494 PLAIN FACTS FOE OLD AND YOUNG 



done if the doctor, be he educator or physician, be only 

 called in season. No doubt ; but in season would often 

 be a hundred or two years before 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 plus and some minus. If the col- 

 umns don'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, diseased, 

 and constitutionally weak individuals, are the lament- 

 able results of the violation of some sexual law on the 

 part of their progenitors. 



Something for Parents to Consider.— If parents 

 would stop a moment to consider the momentous re- 

 sponsibilities involved in the act of bringing into exist- 

 ence a human being; if they would reflect that the 

 qualities imparted to the new being will affect its char- 

 acter to all eternity; if they would recall the fact that 

 they are about to bring into existence a mirror in which 

 will be reflected their own characters divested of all 

 the flimsy fabrics which deceive their fellowmen, re- 

 vealing even the secret imaginings 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 revolution in the customs of society, 

 such a radical reform in the habits and characters of 

 individuals, as could be done by nothing short of a tem- 

 poral millennium. 



It is quite probable that some writers have greatly 

 exaggerated the possible results which may be attained 



