UNCHASTITY 293 



inal fluid, except the rare one from piles. In the very 

 young, these stains do not occur; but when the habit 

 is acquired before puberty, a discharge resembling 

 semen takes place before the ordinary period. Of 

 course, the stains from urine will be easily distin- 

 guished from otherSo The frequent occurrence of such 

 stains after puberty is a suspicious circumstance. A 

 discharge in some respects similar may occur in girls. 



Before puberty, the effect of the vice upon the gen- 

 ital organs is to cause an unnatural development, in 

 both sexes, of the sensitive portions. When this is 

 marked, it is pretty conclusive evidence of the vice. In 

 girls, the vagina often becomes unnaturally enlarged, 

 and leucorrhea is often present. After puberty, the 

 organs in males often diminish in size and become 

 unnaturally lax and shrunken. 



All these signs should be thoroughly mastered by 

 those who have children under their care, and if not 

 continually watching for them, which would be an un- 

 pleasant task, such should be on the alert to detect 

 the signs at once when they appear, and then carefully 

 seek for others until there is no longer any doubt about 

 the case. 



RESULTS OF SECRET VICE 



The physician rarely meets more forlorn objects 

 than the victims of prolonged self-abuse. These un- 

 fortunate beings he meets every day of his life, and 

 listens so often to the same story of shameful abuse 

 and retributive suffering, that he dreads to hear it 

 repeated. In these cases, there is usually a horrid 

 sameness— the same cause, the same inevitable results. 



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