"In the summer of [18]'79 while sojourning in the Adirondacks, I was asked to visit a gentleman at a hotel....and thus relieved him of the greater part of his suffering. He afterwards said to me, "Dr. I know now that if that operation had been performed when I was a boy, and I had been told anything about the normal condition of my genital organs, I would now be in good health, I would not now be dying from consumption. I blame it all on my parents. When I was a mere lad, I had every night a very painful erection which kept me awake the best part of the night. Again and again I went to my father and begged him to tell me where to go for relief, but he only laughed, and said it was all right. Like appeals to others had a similar result. Finally the irritation became so great that without any instruction I commenced to masturbate, and finally went frequently with loose women to such an extent that my health broke down, my lungs gave out, and now I am dying. I never knew until too late what was the cause of my frequent erections, and I was never told that any relief could be afforded by an operation.""