may form a useful conclusion to all that has been said in this little
book about the diseases of children, if I endeavour to point out in what
consist the duties of parents in cases of scarlatina, or of any disease
which resembles it.

1. To watch carefully the commencement of every slight feverish attack
in which a diffused red rash appears, even though this should be only in
patches, and to bear in mind the possibility of its being due to
scarlatina.

2. To remove the child immediately from the others, so long as there is
any doubt concerning the nature of the case, and to remove with him his
bed, bedding, and all clothes worn by him at the time when the illness
began, or the rash appeared.

3. To place the child if possible in a room at the top of the house, so
that the other children may not pass by his door.

4. Inasmuch as scarlatina often proves fatal to grown persons who have
not already had the disease, to obtain at once the attendance of a
skilled nurse, in order to avoid the risk of the disease spreading
through the household.

The wife belongs to her husband, the husband to his wife; their mutual
duties are paramount over even those of the parent; and neither has the
right to jeopardise that life which belongs to the other. To say, 'I
shall not catch the disease, because I have no fear,' is as idle as it
would be for the soldier to say, 'Because I am brave, therefore I am
invulnerable.'

I have been accustomed to insist on the absence from the room of father
or mother, supposing either of them not to have had scarlatina, so long
as I could give the assurance that every thing was going on well; but on
the slightest anxiety I have referred to both parents for their mutual
decision as to the course which they would choose to adopt.

From a refusal to be guided by this counsel, it has more than once
happened to me, to see the child recover from mild scarlatina without a
bad symptom, and the mother who had insisted on nursing the little one
die of the disease to which she had needlessly exposed herself.

5. So soon as the disease has declared itself as scarlatina, to take up
the carpets and remove the curtains from the sick child's room, to empty
the drawers of any clothes which may be in them, and to hang up outside
the door a sheet moistened with a solution of carbolic acid.

6. To arrange for all food and necessaries to be placed in an adjoining
room, or at the head of the stairs, so that there may b