he employment of rings, pessaries, and numerous other mechanical
devices for preventing emissions, is entirely futile. No dependence
can be placed upon them. Some of these contrivances are very ingenious,
but they are all worthless, and time and money spent upon them are thrown
away.

Quacks.--The victims of self-abuse fall an easy prey to the hordes of
harpies, fiends in human shape, who are ready at every turn to make
capital out of their misfortunes. From no other class of persons do
quacks and charlatans derive so rich a harvest as from these erring
ones. It is not uncommon to find a man suffering from seminal weakness
who has paid to sundry parties hundreds of dollars for "specifics" which
they advertised as "sure cures." We have seen and treated scores of
these patients, but never yet met a single case that had received
benefit from patent medicines.

The newspapers are full of the advertisements of these heartless
villains. They advertise under the guise of "clergymen," charitable
institutions, "cured invalids," and similar pretenses. Usually they
offer for sale some pill or mixture which will be a _sure cure_, in
proof of which they cite the testimonials of numerous individuals who
never lived, or, at least, never saw either them or their filthy
compounds; or, they promise to send free a recipe which will be a certain
cure. Here is a specimen recipe which was sent by a "reverend" gentleman
who claims to be a returned missionary from South America so intent
on doing good that he charges nothing for his invaluable information:--

Extract of Corrossa apimis,
" " Selarmo umbelifera,
Powdered Alkermes latifolia,
Extract of Carsadoc herbalis.

This remarkable recipe is warranted to cure all the evils arising from
self-abuse, with no attention to diet and no inconvenience of any kind,
to prevent consumption and insanity, and to cure venereal diseases.
It is also declared to be a perfectly "_safe_" remedy for all female
difficulties, which means that it will aid nefarious purposes.

Along with the recipe comes the suggestion that the druggist may not
be able to furnish all the ingredients in a perfectly pure state, and
so, for the accommodation of suffering humanity, this noble
philanthropist has taken infinite pains to secure them direct from
South America, and has them put up in neat little packages which he
will send, post-paid, for the trifle of $3.50, just one cent _less_
than actual cost. The