The law requires that the
impotency should have existed _ab initio_--that is, before
marriage--and should be of a permanent or incurable nature; marriage,
as far as the law goes, being regarded as a contract in which it is
presupposed that both the contracting parties are capable of fulfilling
all the objects of marriage. In the case of the Earl of Essex the
defendant admitted the charge as regards the Countess, but pleaded that
he was not impotent with others, as many of her waiting-maids could
testify. When a man becomes impotent _after_ marriage, his wife must
accept the situation, and has no redress. A man may be _sterile_ without
being impotent, but the law will not take cognizance of that. The wife
may be practically impotent, but the law will not assist the husband. He
must continue to do his best under difficult circumstances. In former
times in case of doubt a husband was permitted to demonstrate his
competency in open court, but this custom is no longer regarded with
favour by the judges.

The removal of the testicles does not of necessity render a man
impotent, although it deprives him of his procreative power. Eunuchs are
capable of affording illicit pleasure, whilst the male sopranos, or
_castrati_, are often utilized for that purpose.

In the female, impotence may be caused by the narrowness of the vagina,
adhesion of the vulva, absence of vagina, imperforate hymen, and tumours
of the vagina.

Sterility in women may occur from the above-named causes of impotence,
together with absence of the uterus and ovaries, or from great debility,
syphilis, constant amenorrhoea, dysmenorrhoea, or menorrhagia.

XXXV.--RAPE

Rape is the carnal knowledge of a woman by force and against her will.
The resistance of the woman _must be_ to the utmost of her power, but if
she yield through fear or duress it is still rape. The woman is a
competent witness, but her statements may be impugned on the ground of
her previous bad character, and evidence may be called to substantiate
the charge. The perpetrator must be above the age of fourteen years.

The definition of rape which we have given is not altogether
satisfactory. Take, for example, the case of a woman who goes to bed
expecting her husband to return at a certain hour. The lodger, let us
say, takes advantage of this fact, and, getting into bed, has connection
with her, she not resisting, assuming all the while that it is her
husband. This is rape, but it is