190 A STUDY IN HEREDITY 



not beheld the horrors I have seen, should think 

 me guilty of extravagance or of mere violent abuse. 

 I am really very sure that disease does not diminish 

 immorality. But with my own eyes I have seen 

 many guiltless children perish of it, and I know that 

 thousands — nay, tens of thousands, have perished 

 thus. Every year I know of men, wicked if you 

 will, or weak if you will, in their youths, but after- 

 wards the stay and prop of prosperous homes, who 

 perish thus — of aneurism, of apoplexy, of paralysis, 

 of insanity — or who live on blind and useless. Not 

 once nor twice only have I seen an unfortunate and 

 wholly innocent woman, happy till then in the 

 knowledge of her own beauty, become monstrous, 

 a horror, and an offence against the sun. Not 

 once nor twice only have I seen such an innocent 

 one bear a succession of dead or dying children, or 

 children that were better dead than alive. I think 

 of all this useless and preventable misery, I hear 

 " social reformers " palter with the question as to 

 whether " sin " is worse than the disease, or disease 

 worse than sin, and my gorge rises. It is then not 

 easy to pick and choose my language. It is beyond 

 my comprehension that " social reformers " cannot 

 perceive that disease does not prevent immorality, 

 but rather conduces to it ; and that even if 

 it did, the end would not justify the means ; 

 that they do not perceive that if another man 



