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Milites Easiest of Conquests.
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baby- and effeminate mood, I responded: ' You adorable artilleryman, I was pining for you, and followed you here from X———.' He told me to meet him outside the camp after retreat, when he appeared with several comrades. I was in ecstasy on this first walk of my life on a country road with a party of bewitching adolescent soldiers as daylight was fast fading into darkness. In my years of subsequent association with soldiers, I found that those over twenty-five years of age were in general disinclined to talk with me. They appeared to have been already satiated with flirtation, while numerous youngsters were desirous of a frolic with me.

Havelock Ellis says: "The homosexual tendency appears to have flourished chiefly among warriors and warlike peoples." In another place he says: "I have been told by medical men in India that it is specially common among the Sikhs, the finest soldier-race in India." I have myself found adolescent professional soldiers the easiest of conquests and the most inclined of any class of men to take the virile part with me. I speak from experience in flirtation with at least two thousand different professional soldiers, only about four hundred of whom, however, went to extremes. I saw not the least tendency toward homosexuality amongst themselves, although I frequented to some extent their barracks and even their bunks. They are only capable of taking the virile part with an individual like your author. In general the common soldiers of the regular army are particularly rough, coarsegrained, vigorous, and sensual men, constituting physically the best blood of the race. As already indicated,