[ Printed pamphlet on 'the sin of self-abuse'. ] In Confidence: To Boys. By H. Bisseker, M.A., Formerly a Public School House-Master. Revised by The Council of the Medical Officers of Schools Association.

[2] + 31 + [3]pp., 16mo. Stapled in plain green wraps. In fair condition, on lightly-aged paper, with rusting staples, and light staining (of an indeterminate nature) to front cover. The first two pages give details regarding the Alliance of Honour, including a list of the organisation's officers (including thirteen bishops) and a statement of 'The Object' ('to impress upon men the necessity of leading pure lives', and so on). The text is preceded by a full-page preface, addressed from 13 Cardigan Road, Richmond Hill, Surrey, in which Bisseker explains that the work was originally circulated privately, but that it was 'so warmly welcomed by parents and boys all over the country and by many medical gentlemen into whose hands it came, [sic] that it has been decided to issue it for a wider circle of readers'. The risks of the practice are indeed severe. 'A slave to the habit [...] begins to discover after a time that his mind has not the same grip of things as it used to have. It is les alert. It cannot tackle hard problems with the old ease. [...] The memory, moreover, grows uncertain and less and less tenacious.' Those tempted to indulge should, as far as they are able, sleep on their sides. 'Lying on the back or on the stomach encourages these discharges. [...] Should you find this hard at first, a good plan is to tie a reel on some wool or tape, and fasten this round your waist in such a manner that the reel is always on your back. Then, if you do unconsciously get on your back, the reel may wake you up.' Among the other 'Booklets for Youth' listed at the end are 'Impure Thoughts' by Lt.-Col. Seton Churchill, and 'Continence and its Value' by 'A Harley St. Physician'. Four copies listed on COPAC. There is a copy of the privately-printed edition (Leys School, Cambridge), dated 1903, at the Wellcome Institute. The work was reprinted in 1917.