Gynecocracy

I knew by the stern glance which Mademoiselle threw at me across her partner's shoulder, as he led her gracefully away into the swimming mazes of the dance, that there was no hope whatever of mercy. There never was as far as I could see! Was it not enough to torture me with the birch, to mortify my manhood with the imposition of feminine dictation to such an extent as almost to crush it? Was it necessary to cause the cup to overflow by the addition of gratuitous wrong? It really had not been my fault. My indignation knew no bounds. However, there was no help for it, and if Mademoiselle caught me there, when the waltz brought her round to that part of the room again, I knew my fate would be worse, so I slunk off in a very sullen mood to my bedroom.

I certainly heartily agreed with Mademoiselle about Lord Alfred's deserts. But then, why was she so unjust?

It was all horrid affectation on her part in order to be the more cruel to me!

It was certainly all his fault-entirely his fault, from beginning to end-he had been amusing himself with me, and now I had to suffer! He did not seem to care in the least and made a joke of it.

What horrid, selfish, despicable creatures men are! I should never have expected it of him!

In my bedroom I was quickly joined by Elise, to whom Maud had communicated Mademoiselle's orders without loss of time. She came with indecent promptitude and haste in order to execute them. I am sure she was only too happy to have the opportunity!

How can I relate what happened? The reader can easily guess all!

Elise pretended to be in a very severe and magisterial, quasi-judicial mood; treated me just like a big naughty girl, and was conscientiously deaf to all the expostulations and explanations which appealing to her sense of fairness, I rapidly and breathlessly gave her. I did not want-I felt I could not bear-any more punishment. My only chance to escape lay in persuading her to let me off. I might as well have tried to persuade a hungry dog out of its bone. She came into the room with a large old slipper in one hand, smacking her other hand with it to give me a foretaste of my fate.

She took off my dress and drawers as callously as though she were a machine, alas-a slapping machine-and then sitting down on the couch, she laid me across her lap, getting me well under her left arm. She turned my petticoats up to my waist and smacked my bare bottom with the old slipper till I roared for mercy and struggled frantically. I was between her legs, her right leg confining mine, and she must have enjoyed my struggles and what they shew her. They were certainly useless for any other purpose, as I could not get free. I thought my cries and the sound of the blows must be audible in the drawing room. Smack, smack, smack! Yah! Yell!

When she had quite tired herself out, which was not until I had been smacked black and blue, she let me get up. I walked wildly about the room, with my hands clapped to my back to ease the pain, which was very bad. But even this consolation was soon to be denied me, and it was an unfortunate gesture, for it suggested further torment to her. She flourished the slipper and threatened me with a second edition, if I did not hold my noise, as she elegantly expressed it. And then suddenly noticing how I was endeavouring to alleviate my pain, she declared that she felt certain my hands had been in mischief also, and that she would make them smart too.

She compelled me to hold them out one after the other, and gave each of them two dozen sharp stinging blows with the same slipper with all her force, a most exasperating quiet smile playing on her face. I longed to knock her down. My arms tingled up to my very shoulders, and I was mad with pain, when she had done. As she had anticipated, I had no longer any desire to place my hands at my back. I danced about the room, clasping them together, and to her amusement tried everything I could think of to stop their throbbing without much success. However, she contented herself with this, and did not again attack my bottom, for which I was most thankful. She announced that she had the satisfaction of giving me a thorough and well-deserved punishment, and that there was nothing which could have given her greater gratification; and putting the slipper down, she then proceeded to completely undress me. When this was done she slipped over my head a long, laced, embroidered, feminine nightdress of Mademoiselle's, which made me feel very immodest. Possessed by this feeling I looked tenderly at the smart winsome maid, and pressed the back of one of her hands to my lips. Surprised for a moment, she said she was pleased to find I could take my punishment properly and be grateful for it.