UNCHASTITY 287 



thought or abstruse reasoning, and is often very dull 

 of apprehension. Ideas are not presented in logical 

 order, but seem to fall out promiscuously, and fairly 

 represent the condition of a disordered brain. At- 

 tempts at joking are generally failures, as the jest is 

 sure to be inappropriate or vulgar, and no one but him- 

 self sees any occasion for laughter, except at his stu- 

 pidity. Such individuals are not scarce. 



17. Boys in whom the habit has become well devel- 

 oped sometimes manifest a decided aversion to the 

 society of girls ; but this is not nearly so often the case 

 as some authors seem to indicate. It would rather ap- 

 pear that the opposite is more often true. Girls usually 

 show an increasing fondness for the society of boys, 

 and are very prone to exhibit marked evidences of real 

 wantonness. 



18. Round shoulders and a stooping posture in sit- 

 ting are characteristics of young masturbators of both 

 sexes. Whenever a child seats himself, the head and 

 shoulders droop forward, giving to the spine a curved 

 appearance. 



19. Weak hacks, pains in the limbs and stiffness of 

 the joints, in children, are familiar signs of the habit. 

 To the first of these conditions is due the habitual stoop- 

 ing posture assumed by these children. The habit re- 

 ferred to is not the only cause of these conditions ; but 

 its causative occurrence is sufficiently frequent to give 

 it no small importance as a suspicious indication. 



20. Paralysis of the lower extremities, coming on 

 without apparent cause, is not infrequently the result 

 of solitary indulgence, even in very small children. We 

 have seen several cases in which this condition was 

 traced to the habit of masturbation, in children under 

 six years of age. 



