XXXVIII. 



TCown 2Ltfe anb its Effects, 



MY late friend Dr. Milner Fothergill, among the many 

 trite things to which he gave expression in his writings, 

 laid stress upon the fact that our town life is in itself 

 a cause of the degeneracy of the race. He was fol- 

 lowed by Mr. Cantlie (now of Hong Kong), who, if I 

 mistake not, alleged that it was well nigh impossible 

 to trace a pure-bred Londoner and his kith and kin 

 beyond the fourth generation. Other writers have 

 directed attention to the same grave problem of city 

 life and its conditions as affecting the race. They 

 point to the tremendous influx of country life which 

 takes place yearly into London and other great centres 

 of population, and they tell us that the city owes its 

 chief vitality to this infusion of fresh, healthy blood 

 into its masses. 



But in time these infusions will be affected by the 

 prevalent causes of town-degeneration ; and so the 

 great mill of life continues to grind us down, slowly, it 

 is true, but to grind us out in time (say the physiolo- 

 gists) altogether. Of course, the causes of the de- 

 generacy which city life is said to effect are to be 

 found in the generally unhealthy conditions under 

 which existence is pursued. Pure food, pure air, and 

 pure water form the tripod of life in so far as our 



