MATERNAL IMPRESSIONS. 237 



of such trash does not excite a desire for crime 

 in thousands of well-born boys proves that a bad 

 heredity is in part the cause. On the other hand 

 the fact that many who are unfortunately born, 

 but who are not allowed to read this class of 

 stories, never manifest any special ambition for 

 heroic crime proves that the criminal stoiy may 

 also be the actuating cause. 



Bad reading being so potent for evil in the lives 

 of men and women whose habits of life and whose 

 brain centers are established, is far more powerful 

 when impressed upon a soul in its formative pe- 

 riod. Every mother who reads trashy, vicious, 

 vulgar, or- criminal literature commits a crime 

 against her child. What can be expected of chil- 

 dren when the mind of the mother was idle at this 

 formative period, or occupied by fiction of a ques- 

 tionable character? 



The prospective mother, who would do well 

 by her child, should select only the very best and 

 then read sufficiently each day to keep the intel- 

 lectual faculties thoroughly active. This read- 

 ing, of course, should be varied, embracing as far 

 as practicable, literature, art, science, commerce, 

 law, government, philanthropy, and religion. As 

 she reads or studies, she should endeavor to im- n 



Reading for 



press her thoughts on the mind of her child, just Prenatal Culture. 



as she would if reading to a friend. She should 



have some one with whom she can discuss 



what she reads, who is in sympathy with her, as 



the husband must be, for the best interests of the 



child. It is well to remember that whatever creates 



an intense interest is most potential. Simple pas- 



