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And yet this man was a Clergyman of the Church of England, and knew that "Jesus answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, and said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder." (Matthew xix., 4-7.) He knew again that "Paul the preacher to the Gentiles," but apparently to little purpose to Dr. McCaul, quoted thus:—"For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery:"
What then is the solution of this mystery? What the meaning of a man's leaving father and mother? And of being joined unto a wife until they both become one flesh? For answers let us turn to Nature.
I. The solution of the mystery will be found in the fact that man, as well as other warm-blooded creatures, is an electric animal; and that all the processes of his system are carried on by means of, or in conjunction with, that electricity, and that without it there would be no life. What is the origin of an human being? By electricity an embryo is produced from the blood of the male and impregnates the female; but without the spark of electricity life is not imparted with it. During its growth day by day the male electricity of it creates a gradual physical change in the mother, and the same during the time that she is suckling the infant. All through infancy and youth the electricity of the offspring is one with that of the parents; and so with a whole family, their electricity is all one; and all the vital processes in each individual proceed by means of that joint electricity; and if one of them become fatigued, or exhausted, or ill, that joint family electricity will greatly restore and renovate his strength. In cases of illness a very great error is frequently committed through ignorance of this fact. A mother perhaps is ill, and a daughter attends upon her constantly, jealous of anyone taking her place by the bed side. The old servants entreat her to take rest in bed, food, fresh air. The old answer, "oh! do not think of me." Meals are irregular, sleep broken, snatched, sitting dressed in a huge square arm-chair, and air bad: while the poor girl fancies that she is helping her mother by this self sacrifice!
Such a proceeding is a great error! She becomes utterly worn out; little thinking, that when smoothing her mother's pillow, while in that exhausted state, she is seriously injuring her mother while unknowingly
