Page:A thousand years hence. Being personal experiences (IA thousandyearshen00gree).djvu/224

 extravagance of youthful inclination. The gentler sex had, by this time, successfully fought its way into all of the world's work that was suitable to it; and thus the engaged young couple would pile up together, from the proceeds of their respective industry, the sufficient preliminary fund for their beginning their joint life. Society could thus be assured that the prospective increase of population was subject to such concurrent guarantees for a full set-off in industry, frugality, and other social good demeanour, as to leave society largely the gainer.

The Government of the day did not deem it either beneath their dignity, or a matter outside of their duty, to countenance and even to promote this general attention to suitability in marriage. This was usually done by precautionary and other needful intimations issued from the State medical department. We shall see, further on, what more was done in this beneficial supervision, more especially when a public interest came to be taken in the promotion of international marriages. The State, indeed, affected no secret that it also, as well as the parties themselves, was primarily interested in suitable marriages, and in the highest health, moral as well as physical, of family life.

We come back to the old saying, "As parent, so offspring." The latter can get only what the other, at its time, has to give. Parents in bad health must expect children who will be a trial and trouble to all concerned. Nor is the moral health less heritable than the physical. By due intelligent precaution, the