276 THE CAUSATION OF DISEASE. 



It is obvious, from these considerations, that particular 

 bodily and mental types tend to be eliminated. 



2. From the woman* 8 point of view. Since there are more 

 marriageable women than marrying men, a large number of 

 women remain unmarried. No doubt, the most beautiful speci- 

 mens get married ; but if we except what may be termed the 

 exceptionally beautiful, whether in body or mind, who are 

 eagerly sought after, the chances which the remaining number 

 have of being married are about equal, always eliminating the 

 element of wealth. A certain number of women prefer spins- 

 terhood, and their number is probably larger than is generally 

 known, for so great is the tendency to believe otherwise that 

 few elderly spinsters are accredited with having remained in 

 spinsterhood for its own sake. In the case of women, choice 

 is frequently influenced by considerations of social position. 

 How often do we see women of surpassing physical beauty 

 wedding the most miserable male specimens for the sake of 

 rank ? Such unions must surely grate upon the feelings of 

 the physiologist and anatomist — ay, and of the moralist, too. 

 On the other hand, the instincts of a lovely woman — using the 

 word lovely in its widest sense — are averse to such a union, 

 and she happily often mates herself with her equal. It is from 

 these unions that the ancestors of remote posterity spring. 

 They should in every way be encouraged ; and I hold that 

 every parent who can rear a family of children healthy in 

 mind and body, may justly, like the Vicar of Wakefield, con- 

 sider his country his debtor. 



