NOTE TO CORRESPONDENTS.
TO BOYS.
I warmly invite any boy who has read these pages to write to me if he feels
inclined to do so. Since this book was first published I have received hundreds
of letters from boys who have, without any definite invitation, understood that
it would please me much to hear from them. Many boys feel all the better for
frankly confessing their difficulties to a man who fully understands and
sympathises with them. Some desire advice about their own case. Anyone who
accepts this invitation will do wisely to give me a full and frank history of
his difficulties. His confidences will, of course, be strictly respected. He
will also, I hope, remember that I am an extremely busy man with many and urgent
claims on my time, and that I cannot always reply as quickly and as fully as I
should like to do.
TO YOUNG MEN.
Before a young man marries he should always seek advice from a trustworthy
source with regard to his conduct as a husband. No satisfactory book is, or perhaps could be, published on this subject; and even if a
young man can make up his mind to consult a doctor, it is by no means every
doctor who has the needful knowledge on this subject or the best moral outlook.
It has been my privilege to help several in this matter, and I am always happy
to do this.
TO BOYS AND YOUNG MEN.
I earnestly warn you against those who, by advertisement in the papers, offer
to cure young men who are suffering from weakness of the private parts and other
ills which impurity entails. Many such advertisers are little better than
rogues, who are out to make money by trading on the fears of their victims;
their "treatment"—quite apart from a far greater cost than at first
appears—often does more harm than good. In every case in which disease or
weakness exists, or is suspected, a reliable medical man should be at once
consulted. If this is done, a cure may generally be looked for. Do not write to
me; this is a doctor's business, not mine.