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dangers of heredity, and unfamiliar with the safe and proper means for
preventing conception. Why not teach them? A few cases may suffice.

(_a_) An hysterical woman, whose father was a lascivious, egotistical
crank, married a man absolutely devoid of will power and energy. She
was gifted; the marriage a failure. Of the two children, one was an
indolent, thoroughly useless, good-for-nothing boy, whose only thought
was of wasting money on pretty neckties and the like and of flirting
with the girls, of which art he was a past-master. The other one, a
girl, betrayed the same characteristics and disposition. The mother
was in despair and inconsolable, cursing her offspring and the
marriage alike. Too late, alas!

(_b_) The son of a neurasthenic father and an hysterical mother,
although of a good-natured disposition, had the vilest, uncontrolable
temper, which would suddenly carry him away to acts of violence only
to be bitterly regretted immediately afterwards. Whilst drunk he
became excited and drawing a revolver wounded several innocent
bystanders. As an officer in the army he was insulted by a tipsy
student, whom he shot down on the spot, although he was sober himself
at the time. On another occasion he shot himself in the breast, but
recovered. Presently he fell in love most desperately with an
hysterical woman and married her. The mother-in-law, who was an
eccentric, mischievous person, started a bitter feud between the two
families. He became greatly wrought up over the affair and demanded of
his wife to stop the quarrel at once. As she demurred, he ended her
life with a bullet from a pistol. Of course, he was arrested and
languished in jail in utter agony and despair. What a future for those
two unfortunate children that sprang from this union! I may point out
here that at the time when he killed his wife, whom he loved
passionately, he was not under the influence of strong drink, for he
had given up the use of alcohol altogether for quite a number of
years.

(_c_) A very religious lady had married a man who became insane. He,
too, was a devout churchman. There were 8 children. Under treatment
the father improved and was dismissed from the asylum. I urged them
both to prevent further conception, having in view the dangers of
hereditary taint in the possible offspring. The wife indignantly told
me that her church demanded of her to bear as many children as she
could. They had several more, all of them candidate