"We must educate our daughters to think that motherhood is grand, and that
God never cursed it. And this curse, if it be a curse, may be rolled off,
as man has rolled away the curse of labor; as the curse has been rolled
from the descendants of Ham. My mission is to preach this new gospel. If
you suffer, it is not because you are cursed of God, but because you
violate His laws. What an incubus it would take from woman could she be
educated to know that the pains of maternity are no curse upon her kind. We
know that among the Indians the squaws do not suffer in childbirth. They
will step aside from the ranks, even on the march, and return in a short
time to them with the newborn child. What an absurdity then, to suppose
that only enlightened Christian women are cursed. But one word of fact is
worth a volume of philosophy; let me give you some of my own experience. I
am the mother of seven children. My girlhood was spent mostly in the open
air. I early imbibed the idea that a girl was just as good as a boy, and I
carried it out. I would walk five miles before breakfast or {285} ride ten
on horseback. After I was married I wore my clothing sensibly. Their weight
hung entirely on my shoulders. I never compressed my body out of its
natural shape. When my first four children were born, I suffered very
little. I then made up my mind that it was totally unnecessary for me to
suffer at all; so I dressed lightly, walked every day, lived as much as
possible in the open air, ate no condiments or spices, kept quiet, listened
to music, looked at pictures, and took proper care of myself. The night
before the birth of the child I walked three miles. The child was born
without a particle of pain. I bathed it and dressed it, and it weighed ten
and one-half pounds. That same day I dined with the family. Everybody said
I would surely die, but I never had a relapse or a moment's inconvenience
from it. I know this is not being delicate and refined, but if you would be
vigorous and healthy, in spite of the diseases of your ancestors, and your
own disregard of nature's laws, try it."

* * * * *

Shall Pregnant Women Work?

1. OVER-WORKED MOTHERS.--Children born of over-worked mothers, are liable
to be a dwarfed and puny race. However, their chances are better than those
of the children of inactive, dependent, indolent mothers who have neither
brain nor muscle to transmit to son or daughter. The truth seems t