Page:Edward Prime-Stevenson - The Intersexes.djvu/469

 matter, a Berlin affair, from a German newspaper, some years ago:

"A young and wealthy American named R— W— was lately arrested here in Berlin. As to the grounds of this arrest the following. In the middle of last December, appeared in a well-known hotel in the Moabit quarter, three gentlemen, who asked the proprietor of the house if he could hire-out his assembly-rooms for a wedding. on the 20th of this month. Receiving an assent, they hired the rooms, and by the 18th had prepared a regular chapel out of the hall, with elegant furniture, a portable altar and numerous expensive floral decorations. But on the evening of the day for the "wedding", when the guests were due, the police informed the horrified proprietor that the "bride" was to be the aforesaid young man, R— W—, masquerading as a young woman. The police however did not prohibit the proceedings, there being then no formal ground for that step. In course of the evening, carriages began to roll up to the rooms; setting down, especially, numerous handsomely dressed "ladies" (who proved later to be all of male sex) in rich feminine costumes, worn with perfect ease and deceptiveness. Other carriages presently brought the "clergyman" who was to perform the ceremony (he is a certain Dr. S—) and the "bridegroom", who is an ex-Uhlan officer named D— L—, and his "bride", the above-mentioned R— W—. The latter was a strikingly handsome young partner indeed, in full white satin toilette, with wreath, veil and bouquet of orange-blossoms. Unluckily the complete progress of the programme—an actual parody of a religious service which would be a criminal offence—could not occur, as the presence of the detectives was gradually known; and so the evening offered merely a dance and a costly supper. These festivities were prolonged till a late hour, whereupon the company of gentlemen and "ladies" and the fair "bride" and her