A Solemn Appeal - James White

treatment of his wife before the birth of his
offspring will materially affect the disposition of
the mother during that period, and will have very
much to do with the character developed by the
child after its birth. Many fathers have been so
anxious to obtain property fast, that higher
considerations have been sacrificed, and some men
have been criminally neglectful of the mother and
her offspring, and too frequently the lives of both
have been sacrificed to the strong desire to
accumulate wealth. Many do not immediately
suffer this heavy penalty for their wrong-doing,
and are asleep to the result of their course. The
condition of the wife is sometimes no better than
that of a slave, and sometimes she is equally guilty
with the husband, of squandering physical strength,
to obtain means to live fashionably. It is a crime for
such to have children, for their offspring will often
be deficient in physical, mental, and moral worth,
and will bear the miserable, close, selfish impress
of their parents; and the world will be cursed with
their meanness.
It is the duty of men and women to act with
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