occasionally so strongly felt upon a weakened organism that death results in the very act. The subsequent exhaustion is nec- essarily proportionate to the excitement. It need not be surprising, then, that the eftects of the frequent operation of two such powerful in- fluences combined should be so teriible as they arc found to be. General Debility . — Nervous exhaustion and the loss of the vivifying influence of the seminal fluid produce extreme mental and physical debility, which increases as the habit is practiced, and is continued by involuntary emissions after the habit ceases. If the patient’s habits are sedentary, and if he had a delicate constitution at the start, his progress toward the grave will be fearfully rapid, especially if the habit were acquired young, as it most frequently is by such boys, they being gener- ally precocious. Extreme emaciation, sallow or blotched skin, sunken eyes, surrounded by a dark or blue color, general weakness, dullness, weak back, stupidity, laziness, or indisposition to activity of any kind, wandering and illy defined pains, ob- scure and often teriible sensations, pain in back and limbs, sleeplessness, and a train of morbid symptoms too long to mention in detail, attend these sufierers. Consumiotion . — It is well recognized by the medical profession that this vice is one of the most 366 PLAIN FACTS FOR Consumption. Dyspepsia. frequent causes of consumption. At least such would seem to be the declaration of experience, and the following statistical fact adds weight to the conclusion : — “ Dr. Smith read a paper before a learned med- ical association a few years since in which he pointed out the startling fact that in one thousand cases of consumption five hundred and eighteen had sufiered from some form of sexual abuse, and more than four hundred had been addicted to mas- turbation or suffered from nocturnal emissions.” * “ Most of those who early become addicted to self-pollution are soon afterward the subjects, not merely of one or more of the ailments already no- ticed, but also of enlargements of the lymphatic and other glands, ultimately of tubercular deposits in the lungs and other viscera, or of scrofulous disease of the vertebrae or bones, or of other struct- ures, more especially of the joints.” f Many young men waste away and die of symp- toms resembling consumption which are solely the result of the loathsome practice of self-abuse. The real number of consumptives whose disease orig- inates in this manner can never be known. Dyspepsia . — Indigestion is frequently one of the first results. Nervous exhaustion is always, felt by the stomach very promptly. When dyspepsia is once really established, it reacts upon the genital organs, increasing their irritability as well as that *■ Acton. t Copland. OLD AND TO UNO. 367 Heart Disease. Throat Affections. of all the rest of the nervous system. Now there is no end to the ills which may be suffered ; for an impaired digestion lays the system open to the in- roads of almost any and every malady. Heart Disease . — Functional disease of the heart, indicated by excessive palpitation on the slightest exertion, is a very frequent symptom. Though it unfits the individual for labor, and causes him much suffering, he would be fortunate if he es- caped with no disease of a more dangerous charactei-. TJiVoat Affections . — There is no doubt that many of the affections of the throat in young men and older ones which pass under the name of “cler- gyman’s sore throat ” are the direct results of mas- turbation and emissions. Dr. Acton cites several cases in proof of this, and quotes the following letter from a young clergy- man : — “ When I began the practice of mastui’bation, at the age of sixteen, I was in the habit of exercismg my voice regularly. The first part in which I felt the bad effects of that habit was in the organs of articulation. After the act, the voice wanted tone, and there was a disagreeable feeling about the throat which made speaking a source of no pleasure to me as it had been. By-and-by, it became pain- ful to speak after the act. This arose from a feeling as if a morbid matter was being secreted in the throat, so acrid that it sent tears to the eyes when speaking, and would have taken away the 368 PLAIN PACTS POP Eflect upon the Voice. Nervous Diseases. Lreath if not swallowed. This, however, passed away in a day or two after the act. In the course of years, when involuntary emissions began to im- pair the constitution, this condition became perma- nent. The throat always feels very delicate, and there is often such irritability in it, along with this feeling of the secretion of morbid matter, as to make it impossible to speak without swallowing at every second or third word. This is felt even in conversation, and there is a great disinclination to attempt to speak at all. In many instances in which the throat has been supposed to give wa)^ from other causes, I have known this to be the I real one. May it not be that the general irritation always produced by the habit referred to, shows itself .also in this organ, and more fully in those who are required habitually to exercise it ? ” Nervous Diseases . — There is no end to the nerv- ous affections to which the sufferer from this vice is subject. Headaches, neuralgias, symptoms re- sembling hysteria, sudden alternations of heat and cold, irregular flushing of the face, and many other affections, some of the more important of which we !! wiU mention in detail, are his constant companions. Epilepsy . — This disease has Jbeen traced to the vile habit under consideration in so many cases that it is now veiy certain that in many instances this is its origin. It is of frequent occurrence in I those who have indulged in solitary vice or any I other form of sexual excess. We have seen several I cases of this kind. OLD AND YOUNG. 869 Failure of Special Senses. Spinal Irritation. Failure of Special Senses. — Dimness of vision, amaurosis, spots before the eyes, witli other forms of ocular weakness, are common results of this vice. The same degeneration and premature failure occur in the organs of hearing. In fact, sensibility of all the senses becomes in some measure diminished in old cases. Spinal Irritation. — Irritation of the spinal cord, with its resultant evils, is one of the most common of the nervous affections originating in this cause. Tenderness of the spine, numerous pains in the limbs, and spasmodic twitching of the muscles, are some of its results. Paralysis, partial or complete, of the lower limbs, and even of the whole body, is not a rare occurrence. We have seen two cases in which this was well marked. Both patients were small boys and began to excite the genital organs at a very early age. In one, the paralytic condi- tion was complete when he was held erect. The head fell forward, the arms and limbs hung down helpless, the eyes rolled upward, and the saliva dribbled from his mouth. When lying flat upon his back, he had considerable control of his limbs. In this case, a condition of priapism seems to have existed almost from birth, owing to congenital phimosis. His condition was somewhat improved by circumcision. In the other case, in which phi- mosis also existed, there was paralysis of a few of the muscles of the leg, which produced club-foot. Circumcision was also performed in this case and 24 870 PLAIN FACTS FOll Paralysis. Insanity. the child returned in a few weeks completely cured, without any other application, though it had pre- viously been treated in a great variety of ways without success, all the usual remedies for club-foot proving ineffectual. Both of these cases appeared in the clinic of Dr. Sayi'e at Bellevue Hospital, and were operated upon by him. We have recently observed several cases of spinal disease which could be traced to no origin but mas- turbation. Two patients were small boys, naturally quite intelligent. They manifested all the peculiar- ities of loco-motor ataxia in older persons, walking with the characteristic gait. The disease was stead- ily progressing in spite of all attempts to stay it. An older brother had died of the same malady, par- alysis extending over the whole body, and finally preventing deglutition, so that he really starved to death. Insanity. — That solitary ^dce is one of the most common causes of insanity, is a fact too well estab- lished to need demonstration here. Every lunatic asylum furnishes numerous illustrations of the fact. “ Authors are universally agreed, from Galen down to the present day, about the pernicious influence of this enervating indulgence, and its strong pro- pensity to generate the very worst and most for- midable kinds of insanity. It has frequently been known to occasion speedy, and even instant, in- sanity.”* ■* Arnold. OLD AND TOUNO. 371 Keligious lusanity. Imbecility and Idiocy. “ Religious insanity,” so-called, may justly be at- tributed to this cause in a great proportion of cases. The individual is conscience-smitten in view of his horrid sins, and a view of his terrible condition — ruined for both worlds, he fears — goads him to de- spair, and his weakened intellect fails ; reason is dethroned, and he becomes a hopeless lunatic. His friends, knowing nothing of the real cause of his mysterious confessions of terrible sin, think him over-conscientious, and lay the blame of his insan- ity upon religion, when it is solely the result of his vicious habits, of which they are ignorant. In other cases, the victim falls into a profound melancholy from which nothing can divert him. He never laughs, does not even smile. He becomes more and more reserved and taciturn, and perhaps ends the scene by committing suicide. This crime is not at all uncommon with those who have gone the whole length of the road of evil. They find their manhood gone, the vice in which they have so long delighted is no longer possible, and, in desper- ation, they put an end to the miserable life which nature might lengthen out a few months if not thus violently superseded. If the practice is continued uninterruptedly from boyhood to manhood, imbecility and idiocy are the results. Demented individuals are met in no small numbers inside of hospitals and asylums, and out- side as well, who owe to this vice their awful con- dition. Plenty of half-witted men whom one meets 372 PLAIN FACTS FOR A Victim’s Mental Condition Pictured. Incapacity of Mind. in the every-day walks of life have destroyed the better half of their understanding by this wretched practice. A Victim’s Mental Condition Pictured. — The mental condition of a victim of this vice can- not be better described than is done in the follow- ing paragraphs by one himself a victim, though few of these unfortunate individuals would be able to produce so accurate and critical a portrait of them- selves as is here drawn by M. Rousseau, as quoted by Mr. Acton : — “ One might say that my heart and my mind do not belong to the same person. My feelings, quicker than lightning, fill my soul ; but instead of illuminating, they burn and dazzle me. I feel everything. I see nothing. I am excited, but stupid ; I cannot think except in cold blood. The wonderful thing is that I have sound enough tact, penetration, even finesse, if people will wait for me. I make excellent impromptus at leisure ; but at the moment I have nothing ready to say or do. I should converse brilliantly by post, as they say the Spaniards play at chess. When I read of a Duke of Savoy who turned back after starting on his journey to say, ‘ In your teeth ! you Paris shop- keeper ! ’ I said, ‘ That is like me ! ’ ” “ But not only is it a labor to me to express, but also to receive, ideas. I have studied men, and I tliink I am a tolerably good observer ; yet I can see nothing of what I do see. I can hardly say that I OLD AND YOUNG. 87 ?! Effects in Females. Local Diseases. see anything except what I recall ; I have no power of mind but in my recollection. Of all that is said, of all that is done, of all that passes in my pres- ence, I feel nothing, I appreciate nothing. The ex- ternal sign is all that strikes me. But after a while it all comes back to me.” EFFECTS IN FEJIALES. Local Effects. — The local diseases produced by the vice in females are, of course, of a different nature from those seen in males, on account of the difference in organization. They arise, however, in the same way, congestions at first temporary ulti- mately becoming permanent and resulting in irri- tation and various disorders. Leucorriioea. — The results of congestion first appear in the mucous membrane lining the vagina, which is also injured by mechanical irritation, and consists of a catarrhal discharge which enervates the system. By degrees the discharge increases in quantity and virulence, extending backward until it reaches the sensitive womb. Contact with the acrid, irritating secretions of the vagina produces soreness of the fingers at the roots of the nails, and also frequently causes warts upon the fingers. Hence the value of these signs, as previously mentioned. Uterine Disease. — Congestion of the womb is also produced by the act of abuse; and as the habit is continued, it also becomes permanent. 374 PLAIN PACTS FOP. Cancer. Sterility. Pmritns. This congestion, together with the contact of the acrid vaginal discharge, finally produces ulceration upon the neck, together with other diseases. Another result of congestion is all kinds of men- strual derangements after puberty, the occurrence of which epoch is hastened by the habit. Prolap- sus and various displacements are produced in addition to menstrual irregularities. Cancer of the Womb. — Degeneration of this delicate organ also occurs as the result of the constant irritation and congestion, and is often of a malignant nature, occasioning a most painful death. Sterilitj'. — Sterility, dependent on a .total loss of sexual desire and inability to participate in the sexual a,pt, is another condition which is declared by medical authors to be most commonly due to previous habits of self-abuse. In consequence of overexcitement the organs become relaxed. Atrophy of MammaB. — Closely connected with other local results is the deficient development of the breasts when the rice is begun before or at puberty, and atrophy if it is begun or continued after development has occurred. As previously re- marked, this is not the sole cause of small mammje, ,, ‘ but it is one of the great causes. Pruritus. — This is an afieetion not infrequent in these subjects. Continued congestion produces a terrible itching of the genitals, which increases un- til the indiAudual is in a state of actual frenzy, and General Effects. A Common Cause of Hysteria. the disposition to manipulate the genitals becomes irresistible, and is indulged even in the presence of friends or strangers, and though the patient be at other times a young woman of unexceptionable modesty. In cases of this kind, great hypertrophy of the organ of greatest sensibility has been ob- served, and in some cases amputation of the part has been found the only cure. General Eifects. — The general effects in the female are much the same as those in the male. Although women suffer no seminal loss, they suffer the debilitating effects of leucorrhoea, which is in some degree injurious in the same manner as sem- inal losses in the male. But in females the great- est injury results from the nervous exhaustion which follows the unnatural excitement. Nervous diseases of every variety are developed. Emacia- tion and debility become more marked even than in the male, and the worst results are produced sooner, being hastened by the sedentary habits of these females, generally. Insanity is more fre- quently developed than in males. Spinal irritation is so frequent a result that a recent surgical author has said that' “spinal irritation in girls and women is, in a majority of cases, due to self-abuse.” * A Common Cause of Hysteria. — This, too, is one of the most frequent causes of hysteria, chorea, and epilepsy among young women, though not often recognized.^ * Davis. OLD AND TO UNO. 377 Effects upon Offspring. A Fatal Mistake. congenital maladies, especially of tlie nervous sys- tem, to idiocy from deficient development of the brain, to hydrocephalus, to epilepsy, convulsions, palsy. The scrofulous diathesis, tubercular and glandular maladies, diseases of the vertebrae and of the joints, softening of the central portions of the brain, and tuberculous formations in the mem- branes, palsy and convulsions, chorea, inflamma- tions of the membranes or substance of the brain or spinal cord, and numerous other affections to which infants and children are liable, very com- monly result from the practice of self-pollution by either of the parents previous to marriage. But the evil does not always stop at this epoch of ex- istence, it often extends throughout the life of the offspring, or it appears only with puberty and ma- ture age.” Too frequently, the victim of self -abuse, when he finds himself sufiering from the first results of his sin, neglects to adopt any measures for the cure of the disease. Not understanding its inveterate character, he labors under the delusion that it will cure itself in time. This is a fatal mistake. The diseased conditions induced by this vice never im- prove them.selves. Their constant tendency is to increase in virulence and inveteracy. The ne- cessity of taking prompt measures for relief is too apparent to nead especial emphasis. 378 PLAIN PACTS FOP Treatment of Self-Abuse. Prevention. Treatment of Self-Abuse and ITS Effects. After having duly considered the causes and effects of this terrible evil, the question next in order for consideration is, How shall it he cured ? When a person has, through ignorance or weak- ness, brought upon himself the terrible effects de- scribed, how shall he find relief from his ills, if restoration is possible ? To the answer of these inquiries, most of the remaining pages of this work will be devoted. But before entering upon a de- scription of methods of cure, a brief consideration of the subject of ‘prevention of the habit will be in order. PKEVENTION OF SECEET VICE. For the rising generation, those yet innocent of the evil practices so abundant in this age of sensu- ality, how the evil habit may be prevented is the most important of all questions connected with this subject. This topic should be especially inter- esting to parents, for even those who are them- selves sensual have seen enough of the evils of such a life to wish that their children may remain pure. There are, indeed, rare exceptions to this i-ule, for we sometimes learn of parents who have deliberately led their OAvn children into vice, as though they desired to make them share their shame and damnation. OLD AND YOUNG. 879 Cultivate Chastity. Timely Warning. Cultivate Chastity. — From earliest infancy all of those influences and agencies which cultivate chastity should be brought into active exercise. These we need not repeat here, having previously dwelt upon them so fully. The reader is recom- mended to re-peruse the portion of the work de- voted to this subject, in connection with the present section. If parents have themselves indulged in this vice, they should use special care that all of the generative and gestative influences brought to bear upon their children are the purest possible, so that they may not inherit a predisposition to sin in this direction. Special care should be exercised to avoid corrupt servants and associates. Every servant not known to be pure should be suspected until proof of inno- cence has been established. They should be espe- cially instructed of the evil arising from manipula- tion of the genitals even in infants, as they may do immense harm through simple ignorance. Timely Warning. — But, in spite of chaste sur- roundings and all other favorable circumstances, if the child is left in ignorance of his danger, he may yet fall a victim to the devices of servants or cor- rupt playmates, or may himself make a fatal dis- covery, Hence arises the duty of warning children of the evil before the habit has been formed. This is a duty that parents seldom perform even when they are not unaware of the danger. They in some way convince themselves that their children are 380 PLAIN FACTS FOR Unreasonable Delicacy. Knowledge May Save from Kuin. pure, at least, even if others are corrupt. It is often the most difficult thing in the world for pa- rents to comprehend the fact that their children are not the best children in the "^orld, perfect par- agons of purity and innocence. There is an unac- coimtahle and unreasonable delicacy on the part of parents about speaking of sexual subjects to their children. In consequence, their young, inquisitive minds are left wholly in ignorance rmless, per- chance, they gain information from some vile source. Objections are raised against talking to children or young persons about matters in any degree per- taining to the sexual organs or functions. Some of the more important of them are considered in the introduction to this work, and we need not repeat here. The little one should be taught from earliest in- fancy to abstain from handling the genitals, being made to regard it as a very improper act. When the child becomes old enough to understand and reason, he may be further informed of the effil con- sequences ; then, as he becomes older, the functions of the organs may be explained with sufficient full- ness to satisfy his natural craffing for knowledge. If this course were pursued, how many might be saved from ruin! It is, of course, necessary that the parents shall themselves be acquainted ' with the true functions of the organs before they attempt to teach any one else, especially children. Many parents might receive benefit from being OLD AND YOUNG. 381 Consequences of Ignorance. A Terrible Picture. obliged to “ study up ; ” for it is a lamentable fact, the ill effects of which are every day seen, that a great many people have spent a very large portion of their lives without ever ascertaining the true function of the reproductive organs, though living in matrimony for many years. Seme of the conse- quences of this ignorance have been portrayed in previous pages. “ Oh ! why did not some kind friend tell me of the harm I was doing myself ? ” has been the ex- clamation of many an unfortunate sufferer froui this vice. A warning voice should be raised to save those who are ignorantly working their own destruction. Parents, teachers, ministers, all who have access to the youth, should sound the note of alarm in their ears, that if possible they may be saved from the terrible thralldom pictured by a writer in the following lines : — “ The waters have gone over me. But out of the black depths, could I be heal’d, I would cry to all those who have set a foot in the perilous flood. Could the youth look into my desolation, and be made to understand what a dreary thing it is when a man shall feel himself going down a precipice with open eyes and passive will — to see his de- struction and have no power to stop it, and yet to feel it all the way emanating from himself ; to perceive all goodness emptied c«it of him, and yet not be able to forget a time when it was otherwise ; to bear about with him the spectacle of his own 382 PLAIN FACTS FOR The Evil not Easily Undone. Cure of the Habit. self-ruin ; could he feel the body of death out of which I cry hourly with feebler and feebler outcry to be delivered.” CURATIVE TREATMENT OF THE EFFECTS OF SELF-ABUSE. When the habit and its efiects are of very short duration, a cure is very readily accomplished, es- pecially in the cases of children and females, as in them the evils begun are not continued in the form of involuntary pollutions. In cases of longer stand- I ing in males, the task is more difficult, but still the prospect of recovery is very favorable, provided the cooperation of the patient can be secured ; without this, little can be done. But in these cases the patient may as well be told at the outset that the task of undoing the evil work of years of sin is no easy matter. It can only be accomplished by determined effort, by steady perseverance in right doing, and in the application of necessary remedies. Those who have long practiced the vice, or long suffered severely from its effects, have re- ceived an injury which will inevitably be life-long to a greater or lesser extent in spite of all that can be done for them. Yet such need not despair, for they may receive inestimable benefit by the pre- I vention of greater damage, which they are sure to suffer if the disease is allowed to go unchecked. Cure of the Habit. — The preliminary step in treatment is always to cure the %dce itself if it still OLD AND YOUNG. 383 The Hahit in Children. Useful Preventive Measures. exists. The methods adopted for this purpose must differ according to the age of the individual patient. In children, especially those who have recently acquired the habit, it can be broken up by admon- ishing them of its sinfulness, and portraying in vivid colors its terrible results, if the child is old enough to comprehend such admonitions. In addi- tion to faithful warnings, the attention of the child should be fully occupied by work, study, or pleas- ant recreation. He should not be left alone at any time, lest he yield to temptation. Work is an ex- cellent remedy; work that will really make him very tired, so that when he goes to bed he will have no disposition to defile himself. It is best to place such a child under the care of a faithful per- son of older years, whose special duty it shall be to Avateh him niglff and day until the habit is thor- oughly overcome. In younger children, with whom moral consider- ations will have no particular weight, other devices may be used. Bandaging the parts has been prac- ticed with success. Tying the hands is also suc- cessful in some cases ; but this will not always succeed, for they will often contrive to continue the habit in other ways, as by working the limbs, or lying upon the abdomen. Covering the organs wit h a cage h as been practi ced with entire success. A rernedy which is almost alwayssuccessfuT^n small boys is circumcision, especially when thert is any degree of phimosis. The operation should 384 ? PLAIN FACTS FOP Moral Considerations. Representation of the Danger. be performed by a surgeon without administering an anaesthetic, as the brief pain attending the oper- ation will have a salutary effect upon the mind, fcspecially if it be connected with the idea of pun- ishment, as it may well be in some cases. The soreness which continues for several weeks inter- rupts the practice, and if it had not previously be- come too firmly fixed, it may be forgotten and not resumed. If any attempt is made to w'atch the child, he should be so carefully surrounded by vig- ilance that he cannot possibly transgTess without detection. If he is only partially watched, he soon learns to elude observation, and thus the efiect is only to make him cunning in his vice. In adults, or youths, a different plan must be pursued. In these cases, moral considerations, and the inevitable consequences to health of body and mind, are the chief influences by which a reform is to be effected, if at all. These considerations may be urged with all possible eloquence and earnest- ness, but should not be exaggerated. The truth is terrible enough. If there are any special influences which may be brought to bear upon a particular individual, — and there always will be something of this sort owing to peculiarities of temperament or circumstances, — these should be promptly employed and applied in such a manner as to secure for them their full bearing. But after all, the most must be done by the individual himself. All that others can do for OLD AND TO UNO. 3S5 Self-Helps. Eesolutions to Reform. him is to surround him with favoring circum- stances and arouse him to a proper sense of his real condition and danger. If this can he thoroughly accomplished, there is much reason to hope ; hut if the individual has become so lost to all sense of purity, all aspirations toward good and nohle ob- jects, that he cannot be made to feel the need of reformation, his case is hopeless. How May a Person Help Himself ? — The fol- lowing suggestions will be found useful in fighting the battle with vice and habit : — 1. Begin by a resolution to reform, strengthened by the most solemn vows. 2. Resolve to reform now ; not to-morrow or next week, but this very minute. Thousands have sunk to perdition while resolving to indulge “ only this once.” 3. Begin the work of reform by purging the mind. If a lewd thought enters the mind, dispel it at once. Cultivate a loathing for concupiscence. Never harbor such ideas for an instant, for they will surely lead to the overt act. If, perchance, the physical sin should not be committed, the thought itself is sin, and it leaves a physical as well as a moral scar almost as deep and hideous as that in- flicted by the grosser crime. 4. As a help to purity of mind, whenever im- pure thoughts enter, immediately direct the mind upon the purest object with which you are ac- quainted. Flee from the special exciting cause, if 25 386 PLAIN FACTS FOR Hopeful Courage. General Hegirnen and Treatment. there is one, and engage in some active labor or other exercise that will divert the mind into another channel. 5. Avoid solitude, for then it is that temptation comes, and you are most likely to fail. Avoid equally all other causes which may lead to the act. 6. Strictly comply with all the rules laid down for the cultivation of chastity and the maintenance of continence. 7. Above all, seek for grace and help from the Source of all spiritual strength in every time of temptation, relying upon the promise, “ Seek, and ye shall fmd.” Hopeful Courage. — An individual who will ear- nestly set himself about the work of purifying his mind and redeeming his body, if he will conscien- tiously adopt, and perseveringly apply, the reme- dies pointed out, may he sure of success. There can be no possible chance for failure. Triumph is cer- tain. Patience may be tried and faith tested, but unAvavering trust in God and nature, and an exe- cuted determination to do all on his part, will bring to every such one certain recovery. There may be some scars left, a few traces of the injury Avi'ought ; but the deliverance will be none the less triumphant. Faith and perseverance will work wonders. General Regimen and Treatment. — ^After long abuse of the sexual organs, and in many cases after a short course of sin, the whole system becomes de- teriorated; digestion is impaired, the muscles a.e OLD AND YOUNG. oc*" Mental and Moral Treatment. Mental Sin a Great Impediment. weakened, the circulation is unbalanced, the nerves are irritable, the brain — especially the back and lower portion of it — is congested, the skin is torpid, the boAvels are inactive, the general health is de- ranged in almost every particular. All of these morbid conditions serve to keep up the very diffi- culty which has produced and is increasing them. Any curative effort, to be effective, then, must be directed to these as well as to local conditions ; and it is pretty certainly established that local remedies or applications alone will rarely accomplish any ap- preciable good, at least of a permanent character. Many of the observations on treatment are equally applicable to both sexes ; but particular di- rections have been especially adapted to males, and chiefly with the cure of seminal emissions as the object in view. This remark will explain any seem- ing lack of completeness. Mental and Moral Treatment. — The greatest impediment to recovery is usually found in the mind of the patient. His hopeless despair, melancholy, sullen apathy in many cases, want of energy, and fickleness of mind, thwart all attempts that are made for him. In other cases, the want of will- power, or neglect to exercise the 'will in controlling the thoughts, completely counteracts all that can be done for him. He must be made to understand this well, and then all^ possible means must be em- ployed to attract his attention from himself, from brooding over his ills. Occupy him, interest him. 388 PLAIN FACTS FOR Control of the Thoughts Important. Difficult, but act Impossible. or teach him to occupy and interest himself. The enthusiastic study of some one of the natural sci- ences is a most excellent auxiliary in effecting this. The thing of first importance is that the patient should obtain command of his thoughts ; by this means, he can do more for himself than all the doc- tors can do for him. “ But I cannot control my thoughts,” says the patient. A young man said to me, ■“ 0 doctor, you do n’t know how I feel. I despise myself ; I hate myself ; I often feel inclined to kill myself. My mind is always full of abom- inable images ; my thoughts run away with me and I cannot help myself.” The tears ran down his face in streams as he told me of his slavery. He sol- emnly affirmed that he had never performed the act of self-pollution but once in his life : and yet for years he had been a constant sufferer from noc- turnal emissions until his manhood was nearly lost, evidently the result of the mental onanism which he had practiced without imagining the possibility of harm. But it i§ not true that control of the thoughts is. impossible. Thoughts are the result of the action of the brain ; and the action of the brain may be controlled as well as the movements of a voluntary muscle. It may be more difficult, especially when the resolution is weakened, as it is by this ffice ; but so long as there are left any remnants of will and reason, control is possible. To strengthen the will must be one of the objects of mental treatment. OLD AND TOUNO. S89 The Worth cf True Keligion. Physical Exercise. and exercise is the method by which it may be ac- complished. The thing for a sufferer to say, is not, “ I can’t,” but, “ I can and I will control my thoughts.” Suggestions which will aid in accom- plishing this have already been given under the heading, “ Cure of the Habit.” We cannot forbear to add a word further respect- ing the worth of religion in aiding these sufferers. If there is any living creature who needs the help of true religion, of faith in God, in Christ, and in the efficacy of prayer, it is one of these. If there is any poor mortal who can not afford to be de- prived of the aid of a sympathizing Saviour, it is one who has enervated his will, degraded his soul, and depraved his body by the vile habit of self- abuse. A compassionate Redeemer will succor even these defiled ones, if they truly “ hunger and thirst” after purity, and if they set about the work of re- forming themselves in good earnest, and with right motives. Exercise. — Physical exercise is a most powerful aid to pure thoughts. When unchaste ideas in- trude, engage at once in something which will de- mand energetic muscular exercise. Pursue the ef- fort until fatigued, if necessary, making, all the while, a powerful mental effort to control the mind. Of course, evil thoughts will not be expelled by thinking of them, but by displacing them by pure thoughts. Exercise aids this greatly. Exercise is also essential to balance the circula- 390 PLAIN FACTS FOR Pleasant Companionship. Importance of Proper Diet. tion, and thus relieve congestion of internal organs. Sedentary persons especially need systematic exer- cise. No single form of exercise is so excellent as walking. Four or five miles a day are none too many to secure a proper amount of muscular exer- cise. Gymnastics, the “ health-lift,” “ Indian clubs,” “ dumb-bells,” rowing, and other forms of exercise are all good ; hut none of them should be carried to excess. Ball-playing is likely to he made a source of injury hy exciting, in vigorous competition, too violent and spasmodic action. Daily exercise should be taken to the extent of fatigue. It is better that those who are stiU strong enough should have some regular employ- ment which will secure exercise. Those who pre- fer may secure exercise and recreation in the pur- suit of some study that involves necessary physical exertion ; as, botany, geology, or entomology. The collection of natural -history specimens is one of the most pleasant diversions, and may be made very useful as well. Pleasant companionship is essential to the best progress of these patients, especially in their walks, as much moi'e exercise may be taken without an unpleasant sense of fatigue with a cheerful com- panion than when alone. Solitude should be avoided at all times as much as possible. Diet. — So much has already been said upon the relation of diet to chastity and its influence upon the sexual organs that it is unnecessary to add many (>LD AND YOUNG. 391 Belation of Food and Mind. Precautions in Relation to Diet. remarks here. Nothing could be more untrue than the statement made by some authors that the na- ture of the diet is of no consequence. The science of physiology teaches that our very thoughts are born of what we eat. A man that lives on pork, fine-flour bread, rich pies and cakes, and condiments, drinks tea and coffee and uses to- bacco, might as well try to fly as to be chaste in thought. He will accomplish wonders if he remains physically chaste ; but to be mentally virtuous would be impossible for him without a miracle of grace. One whose thoughts have been so long trained in the filthy ruts of vice that they run there au- tomatically, and naturally gravitate downward — such a one must exercise especial care to secure the most simple, pure, and unstimulating diet. The following precautions are necessary to be ob- served in relation to diet : — 1, Never overeat. If too much food is taken at one meal, fast the next meal to give the system a chance to recover itself and to serve as a barrier against future transgressions of the same kind. Gluttony is fatal to chastity ; and overeating will be certain to cause emissions, with other evils, in one whose organs are weakened by abuse. 2. Eat hut twice a day, or, if supper is eaten, let it be very light, and of the most simple food, as fruit, or fruit and bread. Nothing should be eaten within four or five hours of bed-time, and it is 392 PLAIN FACTS FOR Stimulating Foods. Stimulating Drinks. much better to eat nothins: after three o’clock. The ancients ate but two meals a day; why should moderns eat three or four ? If the stomach con- tains undigested food, the sleep will be disturbed, dreams will be more abundant, and emissions will be frequent. A most imperative rule of life should be, “ Never go to bed with a loaded stomach.” The violation of this rule is the great cause of horrid dreams and nightmare. 3. Discard all stimulating food. Under this head must be included, spices, pepper, ginger, mustard, cinnamon, cloves, essences, all condiments, salt, pickles, etc., together with animal food of all kinds, not excepting fish, fowl, oysters, eggs, and milk. It is hardly to be expected that all who have been accustomed to use these articles all their lives will discard them wholly at once, nor, perhaps, that many will ever discard them entirely ; but it would be better for them to do so, nevertheless. The only ones which should be tolerated under any circumstances should be lean beef or mutton, salt in very moderate quantities, and a moderate use of milk. Use as little of these as possible — the less the better. 4. Stimulating drinks should be abstained from with still greater strictness. Wine, beer, tea, and coffee should be taken under no circumstances. The influence of coffee in stimulating the genital organs is notorious. Chocolate should be discarded also. It is recommended by some who suppose it OLD AND YOUNG. 893 Tobacco. Suggestions about Sleeping. to be harmless, being ignorant of the fact that it contains a poison practically identical with that of tea and coffee. Hot drinks of all kinds should be avoided. Tobacco, another stimulant, though not a drink, should be totally abandoned at once. 5. In place of such articles as have been con- demned, eat fruits, grains, and vegetables. There is a rich variety of these kinds of food, and they are wholesome and unstimulating. Graham flour, oat- meal, and ripe fruit are the indispensables of a dieta- ry for those who are suffering from sexual excesses. Further remarks upon diet, with a few useful recipes for preparing healthful food, will be found in works devoted to the subject of diet.* The pa- tient must carefully comply with all the rules of a healthy diet if he would be sure of recovery. Sleeping. — It is from accidents which happen during sleep that the great majority of sufferers complain ; hence there is no little importance at- taching to this subject. The following suggestions present in a very brief manner some of the more practical ideas connected with this part of the sub- ject 1. From seven to nine hours’ sleep are required by all persons. The rule should be. Retire early and sleep until rested. Early rising is not bene- ficial unless it has been preceded by abundant sleep. *See “Healthful Cookery,” . The way that some of these poor fellows are blistered, and burned, and cauterized, and tortured in sundry other ways, is almost too hondble to ' tliink of ; yet they endure it, often willingly, thinking it but just punishment for their sins, and pei'haps hoping to expiate them by this cruel penance. By these procedures, the emissions are sometimes temporarily checked, but the patient is not cured, nevertheless, and the malady soon re- turns. The employment of rings, pessaries, and numer- ous other mechanical devices for preventing emis- sions, is entirely futile. No dependence can be placed upon them. Some of these contrivances are very ingenious, but they are all worthless, and time and money spent upon them are thrown away. (Jliacks. — The victims of self-abuse fall an easy prey to the hordes of harpies, fiends in human shape, who are ready at every turn to make capital out of their misfortunes. From no other class of persons do quacks and charlatans derive so rich a harvest as from these erring ones. It is not uncommon to find a man suffering from seminal weakness who has paid to sundry parties hundreds of dollars for “ specifics ” which they advertised as “ sure cures.” We have seen and treated scores of these patients, but never yet met a single case that had received benefit from patent medicines. Tile newspapers are full of the advertisements of these heartless villains. They advertise under OLD AND YOUNG. 413 Villains in Disguise. Infamous Kascality. the guise of “ clergymen,” charitable institutions, “ cured invalids,” and similar pretenses. Usually they offer for sale some pill or mixture Avhich will be a sure cure, in proof of which they cite the tes- timonials of numerous individuals who never lived, or, at least, never saw either them or their filthy compounds ; or, they promise to send free a recipe which will be a certain cure. Hei-e is a specimen recipe which was sent by a “reverend” gentleman who claims to be a returned missionary from South America so intent on doing good that he charges nothing for his invaluable information : — Extract of Corrossa apimis, “ “ Selarmo umbelifera, Powdered Alkermes latifolia, Extract of Carsadoc herbal is. Tliis remarkable recipe is warranted to cure all the evils aiising from self-abuse, tvith no attention to diet and no inconvenience of an}^ kind, to pre- vent consumption and insanity, and to cure vene- real diseases. It is also declared to be a perfectly “ sa fe ” reined}^ for all female difficulties, which means that it will aid nefarious pui’poses. Along with the recipe comes the suggestion that the druggist may not be able to furnish all the in- gredients in a perfectly pure state, and so, for the accommodation of suffering humanity, this noble philanthropist has taken infinite pains to secure them direct from South America, and has them put ^ I i 414 PLAIN FACTS FOR • Pious” Pretenders. Traps for the Unwary. up in neat little packages which he will send, post- paid, for the trifle of S3.50, just one cent less than actual cost. Then he tells what purports to be the history of his own nastiness, with a generous spi- cing of pious cant, and closes with a benediction on all who have fallen into the same slough, and aspe- cially those who will send for his fabulous foreign Aveeds to help them out. A young man sees the advertisement of a book Avhich Avill be sent free, postage paid, if he Avill only send his addi-ess. The title of the book being of some such character as “ Manhood Regained,” or “ Nervous Debility,” he imagines it may suit his case, and sends his name. Return mail brings the book, which is a wretched jargon of confused terms and appalling desciiptions of the efiects of self- abuse, with the most shameful exaggerations of the significance of the most trivial symptoms. The ig- norant youth reads what he supposes to be a de- sci'iption of his own case, and is frightened nearly | to death. He is most happily relieved, howeA'or, ] to find that the generous publishei-s of the book | have a remedy Avhich is just adapted t-o his case, but which is so precious that it cannot be afibrdere pernicious, more debasing, and more immoral than what is generally considered as viola- tion of the commandment which says, “ Thou shalt not commit adultery,” and is itself a most flagrant violation of the same commandment. Those who imagine that they “ have a right to do as they please with themselves,” so long as no one else is immediately afiected, must learn that we are not our own masters ; we belong to our Creator, and are accountable to God not only for the man- ner in which we treat our fellow-men, but for how we treat ourselves, for the manner in which we use the bodies which he has given us. The man who commits suicide, who takes his own life, is a mur- derer as much as he who kills a fellow-man. So, also, he who pollutes himself in the manner we are considering, violates the seventh commandment, al- though the crime is in both cases committed against himself. Think of this, ye youth who defile • your- selves in secret and seek to escape the punishment of sin. In Heaven a faithful record of your vile commandment-breaking is kept, and you must meet it by-and-by. You are fixing your fate for eternity ; and each daily act in some degree deter- mines what it shall be. Are you a victim of this fascinating vice, stop, repent, reform, before you are forever ruined, a mental, moral, and physical wreck. OLD AND YOUNG. 431 Self-Murderers. What Makes Boys Dwiirfs. Self-Murderers. — Of all the vices to which hu- man beings are addicted, no other so rapidly undei'- mines the constitution and so certainly3 makes a complete wreck of an individual as thi&j especial- ly when the habit is begun at an early age. It wastes the most precious part of the blood, uses up the vital forces, and finally leaves the poor vic- tim a most utterly ruined and loathsome object. If a boy should be deprived of both hands and feet and should lose his eyesight, he would still be in- finitely better ofi" than the boy who for years gives himseK up to the gratification of lust in secret vice. For such a boy to become a strong, vigorous man is just as impossible as it w^ould be to make a mam- moth tree out of a currant bush. Such a man will necessarily be short-lived. He will always suffer from the effects of his folly, even though he shall marry. If he has children — he may become inca- pable — they will be quite certain to be puny, weak, scrofulous, consumptive, rickety, nervous, depraved in body and mind, or otherwise deprived of the happiness which grows out of the possession of “ a sound mind in a sound body.” Let us notice a little more closely the terrible ef- fects resultina: from this most unnatural and abom- inable vice. What Makes Boys Dwarfs. — How many times have we seen boys who were born with good con- stitutions, with force and stamina sufiicient to de- velop them into large, vigorous men, become puny 432 PLAIN FACTS FOR Human Wrecks. Scrawny, Hollow-Eyed Boys, dwarfs. At the time when they ought to begin to grow and develop more rapidly than ever before, their growth is checked and they cease to develop. They are, in fact, stunted, dwarfed, like a plant which has a canker-worm eating away at its roots. Indeed, there is a veritable canker-worm sapping their vitality, undermining their constitutions, and destroying their prospects for time and for eternity. Anxious friends may attribute the unhappy change to overwork, overstudy, or some similar cause ; but from a somewhat extended observation we are thor- oughly convinced that the very vice which we are considering is the viper which blights the prospects and poisons the existence of many of these prom- ising boys. A boy who gives himself up to the practice of secret vice at an early age, say as early as seven to ten years of age, is certain to make himself a wreck. Instead of having a healthy, vigorous body, with strong muscles and a hardy constitution, he will be weak, scrawny, sickly, always complaining, nev- er well, and will never know anything about that joyous exuberance of life and animal spirits which the young antelope feels as it bounds over the plain, or the vigorous young colt as it frisks about its pasture, and which every youth ought to feel. Scrawny, Hollow-Eyed Boys.— Boys ought to be fresh and vigorous as little lambs. They ought to be plump, rosy, bright-eyed, and sprightly. A boy who is pale, scrawny, hollow-eyed, dull, listless. OLD AND YOUNG. 433 13oys. >Vliat Makes Idiots. has something the matter with him. Self-abuse makes thousands of just such boys every year ; and it is just such boys that make vicious, shiftless, haggard, unhappy men. This horrible vice steak away the health and vitality which are needed to develop the body and the mind ; and the lad that ought to make his mark in the world, that ought to become a distinguished statesman, orator, clergy- man, physician, or author, becomes little more than a living animal, a mere shadow of what he ought to have been. Old Boys. — Often have we felt sad when we have heard fond mothers speaking in glowing terms of the old ways of their sons, and rather glorying that they looked so much older than they were. In nine cases out of ten these old-looking boys owe their appearance to this vile habit ; for it is exceed- ingly common, and its dreadful effects in shriveling and dwarfing and destroying the human form are too plainly perceptible, when present, to be mis- taken. Oh ! this dreadful curse ! Why will so many of our bright, innocent boys pollute themselves with it ! What Makes Idiots. — Reader, have you ever seen an idiot ? If you have, the hideous picture will never be dissipated from your memory. The vacant stare, the drooping, drooling mouth, the unsteady gait, the sensual look, the emptiness of mind, — all these you will well remember. Did you ever stop to think how idiots are made ? It is by this very vice 28 434 PLAIN FACTS FOB Sunk Below the Brute. Young Dyspeptics. that the ranks of these poor daft mortals are being recruited every day. Every visitor to an insane asylum sees scores of them ; ruined in mind and body, only the semblance of a human being, bereft of sense, lower than a beast in many respects, a hu- man being hopelessly lost to himself and to the world ! — oh, most terrible thought ! — yet once pure, intelligent, active, perhaps the hope of a fond mother, the pride of a doting father, and possibly possessed of natural ability to become greatly dis- tinguished in some of the many noble and useful walks of life ; now sunk below the brute through the degrading, destroying influence of a lustful gratification. Boys, are you guilty of this terrible sin ? have you even once in this way yielded to the tempter’s voice ? , Stop, consider, think of the awful results, re- pent, confess to God, reform. Another step in that direction and you may be lost, soul and body. You cannot dally with the tempter. You must escape now or never. Do n’t delay. Young Dyspeptics. — If we leave out of th.e consideration the efiects of bad food and worse cookery, there is in our estimation no other cause so active in occasioning the early breaking down of the digestive organs of our American boys. A boy of ten or twelve years of age ought to have a stom- ach capable of digesting anything not absolutely indigestible ; but there are to-day thousands and thousands of boys of that age whose stomachs are OLD AND YOUNG. 435 A Cause of Consumption. Self-Murderers, so impaired as to be incapable of digesting any but the most simple food. The digestion being ruined, the teeth soon follow suit. Haixlly one boy in a dozen has perfectly sound teeth. With a bad stom- ach and bad teeth, a foundation for disease is laid which is sure to result in eaidy decay of the whole body. In this awful vice do we find a cause, too, for the thousands of cases of consumption in young men. At the very time when they ought to be in their prime, they break down in health and become help- less invalids for life, or speedily sink into an early grave. Upon their tombstones might justly be graven, “ Here lies a self-murderer.” Providence is not to blame ; nor is climate, weather, overwork, overstudy, or any other even seemingly plausible cause, to be blamed. Their own sins have sunk them in men- tal, moral, and physical perdition. Such a victim literally dies by his own hand, a veritable suicide. Appalling thought ! It is a grand thing to die for one’s principles, a martyr to his love of right and truth. One may die blameless who is the victim of some dire contagious malady which he could not avoid ; even the poor, downcast misanthrope Avhose hopes are blighted and whose sorrows multiplied, may possibly be in some degree excused for wishing to end his misery with his life ; but the wretched being who sheds his life-blood by the disgusting ma- neuvers of self-pollution — what can be said to ex- 436 PLAIN FACTS FOR The Race Ruined by Boys. A Cause of Race Beterioratioiu tenuate his guilt ? His is a double crime. Let him pass from the memory of his fellow-men. He will perish, overwhelmed with his own vileness. Let him die, and return to the dust from which he sprang. The Race Ruined by Boys.— The human race is growing steadily weaker year by year. The boys of to-day would be no match in physical strength for the sturdy youths of a century ago who are now their grandparents. An immense amount of skillful training enables now and then one to accomplish some wonderful feat of walking, rowing, or swimming, but we hear very little of re- markable feats of labor accomplished by our mod- ern boys. Even the country boys of to-day cannot endure the hard work which their fathers accom- plished at the same age ; and we doubt not that this growing physical weakness is one of the rea- sons why so large a share of the boys whose fa- thers are farmers, and who have been reared on farms, are unwilling to follow the occupation of their fathers for a livelihood. They are too weak- ly to do the work required by an agricultural life, even by the aid of the numerous labor-saving in- ventions of the age. What is it that is undermining the health of the race and sapping the constitutions of our American men ? No doubt much may be attrib- uted to the unnatural refinements of civilization in several directions ; but there can be no doubt that OLD AND rOUNO. 437 Responsibility of Boys. Cases Illustrating the Effects of Self-Abuse. vice is the most active cause of all. Secret sin and its kindred vices yearly ruin more constitutions than hard work, severe study, hunger, cold, priva- tion, and disease combined. Boys, the destiny of the race is in your hands. You can do more than all the doctors, all the scien- tists and most eminent political men in the world, to secure the prosperity and future greatness of the nation, by taking care of yourselves, by being pure, noble, true to yourselves and to the demands of high moral principle. Cases Illustrating the Effects of Self- Abuse. — The land is full of poor human wrecks who have dashed in pieces their hopes for this world, and too often for the next also, against this hideous rock which lies hidden in the pathway of every young man who starts out upon life’s stormy voyage. Glad- 13^ would we draw the veil and cover them with all their dreadful deformities with the mantle of char- ity from the gaze of their fellow-beings ; but their number is so great that this could scarcely be done, and the lesson to be learned from their sad fate is such a grave one, and so needful for the good of the generation of 3'oung men who are just encountering the same dangers, that we cannot resist the prompt- ings of duty to present a few examples of the effects of vice in men and boys that have fallen imder our own observation. We have seen hundreds of cases of this sort ; have treated many scores of persons for the effects of the terrible crime which we are 438 FLAIN FACTS FOB Two Young Wrecks. A Terrible Disease. seeking- to sound a warning against, and the num- ber of cases we might describe would fill a volume ; but we yvill select only a very few. Two Young Wrecks. — Charles and Oscar B were the sons of a farmer in a Western State, a^ed i-espectively ten and twelve years. They possessed well-formed heads, and once had beautiful faces, and were as bright and sprightly as any little bo3's of their age to be found anj-where. Their father was proud of them, and their fond mother took great pleasure in building bright prospects for her darling sons when they should attain maturity and become competent to fill useful and honorable posi- tions in the world. Living in a rapidly-growing AVestern community, they had every prospect of grooving up to honorable usefulness, a comfort to their parents, a blessing to the world, and capable of enjoying life in the highest degree. But suddenly certain manifestations appeared which gave rise to grave apprehensions on the part of the parents. It was observed that the elder of the little boys no longer played about with that nimbleness which he had formerly shown, but seemed slow and stiff in his movements. Some- times, indeed, he would stagger a little when he walked. Soon, also, his speech became afiected in some degree ; he mumbled his words and could not speak distinctly. In spite of all that could be done, the disease continued, increasing slowly in all its symptoms from week to week. Soon the hands, also. OLD AND YOUNG. 439 A Mother’s Hopes Blasted. An Awful Picture. H became affected, so that the little boy could not feed himself. The mind now began to fail. The bright eyes became vacant and expressionless. In- stead of the meriy light which used to shine in them, there was a blank, idiotic stare. Imagine the grief and anguish of the poor mother I No one but a mother who has been called to pass through a similar trial could know how to sympa- thize with such a one. Her darling son she saw daily becoming a prey to a strange, incurable mala- dy, with no power even to stay the progress of the terrible disease. But there was stiU greater grief in store for her. Within a year or two the younger son began to show symptoms of the same character, and in spite of all that was done, rapidly sank into the same helpless state as his brother. As a last resort, the mother took her boys and came a long journey to place her sons under our care. At that time they were both nearly helpless. Neither could walk but a few steps. They reeled and staggered about like drunken men, falling down upon each other and going through the most agonizing contortions in their attempts to work their way from one chair to another and thus about the room. Their heads were no longer erect, but drooped like wilted flow- ers. On their faces was a blank, imbecile expression, with a few traces of foimer intelligence still left. The mouth was open, from the drooping of the lower jaw, and the saliva constantly dribbled upon i i 440 PLAIN FACTS FOB j The Mystery Solved. A Hopeless Case. the clothing. Altogether, it was a spectacle which one does not care to meet every day ; the impres- sion made was too harrowing to be pleasant even from its interest from a scientific point of view. We at once set to work to discover the cause of this dreadful condition, saying to ourselves that such an awful punishment should certainly be the result j of some gross violation of nature’s laws somewhere. The most careful scrutiny of the history of the par- | ents of the unfortunate lads gave us no clue to ! anything of an hereditary character, both parents i having come of good families, and having been al- ! ways of sober, temperate habits. The father had used neither liquor nor tobacco in any form. The j mother could give no light on the matter, and we j wore obliged to rest for the time being upon the ' conviction which fastened itself upon us that the ■ cases before us were most marked illustrations of the results of self -abuse begun at a very early age. The mother thought it impossible that our suspi- cions could be correct, saying that she had watched her sons with jealous care from earliest infancy and had seen no indications of any error of the sort. But we had not long to wait for confirmation of our view of the case, as they were soon caught in the act, to which it was found that they were greatly addicted, and the mystery was wholly solved. Every possible remedy was used to check the ter- rible disease which was preying upon the unfortu- nate boys, but in vain. At times the sjuiiptoms 1 OLD ANL YOUNG. 441 Soul and Body Ruined, A Fearful Fate. ■would be somewhat mitigated, and the most san- guine hopes of the fond, watching mother would be excited, but in vain. The improvement always proved to be but temporary, and the poor sufferers would speedily relapse into the same dreadful con- dition again, and gradually grew worse. At last the poor mother was obliged to give up all hope, in utter despair watching the daily advances of the a'wful malady which inch by inch destroyed the life, the humanity, the very mind and soul of her once promising sons. Sadly she took them back to her Western home, there to see them suffer, perhaps for years before death should kindly release them, the terrible penalty of sin committed almost before they had arrived at years of responsibility. How these mere infants learned the vice we were never able to determine. We have no doubt that opportunities sufficient were presented them, as the parents seemed to have very little appreciation of danger from this source. Had greater vigilance been exercised, we doubt not that the discovery of the vice at the beginning would have resulted in the salvation of these two beautiful boys, who were sacrificed upon the altar of concupiscence. Two or three years after we first saw the cases, we heard from them, and though still alive, their condition was almost too horrible for description. Three or four similar cases have come to our knowledge. Boys, are you guilty ? Think of the fearful fate of these boys, once as joyous and healthy as you. 1 442 PLAIN FACTS FOB. Words of Warning. A Prodigal Tonth. When you are tempted to sin, think of the fearful picture of the effects of sin which they present- Have you ever once dared to commit this awful sin ? Stop, never dare to do the thing again. Take a solemn vow before God to be pure. Tour fate may be as sad, your punishment as terrible. No one can tell what the results may be. Absolute purity is the only safe course. A Prodigal Youth. — A. M., son of a gentleman of wealth in Ohio, early acquired the evil practice which has ruined so many bright lads. He was naturally an intelligent and prepossessing lad, and his father gave him as good an education as he could be induced to acquire, affording him most ex- cellent opportunities for study and improvement. But the vile habit which had been acquired at an early age speedily began its blighting influence. It destroyed his taste for study and culture. His mind dwelt upon low and vile subjects. He grew restless of home restraint and surroundings, and finally left the parental roof. Wandering from city to city he grew rapidly worse, sinking into deeper depths of vice, until finally he became a base, be- sotted, wretched creature. Broken down in health by his sins, he could no longer enjoy even the worst sensual pleasures, and with no taste for or capabil- ity of appreciating anything higher he was most wretched indeed. The poor fellow now fell into the hands of quacks. His kind father sent him money in answer to his pitiful appeals for help, and OLJ} AND YOUNG, 443 In the Han^ls ol' Quacks. A Prospect of Cure. he went anxiously from one to another of the wretched villains who promise relief to such suffer- ers but only rob them of their money and leave them worse than before. At last, in total despair of everything else, the poor fellow came to us. He seemed quite broken- hearted and penitent for his sins, and really ap- peared to want to lead a better life if he could only be made well again. We faithfully pointed out to him the dreadful wickedness of his course, and the fact that a cure could only be effected by the most implicit obedience to all of nature’s laws during his whole future life. Indeed, we were obliged to inform him of the sad fact that he could never be as well as before, that he must always suffer in con- sequence of his dreadful course of transgression. We gave him a most earnest exhortation to begin the work of reform where alone it could be effect- ual, by reforming his heart, and the tears which coursed down his sin-scarred cheeks seemed to in- dicate true penitence and a real desire to return to the paths of purity and peace. Earnestly we labored for this young man, for months, employing every means in our power to lift him from the slough of sin and vice upon the solid pathway of virtue and purity again. Gradu- ally the hard lines on his face seemed to lessen in intensity. The traces of vice and crime seemed to be fading out by degrees. We began to entertain hopes of his ultimate recovery. -But alas ! in an 444 PLAIN FACTS FOR Led Astray. All Hope Gone. evil moment, through the influence of bad compan- ions, he fell, and for some time xe lost sight of him. A long time afterward we caught a glimp.«;e of his bloated, sin-stained face, just as he was turn- ing to skulk away to avoid recognition. Where this poor human wreck is now leading his miser- able existence we cannot say, but have no doubt he is haunting the dens of iniquity and sin in the cities, seeking to find a little momentary pleasure in the gratification of his appetites and passions. A hopeless wreck, with the lines of vice and crime drawn all over his tell-tale countenance, he dares not go home, for he fears to meet the reproachful glance of his doting mother, and the scornful looks of his brothers and sisters. We never saw a more thoroughly unhappy creature. He is fully con- scious of his condition ; he sees himself to be a wreck, in mind, in body, and knows that he is doomed to suffer still more in consequence of his vices. He has no hope for this world or the next. His mother gave him earnest, pious instructions, which he has never forgotten, though he has long tried to smother them. He now looks forward with terror to the fate which he well knows awaits all evil-doers, and shudders at the thought, but seems powerless to enter the only avenue which affords a chance of escape. He is so tormented with the pains and diseased conditions which he has brought upon himself by vice that he often looks to self- destruction as a grateful means of escape ; but then OLD AKD YOUNG. 445 Peril of the First Step. Barely Escaped. comes the awful foreboding of future punishment, and his hand is stayed. Ashamed to meet his friends, afraid to meet his Maker, he wanders about, an exile, an outcast, a hopeless wreck. Young man, youth, have you taken the first step on this evil road ? If so, take warning by the fate of this young man. At once “ cease to do evil and learn to do well,” before, like him, you lose the power to do right, before your will is paralyzed by sin so that when you desire to do right, to re- form, your will and power to execute your good determinations will fail to support your effort. Barely Escaped. — L. R., of H , a young man of about twenty- five years of age, presented himself for treatment, a few years ago, for the consequence of self-abuse. Having been taught the habit by evil companions when just emerging into manhood, he had indulged his passions without restraint for several years, not knowing the evil consequences until he began to suffer the effects of sin. Then, being warned by his own experience and by the fortunate thoughtfulness of an intelligent friend who surmised his condition and told him faithfully of the terrible results of the vile habit, he made a manly effort to reform and claimed to have wholly broken the habit. To his great grief he found, however, that the years in which he had devoted himself to sin had wrought sad havoc in his system. In many ways his health was greatly deranged, and his once powerful constitution was broken down. ! 446 PLAIN FACTS FOR The Work of Sin. A Xarrow Escape. The sexual organs themselves were gi’eatly diseased, so much so that a serious and painful surgical oper- ation was necessary. With shame and mortifica- tion he looked upon his past life and saw what a hideous work of evil he had wrought. His %file- ness stood out before him in a vivid light, and he felt ashamed to meet the gaze of his fellows. After performing the necessary surgical opera- tion upon this poor unfortunate, we dealt faithfully Avith him, pointing out to him the way by which he might with proper effort in some degree redeem himself by a life-long struggle against every form of impurity. He felt, and rightly, that the task Avas a most severe one. He well knew that the stamp of sin was on his countenance, and in his mind. Thoughts long allowed to run upon vile subjects, forming filthy pictures in the imagination, are not easily brought back to the channel of purity and virtue. The mind that has learned to love to riot in impure di’eams, does not readily acquire a love for the opposite. But he determined to make a brave and earnest effort, and we have every reason to believe that he has, in a measure at least, suc- ceeded. But, if so, he has made a narrow escape. A few more years of sin, and his rescue would have been impossible ; both mind and body would haA-e been sunk so deep in the mire of concupiscence that none but Almighty poAver could haA^e saved him from utter destruction. Thousands of boys and young men are to-day standing on the slippery OLD AND YOUNO. 4-:-7 The Awful Precipice. A Lost Soul. brink of that awful precipice from which but very few are snatched away. Soon they will plunge headlong over into the abyss of debasement and corruption from whence they will never escape. Oh that we had the power to reach each one of these unfortunate youth before it is too late, and to utter in their ears such warnings, to portray before them such pictures of the sure results of a course of sin, that they might be turned back to the paths of chastity and virtue before they have become such mental, moral, and physical wi’ecks as we every day encounter in the walks of life. But not one in a thousand can be reached when they have gone so far in sin. When they have ventured once, they can rarely be checked in their downward course until great harm has been wrought which it will re- quire the work of years to undo. Tlie young man we have referred to made indeed a naiTow escape, but no one can safely run such a risk. Even he must suffer all his life the consequences of a few years of sin. A Lost Soul. — M. M., of , was the son ot a mechanic in humble circumstances. He was an only child, and his parents spared no pains to do all in their power to insure his becoming a good and useful man. Good school advantages were given him, and at a proper age^he was put to learn a trade. He succeeded fairly, and their hopes of his becoming all that they could desire were great, when he suddenly began to manifest peculiar symp- 448 PLAIN FACTS FOR Religion Not to Blame. Parents Increriulons. toms. He had attended a religious revival and seemed much affected, professing religion and be- coming a member of a church. To the exercises of his mind on the subject of religion his friends at- tributed his peculiar actions, which soon became so strange as to excite grave fears that his mind was seriously affected. At times he was wild, showing such unmistakable evidences of insanity that even his poor mother, who was loth to believe the sad truth, was forced to admit that he was deranged. After a few months a change came over him wliich encouraged his friends to think that he was recovering. He became quiet and tractable, never manifesting the furious symptoms before observed. But the deception was only temporary, for it was soon evident that the change was simply the result of the progress of the disease and denoted the fail- ure of the mental powers and the approach of im- becility. In this condition was the young man when he came under our care. We felt stronglj^ impressed from our first examination of the case, that it was one of sexual abuse ; but we were as- sured by his friends in the most emphatic manner that such was an impossibility. It was claimed that the most scrupulous care had been bestowed upon him, and that he had been so closely watched that it was impossible that he should have been guilty of so gross a vice. His friends were disposed to attribute his sad condition to excessive exercise of mind upon religious subjects. OLD AND TOUNO. 449 The Cause Discovered. A Self-Made Idiot. Not satisfied with this view of the case, we set a close watch upon him, and within a week his nurse reported that he had detected him -in the act of self-pollution, when he confessed the truth, not yet being so utterly devoid of sense as to have lost his appreciation of the sinfulness of the act. When discovered, he exclaimed, “ I know I have made my- self a fool,” which was the exact truth. At this time the once bright and intelligent youth had be- come so obtuse and stupid that he appeared almost senseless. His face wore an idiotic expression which was rarely lighted up by a look of intelli- gence. It was only by the greatest exertion that he could be made to understand or to respond when spoken to. In whatever position he was placed, whether lying, sitting, or standing, no matter how constrained or painful, he would remain for hours, staring vacantly, and fixed and immovable as a statue. His countenance was blank and expres- sionless except at rare intervals. His lips were al- ways parted, and the saliva ran from the corners of his mouth down upon his clothing. The calls of nature were responded to involuntarily, soiling con- stantly his clothing and bedding in a most disgust- ing manner, and requiring the constant attention of a nurse to keep him in an^^tliing like a wholesome condition. We did what we could to relieve this poor victim of unhallowed lust, but soon became convinced that no human arm could save from utter ruin this self- 29 450 FLAIN FACTS FOR Sinking Still Lower. The Besnlte of One Transgression. destroyed soul. At our suggestion the young man was removed to be placed in an institution devoted to the care of imbeciles and lunatics. The last we heard of the poor fellow he was still sinking into lower depths of physical and mental degradation, — a soul utterly lost and ruined. How many thous- ands of young men who might have been useful members of society, lawyers, clergymen, statesmen, scientists, have thus sunk into the foul depths of the quagmire of vice, to rise no more forever ! Oh, awful fate ! The human eye never rests upon a sadder sight than a ruined soul, a mind shattered and debased by vice. The Results of One Transgression. — The fol- lowing case is a good illustration of the fact that a long eoiuse of transgression is not necessary to oc- casion the most serious results. A young man from an Eastern State who visited us for treatment was suffering with the usual consequences of self -abuse, but he asserted in the most emphatic manner that he had never committed the act of self -pollution but once in his life. He had, however, after that one vile act, allowed his mind to rim upon vile thoughts, o-ivinor loose rein to his imagination, and in conse- quence he found himself as badly-oft' suffering with the very same disorders, as those who had practiced the vice for some time. Hot the slightest dallying with sin is safe. The maintenance of perfect purity and chastity of bodj'^ and mind is the only right and safe course. By a OLD AND rOUNO. 451 A Hospital Case. An Old Offender. few months’ treatment the young man recovered his health in a great measure, and, marrying an es- timable young lady, settled down happily in life. Many tears of remorse and repentance did he shed over that one sinful act, and bitterly did he reproach the evil companion who taught him to sin ; but he was fortunate enough to escape without suffering the worst effects of sin, and is now living happily. A Hospital Case. — One of the most wretched creatures we ever saw among the many sufferers from sexual excesses whom we have met, was a man of about thirty years of age whom we found in the large Charity Hospital on Blackwell’s Island, New York City. In consequence of long indulgence in the soul-and-body destroying habit, he had brought upon himself not only the most serious and painful disease of the sexual organs themselves, but disease of the bladder and other adjacent organs. He was under severe and painful treatment for a long time without benefit, and finally a surgical operation was performed, but with the result of aflbrdiug only partial relief. An Old Offender. — Never were we more aston- ished than at the depth of depravity revealed to us by the confessions of a patient from a distant coun- try who was upwards of sixty years of age and was yet a victim of the vile habit to which he had be- come addicted when a youth. The stamp of vice was on his face, and was not hidden by the lines made by advancing age. The sufferings which this 452 PLAIN FACTS FOR Blunted Sensibilities. Sad End of a Young Victim. ancient sinner endured daily in consequence of his long course of sin were sometimes fearful to behold ; and yet he continued the habit in spite of all warn- ings, advice, and every influence which could be brought to bear upon him. So long had he trans- gressed, he had lost his sense of shame and his ap- preciation of the vileness of sin, and it was im- possible to reform him b}^ any means which could be brought to bear upon him. He left us still a sufierer, though somewhat relieved, and, we have every reason to believe, as vile a sinner as ever. Undoubtedly, before this time his worthless life is ended, and he has gone down into a sinner’s grave, hoary with vice. A terrible end. The Sad End of a Young Yictiui.— C. L., a young ' man residing in a large Southern city, was the youngest son of parents who were in moderate cir- cumstances, but appreciated the value of education, and were anxious to give their children every ad- vantage possible for them to receive. With this end in view, the young man was sent to college, where he did well for a time, being naturally stu- dious and intelligent ; but after a brief period he began to drop behind his classes. He seemed moody and obtuse. He could not complete his tasks even by the most severe application. It seemed impos- sible for him to apply himself. The power of con- centration appeared to be lost. Soon he was seized by fits of gloominess from which he did not seem to have power to free himself. His strength began OLD A ]SfD YO nx G . 4 5 3 Mysterious Mental Decline. A Tragic Fate. to fail to such a degree that he could hardly drag himself to his meals, and at last he Avas almost con- fined to his room. He became greatly emaciated. The failure of his mental poAvers seemed to keep pace Avith the Avasting of his body, so that it Avas soon evident that he must abandon all hope of pur- suing his studies for some time at least. His case being brought to our notice, Ave gave him eveiy attention possible, and spared no efibrt to rescue him from his condition. We readily perceiAmd the cause of his troubles, but for a long time he did not acknowledge the truth. At last he confessed that he had sinned for years in the manner suspected, and was suffering the consequences. A knowledge of his guilt weighed upon him and haunted him day and night. He promised to reform ; but if he did, it was too late, for the wasting disease which was fastened upon him continued. At his mother’s request he returned to his home, and a few weeks later we received the awful intelligence that he had ended his miserable life by bloAving out his brains with a pistol. Thus tragically ended the career of this young man, who might, with the adA^antages afforded him, have become a useful member of so- ciety. In total despair of this life or the next, he rashly ended his probation, and with his OAvn hand finished the work of destruction which he had him- self begun. No words can tell the grief of his stricken mother ; but, fortunately, she was spared the knoAvledge of the Avhole truth, else Avould her sorrow have been too great to bear. 454 PLAIN FACTS FOR From Bad to Worse. At Death’s Door. From Bad to Worse. — C. E., a young man from the West, was sent to us by his father with the re- quest that we would do what we could to save him. His father’s letter intimated that the son had been a source of grief to him, but he hoped that he had repented of his prodigal course, and was really de- termined to reform. Though scarcely more than twenty years of age, the young man’s face wore an aspect of hardness, from familiarity with vice, that we have rarely seen. He was reduced to a mere skeleton by the vice which he made no secret of, and was so weak that he could scarcely walk a rod. It seemed as if every organ in his body was dis- eased, and that he had so squandered his vital re- sources that he had no power to rally from his Avretched condition even should he carry out the determination to reform which he announced. However, we gave him the best counsel and advice within our poAver, and placed him under treatment. After a few weeks it was evident that nature was still willing to respond to his endeavors to reform, by vigorous efforts to restore him to a condition of comparative health. Thus he was snatched, as it appeared, from the veiy jaws of death. Under these circumstances it would seem that the most hardened criminal would reform, at least for a sea- son, and lead a life of rectitude ; but so utterly de- praved was this poor Avretch that no sooner did he fin d that he was not liable to die immediately than he began at once again his career of sin. By long indulgence his moral sense had become, apparently. OLD AND YOUNG. 455 A Felon’s Fate. An lotliRnant Father. obliterated. He seemed to be utterly without the restraint imposed by conscience. In less than a month he was detected in the crime of theft, hav- ing stolen a watch from a fellow-patient. Upon his arrest, stimulated by the hope of in some degree mitigating his punishment, he confessed to have been carrying on a series of petty thie'vdng for weeks before he Avas finally detected, having scores of stolen articles in his possession. The last time we saw the wretched fellow he was being led away in irons to prison. We have since heard that he continues in bis downward career, having served out his time in prison, and will undoubtedly end his life in a felon’s cell unless he is shrewd enough to escape his just deserts. Having lost all desire to do right, to be noble, pure, and good, all efforts to l eform and restore him to the path of rectitude were fruitless. It was only the fear of impending death that caused him to pause for a few days in his crim- inal course. Young man, take warning by this sad case ; enter not the pathway of vice. A course of vice once entered upon is not easily left. A youth who once gives himself up to sin, rarely escapes from going headlong to destruction. Am ludignant Father. — A case came to our knowledge through a gentleman who brought his daughter to us for treatment for the effects of self- abuse, of a father who adopted a summary method of curing his son of the evil practice. HaAung dis- covered that the lad was a victim of the vile habit, I 456 PLAIN FACTS FOR A Severe Remedy. Disgusted with Life. and having done all in his power by punishment, threats, and representations of its terrible efiects, but without inducing him to reform, the father, in a fit of desperation, seized the sinful boy and with his own hand performed upon him the operation of castration as he would have done upon a colt. The boy recovered from the operation, and was of course effectually cured of his vile habit. The remedy was efficient, though scarcely justifiable. Even a father has no right thus to mutilate his own son, though we must confess that the lad’s chances for becoming a useful man are fully as good as they Avould have been had he continued his course of sin. Disgusted with Life. — T. A. was a young man of promise, the son of ambitious parents, proud-spirited, and without respect for religion. While still quite young he enlisted in the service of the government, and after a time rose to the position of an officer in the U. S. army. Having in boyhood acquired the habit of self-abuse, he had stimulated his passions without restraint, and was readily led still farther astray by the evil companions with whom he was surrounded. He indulged his passions in every way and on every occasion when he found oppor- tunity, and speedily began to feel the eflfects of his ^■ices. Before he was fully aware of his condition, he found himself being literally devoured by the vilest of all diseases, which only those Avho trans- gress in this manner suffei'. The disease made rapid OLD AND YOUNG. 457 Death the Only Escape. A Wretched Life. advances and speedily reduced him to a condition of almost absolute helplessness. He was obliged to obtain a furlough; but his vital forces were so nearly exhausted that he did not rally even under skillful treatment ; and when his furlough expired, he was still in the same pitiable condition. Get- ting it extended for a time, he by accident came under our care, and by the aid of very thorough treatment he was in a measure improved, though the progress of the disease was simply stayed. When apprized of his real condition, he exhibited, much agitation, walking nervously about his room, and finally exclaimed that he was utterly di,sgusted with life anyway, and after a few weeks or months more of sufiering he should blow his brains out and end his misery. He had no fears of death, he said, and we presume that he could not imagine it possi- ble that there was any greater suffering in store for him than he already endured. We pitied the poor follow from the bottom of our heart. He had nat- ural qualities which ought to have made him dis- tinguished. He might have risen high in the world of usefulness. Now he was compelled to look back upon a short life of squandered opportunities, a pathway stained with vice, memories of vile de- baucheries which had wasted his youth and broken his constitution. Wretched was he indeed. Not- withstanding his vileness he was not lost to shame, for his greatest fear was that his friends might as- certain the real cause of his sufferings, to conceal 458 PLAIN FACTS FOP Avenues to Sin. Bad Company. which he was obliged to resort to all sorts of subter- fuges. As soon as he was able to travel he left us, being obliged to report to his superior officers, and we have heard nothing of him since. Scores of similar cases we might recount in detail, but we have not here the space. These will suffice to give to the young reader an idea of the terrible results of this awful vice which are suffered by its victims. We have not dared to portray on these pages one-half the misery and wretchedness which we have seen as the results of self-abuse and the vices to which it leads. The picture is too terrible for young eyes to behold. We most sincerely hope that none of our readers will ever have to suffer as we have seen boys and young men do, languishing in misery as the result of their own transgressions of the laws of chastity. We will now devote the re- maining pages of this chapter to the consideration of some of the causes of the vice, the avenues that lead to the awful sin which we are considering, and the terrible consequences which attend it. Bad Company. — The influence of evil compan- ionship is one of the most powerful agents for evil against which those who love purity and are seek- ino" to elevate and benefit their fellow-men have to contend. A bad boy can do more harm in a com- munity than can be counteracted by all the clergy- men, Sabbath-school teachers, tract-distributers, and other Christian workers combined. An evil boy is a pest compared with which the cholera, small-pox, OLD AXD YOUNO. 459 Moral Lepers. Vice Contagious. and even the plague, are nothing. The damage Avhich would be done by a terrific hurricane sweep- ing with destructive force through a thickly settled district is insignificant compared with the evil work which may be accomplished by one vicious lad. No community is free from these vipers, these agents of the arch-fiend. Every school, no matter how select it may be, contains a greater or less num- iier of these young moral lepers. Often they pur- sue their work unsuspected by the good and pure, who do not dream of the vileness pent up in the young brains which have not yet learned the multiplication table and scarcely learned to read. We have known instances in which a boy of seven or eight years of age has implanted the venom of vice in the hearts and minds of half a score of pure- minded lads within a few days of his first associa- tion with them. This vice spreads like wild-fire. It is more “catching” than the most contagious disease, and more tenacious, when once implanted, than the leprosy. Boys are easily infiuenced either for right or for wrong, but especially for the wrong; hence it is the duty of parents to select good companions for their children, and it is the duty of children to avoid bad company as they would avoid carrion or the most loathsome object. A boy with a match box in a poAvder magazine would be in no greater danger than in the company of most of the lads who attend our public schools and play upon the 4G0 PLAIN FACTS FOR Early Indulgence in Vice. Evil ABsociatce. sti’eets. It is astonishing how early children, espe- cially hoys, will sometimes learn the hideous, shame- less tricks of vice which yearly lead thousands down to everlasting death. Often children begin their course of sin while yet cradled in their mother’s arms, thus early taught hy some vile nurse. Bo3's that fight and swear, that play upon the streets and disobey their parents, may he wisely shunned as unfit for associates. In many instances, too, hoys whose conduct is in other respects wholly faultless some- times indulge in -Nuce, ignorant of its real nature • and consequences. At the first intimation of evil on the part of a companion, a bo}" who is yet pure should flee away as from a deadly serpent or a vo- racious beast. Do not let the desire to gratify a craving curiosity deter you from fleeing at once from the source of contamination. Under such cir- cumstances do not hesitate a moment to escape from danger. If an evil word is spoken or an indecent act of any sort indulged in by a companion, cut the acquaintance of such a boy at once. Never allow yourself to be alone with him a moment. On no account be induced to associate with him. He will as surely soil and besmear with sin your moral garments as would contact with the most filthy ob- ject imaginable your outer garments. It were better for a boy never to see or associate with a lad of his own age than to run any risk of being corrupted before he is old enough to appre- ciate the terrible enormity of sin and the awful con- OLD A2^D YOUNG. 461 Bad Language. Persons be Avoided. sequences of transgression. It should be recollected also that not only young boys but vicious youths and young men are frequently the instructors in vice. It is unsafe to trust any but those who are known to be pure. Bad Language. — We have often been astonished at the facility with which children acquire the lan- guage of vice. Often we have been astounded to hear little boys scarcely out of their cradles, lisping the most horrible oaths and the vilest epithets. The streets and alleys in our large cities, and in smaller ones too in a less degree, are nurseries of vice, in which are reared the criminals that fill our jails, prisons, work-houses, school-ships, and houses of correction. Many a lad begins his crim- inal education by learning the language of vice and sin. At first he simply imitates the evil utterances of others ; but soon he learns the full significance of the obscene and filthy language which he hears and repeats, and then he rapidly progresses in the downward road. A boy that indulges in the use of foul language will not long be chaste in acts. It is a safe rule to be followed by those who wish to grow up pure and unsullied by sin, untainted by vice, that those who use bad language are persons to avoid, to keep away from. Even those who are well fortified against vice, who have been faithfully warned of its consequences and fully appreciate its dangers, cannot be safely trusted to associate with vile talk- I 462 PLAIN FACTS FOR An Evil Often Ignored. Bad Books. ers. The use of bad language by old and young is an evil which is of the very greatest moment. It is too often ignored ; too little is said about it ; far too often it is disregarded as of little consequence, and persons who are really not bad at heart thought- lessly encourage the evil by listening to and laugh- ing at obscene and ribald jokes, and impure lan- guage which ought to make a virtuous man blush with shame to, hear. Boys, if you want to be pure, if you wish to be loved by a pure mother, an innocent sister, and when you are grown to manhood to be worthy of the con- fidence of a pure, virtuous wife, keep your lips pure ; never let a vile word or an indecent allusion pass them. Never, under any circumstances, give utter- ance to language that you would blush to have your mother overhear. If you find yourself in the com- pany of persons whose language will not bear this test, escape as soon as possible, for jmu are in dan- ger; your sense of what is right and proper in speech is being vitiated; you are being damaged in a variety of ways. Bad Books.— A bad book is as bad as an evil companion. In some respects it is even worse than a living teacher of vice, since it may cling to an in- dividual at all times. It may follow him to the secrecy of his bed-chamber, and there poison his mind with the venom of e\dl. The influence of bad books in making bad boys and men is little appreciated. Fcav are aware how much evil seed OLD AND YOUNG. 463 •‘Dime Norels.** Sensational Story Books. is being sown among the young everywhere through the medium of vile hooks. It is not only the wretched volumes of obscenity of which so many thousands have been seized and destroyed by Mr. Comstock which are included under the head of bad books, and which corrupt the morals of the young and lead them to enter the road to infamy, but the evil literature which is sold in “ dime and nickel novels,” and which constitutes the principal part of the contents of such papers as the Police Gazette, the Police News, and a large propor- tion of the sensational story books which flood the land, and too many of which find their way into town and circulating libraries and even Sunday- school libraries, which are rarely selected with the care that ought to be exercised in the selection of reading matter for the young. Bad books often find their way even where evil companions would not intrude ; and undoubtedly effect a work of evil almost as great as is wrought by bad associations. Look out, boys, for the tempter in this guise. If a companion offers you a book the character of Avhich is suspicious, take it home to your father, your mother, or some reliable older friend, for ex- amination. If it is handed you with an air of secrecy, or if a promise to keep it hidden from others is required, have nothing to do with it. You might better place a coal of fire or a live viper in your bosom than to allow yourself to read such a 464 PLAIN FACTS FOR Tenacity of Early Iiiipressions. Vile Pictures. book. The thoughts that are implanted in the mind in youth will stick there through life, in spite of all efforts to dislodge them. Hundreds of men who have been thus injured when young, but liave by some providence escaped a life of vice and shame, look back with most intense regret to the early days of childhood, and earnestly wish that the pictures then made in the mind by bad books might be effaced. Evil impressions thus formed often torture minds during a whole lifetime. In the most inopportune moments they will intrude themselves. When the individual desires to place his mind undividedly upon sacred and elevated themes, even at the most solemn moments of life, these lewd pictures will sometimes intrude them- selves in spite of his efforts to avoid them. It is an awful thing to allow the mind to be thus contam- inated ; and ihany a man would give the world, if he possessed it, to be free from the horrible incubus of a defiled imagination. Vile Pictures. — Obscene and lascivious pictures are influences which lead boys astray too important to be unnoticed. Evil men, agents of the arch- fiend, have adopted all sorts of devices for putting inte the hands of the boys and youths of the rising- generation pictures calculated to excite the passions, to lead to vice. Thousands of these vile pictures are in circulation throughout the country in spite of the worthy efforts of such philanthropists as Hr. Anthony Comstock and his co-laborers. In almost OLD AND YOTJNQ. 465 Misapplied Art. Evil Thoughts. every large school there are boys who have a supply of these infamous designs and act as agents in scat- tering the evil contagion among all who come under their influence. Under the guise of art, the genius of some of our finest artists is turned to pandering to this base desire for sensuous gratification. The pictures which hang in many of our art galleries that are visited by old and young of both sexes often number in the list views which to those whose thoughts are not well trained to rigid chastity can be only means of evil. A plea may be made for these paintings in the name of art ; but we see no necessity for the de- velopment of art in this particular direction, when nature presents so many and such varied scenes of loveliness in landscapes, flowers, beautiful birds, and graceful animals, to say nothing of the human form protected by sufficient covering to satisfy the de- mands of modesty. Many of the papers and magazines sold at our news-stands and eagerly sought after by young men and boys are better suited for the parlors of a house of ill-repute than for the eyes of pure- minded youth. A news-dealer who will distribute such vile sheets ought to be dealt with as an edu- cator in vice and crime, an agent of evil, and a re- cruiting officer for hell and perdition. Evil Thoiiglits. — No one can succeed long in keeping himself from vicious acts whose thoughts dwell upon unchaste subjects. Only those who are 30 4^66 PLAIN FACTS FOR The Scars of Evil Thoughts. Influence of Other Bad Habits. pure in heart will be pure and chaste in action. The mind must be educated to love and dwell upon pure subjects in early life, as by this means only can the foundation be laid for that purity of char- acter which alone will insure purity of life. When the mind once becomes contaminated with evil thoughts, it requires the work of years of earnest effort to purge it from uncleanness. Vile thoughts leave scars which even time will not ahvays efface. They soil and deprave the soul, as vile acts do the body. God knows them, if no human being does, and if harbored and cherished they will tell against the character in the day of Judgment as shrely as will evil words and deeds. Influence of Other Bad Habits. — EvU practices of any sort which loAver the moral tone of an indi- vidual, which lessen his appreciation of and love for right and purity and true nobility of soul, en- courage the development of vice. A boy who loves purity, who has a keen sense of what is true and right, can never become a vicious man. Pro- fanity, falsehood, and deception of every sort, have a tendency in the direction of vice. The use of highly seasoned food, of rich sauces, spices and condiments, sweetmeats, and in fact all kinds of stimulating foods, has an undoubted in- fluence upon the sexual nature of boys, stimulating those organs into too early activity, and occasion- ing temptations to sin which otherwise would not occur. The use of mustard, pepper, pepper-sauce, OLD AND TO UNO. 467 Bad Effects of Stimulants. Evil Influences of Tobacco. spices, rich gravies, and all similar kinds of food, should he carefully avoided by young persons. They are not wholesome for either old or young ; but for the young they are absolutely dangerous. The use of beer, wine, hard cider, and tobacco, is especially damaging to boys on this account. These stimulants excite the passions and produce a clamoring for sensual gratification which few boys or young men have the will power or moral courage to resist. Tobacco is an especially detri- mental agent. The early age at which boys now begin the use of tobacco may be one of the rea- sons why the practice of secret vice is becom- ing so terribly common among boys and young men. We never think a boy or young man who uses tobacco safe from the commission of some vile act. The use of tea and coffee by boys is also a prac- tice which should be interdicted. All wise physi- cians forbid the use of these narcotic drinks, to- gether with that of tobacco, and always with bene- fit to those who abstain. In France the govern- ment has made a law forbidding the use of tobacco by students in the public schools. In Germany a still more stringent law has been made, which for- bids the use of tobacco by boys and young men. These laws have been made on account of the serious injury which was evidently resulting from the use of the filthy weed to both the health and the morals of the young men of those countries. 468 PLAIN FACTS FOR Closing Advice to Boys and Young Men. How to Escape. There is certainly an equal need for such a law in this country. Closing Advice to Boys and Young Men. — One word more and we must close this chapter, which we hope has been read with care by those for whom it is especially written. Let every boy who peruses these pages remember that the facts here stated are true. Every word we have verified, and we have not written one-half that might be said upon this subject. Let the boy who is still pure, who has never defiled himself with vice, finnly resolve that with the help of God he will maintain a pure and virtuous character. It is much easier to preserve purity than to get free from the taint of sin after having been once de- filed. Let the boy who has already fallen into evil ways, who has been taught the vile practice the consequences of which we have endeavored to describe, and who is already in the downward road, — let him resolve now to break the chain of sin, to reform at once, and to renounce his evil practice forever. The least hesitancy, the slightest dalliance with the demon vice, and the poor victim will be lost. Now, this moment, is the time to re- form. Seek purity of mind and heart. Banish evil thoughts and shun evil companions ; then with earnest prayer to God wage a determined battle for purity and chastity until the victory is wholly won. One of the greatest safeguards for a boy is im- OLD AND YOU NO. 4{j9 A Safeguard. Fighting Temptation. plicit trust and confidence in his parents. Let iiim go to them with all his queries instead of to some older boyish friend. If all boys would do this, an immense amount of evil would be pre- vented. When tempted to sin, boys, think first of the vileness and wickedness of the act ; think that God and pure angels behold every act, and even know every thought. Nothing is hid from their eyes. Think then of the awful results of this ter- rible sin, and fly from temptation as from a burn- ing house. Send up a prayer to God to deliver you from temptation, and you will not fall. Every battle manfully and successfully fought will add new strength to your resolution and force to your character. Gaining such victories from day to day you will grow up to be a pure, noble, useful man, the grandest work of God, and will live a happy, virtuous life yourself, and add to the happiness of those around jmu. A Chapter for Girls, E have written this chapter especially for ; girls, and we sincerely hope that many will read it with an earnest desire to be benefited by so doing. The subject of which we have to write is a delicate one, and one which, we regret exceedingly, needs to be written about. But our experience as a physician has proven to us again and again that it is of the utmost importance that something be said, that words of warning should be addressed particularly to the girls and maidens just emerging into Avomanhood, on a subject which vitally con- cerns not only their own future health and happi- ness, but the prosperity and destiny of the race. Probably no one can be better fitted to speak on this subject than the physician. A physician who has given careful attention to the health and the causes of ill-health of ladies, and who has had opportuni- ties for observing the baneful influence exertfed upon the bodies and minds of girls and young women by the evil practices of which it is our purpose here to speak, can better appreciate than can others the magnitude of the eAul, and is better prepared to speak upon the subject understandingly and author- itatively. Gladly would we shun the task which has been pressed upon us, but which we have long [ 470 ] OLD AND YOUNG, 47l A Soul-Destroying Vice. Girlhood. avoided, were it not for the sense of the urgent need of its performance of which our professional experience has thoroughly convinced us. We can- not keep our lips closed when our eyes are wit- nesses to the fact that thousands of the fairest and best of our girls and maidens are being beguiled into everlasting ruin by a soul-destroying vice which works unseen, and often so insidiously that its re- sults are unperceived until the work of ruin is complete. The nature of our subject necessitates that we should speak plainly, though delicately, and we shall endeavor to make our language comprehensi- ble by any one old enough to be benefited by the perusal of this chapter. We desire that all who read these pages may receive lasting benefit by so doing. The subject is one upon which every girl ought to be informed, and to which she should give serious attention, at least sufficiently long to become intelligent concerning the evils and dangers to which girls are exposed from this source. Girlhood. — Nothing is so suggestive of innocence and purity as the simple beauty of girlhood Avhen seen in its natural freshness, though too seldom, now-a-days, is it possible to find in our young girls tlie natural grace and healthy beauty which were common among the little maidens of a quarter of a century ago. The ruddy cheeks and bright eyes and red lips which are indicative of a high degree of healthy vigor are not so often seen to-day among 472 PLAIN PACTS FOR Evidences of Weakness. Pernicious Ideas. the small girls in our public schools and passing to and fro upon the streets. The pale cheeks, languid eye4, and almost colorless lips which we more often see, indicate weakly constitutions and delicate health, and prophesy a short and suffering life to many. Various causes are at work to produce this unfortunate decline; and while we hope that in the larger share of cases, bad diet, improper clothing, confinement in poorly ventilated rooms with too little exercise, and similar causes, are the active agents, we are obliged to recognize the fact that there is in far too many cases another cause, the very mention of which makes us blush with shame that its existence should be possible. But of this we shall speak again presently. Real girls are like the just opening buds of beau- tiful flowers. The beauty and fragTance of the full- blossomed rose scarcely exceed the delicate loveli- ness of the swelling bud which shows between the sections of its bursting calyx the crimson petals tightly folded beneath. So the true girl possesses in her sphere as high a degree of attractive beauty as she can hope to attain in after-years, though of a different character. But genuine girls are scarce. Really natural little girls are almost as scarce as real boys. Too many girls begin at a very early age to attempt to imitate the pride and vanity man- ifested by older girls and young ladies. It is by many supposed that to be ladylike should be the height of the ambition of girls as soon as they OLD AND YOUNQ. 473 False Training. How to Develop Beauty and Loveliness. are old enough to be taught respecting propriety of behavior, which is understood to mean that they must appear as unnatural as possible in attempting to act like grown-up ladies. Many mothers who wish their daughters to be models of perfection, but whose ideas of perfect deportment are exceed- ingly superficial in character, dress up their little daughters in fine clothing, beautiful to look at, but very far from what is required for health and com- fort, and then continually admonish the little ones that they must keep very quiet and “ act like little ladies.” Such a course is a most pernicious one. It fosters pride and vanity, and inculcates an en- tirely wrong idea of what it is to be ladylike, — to be a true lady, to be true to nature as a girl. Such artificial training is damagino- alike to mind and body ; and it induces a condition of mind and of the physical system which is very conducive to the encouragement of dangerous tendencies. How to Develop Beauty and Loveliness. — All little girls want to be beautiful. Girls in general care much more for their appearance than do boys. They have finer tastes,^ and greater love for what- ever is lovely and beautiful. It is a natural desire, and should be encouraged! A pure, innocent, beau- tiful little girl is the most lovely of all God’s creat- ures. All are not equally beautiful, however, and cannot be ; but all may be beautiful to a degree that will render them attractive. Let all little girls who want to be pretty, handsome, or good- 4j74 plain facts fou Elements of Beauty. The Human Form DiTine. looking, give attention and we will tell them how. Those who are homely should listen especially, for all may become good-looking, though all cannot be* come remarkably beautifuL First of all, it is nec- essary that the girl who wishes to be handsome, to be admired,' should be good. She must learn to love what is right and true. She must be pure in mind and act. She must be simple in her manners, mod- est in her deportment, and kind in her ways. Second in importance, though scarcely so, is the necessity of health. No girl can long be beautiful without health ; and no girl who enjoys perfect health can be really ugly in appearance. A healthy countenance is always attractive. Disease wastes the rounded features, bleaches out the roses from the cheeks and the vermilion from the lips. It de- stroys the luster of the eye and the elasticity of the step. Health is essential to beauty. In fact, if we consider goodness as a state of moral health, then health is the one great requisite of beauty. Health is obtained and preserved by the observ- ance of those natural laws which the Creator has appointed for the government of our bodies. The structure of these bodies we may do well to study for a few moments. The Human Form Divine. — Go with us to one of the large cities, and we will show you one of the most marvelous pieces of mechanism ever in- vented, a triumph of ingenuity, skill, and patient, persevering labor for many years. This wonderful OLD AND YOUNG, 475 A Wonderful Clock. The Human Machine. device is a clock ■which will run more than one hundred years. It is so constructed that it indi- cates not only the time of day, the day of the month and year^ itself making all the necessary changes for leap year, but shows the motions of the earth around the sun, together with the move- ments and positions of all the other planets, and many other marvelous things. When it strikes at the end of each hour, groups of figures go through a variety of curious movements most closely resem- bling the appearance and actions of human beings. The maker of this remarkable clock well de- serves the almost endless praise which he receives I or his skill and patience, for his work is certainly wonderful ; but the great clock, with its curious and complicated mechanism, is a coarse and bungling affair when compared with the human body. The clock doubtless contains thousands of delicate wheels and springs, and is constructed with all the skill imaginable ; and yet the structure of the human body is infinitely more delicate. The clock has no intelligence ; but a human being can hear, see, feel, taste, touch, and think. The clock does only what its maker designed to have it do, and can do nothing else. The human machine is a living mechanism ; it can control its own movements, can do as it will, within certain limits. What is very curious indeed, the human machine has the power to mend itself, so that when it needs repairs it is not necessary to send it to a shop for the purpose. 476 VLAIN FACTS FOR A Wop.derfnl Process. Human Buds. but all that is required is to give nature an oppor- tunity and the system repairs itself, A Wonderful Process. — We have not space to describe all the wonderful mechanism of this hu- man machine, but must notice particularly one of its most curious features, a provision by which other human beings, living machines like itself, are produced. All living creatures possess this power. A single potato placed in the ground becomes a dozen or more, by a process of multiplying. A lit- tle seed planted in the earth grows up to be a plant, produces flowers, and from the flowers come other seeds, not one, but often a great many, some- times hundreds from a single seed. Insects, fishes, birds, and all other animals, thus multiply. So do human beings, and in a similar manner. The organs by which this most maiwelous process is carried on in plants and animals, including also human beings, are called sexual organs. Flowers are the sexual organs of plants. And flowers are always the most fragrant and the most beautiful when they are engaged in this wonderful and cu- rious work. Human Bads. — A curious animal which lives near the seashore, in shallow water, attached to a rock like a water plant, puts out little buds which grow awhile and then drop off, and after a time become large individuals like the parent, each in turn producing buds like the one from which it grew. Human beings are formed by a similar process. OLD AND YOUNG, 477 Development of Human Buds. How Beauty is Marred. Human buds are formed by an organ for tbe purpose possessed only by the female sex, and these, under proper circumstances, develop into infant human beings. The process, though so simply stated, is a marvelously complicated one, which cannot be fully explained here ; indeed, it is one of the myste- ries which it is beyond the power of human wisdom fully to explain. The production of these human buds is one of the most important and sacred duties of woman. It is through this means that she becomes a mother, which is one of the grandest and noblest functions of womanhood. It is the motherly in- stinct that causes little girls to show such a fond- ness for dolls, a perfectly natural feeling which may be encouraged to a moderate degree without injury. How Beauty is Marred. — As already remarked, mental, moral, and physical health are the requi- sites for true beauty, and to secure these, obedience to all the laws of health is required. The most beautiful face is soon marred when disease begins its ravages in the body. The most beautiful char- acter is as speedily spoiled by the touch of moral disease, or sin. The face is a mirror of the mind, the character; and a mind full of evil, impure thourrhts is certain to show itself in the face in spite of rosy cheeks and dimples, ruby lips and bewitchinsr smiles. The character is written on the face as plainly as the face may be pictured b}^ an artist on canvas. 478 PLAIN FACTS FOR Fashionable Dissipation. A Beauty-Destroying Vice. To be more explicit, the girl who disregards the laws of health, who eats had food, eats at all hours or at unseasonable hours, sits up late at night, at- tends fashionable parties and indulges in the usual means of dissipation there afforded, dancing, wane, rich suppers, etc., who carefully follows the fash- ions in her dress, lacing her waist to attain the fashionable degree of slenderness, wearing thin, . narrow-toed gaiters with French heels, and insuffi- ciently clothing the limbs in cold weather, and who in like manner neglects to comply with the require- ments of health in other important particulars, may be certain that sooner or later, certainly at no dis- tant day, she will become as unattractive and homely as she can wish not to be. Girls and young ladies who eat largely of fat meat, rich cakes and pies, confectionery, iced creams, and other dietetic abom- inations, cannot avoid becoming sallow and hollow- eyed. The cheeks may be ever so plump and rosy, they will certainly lose their freshness and become hollow and thin. Chalk and rouge will not hide the defect, for everybody will discover the fraud, and will of course know the reason why it is prac- ticed. A Beanty-Destroying Tice. — But by far the worst enemy of beauty and health of body, mind, and soul, we have not yet mentioned. It is a sin con- cerning which we would gladly keep silence ; but we cannot see so many of our most beautiful and promising girls and young ladies annually being OLD AJ^D YOUIiG. 479 A Mother’s Work. Sexual Abuse. ruined, often for this world and the next alike, with- out uttering the word of warning needed. As before remarked, the function of maternity, which is the object of the sexual system in woman, when rightly exercised is the most sacred and ele- vated office which a woman can perform for the world. The woman who is a true mother has an opportunity of doing for the race more than all other human agencies combined. The mother’s influence is the controlling influence in the world. The mother molds the character of her children. She can make of their plastic minds almost w;hat she will if she is herself prepared for the work. On the other hand, misuse or abuse of the sexual or- ganism is visited in girls and women, as in boys and men, with the most fearful penalties. Nothing will sooner deprive a gii’l or young lady of the maidenly srrace and freshness with which nature blesses o woman in her early years than secret vice. We have the greatest difficulty in making ourself be- lieve that it is possible for beings designed by nature to be pure and innocent, in all respects free from impurity of any sort, to become so de- praved by sin as to be willing to devote themselves to so vile and filthy a practice. Yet the frequency with which cases have come under our observation which clearly indicate the alarming prevalence of the practice, even among girls and young women who would naturally be least suspected, compels us to recognize the fact. The testimony of many V 480 PLAIN FACTS FOE Prevalence of the Vice. Terrible Effects of Secret Vice. eminent physicians whose opportunities for obser- vation have been very extensive shows that the evil is enormously greater than people generally are aware. Instructors of the youth, of large experience, assert the same. Nor is the evil greater in Amer- ica than in some other countries. One writer de- clares that the vice is almost universal among the girls of Russia, which may be due to the low condi- tion in which the women of that country are kept. Terrible Eifects of Secret Tice. — The awful effects of this sin against God and nature, this soul- and-body-destroying vice, become speedily visible in those who are guilty of it. The experienced eye needs no confession on the part of the victim to read the whole story of sinful indulgence and con- sequent disease. The vice stamps its insignia upon the countenance ; it shows itself in the walk, in the changed disposition and the loss of healthy vigor. It is not only impossible for a victim of this sinful practice to hide from the all-seeing eye of God the vileness perpetrated in secret, hut it is also useless to attempt to hide from human eyes the awful truth. Headache, side-ache, back-ache, pains in the chest, and wandering pains in various parts of the body, — these are but a few of the painful ail- ments from which girls who are guilty of this sin suffer. Many of the tender spines which cause great solicitude on the part of parents and physi- cians, who fear that disease of the spine is threat- OLD AND TO UNO. 481 Evidences of the Vice. A Cause of Early Decline. ening the life of a loved daughter, not infrequently originate in this way. Much of the hysteria which renders wretched the lives of thousands of young ladies and the fond friends who are obliged to care for and attend them, arises from Sexual transgres- sion of the kind of which we are speaking. The blanched cheeks, hollow, expressionless eyes, and rough, pimply skins of many school-girls are due to this cause alone. We do not mean by this to inti- mate that every girl who has pimples upon her face is guilty of secret vice; but this sin is undoubt- edly a very frequent cause of the unpleasant erup- tion which so often appears upon the foreheads of both sexes. It would be very unjust, however, to charge a person with the sin unless some further evidence than that of an eruption on the face was afibrded. The inability to study, to apply themselves in any way except when stimulated by something of a very exciting character, which many girls exhibit is in a large proportion of cases due to the practice of which we are writing. Often enough the effects which are attributed to overstudy are properly due to this debasing habit. We have little faith in the great outcry made in certain quarters about the damaging effects of study upon the health of young- ladies. A far less worthy cause is in many cases the true one, to which is attributable the decline in health at a critical period when all the vital forces of the system are necessarily called into ac- tion to introduce the activity of a new function. 31 4.82 PLAIN FACTS FOR A Critical Period. Cause of Many Diseases. Hundreds of girls break down in health just as they are entering womanhood. At from twelve to eighteen years of age the change naturally oc- curs which transforms the girl into a woman by the development of functions previously latent. This critical period is one through which every girl in health ought to pass with scarcely any noticeable disturbance; and if during the previous years of life the laws of health were observed, there would seldom be any unusual degree of suffering at this time. Those who have before this period been ad- •dicted to the vile habit of which we are writing, will almost invariably show at this time evidences of the injury which has been wrought. The unnat- ural excitement of the organs before the period of puberty, lays the foundation for life-long disease. When that critical epoch arrives, the organs are found in a state of congestion often bordering on inflammation. The increased congestion which naturally occurs at this time in many cases is suf- ficient to excite most serious disease. Here is the beginning of a great many of the special diseases which are the bane and shame of the sex. Dis- placements of various sorts, congestions, neuralgia of the ovaries, leucorrhoea, or whites, and a great variety of kindred maladies, are certain to make their appearance at this period or soon after in those who have previously been guilty of self-abuse. If the evil influences already at work are augmented by tight lacing, improper dressing of the extremities, OLD AND TO UNO. 483 Effects of Fashionable Dissipation. Eemote Effects. hanging heavy skirts upon the hips, and fashion- able dissipation generally, the worst results are sure to follow, and the individual is certain to be a sub- ject for the doctors for a good portion of her life. A talented writer some time since contributed to a popular magazine an article entitled, “ The Little Health of Women,” which contained many excel- lent hints respecting the influences at work to un- dermine the health and destroy the constitutions of American women ; but he did not even hint at tliis potent cause, which, we firmly believe, is re.sponbi- ble for a far greater share of the local disease and general poor health of girls, young women, and mar- ried ladies, than has been generally recognized. These are startling facts, but we are prepared to substantiate them. Hemote Effects i— Not all of the efiects of the vice appear in girlhood, nor even during early life. Not infrequently it is not until the girl has grown up to be a wife and mother that she begins to ap- preciate fully the harm that has been wrought. At this time, when new demands are made upon the sexual organism, when its proper duties are to be performed, there is a sudden failure ; new weak- nesses and diseases make their appearance, new pains and sufferings are felt, which no woman who has not in some way seriously transgressed the laws of health will suffer. In not a few in- stances it is discovered that the individual is wholly unfitted for the duties of maternity. Often, 484 PLAIN FACTS FOR Causes which Lead Girls Astray. Vicious Companioni. indeed, maternity is impossible, the injury result- ing from the sins committed being so great as to ren- der the diseased organism incapable of the func- tions required. In the great majority of cases these peculiar dif- ficulties, morbid conditions, and incapacities are at- tributed to overwork, overstudy, “taking cold,” “ getting the feet wet,” or some other cause wholly inadequate to account for the diseased conditions present, although in many instances it may be true that some such unfortunate circumstance may be the means of precipitating the effects of previous sin upon organs already relaxed, debilitated, and thus prepared readily to take on disease. Causes which Lead Girls Astray. — The predis- posing causes of sexual vices have already been dwelt upon so fully in this volume that we shall devote little space to the subject here. We may, however, mention a few of the causes which seem to be most active in leading to the formation of evil habits among girls. Vicious Companions. — Girls are remarkably sus- ceptible to influence by those of their own age. A vicious girl who makes herself agreeable to those with whom she associates can exert more influence over many of her companions than can any num- ber of older persons. Even a mother rarely has that influence over her daughter that is maintained by the girl whom she holds as her bosom friend. The close friendships which are often formed be- OLD AND YOUNG. 455 “Whom to Avoid. Sentimental Books. tween girls of the same age are often highly detri- mental in character. Each makes a confidant of the other, and thus becomes estranged from the only one competent to give counsel and advice, and the one who of all others is worthy of a young- girl’s confidence, — her mother. From these unfortunate alliances often arise most deplorable evils. Vicious companions not in- frequently sow the seeds of evil habits far and wide, contaminating all who come within their in- fluence. Whom to Avoid. — A girl will always do well to avoid a companion who is vain, idle, silly, or friv- olous. Girls who have these evil characteristics are very likely to have others also which are worse. A girl who is rude in her manners, careless in her hab- its, irreverent and disobedient to parents and teach- ers, is always an unsafe companion. No matter how pretty, witty, stylish, or aristocratic she may be, she should be shunned. Her influence will be with- ering, debasing, wherever felt. A girl may be gay and thoughtless without being vicious ; but the chances are ten to one that she will become sinful unless she changes her ways. Sentimental Books. — The majority of girls love to read, but, unfortunately, the kind of literature of which they are chiefly fond is not of a character which will elevate, refine, or in any way benefit them. Story books, romances, love tales, and re- ligious novels constitute the chief part of the read- 486 PLAIN FACTS FOR Novel Keadhig. Evil Effects of Bad Books. ing matter whicli American young ladies greedily devour. We have known young ladies still in their teens who had read whole libraries of the most ex- citing novels. The taste for novel-reading is like that for liquor or opium. It is never satiated. It grows with gratification. A confirmed novel-reader is almost as difiicult to reform as a confirmed inebriate or opium-eater. The influence upon the mind is most damaging and pernicious. It not only destroys the love for solid, useful reading, hut excites the emotions, and in many cases keeps the passions in a perfect fever of excitement. The confessions of young women who were to all appearance the most circumspect in every particular, and whom no one mistrusted to he capable of vile thoughts, have convinced us that this evil is more prevalent than many, even of those who are quite well informed would be willing to admit. By reading of this kind, many are led to resort to self-abuse for the gratification of passions which over-stimulation has made almost uncontrollable. Some have thus been induced to sin who had never been injui'ed by other influences, but discovered the fatal secret themselves. Mothers cannot be too cai’eful of the character of the books which their daughters read. Every book, magazine, and paper should be carefully scrutinized, unless its character is already well known, befoi-e it is allowed to be read. In our opinion, some of the literature which OLD AND YOUNG, 4^7 Various Causes. Childish Flirtations. passes as standard, whicli is often found on parlor center-tables and in family and school libraries, such as Chauc er’s poeit ^j and other writings of a kindred character, is unfit for perusal by inexperi- enced and unsophisticated young ladies. Some of this literature is actually too vile for any one to read, and if written to-day by any poet of note would cause his works to be committed to the stove and the rag-bag in spite of his reputation. Various Causes. — Bad diet, the use of stimulating and exciting articles of food, late suppers, confec- tionery and dainties, — all these have a very power- ful influence in the wrong direction by exciting functions which ought to be kept as nearly latent as possible. The use of tea and cofiee by young ladies cannot be too strongly condemned. Improper dress, by causing local congestion, often predisposes to secret vice by occasioning local excitement. Probably a greater cause than any of those last mentioned is too great familiarity with the opposite sex. The silly letters which girls sometimes allow themselves to receive from the boys and young men of their acquaintance, and which they encourage by letters of a similar character, must be condemned in the most thorough manner. Upon receiving such a letter a pure-minded girl will consider her- self insulted, and has just reason for so doing. The childish flirtations which girls and boys some- times indulge in often lead to evils of a most revolt- ing character. ■ 4 : 488 PLAIN FACTS FOR Modesty Woman’s Safeguard. A Few Sad Cases. Modesty Woman’s Safeguard. — True modesty and maidenly reserve are the best guardians of \dr- tue. The girl who is truly modest, who encourages and allows no improper advances, need have no fear of annoyance from this source. She is equally safe from temptation to sin which may come to her in secret, when no human eye can behold. Maidenly modesty is one of the best qualities which any young lady can possess. A young woman who lacks modesty, who manifests boldness. of man- ner and carelessness in deportment, is not only lia- ble to have her virtue assailed by designing and unscrupulous men, but is herself likely to fall be- fore the temptation to indulge in secret sin, which is certain to present itself in some way sooner or later. This invaluable protection is speedily lost, by the girl who abandons herself to secret vice. The chances are very great, also, that by degrees her respect for and love of virtue and chastity will di- minish until she is open to temptations to indulge’ in less secret sin ; and thus she travels down the road of vice until she finds herself at last an inmate of a brothel or an outcast wanderer, rejected by friends, and lost to virtue, purity, and aU that a true woman holds most dean A Few Sad Cases. — Although we do not believe it rioht to harrow the feelings of those who have sinned and sufiered with a rehearsal of sad cases when no good can be accomplished by such ac- OLD AND YOUNO. 489 A Pitiful Case. Appalling Effects of Vice. counts, we deem it but just that those who are not yet entangled in the meshes of vice should have an opportunity of knowing the actual results of sin, and profiting by the sad experience of oth- ers, It is for this purpose that we shall mention a few cases which have come under our observation, taking care to avoid mentioning any facts which might lead to identification, as the facts we shall use were, many of them, received in strict confi- dence from those who were glad to unburden their hearts to some one, but had never dared to do so, even to their friends. A Pitiful Case. — Several years ago we received a letter from a young woman in an Eastern State in which she described her case as that of an indi- vidual who had early become addicted to secret vice and had continued the vile habit until that time, when she was about thirty-two years of age. In spite of the most solemn vows to reform, she still continued the habit, and had become reduced to such a miserable condition that she would almost rather die than live. She sent with her letter pho- tographs representing herself at twenty and at th&t time, so that we might see the contrast. It was indeed appalling to see what changes sin had wrought. Her face, once fair and comely, had be- come actually haggard with vice. Purity, inno- cence, grace, and modesty were no longer visible there. The hard lines of sin had obliterated every trace of beauty, and produced a most repulsive coua- 490 PLAIN FACTS FOR A Dreadful Contrast. A Mind Dethroned. tenance. Though greatly depraved and shattered by sin and consequent disease in body and mind, she still had some desire to be cured, if possible^ and made a most pitiful appeal for help to escape from her loathsome condition. We gave her the best counsel we could under the circumstances, and did all in our power to rescue her from her living death ; but whether in any degree successful we can- not tell, as we have never heard from the poor creature since. We have often wished since that we might but show those two pictures to every girl who has been tempted to sin in this way, to all who have ever yielded to this awful vice. The terrible contrast would certainly produce an impression which no words can do. We sent them back to their wretched original, however, by her request, and so cannot show the actual pictures ; but when any who read these lines are tempted thus to sin we beg them to think of these two pictures, and by fonn- ing a vivid image of them in the mind (drive away the disposition to do wrong. A Mind Dethroned. — A young lady who had re- ceived every advantage which could be given her by indulgent parents, and who naturally possessed most excellent talents, being a fine musician, and naturally so bright and witty as to be the life of every company in which she moved, suddenly be- gan to show strange symptoms of mental unsound- ness. She would sometimes be seized with fits OLD AND YOUNG. 491 Transgressions and Penalties, A Penitent Victim, of violence during which it was with great dif- ficulty that she could be controlled. Several times she threatened the lives of her nurses, and even on one occasion attempted to execute her threat, the person’s life being saved by mere acci- dent. Everything was done for her that could be done, but the mania increased to such a degree of violence that she was sent to an asylum for the in- sane. Here she remained for months before she became sufficiently tractable to be taken to her home and cared for by friends. Too close applica- tion to study was the cause at first assigned for her mental disorder, but a careful investigation of the case revealed the fact that the terrible sin which has ruined the minds of so many promising young men and brilliant young women was the cause that led to the sad result in this case also. The punishment of sin, especially of sexual sins, is in- deed teri'ible ; but the sin is a fearful one, and the penalty must be equal to the enormity of the crime. Not all young women who indulge thus will be- come insane, but any one who thus transgresses may be thus punished. There is no safety but in absolute purity, A Penitent Yictim. — A young woman who had been ill for years, and whose physicians had sought in vain to cure her various ailments, until her par- ents almost despaired of her ever being anything but a helpless invalid, came to us for treatment, resolved upon making a last efibrt for health. She 492 PLAIN FACTS FOR A Caus^ of Obstinate Disease. Victory Gained. had grown up in utter ignorance of the laws of health and of the results of the vice of which we are writing ; and having been early taught the sin, she had indulged it for a number of yeare with the result of producing a most terribly diseased condi- tion of the sexual organs, which had baffled the skill of all the physicians who had attended her, none of whom had ever been made acquainted with the true cause of the difflculties. When apprized of the real facts in the case, that she was alone re- sponsible for the sad condition into which she had fallen, her eyes were opened to see the wickedness and vileness of her course. She bitterly bemoaned her past life, and heartily repented of her sins. Of the sincerity of her repentance she gave evidence in the earnest efforts which she put forth to help herself. She spared no pains to do well all required on her part, and was soon rewarded by feeling that her diseases were being removed and health was returning. Still, she was constantly reminded of her former sins. W^hen the will was off its guard, during sleep, the mind, long indulged in sin, would revert to the old channels and riot in vileness. Un- chaste dreams made her often dread to sleep, as she awoke from these unconscious lapses enervated^ weak, and prostrated as though she had actually transgressed. But though often thus almost dis- heartened she continued the straggle, and was finally rewarded by gaining a perfect victory over her mind, sleeping as well as waking, and recover- OLD AND YOUNG. 493 An Insane Vice. A Ruined GirL ing her health sufficiently to enable her to enjoy life and make herself very useful. Not a few similar cases have come under our ob- servation ; and it seems to us that the pain, anguish, and remorse suffered by these poor victims, ought to be a warning to those who have never entered the sinful road. What a terrible thing it is for a pure and lovely being, designed by God to fulfill a high, holy, and sacred mission in the world, to be- come a victim to such a filthy vice ! No girl of sense would in her right mind raise her hand to dash in pieces a beautiful vase, to destroy a lovely painting, or a beautiful piece of statuary. A girl who would do such a thing would be considered insane and a fit subject for a mad-house. Yet is not the human body, a girl’s own beautiful, symmetrical form, infinitely better, more valuable and more sacred, than any object produced by human art ? There can be but one answer. How, then, is it pos- sible for her thus to defile and destroy herself ? Is it not a fearful thing ? a terrible vice ? A Ruined Girl. — One of the most remarkable cases of disease resulting from self-abuse which ever came under our observation was that of a young lady from a distant Western State whose adopted parents, after consulting many different physicians for a peculiar disease of the breast, placed her under our care. We found her a good-looking young- woman about seventeen years of age, rather pale and considerably emaciated, very nervous and hys- 494 TLAIN FACTS FOR j Suspicious Symptoms. Suspicions Confirmed. I ; ^ ; 1 terical, and suffering with severe pain in the left breast, which was swollen to nearly double the natural size, hot, tense, pulsating, and extremely tender to the touch. Occasionally she would expe- rience paroxysms in which she apparently suffered extremely, being sometimes semi-conscious, and scarcely breathing for hours. We suspected the cause of these peculiar manifestations at the out- set, but every suggestion of the possibility of the suspected cause was met with a stout denial and a very deceptive appearance of innocent ignorance on the subject. All treatment was imavailing to check the disease. Though sometimes the symp- toms seemed to be controlled, a speedy relapse oc- curred, so that no progress toward a cure was made. Finally our conviction that our first impression re- specting the case was correct became so strong that we hesitated no longer to treat it as such. By most vigilant observation we detected evidences of the soul-corrupting vice which we considered unmistak- able, and then the young woman who had pretended such profound ignorance of the matter confessed to an extent of wickedness which was perfectly ap- palling. Every pai’oxysm was traced to an un- usual excess of sinful indulgence. So hardened was she by her evil practices that she seemed to feel no remorse, and only promised to reform when threat- ened with exposure to her parents unless she im- mediately ceased the vile practice. In less than ten da3's the mysterious symptoms which had puz- OLD AND TO UNO. 495 Hopelessly Depraved. Danger of Boarding-Schools. zled many physicians disappeared altogether. The swollen, tender breast was no larger than the other, and was so entirely restored that she was ab le to s^ik^it.a full blow without pain. So great was the depravity of this girl, however, that she had no notion of making a permanent re- form. She even boasted of her wickedness to a companion, and announced her intention to continue the practice. We sent her home, and apprized her parents of the full facts in the case, for which we received their deepest gratitude, though their hearts were nearly broken with grief at the sad revelation made to them. Notwithstanding their most ear- nest efforts in her behalf, the wretched girl contin- ued her downward career, and a year or two after we learned that she had sunk to the very lowest depths of shame. Once this now wretched, disgraced creature was an attractive, pure, innocent little girl. Her adopted father lavished upon her numerous presents, and spent hundreds of dollars to obtain her recovery to health. Yet through this awful vice she was ru- ined utterly, and rendered so wholly perverse and bad that she had no desire to be better, no disposi- tion to reform. God only knows what will be her sad end. May none who read thesp lines ever fol- low in her footsteps. The Danger of Boarding-Schools.— Some years ago a young lady came under our medical care who had suffered for some time from a serious nervous 496 PLAIN FACTi^ FOR An Interesting Case. The Power of Habit. difficulty which had baffied the skill of all the phy- sicians who had had charge of her case, and which occasioned her a great amount of suffering, making it necessary that she should be confined to her bed most of the time, the disease being aggravated by exercise, and the patient having been much weak- ened by its long continuance. All the remedies usually successful in such cases were employed with little or no efiect, and w^ were feeling somewhat perplexed concerning the case, when the young lady sent for us one daj’’ and upon our going to her room in answer to her call she im- mediately burst into tears and acknowledged that she had been addicted to the habit of self-abuse and that she was still suffering from involuntary excitement during sleep. Having been placed in a boarding-school when quite young, she had there learned the vile habit, and had practiced it without knowing anything of the ill effects or really appre- ciating its sinfulness. When she learned, some years after, that the habit was a most pernicious vice and of a character to bring destruction to both soul and body of one addicted to it, she endeavored to free herself from its shackles ; but she found herself too securely bound for escape. It seemed, indeed, an utter impossibility. Her thoughts had long been allowed to run in sentimental channels, and now they would do so in spite of the most ear- nest efforts to the contrary, dui’ing her waking hours ; and in sleep, while the will power was not OLD AND YOUNO. 497 A Hopeful Prospect. A Desperate Case. active, the imagination would run riot uncontrolled, leaving her, upon awaking, exhausted, enervated, and almost desperate with chagrin. Knowing that she was daily suffering for her transgressions, she was filled with remorse and regret, and would have given all to undo the past ; hut, alas ! she could not, and could only suffer with patience until relief could he secured. Her love for sentimental litera- ture occasioned another battle for her to fight ; for she could scarcely resist the temptation daily of- fered her to while away some of the weary hours with such stories of love and sentiment as she had been accustomed to enjoy. But she fought the battle earnestly, and finally succeeded in conquering the evil tendencies of her mind both while awake and when asleep ; and from that time she began to make slow progress toward recovery. The last we saw of her she was doing well, and hoped in time to arrive at a very comfortable state of health. A Desperate Case. — A little girl about ten years of age was brought to us by her father, Avho came with his daughter to have her broken of the vile habit of self-abuse into which she had fallen, hav- ing been taught it by a German servant girl. Hav- ing read an early copy of this work, the father had speedily detected the habit, and had adopted every measure which he could devise to break his child of the destructive vice which she had acquired, but in vain. After applying various other measures without success, it finally became necessary to re- 32 498 PLAIN FACTS FOB A Severe Bemedy. A Father in Teai-3. sort to a surgical operation, by which it is hoped that she was permanently cured, as we have heard nothing to the contrary since, and as the remedy seemed to be effectual. It was a severe remedy, and may seem a harsh one, but every other means utterly failed, and the father insisted upon the per- formance of the operation as a trial. This little girl, naturally truthful and honest, had, through the influence of this blightinor vice, been made craftv and deceptive. She would tell the most astonish- ing falsehoods to free herself from the charge of guilt or to avoid punishment. The gentleman, her father, felt so deeply upon the subject and was so thoroughly awake to the consequences of the sin, that he declared he would take his daughter away into the wilderness and leave her to die, if need be, rather than allow her to grow up to womanhood with this vile blight upon her, and run the risk of her contaminating with the same vice his other, younger children. He felt so deeply that the team coursed down his cheeks as he talked, and we were most happy to be of service to him in aiding his daughter to 'overcome the fascinating vice. She seemed willing to try to help herself, but was una- ble to break the bonds of sin without the extraor- dinary help which she received. We might continue this rehearsal of cases to an almost indeflnite length, but we must soon bring this chapter to a close. Those described are only a few examples of the many we are constantly meeting. OLD AND YOUNG. 499 Words of Warning. A Last Word. None have been overdrawn ; much has been omitted for the sake of delicacy which the exposure of the whole truth would have required us to present. We sincerely hope that these examples may be a warning to those who have never marred their purity of character by an unchaste act. To those who may have already sinned in this manner let these words come with double force and meanincr “CD Do you value life, health, beauty, honor, virtue, purity ? Then for the sake of all these, abandon the evil practice at once. Do not hesitate for a moment to decide, and do not turn back after deciding to reform. A Last Word. — Girls, as one who has only your best interests in view, and who would do you good, we beg of you to give heed one moment to the im- portant matter which we have been presenting be- fore you. It is of no frivolous character. It is one of the most important subjects to which your attention can be called. Only those who are ut- terly ignorant of the dangers which surround them in the world, or wjio are already hardened in sin, will treat this matter lightly or scornfully. If you are still pure and possess a character unsoiled by sin, thank God that you have been preserved until now, and humbly petition him to enable you to re- main as pure and unsullied as you now are. Cul- tivate all of the heavenly graces. Make your dear mother your confidant in all your perplexities and trials. Go to her for information on all subjects 500 PLAIN FACTS FOB Avoid Temptation, The Way Back. upon which you find yourself ignorant. Let no foreign influence beguile away your confidence from her who is most worthy of your love and respect, and who is best prepared to instnict you on all sub- jects, no matter how delicate. Trust in God for help to resist evil under every guise. Mee from temptation under whatever form it may appear. Thus may you escape the suffering, the sorrow, and the remorse, which is endured sooner or later by all who enter the road of sin, no matter how short a time they may travel therein. To those who have already fallen, who have been led astray either ignorantly or through weakness in yielding to temptation, we will say. Turn from your evil way at once. Misery, son’ow, anguish, and everlasting ruin stare you in the face. Perdi- tion is before you. You need not think to escape the punishmMit that others sufier, for there is no way of escape. The penalty will surely come. Make haste to return to the paths of purity before it is too late to mend the past. It may take years of pure and upright living to repair the evil alreadj' done ; but do not hesitate to begin at once. With the help of God, resolve to become pure again. God can cleanse you from all unrighteousness. He can enable you to chase from your mind and heart every impure thought and unclean desire. Tlirough his grace you can successfully battle with tempta- tion and redeem the black record of the past. OLD AND TOUNQ. 501 Responsibility of Boys and Girls. Co-edncation of the Sexes. A Few Words to Boys and Girls. Of the last two preceding chapters one was de- voted exclusively to advice and instruction to hoys, the other being written expressly for girls. Now we have a few words in conclusion for boys and girls together. It is of the greatest importance that our boys and girls should be in every way improved as much as possible. They are to become the men and women of the next generation, when their fa- thers and mothers have retired from active life. Twenty years from to-day the world will be just* what the pi-esent boys and girls shall make it. Boys who are chaste, honest, obedient, and indus- trious, will become useful and noble men, husbands, and fathers. Girls who are pure, innocent, and du- tiful, will become honored and lovely women, wives, and mothers. Boys and girls are placed in families together, and thus are evidently designed by nature to asso- ciate together, to obtain their education and prep- aration for life together. When secluded wholly from each other’s society, both suffer a loss. But while this is true, it is also true that certain evils may and often do grow out of the association of the two sexes of young people, so serious in char- acter that many wise and good men and women have felt that the sexes should be reared and edu- 502 PLAIN FACTS FOR Danger of Early Intimacies. Dangerous AdTisers. cated apart as much as possible. These evils are the result of too intimate and improper associations of boys and girls. Associations of this sort must be most sedulously avoided. Boys and girls who are in school together must he extremely careful to avoid too close associations. On all occasions a modest reserve should he maintained in the deport- ment of the young of both sexes toward each other. Too early friendships formed often lead to hasty marriages, before either party is prepared to enter into the married state, and before the judgment has been sufficiently developed to make either capable of selecting a suitable partner for life. These facts are usually learned when it is too late for the in- formation to be of any value. Parents and teachers are especially responsible for guarding these early associations and giving timely warning when needed- The youth should always be ready to take advice on this subject, for with their inexperience they cannot know their wants so well as do their elders. Nothing is more disgusting to persons of sound sense than youthful flirtations. Those misguided persons who encour- age these indiscretions in young people do an im- mense amount of injury to those whom they ought to be prepared to benefit by wise counsel. We have seen promising young people made wretched for life through the influence of one of these mis- chief-makers, being most unhappily mated, and re- penting too late of a hasty marriage for which they were utterly unprepared. OLD AND YOUNG. 503 “Small Talk.” Superficial Minds. Young persons often labor under the erroneous impression that in order to be agreeable they must talk " small talk ; ” this literally means, “ silly twaddle,” which disgusts everybody, and yet which all seek to imitate. Whenever the two sexes meet in society or elsewhere, as at all other times, the conversation should be turned upon subjects of real interest, which admit of the exercise of sound sense and will be a means of culture. Such associations do not result in injury to any one, and may be the means of much profit ; but nothing is more execra- ble than the frivolous, silly, often absolutely sense- less observations which make up the great bulk of the conversation of young people in fashionable society. The most ready means of disclosing the superfi- cial character of the minds of a large share of the young persons who move in fashionable circles is to introduce some topic requiring depth of thought and sound judgment. Such a subject will usually produce either an instant lull in the conversation or a display of ignorance which cannot fail to re- veal the shallowness of the speaker’s intellect. It is this superficial class of minds that most easily fall victims to a sickly sentimentalism, which readily leads to digressions from the pathway of rigid virtue. A boy who has the elements of true manliness in him will carry a gentlemanly bearing wherever he goes. In all his deportment, and especially in his 504 PLAIN FACTS. Tme Gentility. The Best Buie. conduct toward the opposite sex, he will act the gentleman ; and the boy whose gentility is genuine will manifest the same kind deference toward his mother and sisters as toward other ladies and girls. So also the young lady who is a lady at heart, will never allow herself to forget the rules of propriety, whether she is in the company of her father and brothers, or that of other gentlemen. All the rules of etiquette are woi’th little com- pared with the one simple rule which is applicable to both sexes and all ages, — “ Have the beaut right and then act natural.” One so governed will not go very far astray under any circumstances ; hut it is of the greatest importance that the h^art be right. To make it such is, indeed, the great business of life. "Blessed are the Pure in Heart.” INDEX Abortion, 271 “ results of, ... . 280 Accidental pregnancy, . . 236 Adaptation to marriage, 127 Advice to boys, 468 Advice to girls, 499 Advice to boys and girls, 501 Afterbirth, 68 Amativeness, 177 Amaurosis, 369 Amenorrhoea, 95 Animalcula, 26 Ante-natal influences, . . 105 Antediluvian wicked- ness, 286 Bad language, ..... 461 Bad company, 458 Bad books, 462 “ “ influence of, 463 “ “ eflects of, . . 486 Balls, demoralizing^ efliect “"of, 7 . 77 . 7777 .' . .".777204 Beauty, how to develop, 473 Beer-drinking by nurs- ing mothers, 71 Beer, evil effects of, ... . 467 Betrothal of infants, .... 138 Birth, changes at, ... . 69 Bladder, irritation of. . . 203 PAGE. Boarding-schools, danger of, 495 Books, bad, 186 “ obscene, 187 Brain, male and female, 42 Breasts, 70 “ atrophy of the, . . 374 Breath, causes of foul, . . 89 “ Bundling,” 140 Cancer, cause of, 253 “ of the womb, . . 374 Castration, 114 Catamenia, 81 Causes of unchastity, . . 181 Cells, development of, . . 104 Chastity, 174 Chlorosis, 95, 343 Cider, evil effects of, . . 467 Circumcision, .... 113, 410 Civilization, perverting influence of, 181 Classification of living creatures, Clitoris, 57, 73 Coitus, 57 Colds, how to prevent, 84 Colostrum, 70 Conception, prevention of, 250 .505 o 06 INDEX, Condimenta, 210, 292 Conjugal onanism, 250 Constipation, 202 Consumption, 365 “ cause of, 230, 435 Continence, 205 “ male, 256 “ not injurious, 205 “ difficulty of, 208 “ helps to, 209 Conversation, trilling, . . 503 Copulation, 57 Courtship, 136 “ evils of, .... 137 Courtships, long, 140 Crime, source of, 107 “ cause of, 454 Criminality hereditary, 107 Critical period, a, 482 Dancing, 196 Day-dreams, 177 Desirable qualities, how to produce, 113 Development, 59, 477 “ premature, 78 Development in higher animals, 61 Diet, 390 “ influence on chastity, 182 Disease, 301 “ obscure causes of, 376 Diurnal emissions, 359 Divorce, loose laws of, . . 153 Dozing, danger of, .... 212 Dreams, 396 Dreams, how to control, 397 Dress and sensuality, . . 190 Dressing unhealthfuUy, 89 Dress reform, 193 Drinks, stimulating, .... 392 Drugs, . . 411 Dwarfs, 431 Dysmenorrhoea, 94 Dyspepsia, 366 “ cause of, ... . 434 Early associations, 314 “ marriage, 126 “ training, 310 “ “ lack of, .. 295 “ decline, cause of, 481 Egypt a hot-bed of vice, 286 Electricity, 407 Embryo, 63 “ simple structure of, 64 Embryo, stages of growth of, 65 Emissions, effect of, ... . 356 “ internal, 361 “ nocturnal, . . 353 Endurance of women, . . 43 Epilepsy, 344 “ cause of, 244 Evil habits, 427 Excesses, marital, — . 216 “ results of, ... . 225 “ effects of on wives, 231 Excesses, effects of on husbands, 226 INDiJX. 5Q7 Extra-uterinepregnancy, 97 Eyes, weakness of, .... 369 Fallopian tube, 74 False delicacy, 92 “ training, 473 Fashion, 294 “ and vice, .... 192 Fashionable dissipation, 478 Fecundation, 52 “ in flowers, 53 “ modes of, 55 “ in fishes, . . 56 “ in reptiles, 56 “ in higher animals, 56 Fecundation in hermaph- rodites, 59 Feeling apparatus, .... 425 Females, imperfect, .... 58 Female organs, 73 “ organs of flowers, 48 Fetus, respiration of, . . 67 “ influenced through the blood, 67 Fishes, development in, 60 “ fecundation in, 56 Filthy dreams, 179 “ talkers, 180 Flirtation, evils of, 143 “ youthful, . . 144 “ childish, .... 487 Flowers, polygamous, . . 47 “ female organs of, 48 Flowers, fecundation in, 53 PAGE. Fomentations, 405 Foods, stimulating, 392 Force, life, 29 Fmrctions of life 30 General debility, 365 Generation, laws of, ... . 219 “ physiological, 112 “ spontaneous, 31 “ ancient the- ory of, 32 Gestation, dmation of, 66 Girlhood, 471 Girls, a chapter for, .... 470 “ causes which lead astray, 484 Girls, how ruined, 493 Gluttony, 292 Habit, power of, 496 Health essential to beau- ty, 474 Health hints, 88, 93 Heart disease, 367 Heredity, 102 “ laws of, 243 “ of disease, .... 109 “ of crime, .... 107 Hermaphrodism, 36 Hermaphrodites, fecun- dation in, 59 Hip bath, 93 Human machine, the . . 423 Human wrecks, 437 Human form, 474 Human buds, 476 Husbands, improvident, 170 508 INDEX. PAGE. Hybrids, 100 Hymen, 73 Hysteria, ...95, 343 “ causes of. , . .96, 375 Idiocy, 371 “ cause of , . . 433 Idleness, 189 Ignorance, 300 lU-health of girls, causes of, 472 Illustrative cases, , 437 Imbecility, 371 Impotence, ..363, 410 “ not prciuced by continence, , 207 Infanticide, 271 “ among various nations, 273 Infant intoxication, .... 70 Infants, betrothal of, . . 138 Insanity, 370 “ cause of, ..447, 490 Instinct, lessons from, . . 220 ‘ ‘ a safe guide, . . 224 Internal emissions, .... 361 Intestinal worms, 202 .luke family, the, 108 Labia, the, 73 Labor, 68 Lacing, 90 Law of heredity applied, 126 “ of sex, 101 Legahzed murder, .... 233 “ vice, 309 Leucorrhoea, 346 Libidinous blood, 290 Licentious worship, .... 287 Licentiousness, results of, 302 Life, 25 “ beginning of, .... 52 “ force, 29 “ origin of, 33 “ modem modes of, 203 “ when it begins, .... 262 “ uterine, 66 Literature, poisonous, . . 189 Living beings, 25 Love, perverted, 178 Lust, effect upon child. 111 Male organs, 71 “ continence, 256 Mammary glands, 70 Marriage, 124, 402 “ evils of Ul- “ mated, 131 ‘ effect of late, 132 “ experimental, 141 ‘ ‘ forbidden, .... 156 “ of cousins, ... . 163 “ of criminals, . . 164 “ of paupers, . . 167 “ but not love, 235 “ customs of dif- ferent nations, 125 Marital excesses, 216 “ rights, 234 Masturbation, .... 315, 428 ‘ ‘ treatment of, 373 r INDEX. 509 PAGE. PAGE. Masturbation, proven- Nocturnal emissions, . . 353 tion of, 378 Novel-reading, 486 Masturbation, effects in Nursing, 70 females, 373 Nutrition, 30 Masturbation, effects on Nutritive apparatus, .... 425 offspring, 376 Nymphas, the, 73 Masturbation, self-helps Nymphomania, 301 to cure, 385 1 Menopause, the, 82 Objects of life, 423 1 Menorrhagia, 91 Obscene books, 187 1 Menses, 81 Obscenity, 462 1 Menstrual period, dura- Oneida community, the. 258 tion of, 82 Organized beings, 28 Menstruation, 81 Organization, 28 “ nature of, 83 Ovai-y, 51 Mental unchastity, 174 Ovum, 51 “ culture, 313 “ discharge of, .... 83 Millc, influence of upon “ size of, 52 children, 70 “ expulsion of from Mind, cause of unbal- ovary, 74 anced, 129 Ovum, union of the, with Moderation, 248 the zoosperm, 57 Monsters, 99 Pangenesis, doctrine of, 103 Mock piety, 338 Paralysis, 369 Moderation, 248 Parturition, 68 Modesty, 488 “ painless, . . 68 Mothers, a warning to. 201 Passion, inherited, .... 121 “ their work, . . 479 Passions, how excited, . . 183 IVTnra.l mrjtflcrinn, 459 Pedestrianism, 40 Moving apparatus, 425 Pernicious books, infiu- Multiple births, 98 ence of, 297 Penis, the, 56, 71 Navel, the, 68 Physical differences in Nervous diseases, 368 SftXj 39 “ debility, treat- Piles, 350 ment of, 378 Pimples, 342 510 INDEX. PAGB. Placenta, 67 Plants, sex of, 37 Pictures, vile 464 Poisonous literature, . . 189 Polyandry, 152 Polygamous flowers, .... 47 Polygamy, 146 “ defense of, . . 148 “ exposed, .... 149 “ of great men, 152 Precocity, 77 Precocity, sexual 117 “ indication# of, 119 Pregnancy, 62 “ duration of, . 66 “ extra uterine, 97 “ indulgence during, 241 Premature development, 78 “ decay, 419 Prevention of concep- tion, 260 Priapism, 350 Prostate gland, 72 “ “ enlarge- ment of the, 349 Prostitution, 400 “ in Greece, . 287 Pruritis, 374 Puberty, 74 “ premature, . . 76 “ influence of diet on, 76 Puberty, chajiges at, ... 79 “ influence of cli- mate on, 76 PAGB. Pudenda, the, 73 Purifying apparatus, . . . 426 Quacks, 362, 412 Race degeneration, cause of, 436 Religion, help of, 213 Religious novels, 297 “ insanity, 371 Reproduction, . .31, 424, 476 ‘ ‘ elements of, 45 “ in polyps, .. 58 “ anatomy of, 71 “ curious modes of, 57 Reproduction in the honey bee, 58 Reproduction in lower animals, 218 Reproductive organs, . . 71 “ functions,. 217 “ apparatus,. 426 " elements, . union of, 57 Reptiles, fecundation in, 56 “ development in, 60 Respiration in woman,.. 44 “ of the fetus, 67 Results of abortion, .... 280 Roman emperors, licen- tiousness of, 288 Satyriasis, 124 Scrotum, the, 71 Secret vice, 428 “ “ evidences of, 481 INDEX. 51 1 PAGE. p.Antr. Secret Vice, prevalence Sexual relations, the, . . 1L6 of, ' 480 ‘ ‘ precocity, 117 Secret Vice, terrible ef- “ “ causes fects of, 480 of, Self-abuse, 315, 428 Sexual activity, the “ causes of, 321, 487 limit of, 124 “ effects of, ... 437 Shaker views, 258 “ the signs of,; . 331 Sitz-baths, 404 “ results of, . . 347 Sleeping, 393 “ treatment of, 378 Social lepers, 146 “ not a modem “ evil, the, 284 vice, 319 “ “ causes of the. 290 Self-abuse, physical “ “ cure of the, . 308 , causes of, 329 Solitary vice, 315 Self-abuse, how to cure “ “ alarming the habit of, 382 prevalence of, 316 Self-control, 311 Solitary vice, unsus- Self-pollution, 428 pected cause of, .... 318 Self-murder, 431 Spaying 115 Seminal fluid, the, . . 51, 72 Spermatozoa, 48 Senility, 420 “ size of, . . 50 Senile children, 134 Spermatorrhoea, 353 “ sexuality, 123 Spinal irritation, 369 Sentimental books, 485 Sterility, 374 “ young worn- Stimulants the cause of en, 190 self-abuse, 330 Sentimental literature. Stricture, 348 influence of, 296 Suicide, cause of, 453 Sex, 35 “ in plants, 37 “Tarrying,” 140 “ in animals, 38 Tea and cofiee, 292 “ law of, 101 “ “ “ bad ef- “ of fetus, 102 fects of, 467 Sexual differences, .... 38 Testicles, position of, . . 48 “ organs of plants, 46 “ wasting of, . . 352 “ “ of animals, 48 Temperaments, 166 i 512 INDEX. PAGE. PAGE. Thinking apparatus, . . . 425 Vagina, the, 56, 74 Thoughts, evil, 465 Varicocele, 352 Tliroat disease, cause of, 229 Vegetable husbands, . . 47 Time to marry, 125 Vice legalized, 309 Tobacco, 292 Vicious companions, . . 484 “ evil effects of, . . 467 Vital force, definition of. 29 “ grave charges “ organs of man and j 185 woman, 43 1 Twins, 98 Vision, dimness of, 369 Vulva, the, 73 Umbilical cord, 67 Unchaste conversation, . 179 Waltz, the, its scnsu- Unchastity, causes of, . . 181 ality, 199 “ of the an- Weak backs, 339 cients, 274 Wine, evil effects.of, . . 467 Unchastity, physical Wives on trial, 139 causes of, 201 “ sale of, among the Unconsidered murders, . 260 Russians, 138 Uterus, 61 Woman, servitude of, . . 263 Uterine life, 66 “ her responsibil- 93 ifv 270 “ disease, 233, 373 Woman’s rights, 264 “ gestation, 62 Women, Indian, 86 Urinary diseases, 349 “ Hebrew, 87 Urethra, the, 72 Womb, cancer of the, . . 374 I f i I 1 i i 1 i I i j ’ 'fr' \