Another point of interest is the nationa_The History of Prostitution: Its Extent, Causes, and Effects throughout the World

Algiers. It is known that the native women are loose in their morals. In

many parts of the interior it is common for fathers or brothers to let out

their daughters or sisters by the night or the week to strangers, and the

young women themselves are only too willing to ratify a bargain which

promises to gratify their unbounded sensuality. The following table gives

the nationality of the registered prostitutes during the period

1846-1851.[253]

+---------------------------------------------------------------

| | EUROPEANS. |

| |-------------------------------------------------------|

|------|-------|------|------|--------|--------|------|--------|

| 1847 | 107 | 14 | 6 | 11 | 4 | 58 | 2 |

| 1848 | 78 | 10 | 5 | 10 | 3 | 49 | ... |

| 1849 | 82 | 8 | 2 | 17 | 3 | 60 | ... |

| 1850 | 113 | 8 | 2 | 20 | 2 | 57 | ... |

| 1851 | 81 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 2 | 37 | ... |

+---------------------------------------------------------------

+--------------------------------------------------------+

| | AFRICANS. |

| |-------------------------------------------------|

|------|----------|---------|----------|----------|------|

| 1847 | 203 | 26 | 6 | 16 | 451 |

| 1848 | 181 | 28 | 7 | 16 | 387 |

| 1849 | 183 | 22 | 7 | 17 | 401 |

| 1850 | 248 | 19 | 7 | 17 | 493 |

| 1851 | 170 | 12 | 3 | 13 | 336 |

---------------------------------------------------------+

On inquiring for the causes of prostitution at Algiers, Dr. Duchesne found

that they might be summed up under three heads: 1st. Poverty, mainly due

to the French conquest and the wars which followed. To the present day it

appears that it is not unusual for an Arab chief to relieve his wants by

sending his prettiest daughter to Algiers to perform a campaign as a

prostitute. 2d. The idleness in which all Arab and Moorish women are

trained. It was proved that, while all the European women were capable of

working at some calling or other, and did work during their stay in the

hospital, not one of the native women had any idea of manual employment. A

few could sing, and had at one time gained a livelihood as street-singers,

but the immense majority were absolutely incapable of doing any thing for

a livelihood. 3d. The Oriental idea that the woman is a chattel, to be

sold or hired out by her legitimate owner, father, brother, or husband.

This idea, which prevails in many savage nations, among others, many of

our own Indian tribes, is, of course, the best of all entering wedges for

prostitution.[254]

There are fourteen houses of prostitution at Algiers, all kept, it seems,

by Europeans, and the greater part by retired prostitutes. The natives

object to living under the control of a brothel-keeper. They live alone in

their own rooms. Sometimes three or four of them club together and form a

partnership. Their rooms are generally shabby and ill furnished.[255]

Arab prostitutes seldom appear in the streets, and when they do, they are

veiled and dressed like modest women. They may be seen at their windows of

an evening, peeping through small holes contrived for the purpose, and

smoking cigarettes. Their customers are procured by means of runners, who

are mostly small boys.

As may be inferred from the amount of the tax on prostitutes, clandestine

prostitution is very extensively practiced at Algiers. We have no details

or even approximate estimates of the number of clandestine prostitutes,

but it doubtless exceeds that of the registered women. Many of them are

attached to the garrison, and are handed from regiment to regiment,

shielded from the police by being claimed as wives by some of the

soldiers. Others in like manner prevail upon some colonist to afford them

a temporary home, and so elude the visit of the physician. Dr. Duchesne

had reason to believe that syphilis prevailed to an alarming extent among

the secret prostitutes, and that, until the tax was removed, and they were

encouraged to register themselves on the police roll, it would continue to

be general and virulent.[256]

Formerly the baths were the great haunts of clandestine prostitutes. It is

known that in most eastern countries the bath is not only a sanitary

necessity, but a common ally of sensuality. At Algiers, before the

conquest, men and women are said to have bathed promiscuously, and

frightful scenes of debauchery occurred daily. Under French rule this has

been reformed. Men may not bathe from 6 A.M. to 6 P.M.; but Dr. Duchesne

was led to believe that it was quite common for men to introduce women

into the baths at night, with the connivance of the bath officials.

Indeed, some of the latter appear to fill the same office to the Algerine

bathers as the Roman bath servants did to the dissolute men of that

day.[257]

It now remains to speak of the Dispensary at Algiers. It was established,

as has been stated, within a few days after the capture of the place. For

nearly ten years it was a scandal to the faculty and the authorities. The

wards were too small; there were not beds enough for the women; every

thing was either deficient in quantity or objectionable in quality. In

1839, orders were given for the establishment of a proper and commodious

Dispensary. Three old Moorish houses were hired and divided into wards.

They contain at present thirteen wards, with beds for seventy-seven

patients; a bath-room, containing six baths; a hall for the visits of

prostitutes; and the necessary offices, etc. The staff of the Dispensary

consists of a director, treasurer (_econome_), physician, apothecary,

clerk, cook, assistant apothecary, porter, five laborers, and four police

agents. All the washing is done in the establishment. The commissariat is

on the amplest scale; meat, soup, vegetables of all kinds, rice, eggs,

fruit, etc., being supplied in abundance to the patients.[258]

Every morning at seven o'clock the women are visited by the physician,

assisted by the apothecary. Those who are able to walk are examined in the

_salle de visite_, the others in their beds. The average number of

patients during the year appears to be from five hundred and fifty to six

hundred. The average duration of the treatment is from twenty-four to

thirty-four days. The cost to the Dispensary averages from one and a half

to one and three quarters franc per day for each girl (about thirty or

thirty-five cents).[259]

The Dispensary physician reported to Dr. Duchesne that, so far as his

observation went, syphilis was more severe on the sea-coast than in the

interior; and in the months of September, October, November, and December,

than at any other period of the year.[260]

Prostitutes are punished for being more than twenty-four hours behind time

in visiting the Dispensary; for leaving it during treatment; for insulting

the physician or other authorities; for continuing to exercise their

calling after being attacked by disease. The penalty is imprisonment,

either in the ordinary prison or in the solitary cell. Formerly, the

tread-mill was used, and in bad cases a girl's hair was cut off, and her

nose slit; but these savage relics of Moorish legislation were long since

abandoned. Solitary confinement is found to answer every useful

purpose.[261]

CHAPTER XV.

BELGIUM.

Hospitals and Charitable Institutions.--Foundlings.--Estimate of the

Marriage Ceremony.--Regulations as to Prostitution.--Brothels.--

Sanitary Ordinances.

Belgium takes a more prominent position in Europe than its mere extent

would warrant. This influence is derived from the vigorous and effective

stand made in behalf of rational freedom, and from the manner in which

free institutions have been originated and maintained.

The hospitals and other eleemosynary institutions of Belgium are of a

magnificent character, supported at an annual expenditure of nearly two

hundred thousand dollars. Almost every town, and many of the larger

villages, have hospitals for the sick, sometimes maintained at corporation

expense, sometimes by private endowments. In 318 hospitals, during the

four years from 1831 to 1834 (inclusive), no less than 22,180 persons were

treated.[262]

Foundling hospitals are a marked feature of these charitable

establishments. The turning table, which was formerly in use in all such

institutions, has lately been abandoned in most of them, but still remains

in use at those of Brussels and Antwerp. The total number of children

annually abandoned in Belgium is estimated to exceed eight thousand out of

one hundred and forty-four thousand births, a ratio of about one in

eighteen. The average expense attendant upon the maintenance of each

infant is about seventy-two francs.

Marriage in Belgium is, by law, simply a civil contract, requiring fifteen

days' notice posted in front of the Hôtel de Ville. Notwithstanding the

simplicity of this ceremonial, it is affirmed that an enormous extent of

immorality and illegitimacy is to be met with, and that a virtuous

servant-girl is altogether exceptional, there being scarcely one of them

who has not an illegitimate child, while they maintain with the most

unyielding confidence that, so long as the father is a _bon ami_

(sweetheart), there is no moral turpitude in the case.

Belgium is remarkable for its regulations with respect to prostitution and

the spread of venereal disease. The perfections of the latter arrangements

are shown in the fact that, out of an army of thirty thousand men, there

were less than two hundred cases of syphilis in the year 1855.

The brothels of Brussels are of two kinds: _les maisons de debauché_ and

_les maisons de passe_; these are visited by _les filles éparses_, who

keep their appointments there. The two classes of houses are distinguished

by different-colored lanterns hung over the doors.

All classes of prostitutes are required to be examined twice a week; those

who live in brothels of the first and second class are visited by the

physicians, while the very poor women of the third class, and all those

who do not reside in brothels, are obliged to attend at the Dispensary. If

they are punctual in their visits for four weeks in succession they are

exempt from all tax; but if, on the contrary, their attendance is

irregular, they can be imprisoned from one to five days. Any woman who

does not live in a brothel can be examined at her own residence, provided

that she pays at the Dispensary a sum amounting to about eighty-five

cents. For this she receives four visits, and the physicians will continue

to call upon her as long as the payments are made in advance. Thus the

denizens of the aristocratic brothels are saved the inconvenience of

attending at the Dispensary, as also that portion living in private

lodgings who can afford to pay the fee to release themselves from going to

the office as common prostitutes, while the half-starved, ill-dressed

pauper of the third class must wait at the Dispensary until examined, and

then return to her squalid home, where none but her companions and the

police-officers are ever seen.

The medical staff of the Dispensary is composed of a superintending

inspector, whose duty is to be present in the Dispensary when examinations

are being made, and to visit the houses once a fortnight at least; of two

medical inspectors, who, during alternate months, examine, one the women

in the brothels, the other those who attend at the Dispensary. The date

and result of every examination are marked on a card belonging to each

woman, in the registers kept at the brothels, and in the records of the

Dispensary. If a woman be found affected with syphilis or any other

infectious disease, the owner of the brothel must send her immediately, in

a car, to the hospital, and as soon as her cure is complete her card is

handed to her, and she is at liberty to resume her calling.

CHAPTER XVI.

HAMBURG.

Ancient Legislation.--Ulm.--Legislation from 1483 to 1764.--French

Revolution, and its effects on Morals.--Abendroth's Ordinance in

1807.--Police Ordinance in 1811.--Additional Powers in 1820.--

Hudtwalcker.--Present Police Regulations.--Number of Registered

Women.--Tolerated Houses.--Illegitimacy.--Age and Nativity of

Prostitutes.--The Hamburger Berg and its Women.--Physique,

Peculiarities, and Diseases of Prostitutes.--Dress.--Food.--

Intellectual Capacity.--Religion.--Offenses.--Procuresses.--

Inscription.--Locality of Brothels.--Brothel-keepers.--

Dance-houses.--Sunday Evening Scene.--Private Prostitutes.--

Street-walkers.--Domestic Prostitution.--Unregistered Prostitution.--

Houses of Accommodation.--Common Sleeping Apartments.--Beer and Wine

Houses.--Effect of Prostitution on Generative Organs.--General

Maladies.--Forms of Syphilis.--Syphilis in Sea-ports.--Severity of

Syphilis among unregistered Women.--The "Kurhaus" and general

Infirmary.--Male Venereal Patients.--Sickness in the Garrison.--

Treatment.--Mortal Diseases of Hamburg Prostitutes.--Hamburg Magdalen

Hospital.

The ancient legislative enactments respecting prostitution in Hamburg seem

to have been of the same character, and based upon the same principles, as

in other Continental cities, namely, a partial toleration of a necessary

evil for the sake of preventing injurious excesses. This may be traced in

the oldest extant law on the subject, dated in 1292. In the public

account-books for 1350 are entries of charges which imply that public

brothels were built by the corporation, though we find no satisfactory

information as to whether they were managed by an appointed official as in

Cologne, Strasbourg, or Avignon, or were leased by the city to an

individual as in Ulm. It will be interesting to give a sketch of the

regulations of prostitution in the latter city before proceeding with the

investigation concerning Hamburg.

The laws of the city of Ulm in 1430, or at least that portion of them

called "woman house" laws, provided that the houses should be leased, and

the lessee, on becoming tenant, swore to serve the city faithfully; to

prevent all foul play or concealment of suspicious goods in his house; to

provide clean, healthy women, and never to keep less than fourteen. He was

bound to observe a fixed dietary scale; the daily meals were to be "of the

value of sixpence;" on meat days every woman was to have two dishes, soup

with meat and vegetables, and a roast or boiled joint, as most

convenient. On fast-days and in Lent they were to have the same number of

dishes, which (out of Lent) might consist of eggs and baked meat. As a

change to this, they might have herrings and eggs; or fishes (probably

fresh-water fish), which they could cook for themselves, and to which the

keeper must add white bread. If a woman refused the food provided, he was

bound to give her something of the value of sixpence; he was also to sell

them wine "when they required it." If a woman was pregnant, he was to put

her out of the house. In the "woman's house" there was a chest for general

purposes, and a money-box for the accounts between the host and the women.

Every woman who kept company with a man at night must pay the keeper a

kreutzer, the remainder of the fee being her own property. All money the

women obtained in the day was to be put into the general chest; the third

of this belonged to the host; the balance was paid to the women at the end

of the week, less any debts they had contracted in the mean time. A woman

resided in every house who made financial arrangements between inmates and

visitors. If a woman received a present in addition to the stipulated fee,

she was at liberty to spend it on clothes, shoes, or personal matters to

which nobody could lay claim. The keeper could not supply the women with

clothes, etc., without the knowledge and consent of the Master of the

Beggars (a local functionary who seems to have combined the supervision of

brothels, and of known vagrants and beggars). The host was required to

provide, at his own cost, a cook and a cook's maid. Girls or women could,

with their own consent, be apprenticed to the "women keeper" by their

parents or husbands; but if one was apprenticed against her will, and she,

or her friends, wished to cancel the agreement, the keeper was bound to

release her without requiring the repayment of any money he might have

disbursed for her. If a woman who had accumulated a guilder of her own

wished to quit her sinful life, she was allowed to tender it to the keeper

in discharge of all her liabilities, and must then be permitted to leave

the house, wearing the clothes she wore when she entered it, or, if they

were worn out, in her common "Monday clothes." A woman who desired might

leave without this payment if she had nothing to give, but if subsequently

detected in any other house the keeper could enforce his demands against

her, the discharge not affecting his claim under such circumstances. Every

Monday each woman had to contribute one penny, and the host twopence, to

the money-box to purchase tapers for the Virgin and the saints, to be

offered in the Cathedral on Sunday nights. If any of the women were sick

or could not support themselves, they were to be provided with necessaries

from the money-box, to which (for greater security) there were two keys,

one kept by the host and the other by the Master of the Beggars. Each

woman had to spin daily for the keeper two hanks of yarn, or, in default,

to pay three hellers for each hank. On Sunday, Lady-day, and Twelfth-day,

after vespers, and in Passion Week, the house was not to be opened. If the

keeper broke any of these regulations the council could dismiss him. The

oath taken by the Master of the Beggars required him to visit the

women-houses every quarter day; to read the laws to the women; and to

report to the council any offenses he found existing.[263]

In Hamburg, in 1483, the calling of brothel-keeper was limited to certain

streets, apart from the ordinarily frequented thoroughfares--a rule which

would imply that the authorities had discontinued building public

brothels, and relinquished the business to individuals.

In the seventeenth century a different course of action was adopted, and,

in place of toleration and limitation of brothels, strict laws were made

in reference to visiting suspected places, and the custody of persons of

bad character. The women-houses were pulled down and the women expelled;

the criminal records contain frequent instances where the pillory or exile

was inflicted for the crime of prostitution.

In 1764, and again in 1767, the Hamburgers enacted very severe laws

against offenders, under the title of "_delicta carnis_," by which both

sexes were subject to pains and penalties, but men seem to have been

allowed to clear themselves on oath. The officers of justice were directed

to make domiciliary visits in search of offenders, and the pillory, bread

and water, the House of Correction, or banishment, are the penalties

threatened on habitual evil-doers.

In Germany, prostitution received a terrible impulse from the French

Revolution, when the general disruption of public obligations paved the

way to unbounded private license. Probably the licentiousness of Europe at

the end of the last and commencement of the present century was more

extravagant than at any other time. The irruption of immigrants at the

fall of the French monarchy flooded Hamburg with Parisian morals and

customs. Places of entertainment and sensual gratification arose in all

directions, the homely, simple manners of the _Vaterland_ were subverted,

and a less rigid line of conduct took their place. In the words of a

writer of the day: "Our eating-houses were metamorphosed into restaurants;

our dancing-rooms into saloons; our drinking-shops into pavilions; our

cellars into halls; our girls into demoiselles; in short, we were

thoroughly polished up by the immoral shoal of immigrants. Quick and

unrestrained strode the crowd over our pleasant streets, and modesty and

respectability fled with averted faces, to the sorrow of the few good

men."

The name _demoiselle_ was granted to many of the common women, their

places of resort being called "Ma'amselle houses." In those days the

Hamburgers saw, with astonishment, houses fitted up and furnished in the

style of mansions, with costly upholstery and cabinet-work.[264] Among the

women were the _femmes entretenness_, who received their friends at

certain hours, and whose favors were dispensed for a Louis d'or or a

ducat. They frequented the first and second boxes of the German and French

theatres, and drove through the public streets in handsome carriages. Some

of the keepers of this class of houses had physicians in their pay, whose

services were always available by the inmates. _Petits soupers_ were given

here, and sometimes a ball took place.

These were literally the aristocracy of prostitution. The second, third,

and fourth grades resided in inferior streets or in the suburbs, differing

in their attractions according to the rank which they assumed, but all

equally shameless and unequivocal in their conduct and appearance.

Notwithstanding this rapid spread of prostitution, the police of the city

can not justly be charged with neglect of duty, any public outrage being

followed by condign punishment. At one time a whole ship-load of nymphs of

the _pavé_ was dispatched to the colonies; at another a raid was made on

the most conspicuous houses, some of the inmates alarmed into decency of

conduct, and the incorrigible publicly exhibited in the streets, decorated

with inscriptions signifying their offenses. The voice of the few was

powerless against the corruptions of the many. The pamphlets and papers of

the time teem with the proffered services of go-betweens, and even the

Hamburg ladies themselves were far from perfection, if we may credit the

evidence of a fictitious petition, praying, among other things, that the

ladies restrict the indecency of their costume, and not make such a

liberal display of their charms.

It was impossible such an extravagant state of society should long exist;

a reaction was inevitable; and we find, accordingly, an ordinance enacted

in 1807 by the Proctor Abendroth in reference to the matter. It recognized

brothel-keeping and prostitution as a calling, and permitted it under

certain restrictions. A tax on the class was imposed, and means were

prescribed by which a register of all persons engaged therein was to be

kept, and their health and general good conduct maintained and enforced.

The official justification of the tax is found in the order itself, which

declares that, "for the purposes aforesaid" (police register and

supervision, medical examination, maintenance in sickness, poverty, etc.),

"and in order that the public shall be at no charges, each housekeeper

shall, for every woman residing with him, pay two marks to the Proctor's

treasury. The surplus of this treasury shall go to the Hospital."

During the French occupation in 1811, the police renewed and enforced the

stringent regulations on the subject of common houses and women. The

preamble of their "Instructions" (April, 1811) is worthy of notice:

"Public and personal safety require a constant inspection, as well of

the public houses dedicated to debauchery, as of the women and girls

who frequent the same, live therein, or dwell there from time to time.

This inspection must also be extended to those places which are not

expressly appointed for dwelling-houses, but which, nevertheless, must

be included among the public houses, inasmuch as they serve for refuge

to the women and girls who wander about the streets."

"The grounds of this inspection are two-fold. In one respect they

belong to the maintenance of public order: it is needful that no one

be withdrawn from the eye of the police, nor find an asylum in such

houses. It is likewise expedient that the magistracy take notice of

disgraceful and disorderly proceedings, or prevent those which take

place too often in the town. The other grounds respect the public

health. The habits of debauchery have become so general, and

inspection has, for some years, become so difficult, that the most

dangerous maladies have increased to an unprecedented extent. All

classes of society complain, and call loudly for regulations to

restrain these evils. These considerations have moved the General

Police Commissary to renew, in full force, the before-enacted laws and

regulations, and to order them to be enforced with rigor in the

present state of affairs."

After the withdrawal of the French, the vigilance of the police

authorities seems to have relaxed, if we are to judge by complaints

published at the time, in which they are accused of complicity with the

unfortunates who infested the streets of Hamburg, and are said, "by the

agency of a trifling bribe, to be able to ply their hideous trade

unobstructed, and to the great annoyance of the virtuously disposed, who,

after certain hours of the evening, are unable to pass along the streets."

In 1820, "the previously existing police regulations against prostitutes

being proved very ineffectual, insomuch that they infest the public

streets and ways, not only to the offense of decency and propriety, but to

the endangerment of public order and safety," it was ordered that the

regulations should be renewed, and additional powers were given to the

police to enforce the registry of individuals coming within the scope of

the law.

At this time we find some information as to the number of prostitutes, who

are stated to be about five hundred, chiefly foreigners, and their

receipts from their patrons, but we have no guide to the number of women

who pursued their calling privately, which must have been large.

The civic administration of the Senator Hudtwalcker is marked by earnest

endeavors to control prostitution and restrict it within known bounds.

Some of his views on the subject met much opposition. He wished to close

up one end of a notorious street, and to wall up the back windows,

stationing a watchman constantly at the end left open. After great

personal attention to the subject, he published the result of his

experience.[265] His principles are those upon which the present police

regulations of Hamburg are based. He says:

"All brothel-keepers and girls should be distinctly made to understand

that their infamous and ruinous calling is only _tolerated_, not

permitted, or authorized, or even well wished. Still less can they

feel that they have any right to compare themselves with worthy

citizens as though their calling, because an impost is levied on them,

can be put on a level with other permitted callings. They must

remember that this impost is raised solely to defray the necessary

cost of police supervision, and of the cure of maladies brought on the

common women by their own profligate course of life."

"2. Public or private brothel-keeping to be notified to the police;

the regulations to be read over and subscribed; offenders to be

punished by bread and water, and the House of Correction. If an

uninscribed woman have the venereal disease, the fact is _prima facie_

evidence of prostitution."

"3. Change of residence to be notified, under penalty."

"4. The concession may be withdrawn by the authorities at their

pleasure."

"5. Houses of accommodation will only be tolerated,

(_a._) where the landlord is inscribed;

(_b._) where a resident girl is inscribed;

(_c._) where an inscribed girl is the party using it."

"6. Women from abroad, kept by single men, must obtain the police

residence permission, and should pay the tax for the first class,

without, however, being subject to medical visits. They have the right

of the free use of the General Infirmary. Should such a girl be proved

to have intercourse with several men, or, being venereal, to have

infected others, she should be treated as a public woman."

7, 8, 9. Prescribe the identification of individuals subscribing; the

details of their place of birth; the consent of parents when living; also,

"That any brothel-keeper detaining an innocent girl on false pretenses

shall be punished with fine and imprisonment, and the concession be

withdrawn."

"10. Female servants or relatives of brothel-keepers residing with

them to be over twenty-five years of age."

"11. No prostitute is suffered to keep children of either sex over ten

years of age; even her own must be brought up elsewhere if she

continues her calling."

12. Prohibits solicitation of passengers.

"13. No common woman to be in the streets after eleven at night

without a male companion."

14. Limits the places to which prostitutes may resort.

"15. Young people, under twenty years, not to enter a brothel."

"16. No music or gaming in brothels, nor liquor-selling, except by

special permission."

"17. Noise and uproar in brothels punishable."

"18. No brothel-keeper or inscribed woman to permit extortion or

violence to a customer, but they may detain persons who have not paid.

Thefts or foul dealing prohibited; the landlord _prima facie_

responsible."

"19. No compulsion or violence of the women by the keeper, nor by

guests with his cognizance."

"20. A woman wishing to return to a virtuous life at liberty to do so,

notwithstanding any keeper's claims. If they disagree as to such

claims, the police to settle them, but in no case has the keeper any

lien on her. Nevertheless, this privilege not to be abused. If a woman

returns to her evil courses, the keeper's claims on her revive, and

she may even be punished. Limitation, according to the class of a

woman, of the right of borrowing money."

"21. If parents or relatives will undertake the reclamation of a

prostitute, the police will compel restitution of her person,

irrespective of the keeper's claims, or even of the woman's own

refusal."

"22. A woman changing her residence, and disputing any settlement with

the keeper, can have the same rectified by the police."

"23. The women to be subjected every week to medical visitation. No

woman, during menstruation, or with any malady in the sexual organs,

to receive visits from a man. No woman to be approached by a man

diseased, or reasonably suspected of disease. To this end, a statement

of the signs of venereal disease to be furnished."

"24. The orders of the public physician are imperative, and must be

strictly observed. Want of personal cleanliness increasing the

virulence of syphilis, the directions of the physician on this matter

to be imperatively followed."

"25. The medical officer to report the result of examination to the

police, and to enter the same in a book to be kept by each woman, to

be produced on demand."

"26. A woman finding herself to be venereally infected to report

either to the keeper or the police; in other illness to report to the

medical officer, who will direct her course of treatment at home, or,

in venereal and infectious cases, at the hospital. In cases of

pregnancy she is to report herself to the medical officer."

"27. A keeper punishable for the disease of a man in his house, and

liable for the charges of cure."

The remaining sections relate to the collection of the tax; the penalties

for violation are fine and imprisonment.

Having thus briefly sketched the progress of legislation on prostitution

in Hamburg, based upon the principle that "prostitution is a necessary

evil, and, as such, must be endured under strict supervision of the

authorities," it seems an appropriate place to copy the following remarks

of an eminent local writer:

"That brothels are an evil no one can deny; still, the arguments

against the sufferance of brothels are, except as to that

incontestable truth, no answer to the 'necessity,' which is the very

_gist_ of the thing, and which necessity is based on the

uncontrollable nature of sexual intercourse, and on the circumstances

of our social condition."

"The sufferance of brothels is necessary,

"1. For the repression of profligacy, of private prostitution as well

as of its kindred crimes, adultery, rape, abortion, infanticide, and

all kinds of illicit gratification of sexual passion. The latter cases

occur very rarely with us. Of Pæderasty or Sodomy we find but few

instances; and of that unnatural intercourse of women with each other,

referred to by Parent-Duchatelet as common among the Parisian girls,

we find no trace."

"The sufferance of brothels operates to the suppression of private

prostitution, in so far as brothel-keepers and the 'inscribed' women

are, for their own interest, opposed to it, and are serviceable to the

police in its detection. Unquestionably, private prostitution is an

incalculably greater evil than public vice."

"2. On grounds of public policy in regard to health. It is quite

erroneous to suppose that these legalized brothels contribute to the

spread of syphilitic maladies. This should rather be imputed to the

private prostitution which would ensue on the breaking up of the

brothels, and from which that medical police supervision that now

limits the spread of infection would, of course, be withdrawn. The

experience of all time proves that, by means of secret prostitution,

the intensity and virulence of venereal disorders have been

aggravated, to the multiplication of those appalling examples familiar

to every medical reader, and which cause one to shudder with horror;

while numerically, disease and its consequences have been carried into

every class of society. It is precisely our knowledge of these very

facts which has induced the sufferance, or, rather, the regulation of

these brothels."

"3. _Suppression is_ ABSOLUTELY IMPRACTICABLE, inasmuch as the evil is

rooted in an unconquerable physical requirement. It would seem as if

the zeal against public brothels implied that by their extinction a

limitation of sexual intercourse, except in marriage, would be

effected. This is erroneous, for reliable details prove that for every

hundred brothel women there would be two hundred private prostitutes,

and no human power could prevent this. In a great city and frequented

sea-port like Hamburg, the hope of amending this would be purely

chimerical."

Thus much for Hamburg legislation, and the sound arguments in its favor.

We will now give some facts illustrative of the vice as it exists at the

present time, using a pamphlet by Dr. LIPPERT, entitled "Prostitution in

Hamburg. 1848."

It must be premised that, for the purpose, Hamburg is divided into two

parts: the city proper, and the suburb of St. Paul. The latter is under a

distinct municipal authority, and is the ordinary residence of seamen and

those depending on a seafaring life.

For many years the police returns of the city proper would show about five

hundred of the registered "common women" (_eingeschrieben Dirnen_), and

one hundred registered brothels. The police regulations requiring monthly

payment of the personal and house tax, and also a renewal of the

permission to keep brothels at the same time, is a very convenient method

of obtaining a census of the class. The following is a statement of the

largest and smallest monthly number of registered women for several

years:

Year 1883 Largest number, 550 Smallest number, 456

" 1834 " " 550 " " 450

" 1835 " " 481 " " 441

" 1836 " " 546 " " 473

" 1837 " " 514 " " 484

" 1844 " " 502 No reports.

" 1846 " " 512 No reports.

These monthly reports do not show any marked variation at any particular

period, the rise and fall being arbitrary. The fluctuation is not very

great in the aggregate, although from November, 1834, to January, 1835,

there was a decrease of 86 (or nearly one fifth), while between November,

1835, and January, 1836, there was a corresponding increase. Since that

time the numbers have remained steadily at about one point.

The housekeepers' (_bordelwirth_) return does not vary to the same

extent.

The average is 105

But it decreased in 1844 to 90

" " " 1845 " 93

" " " 1846 " 96

Of these housekeepers in the last-named year (1846) there were

Males 60

Females 36--96

In December, 1844, there were

Registered women 502

who were subdivided into those

Living in registered houses 294

Living privately 208--502

In May, 1845, there were

Registered women 505

who were subdivided into those

Living in registered houses 326

Living privately 179--505

(At this period there were four registered houses without any women in

them.)

In August, 1846, there were

Registered women 512

who were subdivided into those

Living in registered houses 334

Living privately 178--512

These figures show that the number of those living privately is gradually

diminishing, more of them being concentrated in the registered houses.

Dr. Lippert is of opinion that prostitution decreases in the summer and

increases in the winter months. The statistics will certainly support this

theory, but the difference is so small as scarcely to warrant its

reception as a rule.

Thus the months of May and July, for five years, give a

monthly average of 499-5/10

and the months of November and January for the same time

give a monthly average of 501-1/10

--------

showing an average increase in the winter months of 1-6/10

or about one third of one per cent. on the average number

of prostitutes.

In reference to the classes from which the ranks of the common women in

Hamburg are recruited, Dr. Lippert states that four fifths are from the

agricultural districts of the vicinity; that they live as house-servants,

tavern-waiters, or in other callings for a time, and then become

prostitutes "as a matter of business." Without any desire to controvert

his opinion on local questions, it may be doubted whether bad example,

vicious education, ignorance of moral or religious obligations, or

temptation, are not sufficient to account for their fall, aside from this

sweeping denunciation, this commercial view of the question, opposed as it

is to all experience in every civilized country where any inquiries on the

subject have been made.

The private prostitutes, whether registered or unregistered, are mainly

seamstresses or others dependent upon daily labor. These women seem to

retain some natural sense of the disgrace attached to open and avowed

courtesans, and in their secrecy and quiet retain a few feminine

characteristics of which the common brothel woman is destitute.

We have no reliable detail of private unregistered prostitution, or of

mere houses of accommodation in Hamburg; but an important fact is to be

found in the number of illegitimate children, and the decrease, in

proportion to the population, of the number of marriages. The following

results are taken from Neddermeyer's "Statistics and Topography of

Hamburg."

In 1799, the marriages were about 1 in 45;

From 1826 to 1835, " " " " 1 " 97;

In 1840, " " " " 1 " 100.

The proportion of illegitimate to legitimate children is about 1 to 5, the

actual number of illegitimate births being as follows:

Years Illegitimate

Births.

1826 649

1827 606

1828 723

1829 801

1830 786

1831 805

1832 926

1833 867

1834 846

1835 730

1836 807

1837 771

1838 762

1839 765

1840 754

1841 749

1842 702

1843 655

1844 797

1845 778

1846 779

The population of Hamburg was in 1826 100,902

" " " " 1840 124,967

" " " " 1846 130,000 or upward was assumed

as the number.

We have now to examine the physiological and pathological peculiarities of

the Hamburg prostitutes.

The police regulations require that no registered woman shall be under

twenty years of age; but in this they have a discretionary power, so as to

keep under inspection and supervision some younger girls whom neither the

work-house nor prison can reclaim, the experience of the Hamburg

authorities having convinced them that such _punitive institutions are

seldom successful in the work of reformation_; a truth which will, ere

long, be more generally acknowledged, especially in reference to abandoned

women, than it is at the present day.

The official list for 1844 shows that of the registered prostitutes there

were

Under 20 years of age 16

From 20 " to 30 years 401

" 30 " " 40 " 74

" 40 " " 50 " 11

---

Total 502

In 1846, of women living in registered houses, there were

From 20 years to 30 years of age 199

" 30 " " 40 " " 50

" 40 " " 50 " " 8

---

Total 257

The birth-places of the 502 women reported in 1844 included most of the

countries in Germany. There were from

Hamburg 108

Hanover 101

Prussia 81

Holstein 78

Other parts of Germany 129

Holland 2

Russia 2

France 1

---

Total 502

The nativity returns for 512 women, in 1846, do not vary materially from

the above, the difference in the foreign-born being that there were four,

instead of five, born out of Germany. These tables show that about one in

five are natives of Hamburg city and territory. Dr. Lippert notices this

fact as a small proportion, and accounts for it by enumerating the

difficulties of local relationship, parentage, etc., which would be

opposed to the registration of native women. These circumstances favor

the presumption that many of the unregistered women are city born.

The Hamburger Berg, or St. Paul's Suburb, is on the west side of Hamburg,

and has already been mentioned as the abode of seamen and their

dependents. Brothels were tolerated here, in deference to the wants of the

inhabitants, at a time when they were strictly excluded from the city

proper. The women and the houses are of a different type from those of

other parts of Hamburg. All the prostitutes live in registered houses,

unregistered or private traffic in this quarter being rigorously opposed

by the authorities. The brothels and their inmates are in the most

flourishing condition at the end of autumn, when the home voyages are

completed and the sailors paid off. For a time mirth and excitement bear

the sway; when the wages are all spent, things relapse into their old

condition, and sometimes the keepers dismiss some of their women, the

supply being in excess of the demand.

During the year 1846 the number of registered women in this district was

January 186

May 189

August 181

December 169

The 169 women registered in December were distributed among nineteen

tolerated houses. In seven of these music and dancing were permitted, and

they contained respectively 21, 13, 11, 19, 20, 18, 29 women, leaving only

26 women to inhabit the remaining twelve houses.

The ages of these women were

Under 20 years 27

From 20 " to 30 years 129

" 30 " " 40 " 13

---

Total 169

The places of birth do not vary materially from the proportions given

already. Other matters relating to this particular class will be found

hereafter.

In their _physique_ the great majority of the registered women present no

pleasing aspect. Generally taken from the rudest classes, they are coarse

and unattractive in their appearance, and from the consequences of

irregular indulgence and continual exposure, they soon lose the womanly

characteristics they once possessed. But this is not a portrait of the

whole. Among the unregistered private women may be found some of

considerable beauty. The registered women who reside in private, or in

first-class brothels, have some prepossessing members of their ranks,

while the St. Paul suburb has few but of the roughest kind. Physical

strength seems more in demand among the _habitués_ of that section than a

graceful form or a pretty face.

In their bodily peculiarities and diseases there is no difference between

the public women of Hamburg and those of other cities. At the commencement

of their career they frequently become thin and emaciated, but after a

time, probably owing to their idle life and good food, regain their

substance. In their phrenological development we find a marked

preponderance of the animal instincts over the intellectual faculties. The

effect of their mode of life will depend somewhat upon individual

constitution. The teeth of women of the town are generally bad, but in

Hamburg they are in excellent order--much better than the majority of the

general population. Their complexion is pale, and they endeavor to remedy

this by the constant use of coarse cloths, applications of eau de Cologne,

and other stimulants, but very rarely by painting, except among the lowest

classes. They soon lose their hair from dissipation, the use of pomatum,

curling irons, etc. It is, however, in the rough, harsh voice that the

most conspicuous result of their calling is shown.

We will leave, for the present, the medical portion of this inquiry, and

give a sketch of their domestic or every-day life. It must be borne in

mind that the police divisions are into "registered" or "unregistered,"

and "public" or "private" women.

The public women (_öffentlichen dirnen_) are under the special control and

supervision of a police authority charged with this duty. Without his

express cognizance and permission they can not be registered, or "written

in" (_eingeschrieben_), nor can they have liberty to change their

residence, or to be "written out" (_ausgeschrieben_). This officer is the

collector of the impost upon them and upon the brothel-keeper

(_bordelwirth_), which is paid over to the fund (_meretricen kasse_). We

can not give the detailed application of this money, but, in general

terms, it does not swell the revenues of the city, and, to avoid public

scandal, is applied exclusively to the police and medical services

required by the class.

The keepers and women are of three grades. It does not clearly appear

whether a woman can select the class with whom she will associate. We are

inclined to think the magistrates decide this point, and allot her to the

one for which she seems best adapted.

In their apparel and food there exists the usual difference that may be

found in all places and ranks of life. The police regulations, and the

generally sober style of dress among the Hamburgers, restrict any immodest

display of the person or extravagance of attire. The first-class women are

generally costumed with taste and elegance, while among the lower ranks

plain and serviceable garments are in demand. In most cases of the

registered women residing in brothels, the keeper supplies the clothes,

and very often charges extravagant prices for them. Extortionate demands

in this respect are a fruitful source of complaints to the police, who

moderate the bills with no very tender sympathy for the creditor. The

clothes and jewelry of some of the first-class women are hired from some

clothes-lender (_vermietheinnen_), but others seldom resort to this

expedient, excepting for trinkets.

The food of the house-women is good and plentiful, varying according to

the rate of the brothel in which they live. The old sumptuary laws are not

in force, but the interest of the keeper induces him to desire a prudent

popularity among his women, and to maintain the character of his house by

the liberality of his entertainment both in quantity and quality. A

considerable portion of their liquids is coffee, of which they are very

fond. Wines and liquors are supplied by the house only on holidays, but

visitors can purchase them at any time they wish. Drunkenness is

comparatively rare among the better class, partly owing to the care of the

keeper, but more from dread of the police supervision and consequent

punishment.

In their intellectual capacity there is nothing to distinguish the

prostitutes in Hamburg. Few can read, and fewer still can write. Those who

can read seek their amusement in the old romances of the circulating

libraries, seldom perusing that libidinous style of publications known

among us as "yellow-covered literature." _En passant_, this seems the

universal practice of the class, wherever any inquiries have been made.

Like other ignorant persons, they are superstitious. Lippert mentions one

particular omen connected with their calling: she who picks up any article

which has been thrown away is sure to receive a visit from a man soon

after. He does not say whether this has been verified by experience.

Their ordinary routine of life is one of useless idleness. They rise about

ten and take breakfast, of which coffee is the staple. The morning is

loitered away in dressing, reading novels, playing cards or dominoes, and

kindred occupations. In some of the lower-class houses they dispel their

_ennui_ by assisting in domestic work, but this is a matter of favor which

they are careful shall not become an obligation. By the middle of the day

they are ready for dinner. In the afternoon they add the finishing touches

to their dress, and wait the arrival of visitors. Some resort to the

public lounges or dancing saloons to form or cultivate acquaintances, but

the aristocracy of the order hold it more becoming to their dignity to

stay at home and wait for their "friends."

In that fine and peculiar quality of modesty, which adds the crowning

grace to woman's charms, even the prostitute is not wholly deficient. Some

trace of the angel attribute is visible, but mostly in the private women,

where a regard for the decent proprieties of life yet lingers amid the

wreck of character, and to such it frequently forms the chief attraction.

Religion has an influence over some, strangely at variance with its

dictates as are their lives, but a large majority are entirely destitute

of any such sentiment. Occasionally, Biblical pictures may be seen in the

rooms of brothels, but merely as ornaments, for they are neutralized by

the contiguity of others more consonant with the place.

In their relations to the male sex there are differences between women

residing in public brothels and those living privately, whether registered

or unregistered. Partly from inclination, but mainly from policy on the

part of the keeper, the former seldom own allegiance to any particular

lover. It is true that any one who is able and willing to pay liberally

can come and go as he pleases, provided he does not interfere with the

girl's "business" in other profitable quarters. Not so with the private

women, who frequently have particular "lovers" to whom they show much

kindness, although from them they often receive but little sympathy or

protection, many of these men not scrupling to exist entirely upon the

earnings of a woman whom they would publicly insult if they met her away

from home.

In their personal conduct toward each other the women residing in one

house are constrained and envious. In the first class there is a

ceremonious retention of the forms of politeness, but they are too

frequently brought into personal rivalry to entertain much good feeling.

In the lower classes jealousy often finds vent in reproaches or blows, and

frequently a conflict ensues requiring the interposition of the host or of

a neighboring police officer. Among those who live alone warm friendships

are not uncommon; much timely assistance is afforded in times of sickness

or want; good offices are reciprocated; and it sometimes happens, in the

delicate matter of their visitors, that a man who has been in the habit of

favoring one woman will not find his attentions welcomed by others.

Their crimes and offenses include the ordinary category, but it is

asserted that theft is less common in Hamburg than elsewhere, and, when it

does take place, it is more frequently committed by the irregular members

of the body than by the duly registered women. It will be perceived that

the system of registration offers too many facilities for detection, a

fact to which the unusual honesty must doubtless be ascribed. Personal

quarrels and assaults, or drunkenness among the older members, consign

them to the House of Detention or House of Correction. Those imprisoned

from various causes generally amount to one hundred or one hundred and

twenty.

The licensed brothels are supplied with inmates by females

(_kupplerinnen_) whose services are recognized by the authorities. In case

of any emergency, the keeper applies to one of the procuresses, and if the

girl she offers suits him, the candidate is first subjected to a medical

examination. Passed safely through this ordeal, she is taken to the police

office and "written in" to her new keeper, who is bound to discharge

certain of her debts, as the amount due his predecessor, for instance. If

the medical officers report her sick, she is sent to the infirmary if she

belong to Hamburg, but if a foreigner is dispatched out of the city

forthwith. In cases where a woman thus applying to the authorities has not

previously lived as a prostitute, she is usually exhorted by the

magistrate to abandon her intention and return to the paths of virtue, a

routine piece of benevolence which is usually fruitless. The ordinary

police fee for registration is two marks, the physician's fee is one mark,

and the agent's usual remuneration four marks.

The registered women are thus kept strictly under the eye of the police,

and, whenever they are disposed to quit their wretched life, have the

special protection of that body. The keepers naturally throw all possible

obstacles in the way of such a determination, especially if a girl is much

in debt; but, by some means, whenever a woman is under any restraint, and

is consequently unable to apply personally to the police, an anonymous

note finds its way to the office, and speedily effects the desired object.

The authorities do not sympathize in any way with the brothel-keepers,

but use all their energies to serve the women whenever any occasion

offers.

The registered women are designated as "Brothel women" (_Bordell dirnen_),

who live in licensed houses; as "Private women" (_für sich wohnende

dirnen_) when they live by themselves, in which case their landlords are

mostly mechanics, hucksters, or laundresses; and the common

"Street-walkers" (_Strassen dirnen_), who ply their trade in the streets,

and find shelter in the abodes of indigence and misery. These last are the

lowest grade of the registered women.

Most of the brothels (_bordelle_) are in the oldest parts of the city, to

which they were originally limited, but the leading houses may be found in

the _Schwieger strasse_, a street of moderate traffic in a good

neighborhood. Here the women are seated at the windows, conspicuously

dressed up and prepared for the public eye, making themselves known to

passengers by their gestures and salutations. Some of these houses

accommodate as many as fourteen inmates. They are well supplied with good

mahogany furniture and fine draperies, and are neat and elegant

throughout. The women are generally from twenty to twenty-five years old,

and are attractively dressed and decorated. The venereal disease is very

rare among this class, great attention being paid to personal cleanliness,

and the bath very frequently used. The men who visit this neighborhood

consist of merchants, the richer public and business employés, officers,

and especially the numerous commercial men who resort to Hamburg at all

seasons of the year.

The denizens of the _Dammthorwall_, the _Drehbahm_, and _Ulricas strasse_

lead but a dull life, as it is the custom in those localities for the

women to sit at the windows all day. Their great diurnal event is the

visit of the hair-dresser (_friseurian_), who, while contributing to the

adornment of the person, a very serious affair, owing to the quantity of

false hair required, and the necessity of making to-day's effect vary from

yesterday's, also retails the latest items of interesting news or scandal.

Whenever any of these women go out to walk, it is customary for the keeper

to send together two who are at variance with each other, so as to

establish a mutual check. The hair-dressing and walk over, the next

important occurrence is dinner, after which they spend their time solely

at the doors or windows.

The hours of closing in these first and second rate brothels are not so

strictly enforced by the police as in the lower parts. Occasionally the

women are allowed to visit the balls at the celebrated Hall of Mirrors, or

other well-known dancing saloons in the vicinity.

In first-rate houses the accounts between the keeper and the women are but

little understood. As already observed, some of them hire their clothes;

others purchase from the landlord on credit, and he charges accordingly;

but these matters trouble the women very slightly. If they leave one house

to reside in another, the new keeper pays the old one's bill; if a woman

abandons prostitution entirely, the host's demand is totally

irrecoverable.

In the second and third rate houses the charges for board and lodging are

better understood. It will average about twenty marks (five dollars) a

week, washing, fire, and light being extra charges. The keeper will supply

fortunate or attractive women with articles of dress to any reasonable

amount, but his liberality is restricted toward those who have fewer

visitors. His endeavor is to keep all in debt, and in this he is usually

successful. Their ornaments are usually the property of the landlord, and

form a common stock distributed among his boarders in the manner best

calculated to increase or display their powers of fascination, and resumed

by him at discretion.

Passing over some intermediate classes of brothels, which present no

remarkable characteristics, to those in the _Gangen_, we find the lowest

grade of registered houses and registered women. Most of these are

drinking-shops, and the police exercise the right of determining the

prices to be charged for liquors. Here may frequently be seen host,

guests, and girls, drinking and frolicking together in a small back room,

where scenes of gross indelicacy (to use a mild term) frequently take

place. The women in this district have literally to work hard, and are

generally required to perform all the domestic labor of the establishment.

In winter it is a common occurrence for them to take a shovel and clear

the snow and ice from the pavement in front of their domicile. Like others

of their calling, they are seldom out of the landlord's debt, their board

costing them from ten to fourteen marks weekly (say three to four

dollars). Washing, fire, and light cost a dollar more, and the

hair-dresser's charge is about fifty cents. In addition to this, they must

pay the weekly medical and monthly police tax. They spend a miserably

monotonous existence, seldom leaving the house for weeks or even months,

except when they are required to visit the doctors or the police. Their

visitors are from the roughest and most animalized of the population, and

the treatment they receive is merely that of purchasable commodities,

intended to supply the grosser wants of men whose lives are centred in

sensuality. Like their compeers of the St. Paul Suburb, they are usually

women of great strength and endurance, but soon degenerate into mere

passive, passionless tools. Could it be imagined that they were of

reflective habits, it would be impossible to conceive a more severe

punishment than their own sense of the degradation, the total loss of all

womanly feelings, exhibited in their daily existence.

The brothel-keepers, among whom are some Jews, have no striking

peculiarities as a class. It has been already shown that both sexes are

engaged in the hideous trade, and, despite the police regulations and

restrictions, the obligations and disabilities under which they are

placed, it is undoubtedly a most lucrative occupation. The rental of a

registered house is usually double the ordinary charge for similar

tenements. There are some keepers who own the houses in which they live.

In their liabilities must be included the regulation which makes them

responsible for thefts committed in their houses, and for any violence or

disorder which may take place there, the penalties for which are fine,

imprisonment, and loss of license. They also sustain considerable losses

from the repentance of some of their inmates; but, in spite of all

untoward circumstances, they contrive to make money rapidly.

The period during which they continue in _business_ is uncertain, many of

them continuing their houses from inclination long after they have

accumulated sufficient property to retire. Of the female keepers some are

young and handsome, but these do not find much favor with their women, who

dread the effects of an opposition. They are rarely married, but cohabit

with some man for the sake of his protection. Among these _pro tempore_

husbands are some whose qualifications and previous positions render it

surprising that they should consent to purchase existence from so polluted

a source.

The housekeepers of the Hamburger Berg are not only under a separate

municipal jurisdiction, but are in themselves a different class of people.

They are mostly men, their dealings being principally with sailors, and

their visitors sometimes demanding more physical strength than a woman

could command to restrain them within the prescribed limits. Their houses

are but indifferently furnished, and the whole arrangements are very

humble and unpretending in character. A few years ago fatal quarrels were

not uncommon among their customers, but this pugnacious tendency has been

materially checked by a stricter and more constant police visitation. Even

now, jealousy will sometimes cause a furious contest between two of the

hardy sons of Neptune. The singular fidelity of some sailors to particular

women will account for this. When a man returns from a long voyage, he is

desirous of paying his attentions to the female who has before shared his

affections and his wages, and if he finds her under the protection of

another man, the natural result is a trial of strength as to who shall be

the possessor of the beauty in dispute. These tournaments, or the general

fray which sometimes arises at the close of the Sunday evening dance,

require to be subdued by no gentle means: hearty blows are far more

effectual peace-makers than words or threats.

Some of these registered hosts have followed their calling for many years.

One noble incident in connection with them must not be omitted. In the

severe winter of 1846, the landlord of the "Four Lions," a brothel-keeper

of twenty-four years' standing, maintained at his own cost, for some

months, nearly one hundred poor families, many of them with three or four

children each.

In the dance-houses there is music every evening except Saturday; on

week-days from six to eleven, and on Sundays from four to eleven. At

eleven the music is stopped, and at twelve the house is peremptorily

closed. The evenings during the week are comparatively dull affairs, and

male visitors are sometimes so scarce that the women are compelled to

dance with each other, or sit in inglorious idleness. A scene of the

wildest uproar and most uncontrolled mirth is exhibited on Sunday

evenings. Every variety of national dance may then be seen--cachucha,

reel, jig, contré-dance, waltz, and hornpipe have each their several

admirers. Songs and shouts are heard in every conceivable dialect, and the

room becomes literally "confusion worse confounded" until the hour arrives

for closing.

Of the registered women living by themselves there is little to note. They

are more industrious than those in brothels. Many of them have a fixed

occupation, but resort to prostitution to increase their income. Money

earned in this way is occasionally required for the common necessaries of

life, but is more frequently spent in personal gratification, in the way

of fine dresses, ornaments, etc., or is appropriated to support the

extravagance of some lover, who repays the generosity by a little

flattering attention, or an occasional escort to some dancing saloon in

the suburbs. The visitors to these women are more select than those to the

courtesans hitherto described.

In the lowest ranks of prostitution, the common "street-walkers," to be

met at all times and places, under all circumstances and of all ages, we

find the most prolific sources of infection. A certain, though very small

remnant of decency, seconded by the invaluable watchfulness of the police,

secures the visitor from disease among the inmates of registered houses,

but the street-walker is under no such control. Young girls scarcely more

than children, old women almost grandmothers, ply their frightful trade on

the "walls" around the city, and in other obscure places, where a trifling

present will purchase their caresses. Their principal customers are young

boys and very old men, their practices being continued under the shades of

evening until the arrival of the night-watch drives them to their wretched

dens.

The Hamburg police are perfectly cognizant of these proceedings, and wage

perpetual war against individuals, but find it altogether impossible to

suppress the class, among whom are the habitual tenants of the jail and

the House of Correction. No one can differ in opinion from Dr. Lippert,

who says, "In this class of women the most pernicious results of

prostitution are to be found."

Private or domestic prostitution, so widely extended in every great town,

exists in less proportion in Hamburg than in other capital cities of the

same extent. That disgraceful union in evil occasionally met with on the

Continent, in which husband and wife mutually agree to follow their

inclinations or lusts untrammeled by each other, is scarcely known. The

kept woman is comparatively rare. The expense attendant upon such an

appendage of luxury is a serious consideration, and none but the wealthy

patrician or successful business man venture on the step. It is assumed,

on very good authority, that there are not fifty "mistresses" in Hamburg.

Those residing there are under no police control, as in a public point of

view they commit no breach of law.

Under the second head of private prostitution we find those who, having

legitimate employment, increase their earnings in this manner. We have

alluded already to the same class of registered women, but the greater

portion keep themselves aloof from police observation as long as possible.

They are composed of needle-women, laundresses, hair-dressers, shop-girls,

and others, but it must not be supposed that they represent the majority

of women dependent upon those occupations. The contrary is the fact; for

in Hamburg, as every where else, are to be found many bright examples of

chastity in the midst of poverty; of patient, persevering industry and

integrity in unfavorable circumstances. Those working women who are

willing to accept the price of sin are known in the streets by a peculiar

gait, by their searching and inviting glances, or their treacherous but

winning smile, and also by frequently walking in the same neighborhood.

They are seldom seen abroad during the day, but in the afternoon, about

"'change hours," they begin to resort to the streets near the _Bourse_,

encountering the men as they hurry to and from the centre of business. In

the evening they promenade in the vicinity of the hotels and theatres, on

the _Jungfernstig_, the new walls, etc., when night helps their

_incognito_, and shrouds them in a little more mystery. They are fond of

attending the theatres and dancing saloons on Sundays and holidays, like

the Parisian _grisette_, in company with a lover, but the sum of their

enjoyment is complete if they can participate in the annual Shrove Tuesday

ball and masquerade at the Apollo Saal, the Elb Pavilion, or the theatre.

Another class of private prostitutes is known to the police by the term

"_Winklehuren_" (hedge w----). These are of the lower class of female

operatives. Servant-girls, from their proximity to the junior members of

families, often spread disease in the household of their employers. Dr.

Lippert records as a medical fact that examinations have frequently shown

the domestics in the highest families to be literally saturated with

venereal disease, and he states his opinion that six out of every ten

servant-girls who are found in the streets at night are accessible to

pecuniary temptation. This ratio is very large, but as it is a local

matter with which he is presumed to be well acquainted, it would be out of

place to attempt either to sustain or controvert it.

All these private prostitutes resort to the houses of accommodation

(_Absteigequartiere_), which exist in spite of the constant watchfulness

of the police. When they are hunted up and rooted out of one place, they

reappear under another guise elsewhere; a removal being facilitated by the

slender nature of their equipment, which seldom consists of more than

furniture for one room. For "genteel" delinquents, they are placed where

the accommodation is veiled under the French disguise of _petits soupers_,

or some such flimsy artifice.

To the question, "What becomes of the prostitutes?" Hamburg offers no

special reply. Under favorable circumstances, they abandon their calling,

and become the wives of mechanics or small tradesmen; or they carry on

some business for themselves, and strive to become reputable members of

society; or they become companion to some man, and follow his fortunes,

usually reverting to common prostitution. When their charms are entirely

lost, and no hope remains of earning a living from their sale, they

sometimes, but very rarely, become brothel-keepers; sometimes procuresses;

and, more frequently, servants in the registered houses.

Some of the dancing saloons already mentioned have attained European

celebrity. They stand in the same relation to common women as the exchange

does to the mercantile community. Their female visitors are mostly

prostitutes, a fact which deprives the scene of many fascinations existing

in other cities. In the end of the last century there was no public place

expressly designed for dancing, until, with the many equivocal blessings

disseminated by the French Revolution, they also became an institution.

The Hamburg saloons are conducted with order and quiet, and are generally

closed about one o'clock in the morning. One of the most important, the

Bacchus Hall, was burned down some few years since, and the authorities

have, as yet, refused to grant a license for its re-erection.

As public places which in some degree facilitate prostitution, mention

must be made of the common sleeping apartments locally called "deep

cellars" (_tiefen kellar_). These are roomy vaults, many feet under

ground, in which the poor find nightly shelter at very low prices. They

are provided with beds and bedding. In the depth of poverty to which some

of their customers have fallen, they can not afford to pay two schellings

(about four cents) for the luxury of a bed, and these repose their weary

limbs on some foul straw, or on the ground, at the charge of half a

schelling. Some of these cellars are fifteen or twenty feet below the

surface of the street, and it will not require a very vivid imagination to

portray their horrors.

The beer and wine houses of Hamburg are tolerably free from prostitution;

but a new class has lately sprung up, called "cellar-keeping"

(_kellerwirthschaff_), and in these the guests are served by females in

fancy costume, Swiss, Polish, or Circassian, as the case may be. Many of

these contain private rooms for prostitution, and, although they are

closely watched by the police, who sometimes ungallantly expel the fair

foreigners and close the establishments, they still flourish, others being

speedily opened elsewhere to fill up the gap.

From this general description of prostitutes, their habitations, and

customs, we will proceed to a consideration of their condition as to

health, and the extent and virulence of syphilis among them, still taking

the pamphlet of Dr. Lippert for our guide.

It is generally imagined that the excessive action of the generative

organs interferes with the power of procreation in common women. Dr.

Lippert undertakes to controvert this opinion, with what success medical

men whose professional experience has been among this class will be able

to judge. He supports his views by general assertions rather than by

specific facts, but refers, in corroboration, to well-known instances in

which children have been born while the mothers were living in a state of

open prostitution, as also to those cases where women who have abandoned

the habit of promiscuous intercourse confine themselves to one man by

marriage or cohabitation, and then become mothers. He attributes their

sterility during prostitution to their wild and irregular life, their

constant exposure to weather, etc., and argues that the powers of

conception are suspended, but not destroyed thereby. He also introduces

the fact that abortions are frequently produced in Hamburg by the common

women themselves, or by some old crones who preside over their orgies, and

are stated to have a long list of drugs applicable to this purpose, which

they use in a reckless manner. The medical police are not unaware of these

proceedings, but find them difficult to detect, as a woman will endeavor

to avoid the stated examination by pleading excessive menstruation, or

inventing some story she thinks likely to deceive, until all traces of the

abortion are removed. The remarks of Dr. Lippert would lead to the belief

that the _excessive use_ of the female organs was more favorable to health

than the disuse would be, a conclusion which most physicians will not be

willing to admit. He adds, "Cancer of the womb occurred but once in my

experience of eleven years at the General Infirmary, and cases of

prolapsus uteri are very rare."

A disease incident to common women, _Colica scortorum_ (W----'s Colic),

happens in Hamburg as elsewhere, but is attributed to exposure to the

weather more than any other cause. It consists of pain in the womb,

extending across the abdomen round to the loins, and sometimes including

the whole region of the stomach. It is frequently accompanied with gastric

derangement, sickness, or diarrhoea.

The enlargement of the clitoris, so much insisted on by some writers,

Lippert altogether doubts, except as a very exceptional case; nor does he

admit any effect of prostitution on the rectum unless induced by unnatural

intercourse. As a general result of his observations, he concludes that,

"apart from syphilitic affections, the generative organs of a prostitute

do not usually differ from those of a virtuous woman."

We find some returns of diseases not directly connected with prostitution;

thus, cases of itch, which is now becoming rare, were in

1836 62

1837 76

1838 87

1839 98

1844 38

1845 22

1846 36

Of other general maladies, including fevers, inflammation of the lungs,

liver, womb, etc., rheumatism, small-pox, piles, jaundice, gout, dropsy,

and diarrhoea, the following are reported:

1837 62

1838 90

1839 100

1844 85

1845 76

1846 77

Convulsions are more rare than in the female sex in general; of hysteria

there is scarcely a trace, and a few cases of epilepsy are ascribed to the

use of ardent spirits.

Delirium tremens seldom occurs. The vigilance of the police, and the

prompt committal to prison of every prostitute found drunk and disorderly,

may account for this. The proportion of cases of delirium tremens was only

about one in one thousand.

Mania sometimes shows itself. Remorse may produce this, as may a violent

affection for some particular man.

Of the actual extent of venereal disease in Hamburg, or any other city, it

is impossible to speak with certainty, but the fact that in the general

hospital there it is of a very mild type is an argument in favor of

medical inspection. Dr. Lippert says:

"The usual form is gonorrhoea, with its complications, bubo,

inflammation of the scrotum, phymosis, paraphymosis, etc. Inflammation

of the prostate gland, and stricture, are comparatively rare. Disease

of the rectum is very rare, but there are examples."

"We have excoriations and irritations of the sexual organs. The simple

chancre is common; the indurated chancre not unfrequent; the

phagedænic chancre is seldom met with. In general, the sores have a

mild character, and heal easily with simple treatment and regular

topical applications. _Herpes preputialis_ is extremely general. This

is a group of small pustules, quickly healing up, but as quickly

breaking out again, often in regular periodical recurrence. It is

found especially on men who have suffered from gonorrhoea or chancre."

"Secondary syphilis, ulcers of the neck, eruptions, syphilitic

inflammation of the eyes, tumors, etc. These prevail more at some

times than at others; how far the _genus epidemicum_, the weather and

season, the idiosyncrasy of the person, or the intensity of the

infection operate, we have yet to learn."

"_Tertiary syphilis is rare._"

"In sea-ports it is often observable that the disease takes peculiar

aspects, and what may be called exotic forms are occasionally

encountered. With sailors, syphilis is frequently latent or only

partially cured, and is intensified by their habits and diet. Sexual

intercourse with them will produce it in an exaggerated character.

This is not so much the case in Hamburg, owing to the constant and

prompt medical attention; still, some distinction is observable

between the venereal maladies of the city women and those of the St.

Paul Suburb. Among the latter the cases of a malignant type generally

occur."

The negro sailor is held in very bad repute by these women, and some

keepers will not allow him to enter their houses, believing that infection

from a colored man is of the worst kind, and almost incurable.

The medical returns for the year 1846 give the following tables relating

to the women in the St. Paul Suburb:

"In January there were 186 women, of whom 15 were sick; the diseases

were

Venereal disease 9

Itch 1

Colic 1

Gastric fever 1

Rheumatic fever 1

Catarrh of lungs 1

Calculus 1

Total 15

"In May, of 189 women, 21 were sick:

Venereal disease 9

Itch 8

Gastric fever 2

Inflammation of lungs 1

Spitting of blood 1

Total 21

"In August, of 181 women, 17 were sick:

Venereal disease 13

Colic 2

Itch 1

Rheumatism 1

Total 17

"In December, of 161 women, 18 were sick:

Venereal disease 6

Itch 6

Sprain 1

Colic 1

Gastric fever 2

Disorder of digestive organs 1

Cold on the chest 1

Total 18

This would give an average of about ten per cent. of the women of the

suburb sick."

From the facts we have quoted, it is evident that the virulence of

syphilitic affections among the registered women is unquestionably

mitigated. "_Tertiary syphilis is rare_;" secondary syphilis but

occasional, while primary forms have lost their malignity. "There is a

marked aggravation of the disease during the summer months, when a

considerable influx of strangers takes place. This was particularly

observable after the great fire in 1842."

_The mildness of the disease, and its easy control, can be ascribed to

nothing but the weekly medical supervision. The women are visited at their

own houses, and any reluctance or refusal renders them liable to

punishment._

Contrasted with this state of affairs, we have the severity of syphilis

among unregistered women, who conceal their disease as long as they can.

Of those arrested, many are found to be diseased in an aggravated form. In

the year 1845, of 138 unregistered women sent to prison, 43 had syphilis,

or nearly one third of the whole. Parent-Duchatelet says this proportion

is exceeded by the same class in Paris, where the infected amount to one

half the illicit prostitutes.

The "_Kurhaus_" is a medical institution especially designed for bad

characters who are arrested by the police, be they registered or

unregistered. The General Infirmary has also a venereal ward. The police

authorities contribute annually, from the amount raised by the impost on

brothels and prostitutes, 5000 marks ($1500) to the funds of this

infirmary. From the following facts this would seem an inadequate amount.

In 1844 there were received and treated 580 females with syphilis; the

total residence amounting to 30.387 days, or a _pro rata_ average of

53-1/2 days each, the stipend allowed for which service would be about

_four and a half cents per day_.

The number of female cases of syphilis received into the same institution

in 1843 was,

Registered women 480

Unregistered women 74

---

Total 554

and in 1845,

Registered women 521

Unregistered women 71

---

Total 592

The state of the male venereal patients proves the same general

amelioration in the character of the disease. The cases, however, are

worse than among the registered women, which must be ascribed to the

dislike of men to enter the hospital until such a course becomes

unavoidable. The numbers received were, in

1843 355

1844 335

1845 316

Some returns are given by Dr. Lippert of the amount of sickness in the

garrison; but he has not stated the number of soldiers, so no comparison

can be drawn from his information. The figures are as follows:

1843, Gonorrhoea 90

Chancre 67

Secondary syphilis 13--170

1844, Gonorrhoea 58

Ulcers 63--121

1845, Gonorrhoea 89

Ulcers 79--168

The treatment of syphilis adopted in the Hamburg hospital was introduced

by Dr. Fricke, one of the first to apply the non-mercurial system.

Ricord's practice is also followed, and Hydropathy has been tried. It

would be out of place to enter into any arguments here as to the relative

merits of these systems.

The mortal diseases of the Hamburg prostitutes are incidental to their

course of life. Exposure to the weather, alternate extremes of want and

luxury, night-watching and constant excitement, induce consumption,

inflammation of the lungs, dropsy, internal and abdominal complaints;

gastric, rheumatic, or nervous fevers; and these, or chronic diseases

resulting from renewed venereal infection, lead to the

"Last scene of all,

That ends this strange, eventful history."

Before dismissing this subject, we will give a sketch of the

HAMBURG MAGDALEN HOSPITAL.

This institution was founded in 1821 through the exertions of the

Burgomaster Abendroth and others, and was constructed on the model of a

similar asylum in London. The object is to reclaim women from vice by

means that can be applied only in a place expressly dedicated to the

purpose.

The number of inmates is small; only twelve can be received. The business

of the asylum is conducted by a committee, including two ministers, a

physician, three female overseers, and a matron. The overseers are

respectable married women or widows, who voluntarily undertake the duties

of a sub-committee. They assume the direction of the household affairs

alternately for a month each. They meet frequently at the house, assist in

Divine service, and take care of the girls who are discharged. These are

provided with situations or placed in business, and require to be upheld

and maintained in their new character.

The chaplain assists the ladies' committee in their duties, but directs

his energies particularly to the religious instruction of the inmates.

Frequent meetings for prayer are held, and every half year the sacrament

is administered to such as he deems duly prepared to receive it, and who

have a competent knowledge of its importance and efficacy.

To be qualified for admission, the applicant must be young, and must have

a desire to amend. The limited room will not allow the reception of old or

worn-out women, who would flock there in crowds to obtain a shelter under

which they could die in peace. When a woman's application is granted, she

must go through a novitiate of four or eight weeks. During this time she

works and eats with the other inmates, but sleeps alone, and is closely

watched by a member of the committee. When her novitiate expires and she

is fully received, she is requested to give an explicit account of her

life, every particular of which is recorded. Her name is not disclosed to

her companions, but she, as are all the others, is known only by a

Christian name.

The women are employed in all kinds of housework, needlework, or, when

practicable, in any manner which will accustom them to continued physical

exertion. Their previous life having made indolence almost "second

nature," this course is adopted to inculcate the necessity of industry. A

strict account of the produce of their labor is kept, and a portion is set

apart as a fund for their benefit.

The time of their stay is usually about two years. When they leave they

give the chaplain a written promise of good conduct, and receive from him

a Bible and a Prayer-book, and the sum of money accumulated for them. The

results of this benevolent attempt are sufficient to encourage the

laborers in the good work, and we can not but think that their endeavors

must be productive of great good, based as they are upon the sound

principle of receiving but a few women, and treating them as members of

one family, in opposition to the general theory of such institutions,

whose managers attempt to crowd in as large a number as a large building

will contain, and, in the endeavor to generalize rules for reformation,

lose the valuable opportunities for noticing and acting upon individual

traits of character.

The particulars of the subsequent life of twenty women are given as

follows:

Continued faithful to their promises 6

Removed from where they were placed 10

Relapsed into vice, only 1

Died 1

Unknown 2

Total 20

CHAPTER XVII.

PRUSSIA.

Patriarchal Government.--Ecclesiastical Legislation.--Trade Guilds.--

Enactments in 1700.--Inquiry in 1717.--Enactment in 1792.--Police

Order, 1795.--Census.--Increase of illicit Prostitution.--Syphilis.--

Census of 1808.--Ministerial Rescript and Police Report, 1809.--

Tolerated Brothels closed.--Re-enactment of the Code of 1792.--

Ministerial Rescript of 1839.--Removal of Brothels.--Petitions.--

Ministerial Reply.--Police Report, 1844.--Brothels closed by royal

Command.--Police Embarrassment, and Correspondence with Halle and

Cologne.--Local Opinions.--Public Life in Berlin.--Dancing Saloons.--

Drinking Houses.--Immorality.--Increase of Syphilis.--Statistics.--

Illegitimacy.--Royal Edict of 1851.--Recent Regulations.

Among the warlike Germans in the days of Herminius, sexual intercourse was

looked upon as enervating to youth, and discreditable or even disgraceful

to men until their valor had been proved by deeds of arms, and their

experience authorized them to assume the duties of husbands and fathers.

In the Middle Ages, when the legislative and executive functions were

vested in one individual, and the rights and obligations of the governing

power were of a paternal or patriarchal character, we find much of their

law-giving directed to the preservation of morality, the repression of

extravagance, and the minute regulation of public economy. In their edicts

against prostitution this paternal spirit was visible, in conjunction with

what may be considered a due regard to the rights and interests of the

law-givers, the punishments being professedly directed against a breach of

morality or a public scandal, because it was a disgrace to families, and a

peril to husbands and fathers, rather than a vice in itself. The

provisions tacitly sanctioned its existence; and while they severely

punished any invasion of domestic peace or infraction of marital rights,

it seems to be conceded that, when no such relationships were involved,

illicit intercourse was regarded as an allowable solace or an actual

necessity for the physical requirements of unmarried men.

We learn from the German historian Fiducin ("_Diplomatischen Beitrage zur

Geschichte der Stadt Berlin_"), that the German laws rendered it

obligatory on every honorable man to espouse a virtuous maiden, and the

term "_hurenkind_" (illegitimate child) was the bitterest form of

reproach. The early statutes were very severe in the punishment of

immodest females, and some carried this principle so far as to require

that a woman who led an unchaste life in her father's house should be

burned at the stake. The ecclesiastical legislation moderated this

severity, and crimes against morality became sins which were expiated by

public penance. The citizens of Berlin became convinced that the penances

of the Church were not sufficiently potent to counteract the evil, the

morals of the clergy themselves being frequently impeached, and secular

government was suggested in place of ecclesiastical. This seemed

especially necessary, because the canon law, which ordained the celibacy

of the priesthood, pronounced it to be a work of mercy to marry an erring

woman, in opposition to the Berlin sheriff law (_schoffen recht_)

declaring the children of such marriages illegitimate; and persons were

not wanting who held the opinion that the work of mercy recommended by the

Church was at times advocated by the clergy as a means of covering their

own frailties.

The same writer records instances as late as the close of the sixteenth

century in which adultery was punished by death, the offenders in each

case being married persons. He also cites the records of the fourteenth

century to show that the same punishment was inflicted on those who acted

as procurers or procuresses, wherever family honor was encroached on.

In the sixteenth century the law required that an immodest woman belonging

to any reputable family should be publicly shorn of her hair, and

condemned to wear a linen veil; nor was any distinction made between

unmarried women and widows against whom the offense was proved.

About the same period the trade guilds enacted stringent laws prohibiting

the admission of improper characters to their public festivals, and

restraining their members from marrying women of that class. To attain

this end, any master tradesman who designed to marry was compelled to

introduce his intended bride at a meeting of the company, that all might

be convinced of her discreet character and conduct, and any who married

without observing this requirement were expelled the association. The

guilds inflicted the same penalties on any of their members who had

intercourse with improper characters, or who seduced a virtuous woman and

subsequently married her.

A certain recognition of the existence of public women may be traced

throughout these regulations, which appear to have admitted the necessity

from regard to the rigorously enforced sanctity of the domestic circle,

but, at the same time, endeavored to prevent the increase of immorality by

attaching odium to its followers.

Again, turning to the pages of Fiducin, we find that, "in all the great

towns of the German Empire, the public protection of women of pleasure

(_lust dirnen_) seems to have been a regular thing," in proof of which he

says, "Did a creditor, in taking proceedings against his debtor, find it

necessary to put up at an inn, one of the allowed items of his expenditure

was a reasonable sum for the company of a woman during his stay (_frauen

geld_)." This was a question of state etiquette in Berlin in 1410, a sum

having been officially expended in that year to retain some handsome women

to grace a public festival and banquet given to a distinguished guest,

Diedrich V. Quitzow, whose good-will the citizens desired to cultivate.

During this period of toleration the expediency of controlling public

women was unquestioned; but the first Berlin enactment of material

importance to this investigation bears date in 1700, and is remarkable as

clearly enunciating the principles which have been adhered to, with only a

short interval, ever since. The first section declares, "By law this

traffic is decidedly not permitted (_erlaubt_), but simply tolerated

(_geduldet_) as a necessary evil."

Sections 2, 3, and 4 require the keeper of any house of prostitution to

give notice to the commissary of the quarter when any of his women leave

him, or when he receives a new one, and restrain him from keeping more

women than are specified in his contract.

Sections 5 to 9 provide that a surgeon shall visit every woman once a

fortnight, "for the purpose of protecting the health of revelers

(_schwarmer_), as well as that of the women themselves;" that every woman

shall pay him two groschen for each visit; and that, upon observing the

slightest signs of disease, the surgeon shall require the housekeeper to

detain the woman in her room. If the keeper neglect this order, he is made

responsible for the entire costs of the illness which any visitor could

prove was contracted from one of his women. If the surgeon finds the woman

already so far infected that she can not be cured by cleanliness and

retirement alone, he is authorized to order her removal to the Charité,

"where she will be taken care of in the pavilion free of charge."

Sections 10 and 11 provide that the debts of a woman must be paid before

she can remove from one house of prostitution to another, or before she

can leave one house to commence another on her own account.

Section 12 enjoins that any woman who desires to quit her mode of life

altogether shall be entirely discharged from any debts to the housekeeper.

The last section requires every housekeeper who has music to pay six

groschen a year for the permit to his musicians, the money to be applied

to the benefit of the poor-house.

The "toleration but not authorization" clause is the noticeable feature in

these regulations, and indicates the policy which was then generally

adopted throughout the kingdom.

In reference to the period succeeding the issue of these rules, which

continued in force till 1792, we find some information in the pages of

Fiducin. Thus, in 1717, an inquiry proved that the inmates of brothels,

and also the secret prostitutes, were mostly the children of soldiers, who

"had been brought to vice as a trade, either from the want of a proper

bringing up or of a skillful handicraft."... _All measures for the

extermination of the evil having been found ineffectual_, "they were

obliged to adopt the system of a larger toleration of common brothels, to

be strictly watched over by the police, as a necessary outlet for the

tendency to immorality." The number of houses of ill fame increased in

proportion to the population, the influx of strangers, and the additions

to the garrison made under Frederick II.; and still more so after the

close of the seven years' war. In the year 1780, there were one hundred

such houses in Berlin, each containing eight or nine women. They were

divided into three classes; the lowest were those in which the women

dressed in plain clothes, and were frequented mostly by Hamburg or

Amsterdam mariners; the second class of women paraded themselves with

painted faces, haunted the more retired corners of the town, had little

attractive about their persons or dress, and were principally visited by

mechanics and laborers; the third, and apparently the most select of the

kind, was a description of coffee-house, frequented by females, who were

designated "_Mamselles_:" these did not live in the houses, but used them

merely as a convenient rendezvous.

In 1792 a new code of regulations appeared, the bulk of which continued in

force in Berlin and other towns for many years. The rules of 1700 were too

vague, made no provision for a variety of cases likely to arise, and were

silent as to the question of private prostitution. Many inconveniences had

arisen from these omissions, and, in consequence, a memorial was addressed

to the government by the police director, Von Eisenhardt, containing

suggestions for amendments to the law.

The preamble of the royal reply to this application acknowledges the

attention of the police to the matter with much satisfaction; admits

prostitution (_hurenanstalten_) to be "a necessary evil in a great city

where many men are not in a position to marry, although of an age when the

sexual instincts are at the highest, in order thereby to avoid greater

disorders which are not to be restrained by any law or authority, and

which take their rise from an inextinguishable natural impulse;" but

expressly reiterates that it is "only to be tolerated (_zu dulden_);" and

that it can not, "without impropriety and consequences injurious to

morality, be established by the public laws, which do not contain any

sanction whatever to common prostitution."

The sections following this preamble provide that any one who seduces a

woman, or induces her to carry on a venal traffic with her person, shall

be liable to one year's imprisonment in the House of Correction, and on

repetition of the offense, besides doubling the punishment, shall be

whipped and driven from the country; declare any man or woman who

communicates the venereal disease liable for the expenses of the cure and

incidental damages (_sonstigen interesse_), together with imprisonment for

three months, commutable by paying a fine of one hundred dollars; prohibit

taking young women from the country into houses of prostitution by any

device against their will, and authorize the punishment of any man who

willfully infects a common woman.

In reference to the special directions touching brothels and prostitutes,

the document provides, "as a leading point, that every thing which exceeds

the mere gratification of the natural passions, and tends to the

advancement of debauchery, or the misuse of our toleration of a necessary

evil, must be prevented;" and accordingly the women are prohibited from

increasing their attractions "by painting or distinguishing attire," and

also from soliciting passengers in the public streets, or at the doors or

windows of their houses, "as this is not only in contravention to public

morals, but especially perilous to male youth; and such means of

increasing the gains of people seeking their livelihood in this manner is

not to be tolerated." For similar reasons, the keepers of houses were

restrained from offering wines or other strong drinks to their visitors,

although it is admitted "they can not be prevented from providing

refreshments," yet stimulants are forbidden, "because they are great

inducements to debauchery, whereby other excesses may be caused."

The orders farther provide that no woman shall become a resident in a

house of prostitution without previously appearing before the police, and

obtaining permission from them; and the police are directed not to allow

this permission to any female under age, unless they are satisfied that

she has previously made a trade of prostitution. The section containing

this stipulation is prefaced by a statement that "keepers of these houses

seek especially to obtain blooming young girls, who can not be procured

without infamous seduction, calculated to lead to debauchery."

In reference to precautions against infection, it provides that the

prostitutes and keepers of houses shall be instructed by some competent

surgeon in the signs of venereal diseases, so that they may detect it in

their visitors or themselves; also that any man communicating infection

to a prostitute may be sentenced to make ample compensation if the woman

can identify him; and farther, that the punishment inflicted upon girls

infecting their visitors shall also be inflicted on the housekeepers, "as,

although they may be innocent, their being included in the punishment for

an incident of their trade is for the general weal." All fines received

were to accrue to the medical institutions provided for the cure of

syphilis.

Again, it was deemed that "the venereal disease was much extended by

common street-walkers," and no women but such as resided in the known

houses, where medical visits of inspection were constantly paid, were to

be tolerated, and the night-watch were instructed to arrest those common

women who were in the habit of plying their trade in the streets after

dark--a portion of the penalty exacted being awarded to the officers who

made such arrests, "to encourage their zeal." But they were strictly

cautioned against annoying innocent persons, "inasmuch as blunders in such

matters create ill impressions against the authorities, and because the

honor and happiness of the person might be irretrievably injured, so that

it would be better to pass over a guilty person here and there, than to

inculpate a single innocent one." The royal rescript concludes by

directing that a strict _surveillance_ be kept over the females of the

garrison, many of whom are stated, in very plain language, to be of

improper character.

These directions were subsequently embodied in the general statute, or law

of the land (_landrecht_), and upon that the police regulations which we

quote hereafter were based.

The statute formally declares procurers and procuresses liable to

imprisonment for from six months to three years in the House of

Correction, with "a welcome and farewell;" _Anglice_, a sound whipping

when admitted, and another when discharged. In the cases of parents or

guardians who may aid in or connive at the prostitution of their children

or wards, the term of imprisonment is doubled, and made more severe. It

requires all common women to reside in the tolerated houses "under the eye

of the state," which houses are only to be permitted in populous cities,

and "not elsewhere than in retired and back streets therein, the consent

of the police authorities having been first obtained." And in any case

where a house of prostitution was established without this consent, or in

defiance of the public orders, the keeper was to be liable to one or two

years' imprisonment. The police are strictly commanded to keep all

tolerated houses under strict and constant _surveillance_; to make

frequent visits in company with medical men, so as to check the progress

of venereal disease; to prevent the sale of intoxicating liquors therein;

to see that no woman was introduced without the knowledge and permission

of the authorities, under a fine of fifty thalers, for each offense; and,

more especially, that no innocent female was, by force or deceit,

compelled or induced to live therein; which latter offense imposes "a

public exhibition," in the stocks or pillory, we presume, and from six to

ten years' imprisonment, with "welcome and farewell," on the keeper, who

was not to be allowed to keep such a house again under any circumstances.

The police are farther enjoined to see that the mistress of the house

informs the authorities of the pregnancy of any woman residing in the

house as soon as she is aware of it herself, but if it is concealed she

(the mistress) is liable to imprisonment, especially if a secret birth

takes place. The mistress is required to take charge of any woman who

becomes pregnant, if there is no public institution to which she can be

removed, and is at liberty to seek compensation from the father of the

child, or, if he can not be found, she has a claim upon the mother. The

child must be removed from the house as soon as it is weaned, and is to be

cared for at the public cost if the parents have not means to do so.

If the keeper of the house, or the inmates themselves, conceal any

venereal infection from the knowledge of the police, they render

themselves liable to imprisonment from three months to a year, with

"welcome and farewell."

If thefts, assaults, or other offenses occur in such houses, the keeper

is, in all cases, liable to the injured party, who can not in any other

way obtain his indemnity, and is also suspected of complicity in the

offense so long as the contrary can not be substantiated; and if it is

proved that he did not exert all his power to prevent such occurrences,

his neglect is to be punished by fine or imprisonment.

No woman desirous of leaving a tolerated house to change her mode of life,

and support herself honestly, can be retained against her inclination, and

no difficulties may be thrown in the way of her doing so; nor will the

master be allowed to force her to remain, even though she may be in his

debt, under the penalty of the loss of his permission from the police.

Prostitutes who do not conform to the regulations and place themselves

under supervision, are to be arrested and imprisoned for three months,

and, when their term of imprisonment has expired, are to be sent to the

"work-houses," and detained there until they have inclination and

opportunity for honorable employment. Any females, not being inmates of

the tolerated houses, who had intercourse while suffering from disease,

and thereby infected men, are declared liable to an imprisonment for three

months.

This comprehensive legal enactment left many matters of detail to the

discretion of the police, and accordingly they issued their rules. The

opposition these subsequently encountered makes them important in the

history of Prostitution in Berlin, and although they are in many points a

mere repetition of the terms of the statute, we give them _in extenso_.

They are entitled,

"PROVISIONS AGAINST THE MISLEADING OF YOUNG WOMEN INTO BROTHELS, AND

FOR PREVENTION OF THE SPREAD OF VENEREAL DISEASE.

"_Preamble._ It has been brought to notice that simple young girls,

especially from the smaller towns, under the craftiest pretensions to

place them in good situations, have been brought to Berlin, and,

without their knowledge of the fact, taken to brothels, and therein,

against their will, led astray to their ruin, and to the life of a

common prostitute.

"At the same time, it is matter of remark that common prostitutes,

after they have been diseased, continue their practices as long as the

state of their sickness permits, and thereby farther infection is

extraordinarily increased and extended.

"With the express view of meeting such infamous seductions, and the

highly injurious results of the before-mentioned communication of

venereal disease, the following directions are brought to the

cognizance and perfect information of the keepers of houses of

prostitution, and of the females who make a trade of their persons.

"1. No one can set on foot a brothel, or keep women for the purposes

of prostitution, without having communicated previously with the

Police Directory on the subject, and obtained their permission in

writing. Whoso acts contrary to this shall, together with absolute

withdrawal of his license, be liable to one or two years in the House

of Correction.

"2. Every brothel-keeper must, before taking a girl into his service,

produce her before the Police Directory, and must not conclude any

contract with her until the Police Director has given him written

leave to do so; whereupon, forthwith the conditions upon which the

keeper and said woman have agreed are to be registered with the

police, and an abstract thereof shall be given to each party, for

which eight groschen are to be paid as fees. The before-mentioned

brothel-keepers, to whom the Police Director's toleration is extended,

must, at his order, produce the common prostitutes, and submit the

same to a similar license, and the conditions must be drawn up for

them in the before-mentioned manner. If a keeper omits the same, and

is accused of having any woman for common use in his house for

forty-eight hours without such notice, he shall pay a fine of fifty

thalers, and, upon the third offense, in addition to the said fine,

his trade shall be stopped, and he shall not carry on the same any

more. Further, it shall be no excuse that the person in question was

not there for the purpose of prostitution, inasmuch as he is enjoined

to point out every female whom he receives into his house, without

exception, and neglect of this shall be taken as a proof of

contravention. Under penalty of the same punishment, he must give a

similar notice if a common woman comes to him from another house.

"3. Females under age, who have not, before the publication of these

ordinances, notoriously abandoned themselves to common prostitution,

are not to be received by any brothel-keeper, and when he produces

such persons before the Police Directory the permit shall not be

allowed. If he acts contrary to this prohibition, he shall be punished

with two years' labor in jail.

"4. The departure from a brothel of any woman who desires to change

her mode of life, and to subsist in a respectable manner, is not to be

checked or prevented. Even on account of sureties entered into or

debts incurred, the keeper is not to retain any such against her will,

at the risk of losing his permit, and the police are charged to give

every assistance. If, however, any such person desire only to remove

to another house of prostitution, this can not be done without the

consent of her former keeper, until after three months' notice given,

when it will be permitted upon proof of brutal treatment by the

keeper, or other good and reasonable grounds shown to the police. No

woman who seeks to quit a brothel for the purpose of carrying on

prostitution for pay on her own account will be permitted to do so;

and if any person, having, on pretense of an honest calling, quitted a

house of prostitution, shall be adjudged guilty of prostitution on her

own account, she shall have four weeks at the House of Correction,

with a welcome and farewell. And whereas it is known that many

brothel-keepers, who treat their girls with an unbearable harshness,

keep so strict a watch upon them that they can not succeed in bringing

their complaints before the authorities, information shall from time

to time, _ex-officio_, and without the presence of the keeper, be

taken, whether the girls have any well-founded complaints to bring

forward against the said keeper.

"5. The common prostitutes in the brothels are strictly prohibited

from enticing or inviting passengers in the streets, with looks or

signs from the houses or windows, and the keepers are on no account to

permit the same. Diligent regard to this is to be had by the police,

and those who act contrary will be punished, the first time with

three days, and, on a repetition of the offense, with a week's

solitary confinement, one half of the time on bread and water. The

keeper who is shown to have been party to the same will suffer double

punishment.

"6. In these houses the keepers shall not supply visitors with wine,

brandy, liquor, punch, or other strong drinks, or with food, but only

with tea, coffee, chocolate, beer, or similar beverages; further, it

is not permitted for the visitors to bring in drink or food. For every

case of contravention the keeper shall pay five thalers, or a week's

detention; on repetition, he shall be punished more severely; if this

will not suffice, the permit shall be withdrawn from the house. No

brothel-keeper shall allow any guest to remain after twelve o'clock at

night, nor allow any one to enter after that hour. Whoso acts contrary

shall, for the first offense, pay ten thalers; on repetition, the fine

is doubled; for the third time, the keeper shall lose his permit.

"7. Should thefts, assaults, or other offenses take place in such

houses, the keeper is in all cases liable to the injured party if he

can not get his redress elsewhere. Further, the said keeper is

suspected of complicity in the offense so long as the contrary is not

proved, and if it appear that he did not use all possible means for

the prevention of such offense, he shall be punished by fine or in

person.

"8. In case any innocent female shall, by fraud or violence, be

brought into any brothel, the keeper and those who are accomplices in

such infamous offense shall undergo public exhibition, and four to ten

years' House of Correction, with welcome and farewell. Besides this,

the permit will be withdrawn. It shall be no excuse for him to allege

that he neither knew nor assisted the said seduction, inasmuch as he

had no right to receive any female into his house without first giving

notice thereof to the Police Directory, and receiving from them, after

inquiry into the circumstances, permission to do so.

"9. In like manner, a brothel-keeper may not, under penalty of twelve

months' imprisonment, give any one (whatever his rank may be) facility

to carry on criminal intercourse with any woman who has been brought

into his house; and it is absolutely forbidden for any person to bring

a female to such house, and there to have any private communication

with her, which shall be only with the regular women of the place,

inasmuch as by section 2 no keeper is permitted to receive any woman

as servant-maid, or under any pretense whatever, among his inmates,

without previous notice to the police, and their assent to the same.

"10. In order to combat the frequent infection of common prostitutes,

and, if possible, prevent them from severe attacks of venereal

disease, or its farther extension, and at the same time not only to

restrain the rapid progress of this highly pernicious malady, but, so

far as possible, entirely to root it out, the brothel-keepers and the

women kept by them are bound to give their most observant attention

thereto, both for their own advantage, and also for the diminution of

their own misfortunes and severe punishment. To this end, the

brothel-keepers are not to oppose the appointed surgeons in each

quarter, so often as the same make their visits to the women at their

houses; and every woman shall be subject to these visits. For the

information of every brothel-keeper, and of the prostitutes kept by

him, a copy of printed directions, prepared by competent authority,

shall be given to the brothel-keeper, whereby the signs of actual

infection and of the commencement of venereal disease may be known,

and they shall be clearly instructed by the duly appointed surgeon how

to form an opinion upon their own state of health, and be able to

explain the same on his visits, so that thereby the detection of

venereal disease at any time may be facilitated. Furthermore, upon

perceiving the symptoms whereby venereal disease is known in a man,

they should abstain from carnal intercourse with him.

"11. Should a woman suspect that she is infected, she must permit no

one to have connection with her, but shall mention the same as well to

her keeper as to the surgeon of the district, upon which steps shall

forthwith be taken for her cure. If she neglect this she shall be

punished with detention, three months for the first time, on

repetition of the offense with six months in the House of Correction,

with welcome and farewell. If the said woman, through concealment of

her venereal malady, has given occasion to a wider spread thereof, she

shall the first time be liable to twelve months in the House of

Correction, with welcome and farewell. In case the brothel-keeper

shall know of the diseased condition of such woman, and shall not

hinder her from the exercise of her trade, or shall keep her therein,

he shall be liable to the same punishment, and, moreover, shall be

liable to the costs and charges of cure and attendance of the man so

infected by such woman, if he requires it, or if he can not pay such

expenses. For this reimbursement a brothel-keeper shall be held liable

even if he did not know the diseased condition of a woman kept in his

house, inasmuch as such obligation shall, for the public weal, be

taken to be a risk and burden incident to the trade permitted to be

carried on by him.

"12. On the other hand, a prostitute can prosecute any one for having

infected her by means of connection, and such person shall, upon the

complaint and showing of her and the brothel-keeper, bear the expense

of cure and maintenance for so a long time as, pursuant to the orders

of the authorities of the Charité, the woman may have to remain in the

Charité; and further, shall be liable to a fine of fifty thalers, or

three months' imprisonment in the House of Correction.

"13. If any woman, before declaring her venereal disease, shall have

concealed it so long that, by opinion of competent persons, she must

have known the same for a considerable length of time, she shall,

whether she shall or shall not have infected other persons, be liable

to the same punishment as if she had infected others.

"14. Whereas, it has been the practice for the women to conceal their

venereal diseases; and whereas, they have intrusted themselves to

incompetent persons for cure; and whereas, the brothel-keepers are

bound to refund to the Charité the expenses of the cure and

attendance, which sometimes fall ruinously heavy upon them: it is

hereby directed, for the removal of this difficulty, that a healing

fund (_heilings casse_) shall be established, by means whereof the

keepers and their women, on the occurrence of disease, may be relieved

of the heavy expenses to which they are put, and may be assured

against the destruction of their bodies and health, which ensue from

the growth of this terrible disease. To this fund every brothel-keeper

shall contribute a monthly sum of six groschen (twelve cents) for each

woman that he keeps, and shall give in a statement of the name and

place of birth of such woman; for which, at the commencement of the

following month, he shall receive an acknowledgment, and he shall

recover such sum from every woman on whose account he shall have paid

the same. Nevertheless, any brothel-keeper who shall have allowed more

than one of these monthly payments to run into arrear with the women,

shall not, on that account, be able to prevent her leaving him, if, as

before ordered, she desires to change her way of life. If a woman goes

from one brothel to another without the six groschen having been paid

for her, the brothel-keeper to whom she goes must pay this amount in

due time for her. This shall happen notwithstanding that she is bound

to give notice of her removal to the police commissary of the quarter.

The monthly payment of this tax is to be made to the duly appointed

medical officer of the quarter, who shall pay over the whole amount of

the same to the collector of the healing fund, who shall give him for

the same a receipt under his own hand; whereupon the comptroller shall

compare the list of the same with the list of the brothel-keepers and

women in the several districts, and shall compel defaulters to pay the

outstanding tax.

"15. A perfect account is to be kept of this healing fund, and out of

the same every diseased woman shall be taken to the Charité, and,

without farther charges to herself or keeper, shall be maintained and

thoroughly cured without being sent, as formerly directed, to the

work-house. Farther, the woman shall not intrust herself either to the

visiting surgeon or to any other person for cure, but such shall take

place only in the Charité.

"16. No brothel shall be tolerated in the respectably inhabited and

frequented streets and squares of the city, but they shall be

established at a moderate distance from the same, so that the police

can watch them and speedily correct any disorder; otherwise only in

the smaller streets and thoroughfares.

"17. The matters that are ordered and prescribed in the foregoing

articles to the brothel-keepers, are also to be observed by female

brothel-keepers under like penalties.

"18. Single women living by themselves for purposes of prostitution

must give in their notices to the Police Directory in the same manner

as the women in the brothels; must also undergo examination by the

medical officers of the quarter in which they reside; must pay their

six groschen a month to the healing fund, and be subject to all the

directions applicable to brothel-keepers and their hired women, and to

the like punishments in case of offending against the directions.

"19. Procurers and procuresses, who make it their business to provide

opportunities in their houses for criminal intercourse of men and

women (whatever their condition), shall be strictly watched, and, upon

conviction, shall be liable to three months' detention in the House of

Correction.

"20. The street-walkers roaming the streets after dark are not to be

tolerated, but where they can be met with are to be taken into

custody, and after being cured, if they are affected with venereal

disease, shall be sent from six to twelve months to the House of

Correction.

"21. Whoever can not pay the fines shall receive a corresponding

corporal (_am leibe_) punishment.

"22. Informers shall receive half the fines paid in, and the remaining

fines shall be collected and distributed as the reward of those who

make discovery and information of any contraventions of these

regulations.

"23. In those cases mentioned in section 3, wherein, together with a

breach of these regulations, a crime against the laws of the state is

committed, the criminal department of the High Court will take

cognizance of it, and the remedies proceed from them to the criminal

deputation of the Chamber of Justice.

"24. In order that no one who, whether as keeper or girl, makes a

trade of prostitution, shall be in a position to excuse themselves on

account of their ignorance of this code of regulations, a copy of them

shall be given to every person at the time of registration, for which

six groschen shall be paid, and carried to the reward fund for

informers."

The royal rescript, the statute, and the police ordinance of 1792 are

founded upon the principle that prostitution is a necessary evil, which,

if unregulated, tends to demoralize all society, and inflict physical

suffering on its votaries; but, as it can never be suppressed, it is

tolerated in order that those who practice it may be brought under

supervision and control. In furtherance of this idea, another police order

was promulgated in 1795, prohibiting music and dancing at the tolerated

houses, and limiting the resort of prostitutes to public places of

amusement. The immediate effect of this measure was to close several

coffee-houses served by women (_mädchen tabagieen_). At the same time,

the women were classified into first, second, and third classes, and the

monthly tax graduated to one thaler (sixty-eight cents), two thirds of a

thaler, and one third of a thaler, which was appropriated to the healing

fund, as directed by the regulations of 1792. This impost was doubled at a

subsequent period in consequence of public calamities.

To enforce the police directions and collect the tax, a census of the

public prostitutes in Berlin was taken in June, 1792, when they amounted

to 311. The toleration was withdrawn from some of these for various

reasons, and the numbers were, in

The History of Prostitution: Its Extent, Causes, and Effects throughout the World · 第 40 / 50 章

Another point of interest is the nationality of the prostitutes of