of the poor, to bring the influence of tract
literature to bear upon the physical condition
of those visited, as well as upon their
spiritual condition, which, pre-eminently
important though it is, certainly ought not to
be the only subject of the tracts distributed.

Such an idea was urged, ten years ago,
upon the medical profession through its
journals by another writer, who supported
his cause by the issue of two tracts upon
health for cottage circulation— one upon
Health, one upon Interrupted Health and
Sick-room Duties. The tracts were freely
used, but the idea on which they were based,
although approved, was not adopted. As we
set some store by a general notion of the
value of a good supply of sanitary tracts, we
will, in further commendation of this part of
Dr. Roth's subject to the attention of the
public, cite the suggestions made in vain by
another son of Galen to his brethren, through
the Medical Gazette of May the nineteenth,
eighteen hundred and forty-eight. It was
proposed:

One. That a society be formed for the diffusion of
sanitary tracts.— Two. That the chief object of the
society be to issue tracts which may be purchased by
the clergy of the Christian communities, and circulated
by them among their poor parishioners, together with,
and in the same manner as, the religious tracts which
they are accustomed to distribute. And that, in order
to secure this object, the tracts be written in a broad
Christian spirit, and be kept free from all theology.—
Three. That the society consist exclusively of medical
men. That membership be constituted by the annual
payment of ten shillings, and that the members receive
back, in a proportionate supply of tracts, the whole
amount of their subscriptions.— Four. That members
subscribing a sovereign, have a double vote in the affairs
of the society; but that no individual shall have more
votes than two. — Five. That the correspondence of the
society be transacted by an honorary secretary, and
that its funds be in the hands of an editing committee;
the committee to consist of three members, resident in
London, and elected by vote of the whole society.—
Six. That no member of the society receive any
remuneration for services performed, and that its officers be
reimbursed only for their actual outlay.— Seven. That
there be published annually one tract for every ten
pounds subscribed to the society, and that all profit
remaining after payment of expenses, and setting by a
moderate reserve fund, be devoted to the purpose of
diminishing the selling price of publications issued.—
Eight. That the editing committee accept or decline
any tracts voluntarily forwarded to them; and according
to their discretion, request assistance from those
members of the profession, whose pens are of
acknowledged value, and who are zealous enough to write
gratuitously for the public good.— Nine. That all other
business of the Society be transacted by general vote;
the votes being communicated to the secretary through
the post. And that each member be furnished
annually with a printed report of the proceedings of the
previous year.

Here, then, was a projector casting on
the waters bread, which we find after many
days, without any trace of so much as a
nibble thereupon. The advantage, he
said, of grafting sanitary teachings upon
the existing system of religious tracts, was,
that in no other way could they obtain so
readily, a wide and authoritative distribution
among those who need them most. The
necessity of avoiding all points open to
dissent, was obvious enough; cleanliness, at
all events, he said, ought to be common
among Christians. Ten shillings he thought
better than a pound as a subscription,
because half-sovereigns can better be afforded
by members of an underpaid profession, and
the greater the number of Tract distributors,
the more equally, of course, would the
publication be diffused. The doctors did
nothing— though it is not too late for them to
take some scheme like this in hand: now let
us see what Dr. Roth can produce out of the
exertion of the ladies. A fine thing is a
woman with a will. There are women with
wills to be found up and down the world.
If any of them have any of their determination
to bring to the aid of the Ladies'
Association, before mentioned, let them
address the lady who is secretary thereof,
and resides at the house of the Association,
number Seventeen, Egremont Place,
Brighton.

Furthermore, may it be permitted that we
write unto you, schoolmasters, and that we
write unto you, parents, earnestly begging
you to help those who shall come after us
to make a wholesome piece of work for the
promotion of the public health in about the
year one thousand eight hundred and eighty?
Give the next generation men who know
what lungs and livers are, who understand
their duty to their skins, and can overlook
with the mind's eye the process of digestion
in their stomachs. If there be any sort of
machinery that a man ought to know
something about, it is that on which he rides up
and down in the world, from the day of his
first long-clothes in the cradle, to the day of
his last long-clothes in the darkened room.
Here we are all riding about pell-mell, on,
those engines of ours, so delicate and
complex in their structure, so wonderfully
adjusted to bear wear and tear, so amazingly
durable, fine as their structure is. But we
contrive to knock them up too soon by reckless
stoking, by ignorant shuttings off of
steam, by insufficient feeding, by the utmost
carelessness in running off the line. Is it
not worth while to have some intelligent
perception of the nature of the machine we
are directing or using every minute of our
lives? Let any man walk in a graveyard,
read the ages on the tombstones, and ask his
heart what all the graves of infants mean?
Why the young fathers lie among the old men
there, and mothers perish while the little
ones are yet crying for milk? The men and
women of a future generation, if they are to
know how, under artificial circumstances,
they are to live natural lives, need some
distinct knowledge of the structure of their