Confidential 
Talks 
WITH 
WOMEfI Confidential Talks 
WITH YOUNG WOMEN 
by 
LYMAN. B. SPERRY M.D. 
LECTURER ON SANITARY SCIENCE; CARLETON COLLEGE MINN. 
Author of "Confidential Talks With Young Men,” 
“ Concerning Narcoticsetc. 
Fleming H. Revell Company, 
CHICAGO: 
148 and 150 Madison St. 
NEWYORK: 
112 Fifth Avenue. 
Publishers 0/ Evangelical Literature. Entered according to Act of Congress, it] the gear 1893, 
by Flerqiqg ij. Fjeuell Company, in the Office of the 
Librarian of Congress at Washiqgtoq, D, G. rfll rights 
reserued. CONTENTS. 
CHAPTER 
Introduction 7 
PAGE 
I. The Mystery Explained 11 
11. Reproduction as Exhibited by 
Plants 15 
111. The Reproduction of Inverte- 
brate Animals 23 
IV. The Propagation of Fishes, 
Birds and Marsupials 27 
V. The Process as Exhibited by 
Mammals 33 
VI. The Reproductive Organs of 
the Human Female 38 
VII. The Age of Puberty—Physical 
VIII. Subjective Symptons of Puberty 48 
and Mental Changes 42 
IX. Significance of Ovulation and 
Menstruation 54 CHAPTER 
X. Some Obstacles to Healthful 
PAGE 
Development 59 
XL The Results of Certain Customs 65 
XII. Causes and Danger of Defec- 
tive Menstruation 70 
XIII. Nutrition or Body-Building.. 75 
XIV. Physical Exercise and Muscu- 
lar Development 80 
XV. Dress—lts Use and Abuse,,.. 85 
XVI. Mental Temptations and Habits 107 
XVII. Physical Pollution or Abuse.. 113 
XVIII. Certain Important Considera 
tions 120 
XIX. Wifehood and Motherhood.... 126 
XX. Additional Matters of Impor 
tance 129 
XXL Conclusion 135 INTRODUCTION. 
The world is full of mysteries and surprises. 
Life teems with wonders. The growing hu- 
man mind naturally bristles with interroga- 
tion points. Every observant and thoughtful 
girl, before reaching her "teens” asks, over 
and over again, as she looks out upon life and 
thinks of her own brief existence and limited 
experiences, “Where did I come from?” "How 
did I get here?” “What does my life mean?” 
"They tell me I was "born" at a certain time, 
in a certain place, and of parents whom I have 
been taught to call, "father" and “mother." 
What does it mean to be born?” “Babies are 
born. Everybody seems to be born as a baby; 
and then, if they do not die too soon, they 
slowly grow up to manhood or to womanhood. 
I wonder why and how babies are born! Where 
do they come from, anyway?” “Why is there 
so much mysterious conduct and misleading 
talk about babies when young folks are within 
7 8 
INTRODUCTION 
hearing? It seems to me that there is some- 
thing very strange about the whole affair, I 
wonder who will tell me all about it." Such 
are the thoughts and queries that are sure, 
sometime, to arise in every human mind; such 
the remarks that are sure, sometime, to break 
from the lips of every one of the millions of 
bright and beautiful girls who are born into 
this world. 
It is perfectly natural that they experience 
and give play to such wonderment and curi- 
osity; perfectly right that they ask such ques- 
tions. She must be a very stupid girl who 
does not marvel at the frequent, the sudden, 
and, to her, the unexpected appearance of an- 
other baby in the famity or the neighborhood. 
Any bright girl must wonder why the new- 
comer is “brought by the doctor,” and why 
its advent seems to have made the mother so 
ill; and why the women ask so may questions 
about how the mother ‘got along." It seems 
to a miss who has not been informed on these 
subjects that the baby is the one that got 
alotig. The mother was already here, and 
seemed all right till the baby came. All these 
things appear very strange and mysterious to INTRODUCTION 
9 
every intelligent girl of average curiosity; and 
much of it is certainly marvelous and puz- 
zling, even to many who have passed the girl- 
hood stage and are well advanced in physical 
womanhood. In response to the request of a 
large number of parents and teachers, I am 
going to tell you, in these" Confidential 
Talks,” many things about this strange matter, 
together with certain interesting and import- 
ant facts connected with it. I shall try to 
tell you all you need to know till you shall be 
settled in a home of your own, and consequent- 
ly have a more immediate and personal interest 
in the subject. It is, indeed, a wonderful 
series of facts that I am about to lay before 
you—one of the most interesting and important 
that can be named; no fairy tales were ever 
invented that compare in interest with many 
things I shall tell you about this wonderful 
subject; no other sphere of human life exhibits 
more wisdom, ingenuity, delicacy and skill on 
the part of the great and good Father of all. CONFIDENTIAL TALKS 
CHAPTER I. 
THE MYSTERY EXPLAINED. 
We are taught in the book of Genesis that 
God created everything. After he had formed 
the world, brought light out of darkness and 
order out of chaos, after he had established 
the firmament, set bounds for the seas and 
sufficiently prepared the dry land, he said: 
“Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb 
yielding seed and the fruit tree yielding fruit 
after its kind, whose seed is in itself; and it 
was so. And God saw that it was good.” 
Then, after he had rolled away and condensed 
the dark clouds which filled the sky and had 
caused the sun, the moon and the stars to 
shine out, he said: "Let the waters bring 
forth abundantly the moving creature that 
hath life, and fowl that may fly above the 
11 CONFIDENTIAL TALKS 
earth in the open firmament of heaven. And 
God created great whales and every living 
creature, that moveth, which the waters 
brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and 
every winged fowl, after his kind; and God 
saw that it was good. And God blessed them, 
saying, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the 
waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in 
the earth." 
Then God said, "Let the earth bring forth 
the living creature after his kind, cattle and 
creeping thing and the beast of the earth, 
after his kind; and it was so.” 
Finally, God created man, in his own image; 
male and female created he them; and God 
said unto them, "Be fruitful and multiply and 
replenish the earth and subdue it.” And God 
saw everything that he had made, and behold, 
it was very good." 
Did you ever stop to think of the signifi- 
cance of those phrases—"male and female," 
"whose seed is in itself,” “be fruitful, and 
multiply and replenish,” “after its kind" etc.? 
They are full of the deepest meaning, and they 
sound the key-note of these “Confidential 
Talks" with you. THE MYSTERY EXPLAINED 
13 
No one knows just how God made the first 
pair (male and female) of any species of ani- 
mal, or of plant life; but physiologists, and 
other careful students of nature, have learned 
the laws and methods by which each individ- 
ual plant and animal has been produced since 
the first pair of each species came from the 
creative hand. All the offspring or “seed," of 
those first pairs, each species after its kind, 
are the result of a wonderful process of life- 
transm ission, called reproduction; and as long 
ago as when Rome ruled the world, and Latin 
was the lanugage of much of the world’s sci- 
ence, men had discovered the fundamental law 
of reproduction, and had formulated it in the 
sentence, “ Omne vivum ex ovo"—which means 
"all life is from the egg,” or, “each individual 
life form is from an egg.” 
The most modern science finds it strictly 
true that every blade of grass, every flowering 
plant, every fish, reptile, bird or beast; every 
kitten, puppy, calf or colt; every baby ele- 
phant, and every human baby that comes into 
the world, develops from an egg. (Latin, 
ovum; plural, ova.) Every ovum is produced 
by an organ called an ovary; and every per 14 
CONFIDENTIAL TALKS 
feet female, of whatever species—whether 
plant or animal—has one or more of these or- 
gans for producing ova. An ovum is an or- 
ganized germ from which, under favoring cir- 
cumstances, a new individual gradually de- 
velops. 
All males, also, of whatever species, have 
special organs whose office it is to produce a 
fertilizing substance (called pollen, in vegeta- 
bles; semen, in animals;) which, by uniting 
with the ova of females, sets up a process of 
development destined, eventually, to culmi- 
nate in the production of new beings like the 
parents. Thus, centuries ago, science discov- 
ered the natural, universal law expressed in 
Bible phraseology by the terms, “male and 
female," “whose seed is in itself," “multiply 
and replenish," “after its kind," etc. 
In the following pages I shall describe, 
somewhat in detail, the methods of repro- 
ducing,—beginning with the vegetable king- 
dom and tracing them in their marvelous mod- 
ifications up to and through the various classes 
of animal life, including man. CHAPTER 11. 
REPRODUCTION AS EXHIBITED BY PLANTS. 
Every girl is fond of flowers; indeed, almost 
every human being, regardless of sex or age, 
admires and enjoys them. What is more de- 
lightful, in form, in structure, in color or in 
odor, than the fragrant blossoms of some of 
our plants? Some of them are exquisite be- 
yond our power to express. As we so often 
hear it remarked, with great intensity of ex- 
pression, “they are p-e-r-f-e-c-t-l-y b-e-a-u-t-i- 
-f-u-l!" But what are these beautiful flowers? 
They are simply the reproductive organs of 
plants. They are the ingeniously contrived 
organs which obey, though unconsciously, the 
command that God has impressed upon all 
life, “Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish 
the earth.” 
Let us study this matter somewhat carefully, 
and see how some plants do this. Below is a 
cut representing a blossom resembling the 
15 16 
CONFIDENTIAL TALKS 
common morning glory. It contains both sets 
of organs—the male and the female—in each 
blossom; and therefore illustrates, in a sim 
pie way, the processes of germ-formation and 
fertilization. 
The above blossom is represented as cut 
down through the middle, disclosing in profile REPRODUCTION AS EXHIBITED B Y PLANTS 
17 
the essential parts of the reproductive organs, 
parts which nature so carefully protects by the 
surrounding calyx and corolla. If you happen 
to be studying this subject when such plants 
are in bloom, it would be well to get a blossom 
and examine it in connection with the cut and 
text. 
You notice attached to the inner side of the 
bottom of the flower a rounded pod (a) rep- 
resented as containing a few small, spherical 
bodies. This pod is the ovary, and the little 
bodies within it are the ovules, or seeds. 
Extending from this ovary toward the top of 
the cup-shaped blossom is a tube (b) called 
the style, which terminates in a spongy ex- 
pansion (c) called the stigma. This ovary 
with its ovules, together with the style and the 
stigma, constitute the female organs of the 
plant. It is the office of the ovary to produce 
and protect the ovules. It is the office of the 
stigma and the style to receive and conduct 
to each ovule in the ovary, a fertilizing sub- 
stance, called pollen, which is produced and 
thrown off by the male organs (d) called an- 
thers. If each of the ovules is perfect, and if 
it receives a proper quantity of healthy pollen 18 
CONFIDENTIAL TALKS 
from the anthers, through the style, then the 
ovule thus fertilized, if matured and placed 
under proper conditions, will develop into 
another plant like the parent that produced 
it. Thus the first plant, whose seed developed 
within itself, produced several other plants of 
the same species. The second generation pro- 
duced a third; and so the multiplication has 
proceeded from the first morning-glory that 
God made till the present time; and thus will 
it continue so long as He has ordained that 
morning glories shall exist upon the earth. 
Many other species of plants, besides this 
one that I have described, bear blossoms that 
contain both the male and the female organs; 
but this particular arrangement is not found 
in all plants. The flowers of many species of 
vegetation contain but one set of organs, i. 
e., each blossom is either male or female—a 
father or a mother blossom. In some cases 
the different sexes grow closely together, on 
the same branch of a plant or tree; in other 
cases they are found only on separate branches, 
while in certain species they are produced only 
on separate trees, and those trees may be wide- 
ly distant from one another. The willow and REPRODUCTION AS EXHIBITED B Y PLANTS 
19 
the poplar are examples of the last sort, while 
our common Indian corn is an interesting ex- 
ample of the kind that poduces, on the same 
stalk, blossoms of distinct sex. With corn, the 
‘‘tassels’’ are the clusters of male blossoms, 
and the ears (ovaries), with their husks and 
protuding threads of ‘‘silk/’ constitute the 
female organs. In the case of the corn, gravi- 
tation and the winds scatter the pollen from 
the tassels upon the silk, and, traveling down 
each filament of silk, the pollen reaches each 
kernel of corn (ovule) and fertilizes it. In 
most cases where the sexes are in different- 
blossoms the pollen is conveyed from the male 
to the female blossom by bees and other honey- 
gathering insects. These collectors of honey 
do not intentionally carry the pollen for the 
purposes of fertilization—it is an inevitable 
incident of their daily life; for whenever an 
insect alights in the cup of a male flower it 
necessarily becomes dusted with the pollen, 
and then, when it happens to alight on a fe- 
male flower and squeezes down into the cup 
after honey, it inevitably rubs off some of the 
pollen; and this pollen, thus transferred, pen- 
etrates the stigma and traverses the style till 
it reaches the ovules in the ovary. 20 
CONFIDENTIAL TALKS 
Such is the plan by which plant life is per- 
petuated on the earth. Each species has its 
own special modification of this general plan ; 
no two species of plant-blossoms being exactly 
alike in size, form, color or arrangement of 
parts. In some cases the flower is beautiful 
and complex in structure, and of delightful 
fragrance; in other cases it is plain, simple, 
and odorless. Indeed a few plants produce no 
conspicuous flowers, and hence they differ 
somewhat in the details of fertilization. But 
they all have reproductive organs in some form, 
and their seeds are produced and fertilized es- 
sentially as I have described—and in such 
abundance that vegetation sprouts and grows 
in endless profusion all about us. 
Is it not wonderful that all of this rapidly 
dying vegetation is thus ever renewed and in- 
creased through having its ‘‘seed within itself?" 
Is it not remarkable that plants are consti- 
tuted “male and female”—father plants and 
mother plants—each having its special organs 
and functions so marvelously adapted for the 
purpose of self propagation? But to how 
few has it ever occurred that the beautiful, 
fragrant blossoms which we so greatly admire, REPRODUCTION AS EXHIBITED BY PLANTS 
21 
the flowers which we so carefully cultivate 
and gather for bouquets, with which to orna- 
ment the hair, the dress, the rooms; or which 
we toss so generously to the graduating friend 
or the charming prima donna; or with which 
we decorate the happy bride to-day and lay 
on the casket of a deceased friend to morrow; 
to how few has it occurred that these exquisite 
flowers are but the reproductive organs of 
plants? But such is the simple fact; and, 
surely, there is nothing inherently or necessa- 
rily indelicate or unclean about it; nothing 
unworthy of intelligent and scientific atten- 
tion; nothing naturally offensive or dangerous 
to genuine purity and true modesty. On the 
other hand, reproduction,—that is, the trans- 
mission and perpetuation of life,—is one of the 
most sacred and important subjects that can 
command the attention of mankind. It is only 
because of our stupid ignorance, our sinfulness 
and our degradation that it has come to be 
regarded as other than pure and holy. Surely, 
we must consider as sacred every marvelous 
plan of God which he has revealed to us in the 
creation and management of his creatures. 
Then let no pure girl or woman esteem the sub- CONFIDENTIAL TALKS 
ject indelicate; let no one blush except at unwise 
ignorance concerning these things, or because 
of the abuse and debasement of them. CHAPTER 111. 
THE REPRODUCTION OF INVERTEBRATE ANIMALS. 
Animals differ from vegetables chiefly in 
having a nervous system which renders them 
capable of feeling the contact of other bodies, 
and of recognizing things by means of four 
other special senses—sight, hearing, smell- 
ing and tasting. Mankind can also think and 
will with reference to things. By means of 
our special senses and our superior mental 
power, we are able to observe and understand 
quite fully and satisfactorily the laws and meth- 
ods of reproduction as seen not only in plants, 
but also as exhibited throughout the animal 
kingdom; and we find them essentially the same 
in both. We see that of animals it is as true 
as of plants, that "male and female created he 
them,” and that each and every form of life is 
from an egg. 
It would be easy to suggest other methods 
of keeping up the population of the world; 
23 24 
CONFIDENTIAL TALKS 
but the all-wise Creator “in the beginning" 
established, and ever carefully follows, the one 
general law or method—"all life from an egg" 
—modifying and adapting the details to the 
various needs and conveniences of each species 
of life that he created. Let us trace the un- 
folding of the method from some of the lower 
forms of animal life up to mankind. In doing 
so we shall behold exhibitions of wisdom and 
skill even more striking than those which are 
found in the vegetable world. 
Among the lower forms of animal life are 
many species created on the same plan as that 
exhibited by the morning-glory; i. e., each 
individual animal, like each individual blossom, 
contains both male and female oragns. Take 
the oyster for example: it is protetced by a 
heavy shell, and often the shells of many are 
cemented together into a solid aggregation or 
mass. The individuals cannot leave their 
shells and they cannot move them about on 
their bodies from place to place. Under such 
circumstances, had they been created, individ- 
ually, either male or female, the former could 
not have reached the latter to impregnate the 
eggs which she might produce. Hence, with THE REPRODUCTION OF IN HER TEBRATES 
25 
the oyster, and with some other low and fixed 
forms of animal life, each individual is her- 
maphrodite; i. e., it is of both sexees, male 
and female in one body; hence it must im- 
pregnate it own ova before expelling them. 
The egg, being fertilized while still within the 
ovary, is cast off from its parent, drifts away 
in the water till it comes in contact with a 
rock, shell or other hard substance, to which 
it adheres and immediately sets about secret- 
ing its shell—a garment which proves to be 
at once is protector and is prison. 
But let us leave the low, plant-like, mollus- 
can forms of life, and study the methods as 
exhibited by most insects. “Male and female 
created he them;” but each individual is dis- 
tinct in sex. The female has ovaries in which 
she produces ova. The male has organs which 
produce semen. The eggs of the female move 
from the ovaries into a special sack or chan- 
nel called the womb. This is so conveniently 
located that when the male seeks the female, 
and secures proper contact, he can deposit in 
the womb the fertilizing substance, called 
semen. Each ovum that receives a portion of 
this semen becomes impregnated thereby and CONFIDENTIAL TALKS 
is thus rendered capable of developing into a 
creature of the same species as the parent. In 
plants the process of germ-union is generally 
called fertilization; in animals, impregnation. 
After this impregnation of the ova, the fe- 
male, guided by an unerring instinct, deposits 
them in some substance that will serve a double 
purpose- First, it must protect the eggs from 
destructive agents; and second, it must fur- 
nish food for the young insects after they shall 
hatch out. You may have noticed that the fly 
deposits its eggs in dead flesh, on which the 
young, when hatched, may feed and grow. 
Some insects deposit their eggs in the earth, 
and the young, on hatching, eat the organic 
matter which, to some extent, is always mixed 
with the earth. Some bore into the bark or 
leaves of plants to deposit their eggs, and the 
young feed on the tender parts of the plant in 
which they find themselves. The father and 
mother insects never see their children, for 
death claims the parents soon after they have 
performed the reproductive act. In this re- 
spect insects are like the flowers—the fathers 
and mothers fade and die soon after the ovules 
are fertilized. Their offspring are born or- 
phans. CHAPTER IV. 
THE PROPAGATION OF FISHES, BIRDS AND MAR- 
SUPIALS. 
Let us now proceed to a brief description of 
the methods exhibited by vertebrates—i. e. 
animals having a spinal column and a bony 
skeleton—and let us begin with the lowest 
class of vertebrates, the fishes. 
The females have very large ovaries, and 
many species produce, each year, an astonish- 
ing number of eggs. Single cods have been 
found to contain as high as from sixteen to 
twenty million of eggs at one time. Not all 
species of fish produce as many eggs as that 
every season; but they all produce a great num- 
ber. In order that even a large percentage of 
the vast numbers of eggs produced may easily 
become impregnated, a curious provision is 
made. You have all heard of "schools” of fish, 
and know that it means droves or crowds of 
them. You are probably aware that certain 
27 28 
CONFIDENTIAL TALKS 
species,—like cod, mackerel, etc.—move about 
in immense schools, thousands or millions of 
them crowding together so closely that some- 
times it is difficult for them to move at all. 
During certain seasons of the year these vast 
schools of fish come from the deep and open 
sea up into the estuaries, bays and rivers, or 
upon the "banks," where the water is compar- 
atively shallow, and there they “spawn”—that 
is, the females deposit their eggs and the 
males impregnate them. Each female expels 
from her body the ova she has slowly developed 
during the year. They are held together and 
floated in a slimy, albuminous substance sim- 
ilar to the white of a hen’s egg. This substance 
spreads out in the water in a thin sheet, thus 
exposing a large amount of this albuminous 
surface, holding its scattered millions of eggs.* 
The eggs being thus exposed in the water, 
the males swim along over them and expel upon 
them a substance resembling that which was 
discharged by the females; but instead of con- 
taining eggs, this male fluid (semen) contains 
* To get a clear idea of the manner in which this substance 
spreads out in the water, break a hen’s egg and pour its contents into 
a dish of water,and notice how the white of the egg spreads out in a 
thin sheet, still holding the yolk in its mucilaginous grasp. This yolk 
is held by the white of the egg very much as the eggs of fishes are held 
by the white substance accompanying them. THE PROPAGATION OF FISHES, ETC. 
29 
minute organisms, called spermatozoa, which 
come in contact with and penetrate the ova, 
thus impregnating them. Being fertilized, the 
eggs undergo rapid evolutions and, in a few 
days or weeks, hatch out lively little fishes of 
the same species as their parents. Thus do 
fish multiply, “after their kind," in the waters. 
You notice that with fishes the impregnation 
occurs outside of the body of both parents, 
and that the eggs and the young that hatch 
from them are left without care from the par- 
ents;—so that fish, like insects, are born and 
grow up, practically, as orphans. 
Next let us notice how birds perform the 
same function. The females produce eggs; 
the males produce semen; and, as we saw is 
the rule with insects, the eggs are impregnated 
while yet within the body of the female. This 
result is secured by a physical contact, called 
copulation, whereby the semen of the male is 
deposited in the oviducts (womb) of the female. 
Being thus impregnated, the eggs increase in 
size by a process of growth, and, when of 
proper size, they are enveloped in a protect- 
ing shell and then expelled from the body 
("laid”) in a nest which the parents carefully 30 
CONFIDENTIAL TALKS 
prepare before band. When a sufficient number 
of eggs has been deposited in the nest, the 
female begins the process of incubation;—i. e. 
she "sets” upon, or "hovers,” the eggs for a 
time, imparting to them the warmth of her 
body, and turning them frequently, till at last 
are completed the various changes which con- 
vert the contents of each egg into a baby-bird 
of the same species as the parents. After 
breaking and escaping from the shell, the 
young birds need to be carefully fed and guard- 
ed by the parents for some time before they 
are able to take care of themselves. You 
must have observed that the food of young 
birds is only such material as the parents 
gather and bring to them, or such as they lead 
them to. No milk, or other form of nourish- 
ment, is furnished from within the mother’s 
body, as is the case with the higher forms of 
life. 
The next grade of animal life, higher than 
birds, embraces the marsupials. In this class 
the females have a sack, or pocket, on the 
abodmen, in which they shelter and carry their 
young. Marsupials are largest and most 
abundant in Australia. The kangaroo is the THE PROPAGATION OF FISHES, ETC. 
31 
largest known animal of this class. In Amer- 
ica, the only well known marsiupal is the 
opossum. Impregnation of the egg of these 
animals occurs within the womb of the female, 
through proper contact with the male. But, 
instead of being surrounded with a shell, ex- 
pelled from the body into a nest and there 
incubated, as is the case with birds, the eggs 
of the marsupial are “hatched" while yet with- 
in the body of the mother, and while still 
quite small, imperfect and feeble, the young 
are expelled from the mother’s womb, and are 
immediately taken, by her fore-paw, and placed 
in the sack (marsupium) upon her abdomen. 
In this sack the mouth of each wee little one 
becomes attached and glued to a teat or nipple, 
and, by contraction of muscles about the nip- 
ples, a secretion somewhat similar to milk is 
forced into the little bodies, which thereby 
grow in size and strength till, by and by, they 
become loosened from the nipple (as ripe fruij; 
drops from the bough) and climb out of the 
maternal pocket to see and enjoy the world. 
But for some time yet they run to the moth- 
er’s marsupium for protection, nourishment, 
rest and transportation. Finally, however, 32 
CONFIDENTIAL TALKS 
they are weaned, and the mother’s "baby bas- 
ket” becomes shrunken and useless till an- 
other set of little ones is produced and trans- 
ferred to it fo* safe keeping and development. CHAPTER V. 
THE PROCESS AS EXHIBITED BY MAMMALS. 
The most elaborate and remarkable of all 
exhibitions of the reproductive processes is 
seen in the class of animals called mammals. 
The word is derived from the Latin, mammae, 
which means breast or udder. The term is 
applied to all animals that nurse or suckle 
their young—i. e., nourish them with milk, 
which is secreted by certain glands variously 
called breast, udder, bag, etc. Our English 
word ma-ma (sometimes contracted to ma) is 
said to be but the old Latin word mamma, 
meaning breast; hence, perhaps, the cry for 
“ma-ma" was originally a cry of hunger, a call 
for food. With the mammal, as with the 
marsupial, impregnation of the ovum occurs 
within the body of the female; but the devel- 
opment of the young within the mother is 
carried much farther than in any instance I 
have hitherto described. Instead of being 
33 34 
CONFIDENTIAL TALKS 
expelled from the mother in the form of an 
egg, as is the case with birds, or as very im- 
perfect, helpless, senseless little embryo ani- 
mal forms, as is the case with marsupials, the 
eggs of mammals are hatched in the womb of 
the mother. The young creatures thus hatched 
are retained within the womb for weeks or 
months, being constantly nourished and built 
up by her own blood,—which, by a wondrous 
vital connection, is caused to circulate through 
the offspring—till they acquire considerable size 
and strength. Then they are expelled from 
the mother, by a process called birth, and are 
subsequently nursed at the breast till they be- 
come sufficiently large and strong to eat such 
food as their parents use. The length of time 
required for a sufficient development of the 
mammalian young within the womb of the 
mother ranges all the way from two or three 
weeks to a year or more. The young of the 
horse are about twelve months within the 
mother’s womb before birth occurs. Human 
babies remain about nine months in the womb 
before they are born. 
And now, my young reader, if you never 
knew before, you must by this time under* THE PROCESS AS EXHIBITED B Y MAMMALS 
35 
stand what is meant by being “born.” You 
now know that the dear little babies that come 
to our homes are not brought there by angels, 
or by storks, or by doctors. They are not found 
in the woods, or in hollow stumps, or in bird’s 
nests, or in hay-mows. They develop within 
the body of a mother; are bone of her bone, 
blood of her blood—aye, they are apart of her 
very life. This long and intimate physical 
connection and anxious anticipation explains 
why the mother loves her child so dearly, 
cares for it so tenderly, and why, if need be, 
she will sacrifice for it her very life. These 
matters are wonderfully important; but we can 
see good reasons why little boys and girls are 
not told all about them. In the first place, it 
requires a mind of some maturity to understand 
even the simple, outline facts that I have been 
stating; and, besides, little folks have no prac- 
tical use for information on these subjects. 
There are many things that children do not 
need to know, and would better not know, till 
they can quite fully comprehend and appreciate 
them. But as soon as one can clearly under- 
stand the facts, and their significance, secrecy 
is no longer wise. 36 
CONFIDENTIAL TALKS 
In explaining to you sex and sex-relations, 
with the general method of perpetuating life 
upon the earth, 1 have simply unfolded before 
you God’s universal plan for multiplying and 
replenishing life upon the earth; the plan 
which he decided upon to the exclusion of all 
others; the plan by which he determined to 
bring into this world all creatures, during all 
time—whether those creatures be plants or 
animals, whether as low in the scale, of being 
as a pestiferous garden weed, or as high as 
immortal man. This is the method by which 
you were brought into this world; the method 
by which your father and mother came; and 
so of their ancestors—back to Adam. This is 
the method by which your children must come 
(if you are to marry and have children), and 
so of their offspring, and theirs, and theirs, 
down to the last human child that shall come 
upon the earth. You can not regard this mat- 
ter in any other than a pure and sacred light 
when you contemplate the fact that you,your 
self, during the first nine months of your in- 
dividual life, reposed, unconsciously growing, 
within the womb of your mother, receiving 
from her the best of her heart’s blood, being THE PROCESS AS EXHIBITED B Y MAMMALS 
37 
built up by the food that she ate and elabo- 
rated for you, receiving from her those peculiar 
influences and impressions which inevitably 
determined, to a large extent, your form, fea- 
tures, temperament and disposition—your phys- 
ical, mental and moral character. Surely if there 
is anything vulgar about this subject, it orig- 
inates in the heart of the one who thinks so— 
not in the nature of the processes. It ever has 
been, and always will be true, that ”to the 
pure all things are pure." CHAPTER VI. 
THE REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS OF THE HUMAN FE- 
MALE. 
In the preceding chapters I have called your 
attention to the universal and only method 
ordained of God for multiplying life upon the 
earth. I have reminded you that mankind was 
created "male and female,” and have told you 
that every perfect female has ovaries in which 
ova are produced, and a womb in which these 
ova may become impregnated and developed 
into a living child, ready to be born into the 
world. I have also called your attention to 
the fact that, during many months after its 
birth the child naturally procures its food from 
the breast of the mother. I now propose to 
locate and describe the reproductive, or sex- 
ual, organs. 
The breasts, two in number, are placed on 
the upper and front part of the thorax—one 
on each side of the median line. All young REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS OF THE FEMALE 
39 
women are so familiar with their location and 
appearance that no detailed description is 
necessary. 
The womb (by the doctors usually called the 
uterus) is situated in the lower part of the ab- 
dominal cavity; it is below the intestines, be- 
hind the bladder and in front of the rectum. 
The ovaries, two in number, are located one 
on each side of the womb, and about one inch 
from it. The womb and the ovaries are held 
in place by being clasped between the layers 
of a broad ligament which extends across the 
pelvic cavity and is attached to the bones 
which form its walls, very much as a banner 
is supended by ropes which extend from build- 
ing to building, across a street. The follow- 
ing cut will make clear to you the relative 
position of these parts, and their relation to 
other organs in the lower part of the abdom- 
inal cavity, a region that is usually called 
the pelvic cavity, because the bones forming 
its walls constitute the pelvis. 
The cut exhibits, as if removed from the 
body and held up for convenient inspection, 
the uterus, the ovaries, the broad ligaments, 
the round ligaments, the Fallopian tubes and 40 
CONFIDENTIAL TALKS 
a part of the vagina. The broad ligament is a 
sheet of tough membrane which holds between 
its two layers the greater part of the other or- 
gans named. In the cut, on the left side, 
W. Womb 
V. Vaginia 
O. O. Ovaries 
F. T. Fallopian Tubes 
F. E. Fingered ends 
of Fallopian Tubes 
B. L. Broad Ligament 
R, L. Round Ligament 
this broad ligament is represented in outline 
only, in order that the other parts may 
be displayed more clearly than they are on 
the side where they are represented as between 
the folds of the membrane. The natural, fully 
developed uterus is about three inches long, 
two inches wide at the top, where the Fallo- 
pian tubes join it, and a little more than an 
inch in thickness. The ovaries are about the 
size and shape of almond meats. Each Fal- 
lopian tube, as you see represented in the cut, 
terminates in a free and fringed extremity; they REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS OF THE FEMALE 
41 
are hollow; i. e. beginning in an opening 
down in the midst of the fringed end, a chan- 
nel extends clear through to the cavity of the 
womb, so that a stiff horse hair might be 
passed through each Fallopian tube from its 
fimbriated extremity into the uterus, thence 
onward through its cavity into the vagina—• 
and still onward out of the body. 
Now imagine these organs, which we have 
seen thus represented by themselves, outside 
of the body, put back in their proper place in 
the pelvic cavity under the intestines, between 
the bladder and the rectum, with the broad 
ligaments extending to the side walls of the 
pelvis and firmly attached thereto. In a sub- 
sequent chapter I shall call your attention to 
the fact that the small intestines rest directly 
upon the womb, and the stomach, liver, pan- 
creas and spleen directly upon the small intes- 
tines, thus, in a measure, loading the womb 
with the other abdominal viscera. CHAPTER VII. 
THE AGE OF PUBERTY--PHYsi CAL AND MENTAL 
CHANGES. 
The sexual organs of the female—the breasts, 
ovaries, Fallopian tubes, womb and vagina, 
described in the preceding chapter—are small 
and entirely inactive at the birth of every girl, 
and they should continue so for at least twelve 
or thirteen years (better if it be fourteen or 
fifteen) before they begin to develop percep- 
tibly and to exhibit their special activity. For 
these twelve or more years every girl of ideal 
inherited tendencies, if of right habits and 
under proper influences, might safely be left 
in ignorance of the fact that she has organs of 
reproduction. They are of no actual use to 
her, and if she be in sound condition, she can 
be of no special service to them. But about 
the time she reaches her "teens," if normally 
developed and in the enjoyment of average 
42 THE AGE OF PUBERTY 
43 
health, the sexual organs begin to grow larger 
and to show signs of special activity. This is 
the most interesting, and at the same time 
the most critical, period of a girl’s life; for 
now, within a year or two, is to be determined 
that most important question—whether she is 
or is not to become a beautiful, attractive, 
useful and happy woman. One year now may 
determine the essential history of a life, whether 
it shall be a womanly success or a miserable 
failure. So, I am sure you will want to fol- 
low me carefully as I trace for you your phys- 
ical history through those critical months, the 
age of puberity. 
Hitherto you have been “only a little girl 
you have been somewhat careless and giddy, 
no doubt,—possibly selfish and willful ; but 
you have been socially safe, in a natural har- 
bor. Now, whether you will or not, you must 
weigh anchor and leave this comparatively safe 
harbor of girlhood, to make your voyage on 
the broad ocean of womanhood, with its varied 
opportunities, joys and responsibilities. Per- 
haps the first signs of starting will be feelings 
of unusual weariness, or of mental indifference 
to passing events; you suffer from feelings of 44 
CONFIDENTIAL TALKS 
bashfulness and a desire to avoid company; if 
you do not wish to be entirely alone, you want 
only the company of a certain play-mate of 
yours, some one girl friend, to whom you have 
become devotedly attached. In her company 
you can pleasantly spend hour after hour and 
day after day, talking or reading about matters 
which hitherto have been of but little interest 
to you. Stories of love and romance now cap- 
tivate and thrill you as never before. Your 
friends notice that you are less observant and 
more reflective than formerly, absent-minded 
and negligent of little duties, perhaps. It 
may be remarked that you are getting nervous 
and notional ; that you appear to care less for 
your parents than has been your custom, de- 
siring only the compans'and confidence of that 
special young mate to whom I just referred. 
You feel ill at ease, awkward and, at times, 
almost inclined to wonder who you are, and 
why people seem so changed. Somehow life 
does not seem just as it used to, and occa- 
sionally you feel like having "a good cry about 
it. ” 
While you are experiencing these mental 
changes, it will be noticed and remarked by THE AGE OF PUBERTY 
45 
others that your body is gowing quite rapidly 
that you are filling out in your limbs and 
changing somewhat in shape. Fatty tissue 
is accumulating under the skin, giving a 
smoother and more graceful outline to the 
body, particularly to the limbs. Your neck 
is elongating and becoming more delicate 
in outline ; your shoulder-blades are crowding 
backward and downward; your chest is filling 
out; the breasts are growing larger; your hips 
are expanding rapidly, and soon will become 
broader than your shoulders, and your limbs 
are rounded, full, and gracefully tapering. 
The skin now loses some of it roughness and 
becomes thinner and fairer; your cheeks be- 
gin to grow ruddy; your lips are fuller, more 
delicate in curve and more graceful in expres- 
sion; your eyes are brighter and more expres- 
sive—and how they do "snap,” sometimes; 
your hair is longer and more luxuriant, and 
your voice is richer, more tender, more sym- 
pathetic and more musical. As these changes 
progress you begin increasingly to enjoy the 
world again, and to feel a keener interest in 
the social and moral questions and movements 
that agitate it. Your sympathies for all forms 46 
CONFIDENTIAL TALKS 
of life enlarge and quicken, and, probably, 
your religious nature is stirred as never before. 
These changes all express the fact—indeed, 
they depend upon the fact—that your sexual 
organs are developing and are making you 
a woman. You are blossoming into life, ex- 
panding into womanhood. 
If the sexual organs do not develop, fully 
and normally, then the other glorious physical 
mental and moral changes that I have indi- 
cated will not take place. But if the sexual 
organs do develop, naturally and completely, 
then the charming general unfoldings which I 
have named are sure to take place, and the 
splendid beauties of the ‘‘sweet sixteen" period 
become attractions which neither true man- 
hood nor appreciative womanhood can resist. 
You become, 
“A perfect woman, nobly planned 
To warn, to comfort and command ; 
And yet a spirit, still and bright, 
With something of an angel light.” 
As a rule, to which there are but few excep- 
tions in the north temperate zone, somewhere 
between the twelfth and eighteenth year, (usu- THE AGE OF PUBERTY 
47 
ally between the fourteenth and sixteenth) 
every normal girl more or less perfectly passes 
through such changes, and becomes a fertile 
woman. The time required for the change 
varies all the way from a few months to two or 
more years. It is true that not all can become 
equally beautiful, attractive, winsome and 
influential. Many circumstances interfere with 
perfection of development. The daughters in 
some families may never hope to enjoy any great 
reputation for personal charms; it is frequently 
true that beauty is not a family trait; but it is 
certain that personal attractions, mental power, 
physical efficiency and moral character in this 
world depend largely upon the possession and 
proper development of the organs of reproduc- 
tion. However little of beauty one may have 
while possessing fully matured sex organs, she 
would have far less without them. Many wo- 
men, being properly sexed—though they may 
not be regarded as beautiful, are yet very at- 
tractive, lovable and influential. CHAPTER VIII. 
SUBJECTIVE SYMPTOMS OF PUBERTY. 
Besides these varied changes, apparent to 
every one, changes that occur in your body 
and mind, making of you a woman among 
women, a being admirred and courted by men, 
there are other changes and phenomena, ex- 
perienced and observed by yourself alone, of 
which you will say but little to any one else, 
except as you most properly consult your 
mother or confidential adviser or, as sometimes 
becomes necessary, your family physician. 
Soon after you began to experience the coy- 
ness or bashfulness, the desire to be more 
alone than had been your custom, (of which 
I spoke in the preceeding chapter) you prob- 
ably felt unusual symptoms in your back, or 
loins, or legs, or head, or perhaps, in all of 
them. Quite likely you experienced wander- 
ing pains and shifting aches, heaviness in the SUBJECTIVE SYMPTOMS OF PUBERTY 
49 
small of the back, a sort of pressure in the 
region of the ovaries, flushings of the face, 
chills along the spine, and a great many little 
“bad feelings.” Nearly all girls who are 
brought up according to the customs of our 
modern civilization experience such sensations 
to some extent—some but very slightly, others 
to a degree amounting to positive torture and 
serious sickness. In time it comes about that, 
accompanying or following such disturbances 
as I have indicated, there is a discharge of 
mucus from the vagina. This discharge in- 
creases in quantity and is soon tinged with 
blood, which becomes more and more abun- 
dant till, in a day or two, the fluid appears 
to be nearly clear blood. This bloody dis- 
charge comes from the mucous lining of the 
womb, and is called menstrual fluid. The act 
is called menstruation, from mensis, a month; 
because when the discharge becomes estab- 
lished as a habit, it occurs about once a 
lunar month. In some cases it occurs as reg- 
ularly as the moon or the calendar months 
come and go. In other cases it occurs very 
irregularly, at times leaving an interval of 
only a few days between two menstruations, 50 
CONFIDENTIAL TALKS 
and again omitting the act for several months. 
In manjr cases it takes a year or more for a 
young woman to become settled into trust- 
worthy regularity; some women never become 
perfectly “regular." Some always experience 
considerable local pain and general distur- 
bance; others hardly ever know, by their feel- 
ings, that menstruation is occurring. The 
length of time occupied by each menstrual 
period ranges from three to seven days, rarely 
extending beyond the latter number unless 
there is some diseased condition. 
Every young woman should freely consult 
her mother, or whatever adult woman may be 
her confidential counselor, for information and 
advice in these matters. Do not allow your- 
self to suffer from anxieties, doubts and fears. 
Learn at once what you should habitually do, 
or avoid doing, for your best good, present 
and future. Your health, happiness and success 
in life may depend upon the character of your 
menstrual habit. If you have no mother or 
proper confidant to whom you can go for ad- 
vice—as, for example, when you are away from 
home, visiting or traveling—fortunately there 
are now many educated and trustworthy physi- SUBJECTIVE SYMPTOMS OF PUBERTY 
51 
cians of your own sex to whom you may prop- 
erly and safely apply for counsel in such mat- 
ters. You may thereby avoid the strain upon 
those feelings of delicacy which, very natur- 
ally, (though unnecessarily,) you might ex- 
perience in calling upon a physician of the 
opposite sex. 
If you are at a boarding school or seminary, 
and there is no resident physician in the fam- 
liy, either the preeptress or the matron will 
gladly instruct you; and, as a rule, they are 
quite competent to do so. Call on them con- 
fidently and frankly. Never consult your 
mates or other young persons for advice in 
these matters. They may have been erro- 
neously informed—if, indeed, they be informed 
at all; or their experience may have been 
unusual; or their minds may have been filled 
with superstitious and hysteria-breeding ideas. 
Too many “smart” young misses as well as ig- 
norant adult people "know” a great deal that 
is not true. They are dangerous guides for 
those who are at a critical period of life, and 
in need of helpful truth and reasonable 
advice. Thank God for the good, sensible 
mothers and for the doctors and teachers of CONFIDENTIAL TALKS 
your own sex, to whom you may apply. Call 
upon them promptly for the information which 
their experience and love can wisely give you. 
It is well for you to remember that various 
terms are employed to designate this function, 
or process which we are considering. Physi- 
cians usually speak of it as the menses, or the 
mestrual function. The phrase “catamenial 
flow "is also much used. “Period”, “monthly 
period", “courses", "monthly courses”, are 
terms also used to express it. Sometimes it 
is spoken of as, “the monthly sickness" and 
with not a few it is indeed a sickness. In 
many communities the condition is indicated 
by the term "unwell in fact it has come 
about in most places that the use of this word is 
quite largely restricted to indicating the men- 
strual condition. Possibly it is best, in view 
of this fact, that any one who is suffering 
from indisposition resulting from anything else 
than menstruation, should be spoken of as 
sick, ill, ailing, indisposed or “under the 
weather"—anything but “unwell,” because, 
unfortunately, this word is now so largely mo- 
nopolized b}' women to express their special 
monthly condition. But many men and some SUBJECTIVE SYMPTOMS OF PUBERTY 
53 
women in our common society are not aware 
of this specific use of the word, and are not 
surprised or embarrassed by hearing any one 
use it in speaking of other conditions. I think 
it would be well if all would abandon the re- 
stricted use of the word; but, as many will 
not do so, you must be governed by the custom 
of the community in which you live. 
The important facts to be remembered are: 
first, that every female who comes to woman- 
hood menstruates, with more or less regularity, 
and also with more or less of suffering or in- 
convenience; second, that this function has 
most wonderful significance and influence; and 
third, that it must not be arrested or interferred 
with if one desires good health. CHAPTER IX. 
SIGNIFICANCE OF OVULATION AND MENSTRUATION. 
The remarkable significance of menstruation, 
spoken of in the preceding chapter, is that 
the woman who performs it has become "fruit- 
ful. " She is now capable of developing off- 
spring “after her kind." She is producing 
and periodically expelling the ovum, which, 
if met in the womb by male semen, remains 
there and develops into the living child. Each 
menstrual act is evidence that another ovum 
has ripened in the ovary, and is on its way to 
the "nest," (womb,) ready, if fertilized, to 
hatch and develop into a human being, with 
all its possibilities. The maturing and cast- 
ing off of this ovum is called ovulation. It 
is this ovulation which seems to produce the 
sensitiveness of nerve, the congestion and the 
various disturbances, described in the previous 
chapter as characterizing menstruation. At 
any rate, ovulation and menstruation are so 
54 OVULATION AND MENSTRUATION 
55 
nearly simultaneous that the former appears to 
cause the latter. It is, however, of interest to 
note that a few women who never, perceptibly, 
menstruate—i. e. who never discover any 
bloody discharge or suffer from any of the un- 
pleasant symptoms heretofore described—do 
ovulate; and their ova, being impregnated, 
develop and produce healthy children. Most 
women among uncivilized races, and many 
laboring women among European nations,men- 
struate but very little, and seldom suffer dis- 
comfort from it. 
It is the belief of many physiologists that 
menstruation, especially painful menstruation, 
has come to be the habit of civilized, seden- 
tary women, as a consequence of unnatural and 
unhealthful modes of living, including various 
social and solitary abuses of the reproductive 
organs. These unhealthy customs and abuses 
have steadily intensified their punishments 
as generations have succeeded one another, 
till now, through accumulated inheritance, wo- 
men are suffering most sad and painful penal- 
ties, as a result of the follies of their ances- 
tors. In a future volume, which I hope some- 
time to prepare especially for married people, CONFIDENTIAL TALKS 
I intend to speak of this matter at some length; 
but that discussion will be for adult minds. 
The only point of practical value to you for 
whom this book is written is this:—the more 
perfect the general health, and the more com- 
plete the general life of any woman, the less 
of inconvenience and discomfort she will ex- 
perience from her menses—the more certain 
will she be to ovulate healthfully and with com- 
paratively little pain. 
It is of interest to notice how the ovum, 
when ripened and cast out by the ovary, is con- 
ducted to the womb. Turning to the cut on 
page 40 you will observe that each Fallopian 
tube terminates in a free, fingered extremity, 
which can move about as freely as your hand 
and fingers move upon your wrist. When an 
ovum is matured and ready for fertilization, 
it burrows its way to the surface of the ovary 
and would drop into the pelvic cavity, like a 
ripened seed from a ruptured pod, did not this 
fingered extremity of the Fallopian tube reach 
around and seize it, much as you reach up to 
your mouth with your hand and take the cherry 
pit that is brought to your lips ready for ejec- 
tion. The fingers of a Fallopian tube, having OVULATION AND MENSTRUATION 
57 
seized an ovum, close around it and guide it 
into the tube, along the channel of which it is 
carried forward to the womb, where it lingers 
for several days. Finally, however, if not im- 
pregnated, it is thrown off from the womb and 
makes room for another ovum, which comes 
the next month in the same manner. The 
preceding descriptions have prepared you to 
understand that if an ovum, while in a Fal- 
lopian tube, or while lingering in the womb, 
meets the fertilizing substance of the male, 
it is arrested in its onward journey and, be- 
coming attached to the walls of the womb, at 
once begins to develop into a child, the womb 
expanding to make room for it as it grows. 
In the next chapters I shall ask your attention 
to some of the dangers that many girls con- 
front at this period, the threshold of woman- 
hood—influences and obstacles which prevent 
them from developing into beautiful, healthful 
and happy states of physical perfection ; forces 
which overcome good conditions that have 
once been established. But by good physical 
conditions, be it remembered, I do not mean 
simply an average size of body, or a form that 
can easily be drawn into fashionable shapes, 58 
CONFIDENTIAL TALKS 
or having a pretty face, or even a condition 
of health so good that you are not often dis- 
abled by sickness. I do mean such size, form, 
features, health, symmetry, gracefulness and 
balance of body, mind and soul as shall make 
you a well-spring of pleasure to all who come 
into your presence—a beloved daughter, an hon- 
ored wife a joyous, mother, an inspiring neigh- 
bor,a highly esteemed citizen, a trusted friend. 
All this is not only possible, it is inevitable, 
with the ideal woman—one who is well born, 
normally developed and properly trained. CHAPTER X. 
SOME OBSTACLES TO HEALTHFUL DEVELOPMENT 
The first dangerous obstacle that stands in 
the way of many girls and prevents them from 
ever becoming ideal women is this: they have 
not inherited from their parents the normal 
conditions and tendencies which render ideal 
development possible. Unfortunate hereditary 
traits—physical, mental and moral—often stand 
so obstinately across the pathway of develop- 
ment as to prevent a healthful and pleasurable 
unfolding of body, mind and character. Some 
girls are born incapable of being anything but 
dwarfs, cripples or invalids; it is utterly impos- 
sible for them to develop into ideal women. 
Others, while not quite so unfortunate as that, 
are, nevertheless, born with such imperfect 
bodies, or such weak constitutions, that they 
may not hope to attain anything like perfec- 
tion. Incurable defects are the inherited mis- 
59 CONFIDENTIAL TALKS 
fortunes of many, many children. But prob- 
ably most girls who read these words are so 
fortunately born that, if the necessary training 
and conditions follow, they may become at 
least useful and, perhaps, highly influential 
and charming women. Much depends upon 
inheritance; but, still, most remarkable cor- 
rective results may be secured by wise training. 
Many inherited evil tendencies may be quite 
full}' overcome by judicious care and direction 
after one is started in this life. 
The second danger is that during infancy, 
as well as later, the girl may not receive proper 
nourishment. It is at least unfortunate that 
any child must be "brought up on the bottle.’’ 
No other "food for infants” can equal the milk 
that nature produces (or should produce) in 
the breasts of* healthy mother; and any child 
that does not have healthy mother’s milk dur- 
ing the first year of its life is deprived of a 
God-ordained birth right. Proper food, prop- 
erly taken, constitutes the foundation of all 
human attainment. The bottle, with its cow’s 
milk, for nursing children, is a misfortune,just 
as certainly as the bottle, with its ardent spir- 
its, for adults, is a curse. But even after pass- OBSTACLES TO HEALTHFUL DEVELOPEMEHT 
61 
ing the bottle period, the food is often of a 
dangerous character. Too many young peo- 
ple have their digestion injured and disease 
implanted in the system through the use of 
improper food. Chapter XIII. is devoted to 
this subject. 
A third source of danger is that because one 
is “a girl” she will be kept in doors most of 
the time and not be allowed to secure the nec- 
essary amount of muscular exercise in the 
open air and sunlight. This subject is so im- 
portant that an entire chapter (XIV) is devoted 
to it. 
A fourth danger is that unhealthful dress 
will add its debilitating and destroying work 
to the injuries resulting from unfortunate in- 
heritance, defective nourishment and inactivity. 
As a rule, in this country, even infants are 
bandaged, swaddled and cramped too much. 
Mothers and nurses do not give them a sufficient 
chance to breathe and exercise and come into 
direct contact with the air. The tight band- 
ages to which most children are subjected are 
relics of an era of ignorance and superstition 
which we of to day ought not to tolerate. Rea- 
son says "away at once and forever with 62 
CONFIDENTIAL TALKS 
infant's bandages and all tight clothing, for 
either old or young!" This subject wiil be dis- 
cussed somewhat at length in chapter XV. 
The dangerous influences, which I have men- 
tioned thus far, viz: unfortunate inheritance, 
imperfect nutrition sedentary life and unrea- 
sonable clothing, are all largely in the hands 
of parents for direction and control during the 
habit-forming years. On fathers and mothers, 
together with their ancestors, rests the respon- 
sibility for pretty much all of the injury that 
is done previous to the years of puberty; for 
each child when it comes into the world is en- 
tirely ignorant and helpless in all of these 
matters, and of course must remain so until 
it shall have had time and opportunity to learn 
what is the right thing to do. During all 
these early years parents and teachers are sur- 
rounding each child with many and varied in- 
fluences and are helping it to form a multitude 
of habits, from the effects of which, good or 
bad, it may never escape. 
But you, my readers, who have come to the 
door-way of womanhood, and you who have 
already crossed the threshold, are old enough 
and ought to be sufficiently wise and independ- OBSTACLES TO HEALTHFUL DEVELOPMENT 
63 
ent, to correct at least a portion of the evil 
habits which may have been forced upon you. 
Even serious inherited tendencies may be at 
least partially corrected. It certainly is now 
within your power largely to determine what 
food you shall eat and how you shall take it; 
you can now, to a considerable extent, deter- 
mine the healthfulness of your dress, for you 
may insist that your clothing shall be made so 
loose that you can breathe freely, and you can 
select sensible shoes, if you will. You can 
also arrange matters so that you shall have 
daily exercise in the open air and sunlight. 
Intelligent and conscientious attention to the 
three last named items will do much to over- 
come the ill effects of unfortunate inheritance 
and of early bad habits. Of course the pre- 
ceding suggestions are not applicable to some 
of my readers; for not a few of you have been 
well born and well taught; and I trust you 
have already formed correct habits. But to 
those who have been less fortunate, I hope these 
hints may seem at least of sufficient value to 
excite lively interest in the remaining chap- 
ters. 
For the details relating to general physiolo- 64 
CONFIDENTIAL TALKS 
gy—food, digestion, respiration, circulation, 
exercise, bathing, etc. I must refer you to 
the school text books on Physiology and Hy- 
giene. But there are a few points in these 
topics which are of such special interest and 
importance to you, because of their bearing 
upon the reproductive sphere, that I shall 
present them, together with such other facts 
as, for obvious and sufficient reasons, are not 
touched upon in school books. CHAPTER XI 
THE RESULTS OF CERTAIN CUSTOMS. 
If you have carefully read the preceding 
chapters you have a general idea regarding the 
location and arrangement of the sexual organs 
in the pelvic cavity. If these organs always 
remain in their proper place and in normal 
conditions of activity, their own health and 
the general bodily health are almost certain to 
be good. But the organs are somewhat easily 
displaced; so easily, indeed, that many women 
suffer from displacements, and also from a 
variety of other diseases of the uterus and 
ovaries resulting from displacements. Let 
us see how this comes about. The pear-shaped 
womb, in its natural position, stands on its 
smaller extremity, just behind the bladder, with 
its base extending a little above it. The lower 
extremity of the womb rests within and is 
attached to the vagina, which is a straight or 
slightly curved tube extending from the womb 
65 CONFIDENTIAL TALKS 
to the surface of the body. It is through this 
vagina that the menstrual fluid escapes from 
the womb; through it, also, the child passes 
when it is born. This last fact suggests to 
you how flexible and expansible the vaginal 
walls must be and, hence, how easily they may 
yield to pressure from within and above. The 
vagina, in its normal, contracted condition, 
helps to hold the womb in its proper place. 
You will remember that I described the womb 
as being held in position by the broad and the 
round ligaments, which serve very much the 
same purpose as the ropes which suspend a 
banner across a street. But, just as the ropes 
which hold the banner may be made to sag by 
placing a heavy weight upon them, so the 
womb may be crowded down by pressure upon 
it from above. Now supposing that you put 
a corset or a tight waist, or tight bands of any 
sort, around the body above the hips and com- 
press the body, you will see that the contents 
of the abdomen thus squeezed must go some- 
where. The only direction in which they can 
move when the body is thus compressed, is 
downward; and in moving downward they 
must press upon the womb in the pelvis; and THE RESULTS OF CERTAIN CUSTOMS 
67 
sufficient pressure upon it will drive it down 
into the vagina, producing what is called pro- 
lapsus, or "falling of the womb.’’ The womb 
never "falls” because of any fault or imperfec- 
tion in God’s work. It is forced down by con- 
duct resulting from the ignorance or pride or 
folly of the woman who brings on the displace- 
ment. And yet I often hear women complain 
because God constructed their bodies so in- 
tricately and delicately—-“so liable to get out 
of order.” The Chinese who deform the feet 
of their girls do not blame God for hav- 
ing rendered it possible for them to do so. 
The Flathead Indian mother compresses the 
skull of her child and makes it look like an 
idiot; but no Indian blames the Great Spirit 
for it. Evidently, in some directions many of 
our so-called Christian women exhibit less 
sense than characterizes the heathen Chinese 
or the savage Indian. As a result of the com- 
pression of the body, by means of corsets etc. 
to which civilized women are so given, the 
womb, instead of being prolapsed, i. e., forced 
directly downward into the vagina, may be 
tipped over, or even bent upon itself, either 
forward or backward. Such displacements 68 
CONFIDENTIAL TALKS 
often produce more discomfort and general 
distress than a simple prolapsus. If the womb 
is tipped backward it is called retroversion; 
if it is bent backward upon itself it is called 
retroflection. If tipped forward it is called 
anteversion, and if bent forward upon itself it 
is called anteflexion. 
In all cases of uterine displacements the 
rectum is crowded upon and its functions are 
interfered with; or the bladder is pressed and 
irritated and its functions embarrassed. Usu- 
ally both rectum and bladder are injured. In 
all cases of unnatural pressure upon the womb, 
or displacement of it, nerve irritation is pro- 
duced which results in "bearing down" pains, 
"pressure" pains, back aches, pains and aches 
of all sorts, not only in the pelvis but, by what 
is called sympathetic or reflex suffering, in 
places remote from the displaced organs. Leu- 
corrhoea is quite sure to result, and ulceration 
of the neck of the womb is very common. A 
long train of serious evils must follow in the 
wake of bad habits in dress. Under such treat- 
ment of the sexual organs as I have indicated 
they cannot develop perfectly, and hence they 
can not help on the physical beauty, attract- THE RESULTS OF CERTAIN CUSTOMS 
69 
iveness, efficiency and perfection described in 
chapter VII. Could you, my dear reader, be 
made to understand and feel this matter as the 
medical profession see it, could you compre- 
hend the influence on yourself and on posterity 
as they do, could you realize the condition of 
the legions of women who disclose the facts of 
their sufferings, fears and dangers to the great 
army of physicians (now nearly one hundred 
thousand strong in the United States) you 
would surely determine to take proper care of 
your body. You would feed, clothe and train 
it so as to secure health, grace and strength. 
A recent writer on the care of the body says 
something like this: “The expected physical 
condition of the modern American woman over 
thirty years of age, is a sofa, a shawl, and the 
neuralgia." Such indeed is the case with a 
large number of our American women; and 
many of them reach the described conditions 
before they are thirty years of age. These 
things ought not so to be. And they need 
not be, if women will but intelligently and 
persistently set themselves to preventing or re- 
moving the causes of such calamities. CHAPTER XII. 
CAUSES AND DANGERS OF DEFECTIVE MENSTRU- 
ATION. 
It not infrequently happens that life-long 
suffering is brought on by the accidental or 
artificial stoppage of the menses. Among the 
sad results of their cessation may be found 
inflammation, ulceration and displacement of 
the womb, leucorrhoea and other offensive dis- 
charges from the vagina, together with various 
nervous disorders,—especially hysteria and dys- 
pepsia. Even paralysis, insanity and death 
sometimes result. All of these nervous dis- 
eases are possible because of the extensive and 
intimate connection and sympathy existing be- 
tween the womb and the nervous system. So 
influential is the relation between the brain 
and the womb that excessive mental emotion, 
or intense excitement—such as violent anger, 
grief, fear, anxiety or protracted mental de- 
pression—sometimes arrests menstruation and DEFECTIVE MENSTRUATION 
71 
brings on serious chronic disease. Excessive 
fatigue, “taking cold,” or getting the feet wet, 
may result in preventing or checking the flow. 
The symptoms of this misfortune, aside from 
the stopping of the discharge, are somewhat 
various: but they are usually characterized by 
severe pain in the region of the womb, which 
may sometimes extend over the entire abdomen 
and down the thighs, even to the feet; it may 
also extend up the spine to the brain. Nau- 
sea, chills, fever and headache follow, and the 
unfortunate victim of this condition is obliged 
to go to bed, perhaps to remain there for some 
days. All girls or women whose nerves are 
especially sensitive and easily disturbed during 
menstruation, should at such times exercise' 
great caution about attending parties, picnics, 
sleigh rides and excursions; and, if possible to 
avoid it, should not start on journeys during 
the earlier days of a menstrual period, for the 
reason that the excitment, fatigue and expo- 
sure incident to such efforts and pleasures are 
quite apt to arrest, or in some way to derange, 
this function. Many times, of course, it is 
very annoying to be obliged to stay at home 
while others are off for a “jolly good time;” but CONFIDENTIAL TALKS 
often it is the safest, and hence the best thing 
to do—and every one should always and cheer- 
fully do the safest and best thing. If you 
must be out at such times, see to it that you 
are sufficiently protected and that you “take it 
easy." Be particularly careful to keep the 
feet dry and warm, and always take with you 
extra wraps, ready for sudden changes in the 
weather, or for sitting in the shade. It is 
better to take extra clothing a hundred times 
when it proves useless, than to fail of having 
it at the one time when it is actually needed. 
Avoid lingering in cool draughts, standing on 
cold or damp ground, sitting on cold stone 
steps or on cold, damp seats of any kind. 
Many of these precautions seem trivial to young 
and inexperienced persons; but disregard of 
them has brought upon many a beautiful girl 
a life of misery and regret. 
It is unfortunately true that sometimes silly 
girls employ artifical measures to delay or to 
check their menses, in order that they may 
the more conveniently attend some place of 
amusement. But the arrest or delay of the 
function, if secured, is purchased at a fearful 
price; because conditions far more troublesome DEFECTIVE MENSTRUATION 
73 
are brought on by checking the flow; and at- 
tendance at the place of amusement is, after 
all, usually prevented. Protracted ill health 
is quite certain to follow. You should never 
allow the natural function of menstruation to 
be interfered with by anything or for any pur- 
pose whatsoever. Thank God for it, and guard 
it well, for, to use the language of a scholarly 
physician and lucid writer, ‘‘it is the prime 
law of womanhood, and any attempt to check 
or interfere with its natural course is unmaid- 
enly, unwomanly and unclean, besides being 
dangerous in proportion as it is successful.” 
If any exposure or influence during menstrua- 
tion arrests it, or even threatens to interfere 
with its progress, the wise thing to do is 
promptly to get into a warm bed and take a 
hot drink of some kind. It makes little differ- 
ence what the drink is, so that it is hot and 
acceptable to the stomach. Ginger, pepper, 
cinnamon, peppermint, or any other aromatic 
herb makes good "tea” for such occasions. Hot 
bottles, or hot dry flannels, applied to the 
feet and legs, together with friction by the 
hands, are all helpful in re establishing the de- 
sired condition. Hot sitz baths, if judiciously 74 
CONFIDENTIAL TALKS 
taken, are excellent. If in such emergencies, 
you are not in the hands of competent friends 
of your own sex, let a physician be summoned 
at once. 
“This above all—to thine own self be true CHAPTER XIII. 
NUTRITION, OR BODY-BUILDING. 
Nutrition is the primary function of life. 
We all need food for at least four somewhat 
distinct purposes: first, that we may build up 
our bodies in healthful symmetry and strength, 
from feeble babyhood to adult size and power; 
second, for the purpose of keeping up a proper 
bodily temperature, a healthful degree of ani- 
mal heat; third, for replacing repeatedly the 
tissues that are constantly being destroyed by 
the varied activities of the body in the per- 
formance of life’s work; and fourth, for the 
development of the energy expended daily. 
These four purposes demand a good variety 
of healthful food material. They demand, also, 
that this food be taken at reasonable intervals, 
and in proper conditions. 
There are some substances much used for 
food that are far from being healthful. They 
are objectionable not simply because they may 
75 CONFIDENTIAL TALKS 
be difficult of digestion, but because they pos- 
itively poison the blood, irritate the nerves 
and brain and enfeeble the muscles. Some of 
these harmful things look so nice and taste so 
good, and fashion has made their use so com- 
mon, that most of us form habits of eating them 
regardless of the injury they do us. It is, per- 
haps, needless to state, that chalk, slate pen- 
cils, etc., are not good food; all intelligent 
people know that; and yet, not a few thought- 
less misses get into the habit of eating them. 
Chocolates, caramels, and the various candies 
and confections so abundant now-a-days, are 
also unhealthful, especially if eaten between 
the regular meals or taken in considerable 
quantities at any time. 
This is true because, in the first place, the 
human body does not need, and cannot use 
for any good purpose, so great a quantity of 
sugar as most of us habitually take, even at 
table with our daily food; and hence when a 
girl not only eats excessively of sugar with 
her regular food, but gluttonously feeds on 
candies between meals—however "pure" the 
candies may be, she overloads her system with 
sugar which readily ferments and does serious NUTRITION, OR BOHY-BUILDING 
77 
harm. Furthermore, she injures herself by 
taking into her own system the many unknown 
but damaging substances which, for purposes 
of coloring, flavoring and cheapening, are 
mixed with the sugar of the candy. Though 
it would raise a great protesting cry from the 
young folks, and from not a few adults, if it 
should be seriously proposed to banish the 
candy stores and stop the manufacture of con- 
fectionery, yet it is undoubtedly true that the 
human race would be much better off without 
them. Most candies and confections are not 
only directly injurious, but they also prove in- 
directly harmful by changing normal appetites 
and tastes, deranging the processes of nutrition 
and unfitting one for selecting and enjoying 
the best food. Pies, cakes, and the various 
"goodies," of which we see such great quan- 
tities on many tables, are also poor stuff for 
building up strong, healthful bodies. 
All highly sweetened articles of food, if 
taken in considerable quantities, interfere with 
perfect digestion, chiefly by inducing fermen- 
tation in the stomach and bowels. This fer- 
mentation results in the production of acids 
and sundry other substances which alter the 78 
CONFIDENTIAL TALKS 
character of the various secretions of the body, 
causing decay of the teeth and producing many 
disorders along the food canal. Colics, head- 
aches, neuralgias, lassitude, mental depression 
irritability of temper, and many other bad feel- 
ings, difficult to describe, and usually attrib- 
uted to any cause except the right one, result 
from this sweet-meat plague. 
In this country there is an abundance of 
good, plain, nutritious food; and every one 
should from infancy become habituated to the 
use of only such things as experience and sci- 
ence agree upon as unobjectionable. This 
matter is especially important to every girl as 
she nears the critical age of puberty, when 
changes and developments are more rapid and 
numerous than during any other period of life. 
An abundance of good blood for the expansion 
of the bod} 7 and for the establishment of sound 
brain tissue and strong, steady nerves is now 
of the greatest importance. This is no time 
for babyishness, foolishness or bad habits of 
any sort. The girl who would be a perfect 
woman, or anything approaching to it, must 
comply with the God-ordained conditions on 
which her development depends; and the first NUTRITION, OR BODY-BUILDING 
79 
condition is, that the body shall daily receive 
a proper amount of nutritious, health-giving 
food, and that all injurious or useless articles 
be cheerfully and totally excluded from her 
diet. Good soups, porridges and mushes— 
made from any of the edible grains—bread 
and butter, rice, potatoes and other vegetables, 
milk, eggs, meats and fruits in their season— 
if properly prepared and served in a plain, 
cleanly condition and tasteful manner—are 
healthful food for any one; and the addition 
of pies and pastries, candies and sweetmeats, 
ices and iced drinks, tea, coffee, chocolate, 
pickles, spices, catsups, horseradish, mustard, 
and kindred "appetizers,” is always injurious 
to some extent; though many people do not 
realize the fact until it is too late. A careful 
study of general physiology and hygiene, and 
a conscientious use of one’s knowledge and 
judgment, usually lead to right habits and 
almost certainly secure satisfactory results in 
the matter of nutrition. CHAPTER XIV. 
PHYSICAL EXERCISE AND MUSCULAR DEVELOPMENT. 
No microscope or other aid to study has re- 
vealed to the scientist any difference in the 
blood, the nerve or the muscle of the two 
sexes. Women are made of the same “dust of 
the earth” that men are composed of, and are 
subject to the same physical and sanitary laws. 
If man needs pure blood, so does woman; if 
man needs and enjoys strong nerve tissue, so 
does woman; if he needs, enjoys and is made 
efficient by the possession of strong and healthy 
muscle, the same is true of her. The man or 
the woman, the boy or the girl, who under- 
takes to live a sedentary, inactive life, without 
habitual exercise in the open air and exposure 
to the kindly light of the sun, will not secure the 
health, the comfort, the strength,the buoyancy, 
the grace or the beauty that God, through 
these agencies,has made possible for all of us. 
It is established, “in the nature of things" 
80 PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT 
81 
the law is written in all our members—that 
whoever will not engage, habitually, in phys- 
ical activities, shall not enjoy fulness of health. 
Habitual exercise of the muscles is necessary, 
not simply for muscular strength, but for the 
harmonious activity of all the organs of the 
body. Moderate daily exercise quickens and 
perfects respiration, stimulates and accelerates 
the circulation of the blood, and aids the pro- 
duction and flow of all the other normal fluids 
of the body. Muscular activity prevents local 
congestions and constantly exercises a whole- 
some influence against nerve irritability and 
over-sensitiveness, thus helping to avoid the 
nervousness and hysteria so common with girls 
of sedentary and indolent habits. It is not 
necessary that girls become acrobats, athletes 
or champions at bat or oar; but it is highly 
important that they secure and maintain a sym- 
metrical muscular development. A girl or 
woman with flabby, untrained muscles, cannot 
be so graceful, so efficient or so happy in any 
direction as she would be if her mucsles were 
properly developed and trained. But perhaps 
the most marked benefit that comes to a 
young woman through physical exercise is CONFIDENTIAL TALKS 
the good it secures to the sexual organs, 
protecting them from the nerve irritation 
and congestions, the irregular and imper- 
fect functional activities to which sedentary 
and idle women are so prone; a condition so 
sadly common in the United States. 
Active out-door life for women, especially 
for young, growing misses, should become per- 
manently fasionable. It ought to be regarded 
as disreputable for young women to remain 
habitually in-doors, absorbed in sensational 
novels, entertaining pet dogs, engaged in 
“fancy work," or gossiping about “society," 
"beaux,” “mashes,” “matches”or any of the thou- 
sand and one belittling, unhealthful topics that 
so habitually occupy the time and minds of 
thousands of American misses. Sound, trust- 
worthy, respectable minds unfold only in sound 
bodies; and sound bodies demand an abund- 
ance of exercise and exposure to the beneficent 
sunshine and air with which God has filled the 
world. Just when, where and how this exercise 
be taken is also of some consequence, for it 
makes a deal of difference what on-e’s emo- 
tions are while exercising; what spirit and cir- 
cumstances attend the effort. PHYSIGIAL DEVELOPMENT 
83 
Exercise from a sense of duty, simply, is of 
some use; but its value is comparatively 
small. 
"The toil you hate fatigues you soon. 
And scarce improves your limbs.” 
A daily walk, especially if it be cheerfully 
and vigorously entered upon for some worthy 
object,—not a doleful, sauntering stroll,under- 
taken from a sense of duty—may be made ex- 
ceedingly useful; but, so far as possible, there 
should always be a worthy object (aside from 
health,) to be gained by the exercise; some- 
thing besides going out for “a constitutional.” 
The kinds of labor or play that one really en- 
joys, if in themselves appropriate, bring the best 
results; they best quicken all healthful bodily 
functions and most surely make living a pleas- 
ure. Any physical sport, in reasonable amount, 
is good for old and young; but if one really 
enjoys useful work (and every one should learn 
to do so) then the incentives to healthful, be- 
neficent exercise are constantly at hand—for 
there is always work to be done. She is most 
surely in the highway to health, happiness and 
heaven, who is habitually rationally and cheer- 
fully engaged in occupations which call for a 84 
CONFIDENTIAL TALKS 
reasonable amount of daily physical activity, 
and which result in something of permanent 
value to the world. Such occupation need not 
exclude the various healthful games or sports 
which modern ingenuity has provided for us: 
croquet, lawn-tennis, bic}xling, seasonable ex- 
cursions to the sea-shore or mountains, etc., 
all of these have their uses and places. 
The girl who is properly nourished and who 
engages in a needful amount of muscular ac- 
tivity, (so much as possible in the open air,) 
is quite certain to grow up into healthy phys- 
ical womanhood, especially if she be intelli- 
gent and reasonable in the matters of dress 
and mental occupation, topics to which I shall 
call your attention in succeeding chapters. CHAPTER XV. 
DRESS ITS USE AND ABUSE. 
There are at least two reasonable objects to 
be sought in dress—i. e., in clothing the body: 
first, healthful comfort, protection from cli- 
matic severities; second, such concealment of 
the body, or parts of it, as a reasonable sense 
of modesty and propriety demands. 
In the selection, make-up and adjustment of 
one’s clothing, of course due regard for fitness 
should be observed; that is, in addition to 
considering the health and comfort of each in- 
dividual, various peculiarities as to size, form, 
complexion, etc., should be duly regarded, and 
the dress, so far as possible without sacrific- 
ing health, comfort or genuine modesty, should 
be contrived to enhance good looks and attrac- 
tiveness. But any style of dress that is im- 
modest, uncomfortable or unhealthful is not 
simply unreasonable,—it is cruel and wicked. 
Hence any custom or fashion that dictates un- 
85 CONFIDENTIAL TALKS 
healthful, uncomfortable or indelicate modes 
of attire should be resisted in every reasonable 
way. 
God made the human body perfect, both in 
its external form and in its internal relations 
and activities. Each organ is designed to co- 
operate with all the others for the well-being 
and efficiency of each individually, and for 
the good of the body as a whole; and any act 
or habit of ours that interferes with the com- 
plete development of the whole body, or with 
the normal action of any part of it, injures 
not simply the one part or function, but the 
entire body. 
Complete development and continued health- 
ful activity of the body demand, always, per- 
fect freedom for the various postures and mo- 
tions of every part. Any article of dress, there- 
fore, that interferes with freedom of motion in 
any muscle, or in any organ, is unreasonable, 
for it is unhealthful; it is wicked, for it pre- 
vents completeness of development, freedom 
of action, beneficent physical comfort and 
fulness of power. The flattening of the skull, 
by certain tribes of Indians, we regard as cru- 
elly wrong, because it prevents the natural ex- DRESS—ITS USE AND ABUSE 
87 
pansion of the skull and, to some extent, no 
doubt, interferes with normal activity of the 
brain and the mind. The compressing and 
deforming of the Chinese girl’s feet we regard 
as unpardonably cruel, because, during the 
years of growth, the pressure produces constant 
and severe pain; and, what is still worse, it 
permanently cripples and forever diminishes 
her gracefulness, health and comfort. But it 
is equally true that the corseting, lacing or 
close bandaging of any one’s body, whether 
Indian, Chinese or Caucasian—male or female 
—is also cruelly wrong; for it prevents God- 
designed development, produces malformations 
and discomfort, injures the health and inter- 
feres with the efficiency of the victim in every 
walk of life. 
To some minds it may seem incredible, 
nevertheless it is true, that the custom so 
common in civilized countries of putting cor- 
sets or stays around the bodies of girls and 
women, is more injurious to health and com- 
fort than any custom of dressing common in 
uncivilized countries; for the corset (or its 
equivalent in tight bands of any sort), prevents 
natural development and healthful action of 88 
CONFIDENTIAL TALKS 
vital organs—heart, lungs, stomach, liver etc.- 
while to compress or disfigure the skull, the 
lips, the teeth or the feet, can produce, com- 
paratively, little more than inconvenience to 
the victim, and, to civilized eyes, ugliness of 
appearance. 
No one who wears tight or restraining cloth- 
ing can have as perfect digestion, respiration, 
circulation or nerve action, as would occur if 
the clothing were reasonably loose. And this 
tight clothing is especially damaging to fe- 
males, because, as a class they live in-doors, 
breathing an atmosphere less pure and invig- 
orating than the outside air. Women, be- 
cause of their sedentary habits, instead of re- 
stricting their respiration should become hab- 
ituated to even deeper breathing than men, 
whose life is so largely out of doors where the 
air is abundant and pure. Furthermore, all 
tight clothing seriously interferes with free 
circulation of the blood, thereby inducing 
coldness of the feet, local congestions, back- 
aches and a whole train of obscure and inde- 
scribable discomforts. This is particularly the 
case during the menstrual period. The womb 
and the adjacent organs are then gorged with DRESS—ITS USE AND ABUSE 
89 
blood, and their nerves become unusually sen- 
sitive. Because of the increased local excite- 
ment and activity the blood is attracted toward 
the pelvic organs more forcibly and copiously 
than usual, while tightness of clothing about 
the waist or elswehere prevents the necessary, 
onward, equalizing flow. Simply because of 
tight clothtng, in many cases, menstruation 
becomes painful, and eventually the sexual or- 
gans become irritable and chronically diseased. 
Tight shoes, garters and all elastic band's 
worn around any part of the body, so tight as 
to “leave their mark" when removed, close 
fitting sleeves or any other garment, ornament 
or article of apparel that is worn so close as 
to feel at all uncomfortable at any time, or to 
interfere with perfect freedom of motion while 
engaged in any kind of work or play—all such 
dressing is unhealthful, hence unreasonable 
and wrong. In the past history of the world 
we find that with the majority of people fash- 
ion has had more influence than reason. But 
it is to be hoped that in the future a sanctified 
reason will more and more control us in all 
things. During the progress of civilization 
thus far, the women have been found behind 90 
CONFIDENTIAL TALKS 
the men in many important respects; and they 
do not yet exercise their natural right to dress 
as healthfully, as conveniently or as tastefully 
as men do. Now, my dear readers, who have 
been so often complimented and flattered about 
your dress that you have come to expect com- 
mendation instead of criticism, please do not 
confound taste with style. It not infrequently 
occurs that the most perfect style is in very 
poor taste. 
Contrary to the opinion of many, (if the 
ideas thoughtlessly entertained by some people 
can be called opinions,) there is nothing in- 
herent in sex which makes the female more 
fond of dress, or of ornamental display in dress, 
than the male. If either sex has a natural 
fondness for rich colors and showy adjustment 
of garments, or a right to display them, it is 
the male. Throughout all animal nature we 
find this to be the case; with beast and with 
bird the male is the ornate one, while his 
mate is comparatively plain as to color and 
form, and simple in style and conduct. So 
among all uncivilized races; the man bedecks 
himself with feathers and makes himself "all 
glorious" with paints, while his wife and DRESS—ITS USE AND ABUSE 
91 
daughters dress with comparative simplicity 
and plainness. These facts are clearly recog- 
nized by some of our leading women. 
Miss Frances E. Willard says: “Love of- 
display does not inhere in sex, and will dis- 
appear in men and women both, in proportion 
to their refinement and good sense." On this 
matter of dress I desire to quote Miss Willard 
still further, because most women will receive 
unpleasant truths from those of their own sex 
more cheerfully and helpfully than they will 
from a man, even though that man be a physi- 
cian and speaks from a physician’s standpoint. 
Miss Willard declares that:* 
“Woman’s present attitude toward her dress 
requires some farther elucidation than that it 
is necessary to the attraction of men. For 
my part I believe that the costly, hampering 
and grotesque dress of women—the worst bon- 
dage from a barbarous past that still enthralls 
us—has a twofold explanation. First, that 
when all men were soldiers and before money 
was known, they made the women folk who 
staid at home in places of comparative safety, 
the custodians of their wealth, hanging it up- 
See “The Relation of Dress to Vice,” pages 3 and 4. CONFIDENTIAL TALKS 
l>n them in rings, necklaces, bracelets, and 
rich fabrics. Secondly, that the more women, 
could be hampered by their clothing—the 
trailing skirts that impeded locomotion, the 
half-bared head and lightly clad feet which ex- 
posed them to the discomfort of snow and rain 
and cold; the veiled face which prevented 
them from seeing or being seen, the more were 
they content to stay in-doors, and thus the 
more especially did they become the exclusive 
property and utter dependents of some fierce 
barbarian, who while heaping his treasure upon 
them, regarded these fair and fragile beings 
as the chief treasures of all he had amassed. 
A Christian civilization has worn away the 
most repulsive features of this bondage, but 
every punctured ear, bandaged waist and high 
heeled shoe is a reminder that manhood and 
womanhood are yet under the curse transmit- 
ted by their ignorant and semi-barbarous an- 
cestry. Men have emerged farther than we, 
because they are more enlightened and more 
free to seek their own development and com- 
fort. They have always set the fashions, be- 
cause they have alway been and are to-day the 
ruling class. Man and woman are King and DRESS—ITS USE AND ABUSE 
93 
Courtier in the world’s great realm and will 
be, until he, in his growing wisdom and ten- 
derness shall say to her, "I will no longer make 
a law for you since I perceive that God has 
made laws for us both. Let us hereafter, like 
boy and girl at school, study out, side by side, 
the sacred laws of health and happiness which 
He has written in His Works and Word.” 
Man in our age has begun thus to speak to the 
gentle companion whom God gave to be with 
him, and as she emerges into the sunlight of 
truth and becomes a citizen of the great, home- 
like world which his prowess has subdued for 
her, she will throw off the badges of her long 
servitude and appear in a costume at once 
modest, healthful and elegant.” 
The seriously sad fact that I desire to im- 
press on the mind of every reader of this chap- 
ter, hoping through each one of you to secure 
at least a little wise help toward rational re- 
form, is this; the fashionable or customary 
styles of dress usually worn by civilized wo- 
men, are every where inconvenient and un- 
healthful; often they are immodest; sometimes 
they are glaringly indecent; and, in many re- 
spects, (varying with the changes of style,) 94 
CONFIDENTIAL TALKS 
woman’s dress usually is in bad taste. Her 
health, comfort and efficiency demand a rad- 
ical change. 
Dr. Harriet N. Austin, in a little pamphlet 
on "Health Dress”* says: 
"Allowing, as must be allowed, that the 
feebleness, disorder and positive sickness 
which in so large measure characterize the 
women of our countr}', are the natural and nec- 
essary results of causes which might in great 
part be avoided, there is not of these causes 
another more productive of ill than the unfit- 
ness of their clothing. It would seem that all 
Christendom agree in this, that for woman 
dress is more than comfort or strength, or 
than healthful motherhood, or than education 
or successful enterprise in any service or any 
interest, for in all these respects is she hin- 
dered and harmed by it. Scarcely a garment 
which she wears is constructed first and for- 
most with reference to the needs of the body. 
Women have not been accustomed to consider 
comfort. Being taught that raiment is more 
than the body, it is a matter of course that 
they should fit their bodies into their raiment, 
Sanitarium Publishing Co., Dansville, N. Y. DRESS—ITS USE AMD ABUSE 
95 
however much it cramps them; and getting 
used to cramping, they do not much mind it. 
I am well aware that most women would not 
at all understand what I mean about the dis- 
comforts and injuriousness of their clothing. 
They think they are comfortable, and great 
pity it is that they do think so; for this is ev- 
idence that they have deadened their physical 
sensibilities- They little know the outrage 
they commit on their organisms. A woman 
with bands hanging on her hips, and dress 
snug about the waist and chokingly tight at 
the throat, with heavily trimmed skirts drag- 
ing down the back, and numerous folds heat- 
ing the lower part of the spine, and with tight 
shoes, ought to be in agony. She ought to 
be as miserable as a stalwart man would be in 
the same plight. And the fact that she can 
coolly and complacently assert that her cloth- 
ing is perfectly easy and that she does not want 
anything more comfortable or convenient, is 
the most conclusive proof that she is alto- 
gether abnormal bodily, or else that she has 
not much idea of the grand uses to which her 
powers might be put. 
‘‘Not only should the growing girl be so ab- 96 
CONFIDENTIAL TALKS 
solutely easy in her clothing that there is no 
possible restriction to growth, but every moth- 
er, every housekeeper, teacher, sewing girl, 
every woman who has any work, or any respon- 
sibility to bear, every woman, who, in the 
goodness of her heart, longs for power to help 
others, every Christian woman, should be so 
free that under all the movements of the body, 
in bending, lifting, leaping, or lying down, 
no organ or muscle should be at all restrained 
in its natural action. It is not enough that 
a garment be fitted to the full size of the fig- 
ure, and then a half inch or an inch of room 
be left for play. At least from four to six 
inches allowance should be made, and this in 
every garment worn. If all the women in the 
country would do this, half their ailments 
would disappear in a year and they would re- 
alize that they had entered upon a better life. 
Is it too much, then, to say that it is a great 
gain that some women -are beginning to ap- 
preciate the value of comfort in dress?" 
Various efforts are already being put forth 
to effect a reformation. Indeed it looks as if 
the good work had begun in earnest. The first 
thing for individuals to do, each one for her- DRESS—ITS USE AND ABUSE 
97 
self, is to leave off corsets, and to loosen the 
dress so that there may be at all times free- 
dom of motion for every part of the body. 
The second thing to do is to lighten the 
garments; reduce the weight of clothing to the 
least amount consistent with proper protec- 
ion, and shorten the skirts till they shall not 
touch the floor. 
The third is to dress each limb, legs as well 
as arms individually, and all parts of the body 
so uniformly that there shall be neither cold 
extremities when exposed to the weather, nor 
overheated legs and hips while in-doors. 
Overheating must surely result from such an 
excess of skirts as many habitually wear. 
The above stated three essential points which 
demand reform, are by no means all that need 
attention; but the minor evils may be left for 
consideration after the more serious ones shall 
have been corrected. 
It is not expected that every girl or young 
woman, though she may be informed on these 
subjects, and desirous of dressing in the most 
free and healthful manner, can at one stroke 
make a complete change for herself and carry 
all her friends and neighbors with her, as 
cheerful and grateful followers; but every 98 
CONFIDENTIAL TALKS 
young woman of sense, discretion and con- 
science can, and therefore ought to, insist that 
all her clothing shall be made and kept suffi- 
ciently loose to allow of complete digestion, 
full respiration, free circulation and unre- 
stricted muscular exertion. Any woman, with- 
out being “unpleasantly conspicuous" can eas- 
ily take at least a few steps in the right di- 
rection. She can put away her corsets, or her 
tight waists, and in their stead wear loose 
fitting, boneless waists. On these waists she 
can put buttons for the support of the skirts, 
thus taking the load off her back and hips. 
She can safely lighten both underskirts and 
overskirts and, if the climate demands espe- 
cially warm clothing, she can properly dress the 
limbs, individually, by means of warm flannel 
underwear; and she can, if she will, select 
good, stout, warm, sensible shoes. Where 
there is an intelligent will there is a practica- 
ble way. The exercise of intelligence and con- 
science in this matter will lead many, young 
and old, to greater physical comfort, to a bet- 
ter state of health and to a more complete de- 
velopment of body, mind and soul. 
In my professional study of this subject, ex- DRESS—ITS USE AND ABUSE 
tending now over nearly a quarter of a cen- 
tury, I have become satisfied that a healthful, 
rational and tasteful dress-reform, on the part 
of women, is as important to the real welfare 
of the race as is reform in the matter of intem- 
perance on the part of men. lam also satis- 
fied that the dress-reform is coming. Already 
large numbers of our most intelligent and cul- 
tivated women, young and old, have rejected 
the corset, recognizing not only the fact that 
it is uncomfortable and unhealthful, but also 
that it produces positive deformity. Its use 
is not only evidence of defective intelligence 
and moral sense, but also of a gross taste. 
No true artist approves a corseted form. But 
the corset is doomed. Christian women, of 
real intelligence, enlightened conscience and 
refined tastes no longer wear the instrument 
of torture, so suggestive of the darkness of 
“the middle ages.” In a recent conversation 
with a physician of your own sex, who was 
giving a course of lectures to the girls of the 
high school, in one of our large and growing 
cities, I learned that eighty-five per cent of 
the misses in that school do not wear corsets, 
though all have attained ages at which it has 100 
CONFIDENTIAL TALKS 
been customary to wear them. Healthful, 
loose-fitting waists have been substituted, and 
the skirts are fastened to them by buttons. 
One of the largest corset manufacturers in 
this country, with whom I have had frequent 
conferences about dress and health, in a recent 
letter to me says; "You very properly speak 
against the corset; but your hearers and read- 
ers need to have something definite set before 
them. This, fortunately, is possible in two or 
three directions. Many will not take the 
trouble to make healthful garments for them- 
selves; but, fortunately, waists meeting the 
requirements are now made by several different 
parties and are sold freely in the markets—not 
only in the larger cities but in most of the 
villages of any size. The difference between 
the corsets and the waists are not accidental, 
but fundamental. The standard measurements 
of corsets are, for the bust measurement to be 
fourteen inches larger than the waist measure- 
ment, and for the hip measurement to be six- 
teen inches larger than the waist measurement. 
This is for the ladie’s size; the misses size is 
made, of course, with somewhat less difference. 
On the other hand, the waists are made with DRESS—ITS USE ARID ABUSE 
101 
not more than nine or ten inches difference be- 
tween waist measurement and bust and hip meas- 
urement. It would be impossible to make the 
waists with the same difference in measurements 
as the (orsets, for they are invariably made of 
soft cloth by stitching in a few soft cords; 
whereas corsets are stiffened by horn, reed or 
other stiff material. If a woman were to at- 
tempt to lace with a waist as she would with 
a corset, it would wrinkle up and be a com- 
plete failure. Most of the waists are made 
with a steel in front, and also with one upon 
each side, but these are in a loose pocket and 
can be slipped out without in any way interfer- 
ing with the general set of the waist. They 
are also made with buttons attached for sup- 
porting the skirts. (Waists of this character 
were first brought out by who are still the 
largest manufacturers; but goods of very sim- 
ilar character are made by several other 
parties.) The most important change 
which has occurred in the corset business with- 
in the last five years has been the steady and 
rapid increase in the sale of waists of this 
character, to take the place of corsets." 
Such testimony, from such a source, is most CONFIDENTIAL TALKS 
encouraging. The reform, at least as to cor- 
sets, has come, and is rapidly spreading. Let it 
spread with increasing rapidity, and let im- 
provements be made till not a steel, or a bone 
or a stiffening cord of any kind shall limit the 
freedoom and health that the waist is intended to 
bring. Properly worn it admits of freedom of 
motion for the chest and abdomen, and to 
gracefulness of poise and carriage. It also 
gives a chance for the blood to circulate free- 
ly. If, in addition to properly adjusted waists, 
stout, common-sense shoes be habitually worn 
there will be no cold feet or local congestions. 
Women now may dress quite healthfully 
without appearing conspicuous or singular. 
The union undergarments, if properly made, 
are also a great gain. Divided underskirts, if 
made sufficiently small, give individual free- 
dom to the legs, and also keep them comfort- 
ably warm. All should be attached to a waist 
for support. Or better still, let undergarments 
be made continuous at the waist. The ideal, 
practicable waist for women I will describe 
in the language of the corset manufacturer, 
above quoted. 
“The skill of some of our modern reformers DRESS—ITS USE AND ABUSE 
103 
has made it possible for a woman to dress 
healthfully without having the fact appear in 
the finished costume. At the foundation is 
the union undergarment, covering the arms, 
legs and body in one piece. Then there will 
be the stockings and the waist, the stocking 
being supported by hose supporter attached to 
the waist. Over this cotton drawers can 
be fastened directly to the waist; or, the 
cotton drawers and waist-cover can be com- 
bined in one garment, to be used in place of 
the old fashioned chemise. Over this again is a 
single skirt; better still, the divided skirt. 
This with a dress in which the waist and skirt 
are made in one piece, completes the costume. 
Almost every garment is made complete from 
the shoulder to the bottom of the skirt, and 
this is much more satisfactory than will be any 
arrangement of straps and hooks. Too much 
cannot be said against massing a great quan- 
tity of clothing just below the waist, as is done 
by peeople who wear two or three heavy skirts 
supported by the swell of the hips. It is not 
only unhealthy, it is unnecessary and it disfig- 
ures the natural beautful contour of the body.” 
The supposition that men, as a rule, are hos- 104 
CONFIDENTIAL TALKS 
tile to dress-reform is a great bug-bear to many 
women, both old and young. This "hostility” 
is greatly exaggerated by the female imagina- 
tion. I know that a very large majority of the 
fathers, husbands and brothers of our women 
prefer, above all things, the health and com- 
fort of their mothers, wives, daughters and 
sisters. All men whose opinions on this sub- 
ject are worth a moment’s consideration will 
cheerfully welcome all improvements in dress. 
The fact is that, in matters of this kind, wo- 
men can make almost any thing not only fash- 
ionable, but acceptable; the past furnishes 
ample evidence of this. If the women will but 
make convenient, comfortable, healthful, mod- 
est dress fashionable, the men will admire it 
and praise it far more than they ever approved 
the grotesque upholstery, drapery, flummery and 
murderous toggery in which women have so 
long and so submissively masqueraded. Large 
numbers of young men, as well as old men, 
know and feel the truth that was stated by 
a young Vermonter, in a letter to Miss Willard. 
That letter expresses the fact so well that I 
insert the greater part of it. 
’’Dear Lady:—lt may seem presumptuous DRESS—ITS USE AND ABUSE 
105 
for an unknown and ignorant laddie like me 
to address you, but I have applied to several 
others for help and found none. I have seen 
some of your protests against that great crime 
so many women commit, viz.: lacing. In this 
community we have a lodge of Good Templars 
which has held weekly meetings for eighteen 
years, and girls who are members of the order 
and take part in the exercises stand on the plat- 
form, and, with blood filled with impurities 
from imperfect circulation, and faces covered 
with pimples caused by lacing, urge the boys 
not to poison their blood with alcohol, and 
ridicule the red nose of the toper. We have 
also a Society of Christian Endeavor, and young 
women with breath and usefulness shortened 
one-half by corsets, attend the prayer-meetings 
of the society and say they are trying to serve 
the Lord, and pray that they may be enabled to 
do His will in rfll things. The boys of this ’’place 
are a strong, healthy, tough and wiry set; but 
oh, the girls! Pale, pinched faces, and languid 
steps; forms created in God’s own image cru- 
elly deformed and distorted into hideous mon- 
strosities to make men shudder and angels weep ; 
unfit for wives, because incapable of becoming 106 
CONFIDENTIAL TALKS 
the mothers of healthy children. What young 
man of sense wants to marry a dressmaker’s 
lay-figure, or a bundle of aches and pains wrap- 
ped up in fancy dry goods? One of my friends 
—a fine young man with no poison habits— 
did marry one of them. Five short years have 
passed away, and where is his family? Two 
little graves in the village cemetery and a wife 
who is a physical wreck may tell the story." 
Such a condition may not be the conspicuous 
fact in all communities, but it is altogether 
too common. The world needs, and Christian- 
ity demands, a pure, noble and efficient woman- 
hood. To attain such womanhood good health 
is essential. Good health ever demands ration- 
al dress. Woman can neither fulfill her mis- 
sion nor enjoy activity in this world unless 
she rationally, conscientoiusly and cheerfuly 
takes up life’s duties and performs them in co- 
operative sympathy with (‘and, hence, with the 
assistance of’ ) God’s eternal laws—physical, 
mental and moral. CHAPTER XVI. 
MENTAL TEMPTATIONS AND HABITS. 
There is a remarkably intimate connection 
between the body and the mind. So depend- 
ent is the latter upon the former that not a few 
person have come to regard the mind as only 
a natural product of the brain, a sort of secre- 
tion of its cells, as bile is a secretion of the 
liver; and that every person’s conscious men- 
tal existence absolutely ceases with the death 
of the body. While we cannot accept this 
extreme view of the case, all must admit that, 
in this life, so far as we can demonstrate, the 
mind is dependent upon bodily conditions, for 
all its manifestations. Experience teaches that 
by mental effort we can bring about various 
conditions of the body, and that, through a 
proper voluntary control of our bodily activities 
we may secure, by reaction, desirable mental 
states, and in a large measure determine our 
mental power. 
107 108 
CONFIDENTIAL TALKS 
In chapter VII, I called your attention to 
the mental changes accompanying the devel- 
opment of the reproductive organs, at puberty. 
The influence of that development on the brain 
is such that, after puberty, one must see the 
world in a light quite different from that 
which was possible before. 
The fulness, symmetry, healthfulness and 
quality of the sexual development inevitably 
determine, in a large measure, the mental qual- 
ities, balance and power of each individual. 
We may voluntarily so direct our mind as to 
determine certain of our bodily conditions; 
but our bodily conditions, once established, 
will dictate our mental habits and, through 
them, determine our moral and social life—our 
character. Hence it is of the highest impor- 
tance that every one, early in life, should form 
the habit not only of thinking pure, healthful 
and noble thoughts, but of so training the 
body and establishing its habits that, in re- 
turn, it shall assist, (I had almost said com- 
pel) the mind to think clearly and wisely. 
“Faults in the life breed errors in the brain, 
And these, reciprocally, those again; 
The mind and conduct mutually imprint MENTAL TEMPTATIONS AND HABITS 
109 
And stamp their image in each others mint. ” 
The changes wrought in the body (See Chap. 
VII) at the age of puberty are no more marked 
than are the changes wrought in the mind; 
hence, to those who are in a measure unfortu- 
nate in the matter of inherited tendencies or 
of early training, the period is a trying one, 
mentally as well as physically. The thoughts 
are almost inevitably turned upon the sexual 
organs; the imagination, in many instances be- 
gins to run riot; impulses and desires, both 
mental and physical, tend to carry one away 
from the paths of virtue and honor. Animal 
passions, in some cases, begin to sway the whole 
being, and the period proves fatal to the char- 
acter and the health of not a few. 
Many who are not in great danger of actual 
physical or mental disaster at this period still 
find it one of distrust and awkwardness with 
reference to their bodily functions and their 
social conduct. They are ill at ease, self-con- 
scious, have suspicions or fears that something 
is wrong, or in danger of getting wrong. They 
get to brooding over their strange, new mental 
states and physical longings, or they get into 110 
CONFIDENTIAL TALKS 
the habit of thinking lustfully about their 
newly acquired powers, longing to know all 
about them and anxious to anticipate, men- 
tally at least, the final outcome of it all. 
If one forms a habit of anxiously thinking 
about the stomach, lungs, liver, heart or any 
other active organ of the body, that organ in time 
becomes deranged thereby. This influence of 
the mind upon the body is especially forceful 
over the reproductive organs. So great is the 
power of the mind over the body that this ab- 
sorbing thought in relation to the sexual or- 
gans irritates and congests them, increases 
their sensitivenss, tends to unbalanced or im- 
perfect development and, through reflex influ- 
ence, disturbs the brain, producing headache, 
imperfect vision, dull or obscure pain at various 
points along the spine, and many other phases 
of physical and mental discomfort. 
The proper course for every girl or young 
woman to pursue, is to learn concerning all the 
organs of the body as much as is necessary for 
undertanding their position and use, and especi- 
ally what habitual or special conduct is condu- 
cive to their best good; then promptly to form 
the habit of doing, invariably, the best things, MENTAL TEMPTATIONS AND HABITS 
111 
while thinking about the organs as little as 
possible. Remember always that careful, anx- 
ious watching of the condition or activities of 
the sexual organs, and especially all lustful or 
lascivious thoughts, are seriously injurious not 
only to the organs themselves, but to the en- 
tire body and mind. It can not be too clearly 
apprehended that habitual consciousness of 
the condition and activities of any organ of 
the body, aggravates in some measure all 
bodily ills. 
It occasionally happens that a girl of a pas- 
sionate and contagious nature exercises a very 
unfortunate influence on a large number of her 
associates; she mentally perverts, morally 
poisons and physically injures all who will 
listen to her. This she does by habitually 
and lasciviously calling their attention to the 
organs and processes of reproduction ; to the 
sexual experiences or misfortunes of those 
whom she knows, or of whom she has heard ; 
to the gossips and scandals regarding people 
of questionable character. Every girl who is 
truly wise in these matters will not permit 
herself to listen to anything that she can not 
unblushingly tell her mother or her most highly 112 
CONFIDENTIAL TALKS 
esteemed confidential adviser. She will seek 
all the information she needs from pure wo- 
men; not from ignorant, inexperienced, super- 
stitious, lascivious girls whose talk, conduct 
and general influence, scatter in the commu- 
nity an infection that is really more dangerous 
than the aggregate evils of scarlet fever, mea- 
sles, diphtheria and la grippe. The mind 
dwells most easily in accustomed haunts, and 
travels most readily in accustomed paths; 
hence you should early form the habit of occu- 
pying the mind with healthful and ennobling 
thoughts. Train all your varied activities in 
harmony with that which is truly noble and 
pure. So will you avoid much danger that 
inevitably comes to those who, instead of rightly 
using the brain, habitually “do their thinking 
below the waist,” as some one has said of the 
lascivious and vulgar. CHAPTER XVII. 
PHYSICAL POLLUTION, OR ABUSE. 
The more delicate and sacred an organ of 
the body the more serious is the penalty that 
follows its abuse. The reproductive organs 
are the most delicate and sacred of all our 
parts. There abuse brings the most serious 
of diseases and calamities, not only to the indi- 
vidual who is guilty of the misuse, but to the 
offspring of such individuals. It is a great 
calamity to bring into this world a puny, sickly 
child, imperfectly prepared to take advantage 
of the opportunities that the world offers for a 
joyous development and a long and happy life. 
But those who in any way abuse their repro- 
ductive system, thereby seriously diminish not 
only their own capacity for happiness, but 
their power for producing healthy, happy chil- 
dren. The bearing and rearing of children is 
the God ordained work of woman, the particu- 
lar field in and about which, sooner or later, 114 
CONFIDENTIAL TALKS 
a very large proportion of all girls find clus- 
tering their deepest interests and their keen- 
est joys. 
In the foregoing pages I have called your 
attention to several indirect ways by which 
you may prevent the natural and healthful de- 
velopment and the normal activity of the or- 
gans of reproduction. In the chapter imme- 
diately preceding this I explained how impure 
or evil thoughts, imaginations, desires and 
conversations about sexual matters injure not 
only the sexual organs, but the entire body 
also. It is now my desire to call your atten- 
tion to a dangerous physical habit which some 
girls acquire, viz: that of exciting or irritating 
the organs by rubbing or feeling of them. I 
trust that those among my readers who do this 
are very few in number, but I am assured by 
parents, by teachers and by physicians.—espec- 
ially by physicians who have had large experi- 
ence in asylums for the insane—that the num- 
ber is so great and the evils are so sad that 
I certainly ought to speak about the matter 
in this series of ‘Confidential Talks." 
A prominent physician who has had large 
experience in advising and treating afflicted PHYSICAL POLLUTIONS, AND ABUSE 
115 
women, both young and old, not long ago wrote 
a little pamphlet for girls* in which she says: 
“There may be bad children or wicked servants 
around you who have told or will tell you im- 
pure and wicked things, things that are very 
hurtful and sinful about these organs; and I 
write this little book especially for you, that 
you may know what is right and what is wrong 
with regard to them. You must never touch 
them except to wash them and keep them 
clean; for if you handle or meddle with them 
in any way you will ruin your health more 
surely than by other means. If you have 
learned to touch this part of your body, un- 
necessarily, you must determine that jmu will 
never do it again. This dreadful habit of 
handling or irritating the sexual organs is 
called self, abuse, because every part of the 
body is abused and injured by it. If you prac- 
tice self-abuse you will become cross and peev- 
ish and fretful, dissatisfied with everything 
that is done for you ; you will not love to play 
for you will feel too weak and "all gone,’’ from 
the exhaustion produced by this fearful habit; 
♦ “A Mother’s Advice”—Mrs. E, P. Miller, M. D., 41 W. Twenty- 
sixth street, New York City, 116 
CONFIDENTIAL TALKS 
you can never wholly recover from the bad 
effects. You need not think it harmless be- 
cause you do not feel those effects at first, for 
they come on so slowly that children are very 
often near death before they or their friends 
find out what is the matter with them; and 
then, if they do not die, the evil will cling to 
them and make them miserable through all 
their future lives. When I see a little girl 
or a young lady wasted and weak and listless, 
with great hollow eyes and a sort of sallow 
tint on the haggard face, with the red hue of 
the lips faded, the ears white like marble and 
the face covered with pimples, I know that 
they have committed the sin which, if not 
abandoned, will lead them down to death.” 
The reason that such fearful calamities come 
upon those who practice self-abuse is, that 
handling, rubbing or in any way unnaturally 
exciting the sexual organs causes an excess of 
blood to flow to them, thus producing conges- 
tion and consequent irritation of the organs 
excited, together with insufficiency of blood, 
and consequent weakness in other organs. Un- 
natural excitement of these delicate and sen- 
sitive parts eventually causes their exhaustion, PHYSICAL POLLUTIONS, AND ABUSE 
117 
and through sympathy the spine and brain 
take on feelings of heaviness and dullness—and 
the entire body becomes debilitated. This 
general derangement and weakness easily be- 
come chronic and difficult to cure; the bodily 
form becomes loppy and stooping, the muscles 
flabby, the breasts shrink away and hang down; 
or, if the bad habit be acquired early, the 
breasts fail to develop properly, the eyes look 
dull and vacant, and frequent pains in head, 
back and limbs tell the sad story of self-abuse. 
I will quote again from Mrs Dr. Miller’s 
little book, for it seems most fitting that the 
needed words of admonition on this subject 
should come direct from one who is a mother 
as well as a physician. ‘‘Self-abuse weakens 
every part of the system. A good many little 
girls and a good many grown up women die 
of consumption and liver disease and brain 
disease and many other diseases just because 
they have wasted their best blood and weak- 
ened the system by this vile habit. Some be- 
come idiots, incapable of taking care of them- 
selves. Some become crazy; in the insane 
asylums all over the land are very many who 
have practiced self-abuse. Many of those who 118 
CONFIDENTIAL TALKS 
commit suicide do it because they practiced 
this habit when they were young; their 
life powers have been wasted till they cannot 
enjoy anything; the world and all things in it 
seem so dark and gloomy that they cannot 
endure it any longer; so they dash out the 
poor portion of this life that is left them. If 
you ever practice self-abuse you will be tend- 
ing towards just such a fate; and even though 
you might not get as bad as some I have told 
you about, yet I am sure you do not want to 
grow up a poor, weak, puny, dyspeptic, con- 
sumptive or scrofulous specimen of a woman, 
always suffering, always complaining, always 
regretting that you were born, and wishing 
that you might die. Would you not rather 
grow up with a good stomach that can digest 
food well, and then manufacture good blood? 
good lungs that can take in oxygen enough to 
keep the blood red and bounding? If j'ou have 
these you will be pretty sure to have a good 
brain, one that can think, and feel and act 
with a purpose. You will then grow up rosy, 
healthy, happy and handsome; for, as I told 
you before, happiness and beauty depend very 
much upon the health of the body. PHYSICAL POLLUTIONS, AND ABUSE 
119 
The wise young woman who intends eventu- 
ally to take up law or medicine, or any of the 
learned professions, does not bother herself 
about strictly professional or technical stud- 
ies till the labors of the academy and college 
are completed ; these being thoroughly mastered 
and mental strength established, she is well 
prepared to take up the special studies essen- 
tial to professional success. So a girl, on her 
way to womanhood and its duties, needs to 
let nature pursue her course, regularly and 
undisturbed, till all her functions of body and 
mind are established in harmonious health and 
efficiency. All premature or unnatural excite- 
ment of the sexual organs must be carefully 
avoided. In order to attain the highest and 
best of everything that this world has to offer 
one must be pure in character, modest in ac- 
tion and right in the sight of God. By cheer- 
fully and habitually engaging in pure and 
ennobling thoughts and deeds we give nature 
the best possible chance to bring every part 
of the body to harmonious and healthful 
maturity. CHAPTER XVIII. 
CERTAIN IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS. 
There are many practical lessons, outside 
the fields of physiology and hygiene which 
every girl should learn before she reaches ma- 
turity. Her conduct and habits in her asso- 
ciations with gentlemen, and her relations to 
general society, are exceedingly important ; 
for it is so easy to becloud a good name, or 
even to destroy it; and so difficult to neutral- 
ize the poison that escapes with every “breath 
of suspicion.” Fortunately, with reference to 
behavior, society has established certain rules, 
most of which are reasonable and valuable; for 
they give direction and furnish protection to 
the young and inexperienced in many impor- 
tant ways. Still, our American society grants 
so much personal liberty in matters of conduct 
as to prove dangerous to many ignorant, 
thoughtless and impulsive girls. I will sug- 
120 CERTAIN IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS 
121 
gest a few points and offer some advice which 
all girls may profitable consider. 
The first point is this: There is a tendency, 
amounting to a custom in many parts of our 
country, to thrust girls into “society,” (dress 
parade parties,) at an early age, and to keep 
them in a whirl of excitement during the 
months or years which nature would monopo- 
lize for sex-development. The custom is wrong; 
for, not only does the girl need all her ener- 
gies for bodily growth, sexual adjustment, 
school lessons and light domestic duties, but 
the excitements, disturbances and suggestions, 
inevitable when sexually-budding young peo- 
ple are so closely associated, are quite certain 
to prevent complete, symmetrical and health- 
ful development. Fashionable "young folks’ 
parties,” and all sentimental and exciting as- 
sociation of boys and girls during the years 
of sex-development are dangerous practices. 
In this matter the English are wiser than we. 
The reading of sensational, sentimental 
novels, or “love stories,” is another dangerous 
habit. Sense, not sentiment, is the mental 
food most needed at this age. The sympa- 
thetic relations existing between mind and 122 
CONFIDENTIAL TALKS 
body are so intimate and far-reaching that she 
who habitually reads exciting stories of ro- 
mance must surely injure her body, while she 
dissipates and degrades her mental powers. 
All young ladies, even those who are about 
to bid good bye to their “teens" and begin to 
count their years in the twenties, should be 
particularly careful in their personal friend- 
ships and relations with young msn. Let your 
visits and associations habitually be in the 
presence of others; because such sentimental 
talk as young couples are apt to drift into when 
in secluded places, and especially if there be 
personal contact—like sitting close to each 
other or holding a hand—is more than a mat- 
ter of questionable propriety; it is apt to prove 
a lust-breeding experience and a dangerous 
temptation. Above all things, let your con- 
duct habitually be so characterized by genuine 
dignity, (the natural fruit of a pure, lofty 
character,) as to make it practically impossi- 
ble for any young man to attempt familiarities 
or in any way to suggest caressing, hand-press- 
ing, kissing, or anything of the sort; for such 
affectionate personal contact arouses the sexual 
organs and is apt to produce conditions of CERTAIN IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS 
123 
physical excitement and mental weakness 
which may finally lead to dishonor and disgrace. 
Let kisses and caresses from men be re- 
stricted to your father and your brothers until 
to the circle you shall add the husband, that 
one to whom, exclusive of all others, you en- 
trust, for life, your confidence, your person and 
your honor. 
It is safe to assert that no intelligent young 
woman intentionally compromises herself in 
the eyes of any man. But, unintentionally 
and unconsciously, not a few do cheapen them- 
selves, if indeed they do not destroy their repu- 
tations, through an over-ardent and inconsid- 
erate desire to be “agreeable." It is easy for 
many young women to be passive, tolerant and 
acquiescent, and, by a “yielding sweetness,” to 
invite personal familiarities. This yielding 
passivity, though the motive may be innocent, 
does not command the respect and confidence 
of either sex. While many young men may 
seem attracted, pleased and entertained by it, 
still, somehow, and for sufficient reason, they 
distrust it and, eventually, if honorable and 
cautious young men, they seek other young 
ladies for a better companionship. The young 124 
CONFIDENTIAL TALKS 
woman who, by a dignified but cordial, in- 
genuous conduct, compels a young man instinct- 
ively to keep a proper distance, in speech and 
in behavior, commands thereby his most pro- 
found respect, and at the same time she secures 
for herself the best reputation, the purest char- 
acter and the keenest satisfaction. Happy is 
she of whom her friends can truthfully say: 
■ I know her; the worst thought she entertains 
Is whiter even than her pretty hand." 
Before me lies a letter, this day received 
from one of the foremost educators of this 
country—a father, a philosopher and a lover of 
his race—he says, “I believe many a young 
woman fails of marriage because many young 
men have found her to be too easily approach- 
able. She doesn’t know what the matter is; 
but the fact is, in her associations with young 
men, she has thrown away, innocently, the in- 
definable charm of a certain amount of reserve. 
Most young men know what this genuine re- 
serve means, and they respect women for it.” 
All observant adults have seen many such in- 
stances which illustrate the above truth. 
I do not advocate distrust of young men, and 
consequent fear and shrinking in society. CERTAIN IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS 
125 
Nor do I believe that, among matured young 
people of good character and some experi- 
ence, the young man should be expected to do 
all of the "courting.” Let there be purity of 
character and sincerity of motive, and then let 
young people act as becometh reasonable and 
honorable human beings. CHAPTER XIX. 
WIFEHOOD AND MOTHERHOOD. 
The wives and mothers of to-day were the 
girls of yesterday; and it is equally certain 
that the girls of to-day are to be the wives and 
mothers of to-morrow. 
Of course it must be admitted that not every 
lassie can have her laddie; for, while boys and 
girls are born into the world in about equal 
numbers, the destroying influences of war, lust, 
intemperance and various hazardous occupa- 
tions still continue to kill off the males faster 
than the occupations and habits of females 
destroy them; and thus it comes about that 
in old countries the females out-number the 
males, and it is impossible for every woman to 
have a husband. Still, the difference in num- 
bers is not so great but that, probably, at least 
nineteen-twentieths of all females who reach 
womanhood sooner or later enter into the mar- 
ried state; and of those who marry, probably 
126 WIFEHOOD AND MOTHERHOOD 
forty-nine-fiftieths become mothers. So it 
eventually comes about that the relations God 
designed for all women,—viz, wifehood and 
motherhood,—become realities to a very, very 
large proportion of them; and doubtless it 
will continue so during all time. Wifehood 
and motherhood indicate the significance of 
the reproductive sphere—the object and end 
of sex, the nature and dependencies of which 
I have unfolded to you in preceding chap- 
ters. 
A girl who in physical development, mental 
training and moral character does not become 
fitted for healthful, successful, happy wifehood 
and motherhood fails of her highest mission 
in this world. Every girl ought to expect 
and prepare for these relations —not, indeed, 
by habitually dreaming about them, mentally 
anticipating or anxiously longing for them, 
but by intelligently apprehending the fact that, 
for her, marriage is at least highly probable, 
and by making of herself as perfect a woman 
as possible. 
If, for any reason, she should fail to enter 
upon married life, she may still rejoice in her 
perfected womanhood; for the qualifications 128 
CONFIDENTIAL TALKS 
which best fit her for marriage are also her 
best preparation for other vocations in life. 
Her womanly charms and powers may be used 
to bless and help the world in many ways. Her 
life and love, gifts which have been so per- 
fectly unfolded and cultivated will accomplish 
for herself and for the world untold good 
things; and, better than all else, the mind and 
soul culture secured here will, doubtless, con- 
tinue to expand in the higher and broader life 
beyond what we call death. That life which 
God gave to you in the microscopic egg of 
your mother, and helped her and you to culti- 
vate here on earth, He shall translate and still 
further transform and indefinite!)' expand in 
His more tangible and immediate presence. CHAPTER XX. 
ADDITIONAL MATTERS OF IMPORTANCE. 
There is one other important matter that I 
ought not to omit in these "Confidential Talks; ” 
for ignorance on the subject and inattention to 
it, have caused untold suffering. 
You have learned that the pelvis contains 
all of the female sexual organs, except the 
breasts. Two other important organs are also 
located in this cavity of the body, viz. the 
Rectum, or lower portion of the intestines, 
and the Bladder, a sack for the temporary stor- 
age of an excretory fluid, called urine, which 
is constantly secreted by the kidneys, and is 
retained in the bladder till its expulsion be- 
comes convenient. The health and habits 
(whether good or bad) of each one of these 
pelvic organs exerts a corresponding influence 
on the others, so that normal development and 
healthful activity of the sexual organs demand 
normal states and activities of the bladder and 
129 130 
CONFIDENTIAL TALKS 
rectum. Fortunately, while a proper care of 
these organs is imperative, it is not difficult 
for one who is disposed to take care of herself. 
Notice carefully the office of each and you 
will feel the importance of aiding them in their 
work. 
I stated that the bladder was for storing, 
temporarily, a fluid called urine, which is se- 
creted from the blood by the kidneys. When 
the bladder becomes moderately distended by 
accumulated urine, a sensation is felt which 
prompts one to seek a convenient opportunity 
for its discharge. This physical desire may 
be resisted for some time, during which the 
bladder may become enormously distended and 
the neighboring organs (womb, ovaries, etc.), 
not only painfully crowded upon but, through 
nerve sympathy, seriously disturbed in various 
ways. The reflex effects of this unnatural 
retention of urine, are also seen in other parts 
of the body; and the habitual, wilful holding 
of this poisonous fluid eventually leads to se- 
rious and complicated difficulties. The bladder 
that is habitually allowed to become too greatly 
distended is apt to suffer partial, or perhaps, 
complete paralysis of its muscular fibres, and ADDITIONAL MATTERS OF IMPORTANCE 
131 
thus lose its power to expel the urine, which 
must then be drawn off artificially, or else al- 
lowed to constantly trickle away; both of which 
processes are at least great misfortunes. You 
should, therefore, form a habit of heeding 
promptly all natural demands for the evacua- 
tion of the bladder. You may thereby avoid 
not only temporary discomfort but painful 
chronic ailments. 
As a rule, not more than about six hours 
should elapse between the acts of urination. 
The amount of urine secreted daily varies great- 
ly with the season of the year, the diet, occu- 
pation and mental states. As a rule the quan- 
tity is much greater and the color is clearer 
during cold weather, or when exposed to cold 
and dampness. Profuse perspiration dimin- 
ishes the amount of water to be drawn off 
through the bladder, while checking of the 
perspiration increases the amount of urine. If 
a quantity of this excretion remains too long 
in the badder a process of decomposition be- 
gins, which is apt not only to irritate and in- 
flame the bladder, but through sympathy, to 
injure the kidneys, the womb and, indeed, the 
entire body. To “hold the water" longer than CONFIDENTIAL TALKS 
is comfortable is to irritate and poison the 
system. , 
The rectum is the lower eight or nine inches 
of the intestinal canal. It receives from the 
upper portions of the intestines and expels 
from the body, in a semi-solid form, the un- 
used portions of food, mingled with certain 
poisonous excretions that are poured into the 
intestinal canal at different points. This poi- 
sonous material should not be suffered to remain 
long in the rectum, the walls of which will ab- 
sorb the liquid portions of the excretory matter 
and pour it back into the blood vessels through 
which it will circulate throughout the body, 
irritating the nerves, disordering the nutritive 
processes, roughening the skin, over-working 
the kidne}?s and fouling the breath; for the 
kidneys, lungs and skin undertake, 
to excrete what the bowels do not readily dis- 
charge. 
A hint from the rectum, that it has received 
material for discharge, should prompt you to 
attend to the call at once. If you voluntarily 
and habitually resist the desire for evacuation, 
the nerves soon cease to report the condition; 
matter accumulates; poisons are absorbed; cos- ADDITIONAL MATTERS OF IMPORTANCE 
133 
tiveness and constipation, with the common 
attendant, headache, become habitual; and 
piles, fissure, ulceration and kindred ailments 
are apt to follow. Not all of the preceeding 
conditions, probably, nor any of them, perhaps, 
will follow immediately, and in severe form; 
but all who neglect “the calls of nature” are 
in danger of any or all of the consequences I 
have named. Teach yourself to abhor and 
avoid constipation and costiveness. It is a great 
foe to school girls and sedantary females. 
As a result of habitual or frequent pressure 
from a distended bladder or a full rectum, the 
womb, which is directly between them, be- 
comes irritated, congested and, perhaps, dis- 
placed. It may be tipped or bent backward by 
an enlarged bladder, or forward, by a dis- 
tended rectum; and, as a result of the crowding 
and irritation, the entire pelvic region may 
become disordered, producing not only local but 
general discomfort and disease. Remember that 
every organ of the body does most easily and 
perfectly that which it does with habitual 
regularity. Hence, every one should, by all 
means, form the habit of evacuating the rec- 
tum at least once a day, and at some regular 134 
CONFIDENTIAL TALKS 
hour. Immediately after breakfast seems to 
be the best and the most convenient time for 
most persons; but regularity, at some conven- 
ient hour of each day, is the prime requisite. CHAPTER XXL 
CONCLUSION. 
A careful consideration of woman’s part thus 
far in the history of the world makes every 
genuine lover of humanity feel intensely sad. 
A superficial glance at her present condition, 
in this country, is satisfactorj' enough to most 
thoughtless people; but the thoughtfully observ- 
ant still see beneath the surface serious con- 
ditions and tendencies, which can be corrected 
only by intelligent, united and protracted 
effort. 
During the early centuries of the world’s 
history, as at present in some countries, wo- 
man was practically a menial slave, dependent 
on the whims and caprices of men for any free- 
dom or privileges that she may have had. 
Christianity opened a wide door for her emer- 
gence into free life and happiness; but she has 
come forth timidly and, until recently, with 
great caution. Still, she has made progress. 
135 136 
CONFIDENTIAL TALKS 
During the last few centuries she has made 
rapid advancement, intellectually, socially and 
morally; but, in some countries, she has de- 
generated physically, in at least a few respects. 
Physicians of wide experience in this country 
deliberately declare that not more than one 
woman in fifty is in perfect health,—entirely 
free from acute and chronic illness; and the 
percentage of those who are almost habitually 
and painfully conscious of a degree of weakness 
and disorder is very large. This fact physi- 
cians quite generally attribute to the unwise 
customs of women in matters of nutrition, phys- 
ical exercise, dress, "society" and so-called ed- 
ucation—especially to unhealthful dress, seden- 
tary life and monotonous, belittling mental 
habits. 
I have endeavored, in the preceding pages 
to give you the essential facts regarding the 
basis and conditions of your well-being, both 
as individual women and as woman, in the 
aggregate, I hope you have concluded that 
your sex is not doomed, either through natural 
peculiarities or through the purpose and power 
of the male sex, to continue on earth as man’s 
inferior in any respect, except in the matter CONCLUSION 
137 
of average size, and consequently, in average 
muscular strength. Woman may, if she will, 
secure perfect development of all her powers, 
perfect freedom of action in all spheres of 
activity possible for her, and perfect equality 
with man, socially, politically and commer- 
cially. But this she can do only by finding out 
those eternal, beneficent laws which, in the 
beginning, were established for her good, and 
by conforming her life to the requirements. 
I trust that all of you who have read this 
book have come to see clearly and to feel deeply 
that there is no one special, secret way to se- 
cure health; no royal road to womanly devel- 
opment and success; no knack in getting estab- 
lished in complete womanhood; no patent sys- 
tem of training for it; no supernatural route. 
All that any girl needs to do is to obey the 
laws of God, as written in all her members 
and as published throughout all nature. If each 
of you, individually, will candidly and earn- 
estly listen to God, as he speaks to you through 
your own highest nature, instead of heedlessly 
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whether with wealth or without it —the law of self sacrific- 
ing love—with a clearness and cogency, which demands for 
his paper this permanent form.”—Rev. Lyman Abbott, D.D. 
Ipowcr from on Ibigb: Do You Need It, What is 
It, Can You Get It? By Rev. B. Fay Mills. 
“ Earnest, cogent, bright, this brief discussion must appeal 
to all classes of readers. The mark it will make on mind 
and conscience will not soon fade away.”—N, Y. Evangelist. 
New York. FLEMING H. REYELL CO. Cmcago. Popular Missionary Biographies 
13rao, 160 pages. Fully illustrated. Cloth extra, 75 cents each. 
From The Missionary 
Herald. 
“ We commended this ser- 
ies in our last issue, and a 
further examination leads us 
to renew our commendation, 
and to urge the placing of 
this series of missionary 
books in all our Sabbath- 
school libraries. 
These books are handsome- 
ly printed and bound and are 
beautifully illustrated, and we 
are confident that they will 
prove attractive to all young 
people.” 
“ These are not pans of milk, but little pitchers of cream, compact and 
condensed from bulkier volumes,”—Dr. A. T. Pierson. 
SAMUEL CItOWTTIER, the Slave Soy who became 
Bishop of the Niger. By Jesse Page, author of “Bishop 
Patteson.” 
THOMAS J. COMBER, Missionary Pioneer to the 
Congo, By Rev. J. B. Myers, Association Secretary Baptist Mis- 
sionary Society. 
BISHOP PATTESON, the Martyr of Melanesia. By 
Jesse Page. 
GRIFFITH JOHN, Founder of the Hankow Mission, 
Central China, By Wm. Robson, of the London Missionary 
Society. 
ROBERT MORRISON, the Pioneer of Chinese Mis- 
sions, By Wm. J. Townsend, Sec. Methodist New Connexion 
Missionary Society. 
ROBERT MOFFAT, the Missionary Hero of Kuru man, 
By David J. Deane, author of “ Martin Luther, the Reformer,” etc. 
WILLI AM CAREY, the Shoemaker who became a Mis- 
sionary. By. Rev. J. B. Myers, Association Secretary Baptist 
Missionary Society. 
JAMEf} CHALMERS, Missionary and Explorer of 
Rarotonga and New Guinea, By Wm. Robson, of the 
London Missionary Society. 
MISSIONARY LADIES IN FOREIGN LANDS. By 
Mrs. E. R. Pitman, author of “ Heroines of the Missionary Fields,” 
etc. 
JAMES CALVERT; or, From Dark to Dawn in Fiji. 
JOHN WILLIAMS, the Martyr of Polynesia, By Rev. 
James J. Ellis. 
HENRY MARTYN, His Life and Labors. By Jesse 
Page, author of “Bishop Patterson,” etc. 
new york. Fleming H. Revell Company, Chicago,