The End of the Story 219 



and malign influences which, in the guise of 

 disease-producing bacteria so frequently sur- 

 round them, that the rights of others, as well 

 as their own mental ease, are at stake in this 

 matter. One has the right, so far as he is 

 himself concerned, to indulge in almost any 

 dietetic uncleanliness, or disregard of sanitary 

 rule with which he may elect to be satisfied. 

 But he has no right to expose himself unneces- 

 sarily to the acquirement of such diseases as 

 will render him a source of either positive or 

 possible danger to his fellow men. 



Among all the myriads of invisible agencies 

 which are ceaselessly working for man's weal, 

 we have discovered a few which are his deadly 

 foes. We have seen that if one looks at the 

 matter intelligently, the means of largely 

 avoiding the evil effects of these dangerous 

 earth-neighbors of ours are comparatively 

 simple and effective, if we do not hide our 

 heads, or shirk, or waste our time in protesta- 

 tions and regrets. 



The fact is that with the increasing com- 

 plexities of modern life, especially in towns 

 and cities, we are subjected to a great many 



