,,almost ,a ,,man4 ,,by ,,mary ,,wood-,,allen1 ,m4 ,d4 ,author of ,,teaching ,,truth1 ,,child-,,confidence ,,rewarded1 ,,the ,,man ,,wonderful ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,beautiful1 etc4 ,what is man that thou art mindful of him8 ,,david4 ,every true man is a cause1 a country and an age4 ,,emerson4 ,god on thee ,abundantly his gifts hath also poured2 ,inward and outward both his image fair4 ,,milton4 ,,published ,,by ,,wood-,,allen ,,publishing ,,co4 ,,ann ,,arbor1 ,,mich4 ,,copyrighted ,,by ,,mary ,,wood-,,allen1 ,m4 ,d4 #ahie4 ,,contents4 ,,page ,prelude iii ,almost a ,man #e ,a ,gateway and a ,gift #bb ,the ,white ,cross #dj ,,prelude4 ,two lads had crossed the sunny meadow-land of childhood and stood by the gate1 at the entrance to the rougher paths of youth leading up to the grander heights of maturity4 ,they glanced backward1 but not with regret1 for their eyes shone with eagerness to climb the upward way4 ,as they waited1 an angel came bearing a gift for each1 which he gave them1 saying3 ,i have brought you a wondrous gift1 not for yourselves but for others4 ,listen4 ,and they bent their heads and listened4 ,and one said3 ,i hear most entrancing music4 ,it thrills my very being4 ,it is for me1 for me4 ,but the angel said3 ,listen again4 ,shut your ears to those bewildering tones and you will hear a deeper1 holier strain4 ,but the youth said3 ,no1 ,i hear only that melody which speaks to my own heart4 ,i can hear nothing else4 ,the other youth too took the gift and1 bending his head at the command of the angel1 said3 ,i hear that sweet entrancing strain which speaks to myself1 and which promises me pleasure2 but deeper than all that ,i hear a tone soft1 sweet and low1 that sounds like the voices of happy children1 and of a mother singing to her babe4 ,the angel smiled4 ,it is for them1 he said1 that you must keep your gift4 ,and in the years to come that music will be to you the sweetest in the world4 ,so the youths started on their devious ways through the hilly land of youth4 ,there were bird-songs and flowers2 there were bright paths1 and dark ones2 there were sunny by-paths1 which ended in dreamy forests2 there were pitfalls in unexpected places2 there was often sorrow where they looked for joy1 and failure where they expected success4 ,and the one listened oft to the entrancing music of his angelic gift1 and was led to think only of himself1 and his eye lost its fire1 his feet often stumbled1 and the days and nights had no pleasure for him4 ,as he reached the heights of maturity he was met by a bright creature who laughed with great joy when he offered her his love and said exultantly3 ,i have kept myself pure for you1 and he1 knowing his own dark secrets1 could make no reply but hung his head and was silent4 ,and1 thus silent1 he heard no more the bewildering music of his youth1 but instead there came to his ears the sound of a broken-hearted woman's sobs1 and the weeping of children mourning the birthright that had been lost for them in their father's wayward youth4 ,and the man said sighingly3 ,o that ,i had my innocence again ,my untouched honor4 ,but ,i wish in vain4 ,but the other lad turned a deaf ear to the brain-bewildering music and listened with his soul for the happy melodies of the future4 ,and his eye grew brighter and his strength increased and his paths were straight and clean1 and as he neared the heights of maturity he was met by one whose robe was shining in its brightness and who whispered3 ,i have kept myself pure for you4 ,and gladly he answered3 ,and ,i for you2 and so their lives became one1 and the melody of happy children's voices drew nearer and nearer1 and listening to the sweet voice of the mother singing to her babe1 and looking into the bright and rosy faces that with every glance and motion thanked him for their dower of health and honor1 he blessed the great ,creator from whom he had received the wondrous gift of potential fatherhood1 and gave thanks that he had wisely listened to the angel's voice bidding him keep his gift for those whose life1 in the years to come1 was to be his holiest possession4 ,,almost ,a ,,man4 ,by ,mary ,wood-,allen1 ,m4 ,d4 ,let me take your book of quotations1 please4 ,certainly1 if ,i can find it4 ,o1 ,i remember4 ,i let ,susie ,glenn take it4 ,no doubt ,i can find it in her desk4 ,as she spoke ,miss ,bell walked to the desk and1 finding the desired book1 took possession of it4 ,an open note dropped from it and fell upon the floor4 ,picking it up ,miss ,bell read3 ,my darling little sweetheart1 and glancing at the close saw the signature1 ,carl4 ,sending of notes in school was forbidden1 therefore ,miss ,bell had no compunction of conscience in taking possession of this one1 and1 on the impulse of the moment1 read it aloud to ,miss ,lane1 her fellow-teacher4 ,it was not only sentimental in tone but there were mysterious phrases which seemed to hold a deep and sinful significance4 ,the women looked at each other with sorrowful faces4 ,what shall ,i do about it8 asked ,miss ,bell4 ,what a depth of wickedness it reveals6 exclaimed ,miss ,lane4 ,who would have imagined that such a nice appearing boy as ,carl ,woodford could be so base8 ,and ,susie ,glenn too1 such a shy1 modest little creature as she seems4 ,do you suppose it is really as bad as it seems to us8 ,those expressions which appear to indicate such--such almost criminal intimacy perhaps they do not understand fully4 ,don't you believe it1 said ,miss ,lane4 ,i tell you these children are wiser in sin than we older people can imagine4 ,that boy needs to be whipped within an inch of his life1 the little reprobate6 ,i'd give him such a lecture as would make his eyes open wide for once4 ,i'd make him understand that he'd better not let me catch him in such mischief again4 ,and ,i'd tell ,mrs4 ,glenn about it so that she could punish ,susie4 ,i really am afraid that the result would not be what we wish4 ,suppose we go and talk it over with ,dr4 ,barrett4 ,maybe she can tell us what to do4 ,dr4 ,barrett received the ladies with cordiality and professed herself willing to aid them in the solution of their problem4 ,she did not appear as shocked as they did1 and even smiled a little as ,miss ,lane1 in indignant tones1 read aloud the offending note4 ,don't you think that little rascal should be nearly annihilated8 she asked1 turning to the ,doctor4 ,i think he should be instructed1 replied the latter4 ,will you send him to me1 ,miss ,bell8 ,most gladly1 but ,i don't believe he will come4 ,yes he will1 if you don't frighten him beforehand4 ,don't say a word to him about the affair1 but send him with a note to me and tell him to wait for an answer4 ,the next evening ,carl appeared at the ,doctor's residence with the note from ,miss ,bell4 ,i am to wait for an answer1 he said4 ,dr4 ,barrett only nodded as she wrote on steadily for a moment1 seeming too much engrossed in her work to notice him4 ,then she read the note1 thought a moment1 excused herself and left the room4 ,returning immediately she said1 ,it will be half an hour before the answer is ready4 ,can you wait8 ,o certainly4 ,then sit down here and look over the ,youth's ,companion while ,i finish my letter4 ,for some moments there was silence and then the ,doctor1 laying down her pen1 turned to the boy and said1 pleasantly2 ,you are ,carl ,woodford1 are you not8 ,yes1 ma'am4 ,it has been so long since ,i saw you that you have almost grown out of my knowledge4 ,you are getting to be almost a man4 ,you must be fifteen years old4 ,not quite4 ,i will be next ,june4 ,almost a man1 said ,dr4 ,barrett softly as she looked thoughtfully into the fire4 ,after a moment's silence she asked1 ,carl1 what is it to be a man8 ,the boy drew himself up with a self-conscious air as he replied4 ,why1 to have your growth1 and get into business for yourself4 ,well1 that is not quite it1 said the ,doctor smiling1 for ,i have my growth and am in business for myself1 and yet ,i am not a man4 ,maybe it means having a mustache1 said ,carl1 with a slight flush4 ,that has something to do with it certainly1 but ,mrs4 ,flynn has a mustache1 and she is not a man4 ,well1 ,i don't know how to explain it then1 said ,carl4 ,you have studied grammar1 will you parse the word man8 ,man is a common noun1 masculine gender1 third---- ,what does masculine gender mean8 ,it means male4 ,then to be a man means to be a male4 ,how does the grammar define gender8 ,the distinction of nouns with regard to sex4 ,have you studied physiology8 ,yes'm4 ,was it the physiology of man or woman8 ,why1 it didn't say anything but physiology4 ,you studied1 then1 only those organs in which men and women are alike1 as in their muscular and nervous systems1 and in the organs of digestion2 in fact you learned only of the organs which are for the preservation of the individual4 ,you learned nothing of them in regard to sex1 which is termed special physiology4 ,a wave of color was creeping over ,carl's face1 seeing which the ,doctor said3 ,as you have never studied this special physiology supposing you try to forget that any one has ever told you anything about it1 and let us for a few minutes talk of it as of ,god's laws4 ,we believe ,god to be pure1 and we cannot believe that he would make a law that was founded on impurity4 ,it is true we are able to think of his laws in an impure way1 but that is our fault1 not his4 ,let us now try to think his pure thoughts after him4 ,if there are two sexes created by the ,almighty he must have a pure purpose in creating them4 ,we seldom think how much of beauty and melody and loveliness is due to sex4 ,it is because of sex that we are gathered in families and enjoy all the delights of home4 ,it is because of sex that we have ties of kindred1 brothers1 sisters1 father1 mother1 uncles1 aunts and cousins4 ,think of the pleasant home gatherings at ,christmas or ,thanksgiving1 or upon family birthdays1 with all the relatives1 old and young1 meeting in love and sympathy2 think of the sweet prattle of children in the home2 think of the tender ministrations of mother or sister in times of sorrow or illness or death1 and remember that these are possible because of sex4 ,men may build themselves fine club houses where they congregate to smoke or drink or eat together1 but these are not homes4 ,women may go away by themselves into a convent and give up the world1 but in so doing they give up the home2 for in a real true home there must be parents and children1 and this comes through sex4 ,we may go even farther and say with ,mr4 ,grant ,allen that everything high and ennobling in our nature springs directly from the fact of sex4 ,he claims that to it 'we owe our love of color1 of graceful forms1 of melodious sound1 of rhythmical motion1 the evolution of music1 of poetry1 of romance1 of painting1 of sculpture1 of decorative art1 of dramatic entertainment4 ,from it1' he says1 'springs the love of beauty1 around it all beautiful arts circle as their centre4 ,its subtle aroma pervades all literature1 and to it we owe the heart and all that is best within it4' ,we read of knights of old fighting for 'fayre ladye1' of heroes who died to save wives and children2 we cannot take up a book of poetry without realizing how love of men and women has been the inspiration of the poet in all ages4 ,and this is not all that we owe to sex4 ,in all organic life we find the same force at work4 ,the song of the nightingale is a call to his mate1 the chirp of cricket1 the song of the thrush1 the note of the grasshopper1 every charming voice in wild nature are notes of love1 and were it not for these1 field and forest would be silent4 ,among the animals we can trace the beauty of form and of covering to the same source4 ,and even in the inanimate world of plants and trees we find sex as the source of life and beauty4 ,the bright tinted flowers are the homes of the father and mother and babies of the plant and without the male and female principle in plants there would be no bud or blossom and no fruit4 ,remember when you see the beauty of the apple orchard in the spring and the glowing fruit in the autumn that these are the expression of sex-life in the tree4 ,my6 exclaimed ,carl1 ,i never thought of all that before4 ,i presume not1 and many who are older than you have no thoughts of sex but those which are low and vile4 ,but when you consider how the same principle reaches through all nature1 and upon it depends so much that is beautiful and charming you cannot believe that is in itself vile and unholy1 can you8 ,if we are to think ,god's thoughts after him we must come to look upon sex as something to be thought of and spoken of only with reverence1 never to be jested about or debased in any way4 ,you begin to see that more is involved in the coming into manhood than you had supposed4 ,but we have not gone over the whole matter yet4 ,you have read the first chapter of ,genesis how that ,god made man in his own image1 and out of the dust of the earth4 ,we do not suppose that he made him out of dirt and water1 as a child makes mud-pies1 but we may accept this as a statement of the scientific fact that in man are found the same elements as in the earth1 such as iron1 soda1 lime1 etc4 ,what we want to think of now is the statement that ,god created man by his direct power4 ,then we are told he made woman also4 ,these are the first living human beings of whom we have record4 ,who is the third8 ,cain4 ,and who made ,cain8 ,god1 answered ,carl glibly1 as if that must be the only orthodox answer4 ,in the same way that he made ,adam and ,eve8 ,carl blushed and was silent4 ,you were not embarrassed when ,i spoke of the creation of ,adam and ,eve1 you have no reason to be embarrassed when ,i speak of the creation of ,cain4 ,all was in accordance with the divine will1 and must therefore be right4 ,we cannot say positively that ,god thought this or that1 but we have a right to judge from his acts what his purposes were4 ,we have a right to suppose that he created the earth intending to people it with human beings4 ,of course every possible plan for doing this was open to him4 ,he might have created each individual as he did ,adam1 but what would have been the result8 ,we should have stood1 each one alone1 in selfish solitariness1 like a lot of ten-pins1 able to knock each other down but not to help each other up4 ,each one would have been thinking only of himself and his own selfish interests4 ,this plan could not commend itself to a compassionate ,creator1 and we can imagine that he would say to himself3 ',that would never do4 ,i must put these1 my children1 in such relation to each other that they will have love for each other2 that they will be bound by ties so strong that nothing can break them2 they must be created in such a way that they will also understand their relation to me and love me as their life-giver4 ,to do this ,i will share with them my greatest power1 that of creation4 ,i will let them help me people the world4 ,by this creative power they shall come to understand how ,i1 their heavenly ,father1 love them1 and yearn over them1 and by their dependence as children upon their parents they shall learn to depend upon and trust me4' ,from the plan ,god adopted for peopling the earth we may suppose this to have been his process of thought4 ,so you see that sex comes as a wondrous gift from ,god1 a gift endowed with a marvelous power1 and therefore to be held most sacred4 ,when ,i spoke of you as being almost a man it was with the thought that now is being conferred upon you this gift of sex4 ,carl looked up with some surprise4 ,why1 ,i have always been a boy4 ,true4 ,and a boy is a being who will become a man4 ,but he is not endowed with the functions of sex until he is about fourteen years old4 ,then sex begins to make itself felt in his whole being4 ,he grows taller rapidly2 he gains in breadth2 he begins to see the long-looked-for mustache2 he notices the growth of the special organs of sex2 he begins to feel more manly2 to enjoy the society of girls as never before2 and desires to treat them with more attention4 ,this is a time when1 if he is wrongly taught1 he may fall into great wrong-doing and injure himself1 and not that alone1 but those who are to come after him4 ,i have not yet told you of the great responsibilities that come with this gift of sex4 ,dr4 ,barrett rose and1 bringing a book from the shelves1 opened it and showed ,carl an illustration1 saying2 ,did you ever see such a picture as this8 ,illustration ,what are they8 asked he4 ,they look like pollywogs4 ,as much like them as anything4 ,but they are not pollywogs4 ,they have a bigger sounding name than that4 ,they are called spermatozoa1 or each one is a spermatozoon4 ,they are so tiny that they are not visible except with the aid of a microscope1 and yet they are alive and very active4 ,they live and move in a fluid called semen1 and they are the living principle contributed by the male to the formation of a new creature4 ,each one contains in itself all the particular traits1 characteristics or talents which the father would confer on the child of which this spermatozoon would form a part4 ,you are like your father in some things1 ,i suppose4 ,yes1 ,i am like papa in size and in my love for mathematics4 ,he says ,i have his quick temper1 too4 ,that leads me to speak of another fact4 ,you see that you were a part of your father during his whole life1 and you were affected by all that affected him4 ,you were changed or modified by his habits4 ,if he tried to curb his quick temper1 it has made it easier for you to control yourself2 but if he allowed it full sway1 it has made it harder for you4 ,if he were truthful and honest1 it has made it easy for you to be the same2 but if he were wild and dissipated1 it would make it easier for you to yield to the same temptations4 ,was that what he meant when he said he was not surprised that ,will ,grey was so bad a boy1 for his father was a very wild young man8 ,yes1 that was exactly what he meant4 ,if that is so why don't fathers tell their boys about it so that they can behave better when they are young8 ,that is just what ,i think they ought to do1 but unfortunately people have thought they must not talk of these things to young folks for fear it will make them bad instead of good4 ,well1 ,i guess that would depend upon the way they told it4 ,now they don't tell it right1 but leave the boys to be told in wrong ways1 and that really does lead them to be bad4 ,no one ever talked to me as you have to-night1 and ,i am sure it makes me want to be better4 ,illustration ,that ought to be the effect1 and ,i believe it would be if boys were only 'told right1' as you say4 ,but ,i have told you only half the story4 ,here is another picture4 ,these are called ova4 ,one is an ovum1 and these are the principle the mother gives to the future child4 ,they are greatly magnified4 ,it would take #bdj of them lying side by side to make a row an inch long1 so we say they are #a_/bdj of an inch in diameter1 but tiny as they are1 each ovum contains all the traits or talents that the mother gives to the child of which this particular ovum may form a part4 ,your mother is ,english1 your father ,american4 ,their childhood and youth were spent thousands of miles apart1 and yet both were working by the habits of their lives to create you in your peculiar traits and talents4 ,are you like your parents in any of their capabilities8 ,yes1 ,i am like mother in her love for music2 you know she is a fine musician4 ,yes1 and in the cultivation of her own musical ability she made it easier for you to learn music2 just as your father1 in his study as an engineer1 has given you a love for mathematics4 ,but my grandfather and great-grandfather were engineers1 and ,i am going to be one1 too4 ,it is true that you inherit from your grandparents1 also1 but it must be through your parents1 and they may have changed the direction of the inheritance4 ,this important fact you should know and remember4 ,you can change yourself by education so that the inheritance of your children may be quite changed4 ,for example1 if you know that you lack perseverance1 you can1 by constantly making a mighty effort to overcome this defect1 compel yourself to persevere1 and this would tend to give your children perseverance4 ,so you see we need not despair because we have inherited faults from our ancestors1 but we should determine all the more that we will not pass these defects on to later generations4 ,i guess that is what ,dr4 ,brice meant when he said that mother's good care of her health had overcome in us children to a great extent the tendency to consumption which is in her family4 ,nearly all my cousins on her side die with it1 but when she was a little girl her father made her live out of doors all the time and she grew strong1 and we none of us seem to have any tendency to consumption4 ,you see then the value of caring for yourself in youth1 not only for your own sake but for that of your children4 ,your mother did not know that she would ever have children to be benefitted by her out-door life4 ,but one day she met a young man who pleased her1 and as they grew to know each other better they came to love each other so that they wished to leave home and friends and make their own home and live their united lives separate and apart from all the rest of the world4 ,so they were married1 as we say4 ,marriage is the union of one man and one woman under the sanction of the law4 ,this is the closest and most sacred human relation4 ,in this relation the spermatozoon of the man unites with the germ or ovum of the woman and a new life is begun4 ,when your parents knew that such a little life had begun in their home they felt a great and holy joy1 and desired that every good might surround it in its development4 ,you were the first to come into your father's home4 ,after your life had begun you were still so small as not to be visible to the naked eye1 and would have been lost had you come into the world4 ,but a home had been prepared for you in your mother's body1 where day by day you grew and grew4 ,the food which she ate nourished you as well as herself4 ,the air which she breathed was life to you as well as to her4 ,you have seen the father-bird bringing food to the mother-bird as she sits upon her eggs and waits for the birdlings to come forth1 and you have thought it a pretty sight to watch his tender care of her4 ,even so your father watched over your mother and you4 ,he provided everything as pleasant as possible1 he removed every care from her path so that she might be happy and so make you happy4 ,his love for her took on a new and strange tenderness it had not known before4 ,and she1 holding you warm and close in the embrace of her body1 thought of you and loved you4 ,she wondered how you would look2 she dreamed of you2 she fancied she could feel the touch of your fluttering fingers2 she made your little wardrobe and with each stitch wove in some tender thought of the baby whom she had never seen4 ,then one day she cried out with great anguish of body but joy of heart1 ',o my baby is coming4' ,then through long hours she suffered1 going down almost to the gates of death that you might have life4 ,but she never murmured2 in spite of all her pain and anguish of body her very soul was full of rejoicing that soon she would hold you in her arms4 ,when all those hours of peril and anxiety were past and you were laid in your mother's arms1 your father came and bent over you both with a measureless love1 and looking into your little face they knew what the ,scripture meant when it said1 ',and they twain shall be one flesh1' for were not you a living fulfillment of that saying8 ,you were a part of each united in a living being who belonged to them both4 ,then for the first time could they realize1 even dimly1 the yearning1 tender love of their heavenly ,father who had granted to them to know by experience his feelings towards his children4 ,great tears had gathered in the boy's eyes as she talked1 and now with choking voice he said1 ,i don't think ,i can ever be disobedient again1 ,dr4 ,barrett4 ,i did not understand it all as ,i do now4 ,you know we only hear these things talked of among the boys1 and ,i had come to feel that there was some reason why ,i ought to be ashamed of my father and mother2 but it all looks so different to me now4 ,i wish you could talk to the other boys as you have to me4 ,it may not be possible for me to do so1 although ,i should be glad to do it1 but you can help them to think more truly on these subjects4 ,you can especially help them to treat women and girls with more respect than they often do1 because you can see how an injury to any girl is an injury to the whole world4 ,i don't quite see that1 said ,carl4 ,you can see that if any one had injured your mother in her girlhood it would have been an injury to all her children1 can you not8 ,o yes4 ,and that injury might be passed on to future generations4 ,there lived a poor girl1 about a hundred years ago1 who was uncared for by good people and wronged by evil ones1 and to-day she is known as a 'mother of criminals1' and no one can tell where the mischief will end4 ,you would feel very indignant if you knew that some one had done your mother an injury in her girlhood1 and you would feel the same way should any one wrong your sisters4 ,i knocked ,bill ,jones down last week because he said something to my sister ,kate4 ,you felt a righteous anger and manifested it4 ,well1 in all probability you will some day marry4 ,if so1 there is in the world to-day the girl who will be your wife4 ,how do you want her to be treated by the boys who are her school-companions8 ,do you like to think that they are rough with her1 or playing at lovering with her8 ,is it a pleasant thought that she is allowing them to caress her or write her silly sentimental notes8 ,carl's face was scarlet1 but he answered bravely2 ,no1 it isn't4 ,the ,doctor continued4 ,some day1 in all likelihood1 a little girl-child will climb upon your knee and call you papa4 ,no creature can ever be to you what that little daughter will be4 ,if any one should injure her----4 ,i'd kill him1 broke in ,carl hotly4 ,if you feel that way1 dear boy1 you should remember that every girl is some one's daughter1 perhaps some one's sister1 will probably be some one's wife and some one's mother1 so that all girls should be sacred to you1 treated with chivalrous courtesy and protected even as you feel you would protect those who may belong especially to you4 ,but don't you believe in boys and girls being friends at all8 ,most assuredly ,i do4 ,nothing is more charming than the frank comradeship of girls and boys1 and that is why ,i am so sorry to see them spoil it with sentimentality4 ,they ought to be good friends1 helping each other1 having jolly good times together1 but never in ways that will bring a blush to the cheeks of either1 now1 or in the years to come4 ,a rap sounded on the door and the maid entered with a note which she gave to the doctor1 who handed it to ,carl1 saying1 ,here is the note for ,miss ,bell4 ,i have kept you waiting a long time1 but ,i hope it has not been unprofitable4 ,indeed it has not4 ,i am ever so much obliged to you1 ,i am sure4 ,and if you ever wish to talk to me again you will feel free to come1 will you not8 ,yes1 ma'am1 ,i surely will1 answered the lad with a frank clasp of the hand4 ,wait a moment1 said the doctor1 ,i have just thought of a little book that ,i am sure you will be interested in reading4 ,it is called ',a ,gateway and a ,gift1' and it deals with some of the questions we have been talking about this evening4 ,you can lend it to some of your boy friends if you wish4 ,thank you1 said ,carl1 taking the book which the doctor handed him1 and then with another ,good night1 he walked away in the darkness4 ,the note which he gave to ,miss ,bell the next morning read merely3 ,don't say anything to ,carl4 ,just wait4 ,if ,miss ,bell had seen a note slipped by ,carl into ,susie ,glenn's hand an hour later she might have thought it an evidence that the doctor's plan had failed4 ,but had she read the note her opinion would have been that it had succeeded4 ,it read3 ,dear ,susie3--,it was real mean of me to write that note yesterday4 ,will you forgive me8 ,say1 ,susie1 ,i think all this nonsense about lovers and sweethearts is silly rot1 don't you8 ,let's be just friends4 ,respectfully yours1 ,,carl4 ,susie's answer was short but to the point4 ,it read3 ,all right4 ,let's4 ,,susie4 ,several months later ,miss ,bell and ,miss ,lane called again on ,dr4 ,barrett4 ,have you come with another problem8 asked the doctor4 ,no1 we have come to report progress and to learn1 if possible1 just how it has come about4 ,there has been a wonderful change in the school4 ,the girls and boys are no less friendly1 but it is without that silly sentimentality which was so annoying4 ,they are now just real good comrades1 and seem to help each other in being orderly1 polite1 and studious4 ,how did you do it8 ,perhaps all credit is not due to me1 but ,i will say that ,i gave ,carl the instruction ,i thought he needed and he has passed the good word along4 ,several of the boys have met with me once a month to study concerning themselves1 and ,i can see that they have grown to have a reverence for themselves and a deep regard for all womanhood4 ,carl was in last evening1 and said1 ',dr4 ,barrett1 ,i am so glad ,miss ,bell sent me with that note to you1 for your talk to me that night has changed my whole life1 ,i know4 ,i feel so much cleaner all through1 and have so much more respect for myself4 ,and ,i think so differently of girls and women1 and especially of my mother1 and ,i realize as ,i never did before how important a thing it is to be almost a man4' ,a ,,gateway ,,and ,a ,,gift4 ,three gateways span the path of earthly existence3 one at the entrance which we call the gate of birth2 one at the close which we call the gate of death1 and one at the entrance to the wondrous ,land of the ,teens1 which we call the gate of manhood or of womanhood4 ,at each of these gates a wonderful gift is presented to each individual4 ,at the gate of birth it is the gift of earthly life1 at death it is the gift of continued life1 and at the gate which opens into the ,land of the ,teens it is the gift of creative life4 ,you see that each gift is of life4 ,the path of earthly life1 beginning at the gateway of birth1 passes through the sunny meadow-land of ,childhood1 and also through a strange1 mysterious land to which we have referred as the ,land of the ,teens1 before reaching the ,heights of ,maturity4 ,this ,land of the ,teens is peculiar in that the inhabitants are neither children nor adults1 and yet1 with the inexperience of children1 they have many of the desires and emotions of grown-up people4 ,this constitutes an element of great danger1 while another source of danger is the fact that adequate guidance is not always given in this transition period1 or1 if proffered1 is proudly rejected by those who think that being in their teens makes them wise above that which is written4 ,when we visit foreign lands we are grateful for guidance and direction1 especially if we are not acquainted with the language2 so1 if we do not hire a guide we1 at least1 buy a guide-book4 ,it seems to me1 then1 that we ought not to rebel against guides through the ,land of the ,teens1 realizing that one who has traveled through a country can point out beauties and warn against dangers which would not be recognized by the inexperienced traveler4 ,we can visit ,england1 ,italy1 or ,germany many times1 and at each journey can profit by former experiences1 but we pass through the ,land of the ,teens but once1 and the lessons we learn on that journey we can only utilize for the benefit of others4 ,this is why many people on the ,heights of ,maturity are anxious to light a beacon for those who are still in their teens4 ,they would gladly help others to shun the by-paths where they have met disaster1 for they have learned the very solemn truth that in youth one is determining what maturity shall be4 ,the seeds sown in the sunny meadow of ,childhood and in the broader fields of the ,land of the ,teens are harvested in the uplands of ,maturity1 and the harvest is always greater than the seed sown4 ,the petulance and pouting of the child hardens into the gruffness1 bad-temper1 and moroseness of the man2 the idleness and shirking of the youth becomes the shiftlessness and unreliability of the adult2 the boy's neglect of duty and unwearied search for pleasure may be harvested in dissipation and ruin in mature life4 ,it is1 then1 a very serious thing to be passing through one's teens1 and the wise youth will welcome any guide who will show him a safe path4 ,may ,i claim the privilege of acting for a little time in that capacity8 ,the ,king of this land has made laws for its government and wisdom1 has builded paths wherein one may walk in safety4 ,the laws made by the ,king are not harsh and cruel1 but are beneficent1 and he denies no real good4 ,he says to the traveler1 ,you belong to me1 and ,i am desirous of your highest welfare2 therefore1 obey me and you shall be rewarded2 disobey me and you shall be punished4 ,it needs some moral courage to bravely stay in the path of ,wisdom1 for there are many allurements to leave it2 more particularly as the inexperience of the traveler does not warn him of the dangers of following pleasures that lead away from wisdom's ways4 ,the guide worthy of trust must not fail to point out these dangers2 and the prudent youth will listen to the warning voice and walk in ,wisdom's ways1 for all her ways are pleasantness1 and all her paths are peace4 ,we talk much about our personal liberty1 and assert that we have a right to live in ,maine or ,california1 but we have not that much liberty in regard to dwelling in the ,land of the ,teens4 ,if we are ever to reach the ,heights of ,maturity we must spend ten years in the ,teens4 ,we cannot sell our domain1 nor give it away1 and we cannot even hire some one to cultivate it for us4 ,this being the case1 it becomes important for us to study the soil and how best to develop its advantages4 ,we find that the land has three divisions3 the ,domain of the ,body1 the ,field of ,intellect1 and the ,garden of the ,heart1--the same divisions that exist in the ,sunny ,land of ,childhood1 and that we have been cultivating ever since we were born4 ,these are the kingdoms which came to us with the gift of life4 ,we recognize that the gifts which come to us at birth and death are of life for ourselves alone1 and we have had no thought during our childish years except to develop our powers for our own advantage4 ,it may be we have not felt perfectly satisfied with our lot in life1 but we have felt that we were not responsible for this4 ,we did not choose to be born in ,america instead of ,asia1 though we do not rebel at this fact4 ,we did not select to be white instead of black4 ,it is not our fault if we are born of a family in which consumption is an inheritance2 and1 on the other hand1 we can claim no credit to ourselves if we have inherited strong bodies with healthful tendencies4 ,it is our misfortune1 and not our fault1 if we are not quite perfectly poised by nature2 it is our good fortune1 not our foresight1 if we have genius instead of mediocrity4 ,the gifts that come to us through inheritance are ours without blame or credit to us but they bring with them the responsibility of their use4 ,we are responsible for maintaining or increasing our dower of health by obedience to physical laws2 responsible for the cultivation of our intellects1 for the development of inherited virtues1 and the annihilation of inherited vices4 ,if you study your characteristics and talents you find that they repeat those of your ancestry4 ,your eyes1 hair1 mouth1 chin1 your stature1 figure1 complexion1 your talents1 capabilities1 tendencies1 your likes and dislikes1 your faults as well as your virtues are repetitions of those who preceded you in this living network of existence of which you form a part4 ,if you are not like father or mother you may be like grandfather or great-grandmother4 ,if you do not find yourself repeating the characteristics or personality of any one ancestor1 you may find yourself a composite photograph of several4 ,and even if you cannot trace in yourself a likeness to any family representative1 you may still be assured that from some of them your traits have come to you4 ,you have only to recall the complexity of your sources of inheritance and then remember how many words can be spelled from the twenty-six letters of the alphabet to see that you can hardly measure the peculiar forces of mind and body that may come to you though that power of transmission which we call heredity4 ,it may occur to you to ask why1 if we are not responsible for our inheritances1 is it needful to give them any particular thought8 ,there are two reasons why we should consider the good and bad characteristics which may be ours through inheritance4 ,in the first place1 heredity is not fatality1 and we are not absolutely obliged to follow the paths which our ancestors marked out for us1 and in the second place1 we can1 by understanding our own characters1 mark out better paths for our posterity4 ,we are not only receivers of life1 but we may be also givers of life1 and this is the gift that comes to you at the entrance to the ,land of the ,teens4 ,can you imagine a more important period in the life of an individual than that point where is intrusted to him the physical powers which make him the arbiter of the destiny of those who come after him8 ,the gift of possible life for others is even more marvelous than that of actual life for one's self and brings with it greater responsibility4 ,it is accompanied with marked physical changes4 ,you have observed them in yourself1 though you perhaps have not understood them4 ,up to this time you have been but a child1 and all your physical forces have been occupied in keeping you alive and growing4 ,but you are now to become a man1 with powers that will unite you to the race2 powers that will give you the ability to form a new link in the living chain that now ends with you4 ,you have noticed the rapid unfolding of your bodily powers2 you have become conscious of new and strange emotions2 you have1 it may be1 found yourself becoming irritable and have felt bewildered with the new aspects of life and have wondered what it all means4 ,it may be you have felt as did one boy who said to his mother1 to whom he confided all his problems of life3 ,mamma1 ,i want to kick and cry1 and ,i don't know why4 ,the mother knew4 ,she understood the strange unfolding that was going on in his physical organism1 and she kindly explained it to him1 telling him that he must have patience with himself1 and govern himself by his judgment and not allow himself to be carried away by impulse1 assuring him that ,god would hold him as responsible for purity of character as ,he would the dear sister of whom they all felt so careful4 ,he should reverence his manhood1 even as he expected her to reverence her womanhood4 ,this is necessary1 not only for the good of each individual1 but also for the eternal interest of future generations4 ,this entrance into the ,land of the ,teens is a serious1 even a dangerous period1 for if you have not had right instruction you may be led1 or fall into habits of wrong doing or thinking4 ,if you are rightly taught you will begin to have an added reverence for yourselves in that ,god is dignifying you with new powers that will bring you more nearly into co-partnership with himself4 ,these powers1 the most sacred of all that have come to you1 need years for development1 and should be guarded by pure thoughts and kept for their holy office of promoting the earthly usefulness and eternal blessedness of those who hereafter will owe both earthly and immortal life to you4 ,i have said that we are not responsible for the dower of virtues or of vices which are ours by inheritance1 but we are responsible for the inheritances of our children1 and this is a most solemn thought4 ,do you not begin to see that we cannot value ourselves too highly if we have the right idea of what our real worth is8 ,we can scarcely overestimate the results of our own deeds4 ,we may think it does not matter if we do not always tell the exact truth2 if at some times we equivocate and at others exaggerate1 but when we remember that truth is the foundation of character1 and realize that by our little equivocations or exaggerations we may be weakening the foundations of many who are from us to receive their talents and tendencies1 we begin to see that the matter is a very serious one4 ,i am sometimes told that young people will not be influenced by a consideration for the welfare of unborn generations whose existence is very problematical in their thought2 but my observation is that young folks are much more sensible than we give them credit for being4 ,more than one young man has said to me3 ,i was never taught that my conduct and thought would impress themselves upon my children1 but now that ,i see that such is the case1 ,i am sure that ,i will hereafter be more careful of my life than ,i ever have been4 ,this field of investigation is a broad one1 and even if you never have an opportunity to study the subject scientifically you can still be of incalculable benefit to humanity by ever remembering that you are living for an earthly1 as well as for a heavenly immortality4 ,the young people who to-day are in the ,land of the ,teens are they who are determining the characteristics of the men and women of the ,twentieth ,century1 creating the standards of thought and action1 the methods of business1 the level of morals1 in fact the whole status of society in the world of a hundred years to come4 ,it is a very wonderful fact that ,god has so created us that the result of our deeds is not limited to our own lives1 but makes its impress upon those who are to come after us4 ,we are not separate units1 but are links in a living chain of endless transmission4 ,this fact makes our lives of far greater consequence than if1 in their results1 they were limited to ourselves4 ,if we are anxious concerning the future of our country1 we may take to heart the thought that it will be what we ourselves have made it4 ,the ,bible expresses the same idea in many ways4 ,whatsoever a man soweth1 that shall he also reap1 does not mean merely that his own future will be influenced by his conduct1 but that his future in his children will be a record which he himself has made4 ,men often make their wills and bequeath to their children their gold or houses and lands1 but sometimes against their wills they bequeath to their children a bodily dwelling of inferior material1 and so poor in construction that it very soon falls into decay through disease1 or in very early life becomes a tottering ruin4 ,it would seem rather amusing to us if one should sit down and write his will and say3 ,i bequeath to my daughter ,mary my yellow1 blotched and pimpled complexion1 resulting from my own bad habits of life4 ,i bequeath to my son ,john1 the effects of my habits of dissipation in my youth1 with a like love for alcoholic liquors and tobacco4 ,i bequeath to my son ,harry my petulant1 irritable disposition1 and the rheumatic gout which ,i have brought upon myself by disobedience to physical law2 and to my daughter ,elizabeth1 my trembling nerves and weak moral nature4 ,but this is1 in truth1 what many parents do1 and the children find it a sad1 instead of an amusing fact4 ,on the other hand1 if one has led a life of uprightness and morality1 and has obeyed physical law1 his children will inherit his physical vigor1 and his moral stamina4 ,it becomes of exceeding great importance that these facts should be known to the young1 in order that they may endeavor to overcome their own weaknesses1 and strengthen their own good qualities for the sake of future generations4 ,this heredity1 the transmission of the qualities of the parent to the child1 is found among plants and animals as well as in the human race4 ,the seed of a plant produces another plant of the same kind1 and the farmer knows when he sows wheat1 that his harvest will be wheat1 and he should know just as certainly that if he sows wild oats in his youth he may expect wild oats in his children4 ,the character of the food we eat1 the air we breathe1 the occupations we follow1 the habits we create1 are the forces which shape not only our own destiny1 but create the tendencies of our children4 ,with these thoughts in mind1 the question of the use of narcotics becomes one of great importance4 ,there are few1 if any1 tobacco users who are anxious that their boys should early begin the use of the weed4 ,but they do not realize the fact that in their own use of it they may have diminished the vital force of these boys1 transmitting a tendency to disease1 or perhaps an appetite for the tobacco itself1 and not only will the boys feel the effects1 but the girls as well4 ,as the thought of men is turned in this direction1 proofs are accumulating of the evil results to the children of tobacco-using parents4 ,a prominent physician says3 ,i have never known an habitual tobacco user whose children did not have deranged nerves1 and sometimes weak minds4 ,shattered nervous systems1 for generations to come1 may be the result of this indulgence4 ,the children of tobacco-using parents frequently die with infantile paralysis4 ,i have known two cases in which the crying of the baby could not be stopped until the tobacco-pipe was placed between its lips4 ,dr4 ,pidduck asserts that in no instance is the sin of the father more strikingly visited upon his children than the sin of tobacco using4 ,the enervation1 the hypochondriasis1 the hysteria1 the insanity1 the dwarfish deformities1 the consumption1 the suffering lives1 and early deaths of the children of inveterate smokers bear ample testimony to the feebleness and unsoundness of the constitution transmitted by this pernicious habit4 ,the effect of alcohol upon the child is equally marked1 and from all sides comes the testimony that the degenerations do not stop with the individual1 but pass on to succeeding generations4 ,sometimes the influence is seen in the stunting of the growth1 both mentally and physically4 ,dr4 ,langden ,downe reports several cases of this sort where the children had lived to be twenty-two years old and still remained infants1 symmetrical in form1 just able to stand beside a chair1 utter a few monosyllabic sounds1 and to be amused with toys4 ,dr4 ,f4 ,r4 ,lees1 referring to the injury inflicted upon the liver by alcohol1 says3 ,and recollect1 whatever injury you inflict upon this organ1 to your posterity the curse descends1 and as is the father1 so are the children4 ,dr4 ,kerr asserts that the effects of injury to the mind and body may not always show themselves in the drinker himself1 yet it is doubtful if his children ever entirely escape the effects in one form or another4 ,these effects may be manifest in insanity1 or in a tendency to diseases of the stomach1 liver1 bowels1 lungs1 or other organs2 or with a like love for alcoholic stimulants4 ,not only may the child be weak in body but also in intellect4 ,it is the statement of a score of observant physicians that the children of intemperate parents are apt to be feeble in body and weak in mind4 ,another very striking thought in this connection is that while the physical effects may not show in the individual himself1 nor in his children1 they may be manifest in the deterioration of his grandchildren and great-grandchildren4 ,a prominent temperance advocate who was laid up with rheumatic gout1 which is apt to be the result of alcoholic indulgence1 replied to a friend who wondered that he1 a drinker of cold water1 should suffer with this disease1 ,yes1 my ancestors drank the liquor and ,i foot the bills4 ,in #ahcd the ,parliament of the ,british ,house of ,commons made a report of intemperance in which they stated that the evils of alcoholism are cumulative in the amount of injury they inflict1 as intemperate parents1 according to high medical testimony1 give a taint to their offspring before birth1 and the poisonous stream of spirits is conveyed through the milk of the mother to the infant at the breast2 so that the fountain of life1 through which nature supplies that pure and healthy nutriment of infancy1 is poisoned at its very source1 and a diseased and vitiated appetite is thus created1 which grows with its growth1 and strengthens with its increasing weakness and decay4 ,a tendency to commit suicide seems to be a marked bequest of an inebriate parent to his children1 and it is well to state that in the opinion of medical men who are dealing with all forms of inebriety1 the evils resulting to the children may be transmitted by parents who have never been noted for drunkenness4 ,continual moderate drinking keeps the body so constantly under the influence of alcohol that a crowd of nervous difficulties and disorders may be transmitted even more surely than from the parent who has occasional sprees with long intervals of sobriety between4 ,it is not only through the drinking father that injury is done to the children1 but the mother may have a vitiated inheritance from her father and transmit it to her children4 ,when we recall the fact that one hundred thousand men fall into drunkard's graves every year1 we are appalled at the thought of that vast army marching on to death and destruction4 ,as we listen1 we can1 in fancy1 almost hear the tramp1 tramp of that mighty host advancing1 ,satan leading on4 ,in the front rank comes the one hundred thousand men who shall fall into drunkard's graves this year1 and behind them the one hundred thousand men who are to fall next year4 ,they come with sound of revelry and song1 and close beside them press a crowd of weeping wives and mothers and little children1 starved1 crippled1 and murdered1 who are to be fellow victims with the drunkard4 ,not very far back from the front row come one hundred thousand young men in the very prime of young1 vigorous life1 just beginning to drink their first glass of wine or beer1 with no intention of ever standing in that front row1 yet having started on the way4 ,back of them1 one hundred little school boys who think it manly to ape the follies of their predecessors4 ,back of them1 one hundred thousand little toddlers whose feet stagger in their innocent helplessness4 ,back of them1 one hundred thousand mothers with babies in their arms4 ,oh1 how sweetly those baby eyes look up into the loving eyes that are brooding over them4 ,is it possible those baby brows will ever lie low in the gutter1 those sweet lips be stained by oath or glass2 those crumpled rose-leaf fingers ever strike the murderous blow incited by alcohol8 ,it must be1 if that front rank of one hundred thousand drunkards is to be recruited1 for the drunkards of the future are to-day babies in their mother's arms4 ,do you who read these words intend to join this vast army of prospective drunkards1 or will you belong to the cold-water army that is marching on accompanied by health1 vigor1 industry1 prosperity1 success and long life8 ,we must not be so interested in the inheritance of evil qualities as to forget the transmission of good4 ,we read in ,exodus1 twentieth chapter1 that the sins of the fathers are to be visited upon the children unto the third and fourth generations of them that hate the ,lord1 but mercy will be shown to thousands of generations of them that love ,him and keep his commandments4 ,as we have seen the sins of the fathers are visited upon the children in transmission of diseased bodies1 perverted moral natures and weakened wills1 and realize that the promise is being fulfilled in the visitation of the sins of the fathers upon the children1 let us see if the other promise is being fulfilled also1 in the mercy shown to thousands of them that love the ,lord and keep ,his commandments4 ,an ,english specialist in children's diseases has carefully noted the difference between twelve families of drinkers and twelve families of sober parents during a period of twelve years4 ,,intemperate4 ,,temperate4 ,produced #eg children2 #be died in ,produced #fa children2 #f died the first week of life4 ,these in first week1 of weakness4 deaths due to convulsions1 or #d had curable diseases4 #b oedema of brain and membranes4 showed inherited nervous defects4 #b were idiots4 #e dwarfs4 #e ,this leaves #ej who were in epileptics4 #a had chorea4 #e were every way normal1 sound in body deformed4 #b became drunkards4 and mind4 ,this leaves only #aj who showed during the whole of life a normal disposition and development of body and mind4 ,if it were not a fact that health1 purity1 integrity1 intellect and virtue were being transmitted to a far greater extent than sin and vice1 there would be little good in the world1 but the transmission of these good qualities is so extended1 so like the air and the sunshine and the water1 a common thing1 that we almost forget to recognize it4 ,when we turn our thoughts to the investigation of this phase of the subject1 we find that vigorous parents have healthful children1 that powers of intellect are transmitted1 and that honesty and uprightness in the father warrants us in expecting the same in the son4 ,we recognize the transmission of powers of intellect in the fact that where the parents have a peculiar talent1 we very generally find the same talent in their children4 ,we are acquainted with musical families1 mathematical families1 artistic families1 and in the study of renowned people of the world we find evidences of this transmission of intellect4 ,we also learn that the effects of education are transmissible1 and if the parents are educated along a certain line the children receive education along that line much more readily4 ,this fact becomes a wonderful incentive to us to build up all that is best in our own natures in order that through us the world may receive an impetus towards higher and better things4 ,sometimes when your faults and defects press upon you with tremendous force and you find it so very hard to overcome them1 you may be tempted to lay the blame on your ancestry who gave you such a dower1 who by their lives handicapped you in your life-struggle4 ,you may feel inclined to say with some writer1 to me unknown1 who says3 ,,heredity4 ,your strictures are unmerited1 ,our follies are inherited1 ,directly from our gran-pas they all came2 ,our defects have been transmitted1 ,and we should be acquitted ,of all responsibility and blame4 ,we are not depraved beginners1 ,but hereditary sinners1 ,for our fathers never acted as they should2 ',tis the folly of our gran-pas ,that continually hampers-- ,what a pity that our gran-pas weren't good6 ,yes1 we'd all be reverend senators1 ,if our depraved progenitors ,had all been prudent1 studious and wise2 ,but they were quite terrestial1 ,or we would be celestial1 ,yes1 we'd all be proper tenants for the skies4 ,if we're not all blameless sages1 ,and beacons to the ages1 ,and fit for principalities and powers2 ,if we do not guide and man it1 ,and engineer the planet1 ',tis the folly of our forefathers--not ours4 ,but the lesson of these lines is not that you should lie back in inaction1 making no effort to overcome your defects because they are inheritances4 ,there is for you a wiser lesson in the theme than that4 ,when ,marshall ,ney was taunted with the fact that the ,imperial nobility had no pedigree he proudly replied1 ,we are ancestors4 ,there is a grand thought for you4 ,if your ancestors did not do the best for you1 will you not profit by your knowledge of this fact and do the best for those who shall look back to you as their ancestor8 ,supposing that your parents in their youth had said3 ,i will take care of my health so that my children may be born with vigorous bodies2 ,i will make good use of my intellect so that my children will inherit an added capacity for acquiring knowledge2 ,i will obey all laws of morality so that my children will by inheritance tend toward virtue2 and supposing that you to-day1 with healthful bodies1 keen intellects and upward tending moral natures1 were reaping the reward of their forethought1 would you not bless them for it8 ,you have no right to remain listless and discouraged because of your inheritances1 whatever they may be4 ,hear the inspiriting words of ,ella ,wheeler ,wilcox3 ,there is no thing you cannot overcome4 ,say not thy evil instinct is inherited2 ,or that some trait inborn1 makes thy whole life forlorn1 ,and calls for punishment that is not merited4 ,back of thy parents and grandparents lies1 ,the great ,eternal ,will2 that1 too1 is thine ,inheritance--strong1 beautiful1 divine2 ,sure lever of success for one who tries4 ,pry up thy fault with this great lever--will2 ,however deeply bedded in propensity2 ,however firmly set1 ,i tell thee firmer yet ,is that great power that comes from truth's immensity4 ,there is no noble height thou canst not climb2 ,all triumphs may be thine in time's futurity1 ,if whatsoe'er thy fault1 thou dost not faint or halt1 ,but lean upon the staff of ,god's security4 ,earth has no claim the soul can not contest4 ,know thyself part of the supernal source1 ,and naught can stand before thy spirit's force ,the soul's divine inheritance is best4 ,the youth of to-day have in their own hands the molding of the future1 not only of themselves1 but of the nation1 by the every day habits of their lives4 ,by their thoughts and aspirations1 by the moral tendencies which they are cultivating in themselves1 they are determining what shall be the characteristics of the nation in a hundred years to come4 ,shall this be1 in a hundred years1 a nation of drunkards8 ,the young people of to-day are deciding that question4 ,shall it be a nation of invalids8 ,this1 also1 the young people are deciding4 ,shall it be a nation filled with greed of gain1 with a low standard of morals1 with dishonest methods in business1 or shall it be a nation wherein vigorous health is the rule1 unflinching courage1 absolute integrity and pure morality shall everywhere reign8 ,what the young people of to-day are making of themselves physically1 mentally and morally1 is deciding what shall be the future of the country4 ,,the ,,white ,,cross4 ,the cross is considered as an emblem of self-denial1 the immolating of selfish wishes upon the altar of universal good4 ,in a nobler sense it means not so much self-denial as the creation of nobler desires1 so that the individual wants only those things which he rightfully should have2 he is not obliged to deny himself1 because he asks nothing but that which is noble and pure4 ,in this sense the cross is not so much the emblem of self-denial as an emblem of self-ennoblement--the exaltation of self4 ,the ,white ,cross typifies the purifying of the life from the desire of mere sense pleasures4 ,it means the noble manhood which claims for itself the privilege of chastity and the rewards of purity4 ,the ,white ,cross army is composed of men and boys over fourteen years of age who unite to resist vice1 to secure safety for the home and for society1 to become all that becomes true manhood4 ,in organized co-operation there is strength4 ,it is not only the long pull and the strong pull1 but the pull altogether1 that is thoroughly successful4 ,hundreds of men are living the white life individually1 but are not associated together in an effort to influence others4 ,such association would result in more rapidly spreading the idea of the responsibility of the individual1 would create public opinion1 would give moral support to those who might find their unaided strength inadequate to meet the temptations of the world1 in short1 would furnish the conditions favorable to the highest ideals of social and individual life4 ,the ,white ,cross ,society aims to unite men in such an organized effort for the elevation of moral standards4 ,its members are pledged to the keeping of a fivefold obligation4 ,the first of these appeals to the chivalry latent in the heart of every man1 making him a protector of every woman1 however lonely or friendless she may be1 recognizing her potential value to the race2 protecting her against his own selfish desires1 against the open and covert assaults of other men1 against her own unwisdom1 if need be4 ,the second obligation pledges the ,white ,cross knight to a pure heart expressed not only in conduct but in word4 ,he will think and speak reverently of life in all its phases1 and help to cleanse the language--written or spoken--of all that pollutes the heart or vitiates the imagination4 ,the third obligation claims for the ,white ,cross soldier the glory of living up to the highest moral standards1 of being as pure as the noblest woman that lives4 ,the fourth recognizes the power of influence and binds the members to a helpful interest in all humanity4 ,the fifth covers the whole scope of life in the obligation to use every effort to fulfil the command1 ,keep thyself pure4 ,the heart of the true man must throb a quick response to the appeal made to him by the ,white ,cross4 ,it means marital fidelity1 it implies the sanctity of the home1 it creates individual purity1 and that insures social purity1 it means a nobler manhood1 a grander womanhood1 a safer childhood4 ,the appeal is made to you individually4 ,will you not become a ,white ,cross knight8 ,will you not1 even if you cannot join an organized society1 become a standard-bearer of the ,white ,cross1 pledging yourself to its five obligations8 ,soon you will find others willing to unite with you in this great work1 and the society will be formed4 ,each one who reads this book may become a true and faithful knight of the ,white ,cross1 no matter where he may be1 in city mart or lonely farm1 in busy shop or quiet school1 and not only may he be a soldier1 but he may be a recruiting officer1 inducing others to enlist under the ,white ,cross banner4 ,,the ,,white ,,cross ,,pledge4 ,blessed are the pure in heart3 for they shall see ,god4 ,i ,,promise1 ,,by ,,the ,,help ,,of ,,god3 #a4 ,to treat all women with respect1 and endeavor to protect them from wrong and degradation4 #b4 ,to endeavor to put down all indecent language and coarse jests4 #c4 ,to maintain the law of purity as equally binding upon men and women4 #d4 ,to endeavor to spread these principles among my companions1 and try to help my younger brothers4 #e4 ,to use all possible means to fulfil the command1 ,keep thyself pure4 ,name 99 99 99 99 99 ,self and ,sex ,series4 ,,for ,,men4 ,by ,sylvanus ,stall1 ,d4 ,d4 #a4 ,what a ,young ,boy ,ought to ,know4 #b4 ,what a ,young ,man ,ought to ,know4 #c4 ,what a ,young ,husband ,ought to ,know4 #d4 ,what a ,man at ,forty-five ,ought to ,know4 #e4 ,what a ,man at ,sixty-five ,ought to ,know4 ,,price #a4jj ,,each4 ,,for ,,women4 ,by ,mrs4 ,mary ,wood-,allen1 ,m4 ,d41 and ,sylvanus ,stall1 ,d4 ,d4 #a4 ,what a ,young ,girl ,ought to ,know4 #b4 ,what a ,young ,woman ,ought to ,know4 #c4 ,what a ,young ,wife ,ought to ,know4 #d4 ,what a ,woman at ,forty-five ,ought to ,know4 #e4 ,what a ,woman at ,sixty-five ,ought to ,know4 ,,price #a4jj ,,each4 ,address orders to ,wood-,allen ,publishing ,co41 ,ann ,arbor1 ,mich4 99 99 99 99 99 ,almost ,a ,woman4 444 ,,mary ,,wood-,,allen1 ,m4 ,d4 ,price1 #be ,cents4 ,,girls ,have long been wanting a book written by ,dr4 ,wood-,allen for them to correspond with the one by the same author for ,,boys ,at last the demand has been met and the doctor's new book1 ,almost ,a ,woman1 ,presents in attractive form the pure instruction needed by the girl4 ,,mothers ,will find this just what they have been wanting to put into the hands of their daughter4 ,,wood-,,allen ,,publishing ,,co41 ,,ann ,,arbor1 ,,mich4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,books 444 ,by ,,mary ,,wood-,,allen1 ,m4 ,d4 ,,teaching ,,truth4 ,price1 #be ,cents 444 ,this little brochure aims to answer in chaste and scientific language the queries of children as to the origin of life4 ,the reception it has met with is best indicated by the testimonials received from the press and through private letters4 ,the principal of a young ladies' school writes3 ,i invited our girls to the parlor and read your brochure1 which was listened to with the deepest interest4 ,at certain portions of the reading nearly all were in tears4 ,it is a most pathetically pure1 chaste presentation of a grand subject4 ,you would have rejoiced could you have heard the expressions from the young ladies4 ,surely1 dear ,dr4 ,allen1 ,god has blessed many through your instrumentality4 ,read this book if you read no other but the ,bible this year4--,emma ,bates1 ,valley ,city1 ,n4 ,d4 ,please send me some more copies of your unique and valuable little book4 ,i cannot keep a copy over night4 ,it would be an evangel to every young person in whose hands it might be placed4 ,i would also invite the public school teachers to examine this rare little book4--,frances ,e4 ,willard4 ,a skilful1 graceful1 and reverent effort to assist parents in what has been a delicate and difficult task4 ,the author deserves the praise that belongs to the successful pioneer4--,george ,n4 ,miller4 ,,almost ,a ,,man4 444 ,price1 #be ,cents 444 ,the success of the ,teaching ,truth1 and ,child-,confidence ,rewarded1 together with the frequent requests for some inexpensive book for the instruction of boys approaching manhood1 has led to the writing of ,almost ,a ,man4 ,it is intended to help mothers and teachers in the delicate task of teaching the lad concerning himself1 purely and yet with scientific accuracy4 ,a booklet designed to help mothers and teachers in the instruction of boys4 ,ought to be in the hands of every parent in the land4--,toledo ,blade4 ,chaste and pure1 and admirably adapted to mothers in this most difficult1 universally neglected but very important line of work4--,early ,education4 ,many mothers will be glad to read what such an authority as ,dr4 ,wood-,allen has to say on so important and delicate a subject4--,mother's ,journal4 ,worth its weight in gold to the puzzled mother1 telling her exactly what she wants to know4 ,this book deals reverently with the great mystery of life4--,ladies' ,home ,journal4 ,too much cannot be said in its favor4--,school ,education4 ,i can conscientiously recommend it to all who are interested in the physical and moral welfare of youth4--,c4 ,a4 ,dorman1 ,m4 ,d4 ,such literature cannot fail to accomplish great and lasting good4--,eng4 ,f4 ,storke1 ,m4 ,d4 ,many have given good advice1 but this is the best4--,rev4 ,kent ,white4 ,i believe this little book would do incalculable good if placed in the hands of boys after they have reached ten years of age4--,wm4 ,g4 ,lotze1 ,gen4 ,sec4 ,y4 ,m4 ,c4 ,a41 ,denver1 ,colo4 ,address1 ,,wood-,,allen ,,pub4 ,,co41 ,ann ,arbor1 ,mich4 99 99 99 99 99 ,a ,,new ,,book1 ,the ,marvels of ,our ,bodily ,dwelling ,,by ,,mary ,,wood-,,allen1 ,m4 ,d4 ,teaching by metaphor1 parable1 and allegory has been the method of many of the wisest instructors4 ,no one can claim originality in comparing the body to a house1 for that comparison is as old as literature4 ,but the simile is still of interest to the juvenile mind1 and as science is ever making new discoveries1 there is continual demand for new and interesting works on physiology4 ,dr4 ,wood-,allen in this new book has united scientific facts and metaphor with the skill that would be expected from her by those acquainted with her literary powers4 ,the book will be found equally valuable as a text-book1 a supplementary reader or a reference book in schools1 or as a book of pleasant home instruction4 ,teachers in ,normal ,schools will find it a most suggestive aid in teaching physiology4 ,as it contains the most reliable scientific facts in regard to alcohol1 tobacco1 and other narcotics1 it fills the demand created by the school laws compelling the teaching of the action of narcotics on the human body4 ,,testimonials4 ,a charming book4--,frances ,willard4 ,only a scientific person can understand how really good it is4 ,it has been to me intensely interesting1 and ,i hope sincerely that the world at large will appreciate it4--,j4 ,m4 ,w4 ,kitchen1 ,m4 ,d4 ,it gives me pleasure to note that the book1 both by its subject-matter and its pleasing form of presentation1 is well adapted to the use for which it is intended4--,b4 ,a4 ,hinsdale1 ,professor of the ,science and ,art of ,teaching1 ,university of ,michigan4 ,i find here1 wrought out in attractive form1 some of the most important knowledge that our young people ought to know4 ,it is suitable for a supplementary reader in the upper grammar grades of the public schools4 ,part ,second particularly is of the highest value to the boys and girls in our grammar and high schools4--,w4 ,s4 ,perry1 ,principal of ,high ,school1 ,ann ,arbor1 ,mich4 ,this excellent work ought to be1 not only read1 but studied by every one in and out of our schools who is interested in preserving the integrity of our bodily and mental functions4 ,the author's method would make knowledge invigorate and mature the judgment and not burden the memory1 and this is the germinal idea in all sound education4--,geo4 ,e4 ,seymour1 ,professor of ,history1 ,high ,school1 ,st4 ,louis1 ,mo4 ,the retail price of the book is #a4aj4 ,orders promptly filled by the ,,wood-,,allen ,,pub4 ,,co41 ,ann ,arbor1 ,mich4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,the ,,birth ,,chamber4 ,,price1 #aj ,cents4 ,a ,supplementary ,chapter to ,the ,marvels of ,our ,bodily ,dwelling4 ,in this supplementary chapter are given the scientific facts of special physiology1 written in ,dr4 ,wood-,allen's own delicate style4 ,many who have become aroused to the fact that accurate scientific knowledge is the surest safeguard of purity1 are themselves not well enough instructed to be able to teach their children4 ,this booklet meets the need of all such1 and gives just what is wanted to instruct young people in regard to the sacred origin of life4 ,every one who owns ,teaching ,truth and ,child-,confidence ,rewarded will desire to possess this booklet also1 for it supplements these perfectly4 ,,child-,,confidence ,,rewarded4 ,,price1 #aj ,cents4 ,this little book treats of child-purity with the same delicate but masterly hand shown in ,dr4 ,allen's other writings4--,union ,signal of ,july #e1 #ahid4 ,unique and valuable4--,frances ,e4 ,willard4 ,i am delighted with it4--,katherine ,lente ,stevenson1 ,chicago4 ,most charmingly written4--,alice ,b4 ,stockham1 ,m4 ,d41 ,chicago4 ,the good it will do is incalculable4--,emily ,s4 ,bouton1 in ,toledo ,blade4 ,the best you have done yet4 ,i can recommend it4--,earl ,barnes1 ,professor in ,leland ,stanford ,university1 ,palo ,alto1 ,cal4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the ,new ,crusade ,price #ej ,cents a ,year4 ,sample ,copies ,free4 ,,mary ,,wood-,,allen1 ,m4 ,d41 ,,editor4 ,it is sui generis1 deals frankly and scientifically with the moral problems of the home1 the school1 and society4 ,it embodies the work of the ,white ,cross1 ,white ,shield1 ,mother's ,meetings1 ,child-,culture ,circles1 and the ,rescue ,work4 ,also deals with the subject of ,reform and ,legislation for ,morality1 and yet continuing to emphasize1 most emphatically of all1 the necessity of right instruction as the surest means of promoting purity4 ,co-operating with the ,national ,superintendent of the ,department of ,health and ,heredity1 it discusses all topics of health and inheritance1 pre-natal influences1 etc4 ,physical education will also have its share of attention4 ,crusaders of old endeavored to overthrow evil by force and arms4 ,the ,,new ,,crusade proposes to emphasize the positive side of life1 and waging a peaceful war1 aims to supplant ,ignorance by ,knowledge2 to eradicate ,vice by ,virtue2 to displace ,disease by ,health1 and to dispel ,darkness by ,light4 ,send for terms to agents and our club rates4 ,make all ,money ,orders payable to ,,wood-,,allen ,,publishing ,,company1 ,ann ,arbor1 ,michigan4 99 99 99 99 99 ,transcriber ,notes ,typographical problems have been changed and are listed below4 ,hyphenation and common compound words standardized and listed below4 ,author's archaic spelling is preserved4 ,author's punctuation style is preserved4 ,table of ,contents added4 ,passages in italics indicated by underscores4 ,passages in bold indicated by equal signs4 ,transcriber ,changes ,the following changes were made to the original text3 ,prelude3 meadow land standardized to meadow-land 7lads had crossed the sunny meadow-land of childhood and stood by the gate7 ,page #g3 ,added quotes 7,it has been so long since ,i saw you that you have almost grown out of my knowledge4444 ,you must be fifteen years old47 ,page #h3 anyone standardized to any one 7supposing you try to forget that any one has ever told you anything about it7 ,page #i3 every thing standardized to everything 7,we may go even farther and say with ,mr4 ,grant ,allen that everything high and ennobling in our nature springs directly from the fact of sex47 ,page #ac3 microscrope changed to microscope 7they are not visible except with the aid of a microscope7 ,page #ad3 ,changed period to comma after to-night 7,no one ever talked to me as you have to-night1 and ,i am sure it makes me want to be better47 ,page #bj3 ,changed single quote to double 7that will bring a blush to the cheeks of either1 now1 or in the years to come47 ,page #bj3 ,changed ending single quote to double 7the doctor handed him1 and then with another ,good night1 he walked away in the darkness47 ,page #bd3 plesaantness changed to pleasantness 7all her ways are pleasantness1 and all her paths are peace47 ,page #bf3 ,added comma after mouth 7,your eyes1 hair1 mouth1 chin1 your stature1 figure1 complexion1 your talents1 capabilities7 ,page #bg3 prehaps changed to perhaps 7,you have observed them in yourself1 though you perhaps have not understood them47 ,page #ca3 tobacco using standardized to tobacco-using 7proofs are accumulating of the evil results to the children of tobacco-using parents7 ,page #cf3 transmissable changed to transmissible 7,we also learn that the effects of education are transmissible7 ,advertisements3 ,removed extraneous quote after youth 7,i can conscientiously recommend it to all who are interested in the physical and moral welfare of youth4--,c4 ,a4 ,dorman1 ,m4 ,d47 ,advertisements3 ,m ,d4 changed to ,m4 ,d4 7,most charmingly written4--,alice ,b4 ,stockham1 ,m4 ,d41 ,chicago47 99 99 99 99 99