Not an Uncommon Case.--Prof. Lusk, of Bellevue Hospital College, New
York, related to his medical class in our hearing a case which came
under his observation in which all of the children in a large family
had been taught the habit by a wicked nurse for the purpose of keeping
them quiet after they were put to bed. The vileness that would lead
a person to thus rob childhood of its innocence, and blast its prospects
for this life and the next, is base enough for the commission of almost
any crime. Indeed, the crime could hardly have been a worse one had
the nurse referred to in the above case in cold blood cut the throats
of those innocent children; perhaps it might have been better for the
children.
A gentleman once declared that if he should detect a person teaching
this crime to his child he would shoot him on the spot; and if homicide
is allowable under any circumstances, it seems to us it would be
extenuated by such an aggravation. If occasional bad associations will
work an immense damage to the youthful character, what terrible injury
may be wrought by an agent of sin, an instructor in vice, who is within
the household, who presides in the nursery, and exerts a constant
influence! No one can estimate it.
Acton remarks on this point, "I need hardly point out how very dangerous
this is. There seems hardly any limit to the age at which a young child
can be initiated into these abominations, or to the depth of degradation
to which it may fall under such hideous teaching. Books treating of
this subject are unfortunately too full of accounts of the habits of
such children."
In not a few instances the "hired man" has been the means of
communicating to innocent little boys the infamous knowledge which,
fortunately, they had not acquired in babyhood. With no knowledge of
the evil they are committing, they begin the work of physical damnation
which makes a hell of life and leads to endless death.
The "hired girl" is often an equally efficient agent for evil in the
instruction of little girls in this debasing vice. Some time ago, the
very intelligent parents of a bright family of children were awakened
to the importance of this subject from the perusal of the first edition
of this work, and upon investigation were horrified to find that their
oldest child a promising daughter of ten, was already a victim to the
vile practice, having been initiated by a "hired girl." After using
in vain every means he could bring to bear upon the case, the father
brought her to us, and with tears in his eyes gave his story. After
telling of his unsuccessful attempts to effect a reform, he declared
that he would far prefer to place his daughter in the grave than to
see her grow up a wretched victim of this vice. We were most happy to
be able, after a few weeks' treatment, to restore her to her parents,
as we hope, permanently reformed. Not a few such cases are constantly
coming to the attention of the medical profession.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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