FOUNDATIONS OF FAMILY LIFE 277 



enters into its framework : the marriage tie is 

 reinforced by notions of exclusive possession, of 

 particularity, of service. Maternal love is its 

 cement ; for this imperious impulse finds in 

 family life the best means of expressing itself. 

 The affection of a mother is one of the most 

 beautiful impulses of life : the complete self- 

 abandonment of its promptings appeals very 

 powerfully to our aesthetic instincts, and we should 

 like to believe that it is directive that it leads a 

 mother infallibly to detect her children. Not so : 

 it is blind. A hen will bring up as her own the 

 chickens of another, will feel motherly love for 

 a brood of ducklings, has been known to adopt 

 a litter of ferrets in spite of the distress they 

 occasioned her in searching lor her teats. The 

 hedge-sparrow will labour incessantly to feed a 

 young cuckoo, although its large size should 

 repel her, and she may have seen it shoulder her 

 own young out of the nest. Cats will suckle 

 puppies even rats. A mother will cherish as 

 her own a baby that has been substituted, if she 

 is unaware of the substitution ; indeed, a foster 

 mother's love may show all the self-sacrifice of 

 the maternal instinct. When this instinct is not 

 satisfied by maternity it may be lavished upon a 

 pet dog. It wells up from the depths of a woman's 

 heart, but laves the object that is nearest to her. 

 Marriage that is monogamic makes a further 

 appeal to elementary human feelings. In its 

 intimacy -- its mutual confidence man and 

 woman enjoy the completest satisfaction of 

 that social instinct which makes it so hard 

 for the individual to stand alone. The mask 

 is thrown down that hides self from society : 

 each gives the other visions of reality, and it is 

 a blessed relief to be rid, during some hours of the 

 day, of the artificiality with which individuals 



