mother must, during a period of constant care and
_outward carriage_, bear this feeble infant for another period of nine
months or more!--suckling at her breast for _food_!

So you see that woman is not only a human being, but a fertile ground
and pasture.

I have not gone into the misery of child bearing and caring, nor of the
ingratitude that is so often received. I ask for what reason has Nature
imposed this terrible penalty upon woman? _Why?_

Would you, reader, were it in your power, formulate such a method of
reproduction?

I'll answer for you:

No!

But that is not all. For years to come, this child that for nine months
was carried inwardly and for a much longer period outwardly, by its
mother, must now be fed, washed and clothed for an indefinite number of
_years_, and guided through a thousand perils and dangers that Nature
has set before it, with disease as Nature's agent, crouching and ready
to destroy the child's life, not in open combat, but invisibly concealed
by the limitation of our senses. This is one of Nature's unspeakable
crimes; one of God's despicable impositions.

It is not sufficient that a mother should subject herself to such a
dangerous and perilous mission, but she must also withstand the cruel
savageness, the cold, callous death piercings, of Nature's invisible
tyrants and destroyers. Life holds but one real attraction, one instance
that can be classified above all others. Without this attraction it
would be a blessing to choke the life breath from us all. With it we are
helped to bear the _Tyranny of God_.

There comes a time to some of us when the heart of the one man beats for
the one woman, and there alights and resides in their breasts that spark
of devotion that we call "love." When there is born to that union a
child, even though in Nature's stupid way, then a bond is created more
precious than anything else in this world. Without this little circle of
loving joy, the earth is a prison and life a grave injustice for those
who must bear it. But think of the damnable rule of Nature that strives
and delights in working destruction of the only condition worthy of
life's living!

Oh, if only the life of our offspring were more stable, more secure!

If only the bosom of our family were guaranteed to us! Just think! The
child the parents would not harm, Nature tortures and God kills!

Looking back upon the path we have trodden, with its continual fight
against disease, its mani