Page:Edward Prime-Stevenson - The Intersexes.djvu/238

 The hypocrisy, or the ignorance—or the pride—of Englishmen, whichever it may be, frequently asserts if so recondite a topic is touched, that—"British soldiers, thank God, never do that sort of thing! That's a vice they leave to the Continent, sir!" Such an illusion is admirably English. The skeptic has only to walk around London, around any English garrison-center, to stroll about Portsmouth, Aldershot, Southampton, Woolwich, large cities of North-Britain or of Ireland, to find the soldier-prostitute in almost open selfmarketing. Certain private resorts of British homosexuals "deal" in such an element. It holds its ground against the cheap and dangerous civilian-pederasty of England, which is so common. On any evening, the street-corners, or the promenades of the big music-halls and cheap theaters of London and other cities show one the fine flower of the British soldier-prostitute, dressed in his best uniform, clean-shaven, well-groomed and handsome with his Anglo-Saxon pulchritude and vigour—smilingly expectant. He is sure to be approached by some admiring stranger or regular "friend", and asked to take a drink or offered a cigar; and so is brought delicately to a bargain, at a tariff from the modest five shillings to three-and-six, or a sovereign. Sometimes a criminal-trial will point out especially London's soldier-prostitution. Thus in the mysterious "Studio-Murder" affair, in London, a few years ago, the victim, a young homosexual painter named W—, had relations only with young soldier-prostitutes, such as he picked up continually in Hyde Park and at such resorts as the "Alhambra", or on the streets. The most important witness was one such soldier, who was not otherwise connected with the bloody tragedy. His evidence was admirably illustrative of London's homosexual soldiery, and there was a prospect of such unpleasant military scandal if the crime were cleared up that there is little doubt why it was allowed to remain "unexplained", and the soldier-murderer not traced. A further