Page:Edward Prime-Stevenson - The Intersexes.djvu/566

 "On Sunday last occurred here (Perlerberg, Germany) the funeral of Reserve-Lieutenant C— T— thirty, two years old who suddenly committed suicide some days ago. He was apparently in the prime of health and activity. The reasons for the action are curious and romantic. For a long time, Lieutenant T— has maintained an intimate friendship with another officer of his regiment, and it seems that the two had solemnly promised each other "never to marry." For all that, Lieutenant T— has lately betrothed himself, and the date of his wedding was set. Certain bitter "scenes" are said to have taken place precisely in consequence, and finally the fiancée of the dead officer received a letter from the friend of her betrothed, giving certain confidential facts not to her pleasure, speaking of the compact against the engagement, and putting Lieutenant T— into some embarrassment. The result has been Lieutenant T—'s suicide; and now the friend declares that he will shortly follow him to the grave."

We Lave printed out earlier a grave responsibility as to offspring from Uranians. Marriages by male-loving fathers are likely to be blessed, or cursed, with children that inherit homosexualism, however dionistic the influences of the mother. In his procreation the Uranian is a potent type. He "calls upon his uranian imagination, too, in sexual actions with even a perceptibly welcome wife. Not any trait of the human psychos seems more concretely transmitted than similisexualism. The boy is born, perfectly male in his physique but with the vita sexualis of the Uranian. If it be really "inborn" he never loses its thrill till death. This strong possibility ever must be an obstacle to trying a matrimonial "cure," on the part of a conscientious and thoughtful homosexual man, as also with any conscientious and thoughtful similisexual woman. Indeed, although a Catholic ecclesiastic can suffer life-long torture of body or soul (particularly if unaware of the scientific basis of his uranianism) the homosexual priest should be thankful that his vow of celibacy is so much more surely kept, than that one. of chastity. He is alone with his God, with his sex-nature and his life; spared the danger that other confessions allow by