9.  SOUND THE ALARM.—­Remember, young man, you can never rise above the degradation of the companionship of lewd women.  Your virtue once lost is lost forever.  Remember, young woman, your wealth or riches is your good name and good character—­you have nothing else.  Give a man your virtue and he will forsake you, and you will be forsaken by all the world.  Remember that purity of purpose brings nobility of character, and an honorable life is the joy and security of mankind.

[Illustration:  THE GREAT PHILANTHROPIST.]

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THE CURSE OF MANHOOD.

1.  MORAL LEPERS.—­We cannot but denounce, in the strongest terms, the profligacy of many married men.  Not content with the moderation permitted in the divine appointed relationship of marriage, they become adulterers, in order to gratify their accursed lust.  The man in them is trodden down by the sensual beast which reigns supreme.  These are the moral outlaws that make light of this scandalous social iniquity, and by their damnable example encourage young men to sin.

2.  A SAD CONDITION.—­It is constantly affirmed by prostitutes, that amongst married men are found their chief supporters.  Evidence from such a quarter must be received with considerable caution.  Nevertheless, we believe that there is much truth in this statement.  Here, again, we lay the ax to the root of the tree; the married man who dares affirm that there is a particle of physical necessity for this sin, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.  Whether these men be princes, peers, legislators, professional men, mechanics, or workmen, they are moral pests, a scandal to the social state, and a curse to the nation.

3.  EXCESSES.—­Many married men exhaust themselves by these excesses; they become irritable, liable to cold, to rheumatic affections, and nervous depression.  They find themselves weary when they rise in the morning.  Unfitted for close application to business, they become dilatory and careless, often lapsing into entire lack of energy, and not seldom into the love of intoxicating stimulants.  Numbers of husbands and wives entering upon these experiences lose the charm of health, the cheerfulness of life and converse.  Home duties become irksome to the wife; the brightness, vivacity, and bloom natural to her earlier years, decline; she is spoken of as highly nervous, poorly, and weak, when the whole truth is that she is suffering from physical exhaustion which she cannot bear.  Her features become angular, her hair prematurely gray, she rapidly settles down into the nervous invalid, constantly needing medical aid, and, if possible, change of air.

4.  IGNORANCE.—­These conditions are brought about in many cases through ignorance on the part of those who are married.  Multitudes of men have neither read, heard, nor known the truth of this question.  We sympathize with our fellow-men in this, that we have been left in practical ignorance concerning the exceeding value and legitimate uses of these functions of our being.  Some know, that, had they known these things in the early days of their married life, it would have proved to them knowledge of exceeding value.  If this counsel is followed, thousands of homes will scarcely know the need of the physician’s presence.