Henceforth his amours were brought to a point in the normal manner. Physiologically he was still merely in the “schoolboy” phase, and not very attractive to mature bitches. Nor was s*x at this stage an obsessive passion with him. It was more important as a symbol of maturity than as an end in itself. Its natural seductiveness was much enhanced by its being “the done thing” for grown–up dogs. In comparison with Plaxy and even the elder children Sirius seemed sexually precocious, simply because his unrestricted amours afforded him experience and technique, while to the children everything of the sort remained for a long while almost unexplored territory.
In one respect Sirius found his love affairs miserably unsatisfactory, throughout his life. For the beloved of the hour, however delectabl
