Magdalenism : an inquiry into the extent, causes, and consequences of prostitution in Edinburgh / by William Tait.

  • Tait, William
Date:
1840
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Magdalenism : an inquiry into the extent, causes, and consequences of prostitution in Edinburgh / by William Tait. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The University of Glasgow Library. The original may be consulted at The University of Glasgow Library.

    56/292 (page 36)
    the real cause. If tliat referred to be a cause at all, it is the exception, and not the general rule. But (^ef(^e the^causes jof (intemperance; in . prostitutes ;can be fully (compreliendcd^ it is(|liec^sary to^ke)[a more extended vie^v^ of the jsubject) andAook first to the source)\vl]cnce these(unfor- (tunate creatures) arq^rived) It will be shown, when speaking of the causes of prostitution, that its ranks are supplied in some measure from those who have been trained from infancy to drink- ing—who imbibed with their mothers' milk the desire for intoxi- cating liquors, and unconsciously formed a liabit which their riper years only confirmed and rendered more inveterate. (X second clas^. whqQiave recourse to a life of prostitutioii^ consists of those who havebeen brought up(^under a good moral ynd^eligi^is training^ith a (full knowledge)of |^'hat is righ^ and^rong^ and (Vho in an unguarded moment)nave(ark)wed themselves) to be^iis- ]edl[by the wiles)of an(artful seducer^nd )iave been^eft to hide j,their shaine,^at a distance from their friends and home, (in a life of profligacy and debauchery.) A jHjird clas^is composed of those who^rst form the habit of intempeiance^ and (subseqjlently have had Recourse to a life of prostitutio^^n order to procure the means of satiating their desire for stimulating liquors^ Tli^'firstjof these^rink to excess^in order to gi-atify a constant uneasy feeling of their nature, ana which, from having become a habit__with them, they (cannot resist any more^than they can the(cravings of hunger and thirst.) Thg[gecoM\ have Recourse to strong liquor^o drown remorse and sham^ and(expell from their mind aU( uneasy feelings) i;egarding (their awful situation. The (mentaf^agony] which many of them experience in their sober moments is so afflicting and intolerable, that they are glad to in- toxicate themselves in order to obtain a moment's ease. {^Those who only observe their gay and flirting manner on the streets^ (would imagine them to be all happy and joyful) destitute of every feeling of shame and remorse for the past, and without one seri- ous anticipation about the future; ^t let it be remembered that this is the temporary happiness of artificial excitementl[ and that, when left onTmoment to themselves,\an insupportable glooni^and tenwTsurround'them'.) /The remedy of intoxication is again pre-