Page:Old ninety-nine's cave.djvu/316

 "Then children of leprous parents cannot inherit the disease?"

"No, except a possible predisposition. This does not mean, however, that I advocate marriage between lepers. If children are born of such parentage, they ordinarily die young or are a prey to every disease. The point I wish to illustrate is that nervousness is the worst tyrant of the day. True, 'Old Ninety-Nine' was already an old man; but he might have lived many years longer only for fear, which, combined with his racial traits, made a formidable enemy indeed.

"This is a question of great importance to nurses, one with which they, more than the physician, will have to contend. A nurse is sent on a case, possibly diphtheria, one of the most fatal diseases known. When we discover the germ a cure must follow and, as in any germ disease, corresponding nervous symptoms follow from destruction of tissue. Strange!" Dr. Herschel said, looking towards Shushan, "the many discoveries now being made on the physical plane, yet they do not