thing this should be so.  If men and women remained in the state of erotic excitement they are in when they marry, the business and work of the world would go hang.  Unfortunately, in my case this very erotic excitement is the chief thing in life that appeals to me!

    “The factors that in my case have produced this death of passion
    and sentiment are as follows:—­

“1.  Familiarity.  When one is continually in the company of a person all novelty dies out.  In the case of husband and wife, the husband sees his wife every day; at all times and seasons; dressed, undressed; ill; good tempered, bad tempered.  He sees her wash and perform other functions; he sees her naked whenever he likes; he can have intercourse with her whenever he feels inclined.  How can love (as I use the expression—­i.e., sexual passion) continue?

    “2.  Satiety.  I am of a ‘hot,’ sensual disposition, inclined to
    excess, as far as my health and nerves are concerned.  The
    appetite gets jaded.

“3.  Absence of strong sexual reciprocity on the part of my wife.  I have referred to this above.  She likes intercourse, but she is never outwardly demonstrative.  She has naturally a chaste mind.  She never is guilty of those little indecencies which affect some men a great deal.  She does not like talking of these things; and she tells me that if I died, she would never want to have intercourse again with anyone.  At times, especially recently, she has even asked me to have intercourse with her, or to masturbate her; but it is seldom that the orgasm occurs contemporaneously.  In this respect she is different from other women I knew, in whom the mere fact that the orgasm was occurring in me at once produced it in them.  At the same time I doubt whether even strong sexual reciprocity would have retained my passion for long.

    “4.  During the early years of our married life money worries
    caused at times disagreements, reproaches and quarrels.  Passion
    and sentiment are fragile and cannot stand these things.

    “5.  The fact that I had already had other women diminished the
    feeling of awe with which many regard the sexual act and the
    violation of sexual conventions.

“6.  Loss of beauty.  Loss of figure is, I fear, inseparable from childbearing especially if the woman works hard.  We have always had servants, still my wife has always worked hard, at sewing, etc.

“I have stated that I entertain feelings of respect and admiration for my wife.  But I almost loathe the idea of intercourse with her.  I would sooner masturbate, and think of another woman than have intercourse with her.  It causes nausea in me to touch her private parts.  Yet with other women it affords me mad pleasure to kiss them, every part of their bodies.  But my wife still feels for me the love she had when we first married.  There lies the tragedy.”

The following narrative is a continuation of History XII in the previous volume:—­