e sensation was thus produced and acquired the
habit of practicing the manoeuvre for its own sake; at the age of 17 she
began to vary it in different ways; thus she would hang from a tree with
her legs swinging and her chemise pressed between her thighs which she
would rub together.[216] Thigh-friction in some of its forms is so
comparatively decorous a form of masturbation that it may even be
performed in public places; thus, a few years ago, while waiting for a
train at a station on the outskirts of a provincial town, I became aware
of the presence of a young woman, sitting alone on a seat at a little
distance, whom I could observe unnoticed. She was leaning back with legs
crossed, swinging the crossed foot vigorously and continuously; this
continued without interruption for some ten minutes after I first observed
her; then the swinging movement reached a climax; she leant still further
back, thus bringing the sexual region still more closely in contact with
the edge of the bench and straightened and stiffened her body and legs in
what appeared to be a momentary spasm; there could be little doubt as to
what had taken place. A few moments later she slowly walked from her
solitary seat into the waiting-room and sat down among the other waiting
passengers, quite still now and with uncrossed legs, a pale quiet young
woman, possibly a farmer's daughter, serenely unconscious that her
manoeuvre had been detected, and very possibly herself ignorant of its
true nature.

There are many other forms in which the impulse of auto-erotism presents
itself. Dancing is often a powerful method of sexual excitement, not only
among civilized but among savage peoples, and Zache describes the erotic
dances of Swaheli women as having a masturbatory object.[217] Stimulation
of the nates is a potent adjuvant to the production of self-excitement,
and self-flagellation with rods, etc., is practiced by some individuals,
especially young women.[218] Urtication is another form of this
stimulation; Reverdin knew a young woman who obtained sexual gratification
by flogging herself with chestnut burrs, and it is stated that in some
parts of France (departments of the Ain and Cote d'Or) it is not uncommon
for young girls to masturbate by rubbing the leaves of the _Linaria
cymbalaria_ (here called "pinton" or "timbarde") on to the sexual parts,
thus producing a burning sensation.[219] Stimulation of the mamma,
normally an erogenous centre in women, may oc