AMAND ROUTH, M.D., F.R.C.P., ON MOTHERHOOD. 75 



occasion ; we thank her warmly for coming and for the part she has 

 taken in the discussion. 



The Scripture speaks in plain words on these subjects, and the 

 modern tendency is to consider them in freer terms than was the 

 case only a very few years ago. Both our Chairman and Lecturer 

 have taken happy advantage of the present opportunities. 



I notice that our Chairman emphasizes the great need for teaching 

 the young on the subject of motherhood, and she herself has done 

 noble work in this direction. All thoughtful parents must thank 

 her and Dr. Amand Routh for their wise and tactful words. 



How many an unmarried mother might have been protected 

 and saved from her sorrowful position if she had had some faithful 

 friend who could have told her beforehand of the woes of all in 

 such a position : many a young girl has ignorantly fallen for want 

 of a parent's loving warnings. 



Dr. Amand Routh has graphically told us of the tragic fate of 

 illegitimate children, when he assures us that the mortality among 

 them is about double that of other infants ; but the lot of those 

 who survive is not at all happy, even if they and their mothers 

 are tended with the sympathetic care of Christian women as, for 

 instance, in the Rescue Society, whose honoured Secretary, Mr. Stuart 

 Thorpe, has long been one of us in this Institute. The condition 

 of these unmarried mothers is indicated by the reply of one of the 

 matrons to my wife's question, " Do the mothers love their infants ? " 

 The reply was, They would not be sorry if they died." 



Can we wonder at such an answer when we reflect that the presence 

 of the child is a constant reminder of the woman's shame, and 

 also a great financial burden. Notwithstanding these great draw- 

 backs, many of the young women are restored to positions of useful- 

 ness ; but how much better if they had been restrained from falling 

 into such a condition. It is better to put up a fence at the top 

 of a precipice than to build a Rescue Home at the foot of it. This 

 protection can be afiorded in many cases by wise, faithful, sym- 

 pathetic Christian workers among girls and young women. 



Mrs. Scharlieb also dwelt upon the need of some assurance of 

 good health between a couple before marriage ; this is an important 

 point, and cannot be too often emphasized, for though most people 

 admit that only healthy people should marry, when it becomes a 



