n in London is common enough,
but I have only a slight personal knowledge of it. Many youths
are 'kept' handsomely in apartments by wealthy men, and they are,
of course, not always inaccessible to others. Many keep
themselves in lodgings by this means, and others eke out scanty
wages by the same device: just like women, in fact. Choirboys
reinforce the ranks to a considerable extent, and private
soldiers to a large extent. Some of the barracks (notably
Knightsbridge) are great centres. On summer evenings Hyde Park
and the neighborhood of Albert Gate is full of guardsmen and
others plying a lively trade, and with little disguise, in
uniform or out. In these cases it sometimes only amounts to a
chat on a retired seat or a drink at a bar; sometimes recourse is
had to a room in some known lodging-house, or to one or two
hotels which lend themselves to this kind of business. In any
case it means a covetable addition to Tommy Atkins's
pocket-money." And Mr. Raffalovich, speaking of London, remarks:
"The number of soldiers who prostitute themselves is greater than
we are willing to believe. It is no exaggeration to say that in
certain regiments the presumption is in favor of the venality of
the majority of the men." It is worth noting that there is a
perfect understanding in this matter between soldiers and the
police, who may always be relied upon by the former for
assistance and advice. I am indebted to my correspondent "Z" for
the following notes: "Soldiers are no less sought after in France
than in England or in Germany, and special houses exist for
military prostitution both in Paris and the garrison-towns. Many
facts known about the French army go to prove that these habits
have been contracted in Algeria, and have spread to a formidable
extent through whole regiments. The facts related by Ulrichs
about the French foreign legion, on the testimony of a credible
witness who had been a pathic in his regiment, deserve attention
(_Ara Spei_, p. 20; _Memnon_, p. 27). This man, who was a German,
told Ulrichs that the Spanish, French, and Italian soldiers were
the lovers, the Swiss and German their beloved (see also General
Brossier's Report, quoted by Burton, _Arabian Nights_, vol. x, p.
251). In Lucien Descaves's military novel, _Sous Offs_ (Paris,
Tresse et Stock, 1890), some deta