Psychopathia sexualis: With especial reference to contrary sexual instinct

death-bed the “husband” confessed her secret to those about her. Coffignon (_op. cit._, p. 301) makes later statements worthy of notice. He reports that this vice is, of late, quite the fashion,—partly owing to novels on the subject, and partly as a result of excessive work on sewing-machines, the sleeping of female servants in the same bed, seduction in schools by depraved pupils, or seduction of daughters by perverse servants. The author declares that this vice (“saphism”) is met more frequently among ladies of the aristocracy and prostitutes. He does not differentiate physiological and pathological cases, nor, among the latter, the acquired and congenital cases. The details of a few cases, which are certainly pathological, correspond exactly with the facts that are known about men of contrary sexuality. The saphists have their places of meeting, recognize each other by peculiar glances, carriage, etc. Saphistic pairs like to dress and ornament themselves alike, etc. They are then called “_petites sœurs_” (little sisters).