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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..66b68fe --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #52059 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/52059) diff --git a/old/52059-0.txt b/old/52059-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index ae06479..0000000 --- a/old/52059-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,8005 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Anthologica Rarissima: The Way of a Virgin, by -L. Brovan and C. Brovan - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - -Title: Anthologica Rarissima: The Way of a Virgin - -Author: L. Brovan - C. Brovan - -Release Date: May 13, 2016 [EBook #52059] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ANTHOLOGICA RARISSIMA *** - - - - -Produced by The Online Distributed Proofreading Team at -http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images -generously made available by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - - Two Hundred and fifty Copies of this Work have - been Printed on Hand-made Paper for Private - Circulation Only among Members of the - Brovan Society, and Twenty-five for the - Editors. None of these Copies is - for Sale. The Society Pledges - itself Never to Reprint nor to - Re-issue in any form. Of - the Brovan Society’s - Issue, this Copy is - Number: - - - - - _ANTHOLOGICA RARISSIMA._ - - - VOLUME ONE: - - THE WAY OF A VIRGIN. - - - - - Anthologica Rarissima: - - - Being Excerpts from Rare, Curious and Diverting - Books, some now for the First Time done into - English. To which are added Copious - Explanatory Notes & Bibliographical - References of Interest to Student, - Collector and Psychologist: - the Whole Introduced, - Compiled & Edited - by L. and C. - BROVAN. - - - [Illustration: Leaf] - - - VOLUME THE FIRST: - - The Way of a Virgin. - - - LONDON: MCMXXII. Printed for - Members of the BROVAN SOCIETY by - Private Subscription and for Private Circulation Only. - - - - -FOREWORD. - - -With the publication of its _Records_, under the title of _ANTHOLOGICA -RARISSIMA_, the _Brovan Society_, which has been formed to carry out -research work into the less-known and more curious folk-lore and -literature of Europe and the Orient, takes leave to explain its aims -and aspirations. - -There exists in the literature of all countries a multitude of books -not usually accorded public circulation. Yet these books contain some -of the most life-like and diverting material ever fashioned by human -pen. Their contents have stood the test of time and taste, and to-day, -though publicly ignored, they are privately applauded. The trend of -these books is, in the main, erotic, or so frank as to relegate them -to the category of improper or “privately printed.” Some have never -come under the hands of an English translator: others in such limited -editions as to make their existence negligible so far as the average -student is concerned. - -_Anthologica Rarissima_ is a modest attempt to remedy this state of -affairs. In a series of volumes the editors will put before their -readers the cream of what is tantamount to a small library, and a -library not often seen on the book-lover’s shelves. Herein will be -found, set out in plain English, curious and diverting extracts from -some of the world’s most remarkable works. The text will be literal -and unexpurgated. Nothing of interest to the student of folk-lore, -psychology and literature will be omitted or glossed over, for the -editors believe that a classic castrated is a classic spoilt. The -_Records_ throughout will be enriched by copious notes and valuable -bibliographical references. - -So far as the compilers are aware, no similar anthology exists in the -English tongue. It purports to put within reach of the student and -bibliophile comprehensive and representative excerpts from writers, -the possession of whose works would entail time and expense beyond the -means of many collectors. - -At present it is impossible to give a full list of the authors from -whom we shall quote. Mention of such names as those of Sir Richard -Burton, Casanova, Aretino, the Marquis de Sade, Wilkes, Boccaccio, -Bandello, Masuccio, Straparola, Rabelais, Lucian, Apuleius, -Aristophanes, Sinistrari, Nicolas Chorier, Poggio, J. S. Farmer, -John Payne, La Fontaine, Chaucer, Brantôme, Sellon, Pisanus Fraxi, -Payne Knight, Havelock Ellis, Bloch, Huhner, Forel and Kraft-Ebing, -will give some idea of the work contemplated. Special attention will -be paid to the less-known folk-lore of Europe and the Orient, as -portrayed in those remarkable books, _Kruptadia_, _Untrodden Fields of -Anthropology_, _The Kama Sutra_, _The Ananga Ranga_, _The Perfumed -Garden_, _The Old Man Young Again_, _Les Cent Nouvelles Nouvelles_, -_Ethnology of the Sixth Sense_, _The Book of Exposition_, _Priapeia_, -_Genital Laws_, _Marriage Ceremonies and Priapic Rites_, and _Des -Divinités Génératrices_. - -_Anthologica Rarissima_, for reasons which will seem as regrettable -as absurd to the student and collector, must ever be a privately -printed work; its tone, though erotic, is in no sense pornographic. -The extracts have been selected with care, and always with an eye to -artistry and bibliographical value. The complete issue, extending to -many volumes, will form an unique collection in the English tongue of a -type of literature far too little known in this country. - -The subject of our first volume--virginity and its treatment in fable, -_conte_, and legend--is far from exhausted in these pages. It will be -necessary to devote another _Record_ to the theme at a later date. -Meanwhile, we have in preparation Vol. 2: “_The Way of a Priest_,” Vol. -3: “_The Way of a Wife_,” Vol. 4: “_The Way of a Husband_,” and Vol. 5: -“_The Way of Love_.” This last, culled from such authorities as Ovid, -Martial, Catullus, Aretino, Forberg, Veniero, and the authors of _The -Kama Sutra_, _The Perfumed Garden_, and _The Ananga Ranga_, should -prove the most complete treatise on the _Ars Amandi_ ever published in -the English language. - -In conclusion, we can only reiterate what was said at the outset--that -this work is the outcome of a project to give the English student and -collector the cream of a rare and remarkable literature. - -We wish to lay special emphasis on the literal nature of our text, -having often sacrificed style to preserve it. When translating from -French, where an English translation already existed, we have never -failed to compare and work upon the two versions for the composition of -our extract. - -_Les Cent Nouvelles Nouvelles_ is a case in point, the old French text -and Mr. R. B. Douglas’ English translation both being utilised in our -_Record_. The same applies to Casanova; each line of his _Memoirs_, as -existing in the privately printed English translation, has been closely -compared with Garnier’s French text; while Aretino’s _Dialogues_ will -be scrutinised in no fewer than three languages. Our aim throughout has -been to put before the reader a rendering in English which most exactly -approximates to the original work of the author in question. - - _THE EDITORS._ - - - - -CONTENTS. - - - Page. - - FOREWORD. v. - - VIRGINITY AND ITS TRADITIONS. xix. - - THE ENCHANTED RING: - - _Of a Young Husband who Sought to - Redeem his Yard from Pawn, and of the - Divers Adventures that Befell him in his - Quest._ 1 - - VARIANT: - - _Of a Tailor who Consented to Sin with - a certain Woman who Admired his - Proportions; and how they Fared._ 10 - - THE INSTRUMENT: - - _Of a Young Girl who Desired her Lover - to Buy a Better Instrument, which she - Enjoyed, Lost and Found again._ 13 - - _EXCURSUS_ to THE INSTRUMENT. 16 - - THE TIMOROUS FIANCÉE: - - _Of a Maid who would Wed None save - Ivan the No-Yard; and how they were - Wed, after which she first Hired, then - Bought, a Good Yard from Ivan’s Uncle._ 17 - - _EXCURSUS_ to THE ENCHANTED RING, - THE INSTRUMENT, and THE TIMOROUS - FIANCÉE. 22 - - ADVENTURES WITH HEDVIGE AND - HELÈNE AT GENEVA: - - _Of an Adventure with two Charming - Cousins, one of whom Desired to know - why a Deity could not Impregnate a - Woman; and how the Hero of our Story - gave Demonstration of Theological and - other Matters._ 24 - - _EXCURSUS_ to ADVENTURES WITH - HEDVIGE AND HELÈNE. 37 - - THE DAMSEL AND THE PRINCE: - - _Of a Young Lady, who, being Enamoured - of a Prince, Sendeth for one of his - Chaplains, and with him Entereth into a - Plot which Bringeth the Affair to the - Desired Issue._ 42 - - _EXCURSUS_ to THE DAMSEL AND THE - PRINCE. 49 - - THE PENITENT NUN: - - _Of a Nun, who Strove to Flee the Shafts - of Love; how she Succeeded; and how - certain Young Nuns Received her - Counsel._ 52 - - BEYOND THE MARK: - - _Of a Shepherd who Made an Agreement - with a Shepherdess that he should Mount - upon her; and how he Kept that - Agreement._ 53 - - THE DEVIL IN HELL: - - _Of a Young Maid, who, Turning Hermit, - was Taught by a Monk to Put the Devil - in Hell; and how she found Much - Pleasure therein._ 56 - - _EXCURSUS_ to THE DEVIL IN HELL. 63 - - THE WEDDING NIGHT OF JEAN THE - FOOL: - - _Of a Young Husband who thought his - Wife would Give him a Chicken on their - Wedding Night; and how he Learned in - what Fashion he must Comport himself - to have that Chicken._ 65 - - THE MAIDEN WELL GUARDED: - - _Of a Maid who had been most Strictly - Enjoined to Guard her Maidenhead; and - how a Youth Restored it to her when she - Lost it._ 69 - - VARIANT: - - _Of one Coypeau, who Securely Sewed - up a Damsel’s Maidenhead with his own - Thread._ 72 - - TALE OF KAMAR AL-ZAMAN: - - _Of a Prince and a Princess who became - Acquainted in Strange Circumstances; - of their Loves, Separation, Re-union, and - divers Remarkable Happenings._ 74 - - _EXCURSUS_ to the TALE OF KAMAR - AL-ZAMAN. 92 - - THE FOOL: - - _Of a Young Man who would fain have - Wed, yet Contrived to Satisfy his Wish - without Marriage._ 101 - - “OH MOTHER, ROGER WITH HIS - KISSES”: - - _Of the Emotions of an Innocent Virgin - when Wooed Boisterously by her Swain._ 103 - - FOOLISH FEAR: - - _Of a Virgin Wife who did not Understand - the Business of Marriage; and how the - Parties went to Law, and what Ensued - therefrom._ 104 - - THE PRINCESS WHO PISSETH OVER - THE HAYCOCKS: - - _Of a King’s Daughter, the Like of whom - was not Seen Elsewhere on Earth; and - how she was Cured of her Ways by a - Young Peasant, divers Physicians and - Charlatans having Failed in the Task._ 111 - - THE COMB: - - _Of a Pope’s Daughter who was “Combed” - by a Peasant; and how the Comb was - Lost and Found again, together with - other Strange and Delightsome Happenings._116 - - _EXCURSUS_ to THE PRINCESS WHO - PISSETH OVER THE HAYCOCKS and - THE COMB. 121 - - THE SKIRMISH: - - _Of a Virgin who, on her Marriage Eve, - told a Wedded Friend of the Recent and - Disturbing Conduct of her Fiancé._ 124 - - _EXCURSUS_ to THE SKIRMISH. 132 - - THE NIGHTINGALE: - - _Of a Maid who would fain Hear the - Nightingale Sing; and how she Made it - Sing many Times and even Held it in - her Hand._ 134 - - THE PIKE’S HEAD: - - _Of a Young Virgin who Played a Trick - on a Youth; and how the Youth, from - Fear of being “Bitten,” was for some - Time Ignorant of the Pleasures of - Marriage._ 142 - - THE LOVELY NUN AND HER YOUNG - BOARDER: - - _Of a Lovely Young Virgin, who was of - an Inquisitive Turn of Mind, and Proved - herself an Apt Pupil in the School of - Love._ 147 - - JOHN AND JOAN: - - _Of a Serving Wench who sent her Fellow - Servant to Buy her a Steel; and how - she Fared thereafter._ 158 - - THE HUSBAND AS DOCTOR: - - _Of a Young Squire who, when he Married, - had never Mounted a Christian Creature; - of the Means found to Instruct him; and - how, on a Sudden, he Wept at a great - Feast shortly after he had been Instructed._162 - - THE PRIEST AND THE LABOURER: - - _Of a Priest’s two Daughters who were - Tricked by a Labourer; and of divers - Strange and Diverting Happenings - thereafter._ 171 - - _EXCURSUS_ to THE PRIEST AND THE - LABOURER. 178 - - THE TWO LOVERS AND THE TWO - SISTERS: - - _Of two Cavaliers who became Enamoured - of two Sisters; and how they found - Enjoyment of their Love, albeit in Strange - Fashion but none the less Pleasant._ 179 - - THE BURNING YARD: - - _Of a Maid who would not Suffer a Youth - to Pleasure her, since, so she Alleged, - he had a Burning Yard._ 188 - - TAKE TIME BY THE FORELOCK: - - _Of a Young Virgin Wife who was Paid - back in her own Coin by her Husband._ 190 - - _EXCURSUS_ to TAKE TIME BY THE - FORELOCK. 192 - - FIRST MEETING BETWEEN A YOUTH - AND HIS FIANCÉE: - - _Of a Maid and a Youth who held Pleasant - Converse in a Coach-house; and of - divers Experiments and Discoveries they - made there._ 193 - - THE BREAKER OF EGGS: - - _Of a certain Wench who had Eggs in her - Belly, which were Broken for her by an - Obliging Youth._ 195 - - _EXCURSUS_ to THE BREAKER OF EGGS. 198 - - - - -VIRGINITY AND ITS TRADITIONS. - - - - - _Chloe! Like a fawn she flees, - Trembling, timid mother-seeking, - Far among the trackless hills; - Starting back from bush and breeze, - When the new-born spring is speaking - To green leaves in little trills. - Oh, how shake her heart, her knees! - Run! A lizard sets a-creaking - That big bush! I bring no ills; - I don’t follow you to seize, - Like some cruel tigress, reeking - Rage; no lion I that kills - In Gætulia, hot to tease - Out your life! So quit your meeking - By your mother! Trust your thrills! - Come and learn my mysteries!_ - - HORACE, I., xxiii. - - - - -VIRGINITY AND ITS TRADITIONS. - - -In devoting a volume to the romance and folk-lore of Virginity, it may -not be inappropriate first to examine the psychology of a word and a -quality as magical as they are misused. - -What is virginity? Is it the possession intact of that delicate -piece of membrane, the poets’ ‘_flos virginitatis_,’ or is it some -indescribable, intangible attribute in no sense dependent on physical -perfection? Does it imply abstention from and ignorance of all sexual -pleasures, or must it be a chastity which falls little short of stupid, -even criminal, innocence? - -To us moderns, blessed (or cursed) with a smattering of science, woman -is virginal just as long as we know or believe her to be, physical -qualities notwithstanding. By the poet of the past, the romanticist, -the mediæval lover, and the ignorant, physical as well as spiritual -proofs were probably required or expected. To them, virginity was -something tangible; to us it is not. - -Nor is the reason far to seek. For while Havelock Ellis, the greatest -authority on sexual psychology the world has known, describes the hymen -as having acquired in human estimation a spiritual value which has made -it far more than a part of the feminine body, ... “something that gives -woman all her worth and dignity, ... her market value,” he goes on to -point out that the presence or absence of the hymen is no real test of -virginity. - -“There are many ways,” he writes, (_Studies in the Psychology of Sex_: -Philadelphia, 1914: vol. 5: _Erotic Symbolism_), “in which the hymen -may be destroyed apart from coïtus.... On the other hand, integrity of -the hymen is no proof of virginity, apart from the obvious fact that -there may be intercourse without penetration.... The hymen may be of a -yielding or folding type, so that complete penetration may take place -and yet the hymen be afterwards found unruptured. It occasionally -happens that the hymen is found intact at the end of pregnancy.”[1] - - [1] Schurig, in the 17th century, notes a case of this kind. _C.f._ - his _Gynæcologia_, where he speaks of a girl being pregnant without - losing her virginity. _Vide_ note, p. 100 post, where further details - of the life and works of this erudite physician will be found. - -And while the foregoing is the exception rather than the rule, it goes -far to prove the fallibility of the physical, tangible test. - -To most of us, virginity is a quality supposedly prized at all times -and by all races. This is far from the case. As Havelock Ellis points -out, (_op. cit._), virginity is not usually of any value among peoples -who are entirely primitive. “Indeed, even in the classic civilisation -which we inherit,” he writes, “it is easy to show that the virgin and -the admiration for virginity are of late growth; the virgin goddesses -were not originally virgins in our modern sense. Diana was the -many-breasted patroness of childbirth before she became the chaste and -solitary huntress, for the earliest distinction would appear to have -been simply between the woman who was attached to a man and the woman -who followed an earlier rule of freedom and independence; it was a -later notion to suppose that the latter women were debarred from sexual -intercourse.” - -A French Army Surgeon, Dr. Jacobus X--, (_Untrodden Fields of -Anthropology_: Charles Carrington: Paris, 1898), has some interesting -remarks on the subject, and we offer no apology for reproducing them at -length. Writing on the “Unimportance of the signs of virginity in the -negress,” he says:-- - -“The Negroes of Senegal do not attach, as the Arabs do, considerable -importance to the presence of the real signs of virginity in young -girls.... The non-existence of the material proofs of virginity seldom -give rise to any complaint on the part of the husband.... Moreover, -the size of the virile member of the Negro[2] renders it difficult for -him to detect any trick. The black bride, on the wedding night, shows -herself expert in the art of simulating the struggles of an expiring -virginity, and it is considered good taste for the girls to require -almost to be raped. The least innocent young women are often the most -clever at this game. - - [2] Sir Richard Burton, (_The Thousand Nights and a Night_), - describes how he measured in Somaliland a negro’s _penis_, which, - when quiescent, was six inches long; this organ, however, would not - increase proportionately when in erection. - -“Thus, throughout nearly all Senegal, the European, who has a taste for -maidenheads, can easily be satisfied, provided he is willing to pay -the price.[3] At St. Louis women of ill-fame procure young girls, who -bear the significant name of the ‘unpierced,’[4] and vary from eight -or nine years to the nubile age. It is even easier to obtain a young -girl before she is nubile than afterwards, on account of the certainty -of her not bearing any children. The price is within the range of -all purses, according to quality, and you can have a negro girl, -warranted ‘unpierced’ (belonging to the category of domestic slaves), -for the modest sum of from eight to sixteen shillings. Of course, the -respectable matron pockets half this sum for her honorarium.... - -[3] A celebrated Parisian courtesan used to boast, according to -Mantegazza, that she had “sold her virginity” on 82 different -occasions! _Vide_ _Curious Bypaths of History_: Carrington: Paris, -1898, for further details on this subject.--Note by Dr. Jacobus X--. - - [4] _C.f._ _The Thousand Nights and a Night_, (Sir Richard F. Burton; - the privately printed and uncastrated editions), where the expression - is common. “ ... He found her a pearl unpierced.” Again: “ ... went - in unto the Princess and found her jewel which had been hidden, an - union pearl unthridden, and a filly that none but he had ridden....” - Compare, also, the French erotic slang percer (to pierce), signifying - the act of sexual intercourse. (Farmer: _Slang and its Analogues_, p. - 25, vol. 6; _Vocabula Amatoria, etc._) - -“ ... The ‘unpierced’ soon lose their right to the title when they -have to do with a Toubab, but, on account of the size of their genital -parts, the loss of their maidenhead is not such a serious affair for -them as it would be for a little French girl who was not yet nubile. -I have never remarked in a little negress, who had been deflowered -by a White, the valvular inflammation, which, with us, is noticed as -the result of premature copulation before the parts are sufficiently -developed.... If the reader will remember that the European, who is -below the average dimensions in regard to his _penis_, is like a little -boy in proportion to the negress of ten or twelve years old, it is not -difficult to imagine that the negress he has deflowered can entirely -take in the yard of the White, the dimensions of which are much less -than that of the adult black. - -“ ... When the girl has to do later with a negro husband, an astringent -lotion will render the bride a pseudo-virgin. The deceived husband, not -having the anatomical knowledge necessary to assure himself of the real -existence of the signs of virginity, feels a difficulty in copulating, -and is far from suspecting any trick.[5] - - [5] “The Chinese ... have discovered a way of forming a new virginity - when by some accident that object has gone astray. The method consists - in astringent lotions applied to the parts, the effect of which so - draws them together that a certain amount of vigour is required - in order to pass through, the husband--on a nuptial night--being - convinced that he has overcome the usual barrier. To make the illusion - more complete, a leech-bite is made just inside the critical part, and - the little wound is plugged with a minute pellet of vegetable tinder, - with the result that the effort made by the husband to overcome the - difficulty displaces the pellet and a slight flow of blood ensues.” - (_Curious Bypaths of History_, _op. cit. sup._) That this method - is by no means peculiar to the Chinese is instanced by Brantôme in - his _Lives of Fair and Gallant Ladies_ (Paris: Carrington, 1901: - first English translation), where the genial old soldier-philosopher - says:--“How clever these doctors be! for they do give women remedies - to make them appear virgin and intact as they were afore.... One such - especially I learned of a quack these last few days. Take leeches and - apply to the privy parts, getting them to drain and suck the blood - in that region. Now the leeches, in sucking, do engender and leave - behind little blebs or blisters full of blood. Then when the gallant - bridegroom cometh on his marriage night to give assault, he doth burst - these same blisters and the blood discharging from them; the thing is - all bathed in gore, to the great satisfaction of both the twain; for - so ‘the honour of the citadel is saved.’” - -“Does not much the same kind of thing prevail also in Europe? How -many girls who have been deflowered get married without their husband -ever suspecting anything, although he has not the same physical -disadvantages that the black has to prevent his seeing through the -trick? Is it to this amorous blindness that the Greeks and Romans -alluded when they represented Cupid with a bandage over his eyes? One -is almost tempted to believe it. - -“ ... In opposition to those who exact the virginity of the bride, -there are others who attach no importance whatever to it.... The -ancient Egyptians used to make an incision in the hymen previous to -marriage, and St. Athanasius relates that among the Phœnicians a slave -of the bridegroom was charged by him to deflower the bride.[6] The -Caraib Indians attached no value to virginity, and only the daughters -of the higher classes were shut up during two years previous to -marriage. - - [6] “That this eagerness after virginity is not an original lust, - I must, indeed, prove from the opinion of a certain remote people, - who esteem the taking of a maidenhead as a laborious and illiberal - practice, which they delegate to men hired for that purpose, ere - themselves condescend to lie with their wives; who are returned with - disgrace to their friends, if it be discovered that they have brought - their virginity with them.”--_The Battles of Venus_: The Hague, 1760, - quoted by Pisanus Fraxi in his _Index Librorum Prohibitorum_. _Vide_ - also _post_ in this Study. - -“It appears that among the Chibcha Indians in Central America virginity -is not at all esteemed; it was considered to be a proof that the maiden -had never been able to inspire love. - -“In ancient Peru the old maids were the objects of high esteem. There -were sacred virgins called ‘Wives of the Sun,’ somewhat similar to -the Roman vestals.[7] (The nuns of the present day, do they not style -themselves the ‘Spouses of Christ’?). They made a vow of perpetual -chastity.... It is also said they were buried alive when they happened -to break their vow of chastity, unless indeed they could prove having -conceived, not from a man, but from the sun. - - [7] “Now as to these vows of virginity, Heliogabalus did promulgate a - law to the effect that no Roman maid, not even a Vestal Virgin, was - bound to perpetuate virginity, saying how that the female sex was - over weak for women to be bound to a pact they could never be sure of - keeping.” (Brantôme: _Lives of Fair and Gallant Ladies_.) The author - of this edict was not without a knowledge of sexual psychology, for - we have ample evidence that some of the Vestals failed in their duty, - which was, nominally, to guard the sacred fire and the Holy Things - of Rome. “Far up by Porta Pia,” says F. Marion Crawford (_Ave Roma - Immortalis_: London, 1903), “over against the new Treasury, under a - modern street, lie the bones of guilty Vestals, buried living, each - in a little vault two fathoms deep, with the small dish and crust and - the earthen lamp that soon flickered out in the close, damp air.” - Vestal Virgins had many privileges denied to other Roman women; they - were free for life; they had a right to be present at the Emperor’s - games; and they were treated with marked respect by the highest in the - land. That the privileges of virginity did not necessarily make for - the owner’s happiness is instanced by Brantôme’s grim story. “Maids - and virgins,” he writes (_Lives of Fair and Gallant Ladies_), “would - seem in old days at Rome to have been highly honoured and privileged, - so much so that the law had no jurisdiction over them to sentence them - to death. Hence the story we read of a Roman Senator in the time of - the Triumvirate, which was condemned to die among other victims of the - Proscription, and not he alone, but all the offspring of his loins. So - when a daughter of his house did appear on the scaffold, a very fair - and lovely girl, but of unripe years and yet a virgin, ‘twas needful - for the executioner to deflower her himself and take her maidenhead - on the scaffold, and only then when she was so polluted, could he ply - his knife upon her. The Emperor Tiberius did delight in having fair - virgins thus publicly deflowered, and then put to death,--a right - villainous piece of cruelty, pardy!” - -“Several authors worthy of credence assure us that these vestals were -guarded by eunuchs. The temple at Cuzco had one thousand virgins, that -of Caranqua two hundred. It would appear, however, that the virginity -of these vestals was not so very sacred after all, for the Inca Kings -used to choose from among them concubines for themselves or for their -principal vassals and favourite friends. - -“Marco Polo narrates how young girls were exposed by their mothers on -the public highway in order that travellers might freely make use of -them.[8] A young girl was expected to have at least twenty presents -earned by such prostitutions before she could hope to find a husband. -This did not prevent them from being very virtuous after marriage, nor -their virtue from being much appreciated.[9] - - [8] _C.f._ Herodotus, who tells us that in the fifth century before - Christ every woman, once in her life, had to come to the temple of - Mylitta, the Babylonian Venus, and yield herself to the first stranger - who threw a coin in her lap, in worship of the goddess. The money - could not be refused, however small the amount, but it was given as - an offertory to the temple, and the woman, having followed the man - and thus made oblation to Mylitta, returned home and lived chastely - ever afterwards. (Havelock Ellis: _Studies in the Psychology of Sex_: - vol. 6: _Sex in Relation to Society_.) Havelock Ellis has quoted - Herodotus in relation to prostitution, holding that its origin is to - be found primarily in religious custom. In our opinion, the practice - also merits inclusion in a catalogue of virginal folk-lore, and we are - further justified in our view by the statement that the woman who so - yielded herself lived chastely ever afterwards. - - [9] “In old times we read of a custom in the isle of Cyprus, which - ‘tis said the kindly goddess Venus, the patroness of that land, did - introduce. This was that the maids of that island should go forth - and wander along the banks, shores and cliffs of the sea, for to - earn their marriage portions by the generous giving of their bodies - to mariners, sailors and seafarers along that coast. These would - put in to shore on purpose, very often indeed turning from their - straight course by compass to land there; and so taking their pleasant - refreshment with them, would pay handsomely, and presently hie them - away again to sea, for their part only too sorry to leave such good - entertainment behind. Thus would these fair maids win their marriage - dowers, some more, some less, some high, some low, some grand, some - lowly, according to the beauty, gifts and carnal attractions of each - damsel.” (Brantôme: _Lives of Fair and Gallant Ladies_.) - -“Waitz assures us that in several countries of Africa a young girl -is preferred for wife when she has made herself remarked by several -amours and by much fecundity. (_C.f._ Havelock Ellis, _op. cit._, -vol.6: ‘Equally unsound is the notion that the virgin bride brings -her husband at marriage an important capital which is consumed in the -first act of intercourse and can never be recovered. That is a notion -which has survived into civilisation, but it belongs to barbarism and -not to civilisation. So far as it has any validity it lies within a -sphere of erotic perversity which cannot be taken into consideration -in an estimation of moral values. For most men, however, in any case, -whether they realise it or not, the woman who has been initiated into -the mysteries of love has a higher erotic value than the virgin,[10] -and there need be no anxiety on this ground concerning the wife who has -lost her virginity.’) - - [10] “I am not surprised if the Phœnicians, according to St. - Athanasius, obliged their daughters, by severe laws, to suffer - themselves before marriage to be deflowered by valets, or also that - the Armenians, as Strabo relates, sacrificed their daughters in the - temple of the Goddess Anaitis, with the object of being eased of - their maidenheads, so as to be able afterwards to find advantageous - marriages suited to their condition; for one cannot describe what - exhaustion and what sufferings a man has to undergo in his first - action, at all events if the girl be narrow.... It is far sweeter to - have connection with a woman accustomed to the pleasures of love than - to caress one who has not yet known a man; for as we ask a locksmith - to ease the wards of a new lock he brings us, to save us the trouble - we might have the first day, so had the nations of whom we spoke good - reason for establishing such laws.” (Nicolas Venette: _La Génération - de L’Homme, ou Tableau de L’Amour Conjugal_: Paris, 1751.) - -“It was impossible,” continues Dr. Jacobus X--, “ever to find the signs -of virginity among the Machacura women in Brazil, and Feldner explains -the reason thus:-- - -“‘Among them a virgin is never to be found, for this reason: that the -mother from her daughter’s tenderest years endeavours with the utmost -care to remove all tightness of the vagina and obstacle therein. With -this end in view, the leaf of a tree folded in the shape of a funnel -is held in the right hand, then while the index finger is introduced -into the genital parts and worked to and fro, warm water is admitted by -means of the funnel.’ (_Journey Across Brazil_, 1828.) - -“Among the Sakalaves in Madagascar the young girls deflower themselves, -when the parents have not previously seen to this necessary preparation -for marriage. - -“Among the Balanti of Senegambia, one of the most degraded races in -Africa, the girls cannot find a husband until they have been deflowered -by their King, who often exacts costly presents from his female -subjects for putting them in condition to be able to marry. - -“Barth, (1856), in describing Adamad, says that the chief of the Bagoli -used to lie the first night with the daughters of the Fulba, a people -under his sway. Similar facts are related of the aborigines of Brazil -and of the Kinipeto Esquimaux. - -“Demosthenes informs us that there was a celebrated Greek hetaira, -named Mæra, who had seven slaves whom she called her daughters, so that -being supposed to be free a higher price was paid for their favours. -She sold their virginity five or six times over, and ended by selling -the whole lot together. - -“The god Mutinus, Mutunus or Tutunus of ancient Rome used to have -the new brides come and sit upon his knees, as if to offer him their -virginity. St. Augustine says: ‘In the celebration of nuptials the -newly wed bride used to be bidden sit on the shaft of Priapus.’ -Lactantius gives more precise details: ‘And Mutunus, in whose shameful -lap brides sit, in order that the god may appear to have gathered -the first-fruits of their virginity.’ It appears, however, that this -offering was not merely symbolical, for when they had become wives, -they used to return to the favourite deity to pray for fecundity.[11] - - [11] “According to Festus, _Mutinus_ is a god differing wholly from - Priapus, having a public sanctuary at Rome, where the statue was - placed sitting with _penis_ erect. Newly mated girls were placed - in his lap, before being led away to their husbands, so that the - deity might appear to have foretasted their virginity, this being - supposed to render the bride fruitful.” (_Priapeia_: Cosmopoli, 1890.) - Schurig (_Gynæcologia_: _op. cit. sup._) instances the Indian custom - of deflowering young brides by means of an enormous priapus in the - temples. - -“Arnobius also asks: ‘Is it Tutunus, on whose huge organs and bristling -tool you think it an auspicious and desirable thing that your matrons -should be mounted?’ - -“Pertunda was another hermaphrodite divinity that St. Augustine -maliciously proposed rather to name the _Deus Pretundus_ (who strikes -first); it was carried on to the nuptial bed to aid the bridegroom: -‘Pertunda stands there ready in the bed-chamber for the aid of husbands -excavating the virgin pit.’ (Arnobius.) - -“The Kondadgis (Ceylon), the Cambodgians, and other peoples charged -their priests with the defloration of their brides. - -“Jager communicated to the Berlin Anthropological Society a passage -from Gemelli Cancri, which mentions a _stupratio officialis_[12] -practised at a certain period among the Bisayos of the Philippine -Islands: ‘There is no known example of a custom so barbarous as that -which had been there established, of having public officials, and even -paid very dearly, to take the virginity of young girls, the same being -considered to be an obstacle to the pleasures of the husband. As a fact -there no longer exists any trace of this infamous practice since the -establishment of the Spanish rule, ... but even to-day a Bisayo feels -vexed to find his wife safe from suspicion, because he concludes, that -not having excited the desire of anyone, she must have some bad quality -which will prevent him from being happy with her.’ - - [12] _i.e._, a legalised defilement or ravishing. Blondeau, in - his _Dictionnaire érotique latin-français_ (Liseux: Paris, 1885), - translates _stupratio_ as “a combat in which one forces a beauty to - yield to one’s passion ... to take possession of the honour of some - pretty woman ... the struggle in which women succumb with pleasure.” - _Stupro_, the verb; _stuprator_, the noun; and _stupratus_, the - adjective have kindred meanings. - -“On the Malabar Coast, also, there were Brahmins whose only religious -office was to gather the virgin flower of young girls. These latter -used to pay them for it, without which they could not find husbands. -The King of Calicut himself used to grant the right of the first night -to a Brahmin; the King of Tamassat grants it to the first stranger who -arrives in the town; whereas the King of Campa reserves to himself -the _jus primæ noctis_[13] for all the marriages in the kingdom. (_De -Gubernatis, Histoire des voyageurs italiens aux Indes Orientales_: -Livourne, 1875.) - - [13] An old established practice whereby newly married women are - deflowered by others than their husbands, whether by priest, lord, or - stranger. To discuss this relic of feudalism would be beyond the scope - of a note; it is summed up briefly in the idea that the lord of a - domain was entitled to exact tribute from his subjects in the form of - intercourse with every bride on the first night of her marriage. Our - readers are referred to Dr. Karl Schmidt’s _Jus Primæ Noctis (The Law - of the First Night)_, the most comprehensive treatise on the subject. - -“Warthema says that the King of Calicut, when he took a wife, chose -the most worthy and learned Brahmin to deflower the maiden; for this -service he received from 400 to 500 crowns. At Tenasserim fathers used -to beg of their daughters to allow themselves to be deflowered by -Christians or Mohammedans. - -“Pascal de Andagoya, who visited Nicaragua between 1514 and 1522, -says that it was usual for a grand-priest to lie during the first -night with the bride, and Oviedo, (1535), speaking of the Acovacks -and other American nations, relates that the wife, in order that the -marriage should be happy, passed the first nuptial night with the -priest or _piache_, and Gomarra, (1551), relates the same thing of the -inhabitants of Cumana. - -“In Europe, young girls who are not very virtuous, and who have studied -all the various forms of flirtation, are most generally passed off as -virgins when they marry. Even when it does not really exist, there are -many ways by which a virginity--which perhaps has been sold over and -over again by expert and clever procuresses--can be simulated. A little -time before going to the nuptial bed, the girl inserts into her vagina -a few drops of pigeon’s blood; or in some cases she selects for her -wedding day the last day of menstruation. A sponge, skilfully placed, -allows the blood to flow at the moment of the catastrophe, when a -sudden ‘Oh!’ announces to the unsuspecting husband that the temple has -been violated for the first time, and that the veil of the _sanctum -sanctorum_ has really been rent by him. Add also to these methods -injections so astringent that, at the required time, they will give to -a prostitute, whose gap has been widened by a thousand customers, a -tightness greater than that of a real virgin.” - -The more one examines the question, the more one is convinced that -virginity or chastity has come to be regarded as a spiritual and -moral asset only in civilised, or comparatively civilised, society. -“In considering the moral quality of chastity among savages,” writes -Havelock Ellis (_Studies in the Psychology of Sex_, vol. 6, p. 147), -“we must carefully separate that chastity which among semi-primitive -peoples is exclusively imposed upon women. This has no moral quality -whatever, for it is not exercised as a useful discipline, but merely -enforced in order to heighten the economic and erotic value of women. - -“Many authorities believe that the regard for women as property -furnishes the true reason for the widespread insistence on virginity in -brides. Thus A. B. Ellis, speaking of the West Coast of Africa (_Yoruba -Speaking Peoples_, pp. 183 _et seq._), says that girls of good class -are betrothed as mere children, and are carefully guarded from men, -while girls of lower class are seldom betrothed, and may lead any life -they choose.” - -Virginity in woman, it seems, has been set on a pedestal unsupported -by history, science, or investigation. It is obviously the outcome -of man’s desire, when he buys or acquires, to obtain unsoiled goods. -Comes a time, however, when the value of these so-called unsoiled -goods grows questionable. Something virgin, in terms of common sense, -is not necessarily something valuable; here enters the thinking, and, -ultimately, the erotic, element. Let a man fall to asking why he -demands virginity, and he will speedily begin to realise that it is the -last thing he requires. Virginity spells ignorance, awkwardness and -obstacles; maturity means understanding and co-operation. Thus, by easy -stages, we reach the conclusion, mentioned by Havelock Ellis and quoted -above, that for most men, whether they realise it or not, the love-wise -woman has a greater erotic value than the virgin.[14] - - [14] Brantôme, of course, has some pertinent remarks on the subject. - In his _Lives of Fair and Gallant Ladies_, he devotes the seventh - _Discourse_ to the following topic: _Concerning married women, widows - and maids,--to wit, which of these same be better than other to love_. - “One day,” writes the genial philosopher, “when I was at the Court of - Spain at Madrid, and conversing with a very honourable lady, ... she - did chance to ask me this question following:--’Which of the three had - the greater heat of love: widow, wife or maid?’ After myself had told - her mine opinion she did in turn give me hers in some such terms as - these: ‘That albeit maids, with all that heat of blood that is theirs, - be right well disposed to love, yet do they not love so well as wives - and widows. This is because of the great experience of the business - the latter have, and the obvious fact that supposing a man born blind, - ... he can never desire the gift of sight so strongly as he that has - sweetly enjoyed the same a while and then been deprived of it.’” - Later, quoting Boccaccio, Brantôme also says:--“The widow is more - painstaking of the pleasure of love an hundred fold than the virgin, - seeing the latter is all for dearly guarding her precious virginity - and maidenhead. Further, virgins be naturally timid, and above all in - this matter, awkward and inept to find the sweet artifices and pretty - complaisances required under divers circumstances in such encounters. - But this is not so with the widow, who is already well practised, bold - and ready in this art, having long ago bestowed and given away what - the virgin doth make so much ado about giving.... Beside all this, - the maid doth dread this first assault of her virginity, ... whereas - widows have no such fear, but do submit themselves very sweetly and - gently, even when the assailant be of the roughest.” - -Quoting Westermarck (_History of Human Marriage_), he goes on to refer -to the fact that the seduction of an unmarried girl “is chiefly, if not -exclusively, regarded as an offence against the parents or family of -the girl,” and there is no indication that it is ever held by savages -that any wrong has been done to the woman herself. - -“Westermarck realises at the same time,” adds Havelock Ellis, “that -the preference given to virgins has also a biological basis in the -instinctive masculine feeling of jealousy in regard to women who have -had intercourse with other men, and especially in the erotic charm for -men of the emotional state of shyness which accompanies virginity.” - -Here, in all probability, are the most powerful reasons for the value -placed on virginity; each reason, too, is highly practical. Who -among us truly wants to share his most treasured possession? And the -shy charm of virginity ‘neath the attack of the amorous lover is as -undeniable as it is indescribable. Hence the virgin’s lure for the old -and worn-out roué, who finds in her shrinking reluctance a stimulant -to his erotic prowess which sympathy, boldness, even lewdness, have -no power to furnish. That quaint old book, “_Memoirs of a Woman of -Pleasure_,” (London, 1780), gives a typical account of the attempt and -failure of an aged rake to ravish the then virginal heroine of the -story.[15] - - [15] We can supplement these remarks by a further quotation from that - curious work already noticed, _The Battles of Venus_, wherein we read: - “This lust, then, after the _untouched_ morsel, I take not to be an - original dictate of nature; but consequently to result from much - experience with women, which has been demonstrated to lead to novelty - of wishes from fastidious impotence.... Yet, in truth, I esteem the - fruition of a virgin to be, with respect both to the mind and body of - the enjoyer, the highest aggravation of sensual delight. In the first - place, his fancy is heated with the prospect of enjoying a woman, - after whom he has perhaps long sighed and has been in pursuit, who - he thinks has never before been in bed with a man, (in whose arms - never before has man laid), and in triumphing in the first sight - of her virgin charms. This precious operation, then, of fancy, has - been shown in the highest degree to prepare the body for enjoyment. - Secondly, his body perceives, in that of a virgin, the cause of the - greatest aggravation of delight. I mean not only in the coyness and - resistance which she makes to his efforts, but when he is on the point - of accomplishing them: when arrived, as the poet sings, ‘on the brink - of giddy rapture,’ when in pity to a tender virgin’s sufferings, he is - intreated not to break fiercely in, but to spare ‘fierce dilaceration - and dire pangs.’ The resistance which the small, and as yet unopened, - mouth of bliss makes to his eager endeavours, serves only, and that - on a physical principle, to strengthen the instrument of his attack, - and concurs, with the instigation of his ardent fancy, to reinforce - his efforts, to unite all the co-operative powers of enjoyment, and - to produce an emission copious, rapid, and transporting.... ‘In - this case, part of the delight arises from considering that ... you - feel the convulsive wrigglings of the chaste nymph you have so long - adored....’” Our acknowledgements are again due to Pisanus Fraxi, - from whose _Index Librorum Prohibitorum_ our extract is taken. The - author of _The Battles of Venus_, it need hardly be said, is in no - sense an authority; his work, indeed, is pornographic rather than - artistic; at the same time, it is impossible to ignore his flashes of - insight into a question which has exercised the minds of the greatest - psychologists. - -At certain times and with certain peoples the virgin maid has been -fenced about with all manner of safeguards up to the very hour of her -marriage; but have these and other peoples ever troubled to preserve -the virginity of their daughters as they were at pains to guard the -chastity of their wives? What nation ever inflicted that ghastly -contrivance, the Girdle of Chastity, upon its virgin daughters? This -bar to erotic pleasure was reserved exclusively for the potentially -froward wife. - -Originating in the woollen band worn by the Spartan virgins[16]--a -garment removed for the first time by the husband on the wedding -night--these Girdles of Chastity, with their padlocks and keys, were -undoubtedly in use in the fourteenth or fifteenth century, and in use -for an unmistakable purpose. “The first to employ this apparatus,” says -Dr. Jacobus X--(_Ethnology of the Sixth Sense_: Charles Carrington: -Paris, 1899), “was Francis of Tarrara, Provost of Padua in the -fourteenth century. It was a belt having a central piece made of ivory, -with a barbed narrow slit down the middle, which was passed between -the legs and fixed there by lock and key. A specimen of this safety -apparatus is to be seen actually at the Musée de Cluny in Paris.” - - [16] Brantôme, apparently, had a poor opinion of Spartan virginity. - “What kind of virtue was it?” he asks. (_Lives of Fair and Gallant - Ladies._) “Why! on their solemn feast-days the Spartan maids were - used to sing and dance in public stark naked with the lads, and even - wrestle in the open market place,--the which however was done in all - honesty and good faith, so History saith. But what sort of honesty and - purity was this, we may well ask, to look on at these pretty maids so - performing publicly? Honesty was it never a whit, but pleasure in the - sight of them, and especially of their bodily movements and dancing - postures, and above all in their wrestling; and chiefest of all when - they came to fall one atop of the other, as they say in Latin: ‘She - underneath, he atop; he underneath, she atop.’ You will never persuade - me ‘twas all honesty and purity herein with these Spartan maidens. I - ween there is never chastity so chaste that would not have been shaken - thereby, or that, so making in public and by day these feint assaults, - they did not presently in privity and by night and on assignation - proceed to greater combats and night attacks.” - -Dr. Caufeynon, the great authority on the subject, believes, however, -that these girdles only date from the Renaissance.[17] In his -remarkable little work, _La Ceinture de Chasteté_ (Paris, 1904), which -contains numerous engravings and photographic designs, he gives an -illustration of the specimen in the Musée de Cluny. Quoting Brantôme -(_Lives of Fair and Gallant Ladies_), he adds:-- - - [17] Havelock Ellis, _op. cit._, vol. 6: _Sex in Relation to Society_, - p. 163. - -“In the time of Henry the king there lived an ironmonger who brought to -the fair of St. Germain a dozen of certain machines to bridle the parts -of women; they were fashioned of iron and went round like a girdle, and -went below and were closed with a key. So cleverly were they fashioned -that it was not possible for the women, when once bridled, to arrive at -the sweet pleasure, there being but a few small holes in it for pissing. - -“‘Tis said there were five or six jealous husbands, who bought these -machines and bridled their wives with them in such fashion that they -might well have said ‘Farewell, happy time,’ had there not been one who -bethought her of applying to a locksmith very skilled in his art, to -whom she showed the machine, her own, her husband being then out in the -fields; and he applied his mind so well to the matter that he made for -her a false key, with which the lady opened or closed the machine at -any time and when she willed. - -“The husband never discovered aught to say on the matter; and the lady -gave herself up to her own good pleasure, despite her foolish, jealous, -cuckold husband, being ever able to live in the freedom of cuckoldom. -But the wicked locksmith who fashioned the false key tasted of it all; -and he did well, so they say, for he was the first to taste of it. - -“They say, too, that there were many gallant and honest gentlemen -of the court who threatened that ironmonger with death did he ever -presume to carry about such merchandise; so much so that he was afraid -and returned no more and threw away all the rest, and no more was heard -of. Wherein he was wise, for it were enough to lose half the world, -for want of any body to people it, through such bridles, clasps and -fastenings of a nature abominable and detestable and enemies to human -multiplication.” - -The troubadour Guillaume de Machault speaks of a key given to him by -Agnes of Navarre; this key was obviously intended to unlock a girdle -of chastity. Nicolas Chorier, in his erotic _Dialogues of Luisa Sigea_ -(Paris: Isidore Liseux, 1890), mentions the apparatus. Although the -existence of such girdles has often been denied, “the presence of -many undoubted specimens in several of the most important museums -of Europe,” says Dr. Jacobus X--(_Ethnology of the Sixth Sense_), -“places their authenticity beyond all doubt. This custom existed more -particularly during the time of the Crusades, ... but a very curious -instance is mentioned as having occurred as late as the middle of -the eighteenth century, for it is recorded that the advocate Feydeau -pleaded before the supreme court of Montpellier on behalf of a woman -who accused her husband of making her undergo this shameful treatment. -(_Petition against the introduction of padlocks or girdles of chastity, -Montpellier, 1750._)” - -All this only goes to show that virginity and chastity are two very -different things, and that the latter was obviously of more account -than the former in the eyes of mediæval man. Much the same obtains -to-day. To a certain extent we seek to preserve the virginity of our -daughters; but is there any limit to the precautions with which a -jealous husband will fence about his wife? In short, virginity concerns -alone her who loses it; is any man’s for the taking. Chastity is -another person’s property. - -This slight survey of virginity would be incomplete without a reference -to the operation of infibulation[18]--the artificial adhesion of -the _labia majora_ by means of a ring or stitches with a view to -the prevention of sexual intercourse. Kisch, (_The Sexual Life of -Woman_: translated by M. Eden Paul: London: Wm. Heinemann), quotes the -authority of Ploss-Bartels for saying that this operation is practised -by many savage peoples, among them the Bedschas, the Gallas, the -Somalis, the inhabitants of Harrar, at Massaua, etc. - - [18] _C.f._ the Latin _infibulare_=to clasp, buckle, or button - together. (Smith’s Latin-English dictionary.) The noun _fibula_ can be - translated: (1) a clasp, buckle, pin, latchet, brace; (2) a surgical - instrument for drawing together the edges of a gaping wound; (3) a - ring drawn through the prepuce to prevent copulation. Celsus, Martial - and Juvenal use the word in this sense. “The ancient Romans prevented - actors from copulating, with the object of preserving their voices. - Martial speaks of singers who sometimes broke the ring, and whom it - was necessary to bring back again to the blacksmith.” (Jacobus X--, - _op. cit._) - -“The purpose of this practise,” he adds, “is to preserve the chastity -of the girls until marriage, when the reverse operative procedure -is undertaken. If the husband goes away on a journey, in many cases -the operation of infibulation is once more performed upon his wives. -Slave-dealers also make use of this operation so as to prevent their -slaves from becoming pregnant. It is reported, however, that the -operation does not invariably produce the desired effect.” - -Nothing we have said or quoted, however, can alter the fact that -virginity has been and will always be a certain asset in civilised or -semi-civilised communities. There is a romance attached to the term -which neither cynicism nor materialism can kill. Incidentally, there is -a strong business side to the question. Who, as we said before, wants -to feel that his dearest possession has been shared by others? Who, in -more modern parlance, wants damaged goods? - -While life lasts, the virgin maid will lure the normal lover, common -sense and cold facts notwithstanding. What the poet sang and the -amorous swain coveted in those by-gone times of pomp and paganism, in -the days of chivalry, and even in that dreary early Victorian era, -will be sung and coveted centuries hence. Science, new discoveries, -new theories, new ideals, new conditions, cannot oust human nature, -our undeniable birthright. The sanctity and value of virginity are -traditions; and, as Havelock Ellis says, in that singularly beautiful -postscript to his _Studies_, “there can be no world without traditions; -neither can there be any life without movement. As Heracleitus knew -at the outset of modern philosophy, we cannot bathe twice in the -same stream, though, as we know to-day, the stream still flows in an -unending circle. There is never a moment when the new dawn is not -breaking over the earth, and never a moment when the sunset ceases to -die. It is well to greet serenely even the first glimmer of the dawn -when we see it, not hastening toward it with undue speed, nor leaving -the sunset without gratitude for the dying light that once was dawn. - -“In the moral world we are ourselves the light-bearers, and the cosmic -process is in us made flesh. For a brief space it is granted to us, if -we will, to enlighten the darkness that surrounds our path. As in the -ancient torch-race, which seemed to Lucretius to be the symbol of all -life, we press forward torch in hand along the course. Soon from behind -comes the runner who will outpace us. All our skill lies in giving into -his hand the living torch, bright and unflickering, as we ourselves -disappear in the darkness.” - -Beautiful words, and fitting monument to a man who gave thirty years -of his life to the production of a work that will live for all time. -Hardly applicable to our present theme some, perhaps, will say. We -take leave to differ. In the relations between man and woman all life -is epitomised. Each bears the torch, and the race they run is the life -they lead. To almost all is granted the chance to hand on the torch in -living, breathing prototype. - -Let us recognise new conditions, new ideas; let us welcome, examine -and weigh them, that none may say we do not ‘greet serenely the dawn.’ -But let us also remember that theory cannot oust fact, nor materialism -human nature. - -Down the ages man has altered in custom and habit, but in his spiritual -essence not at all. Save for local and racial differences, humanity has -shared the same passions of pain, sorrow, happiness, anger, laughter -and lust throughout all time. Human nature alone does not change; our -birthright is immutable. Human nature ever has, and ever will, set -store by virginity. It has become a tradition. And without tradition, -as the great psychologist has truly told us, there is no world. - - - - -THE WAY OF A VIRGIN. - - - - -THE ENCHANTED RING.[19] - - [19] _Kruptadia_: Heilbronn, 1883: Henninger Frères: vol. 1: _Secret - Stories from the Russian_, No. 32. Also _Contes Secrets Russes_: - Paris: Liseux, 1891. - - -In a certain reign, in a certain kingdom, there lived once on a time -three peasant brethren, who quarrelled among themselves and divided up -their goods; they did not share equally, and the division gave much to -the elder brethren but very little to the youngest. - -All three were young lads. They went forth together into the courtyard, -saying one to the other: - -“‘Tis time for us to wed.” - -“‘Tis well enough for ye,” quoth the youngest brother. “Ye are rich, -and the rich can marry. But what may I do? I am poor. I have not even -a log of wood to my name. All I have for a fortune is a yard which -reacheth to my knees!” - -On this very moment there chanced to pass a merchant’s daughter, who -overheard these words and said to herself: - -“Ah! that I might have this young man for a husband! He hath a yard -that reacheth to his very knees!” - -The two elder brethren married; the youngest remained single. - -The merchant’s daughter, back in her home, had no thought in her head -but to wed the young peasant; several rich merchants sought her hand in -marriage, but she would have none of them. - -“I will wed with none save this young man,” quoth she. - -Her father and mother sought to dissuade her. “What art thinking on, -foolish one?” said they. “Come back to thy senses! Why wouldst wed with -a poor peasant?” - -“Concern not yourselves with that!” answered she. “‘Tis not ye who will -have to live with him!” - -The merchant’s daughter came to an understanding with the matchmaker, -and dispatched her to tell the young man to come without fail and ask -her hand in marriage. The matchmaker went to see him, saying: - -“Hearken, oh! my little dove. Why standest there gaping? Go ask in -marriage the merchant’s daughter. She hath awaited thee this long time, -and will wed thee with joy.” - -The young man swiftly apparelled himself, donned a new smock-frock, -took his new hat, and hied him forthwith to the house of the merchant -to ask his daughter’s hand in marriage. When the merchant’s daughter -perceived him, when she recognised that it was indeed he whose yard -reached to his knees, she fell to asking her father and mother for -their blessing on a union indissoluble. - -On the wedding night she went to bed with her husband, and perceived -that he had but a little yard, smaller even than a finger. - -“Oh! thou scoundrel!” she cried. “Thou boastest ownership of a yard -reaching to thy knees! What hast done with it?” - -“Dear wife, thou knowest that I was a bachelor, and very poor; when I -resolved to marry, I had neither gold nor aught else to enable me so to -do. So I have pledged my yard.”[20] - - [20] Literally: “put it in pawn.” - -“And for what sum hast thou pledged thy yard?” - -“But for little--for fifty roubles.” - -“Good. On the morrow I will go seek my mother, I will beg money of her, -and thou wilt go without fail to recover thy yard. If thou dost not buy -it back, enter not the house!” - -She waited until morn, then ran swiftly in search of her mother, saying: - -“Grant me a favour, little mother. Give me fifty roubles. I have sore -need of them.” - -“But tell me why thou hast need of them.” - -“See, little mother. My husband had a yard which reached to his knees. -When we desired to marry, he knew not where to find the money, the poor -man, and he hath pledged his yard for fifty roubles. Now my husband -hath but a tiny yard, even smaller than a finger. ‘Tis of the utmost -necessity, therefore, to buy back his ancient yard.” - -The mother, understanding the need, drew fifty roubles from her purse, -and gave them to her daughter. The latter returned to her home and gave -the money to her husband, saying: - -“Go! Run now swiftly to buy back thine ancient yard, in order that -strangers may not make use of it!” - -The young man took the money and went forth, eyes downcast. Where might -he turn now? Where find for his wife such a yard? Best leave it to -chance. - -He went forward, now swiftly, now slowly, and at length he encountered -an aged woman. - -“Good day, good woman.” - -“Good day, good man. Whither goest thou at this pace?” - -“Ah, good woman--would thou knewest--would thou didst know my -sorrow--would I might tell thee whither I go!” - -“Tell me thy sorrow, little dove. Perchance I can come to thine aid.” - -“I am shamed to tell it thee.” - -“Fear not, have no shame. Speak boldly.” - -“Ah, well, see here, good woman. I had boasted of having a yard that -reached to my knees; a merchant’s daughter, who had heard this, -espoused me, but when she lay with me on our wedding night and -perceived that I had but a little yard, smaller than a finger, she -cried out and asked what I had done with my great yard. I told her that -I had pledged it for fifty roubles; she gave me the money and bade me -buy it back without fail; otherwise, I might not show myself again at -my home. And I know not how to satisfy my little dove.” - -The aged woman made answer to him: - -“Give me thy money,” said she, “and I will find a remedy for thy -sorrow.” - -Forthwith he drew the fifty roubles from his pocket and gave them to -her; the aged woman handed to him a ring. - -“Come, take this ring,” quoth she. “Put it only on thy finger nail.” - -The young man took the ring, and scarce had he put it on his finger -nail ere his yard stretched itself a cubit’s length. - -“Well, what of it?” asked the aged woman. “Doth thy yard reach to thy -knees?” - -“Yea, good woman. It reacheth even below my knees.” - -“Now, my little dove, pass the ring down thy whole finger.” - -He passed the ring over his entire finger, and his yard lengthened out -even unto seven versts.[21] - - [21] A verst would be about 1,170 yards. The virtue of the ring was - indeed remarkable! - -“Ah! good woman! where shall I lodge it? It will bring me ill fortune -with my wife.” - -“Thrust up the ring to thy finger nail; thy yard will be but a cubit’s -span. This for thy guidance--pay attention and never put the ring -beyond thy finger nail.” - -He thanked the aged woman, and retook the road homeward; and as he -journeyed he rejoiced in that he need not appear before his wife with -empty hands. - -But as he went, he felt a desire to eat. Going aside, he seated himself -not far from the road at the foot of a burdock, drew biscuits from -his wallet, dipped them in water, and fell to eating. Anon, desire to -slumber o’er-came him; he lay down, belly uppermost, and played with -the ring. He put it upon his finger nail, and his yard rose to the -height of a cubit’s span; he pressed his whole finger through the ring, -and his yard rose to a height of seven versts; he removed the ring, and -his yard became small as before. He examined and re-examined the ring, -and thus he fell asleep. But he forgot to conceal the ring, which -rested upon his belly. - -There chanced to pass in a carriage a lord and his wife. The lord -saw, not far from the road, a peasant aslumbering, and upon his belly -glittered a ring, as it were a live coal in the sun. He stopped the -horses, saying to his lackey: - -“Approach the peasant, take the ring, and bring it to me.” - -Straightway the lackey ran to the peasant, and carried back the ring to -the lord. And these went on their way. - -The lord admired the ring. - -“Look thou, my dear loved one,” said he to his wife. “What a superb -ring! Behold! I put it upon my finger.” And he passed it down his whole -finger. - -Straightway his yard reached out, o’erturned the coachman from his box -seat, struck one of the mares right beneath the tail, pushed aside the -animal, and caused the carriage to go ahead of it.[22] - - [22] _Contes Secrets Russes_ translate: “His yard stretched forth, - hurled the driver from his seat, passed beyond the team of horses, and - reached out in front of the carriage for a distance of seven versts.” - -The lady beheld what misfortune had befallen, was greatly affrighted, -and cried with all her force to the lackey, saying: - -“Run most swiftly to the peasant and lead him hither!” - -The lackey sped amain to the peasant and aroused him, saying: - -“Come swiftly, my little peasant, to my master!” - -The peasant sought his ring. - -“A curse on thee! Thou hast taken my ring!” - -“Seek not,” said the lackey. “Come to my master. He hath thy ring, -which hath caused us a great fuss.” - -The peasant ran to the carriage. Quoth the lord to him: - -“Pardon me, but come to my aid in my misfortune!” - -“What wilt give me, lord?” - -“Here are one hundred roubles.” - -“Give me two hundred and I will deliver thee.” - -The lord drew two hundred roubles from his pocket, the peasant took the -money, and withdrew the ring from the lord’s finger, whereat the yard -vanished as if by magic, and there was left to the lord but his former -little instrument. - -The lord went his way, and the peasant hied him homeward with the ring. -His wife was at the window and saw him come; she ran to meet him. - -“Hast brought it back?” asked she. - -“I have.” - -“Show it me!” - -“Come within the chamber. I cannot show it thee outside.” - -They entered the chamber, nor did the wife cease to repeat: “Show it -me! Show it me!” - -He placed the ring on his finger-nail, and his yard lengthened a -cubit’s span; then he drew off his drawers, saying: “Behold, wife!” - -The wife fell on his neck. - -“My dear little husband, here is truly an instrument that will be -better in our house than with strangers. Come swiftly and eat; then we -will to bed and make trial of it.” - -Forthwith she put upon the table all manner of meats and beverages, -and they fell to eating and drinking. Having feasted, they betook -themselves to bed. When he had pierced his wife with this yard, she, -for three whole days, was ever peering ‘neath his garment; it seemed to -her that the yard was ever thrusting between her legs. - -She went to pay a visit to her mother, what time her husband hied him -to the garden and lay down ‘neath an apple tree. - -“Well,” asked the mother of her daughter, “have ye bought back the -yard?” - -“We have bought it back, little mother.” - -And the mother had but one thought: to steal away, profiting by her -daughter’s visit, to run to the house of her son-in-law, and to make -trial of his great yard. - -And while the daughter chattered, the mother came to the house of the -son-in-law and sped into the garden. The son-in-law was aslumbering; -the ring was on his finger nail, and his yard stood erect to the height -of a cubit’s span. - -“I will mount upon his yard,” said the good mother to herself. - -And she mounted, in sooth, upon the yard, and balanced herself thereon. - -But, by ill fortune, the ring slipped to the base of the finger of the -son-in-law what time he slept, and the yard raised the good mother to -the height of seven versts. - -The daughter perceived that her mother had gone forth, she divined the -reason, and hastened to return home. In her house there was no one. She -went into the garden, and what saw she? Her husband aslumbering, his -yard raised to a vast height, and, all in the clouds, the good mother, -scarce visible; and she, when the wind blew, turned upon the yard as -though upon a stake. - -What to do? How remove her mother from off the yard? - -A great crowd had come together; they discussed; they proferred -counsel. Said some: there is naught for it but to take a hatchet and -cut the yard. Said others: no, ‘tis a bad plan. Why lose two souls? For -as soon as the yard is cut, the woman will fall and kill herself. ‘Tis -better to pray to God that perchance by some miracle the old woman will -disentangle herself from it. - -During this time the son-in-law awoke, and perceived that his ring -had descended to the base of his finger, that his yard raised itself -towards the sky to a height of seven versts, and that it nailed him -solidly to the earth, in such wise that he could not turn upon his -other side. - -He withdrew very softly the ring from his finger; his yard descended to -the height of a cubit’s span; and the son-in-law saw his mother-in-law -suspended upon it. - -“How camest thou there, little mother?” - -“Pardon, my little son-in-law. I will not do it any more!” - - - - -_VARIANT._ - - -Once on a time a tailor possessed a magic ring; as soon as he put it -upon his finger, his yard assumed an extraordinary development. It fell -out that he went to work at the house of a woman; by nature he was gay -and given to jesting, and when he lay down to slumber he neglected -always to cover his genitals. - -The woman observed that he had a yard of great proportions; desirous of -sampling the power of such an instrument, she summoned the tailor to -her chamber. - -“Hearken,” quoth she to him. “Consent to sin once with me.” - -“Why not, madam? But only on one condition--that thou dost not fart! If -thou dost fart, thou shalt pay me three hundred roubles.” - -“Very good,” answered she. - -They betook themselves to bed; the good woman took all possible -precautions not to expel wind during the sexual act; she instructed her -chambermaid to seek a large onion, to thrust this into her fundament, -and to hold it there with both hands. These orders were carried out -minutely, but at the first assault delivered by the tailor upon the -woman, the onion was violently expelled and struck the chambermaid -with such force that she was killed outright! - -The woman lost her three hundred roubles; the tailor pocketed this sum -and hied him homeward. Having journeyed some distance, he felt a desire -to slumber and lay down in a field. He placed the ring upon his finger -and his yard stretched to the length of one verst. As he lay thus, -slumber o’ertook him, and whilst he slept came seven starving wolves, -which devoured the greater part of his yard. He awoke as if naught had -chanced,[23] took the ring from his finger, put it in his pocket, and -pursued his way. - - [23] The _Kruptadia_ version says: “As if flies had just tickled his - yard.” - -Came night, and the tailor entered the house of a peasant. Now this -peasant had married a young woman who had a liking for well-membered -men. The guest went to sleep in the courtyard, leaving his yard -exposed. Perceiving it, the peasant’s wife felt a great desire; raising -her robe, she coupled with the tailor. - -“Good,” quoth he to himself; and he placed the ring on his finger, and -his yard rose little by little to the height of one verst. But when the -wife perceived herself so far from the earth, all desire to futter left -her, and she clung with both hands to this strange support in mid-air. - -Beholding the peril that beset the wretched woman, her neighbours and -relations fell to praying for the safety of both. But the tailor gently -withdrew the ring from his finger; gradually the dimensions of his -member decreased, and, when it reached but to a small height, the woman -jumped to earth. - -“Ah! insatiable coynte,” quoth the tailor to her. “It had been thy -death had they cut my yard.”[24] - - [24] The main theme of these foregoing _contes_--the yard which - increases to gigantic proportions--is not confined to Russian - folk-lore. In _Kruptadia_, vol. 2: _Some Erotic Folk-Lore from - Scotland_, we find the following:--A man and a woman were in each - other’s embraces. The man was succuba. His yard began to enlarge and - enlarge and lift the woman. When she was nearly reaching the roof she - exclaimed: “Farewell freens, farewell foes, For I’m awa’ to heaven On - a pintel’s nose.” - - - - -THE INSTRUMENT.[25] - - [25] _Kruptadia_: Heilbronn: Henninger Frères, 1884: _Breton Folk - Lore_. - - -Once on a time a youth, wishing to become a smith, quitted his village -and hired himself as an apprentice to a farrier. His master was a busy -man, all the beds in his house being filled by his workmen, and when -evening came he was sore pressed to find sleeping quarters for his -apprentice. Reflecting long, he thus finally argued:-- - -“In each bed are several persons; my daughter alone hath one to -herself. With her will I put the youth to sleep. His parents are good -people, and I have known him from boyhood. There is no danger.” - -When these two were in bed together, the youth began to caress the -daughter, a maid nigh unto sixteen years, and since she did not repulse -him, he lost no time in showing her how one makes love. The daughter -found the business very much to her liking, and Pierre (for so the -apprentice was named) gave her several lessons in this pretty game. -She did not tire, and wished that the play might last the whole night -long; but Pierre, awearied, would fain have slept. Anon, when he began -to grow drowsy, she pinched him and snuggled up to him; but he did not -respond to her allurements. - -“Pierre,” said she, “dost play no more with thine implement?” - -“No--’tis used up,” quoth Pierre. - -“‘Tis a pity,” said the girl. “Why is it not more solid? Would it cost -much to have another?” - -“Yea--at least three or four hundred francs.” - -“I myself have not that sum; but I know where my father keepeth his -money, and on the morrow I will give thee the wherewithal to procure -another. What dost thou call it?” - -“‘Tis called an ‘instrument’,”[26] quoth Pierre. - - [26] _Frenolle_ is the word in the text--probably a fantastic term, - since Pierre’s “instrument” is not known by that name in Haut - Bretagne. Farmer, in his monumental work _Slang and its Analogues_, - (Privately Printed, 1890-1904) and Landes (_Glossaire Érotique de la - Langue française_--Brussels, 1861) do not include the word in their - comprehensive lists of French erotic synonyms for _penis_. Nor can - we find mention of it in _Vocabula Amatoria_ (London, 1896). Littré, - even, does not give the word. - -In the morning the girl, taking her father’s money, gave it to the -apprentice, who hied him to the town and made pretence of buying -another instrument; and when night came, he played on his instrument to -the infinite satisfaction of the girl. - -On the morrow the apprentice received a letter, wherein he learned that -his mother lay ill and desired to see him. He started on his journey -forthwith. Anon the girl appeared, and not seeing the apprentice, -inquired: - -“Where is Pierre?” - -And they answered her that he was gone and would return no more. -Whereat she sped after him, and when she perceived him afar off, cried -out:-- - -“Pierre! Pierre! At least leave me the instrument!” - -Pierre, who was in a field at the moment, wrenched up a big turnip, and -casting it into a swamp at the feet of the girl, cried out:-- - -“Take it--’tis there!” - -And while the girl sought the instrument, he continued on his way. - -With both her eyes she looked, but of Pierre’s instrument could -perceive no vestige. Anon she sat down on the edge of the swamp and -gave herself up to tears. Presently there chanced to pass the vicar, -who made inquiry as to the cause of her grief. - -“Oh! thy reverence!” she made answer. “The instrument hath fallen in -the swamp and I cannot recover it. A sad pity, for ‘tis a precious -instrument and cost three or four hundred francs.” - -“Let us both seek,” quoth the vicar. “I will aid thee.” - -He tucked up his gown, and both fell to seeking in the swamp, which was -somewhat deep. Anon the girl turned her head, and perceiving the vicar -with his garments tucked up above his hips, cried out:-- - -“Ah! thy reverence! No need for further search! ‘Tis thou who hast the -instrument ‘twixt thy legs!” - - - - -_EXCURSUS_ to _THE INSTRUMENT_ - - -A variant of the foregoing story, (_The Instrument_), is to be found -in _Le Moyen de Parvenir_ (Béroalde de Verville). The editors of -_Kruptadia_ draw attention to it, quoting the following extract:-- - -The simpleton husband Hauteroue, while futtering his wife, remarked:-- - -“What a labour it is, my love!” - -“I am not surprised,” quoth she. “Thou dost work with a bad implement.” - -“I should have a better had I the money.” - -“Let not that hinder thee; I will give thee the money on the morrow.” - -When the husband received his money, he set out to enjoy himself; then -he went to bed with his wife, whom he pleasured well. - -“Ho! my love!” said she. “This implement is as good as the one thou -hadst. But, love, what hast done with the other?” - -“I have thrown it away, my love.” - -“Bah! Thou hast made a great mistake. ‘Twould have served for my -mother!” - - - - -THE TIMOROUS FIANCÉE.[27] - - [27] _Kruptadia_: Heilbronn: 1883: Henninger Frères: vol. 1: _Secret - Stories from the Russian_. - - -Two young girls held converse together. Quoth one: - -“Like thee, little one, I, too, will never marry.” - -“And why should we marry against our will?” said the other. “We have no -masters.” - -“Hast seen, little one, that instrument with which men make trial upon -us?” - -“I have seen it.” - -“And is it not huge?” - -“Little one, it is assuredly of the size of an arm!” - -“One would never come out of it alive.” - -“Come, I will tickle thee with a straw.” - -“That also hurteth me.” - -The foolish one lay down, and the wiser fell to tickling her with a -straw. “Ah! that hurteth!” she repeated. - -Now the father of one of the young girls forced her to take a husband; -she waited two nights, then went to see her young friend. - -“Good day, little one,” she said. - -The latter besought her to relate forthwith what had befallen. - -“Ah!” answered the young wife. “Had I known, had I truly known the -business, I had not listened to my father or my mother. I thought to -lose my life, and my tongue hung from my mouth a foot in length.” - -The young friend was so affrighted that she had no wish to speak -further of fiancés. - -“I will wed with none,” quoth she. “And if my father seeks to employ -violence, 1 will espouse, for form’s sake, the first bachelor I -encounter.” - -Now there was in the same village a young lad and a very poor. None -would give him a seemly maid in marriage, and he did not desire an ill; -by chance he overheard the conversation of the young girls. - -“Wait,” thought he to himself. “I will play a trick on that one. At a -suitable moment I will say that I have no yard.” - -Came a day when the young girl went to mass; she beheld the lad leading -his horse, thin and unshod, to the watering place; the poor beast went -limping, and the young girl laughed. They came to a steep slope; the -mare climbed with difficulty, then fell and rolled on her back. The -lad was annoyed, seized the mare by her tail, and fell to beating her -without pity, saying: - -“Get up! Thou wilt flay all the skin off thyself!” - -“Why beatest thou the horse, brigand?” asked the young girl. - -The lad lifted the tail, looked at it and said: - -“And what should I do? Futter her? But I have no yard.” - -When the girl heard his words, she pissed herself with joy, saying: - -“Behold! the good God hath sent me a fiancé after my liking!” - -She returned to her house, sat down in a secluded corner, and fell to -pouting. Presently all the family seated themselves at table, calling -on her to come, but she replied in anger: - -“I will not!” - -“Come, Douniouchka,” said the mother. “What art thinking of? Tell me.” - -The father intervened. - -“Why dost pout? Perchance thou dost desire to wed? Thou wouldst wed -with this one and not with that?” The young girl had but one idea in -her head: to wed Ivan the No-Yard. - -“I will wed,” she replied, “neither this one nor that. An it please ye -or not, I will wed Ivan.” - -“What sayest thou, little fool? Art enraged, or hast lost thy reason? -Thou wouldst share thy life with him?” - -“He is my destiny. Seek not to marry me to another, else I will drown -or strangle myself.” - -Hitherto the old father had not honoured the poverty-stricken Ivan -with so much as a look, but now he went himself to the lad to make him -release his daughter. He approached. Ivan was seated, repairing an old -hempen shoe. - -“Good day, Ivanouchka.” - -“Good day, old man.” - -“What dost thou?” - -“I seek to mend my hempen shoes.” - -“Shoes? Thou hast need of new boots.” - -“Since I have with difficulty amassed fifteen copeks to buy these -shoes, where shall I find money to purchase boots?” - -“And why dost thou not marry, Vania?” - -“Who would give me his daughter?” - -“I, if thou wilt! Kiss me on the mouth.” - -And they came to an understanding. - -At the rich man’s house there was no lack of beer and brandy. The girl -and the lad were wed forthwith, high feast was held, and then the best -man conducted the young people to their sleeping chamber and put them -to bed. One knows the sequel. Ivan pierced the young girl till she bled -and there was a road by which he might travel. - -“What a blockhead, what a fool I have been!” thought Dounuka. “What -have I done? How much better had I taken one richly-endowed! But where -hath he found this yard? I will question him.” - -And she questioned him, saying: - -“Hearken, Ivanouchka. Where hast got this yard?” - -“I have hired it from mine uncle for one night.” - -“Ah! my little dove! Beg it of him for yet another night.” - -A second night passed and she said to him again: - -“Little dove! Beg of thine uncle if he will not sell thee the yard -outright. But bargain well.” - -“Good. One can always bargain.” - -He went to the house of his grandsire, came to an understanding with -him,[28] and returned to his home. - - [28] _Lui donne le mot._ “Put him wise” would be the exact modern - equivalent. - -“Well, what of it?” asked his wife. - -“What can I say?” answered the lad. “There was no bargaining with him. -We must give him three hundred roubles or he will not yield us the -yard. And where may we get this sum?” - -“Ah, well. Return and beg him to hire thee the yard for yet another -night. To-morrow I ask my father for the money, and we will buy the -yard outright.” - -“Nay--go thyself and ask it of him. In sooth, I dare not.” - -She went to the uncle’s house, entered his apartment, prayed to heaven, -and bowed, saying: - -“Good day, mine uncle.” - -“Thou art welcome. What good news hast thou?” - -“See, mine uncle, I am shamed to speak, but ‘twould be a sin an I kept -silent. Lend thy yard to Ivan for a night.” - -The relative took counsel with himself, shook his head, and said: - -“It can be lent, but care must be taken of a yard belonging to another.” - -“We will take care of it, uncle. I swear by the Cross. And to-morrow, -without fail, we will buy it outright of thee.” - -“Go, then, and send Ivan to me.” - -She bowed to the earth and left the house. - -On the morrow she went to seek her father, asked of him three hundred -roubles for her husband, and bought for herself a good yard. - - - - -_EXCURSUS_ to _THE ENCHANTED RING_, _THE INSTRUMENT_, and _THE TIMOROUS -FIANCÉE_. - - -Each of the three foregoing stories is remarkable for the fact that -it contains the same naïve idea--the possibility of purchasing a -male “implement.” The idea is fairly common in folk-lore stories of -virginity, but, almost always, results in a highly humorous situation. -It is a crude but very effective method of depicting the ignorance, -even stupidity, of a virgin girl. It also affords the story-teller an -opportunity of an indirect reference to a favourite theme--the erotic -tendency of women once their sexual senses are aroused.[29] - - [29] _C.f._ _Excursus_ to _The Tale of Kamar al-Zaman_, where the - subject is discussed at length. - -One episode of _The Enchanted Ring_ (the remarkable qualities of the -young man’s _penis_ when adorned with the ring) can hardly fail to -recall “_The Night of Power_,” (Sir Richard F. Burton’s _Thousand -Nights and a Night_), wherein the husband’s organs undergo rapid -and wonderful transformation. This tale is described by Sir Richard -Burton as “the grossest and most brutal satire on the sex, suggesting -that a woman would prefer an additional inch of _penis_ to anything -this world or the next can offer her.” One cannot help noting, none -the less, the indecent anxiety of the mother-in-law, in our story -from _Kruptadia_, to sample the mighty yard of the newly-returned -husband.[30] - - [30] In _The Night of Power_ we have the story of a man who, believing - that three prayers would be granted to him, consults his wife as - to what he shall ask. She advises him to ask Allah to “greaten and - magnify his yard.” He does so, whereupon his yard “became as big - as a column, and he could neither sit nor stand nor move about nor - even stir from his stead; and when he would have carnally known his - wife, she fled before him from place to place.” In distress the - husband asks, as his second wish, to be delivered of this burden, and - “immediately his prickle disappeared altogether and he became clean - smooth. When his wife saw this, she said: ‘I have no occasion for thee - now thou art become pegless as an eunuch, shaven and shorn.... Pray - Allah the most High to restore thee thy yard as it was.’ So he prayed - to his Lord and his prickle was restored to its first estate. Thus - the man lost his three wishes by the ill counsel and lack of wit in - the woman.” Our brief summary is taken from Sir Richard F. Burton’s - translation of _The Thousand Nights and a Night_. - - - - -ADVENTURES WITH HEDVIGE AND HELÈNE AT GENEVA.[31] - - [31] _Memoirs of Jacques Casanova_: For the first time translated into - English and Privately Printed, 1894: 12 vols.: 1000 copies only. Also - _Mémoires de J. Casanova de Seingalt: Garnier Frères_, Paris, N.D. Our - text is a blend of the two versions. - - _Casanova makes the acquaintance of two charming cousins, Hedvige and - Helène, at Geneva. After sundry meetings, at which theology and sexual - matters are discussed in a frank and amusing fashion, Casanova gets - the chance to take his two charmers for a stroll in the garden where - they can be sure of immunity from interruption. Casanova’s opportunity - occurs as a result of Hedvige’s desire to know why a deity could not - impregnate a woman, a male acquaintance having said that he could not - with propriety expound such mysteries to her. Casanova gladly agrees - to make the matter clear, adding, however, that he must be allowed to - speak quite plainly. The text continues:_ - - -Yea, speak clearly,” quoth Hedvige, “for none can hear us; but I am -forced to confess that I am cognisant of the formation of man only in -theory and by lecture. True, I have seen statues, but I have never seen -and still less have I examined real[32] man. And thou, Helène?” - - [32] _i.e._, naked. - -“I have never desired so to do.” - -“Why not? ‘Tis good to know all.” - -“Well, my charming Hedvige,” said I, “thy theologian wished to tell -thee that Jesus was not capable of erection.” - -“What is that?” - -“Give me thy hand.” - -“I feel it and I can picture it; for, without this natural phenomenon, -man could not impregnate his consort. And this foolish theologian -pretendeth that it is an imperfection!” - -“Yea, for this phenomenon springeth from desire, for ‘tis very true -that it would not have worked in me, sweet Hedvige, had I not found -thee charming and had not what I had seen of thee given me the most -seductive idea of the beauties I see not. Tell me frankly if, after -feeling this rigidity of mine, thou dost not experience an agreeable -sensation?” - -“I confess it; ‘tis precisely where thou pressest. Dost not feel as I, -my dear Helène, an itching and a longing on likening to the very true -discourse given to us by this gentleman?” - -“Yea, I feel it, but I feel it very often, without any discourse -exciting it.” - -“And then,” quoth I, “Nature forceth thee to appease it thus?” - -“Not at all.” - -“Oh, that it were so, Hedvige! Even in sleep one’s hand strayeth there -by instinct; and, lacking this easement, I have read that we should -suffer terrible maladies.” - -And whilst we continued this philosophical converse, which the youthful -theologian sustained with an authoritative tone, and which brought a -look of voluptuousness to the lovely complexion of her cousin, we came -to the edge of a fine pool where one descended by a marble staircase -to bathe. Although it was chilly, our heads were warm, and it came to -me to propose to the maidens that they put their feet in the water, -assuring them that it would do them good and, if they permitted me, -that I would count it an honour to remove their shoes and stockings. - -“Come,” said Hedvige, “I like the project well.” - -“I, too,” said Helène. - -“Seat yourselves, ladies, on the first stair.” - -Behold them, then, seated, and thy servant, on the fourth stair, busy -unshoeing them, what time he extolled the beauty of their legs and made -pretence to be incurious at the moment to see higher than the knee. -Then, having gone down to the water, they had perforce to lift their -garments, and in this business I encouraged them. - -“Ah, well,” remarked Hedvige, “men also have thighs.” - -Helène, who would have felt shame to show less courage than her cousin, -did not hang back. - -“Come, my charming naiads,” quoth I, “‘tis enough. Ye will catch cold -if ye remain for long in the water.” - -They reascended the staircase backwards, ever holding up their robes -lest they might wet them; and it fell to me to dry their limbs with -all the handkerchiefs that I possessed. This pleasant task permitted -me to see and touch everything at my leisure, and the reader will -scarce need my word to affirm that I made the best of my opportunity. -The pretty niece (Hedvige) declared that I was too curious, but Helène -let me have my way with an air so tender and so languid that I was hard -pressed not to push the matter further. In the end, having again put -on their shoes and stockings, I told them that I was enchanted to have -viewed the secret charms of the two most lovely ladies in Geneva. - -“What effect hath it on thee?” asked Hedvige of me. - -“I dare not tell ye to look, but feel, both of ye.” - -“Bathe thou thyself also.” - -“Impossible. The business is too long for a man.” - -“But we have yet two full hours to remain here without fear of -interruption from anyone.” - -This response caused me to see the happiness that awaited me; but I did -not think fit to expose myself to an illness by entering the water in -the state in which I was. Seeing a summer-house not far off and assured -that M. Tronchin would have left it open, I took my two beauties by -the arm and led them thither, not letting them guess, however, my -intentions. - -The summer-house was full of vases of _pot pourri_, pretty engravings, -and so forth; but what I valued most was a large and lovely divan, fit -for repose and for pleasure. There, seated ‘twixt these two beauties -and lavishing caresses upon them, I said that I desired to show them -that which they had never seen, at the same time exposing to their gaze -the principal agent of humanity. They raised themselves to admire it, -and then, taking the hand of each one of them, I procured for them a -considerable pleasure; but, in the course of this labour, an abundant -emission on my part caused them great amazement. - -“‘Tis its speech,” said I. “The speech of the great creator of men.” - -“‘Tis delicious!” cried Helène, laughing at the term ‘speech.’ - -“I, too, have the power of speech,” said Hedvige, “and I will show it -thee, if thou wilt wait a moment.” - -“Put thyself in my hands, sweet Hedvige. I will spare thee the trouble -of making it come thyself, and I will do it better than thee.” - -“I well believe it. But I have never done that with a man.” - -“Nor I,” said Helène. - -When they had placed themselves directly before me, their arms enlaced, -I made them swoon away afresh. Then, having seated ourselves, what time -my hand strayed all over their charms, I let them divert themselves at -their leisure, till in the end I moistened their palms with a second -emission of the natural moisture, which they examined curiously on -their fingers. - -Having once again put ourselves in a state of decency, we passed yet -another half hour in exchanging kisses, after which I told them that -they had rendered me partially happy, but, to make the work perfect, -that I hoped they would devise a means of granting me their first -favours. Then I showed them those preservative sachets which the -English have invented in order to rid the fair sex of all fear. These -little “purses,”[33] the use of which I explained to them, excited -their admiration, and Hedvige said to her cousin that she would give -thought to the matter. Become intimate friends and in good case to -become even better, we took our way towards the house, where we found -Helène’s mother and the minister walking by the edge of the lake.... - - [33] _Capote Anglaise_: in slang terms, a French letter or condom. The - French talk about an “English” letter; we say the reverse. - -_Follows now the description of a dinner at which Casanova, Hedvige and -Helène are present. The text continues:_ - -Helène shone in solving the questions put to her by the company. M. de -Ximenes begged her to justify as best she might our first mother, who -had deceived her husband by causing him to eat the fatal apple. - -“Eve,” quoth she, “deceived not her husband; she did but cajole him -into eating it in the hope of giving him one more perfection. Moreover, -Eve had not received the prohibition from God but from Adam; in her act -there was seduction, not deceit; in all probability her womanly sense -did not let her regard the prohibition as serious.” ... - -... Another lady then asked her if one might believe the history of the -apple to be symbolical. Hedvige answered: - -“I think not, since it could only be a symbol of sexual union, and ‘tis -established that such was not consummated ‘twixt Adam and Eve in the -Garden of Eden.” - -“On this point the learned differ.” - -“So much the worse for them, madam; the Scripture is plain enough. -‘Tis written in the first verse of the fourth chapter that Adam knew -Eve after his expulsion from their terrestrial paradise, and that in -consequence she conceived Cain.” - -“Yea, but the verse sayeth not that Adam did not know her before, and, -consequently, he might so have done.” - -“This I cannot allow, for had he known her before she would have -conceived; ‘twere foolish to suppose that two creatures, who had just -quitted God’s hands, and were, in consequence, as nigh perfect as is -possible, could consummate the act of generation with no result.” - - _The conversation now becomes very theological and controversial, and - we take leave to omit it._ - -... After dinner ... I went apart with Helène, who told me that her -cousin and the pastor would sup with her mother on the following day. - -“Hedvige,” she added, “will stay and sleep with me, as is ever her -custom when she cometh with her uncle to sup. It remaineth to be seen -if thou art willing to hide in a spot I will show thee to-morrow at -eleven of the clock, in order to pass the night with us. Call on my -mother at that hour to-morrow, and I will find means of showing thee -the spot....” - -... In the morning I paid the mother a visit, and as Helène was -escorting me out, she showed me a closed door ‘twixt the two stairs. - -“At seven hours of the clock,” said she, “thou will find it open, and -when thou art within, put on the bolt. Take care lest any see thee as -thou enter the house.” - - _Casanova, in due course, takes up his position in the hiding place, - and during his long wait for the two charmers, gives himself up to - reflection on his past. The text continues:_ - -... In my long and profligate career, during which I have turned the -heads of several hundreds of ladies, I have grown familiar with all -methods of seduction; but it hath ever been my guiding principle never -to press my attack against novices or those in whom prejudices were -likely to prove an obstacle, save in the presence of another woman. -Timidity, I soon discovered, maketh a girl averse from seduction; in -company with another girl she is easily conquered; the weakness of one -bringeth on the fall of the other. - -Fathers and mothers are of contrary opinion, but they err. They will -not trust their daughter to take a walk or go to a ball with a young -man, but no difficulty is made if she hath another girl with her. I -repeat--they err; if the young man hath the requisite skill, their -daughter is lost. A sense of false shame hindereth them from making a -determined resistance to seduction, but, the first step taken, the fall -cometh inevitably and rapidly. One girl, granting some small favour, -straightway maketh her friend grant a much greater, thereby to hide her -own blushes; and if the seducer be clever at his trade, the youthful -innocent will soon have travelled too far to be able to draw back. In -addition, the more innocent the girl, the greater her ignorance of -seduction’s methods. Ere she hath time to think, pleasure doth attract -her, curiosity draweth her yet a little further, and opportunity doth -the rest. - -For example, ‘twere possible I had been able to seduce Hedvige without -Helène, but I am assured I had never succeeded with Helène had she not -seen her cousin grant me certain licenses what time she took liberties -with me--practices which she thought, doubtless, contrary to the -modesty and decorum of a respectable young woman.... I desire what I -say to be a warning to fathers and mothers, and to secure me a place in -their esteem, at any rate. - -Shortly after the pastor had gone I heard three light knocks on my -prison door. I opened it, and a hand soft as satin grasped mine. My -whole being quivered. ‘Twas Helène’s hand, and that happy moment had -already repaid me for my long waiting. - -“Follow me softly,” she said, in a low voice; but scarce had she closed -the door ere I, in my impatience, clasped her tenderly in my arms, and -caused her to feel the effect which her mere presence had produced on -me, what time I assured myself of her docility. - -“Be prudent, my friend,” said she to me, “and come softly upstairs.” - -I followed her as best I might in the darkness, she leading me along a -gallery into a room without light, the door of which she closed behind -us, and thence into a lighted chamber, wherein was Hedvige, well nigh -in a state of nudity. She came to me with open arms on the instant she -saw me, and, embracing me ardently, signified her appreciation of my -patience in my weary prison. - -“Divine Hedvige,” quoth I, “had I not loved thee madly, I had not -stayed one fourth of an hour in that dismal cell; but for thy sake I -would readily pass hours there daily till I quit this spot. But let us -lose no time. To bed!” - -“Do ye twain get to bed,” quoth Helène. “I will couch on the divan.” - -“Oh!” cried Hedvige. “Think not so. Our fate must be exactly equal.” - -“Yea, beloved Helène,” said I, embracing her. “I love thee both with -equal ardour, and these ceremonies but waste the time wherein I should -be convincing ye of my passion. Follow my example. I am about to -disrobe and place myself in the midst of the bed. Come lie beside me, -and ye will see if I love ye as ye are worthy to be loved. If all be -safe, I will remain till ye send me away, but whate’er ye do, of your -mercy extinguish not the light.” - -In the twinkling of an eye, all the while discussing the theory of -shame with Hedvige the theologian, I presented myself to their gaze -in the costume of Adam. Hedvige, blushing but fearing, perchance, -to depreciate herself in my opinion by any further reserve, parted -with the last shred of modesty, citing the opinion of St. Clement -Alexandrinus, who held that in the shirt lay the seat of shame. - -I praised unstintingly her charms and the perfection of her form, -thereby hoping to encourage Helène, who was disrobing but slowly; but -a charge of mock modesty from her cousin had more effect than all my -praises. At length this Venus was in a state of nature, covering her -most secret parts with one hand, concealing one breast with the other, -and seeming most sadly shamed of all she could not conceal. Her modest -confusion, this strife ‘twixt expiring modesty and growing passion, -enchanted me. - -Hedvige was taller than Helène, her skin was whiter, and her breasts -twice the size of her cousin’s; but in Helène was more animation, her -form was more sweetly moulded, and her bust was on the model of the -Venus de Medici. - -By degrees she became bolder, put at ease by her cousin, and we passed -several moments in admiring each other; then to bed we went. Nature -called loudly, and all we desired was to satisfy its demands. With a -coolness that I did not fear would fail me, I made a woman of Hedvige, -and when all was o’er she kissed me, saying that the pain was naught -compared to the pleasure. - -Next came the turn of Helène, who was six years younger than Hedvige; -but the finest “fleece”[34] that e’er I saw presented something of an -obstacle. This she parted with her two hands, being jealous of her -cousin’s success; and although she was not initiated into the mysteries -of love without woeful pain, her sighs were truly sighs of happiness as -she responded to my ardent efforts. Her charms and vivacious movements -caused me to shorten the sacrifice, and when I quitted the sanctuary my -two beauties perceived I was in need of repose. - - [34] “Fleece,” of course, is an accepted erotic term for pubic hair - (Farmer: _Slang and its Analogues_); _c.f._ also the French term - _toison_. Helène’s hirsute adornment is in keeping with psychological - precept--that hairiness and sensuality go hand in hand. Havelock - Ellis, in his _Studies_, quotes numerous authorities who are strongly - of this opinion, (vol. 5: _Erotic Symbolism_). Lombroso, he adds, - found that prostitutes generally tend to be hairy. In another volume - of his _Studies_, Havelock Ellis relates the history of a man for - whom a hirsute _mons veneris_ always had a peculiar attraction. - “When accosted by prostitutes,” says the subject of this history, - “I would never go with them unless assured that the _mons veneris_ - was very hirsute.” That genial old soldier Brantôme (_Lives of Fair - and Gallant Ladies_: Translated by A. R. Allinson: Paris, Charles - Carrington, 1901) says: “I have heard speak of a certain great lady, - and I have known her myself and do know her still, who is all shaggy - and hairy over the chest, stomach, shoulders and all down the spine, - and on her bottom, like a savage.... The proverb hath it, no person - thus hairy is ever rich or wanton; but verily in this case the lady - is both the one and the other, I can assure you....” Brantôme also - speaks of women who “have hair in that part not curly at all, but - so long and drooping, you would say they were the moustachios of a - Saracen’s head. Nathless they do never remove this fleece, but prefer - to have it so, seeing there is a saying: ‘A grassgrown path and a - hairy coynte are both good roads to ride.’ ... I have heard speak of - another fair and honourable lady which did have the hair of this part - so long she would entwine the same with strings or ribbons of silk, - crimson and other colours, and have them curled like the curls of a - wig, and attached to her thighs. And in such guise would she show her - _motte_ to her husband or lover. Or else she would unwind the ribbons - and cords, so that the hair did remain after in curl, and looking - prettier so than it would otherwise have done.” Elsewhere Brantôme - tells of a gentleman of his acquaintance who, while sleeping with a - very beautiful lady, “and one of good condition, and doing his devoir - with her, did find in that part sundry hairs so sharp and prickly that - ‘twas with all the difficulty in the world he could finish, so sharply - did these prick and pierce him....” Abnormal growth of pubic hair is - by no means confined to _conte_ and fable. Jahn, says Havelock Ellis - in his _Studies_, delivered a woman whose pubic hair was longer than - that of her head, reaching below her knees. Paulini also knew a woman - “whose pubic hair nearly reached her knees and was sold to make wigs. - Bartholin mentions a soldier’s wife who plaited her pubic hair behind - her back.” (_Erotic Symbolism_). We have no actual evidence that - Helène’s growth was of these abnormal dimensions, but it was obviously - out of the ordinary to provoke comment from a man of Casanova’s - experience. - -The altar was purified of the blood of the victims, and we all bathed, -enchanted to serve one another. - -Life returned to me ‘neath their curious fingers, and the sight filled -them with joy.... For several hours I overwhelmed them with happiness, -passing five or six times from one to the other before exhausting -myself and arriving at the ecstatic spasm. In the intervals, perceiving -them docile and desirous, I made them execute Aretin’s most complicated -postures, a business that amused them beyond measure.[35] We were -lavish with our kisses on whatever part took our fancy, and just as -Hedvige applied her lips to the mouth of the pistol, it went off and -the discharge inundated her face and her bosom. She was delighted, and -studied the eruption to an end with all the curiosity of a physician. - - [35] Pietro Aretino, author of _The Ragionamenti_, is generally - supposed to have enumerated a variety of postures in which the - venereal act might be performed. To the many he is known solely as - “the man of the postures.” This particular claim to distinction is, - to say the least, a matter much in dispute, but we will reserve - discussion of the question for Vol. 2 of _Anthologica Rarissima_, - where lavish excerpts from Aretino’s works will be given. - -The night seemed short, though we had not lost a moment’s space, and -at daybreak we had to part. 1 left them in bed, being fortunate to get -away observed of none. - - _In the evening, after supper, Casanova contrives another meeting with - his charmers._ - -... Going out with my heroines, I worked wonders. Hedvige philosophised -over the pleasure, and told me that she would ne’er have tasted it -had I not chanced to encounter her uncle. Helène did not speak; more -voluptuous than her cousin, she swelled out like a dove, and came -to life only to expire a moment after. I wondered at her amazing -fecundity, although such is not uncommon; while I was engaged in one -operation, she passed fourteen times from life to death. True, ‘twas -the sixth course I had run, so I made my pace somewhat slower to enjoy -the pleasure she took in the business.... - - _After passing another night with the cousins, Casanova again sets out - on his travels; and here, for the time being, we will leave him._ - - - - -_EXCURSUS_ to _ADVENTURES WITH HEDVIGE AND HELÈNE AT GENEVA_. - - -Jacques Casanova, Chevalier de Seingalt, Knight of the Golden Spur, -and one of the most remarkable figures in history and letters, was -born on April 2nd, 1725. To-day, nearly two hundred years afterwards, -his _Memoirs_ are more vivid and readable than anything penned by our -contemporary writers. - -“He who opens these wonderful pages,” says the English translator in -his preface, “is as one who sits in a theatre and looks across the -gloom, not on a stage-play, but on another and a vanished world. The -curtain draws up, and suddenly a hundred and fifty years are rolled -away, and in bright light stands out before us the whole life of the -past; the gay dresses, the polished wit, the careless morals, and all -the revel and dancing of those merry years before the mighty deluge of -the Revolution. - -“The palaces and marble stairs of old Venice are no longer desolate, -but thronged with scarlet-robed senators, prisoners with the doom of -the Ten upon their heads cross the Bridge of Sighs, at dead of night -the nun slips out of the convent gate to the dark canal where a gondola -is waiting, we assist at the _parties fines_ of cardinals, and we see -the bank made at faro. - -“Venice gives place to the assembly rooms of Mrs. Cornely and the fast -taverns of the London of 1760; we pass from Versailles to the Winter -Palace of St. Petersburg in the days of Catherine, from the policy of -the Great Frederick to the lewd mirth of strolling-players, and the -presence-chamber of the Vatican is succeeded by an intrigue in a garret. - -“It is indeed a new experience to read this history of a man who, -refraining from nothing, has concealed nothing; of one who stood in -the courts of Louis the Magnificent for Madame de Pompadour and the -nobles of the _ancien régime_, and had an affair with an adventuress of -Denmark Street, Soho; who was bound over to keep the peace by Fielding, -and knew Cagliostro. - -“The friend of popes and kings and noblemen, and of all the male and -female ruffians and vagabonds of Europe, abbé, soldier, charlatan, -gamester, financier, diplomatist, _viveur_, philosopher, virtuoso, -‘chemist, fiddler, and buffoon’, each of these, and all of these, was -Giacomo Casanova, Chevalier de Seingalt, Knight of the Golden Spur.” - -The English translation of Casanova’s _Memoirs_, from which the -foregoing is taken, is a valuable work. To-day the twelve volume set, -of which 1,000 copies were privately printed in 1894, commands anything -from thirty to forty-five pounds in the sale-room or book-seller’s -shop. We have been told that the printer of this English version was -prosecuted, and all copies of the work confiscated by the police, who -were ordered to burn them. Further, we are told that the copies we buy -and read to-day are the copies burned by the police. - -If this be so, all honour to the police, for the destruction of any -scholarly rendering of these _Memoirs_ can only be described as an act -of vandalism. Because Casanova is not for the multitude, does it follow -he is not for the few? Translated into the English tongue, Casanova’s -_Memoirs_ must be “privately printed” by reason of his plain speech -in the matter of amorous intrigue, yet, were every erotic word and -scene expunged, the work would still be of fascinating interest and -inestimable value to the student of history. There exists a bowdlerised -and abridged edition of these _Memoirs_; we have never seen, and we -never wish to see, this work. A study of life, without a leavening of -human nature, is worse than useless. - -Casanova, if any reliance is to be set on his writings, was a sexual -athlete--a member of that rare and remarkable class of men who are -capable of amazing feats in the lists of love. Frequent reference is -made to his prowess and observations by the great sexual psychologists, -Havelock Ellis in particular. Bloch, (_The Sexual Life of Our Time_), -quoting from a work by Oscar A. H. Schmitz, has some interesting -remarks to make on the character of Casanova. - -“Casanova,” he says, “is pre-eminently the erotic, also crafty and -deceitful (seducer), not, however, for the gratification of his need -of power, but rather for the agreeable satisfaction of his need for -sensual love; ... for Casanova each one is ‘the woman’ ... Casanova -is human, cares always for the happiness of the woman he loves, and -devotes to them a tender reflection; ... Casanova is the typical -feminist, he possesses a profound understanding of woman’s soul, is not -disappointed by love, and needs for his life’s happiness continuous -contact with feminine natures....” - -“Whatever I have done in the course of my life,” says Casanova,[36] -“whether it be good or evil, has been done freely; I am a free -agent.... Man is free, but his freedom ceases when he has no faith in -it.... Man is free; yet we must not suppose he is at liberty to do -everything he pleases, for he becomes a slave the moment he allows his -actions to be ruled by his passions. The man who has sufficient power -over himself to wait until his nature has recovered its even balance is -the truly wise man, but such beings are seldom met with.... - - [36] English translation of the Author’s Preface. - -“The sanguine temperament rendered me very sensible to the attractions -of voluptuousness.... The chief business of my life has always been to -indulge my senses; I never knew anything of greater importance. I felt -myself born for the fair sex, I have ever loved it dearly, and I have -been loved by it as often and as much as I could.... - -“ ... Should anyone bring against me an accusation of sensuality he -would be wrong, for all the fierceness of my senses never caused -me to neglect any of my duties.... I have always been fond of -highly-seasoned, rich dishes.... As for women, I have always found the -odour of my beloved ones exceeding pleasant.... - -“ ... It may be that certain love scenes will be considered too -explicit, but let no one blame me, unless it be for lack of skill, for -I ought not to be scolded because, in my old age, I can find no other -enjoyment but that which recollections of the past afford to me. After -all, virtuous and prudish readers are at liberty to skip over any -offensive pictures, and I think it my duty to give them this piece of -advice.... - -“ ... My Memoirs are not written for young persons who, in order to -avoid false steps and slippery roads, ought to spend their youth in -blissful ignorance, but for those who, having thorough experience -of life, are no longer exposed to temptation, and who, having but -too often gone through the fire, are like salamanders, and can be -scorched by it no more.... I have no hesitation in saying that the -really virtuous are those persons who can practise virtue without the -slightest trouble; such persons are always full of toleration, and it -is to them that my Memoirs are addressed....” - -Casanova, as he himself tells us, was three score and twelve years -when he wrote his _Memoirs_. The writing, he adds, was both a solace -and a pleasure. Nevertheless, as the English translator says in his -appendix, “the last five years of his life were passed in petty -mortifications.... Death came to him somewhat as a release. He received -the sacraments with devotion, exclaimed: ‘Great God, and all ye who -witness my death, I have lived a philosopher and I die a Christian,’ -and so died--a quiet ending to a wonderfully brilliant and entirely -useless career.” - - - - -THE DAMSEL AND THE PRINCE.[37] - - [37] Masuccio: _The Novellino_, translated into English by W. G. - Waters: London, Lawrence and Bullen, 1895. - -_A young lady being enamoured of the Prince of Salerno sends for one -of his chaplains and declares to him that she has received from the -said prince numerous letters praying for her love. The chaplain, having -divined her motive, enters into a plot with her and brings the affair -to the issue desired._ - - -At that time when our most glorious lord and king, Don Fernando, -was entertaining Naples, according to his constant use, with those -joustings, those marvellous hunting parties, and those sumptuous -festivals which were famed far and wide, it chanced that amongst -the other merry-makers was a certain young damsel, of beauty -almost unrivalled, and a scion of one of the noblest houses of our -Parthenopean city. - -Now for some time past she had often let her eyes regale themselves -with the beauty and the grace of form belonging to my most illustrious -lord, the Prince of Salerno, and beyond this had heard sung, over and -over again, the praises of his extraordinary worth. By this time she -was more than ever captivated by him, wherefore she became so lovesick -that she could only give thought to the gentleman by whom her fancy had -been ensnared. - -After she had let her thoughts ... engage themselves in many and divers -plans by which she might honourably achieve the victory in so worthy -an adventure, she found that all these schemes were over-difficult to -compass; wherefore it more than once came into her head that she would -follow the advice of certain other ladies of her acquaintance, who, -whenever they found they could not refrain from entering the lists of -love, were wont to send word to the gallant youths beloved of them and -challenge them to the amorous warfare. - -But this damsel, who was gifted with no small prudence, and was -persuaded at the same time that she would not, by following such a -course, be setting a very high value either upon herself or upon her -undertaking, suddenly determined that she would make trial of a novel -and very crafty stratagem to induce the prince aforesaid to cull the -first fruits of her virgin garden. Having chosen a time when the prince -had gone to other parts for diversion in the chase, she let come to her -a certain priest, a man whom she could fully trust, and one who was -much about the house, and to him she gave directions as to what she -would have him do. - - _This priest now brings Fra Paulo, the chaplain and the prince’s - most trusted attendant, to the damsel who alleges the receipt of - impassioned love-letters from the prince. She is at a loss to know - whether these letters have been concocted by one of her brothers with - a view to putting her constancy to proof, or whether they have really - been written by the prince who “is in sooth taken with love of me, - seeing that I have at times kept my eyes fixed upon him somewhat more - than was due.” The text continues_:-- - -With these, and with other words of a like character, which had been -prepared with the most consummate art, she laid before the chaplain -the letters aforesaid, by way of giving him still farther assurance of -the truth of her craftily devised discourse. Fra Paulo, although, as a -prudent man, and as one accustomed to bring contests of this sort to -a victorious issue, he had fully detected and comprehended the hidden -wishes and purpose of the young lady, nevertheless, as she went on step -by step with her reasonings and arguments, was astonished at finding so -great ingenuity and astuteness in the brain of a damsel so delicate and -youthful. - -Still, as he remarked more than once that, whenever she mentioned the -name of his lord the prince, her face changed colour, he understood -that the passion which possessed her must be indeed burning and fierce. -Wherefore he determined to let this same wind speed his own bark over -such a pleasant sea, and he thus made answer to her:-- - -“Lady mine, because of your kindness, you have thought well enough of -me to unveil to me your secret affairs, you may rest assured that, -no less for the preservation of your own good name than for the -safeguarding of my lord’s, I will deal with this matter with all that -silence and secrecy which, according to your judgement and mine as -well, the gravity and importance of the same demand.... - -“ ... I declare once for all that these letters were never written -by my lord; in sooth, if they had been his handiwork, I should have -marvelled amain, because it is his custom never to write with his own -hand to any woman, however fiercely his passion may be kindled for her, -unless he may first have made proof of her love.... At the outset of -all his love affairs the letters and messages thereanent are written -and arranged by the agency of the chamberlain, who is in his closest -confidence. Wherefore I hold it for certain that these same letters -must be from the hands of this man.... - -“ ... Many a time, when I have chanced to be discoursing concerning the -beauty of women with my lord, he, with a little sigh, which he seemed -fain to repress, has never ceased to place you before all other ladies. -And although his words are rare and few and sententious, he has full -often let me know secretly that you are the only one to whom he has -entirely given his love. - -“Therefore meseems that ... you should give me authority to act, so I -may be able to place the whole matter together with your own doubts -and fears, before the notice of my lord.... And in order that you may -speedily be informed of the answer, and that the affair may be kept no -long time in suspense, it will behove you to be on the watch for me, -for when you shall see me pass by your house, and call to a certain boy -who will be standing opposite thereto, you may be assured that I have -done my errand, and on the following morning let us meet once more in -this same spot.” - -The young lady, deeming that she had assuredly gulled the friar by -her trick, and that her plot could not now fail to come to an issue -perfectly satisfactory to her, was so greatly overjoyed that it seemed -to her as if she had in sooth been crowned by Heaven.... Then, having -brought their discourse to an end, and each one being in a contented -mood, though for a different cause, they went their several ways. - -As Fortune willed it ... the friar was met by the news that the prince -had already taken the road with the intention of being in Naples on -the following day. Wherefore Fra Paulo, having gone out to meet him, -was mightily glad to let him know the whole history of the craft of -the amorous damsel, and of the scheme which she had framed. The prince -gave ear to the same with no less amazement than pleasure; for, albeit -he had rarely cast his eyes upon this young girl, and retained no -recollection of her beauty, nevertheless it seemed to him to be only -just and right that he should hold dear those who loved him. So he made -answer to the friar, and bade him set the business in progress in such -wise that the meeting might be brought to pass at the earliest possible -time. - -The friar, pleased beyond measure and eager to do service to the -prince, betook himself towards the house of the damsel as soon as -he had dismounted from his beast. Then, having made the sign which -had been agreed between themselves--a sign which she observed and -understood with the utmost pleasure--the damsel duly repaired on the -following morning to the spot which had been chosen; and there, when -she met the friar, he said to her:-- - -“My dear lord, who for your pleasure arrived last night in Naples, -commends himself to you. I have set before him at full length the -purport of the converse betwixt you and me, but I could not draw from -his lips any other reply except that he prays and conjures you, by the -perfect love which he has for so long a time borne and still bears to -you, and also by that love which you should dutifully entertain towards -him, that it will please you, on this same evening, to give him a -kindly audience in order that he may, without needing to confide in any -living man, lay bare to you those matters which he has kept hitherto, -and still keeps, secured by a strong lock within his passionate breast.” - -The young woman, who, as she listened to these words, was so vastly -overjoyed that she could with difficulty contain herself within her -skin, now felt that every hour would be as a thousand years until she -should find herself engaged in the supreme conclusions of love; and, -after a few feeble denials and hesitations, answered that she was ready -to do what the prince desired. She did not quit the friar’s company -until they had, in discreet wise, settled when and in what manner and -in what place she and the prince should come together for the amorous -battle. - -The friar then betook himself straightway to his beloved lord and -prince, who indeed was awaiting him and his answer. Then he set forth -everything to the prince, who, when himseemed that the appointed time -had come, went with his attendants to the meeting-place, and there he -found the lovely young damsel, who, delicately arrayed and perfumed, -received him with open arms and exceeding great delight. - -Then, after countless kisses had been given and received by the prince, -they got on board their bark, and after the helm had been duly set and -the sails spread to the wind, the damsel, what though she was not as -yet greatly versed in the mariner’s art, let her lover navigate the sea -of love during all the time they were able to spend together. When at -last they found themselves with great delight once more in port, the -damsel, tenderly clasping the neck of the prince with her arms, thus -addressed him:-- - -“My sweetest lord, for that I alone, aided by my own skill and -forethought, have succeeded in bringing you hither this first time I -have but to thank myself, but for the future I must leave to the care -of you and of Love the devising of the means whereby you may be able to -show me further proofs of your passion. Now there remains nothing more -for me to say except that I recommend myself without ceasing to your -favour.” - -Thereupon the illustrious lord the prince heartened her with soft -and tender words, and they then took leave of one another with great -pleasure and delight; and if anyone should still wish to know whether, -and in what fashion, this love of theirs bore further fruit, let him -inquire on his own behalf. - - - - -_EXCURSUS_ to _THE DAMSEL AND THE PRINCE_. - -Because Masuccio--so far as the general public is concerned--may be -counted among the lesser-known of the Novellieri of the Cinquecento, it -may not be inappropriate to give a few details of his life and work. -To this purpose we cannot do better than quote from the admirable -introduction to Mr. W. G. Waters’ translation of the _Novellino_, -whence is taken our story of _The Damsel and the Prince_. - -Masuccio, says Mr. Waters, “was probably born about 1420.... Seeing -that he was Sanseverino’s secretary, and that the great majority of his -novels are dedicated to prominent Neapolitans, it may be assumed that -his life was chiefly spent in Naples and the neighbourhood.... After -1474 Masuccio fades entirely from view.... - -“Masuccio seems to have rated himself as one with a message to deliver -... his phraseology gives one the impression that he wrote with -his feelings at white heat.... In the very Prologue to the work he -announces his primary theme, by proclaiming himself the scourger of -priestly vices.... If the words which a man speaks or writes are ever -to be taken as evidence of the mind that is in him, then assuredly -Masuccio may be credited with ardent hatred of the offences he -denounces.[38] Putting aside occasional lapses into licentiousness of -expression as accidents inseparable from the age in which he wrote, it -is almost impossible to doubt his sincerity as a would-be reformer of -manners.... - - [38] Masuccio, of course, cannot claim any peculiar virtue in this - respect, lust in the guise or under the cloak of religion being a - favourite theme of mediæval and even later novelists. We shall deal - at length with the subject in the second volume of _Anthologica - Rarissima: The Way of a Priest_. - -“ ... Masuccio’s canvas is a limited one. A few of his stories are in -the vein of genuine buffo, a few more are tragedies pure and simple, -but the majority of the residue will be found to treat of one or other -of his two particular themes, the castigation of profligate clerics -and unchaste women. He devotes one part of the work to each of these -specially; but in the other parts he never lets a friar or a woman -escape the lash if he finds the chance of laying it on. - -“The most scathing passages ... are those which occur here and there -in the ‘Masuccio’ at the end of his stories.... As an instance may -be quoted the conclusion to Novel XXIII., in which, after screaming -himself hoarse over the crimes of women, he finishes with these words:-- - -“‘Would that it had been God’s pleasure and Nature’s to have suffered -us to be brought forth from the oak-trees, or indeed to have been -engendered from water and mire like the frogs in the humid rains of -summer, rather than to have taken our origin from so base, so corrupt, -and so vilely fashioned a sex as womankind.’” - -As a further example of Masuccio’s hatred of women, Mr. Waters cites -“the frightful indictment at the end of Novel VI. which he prefers -against women who put on the habit of religious houses.” We might do -worse than quote it:-- - -“ ... I keep silence, likewise, concerning all that might be said on -the subject of the marriage of these women with friars ... how they -make sumptuous marriage feasts, inviting thereto from this convent -and that their friends, who present themselves with equipages laden -with all manner of rich goods.... With the consent of the abbess and -of their prelate they execute marriage contracts, duly written and -sealed; and then, having supped off all manner of sumptuous meats, and -performed every other ceremony pertaining to the rite of marriage, they -go to bed one with another without showing any fear or shame, just as -if their union had been contracted with the full sanction of their own -fathers, and by the laws of marriage....”[39] - - [39] _C.f._ _The New Metamorphosis, or The Golden Ass of Apuleius - altered and improved to Modern Times_, by Carlo Socio: London, 1822, - extracts from which, exactly germane to Masuccio’s denunciation, will - be found in vol. 2 of _Anthologica Rarissima: The Way of a Priest_. - -Space will not permit us, however, to deal _in extenso_ with -Masuccio’s hatred of priest and woman. We can best refer the reader -to his _Novellino_, or to such extracts as we shall make from them -in subsequent volumes of _Anthologica Rarissima_. Our purpose, in -the foregoing sketch, was to give some slight impression of the aims -and mentality of the author of the two stories reproduced in this -particular volume. - - - - -THE PENITENT NUN.[40] - - [40] J. S. Farmer: _Merry Songs and Ballads_: vol. 5: by John Lockman: - from _Musical Miscellany_, (1731). Farmer, of course, is the editor - and compiler of _Slang and its Analogues_, to which we make constant - reference. - - - Dame _Jane_ a sprightly Nun, and gay, - And formed of very yielding Clay, - Had long with resolution strove - To guard against the Shafts of Love. - Fond _Cupid_ smiling, spies the Fair, - And soon he baffles all her Care, - In vain she tries her Pain to smother, - The Nymph too frail, the Nymph too frail, becomes a Mother. - - But no, these little Follies o’er, - She firmly vows she’ll sin no more; - No more to Vice will fall a Prey, - But spend in Prayer each fleeting Day. - Close in her Cell immur’d she lies, - Nor from the Cross removes her Eyes; - Whilst Sisters crouding at the Crate, - Spend all their Time, spend all their Time in Worldly Prate. - - The Abbess, overjoy’d to find - This happy Change in Jenny’s Mind, - The rest, with Air compos’d, addressing, - “Daughters, if you expect a Blessing, - “From pious _Jane_, Example take, - “The World and all its Joys forsake.” - “We will (they all replied as One) - “But first let’s do as _Jane_ has done.” - - - - -BEYOND THE MARK.[41] - - [41] _Les Cent Nouvelles Nouvelles_: “now first done into the English - tongue by Robert B. Douglas, (_One Hundred Merrie and Delightsome - Stories_)”: Paris, Charles Carrington, 1899 (?): 82nd story. The - editors of _Anthologica Rarissima_ have taken slight liberties with - Mr. Douglas’ translation, deeming archaic phraseology more fitting to - the atmosphere of the narrative. - -_Of a shepherd who made an agreement with a shepherdess that he should -mount upon her “in order that he might see farther,” but was not to -penetrate beyond a mark which she herself made with her hand upon the -instrument of the said shepherd--as will more plainly appear hereafter._ - - -Listen, an it please ye, to what happened, near Lille, to a shepherd -and a young shepherdess who tended their flocks together, or near -together. - -Nature had already stirred in them, and they were of an age to know -“the way of the world,” so one day an agreement was made between them -that the shepherd should mount on the shepherdess “in order to see -farther,”[42]--provided, however, that he should not penetrate beyond -a mark which she made with her hand upon the natural instrument of the -shepherd, and which was about two fingers’ breadth below the head; and -the mark was made with a blackberry taken from the hedge. - - [42] The phrase has passed into use as an accepted slang term for the - sexual act. - -That being done, they began God’s work, and the shepherd pushed in as -though it had cost him no trouble, and without thinking about any mark -or sign, or the promise he had made to the shepherdess, for all that -he had it buried up to the hilt, and if he had had more he would have -found a place to put it. - -The pretty shepherdess, who had never had such a wedding, enjoyed -herself so much that she would willingly have done nothing else all -her life. The battle being ended, both went to look after their sheep, -which had meanwhile strayed some distance. They being brought together -again, the shepherd, who was called Hacquin, to pass the time, sat in a -swing set up between two hedges, and there he swung, as happy as a king. - -The shepherdess sat by the side of a ditch, and made a wreath of -flowers. She sang a little song, hoping that it would attract the -shepherd, and he would begin the game over again; but that was very far -from his thoughts. When she found he did not come, she began to call: -“Hacquin! Hacquin!” - -And he replied: “What wantest thou?” - -“Come hither! Come hither! Wilt thou?” said she. - -But Hacquin had had a surfeit of pleasure and made answer: - -“In God’s name, leave me alone. I do naught. I enjoy myself.” - -Then the shepherdess cried: - -“Come hither, Hacquin; I will let thee go in further, without making -any mark.” - -“By St. John,” said Hacquin, “I went far beyond the mark, and I do not -want any more.” - -He would not go to the shepherdess, who was much vexed to have to -remain idle.[43] - - [43] _Songs of the Groves: Records of the Ancient World_, (The Vine - Press: Steyning, Sussex: 1921), has a singularly charming account - of a rustic courtship. _The Wooing_, the poem to which we refer, is - a rendering from the Greek of Theocritus, and is remarkable for the - vivid picture conjured up before our eyes in a few lines of verse. - Daphnis, a young shepherd, and a maiden, discourse of love and - marriage; eventually she yields to his passion:-- - - “_Remove your hand, you satyr; do not seek my blossoms so!_” - “_Just a first glance! Oh! I must see those snowy flowers of mine!_” - “_O Pan! O Pan! I’m fainting! Take away that hand of thine!_” - “_Darling, look up! Don’t tremble so! Why fear your Lycidas?_” - “_Oh, Daphnis! I shall spoil my robe; it’s filthy on this grass._” - “_But--just see here!--the softest fleece over your robe I’ve - thrown._” - “_Ah me! Oh! Don’t undo my belt! Why do you loose my zone?_” - “_Because the Paphian Queen must have it for an offering._” - “_Some one will come! I hear a noise! Leave off, you cruel thing!_” - “_A noise? My cypresses: they murmur how my darling weds._” - “_Oh, I am bare! You’ve torn my robe into a string of shreds!_” - “_A better robe I’ll give you soon; a larger robe I’ll buy._” - “_Oh, yes! You’ll give me all, when soon salt even you’ll deny._” - “_Oh, I could pour my soul into you for your dear delight!_” - “_Forgive, O Artemis, forgive your faithless acolyte._” - “_Venus shall have an ox; a calf for Cupid I will burn._” - “_A virgin came I hither, but a woman shall return._” - “_The nurse, the mother, of my babes, now never more a maid._” - _So with young limbs entwined in love all joyously they played, - Soft-murmuring each to each; then from their secret couch they leap: - She, when she had arisen, went away to feed her sheep; - Shame was in her eyes, but her heart beat high above: - Joyous, he went to feed his flocks, glad from the bed of love._ - - - - -THE DEVIL IN HELL.[44] - - [44] _The Decameron_ of Giovanni Boccaccio, translated by John Payne, - Villon Society, 1884. See _Excursus_ to this story. - - -In the city of Capsa in Barbary there was aforetime a very rich man, -who, among his other children, had a fair and winsome young daughter, -by name Alibech. She, not being a Christian and hearing many Christians -who abode in the town mightily extol the Christian faith and the -service of God, one day questioned one of them in what manner one -might avail to serve God with the least hindrance. The other answered -that they best served God who most strictly eschewed the things of the -world, as those did who had betaken them into the solitudes of the -deserts of Thebaïs. - -The girl, who was maybe fourteen years old and very simple, moved by -no ordered desire, but by some childish fancy, set off next morning by -stealth and all alone, to go to the desert of Thebaïs without letting -any know her intent. - -After some days, her desire persisting, she won, with no little toil, -to the deserts in question and seeing a hut afar off, went thither and -found at the door a holy man, who marvelled to see her there and asked -her what she sought. She replied that, being inspired of God, she went -seeking to enter into His service and was now in quest of one who -should teach her how it behoved to serve Him. - -The worthy man, seeing her young and very fair and fearing lest, an -he entertained her, the devil should beguile him, commended her pious -intent and giving her somewhat to eat of roots and herbs and wild -apples and dates and to drink of water, said to her: - -“Daughter mine, not far hence is a holy man, who is a much better -master than I of that which thou goest seeking; do thou betake thyself -to him;” and put her in the way. However, when she reached the man in -question, she had of him the same answer and faring farther, came to -the cell of a young hermit, a very devout and good man, whose name was -Rustico and to whom she made the same request as she had done to the -others. - -He, having a mind to make a trial of his own constancy, sent her not -away, as the others had done, but received her into his cell, and the -night being come, he made her a little bed of palm-fronds and bade her -lie down to rest thereon. - -This done, temptations tarried not to give battle to his powers of -resistance and he, finding himself grossly deceived by these latter, -turned tail, without many assaults, and confessed himself beaten; -then, laying aside devout thoughts and orisons and mortifications, he -fell to revolving in his memory the youth and beauty of the damsel and -bethinking himself what course he should take with her, so as to win to -that which he desired of her, without her taking him for a debauched -fellow. - -Accordingly, having sounded her with sundry questions, he found that -she had never known man and was in truth as simple as she seemed; -wherefore he bethought him, how, under colour of the service of God, -he might bring her to his pleasures. In the first place, he showed her -with many words how great an enemy the devil was of God the Lord and -after gave her to understand that the most acceptable service that -could be rendered to God was to put back the devil in hell, whereto He -had condemned him. The girl asked him how this might be done; and he, -“Thou shalt soon know that; do thou but as thou shalt see me do.” So -saying, he proceeded to put off the few garments he had and abode stark -naked, as likewise did the girl, whereupon he fell on his knees, as he -would pray, and caused her abide over against himself. - -Matters standing thus and Rustico being more than ever inflamed in his -desires to see her so fair, there came the resurrection of the flesh, -which Alibech observing and marvelling: - -“Rustico,” quoth she, “What is that I see on thee which thrusteth forth -thus and which I have not?” - -“Faith, daughter mine,” answered he, “this is the devil whereof I -bespoke thee; and see now, he giveth me such sore annoy that I can -scarce put up with it.” - -Then said the girl: - -“Now praised be God! I see I fare better than thou, in that I have none -of yonder devil.” - -“True,” rejoined Rustico; “but thou hast overwhat that I have not, and -thou hast it instead of this.” - -“What is that?” asked Alibech; and he: - -“Thou hast hell, and I tell thee methinketh God hath sent thee hither -for my soul’s health, for that, whenas this devil doth me this annoy, -an it please thee have so much compassion on me as to suffer me put him -back into hell, thou wilt give the utmost solacement and wilt do God -a very great pleasure and service, so indeed thou be come into these -parts to do as thou sayest.” - -The girl answered in good faith: - -“Marry, father mine, since I have hell, be it whensoever it pleaseth -thee;” whereupon quoth Rustico: - -“Daughter, blessed be thou; let us go then and put him back there, so -he may after leave me in peace.” - -So saying, he laid her on one of their little beds and taught her how -she should do to imprison that accursed one of God. The girl, who had -never yet put any devil in hell, for the first time felt some little -pain; wherefore she said to Rustico: - -“Certes, father mine, this same devil must be an ill thing and an enemy -in very deed of God, for that it irketh hell itself, let be otherwhat, -when he is put back therein.” - -“Daughter,” answered Rustico, “it will not always happen thus;” and to -the end that this should not happen, six times, or ever they stirred -from the bed, they put him in hell again, insomuch that for the nonce -they so took the conceit out of his head that he willingly abode at -peace. But, it returning to him again and again the ensuing days and -the obedient girl still lending herself to take it out of him, it -befell that the sport began to please her and she said to Rustico: - -“I see now that those good people in Capsa spoke sooth, when they -avouched that it was so sweet a thing to serve God; for certes, I -remember me not to have ever done aught that afforded me such pleasance -and delight as putting the devil in hell; wherefore methinketh that -whoso applieth himself unto aught other than God His service is a fool.” - -Accordingly, she came ofttimes to Rustico and said to him: - -“Father mine, I came here to serve God and not to abide idle; let us go -put the devil in hell.” Which doing, she said whiles: - -“Rustico, I know not why the devil fleeth away from hell; for, an he -abode there as willingly as hell receiveth him and holdeth him, he -would never come forth therefrom.” - -The girl, then, on this wise often inviting Rustico and exhorting him -to the service of God, so took the bombast out of his doublet that he -felt cold what time another had sweated; wherefore he fell to telling -her that the devil was not to be chastised nor put into hell, save -whenas he should lift up his head for pride. - -“And we,” added he, “by God’s grace, have so baffled him that he -prayeth our Lord to suffer him abide in peace;” and on this wise he for -awhile imposed silence on her. - -However, when she saw that he required her not of putting the devil in -hell, she said to him one day: - -“Rustico, an thy devil be chastened and give thee no more annoy, my -hell letteth me not be; wherefore thou wilt do well to aid me with thy -devil in abating the raging of my hell, even as with my hell I have -helped thee take the conceit out of thy devil.” - -Rustico, who lived on roots and water, could ill avail to answer her -calls and told her that it would need overmany devils to appease hell, -but he would do what he might thereof. Accordingly he satisfied her -bytimes, but so seldom it was but casting a bean into the lion’s mouth; -whereat the girl, herseeming she served not God as diligently as she -would fain have done, murmured somewhat. - -But, whilst this debate was toward between Rustico his devil and -Alibech her hell, for overmuch desire on the one part and lack of -power on the other, it befell that a fire broke out in Capsa and burnt -Alibech’s father in his own house, with as many children and other -family as he had; by reason whereof she abode heir to all his good. - -Thereupon, a young man called Nëerbale, who had spent all his substance -in gallantry, hearing that she was alive, set out in search of her -and finding her, before the court (_i.e._, the government) had laid -hands upon her father’s estate, as that of a man dying without heir, -to Rustico’s great satisfaction, but against her own will, brought her -back to Capsa, where he took her to wife and succeeded, in her right, -to the ample inheritance of her father. - -There, being asked by the women at what she served God in the desert, -she answered (Nëerbale having not yet lain with her) that she served -Him at putting the devil in hell and that Nëerbale had done a grievous -sin in that he had taken her from such service. - -The ladies asked: - -“How putteth one the devil in hell?” - -And the girl, what with words and what with gestures, expounded it to -them; whereat they set up so great a laughing that they laugh yet and -said: - -“Give yourself no concern, my child; nay, for that is done here also -and Nëerbale will serve our Lord full well with thee at this.” - -Thereafter, telling it from one to another throughout the city, they -brought it to a common saying there that the most acceptable service -one could render to God was to put the devil in hell, which byword, -having passed the sea hither, is yet current here. Wherefore do all you -young ladies, who have need of God’s grace, learn to put the devil in -hell, for that this is highly acceptable to Him and pleasing to both -parties and much good may grow and ensue thereof. - - - - -_EXCURSUS_ to _THE DEVIL IN HELL_. - - -Boccaccio’s immortal story of Alibech who “turned hermit and was taught -by Rustico, a monk, to put the devil in hell” has been drawn upon or -brazenly copied by innumerable _raconteurs_. La Fontaine has an exactly -similar story. “To put the devil in hell” has passed into use as an -accepted slang term for the act of copulation. _Hell_, in English, -and _Enfer_ in French, are erotic synonyms for the female _pudendum_, -as are _devil_ and _diable_ for the male organ of generation. (_C.f._ -Farmer: _Slang and its Analogues_ and _Vocabula Amatoria_; also Landes: -_Glossaire érotique de la langue française_.) “Vainly doth hell her -prisoner recall,” says La Fontaine; “the devil is dumb.” - -It is a moot point whether “The Devil in Hell” should have been -included in this or the subsequent volume, _The Way of a Priest_. -It seems to us, however, that the woman’s part transcends the man’s -throughout, and for that reason we prefer to look upon the story as -illustrating a phase of virginity rather than as an example of priestly -lust. - -Boccaccio’s “Nightingale,” which is also given in this volume, has -provided yet another French slang term for the _penis_. “To put the -nightingale in its cage or nest” is a fanciful but frequent description -of the venereal act. (_C.f._ Pietro Aretino’s _Dialogues_: 1. _The -Life of Nuns_: English and French translations: Liseux, Paris, 1889 and -1882.) On the other hand, _nightingale_, in old English slang, denoted -a prostitute. (Farmer: _Slang and its Analogues_.) - -The inclusion of any of Boccaccio’s tales in this volume has not gone -uncritised by friends and advisers. “_The Decameron_,” they argue, “is -accessible to all; it is hackneyed nowadays.” If the frequent issue of -cheap, castrated and badly-produced editions of the immortal work are -these so-called means of access, the argument is a poor one. - -Boccaccio, to be appreciated, must be read in the original, -unexpurgated Italian, or, at any rate, in a translation which is -equally free and is the work of a scholar and booklover. Some of -Boccaccio’s stories are fitly classed as the world’s best, and among -these “The Devil in Hell” takes place. It is a story that has lived for -centuries and will live while literature lasts. - -Further, so far as we know, in one English translation alone, Payne’s, -(_vide_ note _ante_, p. 56), is this story told in its entirety in -our own language; in other editions the most dramatic part of the -narrative, the part, in fact, which _makes_ the story, is invariably -rendered in Italian or French, or is hopelessly bowdlerised. Thus is -prudery satisfied and genius mocked. “The Devil in Hell” is strong fare -assuredly, but it is served up in so artistic a manner as to please -even the most delicate palate. - - - - -THE WEDDING NIGHT OF JEAN THE FOOL.[45] - - [45] _Kruptadia_: Heilbronn, Henninger Frères, 1884: vol. 2, _Breton - Folk Lore_. - - -“Mother mine,” quoth Jean the Fool, “I would marry.” - -“Thou wouldst marry, poor innocent? And what wouldst thou do with a -woman? And who would want thee? To marry, thou must have culture at thy -back (for thus they term those who have worldly goods), and thou hast -none. Furthermore, thou must pay court to the maidens, and thou art too -great a fool to know how to do that.” - -“What doth one do when he goeth to visit the maidens?” - -“One goeth to them when they hold a party, one indulgeth in all manner -of drolleries, one pincheth them, one snatcheth their handkerchiefs -when they blow their noses, one pulleth at their petticoats, and one -laugheth.” - -“Good,” said Jean to himself; and went out. - -Passing down a road, narrow and filled with mire, he sat down, and when -he felt he had sufficient ‘cultivation’ on his backside, he went to a -farm where there was a party. The youths and maidens, when they saw -Jean the Idiot enter all smeared with mire, drew back to make room for -him, lest they themselves be soiled. In the end he found in the lobby -a stool on which he sat near one of the maidens, whom he scrutinised -closely. - -She drew away from him; Jean pinched her, rudely snatched away her -handkerchief when she sought to make use of it, and laughed like a -fool. Then, thinking to succeed with her, he tugged so violently at -her petticoat that he broke the strings that held it up. The maiden, -half undressed, was enraged, and Jean was kicked out of doors, amid the -shouting and jeering of the entire company. - -From this moment Jean the Fool had no desire to pay court to maidens. -But his mother, who felt herself growing old and had need of a -daughter-in-law to aid her, said to him one day: - -“Jean, thou must marry.” - -“Nay, indeed, mother mine. I was tricked enough when I saw the maidens.” - -“Nevertheless, ‘tis good to be married. Thy wife will give thee a -chicken to eat.”[46] - - [46] The play on words here is somewhat obscure. _Manger un poulet_ - is not a slang term for the sexual act. Interpreting freely, we might - read: “Will give thee a chicken to pluck,” _i.e._: her virginity. This - is borne out by the wife’s subsequent behaviour. On the other hand, - the mother may be speaking simply and literally. - -Jean gave his consent and was married. When he was abed with his wife, -he believed that she would serve up a chicken for him, and he said to -her: - -“Give it me.” - -“Take it,” answered his wife. - -“Give it me, I tell thee.” - -“Take it, then.” - -Thus passed the night, and on the morrow Jean the Fool went weeping to -his mother, saying: - -“Mother, I begged her for it, and she would not give it me.” - -“He lieth!” cried the wife. “I have told him to take it if he wished -it.” - -And she went to complain to her mother that she had married an idiot, -who passed the whole night saying “Give it me” without doing aught -else. The good woman saw clearly that her son-in-law was foolish, and -she bade him on the following night mount upon his wife and thrust at a -spot where he felt some hair. - -Jean did as he was counselled, but instead of stretching himself at -full length upon her, laid himself across his wife and began to thrust -with all his force, but without success, as one can well imagine, a -woman’s slit not being at the same angle as her mouth. - -Nor was it until the third night that Jean the Fool learned how he must -comport himself to have a chicken, and then he found it very much to -his taste and his wife also.[47] - - [47] We make no apology for the frequent extracts from _Kruptadia_ - to be found in this volume and those to follow of _Anthologica - Rarissima_. _Kruptadia_, perhaps the most remarkable _recueil_ of - folk lore stories, songs, sayings and proverbs in the world, is a - work far too little known to the student and bibliophile. Its rarity - may be explained by the fact that comparatively few copies of each - volume were struck off. Of Vol. 2, from which “The Wedding Night - of Jean the Fool” is taken, only 135 numbered copies were done. A - complete 12-volume set, in the original format (the work was begun in - Heilbronn by Henninger Frères and completed in Paris by Welter) is - not often seen, and we count ourselves fortunate in having one before - us as we write. Havelock Ellis frequently refers to the collection - in his _Studies in the Psychology of Sex_, while Pisanus Fraxi, the - great bibliographer of erotic, prohibited and uncommon books, was - just able to notice the first two volumes in his _Catena Librorum - Tacendorum_, (London: Privately Printed: 1885). He pays generous - tribute to the production. “Students of folk lore,” he writes, “will - hail with delight the appearance of this well-printed and carefully - got up little volume, to be followed, let us hope, by many others of - the same kind, equally remarkable for talented and faithful rendering, - and masterly editing.” Dealing with the tales themselves, he goes - on to say that “they reveal to us in an interesting and unequivocal - manner the feelings, aspirations, modes of thought, manner of living - of the people who tell them, and are possibly one of the most valuable - contributions to the study of folk lore which has yet appeared.... - They are all characteristic--all good.” Fraxi then gives the pith of - “The Enchanted Ring,” which we have already printed at length in this - volume. In the concluding pages of his _Catena Librorum Tacendorum_, - Fraxi states that vol. 2 of _Kruptadia_ has reached him in time to - mention briefly its contents. Since these words were written, ten - other volumes have been issued--a veritable mine of entertaining and - instructive information. We even go so far as to say that genuine - students of folk lore and collectors of curious literature cannot - afford to ignore _Kruptadia_, even as they should have access to - Pisanus Fraxi’s 3-volume work, _INDEX LIBRORUM PROHIBITORUM_, - _CENTURIA LIBRORUM ABSCONDITORUM_, and _CATENA LIBRORUM TACENDORUM_. - Possession of these works by all is impossible owing to their rarity, - cost and small imprint. Not every student can afford to pay £20 to £30 - for the complete set of _Kruptadia_, even if he be lucky enough to - chance on such a find, while Fraxi’s amazing bibliography, in the sale - room alone, commands about £35; and while the price tends steadily - to increase, the appearance of the complete 3-volume set as steadily - decreases. - - - - -THE MAIDEN WELL GUARDED.[48] - - [48] _Kruptadia_: Heilbronn, Henninger Frères, 1884: _Breton Folk - Lore_. - - -There lived a maiden whose mother guarded her with infinite care lest -some youth should do her ill; and she was brought up in all innocence. -And when she begged to go to gatherings even as other maids of her age, -her mother was wont to answer her, saying: - -“Nay, my daughter, thou shalt not go, for there thou art like to lose -thy maidenhead.” - -One day, nevertheless, Pierre, the maiden’s lover, who was a good lad -and a quiet, came seeking to conduct her to an assembly, and both lad -and maid besought the mother to let them go. In the end she consented, -thinking in herself that Pierre was too honest to do her daughter ill, -and she enjoined him guard her well. - -Behold, then, these two on their way; and as they went, the maiden said: - -“My mother hath strictly enjoined me to guard my maidenhead. It seemeth -that at assemblies one is in case to lose it. How best preserve it?” - -“Hath not thy mother shown thee a method of so doing?” - -“Yea,” answered the maiden, “she hath enjoined me to press my thighs -tightly together.” - -Quitting the road, they entered a wood wherein were several streamlets, -which one crossed by means of planks. Even as the maid walked upon one -of these planks Pierre, who marched behind her, cast a stone into the -water hard by the girl. - -“Alas!” cried the maiden. “What will my mother say? Behold, my -maidenhead hath fallen in the water and is lost!” - -“Fear not,” answered the lad. “‘Tis fortunate I am here. I will restore -it thee. Come with me ‘neath the trees, and say naught if the business -hurteth thee, for ‘tis all for thy good.” - -Then Pierre, in very sooth, ‘put back’ the maidenhead for her, and -shortly afterward they came to the second plank. Even as the girl -stood upon it, two or three frogs, slumbering at the streamside, were -affrighted and hopped into the water, which spirted up ‘neath the -maiden. - -“Ah! Pierre!” cried she. “‘Tis lost again! It seemeth that it was not -firm. ‘Twas most wrong of thee not to have put it back more firmly.” - -“Say no more,” answered Pierre. “I will again put it back.” - -And when the maidenhead had been put back for the second time, they -went on, reaching the assembly, where they diverted themselves as did -the others. - -On their return journey, even as the young girl passed over a plank, -Pierre cast in the water an apple which he had in his pocket. - -“What will my mother say?” cried the girl. “‘Tis the third time I have -lost it to-day!” - -“Fear not,” quoth Pierre. “I am about to sew it on again.” - -When the maidenhead had been resewed, the girl, who was acquiring a -taste for this form of embroidery, said to Pierre: - -“‘Tis not sewn sufficiently firm.” - -“Indeed it is.” - -“‘Tis not.” - -“But I have no more thread.” - -“Miserable deceiver!” cried the girl. “He saith he hath no more thread, -yet all the while he possesseth two great balls of it!”[49] - - [49] _Peloton_ is the word in the text, signifying, literally, _a ball - made of things (thread, silk or wool) wound round it_. The play on - words is remarkably apt in the last few lines of the story, _peloton_ - exactly connoting, in the mind of the simple girl, the youth’s - testicles and pubic hair. - - - - -_VARIANT._ - - -Béroalde de Verville, in _Le Moyen de Parvenir_, has a similar tale. -As it differs in several respects from our _Kruptadia_ version, we -give it here. Our extract is from Arthur Machen’s text, which is, so -far as we know, the only English translation of the old French Canon’s -much censured work.[50] Donatus, one of the characters in the book, is -speaking:-- - - [50] _Fantastic Tales or The Way to Attain: A Book full of - Pantagruelism: Now for the first time done into English_ by Arthur - Machen: Privately Printed: Carbonnek, 1890. We shall return to the - subject of De Verville’s work in a later page of this volume. - -... That’s like the case of my landlady’s daughter.... One day this -young wench desired to go to a bride-ale, and asked leave of her -mother, who granted it on the condition that she would solemnly, -paragraphically, and distinctively promise to keep her maidenhead,[51] -to which condition the girl agreed with all her heart. - - [51] The word is ours. Machen translates “honour.” - -So she went away to the wedding, and set herself to keep guard o’er her -maidenhead. The lasses and lads all danced away, but she not a step, -nor did she dare approach the board where the others were engaged in -the quintessential operation of making ordure with the teeth. The poor -girl stayed all the time in a corner of the room, with her two hands -at the bottom of her stomach, just opposite to the diameter (I mean -opposite to the centre which so far was cut by no diameter). Coypeau, -seeing her thus dung in the mouth (I should say, down in the mouth) -came up to her and said: - -“What cheer, Coz; shall we foot it awhile?” - -“Nay, I dare not, for fear I lose my maidenhead; my mother bade me take -great care of it.” - -“Oh, Oh,” says he, “and is that all? Why Coz, sweet Coz, follow me to -this little closet, and I’ll sew it up so tight that it shall never -fall out.” - -All this he said in a whisper, but she heard him well enough, for she -was fain to be a-dancing; and so she followed him. He then proceeded to -show her how the wolf dances with his tail between his legs, and sewed -up her maidenhead so securely that he told her it would never fall out -by that way. - -Thereupon she began to dance, and enjoyed herself to her heart’s -content; but she liked needlework so well that she asked for some -more, and had three stitches. (That was enough in all conscience, -though I have threaded the needle[52] for Madeleine forty-five times in -forty-four hours; five by night and by day _forté_.) Coypeau was not -quite so strong as that, but he gave the poor girl a great treat. She -ate some sweetmeats, and feeling ashamed no longer, bethought her of -her maidenhead, and went up to him, and asked him if he would give it -another stitch. - - [52] _Enfiler une aiguille_, more usually, _enfiler_. The expression is - common to most erotic writers. _Vide_ various erotic lexicographers - quoted _ante_. - -“Faith! “ said he, “I can’t, I haven’t any more thread.” - -“Come, Come,” quoth she, “I thought I saw two nice little balls of -thread.” - - - - -TALE OF KAMAR AL-ZAMAN.[53] - - [53] _The Thousand Nights and a Night_, translated by Sir Richard F. - Burton, and printed by the Burton Club for private subscribers only: - Lauristan Edition, limited to 1,000 numbered sets. As the story in the - original is of considerable length, we have summarised portions of it, - retaining in its entirety that part of the text which will appeal most - to the bibliophile. The paragraphing, also, is in many cases our own. - - -_King Shahriman had a son, Kamar al-Zaman, who “grew up of surpassing -beauty ... and symmetry,” but was unwilling to marry. For this he is -eventually cast into prison. A similar fate has befallen Princess -Budur, daughter of King Ghayur, Lord of China Islands and Seas, and for -a similar reason. The maiden is pictured as one “than whom Allah hath -made none fairer in her time ... with cheeks like purple wine ... lips -as coral ... breasts like two globes of ivory, from whose brightness -the moons borrow light, and a stomach with little waves as it were a -figured cloth ... with creases like folded scrolls, ending in a waist -slender past all imagination; based upon back parts like a hillock of -blown sand, that force her to sit when she would lief stand....”_ - -_Two genii, Maymunah, a woman, and Dahnash, a man, now come into the -story, the former as a champion of Kamar, the latter as Princess -Budur’s. After a long dispute as to the rival charms of Prince and -Princess, they convey the latter to the Prince’s side, the test of -beauty to be as follows_:-- - -_Each is to be awakened in turn, without knowledge of the other, and -whichever is the more enamoured will be held inferior in comeliness._ - -_Dahnash then changes himself into a flea, and bites Kamar al-Zaman, -who wakes up. The text continues_:-- - - -... Then turning sideways, he found lying by him something whose breath -was sweeter than musk and whose skin was softer than cream. Hereat -he marvelled with great marvel, and he sat up and looked at what lay -beside him; when he saw it to be a young lady like an union pearl, or a -shining sun, or a dome seen from afar on a well-built wall: for she was -five feet tall ... bosomed high and rosy-cheeked.... - -And when Kamar al-Zaman saw the lady Budur, daughter of King Ghayur, -and her beauty and comeliness, she was sleeping clad in a shift of -Venetian silk, without her petticoat trousers, and wore on her head -a kerchief embroidered with gold and set with stones of price; her -ears were hung with twin earrings which shone like constellations, and -round her neck was a collar of union pearls, of size unique, past the -competence of any king. - -When he saw this, his reason was confounded and natural heat began to -stir in him; Allah awoke in him the desire of coïtion and he said to -himself: - -“Whatso Allah willeth, that shall be, and what he willeth not shall be!” - -So saying, he put out his hand, turning her over, loosed the collar of -her chemise; then arose before his sight her bosom, with its breasts -like double globes of ivory; whereat his inclination for her redoubled -and he desired her with exceeding hot desire. He would have awakened -her but she would not awake, for Dahnash had made her sleep heavy; so -he shook her and moved her, saying: - -“O my beloved, awake and look on me; I am Kamar al-Zaman.” - -But she awoke not, neither moved her head; whereupon he considered her -case for a long hour and said to himself: - -“If I guess aright, this is the damsel to whom my father would -have married me, and these three years I have refused her; but -Inshallah!--God willing--as soon as it is dawn, I will say to him: -Marry me to her, that I may enjoy her; nor will I let half the day pass -ere I possess her and take my fill of her beauty and loveliness.” - -Then he bent over Budur to buss her, whereat the Jinniyah Maymunah -trembled and was abashed and Dahnash, the Ifrit, was like to fly for -joy. But as Kamar al-Zaman was about to kiss her on the mouth, he was -ashamed before Allah and turned away his head and averted his face, -saying to his heart: “Have patience.” - -Then he took thought awhile and said: - -“I will be patient; haply my father when he was wroth with me and sent -me to this jail, may have brought my young lady and made her lie by my -side to try me with her, and may have charged her not to be readily -awakened when I would arouse her, and may have said to her: - -“‘Whatever thing Kamar al-Zaman do to thee, make me ware thereof’; - -“Or belike my sire standeth hidden in some stead whence (being himself -unseen) he can see all I do with this young lady; and to-morrow he will -scold me and cry: - -“‘How cometh it that thou sayest, I have no mind to marry; and yet thou -didst kiss and embrace yonder damsel?’ - -“So I will withhold myself lest I be ashamed before my sire; and the -right and proper thing to do is not to touch her at this present, nor -even to look upon her, except to take from her somewhat which shall -serve as a token to me and a memorial of her; that some sign endure -between me and her.” - -Then Kamar al-Zaman raised the young lady’s hand and took from her -little finger a seal-ring worth an immense amount of money, for that -its bezel was a precious jewel ... and set it on his own; then, turning -his back to her, went to sleep.[54] ... - - [54] “The young man,” says Sir Richard Burton, in a footnote, “must - have been a demon of chastity.” - -Thereupon Maymunah changed herself into a flea and entering into the -raiment of Budur, the loved of Dahnash, crept up her calf and came -upon her thigh and, reaching a place some four carats[55] below her -navel, there bit her. Thereupon she opened her eyes and sitting up in -bed, saw a youth lying beside her and breathing heavily in his sleep, -the loveliest of Almighty Allah’s creatures, with eyes that put to -shame the fairest Houris of Heaven; and a mouth like Solomon’s seal, -whose water was sweeter to the taste and more efficacious than a -theriack, and lips the colour of coral-stone, and cheeks like blood-red -anemone.... - - [55] Carat = one finger-breadth here. The derivation is from the Greek - _Keration_, a bean, the seed of the _abrus precatorius_.--Note by Sir - Richard Burton. - -Now when Princess Budur saw him, she was seized by a transport of -passion and yearning and love-longing, and she said to herself: - -“Alas, my shame! This is a strange youth and I know him not. How cometh -he to be lying by my side on one bed?” - -Then she looked at him a second time and, noting his beauty and -loveliness, said: - -“By Allah, he is indeed a comely youth and my heart is well-nigh torn -in sunder with longing for him! But alas, how am I shamed by him! By -the Almighty, had I known it was this youth who sought me in marriage -of my father, I had not rejected him, but had wived with him and -enjoyed his loveliness!” - -Then she gazed in his face and said: - -“O my lord and light of mine eyes, awake from sleep and take thy -pleasure in my beauty and grace.” - -And she moved him with her hand; but Maymunah the Jinniyah let down -sleep upon him as it were a curtain, and pressed heavily on his head -with her wings so that Kamar al-Zaman awoke not. Then Princess Budur -shook him with her hands and said: - -“My life on thee, hearken to me; awake and up from thy sleep and look -on the narcissus and the tender down thereon, and enjoy the sight of -naked waist and navel; and touzle me and tumble me from this moment -till break of day! Allah upon thee, O my lord, sit up and prop thee -against the pillow and slumber not!” - -Still Kamar al-Zaman made her no reply but breathed hard in his sleep. -Continued she: - -“Alas! Alas! thou art insolent in thy beauty and comeliness and grace -and loving looks! But if thou art handsome, so am I handsome; what then -is this thou dost? Have they taught thee to flout me or hath my father, -the wretched old fellow, made thee swear not to speak to me to-night?” - -But Kamar al-Zaman opened not his mouth neither awoke, whereat her -passion for him redoubled and Allah inflamed her heart with love of -him. She stole one glance of eyes that cost her a thousand sighs: -her heart fluttered, and her vitals throbbed and her hands and feet -quivered; and she said to Kamar al-Zaman: - -“Talk to me, O my lord! Speak to me, O my friend! Answer me, O my -beloved, and tell me thy name, for indeed thou hast ravished my wit!” - -And during all this time he abode drowned in sleep and answered her not -a word, and Princess Budur sighed and said: - -“Alas! Alas! why art thou so proud and self-satisfied?” - -Then she shook him and turning his hand over, saw her seal-ring on his -little finger, whereat she cried a loud cry, and followed it with a -sigh of passion and said: - -“Alack! Alack! By Allah, thou art my beloved and thou lovest me! Yet -thou seemest to turn thee away from me out of coquetry, for all, O my -darling, thou camest to me, whilst I was asleep and knew not what thou -didst with me, and tookest my seal-ring; and yet I will not pull it off -thy finger.” - -So saying, she opened the bosom of his shirt and bent over him and -kissed him and put forth her hand to him, seeking somewhat that she -might take as a token, but found nothing. Then she thrust her hand into -his breast and, because of the smoothness of his body, it slipped down -to his waist and thence to his navel and thence to his yard, whereupon -her heart ached and her vitals quivered and lust was sore upon her, for -that the desire of women is fiercer than the desire of men,[56] and she -was ashamed of her own shamelessness. - - [56] ... In hot-damp climates the venereal requirements and - reproductive powers of the female greatly exceed those of the - male.... In cold-dry or hot-dry mountainous lands the reverse is - the case; hence polygamy there prevails whilst the low countries - require polyandry in either form, legal or illegal, _i.e._, - prostitution.--Note by Sir Richard Burton. See, also, _excursus_ to - this story, where the subject is dealt with at length. - -Then she plucked his seal-ring from his finger, and put it on her own -instead of the ring he had taken, and bussed his inner lips and hands, -nor did she leave any part of him unkissed; after which she took him to -her breast and embraced him and, laying one of her hands under his neck -and the other under his arm-pit, nestled close to him and fell asleep -by his side. - -... When Princess Budur fell asleep by the side of Kamar al-Zaman, -after doing that which she did, quoth Maymunah to Dahnash: - -“Sawst thou, O accursed, how proudly and coquettishly my beloved bore -himself, and how hotly and passionately thy mistress showed herself to -my dearling? There can be no doubt that my beloved is handsomer than -thine; nevertheless I pardon thee.” - -... The two Ifrits went forward to Princess Budur and upraising her -flew away with her; then, bearing her back to her own place, they laid -her on her own bed, while Maymunah abode alone with Kamar al-Zaman, -gazing upon him as he slept, till the night was all but spent, when she -went her way. As soon as morning morrowed, the Prince awoke from sleep -and turned right and left, but found not the maiden by him and said in -his mind: - -“What is this business? It is as if my father would incline me to -marriage with the damsel who was with me and have now taken her away by -stealth, to the intent that my desire for wedlock may redouble.” - -Then he called out to the eunuch who slept at the door, saying: - -“Woe to thee, O damned one, arise at once!” - -So the eunuch rose, bemused with sleep, and brought him basin and ewer, -whereupon Kamar al-Zaman entered the water-closet and did his need;[57] -then, coming out, made the Wuzu-ablution and prayed the dawn-prayer, -after which he sat telling on his beads the ninety-and-nine names of -Almighty Allah.... - - [57] “This morning evacuation,” says Sir Richard Burton, in a - footnote, “is considered, in the East, a _sine qua non_ of health.... - The natives of India ... unlike Europeans, accustom themselves to - evacuate twice a day, evening as well as morning. This may, perhaps, - partly account for their mildness and effeminacy; for:--’C’est la - constipation qui rend l’homme rigoureux.’” - -_Strictly speaking, the rest of the story, which is of great length, -is somewhat out of place in this volume. The reader, however, may be -interested to know the upshot of the stratagem adopted by the genii, so -we take leave to give it, summarising where necessary._ - -_Kamar al-Zaman and the Princess Budur, madly in love but -grief-stricken by their separation, are eventually brought together -and married. Later while on a journey, they are again separated by -divers mischances, Kamar becoming an assistant to a gardener, while -Budur, having adopted male garb to preserve her chastity, reaches the -dominions of King Armanus. Here she is taken for a king’s son, and -Armanus, who is old, gives her his daughter Hayat al-Nufus in marriage -and makes her lord of his kingdom. An embarrassing situation now -arises, Budur being unable to consummate the marriage or to explain her -failure to the bride. Matters come to a crisis on the third night when -Hayat speaks out. The text continues_:-- - -... Hayat al-Nufus caught her by the skirt and clung to her, saying: - -“O my lord, art thou not ashamed before my father, after all his -favour, to neglect me at such a time as this” - -When Queen Budur heard her words, she sat down in the same place and -said: - -“O my beloved, what is this thou sayest?” - -She replied: - -“What I say is that I never saw any so proud of himself as thou. -Is every fair one so disdainful? I say not this to incline thee to -me; I say it only of my fear for thee from King Armanus; because he -purposeth, unless thou go in unto me this very night, and do away my -maidenhead, to strip thee of the kingship on the morrow and banish thee -his kingdom; and peradventure his excessive anger may lead him to slay -thee. But I, O my lord, have ruth on thee and give thee fair warning; -and it is thy right to reck.” - -Now when Queen Budur heard her speak these words, she bowed her head -groundwards awhile in sore perplexity and said in herself: - -“If I refuse I’m lost; and if I obey I’m shamed. But I am now Queen -of all the Ebony Islands and they are under my rule, nor shall I ever -again meet my Kamar al-Zaman save in this place; for there is no way -for him to his native land but through the Ebony Islands. Verily, I -know not what to do in my present case, but I commit my care to Allah -who directeth all for the best, for I am no man that I should arise and -open this virgin girl.” - -Then quoth Queen Budur to Hayat al-Nufus: - -“O my beloved, that I have neglected thee and abstained from thee is in -my own despite.” - -And she told her her whole story from beginning to end and showed her -person to her, saying: - -“I conjure you by Allah to keep my counsel, for I have concealed my -case only that Allah may re-unite me with my beloved Kamar al-Zaman and -then come what may.” - -... The Princess heard her with extreme wonderment and was moved to -pity and prayed Allah to re-unite her with her beloved, saying: - -“Fear nothing, O my sister; but have patience till Allah bring to pass -that which must come to pass.... O my sister, verily the breasts of -the noble and brave are of secrets the grave; and I will not discover -thine.” - -Then they toyed and embraced and kissed and slept till near the -Mu’ezzin’s call to dawn-prayer, when Hayat al-Nufus arose and took -a pigeon-poult,[58] and cut its throat over her smock and besmeared -herself with its blood. Then she pulled off her petticoat-trousers and -cried aloud, whereupon her people hastened to her and raised the usual -lullilooing and outcries of joy and gladness.... - - [58] “The belief that young pigeons’ blood resembles the virginal - discharge is universal,” says Sir Richard Burton, in a footnote; “but - the blood most resembling man’s is that of the pig, which in other - points is so very human. In our day Arabs and Hindus rarely submit - to inspection the nuptial sheet, as practised by the Israelites and - Persians. The bride takes to bed a white kerchief with which she - staunches the blood and next morning the stains are displayed in - the Harem. In Darfour this is done by the bridegroom. “_Prima Venus - debet esse cruenta_” (Love’s first battle should be bloody), say the - Easterns with much truth, and they have no faith in our complaisant - creed which allows the hymen-membrane to disappear by any but one - accident.” The creed, of course, is not peculiar to the East, and - realistic descriptions of this “sanguinary combat” will be found in - Nicolas Chorier’s _Dialogues_, _Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure_, (_op. - cit._), and other erotic works. _C.f._ also the modern custom of - including a clean sheet among the bride’s trousseau. Further remarks - on this subject will be found in our preliminary essay to this volume, - “Human Nature, Tradition, and Virginity.” - -_We can omit a description of the manner in which Kamar al-Zaman is -at length brought to the Ebony Islands, where honour and dignity are -heaped upon him, in particular by Queen Budur, whom he believes to be a -man and the king of the dominion. Growing suspicious of these favours, -Kamar asks permission to depart. The text continues_:-- - -... Answered Kamar al-Zaman: - -“O King, verily this favour, if there be no reason for it, is indeed -a wonder of wonders, more by token that thou hast advanced me to -dignities such as befit men of age and experience, albeit I am as it -were a young child.” - -And Queen Budur rejoined: - -“The reason is that I love thee for thine exceeding loveliness and thy -surpassing beauty; and if thou wilt but grant me my desire of thy body, -I will advance thee yet farther in honour and favour and largesse; and -I will make thee Wazir, for all thy tender age, even as the folk made -me Sultan over them and I no older than thou....” - -When Kamar al-Zaman heard these words, he was abashed and his cheeks -flushed till they seemed aflame; and he said: - -“I need not these favours which lead to the commission of sin; I will -live poor in wealth but wealthy in virtue and honour.” - -Quoth she: - -“I am not to be duped by thy scruples, arising from prudery and -coquettish ways; and Allah bless him who saith:-- - -_To him I spake of coupling, but he said to me, ‘How long this noyous -long persistency?’_ - -_But when gold piece I showëd him, he cried, ‘Who from the Almighty -Sovereign e’er shall flee?’_” - -Now when Kamar al-Zaman heard these words and understood her verses and -their import, he said: - -“O King, I have not the habit of these doings, nor have I strength -to bear these heavy burthens for which elder age than I have proved -unable; then how will it be with my tender age?” - -But she smiled at his speech and retorted: - -“Indeed, it is a matter right marvellous how error springeth from the -disorder of man’s intendiment! Since thou art a boy, why standest thou -in fear of sin or the doing of things forbidden, seeing that thou art -not yet come to the years of canonical responsibility; and the offences -of a child incur neither punishment nor reproof? Verily, thou hast -committed thyself to a quibble for the sake of contention, and it is -thy duty to bow before a proposal of fruition, so henceforward cease -from denial and coyness, for the commandment of Allah is a decree -foreordained: indeed, I have more reason than thou to fear falling and -by sin to be misled; and well-inspired was he who said:-- - -_My prickle is big and the little one said, ‘Thrust boldly in vitals -with lion-like stroke!’_ - -_Then I, ‘’Tis a sin!’; and he, ‘No sin to me!’ So I had him at once -with a counterfeit poke.”_[59] - - [59] “_i.e._, Not the real thing (with a woman),” says Sir R. Burton, - in a note. “It may also mean ‘by his incitement of me.’ All this scene - is written in the worst form of Persian-Egyptian blackguardism, and - forms a curious anthropological study.” - -When Kamar al-Zaman heard these words, the light became darkness in his -sight and he said: - -“O King, thou hast in thy household fair women and female slaves, who -have not their like in this age: shall not these suffice thee without -me? Do thy will with them and let me go!” - -She replied: - -“Thou sayest sooth, but it is not with them that one who loveth thee -can heal himself of torment and can abate his fever; for, when tastes -and inclinations are corrupted by vice, they hear and obey other than -good advice. So leave arguing and listen to what the poet saith:-- - -_Seest not the bazaar with its fruit in rows? These men are for figs -and for sycamore those!_[60] - - [60] _i.e._, Some men prefer sodomy (figs = _anus_); others natural - intercourse (sycamore = _cunnus_). - -“And what another saith:-- - -_O beauty’s Union! love for thee’s my creed; free choice of Faith and -eke my best desire_: - -_Women I have forsworn for thee; so may deem me all men this day a -shaveling friar._ - -“And yet another:-- - -_A boy of twice ten is fit for a King!_ - -“And yet another:-- - -_The penis smooth and round was made with anus best to match it: Had it -been made for cunnus’ sake it had been formed like hatchet!_ - -“And yet another said:-- - -_My soul thy sacrifice! I chose thee out who art not menstruous or -oviparous_: - -_Did I with women mell, I should beget brats till the wide wide world -grew strait for us._ - -“And yet another:-- - -_She saith_ (_sore hurt in sense the most acute, for she had proffered -what did not besuit_):-- - -‘_Unless thou stroke as man should swive his wife, blame not when horns -thy brow shall incornute!_ - -‘_Thy wand seems waxen, to a limpo grown: and more I palm it, softer -grows the brute!_’ - -“And yet another:-- - -_Quoth she (for I to lie with her forbore), ‘O folly-following fool, O -fool to core_: - -‘_If thou my coynte for Kiblah[61] to thy coigne reject, we’ll show -thee what shall please thee more._’[62] - - [61] Note by Sir Richard Burton: Kiblah = the fronting place of - prayer; Mecca for Moslems, Jerusalem for Jews and early Christians. - - [62] Note by Sir Richard Burton: The Koran says (chap. 2): “Your - wives are your tillage: go in therefore unto your tillage in what - manner soever you will.” Usually this is understood as meaning in - any posture, standing or sitting, lying, backwards or forwards. Yet - there is a popular saying about the man whom the woman rides (vulg. - _St. George_; in France, _le postillion_): “Cursed be he who maketh - woman Heaven and himself earth!” Some hold the Koranic passage to have - been revealed in confutation of the Jews, who pretended that if a man - lay with his wife backwards, he would beget a cleverer child. Others - again understood it of preposterous venery; which is absurd: every - ancient law-giver framed his code to increase the true wealth of the - people--population--and severely punished all processes, like onanism, - which impeded it. The Persians utilise the hatred of women for such - misuse when they would force a wife to demand a divorce and thus - forfeit her claim to dowry; they convert them into catamites till, - after a month or so, they lose all patience and leave the house. We do - not propose to add to Sir Richard’s note, reserving our remarks on the - subject for their proper place in a subsequent volume. - -“And yet another:-- - -_She proffered me a tender coynte: Quoth I, ‘I will not roger thee!’_ - -_She drew back, saying, ‘From the Faith he turns, who’s turned by -Heaven’s decree!_[63] - - [63] Note by Sir Richard: Koran 51, 9, alluding, in the text, to the - preposterous venery her lover demands. - -_’And front-wise futtering, in one day, is obsolete persistency!’_ - -_Then swung she round and shining rump like silvern lump she showëd me!_ - -_I cried: ‘Well done, O mistress mine! No more am I in pain for thee;_ - -_’O thou of all that Allah oped[64] showest me fairest victory!’_ - - [64] Note by Sir Richard: Arab “Futùh,” meaning openings, and also - victories, benefits. The lover congratulates her on her mortifying - self in order to please him. - -“And yet another:-- - -_Men craving pardon will uphold their hands; women pray pardon with -their legs on high:_[65] - - [65] _Vide_ note to _Excursus_ to this story, p. 100. - -_Out on it for a pious, prayerful work! The Lord shall raise it in the -depths to lie._”[66] - - [66] Note by Sir Richard: “And the righteous work will be exalt.” - (Koran 35, 11). Applied ironically. - -When Kamar al-Zaman heard her quote this poetry, and was certified that -there was no escaping compliance with what willed she, he said: - -“O King of the age, if thou must needs have it so, make covenant with -me that thou wilt do this thing with me but once, though it avail -not to correct thy depraved appetite; and that thou wilt never again -require this thing of me to the end of time; so perchance shall Allah -purge me of the sin.” - -She replied: - -“I promise thee this same, hoping that Allah of His favour will relent -toward us and blot out our mortal offence; for the girdle of Heaven’s -forgiveness is not indeed so strait, but it may compass us around and -absolve us of the excess of our heinous sins and bring us to the light -of salvation out of the darkness of error; and indeed excellently well -saith the poet:-- - -_Of evil thing the folk suspect us twain; and to this thought their -hearts and souls are bent:_ - -_Come, dear! let’s justify and free their souls that wrong us; one good -bout and then--repent!”_ - -Thereupon she made with him an agreement and a covenant and swore a -solemn oath by Him who is Self-existent, that this thing should befall -betwixt them but once and never again for all time, and that the desire -of him was driving her to death and perdition. So he rose up with her, -on this condition, and went with her to her own boudoir, that she -might quench the lowe of her lust, saying: - -“There is no Majesty, and there is no Might save in Allah, the -Glorious, the Great! This is the fated decree of the All-powerful, the -All-wise!” - -And he doffed his bag-trousers, shameful and abashed, with the tears -running from his eyes from stress of affright. Thereat she smiled and -making him mount upon a couch with her, said to him: - -“After this night, thou shalt see naught that will offend thee.” - -Then she turned to him bussing and bosoming him and bending calf over -calf, and said to him: - -“Put thy hand between my thighs to the accustomed place; so haply it -may stand up to prayer after prostration.” - -He wept and cried: - -“I am not good at aught of this.” - -But she said: - -“By my life, an thou do as I bid thee, it shall profit thee!” - -So he put out his hand, with vitals afire for confusion, and found her -thighs cooler than cream and softer than silk. The touching of them -pleasured him and he moved his hand hither and thither, till it came to -a dome abounding in good gifts and movements and shifts, and said in -himself: - -“Perhaps this King is an hermaphrodite,[67] neither man nor woman quite.” - - [67] Note by Sir Richard: Easterns still believe in what Westerns know - to be an impossibility, human beings with the parts and proportions - of both sexes equally developed and capable of reproduction; and - Al-Islam even provides special rules for them. ... The old Greeks - dreamed, after their fashion, a beautiful poetic dream of a human - animal uniting the contradictory beauties of man and woman. The - duality of the generative organs seems an old Egyptian tradition; at - least we find it in _Genesis_ (1.27), where the image of the Deity - is created male and female, before man was formed out of the dust of - the ground (2.7). The old tradition found its way to India (if the - Hindus did not borrow the idea from the Greeks); and one of the forms - of Mahadeva, the third person of their triad, is entitled “Ardhanári” - = the Half-Woman, which has suggested to them some charming pictures. - Europeans, seeing the left breast conspicuously feminine, have - indulged in silly surmises about the “Amazons.” - -So he said to her: - -“O King, I cannot find that thou hast a tool like the tools of men; -what then moved thee to do this deed?” - -Then loudly laughed Queen Budur till she fell on her back,[68] and said: - - [68] Note by Sir Richard: This is a mere phrase for our “dying of - laughter”: the queen was on her back. And as Easterns sit on carpets, - their falling back is very different from the same movement off a - chair. - -“O my dearling, how quickly thou hast forgotten the nights we have lain -together!” - -Then she made herself known to him, and he knew her for his wife, the -Lady Budur, daughter of King al-Ghayur, Lord of the Isles and the Seas. -So he embraced her and she embraced him, and he kissed her and she -kissed him; then they lay down on the bed of pleasure voluptuous.... - - * * * * * - -_Here we end our extract from the Tale of Kamar al-Zaman, although -the story runs on for another forty odd pages in Sir Richard Burton’s -translation. A situation similar to that just described occurs in -another story in ‘The Nights,’ and we shall have occasion to quote from -that in a subsequent volume._ - - - - -_EXCURSUS_ to _THE TALE OF KAMAR AL-ZAMAN_. - -“We are told that in the East there was once a woman named Moarbeda who -was a philosopher and considered to be the wisest woman of her time. -When Moarbeda was once asked: ‘In what part of a woman’s body does her -mind reside?’ she replied: ‘Between her thighs.’”--Havelock Ellis: -_Studies in the Psychology of Sex_, Vol. 3: _The Sexual Impulse in -Women_.[69] - - [69] Havelock Ellis is quoting from _The Perfumed Garden of The Cheikh - Nefzaoui_: Cosmopoli, 1886, printed for the Kama Shastra Society of - London and Benares. - - * * * * * - -The amativeness of woman, as compared with that of man, is a question, -of course, entirely beyond the scope of this note. We must be content -with examining some of the most interesting and pertinent extracts from -the works of those qualified to speak on the subject. - -At the outset we are confronted with the striking fact that, while -the ancients were prone to regard woman as generally amative, even -lustful, modern thought has exactly reversed this opinion. “It seems to -have been reserved for the nineteenth century,” says Havelock Ellis, -(_op. cit. supra_), “to state that women are apt to be congenitally -incapable of experiencing complete sexual satisfaction, and peculiarly -liable to sexual anaesthesia. This idea appears to have been almost -unknown to the eighteenth century....” - -Thus we have two schools of thought, one attributing to woman an -intense sexual impulse, even greater than in man, the other holding her -sexually frigid by nature and erotic only by pretence or accident. We -may helpfully quote again from our Havelock Ellis, who has summarised -in masterly fashion the various authorities on both sides:-- - -“In the treatise _On Generation_, (chap. 5), which until recent times -was commonly ascribed to Hippocrates,” he says, “it is stated that men -have greater pleasure in coïtus than women, though the pleasure of -women lasts longer, and this opinion, though not usually accepted, was -treated with great respect by medical authors down to the end of the -17th century.... Gall had stated decisively that the sexual desires of -men are stronger and more imperious than those of women. (_Fonctions -du Cerveau_, 1825).... Raciborski declared that three-fourths of women -merely endure the approaches of men. (_De la Puberté chez la Femme_). - -“‘When the question is carefully inquired into and without prejudice,’ -said Lawson Tait, ‘it is found that women have their sexual appetites -far less developed than men.’ (Lawson Tait, _Provincial Medical -Journal_, 1891). ‘The sexual instinct is very powerful in man and -comparatively weak in women,’ he stated elsewhere. (_Diseases of -Women_, 1889). Hammond stated that ... ‘it is doubtful if in one-tenth -of the instances of intercourse they [women] experience the slightest -pleasurable sensation from first to last.’ (Hammond, _Sexual -Impotence_). - -“Lombroso and Ferrero consider that sexual sensibility ... is less -pronounced in women.... ‘Woman is naturally and organically frigid....’ -(Lombroso and Ferrero, _La Donna Deliquente, la Prostituta, e la Donna -Normale_, 1893). Krafft-Ebing was of opinion that women require less -sexual satisfaction than men, being less sensual.... ‘The sensuality -of men,’ Moll states, ‘is in my opinion very much greater than that of -women.’ - -“Adler, who discusses the direction at some length, decides that the -sexual needs of women are less than those of men, though in some cases -the orgasm in quantity and quality greatly exceeds that of men. He -believes, not only that the sexual impulse in women is absolutely less -than in men, and requires stronger stimulation to arouse it, but that -also it suffers from a latency due to inhibition, which acts like a -foreign body in the brain ... and demands great skill in the man who is -to awaken the woman to love.” - -Here we have one side of the question--a side strangely at variance -with ancient thought, romance and history. The supposed frigidity of -women is characterised by Havelock Ellis as ‘an opinion of very recent -growth ... confined, on the whole, to a few countries.’ (_Studies_, -vol. 3, page 196). He goes on to quote Brierre de Boismont, who wrote: -‘Turn to history, and on every page you will be able to recognise the -predominance of erotic ideas in women.’ It is the same to-day, he adds, -and he attributes it to the fact that men are more easily able to -gratify their sexual impulses. (_Des Hallucinations_, 1862). - -“The laws of Manu,” continues Havelock Ellis, “attribute to women -concupiscence and anger, the love of bed and of adornment. The -Jews attribute to women greater sexual desire than to men. This is -illustrated, according to Knobel (as quoted by Dillman), by _Genesis_, -chapter 3, verse 16.[70] - - [70] “Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and - thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy - desire _shall be to thy husband_, and he shall rule over thee.” - -“In Greek antiquity, ... in love between men and women the latter -were nearly always regarded as taking the more active part. In all -Greek love-stories of early date the woman falls in love with the man, -and never the reverse. Æschylus makes even a father assume that his -daughters will misbehave if left to themselves. Euripides emphasised -the importance of women. ‘The Euripidean woman who falls in love thinks -first of all: “How can I seduce the man I love?”’ (E.F.M. Benecke: -_Antimachus of Colophon and the Position of Women in Greek Poetry_, -1896). - -“The most famous passage in Latin literature as to the question of -whether men or women obtain greater pleasure from sexual intercourse -is that in which Ovid relates the legend of Tiresias (_Metamorphoses_, -3, 317-333). Tiresias, having been both a man and a woman, decided in -favour of women.... In a passage quoted from a lost work of Galen by -the Arabian biographer, Abu-l-Faraj, that great physician says of the -Christians ‘that they practice celibacy, that even many of their women -do so.’ So that in Galen’s opinion it was more difficult for a woman -than for a man to be continent. The same view is widely prevalent among -Arabic authors, and there is an Arabic saying that ‘The longing of the -woman for the penis is greater than that of the man for the vulva.’[71] - - [71] _The Perfumed Garden of the Cheikh Nefzaoui_: Cosmopoli, 1886. - -“The early Christian Fathers clearly show that they regard women as -more inclined to sexual enjoyment than men. That was ... the opinion -of Tertullian (_De Virginibus Velandis_), and it is clearly implied in -some of St. Jerome’s epistles. - -“Notwithstanding the influence of Christianity, among the vigorous -barbarian races of mediæval Europe the existence of sexual appetite -in women was not considered to be, as it later became, a matter to -be concealed or denied. Thus in 1068 the ecclesiastical historian, -Ordericus Vitalis (himself half Norman and half English), narrates -that the wives of the Norman knights who had accompanied William the -Conqueror to England two years earlier sent over to their husbands to -say that they were consumed by the fierce flames of desire, and that -if their husbands failed to return very shortly they proposed to take -other husbands. It is added that this threat brought a few husbands -back to their wanton ladies. - -“During the mediæval period in Europe, largely in consequence, no -doubt, of the predominance of ascetic ideals set up by men who -naturally regarded women as the symbol of sex, the doctrine of the -incontinence of woman became firmly fixed.... Humanism and the spread -of the Renaissance movement brought in a spirit more sympathetic to -women.... We begin to find attempts at analysing the sexual emotions. -In the seventeenth century a book of this kind was written by Venette. -In matters of love, Venette declared, ‘men are but children compared -to women. In these matters women have a more lively imagination, and -they usually have more leisure to think of love. Women are much more -lascivious and amorous than men.’ In a subsequent chapter, dealing with -the question whether men or women receive more pleasure from the sexual -embrace, Venette concludes, after admitting the great difficulty of -the question, that man’s pleasure is greater, but that woman’s lasts -longer. (N. Venette, _De la Génération de l’Homme ou Tableau de l’Amour -Conjugal_, 1688).” - -These and similar quotations, all acknowledging or laying stress on the -erotic appetite of women, might be continued indefinitely. Among the -other supporters of the opinion quoted by Havelock Ellis are Montaigne -(_Essais_), Schurig (_Parthenologia_), Plazzonus (_De Partibus -Generationi Inservientibus_), Ferrand (_De la Maladie d’Amour_), -Zacchia (_Quæstiones Medico-Legales_), Sinibaldus (_Geneanthropeia_), -Senancour (_De l’Amour_), Busch, Guttceit,[72] Mantegazza (_Fisiologia -del Piacere_), Forel (_The Sexual Question_), who believed that women -are more erotic than men, and Bloch (_The Sexual Life of Our Time_), -who says, “The sexual sensibility of women is certainly different from -that of men, but in strength it is at least as great.” - - [72] “In Russia at all events, a girl, as very many have acknowledged - to me, cannot resist the ever-stronger impulses of sex beyond - the twenty-second or twenty-third year. And if she cannot do so - in natural ways she adopts artificial ways. The belief that the - feminine sex feels the stimulus of sex less than the male is quite - false.”--Guttceit, _Dreissig Jahre Praxis_, 1873. - -For our part, we find it hard to ignore that overwhelming consensus -of opinion among early writers as to the erotic nature of the average -woman. Was not this feminine amativeness the theme upon which were -built the undying _contes_ and _fabliaux_ of Boccaccio, Bandello, -Masuccio, Straparola, La Fontaine, Poggio, Ser Giovanni, Chaucer, -Brantôme and a host of others? Are we to label Casanova’s _Memoirs_ as -worthless because his women seem, in our modern eyes, erotic beyond all -belief? Turning to the literature of the East, where woman’s ‘thirst -for coïtion is written between her eyes,’[73] are we to hold the -feminine attributes therein described as peculiar to those peoples and -times? Must we believe that all these writers fashioned women out of -their own lascivious fancy, or that the sexual impulse in the women of -those races has totally changed? - - [73] _The Perfumed Garden._ As illustrating our subject, the Cheikh - Nefzaoui tells a quaint story of a man who, owing to physical - disability, was unable to satisfy the sexual needs of his wife. A wise - man gives him a remedy whereby his member grows “long and thick.” - The Cheikh continues: “When his wife saw it in that state she was - surprised, but it came still better when he made her feel in the - matter of enjoyment quite another thing than she had been accustomed - to experience; he began in fact to work her with his tool in quite a - remarkable manner, to such a point that she rattled and sighed and - sobbed during the operation. As soon as the wife found in her husband - such eminently good qualities, she gave him her fortune, and placed - her person and all she had at his disposal.” - -Without a doubt, time and custom are responsible for much that seems -obscure and irreconcilable. Many of our authorities are writing of an -age in which men and women spoke and acted in a manner which to-day -seems coarse and inexcusably free. Because in the past woman more -readily gave outward expression to her inward feeling, it does not -follow now that, by reason of her greater reserve, she lacks these -emotions. - -History has shown us psychologists and investigators in plenty, but -they were not the psychologists of to-day, recording the results of -their investigations with meticulous care and detail. The sexually -frigid woman, we can confidently assume, was by no means unknown to the -ancients. She was, however, unusual, abnormal; and if a sexually frigid -woman be accounted abnormal, it is not hard to see why a normal is -deemed erotic. - -In these times, when it is the fashion to dissect everyone and -everything, we are prone to argue from the ordinary to the -extraordinary, from the peculiar to the general; sexual frigidity -in woman, at first an anomaly, ends in being a trait; the exception -becomes, does not prove, the rule. - -Needless to say, a great psychologist like Havelock Ellis has a wealth -of information to offer on the subject, and we commend our readers to -his masterly handling of it. He has something to say on every aspect -of the question, from the case of the woman who is cold almost to the -point of sexlessness to that of the erotic wife who ‘becomes frenzied -with excitement during intercourse and insensible to everything but the -pleasure of it.’ In conclusion, he adjusts the scales with exquisite -and scientific precision, holding that ‘the distribution of the sexual -impulse between the two sexes is fairly balanced.’ - -Earlier on, however, he makes a point which we shall do well to bear -in mind. ‘ ... Sexual impulse is by no means so weak in women as many -would lead us to think. It would appear that, whereas in earlier -ages there was generally a tendency to credit women with an unduly -large share of the sexual impulse, there is now a tendency unduly to -minimise the sexual impulse in women.’ - -We shall have frequent occasion in subsequent volumes of _Anthologica -Rarissima_ to return to this subject, for, as the student of folk-lore, -psychology and human life will readily agree, sexual impulse is perhaps -the most powerful basic motive of our many daily acts and tasks.[74] - - [74] Queen Budur’s remark that “Women pray pardon with their legs on - high,” (p. 88 _ante_), finds an echo in Aristophanes’ _Lysistrata_ - and _The Ecclesiazusæ_. In the former play, Athenian women promise - Lysistrata that, if forced to intercourse by their husbands, _they - will not lift their legs in the air_; in the latter, we have a woman - saying: “How are we going to lift up our arms in the Assembly (_i.e._, - vote), we, who only know how to lift our legs in the act of love?” - - Two of the authorities quoted by Havelock Ellis on p. 97 of the - foregoing _Excursus_ merit further brief mention. Martin Schurig, - author of _Parthenologia_ and numerous other medical works, flourished - as a physician in Dresden between 1688 and 1733. Although many of his - theories have long since been exploded, his great erudition is much to - be admired. His books deal with the most amazing questions; among the - many curious passages in _Parthenologia_ will be found the following: - “Chastity put to the proof by a hot iron and boiling water.”; - “Conception without insertion of the _penis_.”; “Andramytes, King of - the Lydori, was the inventor of castration of women, and Semiramis of - that of men.” Dr. Sinibaldus’ _Geneanthropeia_, published in 1642, - is a very remarkable work on physical love and its aberrations, - treating, for example, of “The shape of the Phallu.”; “Eunuchis.”; - “Aphrodisiac.”; “Influence of the Stars on Copulatio.”; “Effects and - manner of Copulatio.”; “Pleasure of Copulation as enjoyed by man - and woman.” Little is known of Sinibaldus’ life beyond that he was - a doctor at Rome. His _Geneanthropeia_, according to Pisanus Fraxi, - (_Index Librorum Prohibitorum_: London, 1877), has been rendered, - in a very emasculated form, into English, under the title of _Rare - Verities. The Cabinet of Venus Unlocked_: London, 1658. The volume is - rare, but a copy is to be found in the British Museum. - - - - -THE FOOL.[75] - - [75] _Kruptadia_: Heilbronn, Henninger Frères, 1883: vol. 1, _Secret - Stories from the Russian_, No. 12. - - -A peasant and his wife had a half-witted son, who pictured himself -married and sleeping with his wife. He spoke of this matter to his -father. - -“Marry me, little father,” he said. - -Said the little father: - -“Wait, my son. You are still too young to marry. Thy yard hath not yet -reached to thy backside. When it doth reach there, I will marry thee.” - -The son seized his yard with his two hands, stretched it with all his -strength, and inspected it. - -“‘Tis true,” quoth he. “It hath not yet reached to my backside. ‘Tis -still too soon for me to marry. My yard is yet small. It reacheth not -to my backside. I must wait a year or two.” - -Time passed. The youth had naught to do but lengthen his yard; and he -did it so often and so well that not only did his yard reach to his -backside, but even passed beyond it. - -“I shall have no shame in sleeping with my wife,” said he. “I will -satisfy her myself. She will have no need to resort to strangers.” - -“Vain to expect sense on the part of a fool,” argued the father to -himself; and he spake his son, saying: - -“Since thy yard is become so great that it passeth beyond thy backside, -there is no need for thee to marry. Live single, rest at home, and -futter thyself.” - -Thus the matter ended.[76] - - [76] Stories of sexual ignorance, amounting in the case of men to - veritable imbecility, are numerous in _Kruptadia_. In Vol. X., - _Stories of Picardy_, we have the tale of a young girl who had been - seduced, but had married a half-witted youth, whom she was forced to - instruct in the art of love. When they were in bed together, “she - showed him how children are made--a business entirely unknown to him. - After the explanations had been given in theory, the husband mounted - upon his wife, desiring to show that he had learned his lesson well; - but the young wife cried out in surprise: ‘’Tis too high! ‘Tis too - high!’ An instant later she was forced to say: ‘’Tis too low! ‘Tis too - low!’ Several other of his efforts having failed, she told her husband - that he did but knock at the side of the door. Whereat the latter, - aweary of ‘Too high’ and ‘Too low,’ exclaimed: ‘Since thou knowest the - spot so well, put it there thyself!’” - - - - -“OH MOTHER, ROGER WITH HIS KISSES.”[77] - - [77] J. S. Farmer: _Merry Songs and Ballads_: _Privately Printed_, - 1897: Words and Music in _Pills to Purge Melancholy_, (1707), 1, 214. - - - Oh Mother, _Roger_ with his Kisses - Almost stops my Breath, I vow; - Why does he gripe my Hand to pieces, - And yet he says he loves me too? - Tell me, Mother, pray now do! - Pray now do, pray now do, - Tell me, Mother, pray now do, - Pray now, pray now, pray now do, - What Roger means when he does so? - For never stir I long to know. - - Nay more, the naughty Man beside it, - Something in my Mouth he put; - I call’d him Beast, and try’d to Bite it, - But for my Life I cannot do’t; - Tell me, Mother, pray now do! - Pray now do, pray now do, - Tell me, Mother, pray now do, - Pray now, pray now, pray now do, - What Roger means when he does so? - For never stir I long to know. - - He sets me in his Lap whole Hours, - Where I feel I know not what; - Something I never felt in yours, - Pray tell me Mother what is that? - Tell me Mother what is that? - For never stir I long to know. - - - - -FOOLISH FEAR.[78] - - [78] _Les Cent Nouvelles Nouvelles_: R. B. Douglas’ translation: - Paris, Charles Carrington. _C.f._ note _ante_. - -_Of a young man of Rouen, married to a fair young girl of the age of -fifteen or thereabouts; and how the mother of the girl wished to have -the marriage annulled by the Judge of Rouen, and of the sentence which -the said Judge pronounced when he had heard the parties--as you will -hear more plainly in the course of the said story._ - - -In the good town of Rouen, not long ago, a young man was married to a -fair and tender virgin, aged fifteen, or thereabouts. On the day of -the great feast--that is to say, the wedding--the mother of the young -girl, as is customary in such places, instructed the bride in all the -mysteries of wedlock, and taught her how to behave to her husband on -the first night. - -The young girl, who was looking forward to the time when she could put -these doctrines into practice, took great pains and trouble to remember -the lesson given her by her good mother, and it seemed to her that when -the time came for her to put these counsels into execution, that she -would perform her duties so well that her husband would praise her, -and be well pleased with her. - -The wedding was performed with all honour and due solemnity, and the -desired night came; and soon after the feast was ended, and the young -people had withdrawn after having taken leave of the newly married -couple, the mother, cousins, neighbours, and other lady friends led the -bride to the chamber where she was to spend the night with her husband, -where they joyfully divested her of her raiment, and put her to bed, as -was right and proper. Then they wished her good-night, and one said: - -“My dear, may God give thee joy and pleasure in thy husband, and mayst -thou so live with him as to be for the salvation of both your souls.” - -Another said: - -“My dear, God give thee such peace and happiness with thy husband, that -the heavens may be filled with your works.” - -And all, having expressed similar wishes, left. The bride’s mother, -who remained the last, questioned her daughter if perchance she had -remembered the lesson she had been taught. And the girl, who, as the -proverb goes, did not carry her tongue in her pocket, replied that -she well remembered all that had been told her, and--thank God--had -forgotten nothing. - -“Well done,” said the mother. “Now I will leave thee, recommending thee -to God and praying that He may give thee good luck. Farewell, my dear -child.” - -“Farewell, my good and wise mother.” - -As soon as the schoolmistress[79] had finished, the husband, who was -outside the door expecting something better, came in. The mother closed -the door, and told him that she hoped he would be gentle with her -daughter. He promised that he would, and as soon as he had bolted the -door, he--who had nothing on but his doublet--threw it off, jumped on -the bed, drew as close as he might to his bride, and, lance in hand, -prepared to give battle. - - [79] Obviously a play on words, with reference to the lessons in - marital duty given by the mother to the daughter. - -But when he approached the barrier where the skirmish was to take -place, the girl laid hold of his lance, which was as straight and stiff -as a cow-keeper’s horn, and when she felt how hard and big it was, she -was sore affrighted, and fell to crying aloud, saying that her shield -was not of a strength to receive and bear the blows of so huge a weapon. - -All his efforts notwithstanding, the husband could not persuade -her to joust with him, and this bickering endured throughout the -night, without his being able to do aught, which much displeased our -bridegroom. Nevertheless, he abode patient, hoping to make up for the -time lost on the following night; but ‘twas the same as on the first -night, even so on the third, and even so up to the fifteenth, matters -remaining just as I have related. - -And when fifteen days had passed since the young couple were wed, they -still not having come together, the mother came to visit her pupil, and -after a thousand questions, spoke to the girl of her husband, demanding -what sort of a man he was and whether he did his duty well. And the -girl answered that he was very well as a man, and was a quiet and a -peaceable. - -“But,” said the mother, “doth he do what he ought to do?” - -“Yea,” quoth the girl, “but....” - -“But _what_?” said the mother. “Thou art keeping something back, I am -assured. Tell me forthwith and conceal naught; for I must know now. Is -he a man capable of performing his marital duties in the way I taught -thee?” - -The poor girl, being thus pressed, was obliged to own that he had not -yet done the business, but she did not say that she was the cause of -the delay, and that she had always refused the combat. - -When her mother heard this sad news, God knows what a disturbance she -made, swearing by all her gods that she would soon find a remedy for -that, for she was well acquainted with the Judge of Rouen, who was her -friend, and would favour her cause. - -“The marriage must be annulled,” said she, “and I have no doubt but -that I shall find a way, and thou mayst be sure, my child, that before -two days are past thou wilt be divorced and married to another man, who -will not let thee rest in peace all that time. Dost leave the business -to me.” - -The good woman, half beside herself, went and related her wrong to her -husband, the father of the girl, and told him that they had lost their -daughter, and adducing many reasons why the marriage should be annulled. - -She pleaded her cause so well that her husband took her side, and was -content that the bridegroom (who knew no reason why a complaint should -be lodged against him) should be cited before the Judge. But, at any -rate, he was personally summoned to appear before the Judge, at his -wife’s demand, to show cause why he should not leave her, and permit -her to marry again, or explain the reason why, in so many days that -he had lived with her, he had not demonstrated that he was a man, and -performed the duties that a husband should. - -When the day came, the parties presented themselves at the proper time -and place, and they were called upon to state their case. The mother of -the bride began to plead her daughter’s cause, and God knoweth the laws -concerning marriage which she quoted, none of which, she maintained, -had her son-in-law fulfilled; therefore she demanded that he should be -divorced from her daughter forthwith without more ado. - -The young man was much astonished to find himself thus attacked, but -lost no time in replying to the allegations of his adversary, quietly -stating his case, and relating in what wise his wife had always refused -him leave to perform his marital duties. - -The mother, when she heard this reply, was more wroth than ever, and -could scarce bring herself to believe it; and she asked her daughter if -that was true which her husband had said. - -“Yea, truly, mother,” replied the girl. - -“Oh, wretched child,” said her mother. “Wherefore didst thou refuse? -Did I not teach thee thy lesson many times?” - -The poor girl might not answer, so shamed was she. - -“At any rate,” said the mother, “I must know the reason why thou hast -refused. Tell it me forthwith, lest I grow exceeding wroth.” - -The girl was forced to confess that she had found the lance of the -champion so vast, that she had not dared to present her shield lest -he killed her; and so she still felt, nor was she reassured on that -point, albeit her mother had bade her be without fear. Whereat the -mother addressed the Judge, saying: - -“Monseigneur, thou hast heard the confession of my daughter, and the -defence of my son-in-law. I beg of thee give judgement forthwith.” - -The Judge gave orders for a bed to be prepared in his house, the couple -to lie on it together; and he commanded the bride boldly to lay hold of -the tilting staff,[80] and put it where it was ordered to go. When this -judgement was delivered, the mother said: - - [80] Mr. Douglas translates simply: ... “stick or instrument.” The - word in the text, _bourdon_, signifies literally “a pilgrim’s staff.” - It is followed by the word _joustouer_, “to tilt or joust,” or “a - tilter, a jouster,” which Mr. Douglas ignores. The combination, - however, seems to keep more faithfully to the spirit of the story. On - the other hand, _bourdon_ is a recognised erotic term for _penis_. - Farmer, (_Slang and its Analogues_: vol. 5, p. 290), quotes Rabelais - as employing the word in this sense. Landes, (_Glossaire érotique de - la langue française_: Brussels, 1861), includes it in a list which - comprises 212 slang terms for the male organ of generation. _Le petit - Citateur: Notes érotiques et pornographiques_: Paris, 1881: only - 300 printed, a curious and valuable little work dealing with the - lesser known expressions and metaphors of venery, and intended to - serve as a complement to the ordinary erotic dictionary, describes - _bourdon_ as “the virile member, the grand chord which gives the - note in the amorous duet.” The _Memoirs of Miss Fanny_ are quoted: - “ ... enraptured, split open by the enormous size of my ravisher’s - _bourdon_, my thighs all bloodstained, I remained for some time - overwhelmed by fatigue and pleasure....” The French text referred to - in the foregoing note is that of Garnier Frères, Paris, n.d. - -“I thank thee, my lord; thou hast judged well. Come, my child, do what -thou shouldst, and take heed to obey the Judge, and put the lance where -it should be put.” - -“I am satisfied,” answered the daughter, “to put it where it ought to -go, but it may rot there ere I take it out again.” - -So they quitted the court, and went and carried out the sentence -themselves, without the aid of any sergeants. By this means the young -man enjoyed his joust, and was sooner weary of it than she who would -not begin.[81] - - [81] This story, the 86th of _Les Cent Nouvelles Nouvelles_, is - singularly lacking in climax when compared with the majority of old - _fabliaux_. The opening is very promising; but once the husband has - stated his case, the fabric seems to fall to pieces, and the wife’s - final speech is as silly as it is unjustified. The author has tried - to round off the story by dragging in the ages-old tag about the - woman who, from hating the pleasures of love, becomes a veritable - glutton for them. Compared with “Beyond the Mark,” which is artistic - and dramatic from the first to the last line, “Foolish Fear” is a - poor thing. Nevertheless, we have thought fit to include it in this - anthology because its opening is as characteristic as its finish is - _un_characteristic of this type of _fabliaux_. - - - - -THE PRINCESS WHO PISSETH OVER THE HAYCOCKS.[82] - - [82] _Kruptadia_: Henninger Frères, Heilbronn, 1883: _Stories of - Picardy._ - - -A peasant died and left three sons. On their return home from the -interment of their father, the three young men took counsel together. -The dead man had not been wealthy, and he bequeathed to his sons only -his house and a small piece of land. - -After much discussion, it was decided that the eldest should leave the -house and land to his brethren, and go forth into the world to seek his -fortune. If he succeeded, he would return forthwith to his brethren -that they might share his good fortune, but if he did not return within -a year and a day, the second brother should set out in search of him. -This agreed, the eldest embraced his brethren and set forth. - -Sallying from the village, he discovered two roads. In perplexity, he -tossed a coin in the air, and as it fell, so he made his choice. He -journeyed long without encountering aught but inns and farms, where he -spent the night, renewing his quest on the morrow. At length, after -travelling fifteen days, he came to a magnificent castle. - -“‘Tis here perchance I shall find fortune,” quoth he. “I will enter the -castle and seek service within.” - -But all the offices were filled. Going forth, he encountered the owner -of the castle, who was king of the countryside, and at his request the -youth related his purpose in coming to this domain. - -Quoth the king: - -“Employment I have none to offer thee in my palace; but I have a better -proposal to make. I have a daughter of the like not seen elsewhere -on earth. She pisseth over the most lofty houses. All the physicians -I have summoned cannot cure her, and it is a sad pity, for she is of -surpassing beauty. If thou canst prevent her from pissing over the -haycocks which thou shalt erect, thy fortune is made. I will give her -to thee in marriage. If thou failest, thou shalt go join in their -prison those imbeciles of physicians and charlatans who have already -sought to succeed in this my proposal. Thou dost understand? See then -if thou believest thyself capable of this achievement.” - -The youth, having taken counsel with himself for several moments, -accepted the king’s proposal. This latter, leading him within the -palace, set him to dine with his wife and daughter. The Princess was -a marvel of beauty, and the peasant could not satiate his eyes of her -perfections. He was apportioned a chamber in the castle, what time he -awaited the day of his trial. - -On the morrow the young adventurer chose a vast field, and thither -caused to be borne five or six hundred loads of hay. Next he took a -hundred peasants and set them to erect an enormous haycock. - -“If the Princess doth succeed in pissing o’er this heap of hay,” he -thought, “I am mad.” And he went to tell the king the haycock was ready. - -On the morrow came the Princess; and she fell to laughing when she saw -the haycock. She raised her robe and pissed high o’er the heap of hay. -The youth was thunderstruck. On the order of the king, they seized the -youth and cast him into a dungeon with the physicians who had essayed -the venture before him. - -A year and a day after the departure of his eldest brother, the second -peasant set forth in his turn, taking the road followed by his brother -one year before. Journeying fifteen days, he, too, came upon the -castle, and, entering therein, demanded the work of a servant. Him also -the king saw, putting the proposal he had made to his elder brother. -Which proposal the youth accepted. - -Well received by the family of the Princess, he pictured himself -already the son-in-law of the king, and built project upon project for -the future. He chose a vast plain, and thither caused to be borne six -thousand loads of hay. Next he took one thousand labourers and set them -to erect the haycock. - -On the morrow the Princess approached the haycock, gave vent to a great -shriek of laughter, raised her robe, and--pissed high o’er the haycock. - -And the second brother went to join his elder in the dungeon of the -king’s palace. - -The youngest peasant was sore pained in that his brethren returned not. - -“Assuredly they have suffered some mischance in their travels,” quoth -he to himself. “‘Twere ill of me did I not set forth in search of them, -and render them aid in their misfortune.” - -He, in his turn, quitted the village. Chance took him by the same -road as that taken by his brethren, and he came to the palace of the -king who held them prisoner. He entered the palace, saw the king, and -accepted the proposal made to him. At table he found the Princess -adorable, and the Princess found him charming. This he perceived, and -resolved never to quit her side. All night he dreamed of the Princess, -nor did he wake till the sun was up. Then he fell to leisurely -reflection. - -“All the same,” said he to himself, “if I succeed in taking the -maidenhead of the Princess before the trial, perchance she will not -piss so high. I am convinced that all dependeth on her virginity. I -will attempt this method.” - -When day came, he arose and went to walk in the castle park. The -Princess had not slept the whole night long, ever seeing the -countenance of the young man. At daybreak she arose and went to walk in -the park, where she encountered the young peasant. - -And this last did not let slip the occasion; he approached the young -girl and avowed that he died of love for her. The Princess was easy -of persuasion, and one hour afterward she had lost her maidenhead. -Then she re-entered the palace, the youth walking till the hour of -the morning meal, when he, too, entered the palace as if naught had -happened. - -At noontide he caused to be borne into a corner of the park a single -load of hay; then told the king that he was ready for the trial. - -And when the king, accompanied by his daughter, approached the tiny -haycock which had been erected by the young man, he cried out that the -trial was not serious, and he counselled the peasant to construct a -much loftier haycock. But the peasant affirmed that the heap of hay was -sufficient, whereat the king ordered his daughter to piss. - -Who was the most astonished? Truly the king and the Princess, when -the latter only succeeded in watering her stockings, for the charming -channel, wherein the young man had laboured with the girl, from being -narrow, had grown great. - -Judge then if the peasant was satisfied. The Princess, though she did -not let the youth perceive it, was likewise satisfied. And the king -gave his daughter to the young man, their nuptials were celebrated, the -young peasants became princes, and all lived happily ever afterward. - - - - -THE COMB.[83] - - [83] _Kruptadia_: Heilbronn, Henninger Frères, 1883, vol. 1: _Secret - Stories from the Russian_. - - -An old man bought a sheep’s cloak for his wife, and he futtered her the -whole night long at the foot of the fence. In the morning the weather -was damp, and the old woman, with back bent, went weeping; but the old -man followed and mounted her. Said the woman to her husband: - -“Tear me not in this fashion, Gabriel!” - -But the man was hard of hearing, knew not what she said, thrust his -yard into her, and futtered her dog-fashion.... The eye is ne’er too -weary to see, nor the backside to fizzle, nor the nose to take snuff, -nor the coynte to lose the chance of a goodly futter.... But this by -way of a prelude ... a foreword. - - * * * * * - -Once there lived a pope,[84] who possessed a daughter, a virgin and an -artless. And when summer came the pope was wont to hire workmen to mow -the hay; and he hired them in this wise: - - [84] A priest of the Greek Church. - -If his daughter pissed o’er the haycock which the workman had mown, -the man went wageless. Workmen a-plenty hired themselves to the pope, -but, one and all, they laboured wageless; the daughter, whatsoe’er the -height of the haycock, pissed o’er it. - -Yet another workman and a bold did accept the conditions; if the pope’s -daughter pissed o’er the haycock which he had mown, no claim for his -work would he make. Then mowed the workman his hay; when he had mown it -and set it in a heap, he lay down beside the haycock, drew forth his -yard from his drawers, and fell to toying with it. The pope’s daughter -drew nigh to the workman to scrutinise the haycock, cast a glance at -him, and said: - -“What dost thou, little peasant?” - -“I rub my comb.” - -“What dost comb with this comb of thine?” - -“Come--I will comb thee. Lie down on the hay.” - -The pope’s daughter lay down on the hay, the workman fell to combing -her, and he winnowed her as was proper. Anon the young girl rose up and -said: - -“What a delicious comb!” - -Afterwards she sought to piss o’er the haycock; of no avail; she did -piss upon herself, as it might run from a sieve. Seeking out her -father, she spake him, saying: - -“The haycock is too high; I may not piss o’er it.” - -“Ah! my daughter! here in sooth is a goodly workman. I will hire him -for a year.” - -And when the workman came to receive his wage, the pope said: - -“Friend, hire thyself to me for a year.” - -“I am willing,” quoth the workman; and he hired himself to the pope. -Most contented, too, was the pope’s daughter, and when night came she -sought the workman, saying: - -“Comb me.” - -“Nay, I will not comb thee for nought. Give me one hundred roubles. Buy -the comb.” - -The pope’s daughter gave him one hundred roubles, and nightly he combed -her. - -Came a time when the workman fell out with the pope, saying: - -“Render me my wage, little father.” - -His wage rendered, the workman went his way. Now the pope’s daughter -was not present when these things were done, but when she returned to -the house she inquired: - -“Where is the workman?” - -“He demanded his wage and is gone forthwith to the village,” quoth the -pope. - -“Ah! little father! what hast thou done? He hath carried off my comb!” -cried the pope’s daughter. - -She hastened in pursuit, and came upon him by a little stream; the -workman had tucked up his drawers and was fording the stream. - -“Give me my comb!” cried the pope’s daughter. - -The workman took a stone and cast it into the water. - -“Pick it up,” said he; and, passing to the other side of the stream, -went his way. - -The pope’s daughter tucked up her petticoat, entered the water, and -sought the comb. She rummaged at the bottom of the stream. No comb. - -Chanced to pass a lord, who cried to her: - -“What seekest, little dove?” - -“My comb! I have purchased it from a workman for one hundred roubles; -departing, he carried it off with him. Him I pursued, and he cast the -comb in the water.” - -The lord descended from his carriage, removed his breeches, and entered -the water in search of the comb. They searched; together they searched. -On a sudden the pope’s daughter perceived that a yard hung ‘twixt the -lord’s legs. She seized it with both hands, gripped it fast, and cried: - -“Shame on thee, lord! ‘Tis my comb! Give it me!” - -“What dost thou, shameless one? Leave hold of me!” said the lord. - -“Nay, ‘tis thou who art shameless! Thou wouldst take what pertains to -another. Give me my comb!” - -And she dragged him by his yard to her father. - -The pope gazed through the window. Behold, his daughter dragged a lord -by his yard and never ceased from crying: “Give me my comb, wretched -fellow!” what time the lord made plaintive sound, saying: “Little -father, deliver me from a death not deserved! All my life I will not -forget thee!” - -From his drawers the pope drew forth his yard, displayed it to his -daughter through the window, and cried: - -“My daughter! my daughter! Here is thy comb!” - -“Truly ‘tis mine!” cried the daughter. “Behold its red end! And I -thought the lord had taken it!” - -And she released this unfortunate and sped into the house. The lord -drew on his hose and took to his heels. - -The girl came running into the house. - -“Where is my comb, little father?” - -“Ah! what a daughter!” grumbled the pope. “See, little mother. I -believe she hath lost her maidenhead.” - -“Examine her thyself, little father,” said the popess. “That will be -better.” - -The pope lowered his drawers and gave the comb to his daughter. When -they were in action, the pope gasped and cried: - -“No, no--the girl hath not lost her honour....” - -Quoth the popess: - -“Little father, push her honour yet further back.” - -“Fear not, little mother. She will not let it fall. I have pushed it -far.” - -Thus went the pope’s daughter to the comb. Henceforward the pope combed -them both, regaling them with his little ‘doll,’[85] passing his life -in futtering both daughter and mother. - - [85] French _Poupée_, which, in the slang phraseology of that - language, properly denotes a harlot. On the other hand, we have the - term _dolly_ as a synonym for _penis_. (_C.f._ Farmer: _Slang and its - Analogues_.) This use of _poupée_, which, of course, is literally - translated by _doll_, is peculiar; our French lexicographers do not - include it in their lists of synonyms for the _membrum virile_. - - - - -_EXCURSUS_ to _THE PRINCESS WHO PISSETH OVER THE HAYCOCKS_ and _THE -COMB_. - -The main theme of these two stories----the ability of a virgin girl -to urinate to a great height----is founded on physiological fact, -although, of course, grossly distorted and exaggerated. “In children,” -says Havelock Ellis, (_Studies in the Psychology of Sex_, vol. 5: -_Erotic Symbolism_), “the vulva appears to look directly forward -and the clitoris and urinary meatus easily appear, while in adult -women, and especially after attempts at coïtus have been made, the -vulva appears directed more below and behind, and the clitoris and -meatus more covered by the labia majora; so that the child urinates -forward, while the adult woman is usually able to urinate almost -directly downwards in the erect position, though in some cases (as may -occasionally be observed in the street) she can only do so when bending -slightly forwards. - -“This difference in the direction of the stream formerly furnished -one of the methods of diagnosing virginity, an uncertain one, since -the difference is largely due to age and individual variation. -The main factor in the position and aspect of the vulva is pelvic -inclination....” - -Havelock Ellis, later on in the same volume of his _Studies_, again -refers to the subject: - -“A sign to which the old authors often attached much importance was -furnished by the urinary stream. In the _De Secretis Mulierum_, wrongly -attributed to Albertus Magnus,[86] it is laid down that ‘the virgin -urinates higher than the woman.’ Riolan, in his _Anthropographia_, -discussing the ability of virgins to ejaculate urine to a height, -states that Scaliger had observed women who were virgins emit urine in -a high jet against a wall, but that married women could seldom do this. -Bonaciolus also stated that the urine of virgins is emitted in a small -stream to a distance with an acute hissing sound. (_Parthenologia_, p. -281.)[87] ... There is no doubt a tendency for the various stresses of -sexual life to produce an influence in this direction, though they act -far too slowly and uncertainly to be a reliable index to the presence -or the absence of virginity. - - [86] “Already in the thirteenth century, Albert Bollstœdt, Bishop - of Ratisbonne, better known as Albertus Magnus, had, in spite of - his clerical profession, furnished much scabrous matter concerning - the opposite sex in his work _De Secretis Mulierum_.”--_Centuria - Librorum Absconditorum_: Pisanus Fraxi (Ashbee): London: Privately - Printed, 1879. The compiler of this monumental work and the two - companion volumes, _Index Librorum Prohibitorum_ and _Catena Librorum - Tacendorum_, would seem to be at variance with Havelock Ellis. A - further reference to Albertus Magnus by Fraxi is worth giving: “Shall - a bishop, raised to the See of Ratisbonne, (exclaims the erudite James - Atkinson) and (still more monstrous) shall a canonised man, an ‘in - cœlum sublevatus,’ undertake a natural history of the most natural - secret, inter secretalia fœminea? Is the natural and divine law at - once to be expounded, inter Scyllam et Charybdim, of defailance and - human orgasm?”----Medical Bibliography, p. 72. - - [87] We have already referred to Schurig’s work. - -“Another common ancient test of virginity by urination rests on a -psychic basis, and appears in a variety of forms which are really all -reducible to the same principle. Thus we are told in _De Secretis -Mulierum_ that to ascertain if a girl has been seduced she should be -given to eat of powdered crocus flowers, and if she has been seduced -she immediately urinates. We are here concerned with auto-suggestion, -and it may well be believed that with nervous and credulous girls this -test often revealed the truth.... - -“ ... The ancient custom, known in classic times, of measuring the neck -the day after marriage was frequently practised to ascertain if a girl -was or was not a virgin. There were various ways of doing this. One was -to measure with a thread the circumference of the bride’s neck before -she went to bed on the bridal night. If in the morning the same thread -would not go around her neck it was a sure sign that she had lost her -virginity during the night; if it would, she was still a virgin or -had been deflowered at an earlier period. Catullus alluded to this -custom,[88] which still exists, or existed until lately,[89] in the -south of France. It is perfectly sound, for it rests on the intimate -response by congestion of the thyroid gland to sexual excitement. -(_Parthenologia_, p. 283.)” - - [88] “Nor shall the nurse at orient light returning, with - yester-e’en’s thread succeed in circling her neck.”--_The Carmina of - Catullus_: Englished into verse and prose by Sir R. F. Burton and - L. C. Smithers: London, 1894. Burton and Smithers, apparently, were - unaware of the medical significance of the test, for they add in a - note: “The ancients, says Pezay, had faith in another equally absurd - test of virginity. They measured the circumference of the neck with - a thread. Then the girl under trial took the two ends of the magic - thread in her teeth, and if it was found to be so long that its bight - could be passed over her head, it was clear she was not a maid. By - this rule all the thin girls might pass for vestals, and all the plump - ones for the reverse.” - - [89] Havelock Ellis is writing in 1914. - - - - -THE SKIRMISH.[90] - - [90] _The Dialogues of Luisa Sigea_: Translated from the Latin of - Nicolas Chorier: Paris: Isidore Liseux, 1890. Our extract is from the - opening lines of the first dialogue; the phraseology, at times, is our - own. - - -_Tullia._ - -Sweet it is to me, dearest cousin, that thy marriage with Caviceo is -finally concluded: for, the night which will make thee a wife in his -embraces will, I assure thee, afford thee by far the greatest of all -pleasures; provided Venus befriend thee, as this thy heavenly shape -deserveth. - -_Ottavia._ - -My mother told me this morning that I am to be wedded to-morrow to -Caviceo. And I see that the requisites for the pomp of this event are -being prepared at home with great care: the bed, bed-room, and so -forth. But, of course, these things cause less joy than fear in my -soul; for, whatever in fine may be that pleasure of which thou, my -dearest cousin, speakest, I neither know nor even imagine. - -_Tullia._ - -It should seem nowise strange that thou at this age and so soft (for -thou hast barely attained thy fifteenth year), dost not know what -I, though older when I married, wholly ignored; that delight which -Pomponia used to promise and so loudly extol, having been tasting it -herself since three years. - -_Ottavia._ - -But what greatly surpriseth me is that thou shouldst wholly ignore it. -Allow me to speak more openly now that I am on the eve of complete -freedom. For if the practice were lacking, which thou certainly hadst -not, yet thy great learning must have disclosed these secrets to thee. -I often hear thee extolled to the clouds in the most flattering terms, -because thou art so skilled in Latin and Greek literature as in nearly -all the liberal arts that there seemeth to be naught which thou dost -not know. - -_Tullia._ - -My father had so much to do in this, that, with the same zeal as most -other girls are seeking after the reputation of being handsome and -elegant, I was entirely bent on acquiring the honour of being a learned -maid. And they that prefer to flatter than speak the truth, say: she -hath not quite lost her time. - -_Ottavia._ - -They who will not flatter say also: scarcely have esteem of virtue, -good morals remained with those of our sex who were considered learned, -even when they obtained this honour. - -_Tullia._ - -Would they deny I am chaste, while owning I am learned? - -_Ottavia._ - -Ay, they would; but thou hast won the admiration of all while taking -care that thy learning did not interfere with thy good and chaste -morals; it hath produced an extraordinary prodigy. But how could it -be possible that the Muses, who are styled virgins, should be deemed -hostile to the honour of virgins? Why are they said to corrupt our -minds, they who are as the ardour of our souls, stimulating us all, -men and women alike, to grand and praiseworthy actions? Undoubtedly -because men, from a certain haughty and silly malignity, envy us these -resources of which they themselves are proud, by making us the victims -of their jealousy. Men shun every poison and venom just as we do, -whom they call the weaker sex, because the same pest which may take -our lives away, may take theirs away too. If learning be a venom and -a pest for us, as they assert, how is it that so dangerous a thing, -in order to be useful to men, (for they do not deny but that it is -useful to them), should change its nature all on a sudden? If learning -is, of its very essence, a certain source of every evil and crime for -us, how shall they drink out of the same source the nectarean waters -of immortal glory: whilst we unhappy and wretched women shall drink -a sort of sulphureous Stygian water which will excite us to those -debaucheries, to which they drive us by their sway or lead us by their -example? For, I remember that thou spokest thus on this subject a few -days ago in thy conversation with Caviceo. It is exceedingly nice of -thee to have conserved until now that pure reputation of an honest -woman, with that beauty which inflameth even the coldest, with that -learning which doth captivate those insensible of beauty. - -_Tullia._ - -Thou who speakest thus, thou who knowest that love inflameth men’s -hearts, art not so simple as I thought. - -_Ottavia._ - -Am I totally ignorant of what Caviceo’s eyes, brow, in a word, his -whole countenance so often told me, even though he were silent? I was -indeed truly surprised at the unwonted fire of his kisses, when he made -free with me eight days ago; I know but too well what that ardour and -fire meant. - -_Tullia._ - -Thy mother was absent? thou wast alone? thou wast not at all afraid of -him? - -_Ottavia._ - -My mother was gone out; but what was to be feared from him? Of course I -feared naught. - -_Tullia._ - -All he asked was kisses? - -_Ottavia._ - -On the contrary, the fool took them against my will, brandishing his -glowing tongue between my lips. - -_Tullia._ - -What sensation came over thee, then? - -_Ottavia._ - -I shall acknowledge it: some heat or other hitherto unfelt passed -through my veins: my whole frame was inflamed. He thought that a maiden -blush bepainted my cheek; for a little while he forebore his folly and -busy hand.... I shall ever hate those roguish hands, from the very fact -that they with their fire impregnated me, tortured and wearied! - -_Tullia._ - -A nice affair! - -_Ottavia._ - -Why? having stuck his hand in my breast, he seized one of my paps, then -the other; and while he was handling each of them rather hard, lo! he -tossed me over on my back in spite of me. - -_Tullia._ - -Thou art blushing; the deed was accomplished. - -_Ottavia._ - -His left hand was laid on my bosom (I am stating how the thing was -done), he easily overcame all my efforts; he next slipped his right -hand under my petticoat. I blush, I blush to tell it. - -_Tullia._ - -Lay aside that ridiculous modesty; fancy thou art relating to thyself -what thou art telling me. - -_Ottavia._ - -Having speedily lifted my petticoat above my knees, he handled my -thighs. Oh! hadst thou beheld his sparkling eyes! - -_Tullia._ - -So thou wast happy then! - -_Ottavia._ - -Having carried his hand higher, he invaded that place which, they say, -distinguisheth us from the other sex; ay, it is now a year ago, and -ever since a lot of blood doth run from me every month during several -days. - -_Tullia._ - -Bravo, Caviceo! ah! ah! ah! - -_Ottavia._ - -Oh, the rascal! “This part,” he saith, “will soon rejoice me -exceedingly. Do consent, my Ottavia.” A little more and I had fainted -at these words. - -_Tullia._ - -What did he then do? - -_Ottavia._ - -That part of me, thou wouldst scarcely believe, hath a very small -slit.... - -_Tullia._ - -But inflamed, but glowing. - -_Ottavia._ - -He thrust his finger into it, and, as the place could barely contain -it, I felt a sharp pain throughout all my senses. But he: “I have a -virgin,” said he, and no sooner said than forcibly opening my thighs -which I kept as tight as ever I could, he threw himself upon me. - -_Tullia._ - -Thou art silent? he put naught but his finger in? - -_Ottavia._ - -I felt ... but what effrontery is mine to speak so much about it! - -_Tullia._ - -And I too, whom thou makest so much of, have undergone it, as thou. -Naught is more daring than a bridegroom, whom every delay doth -exasperate exceedingly, until he gathereth that flower of his bride. - -_Ottavia._ - -I soon felt some hard and warm mass between my thighs. He forced me -to open; with a robust effort he directed that thing against my body -and that slit. But I, having mustered up strength, threw myself to the -other side, and slipping my left hand between us both, I laid it on -that place where the fray was so furiously raging. - -_Tullia._ - -Thou couldst with one hand ward off so powerful a catapult? - -_Ottavia._ - -Yea. “O naughty man,” would I say, “why dost thou annoy me thus? Let me -go, if thou lovest me: by what crime have I deserved this torture?” And -tears flowed from my eyes: but such was the state of my mind, that I -did not even dare open my mouth or utter a cry to call for help. - -_Tullia._ - -Withal Caviceo did not even pierce thee with his lance[91]? it did not -enter into thy trench[91]? - - [91] Erotic terms in English, French and Latin slang, respectively, - for the _penis_ and female _pudendum_. (_C.f._ Farmer, _op. cit._). - -_Ottavia._ - -I seized it and held it aside, but unlucky event! I felt myself -completely drenched with a regular shower like fire, and, naked as I -was, wet up to the navel. I put my hand to it again; but when falling -on that sort of slimy fluid with which the mad fellow had flooded me, -my hand recoiled from fright and horror. - -_Tullia._ - -Therefore neither was he vanquished nor thou victorious, since he was -very near carrying off a real victory. - -_Ottavia._ - -Caviceo was far more agreeable to me since that day. Nor do I know the -powerful desire that doth agitate my soul. I ignore what I long for, -and cannot mention it. All I know is that Caviceo pleaseth me far more -than all mortals; I expect from him alone the supreme pleasure which I -do not understand, as I ignore what it may be like. I desire naught and -yet desire.... - -_Here we end our extract from Luisa’s Dialogues. We shall have -occasion to quote from them again in subsequent volumes of Anthologica -Rarissima._ - - - - -_EXCURSUS_ to _THE SKIRMISH_. - -Nicolas Chorier, the author of the _Dialogues of Luisa Sigea_ (the book -is commonly called the _Aloisia_ or the _Meursius_, after the name of -the supposed author or translator) was born at Vienne, Dauphiny, in -1612; he received a law-doctor’s degree in 1639, and practised the -profession of lawyer at the Court of Aids in his native town.[92] A -man of cultivated mind, a passionate lover of letters, a first-rate -Latinist, he devoted only a very limited part of his time to causes of -the bar. - - [92] We are quoting from the English translator’s “Notice of Nicolas - Chorier” in the Liseux edition already mentioned. - -While passing out of the Jesuit Academy, and during the course of his -law studies, he tried his hand at a variety of works both in French -and Latin.... The composition of the _Aloisia_, or at least the first -draft, for he must often have retouched this chief work, may be traced -back to that time. “I wrote then,” he tells us in his _Memoirs_, -“_Epistles_, _Speeches_, a _Political Dissertation_ on the French -alliance with the Ottoman Empire, and two _Satires_, the one Menippean, -the other Sotadical.”[93] ... - - [93] The Sotadical Satire is so-called after Sotades, who lived three - centuries before Christ, and whose erotic poems are unfortunately - lost.--English Translator’s note. According to a note in _Priapeia_ - (Cosmopoli, 1890, _Privately Printed_), Sotades, the Mantinean poet, - was the first to treat of Greek love, or dishonest and unnatural - love. He wrote in the Ionian dialect, and according to Suidas he was - the author of a poem entitled _Cinædica_ (Martial, 2. 86). The title - would leave us in no doubt as to the trend of the work. (Cinædus = - he who indulges in unnatural lust; Cinædicus = pertaining to one - who is unchaste.--_Smith’s Latin English Dictionary._) _C.f._ also - Sir Richard Burton’s “Sotadic Zone” in the _Terminal Essay_ to _The - Thousand Nights and a Night_ (_op. cit. sup._). - -It was about the year 1660 that he had, according to all probability, -the first edition of the _Aloisia_ secretly printed in Lyons. The work -was supposed to have been written in Spanish, in the 16th century, by -an erudite young girl, Luisa Sigea, whose father, Jacques Sigée, a -native of France, had quitted his country to settle down at Toledo. -(Luisa Sigea, who was born at Toledo about the year 1530 and died in -1560, says the English translator in a note, knew Latin, Greek, Hebrew, -Syriac and Arabic. She was styled the Minerva of her time.) The Spanish -work was lost; but there remained a Latin manuscript translation of it, -which Chorier, in order to secure himself, attributed to the learned -Dutchman Joannes Meursius, dead twenty years before.... Chorier died in -1692; he left several manuscript works behind him, some of which have -since been printed. - - - - -THE NIGHTINGALE.[94] - - [94] _The Decameron_ of Giovanni Boccaccio: Englished by John Payne: - Villon Society, 1886. This is the fourth story of the fifth day, the - actual title being: “_Ricciardo Manardi, being found by Messer Lizio - da Valbona with his daughter, espouseth her and abideth with her - father in peace._” - - -There lived in Romagna a gentleman of great worth and good breeding, -called Messer Lizio da Valbona, to whom, well-nigh in his old age, -it chanced there was born of his wife, Madame Giacomina by name, a -daughter, who grew up fair and agreeable beyond any other of the -country; and for that she was the only child that remained to her -father and mother, they loved and tended her exceeding dear and guarded -her with marvellous diligence, looking to make some great alliance by -her. - -Now there was a young man of the Manardi of Brettinoro, comely and -lusty of his person, by name Ricciardo, who much frequented Messer -Lizio’s house and conversed amain with him and of whom the latter and -his lady took no more account than they would have taken of a son of -theirs. Now, this Ricciardo, looking once and again upon the young lady -and seeing her very fair and sprightly and commendable of manners and -fashions, fell desperately in love with her, but was very careful to -keep his love secret. - -The damsel presently became aware thereof and without anywise seeking -to shun the stroke, began on like wise to love him; whereat Ricciardo -was mightily rejoiced. He had many a time a mind to speak to her, but -kept silence for misdoubtance; however, one day taking courage and -opportunity, he said to her: - -“I prithee, Caterina, cause me not to die of love.” - -To which she straightway made answer: “Would God thou wouldst not cause -_me_ die!” - -This answer added much courage and pleasure to Ricciardo and he said to -her: - -“Never shall aught that may be agreeable to thee miscarry for me; but -it resteth with thee to find a means of saving thy life and mine.” - -“Ricciardo,” answered she, “thou seest how straitly I am guarded; -wherefore, for my part, I cannot see how thou mayst avail to come at -me; but, if thou canst see aught that I may do without shame to myself, -tell it me and I will do it.” - -Ricciardo, having bethought himself of sundry things, answered promptly: - -“My sweet Caterina, I can see no way, except that thou lie or make -shift to come upon the gallery that adjoineth thy father’s garden, -where an I knew that thou wouldst be anights, I would without fail -contrive to come to thee, how high soever it may be.” - -“If thou have the heart to come thither,” rejoined Caterina, -“methinketh I can well enough win to be there.” - -Ricciardo assented and they kissed each other once only in haste and -went their ways. - -Next day, it being then near the end of May, the girl began to -complain before her mother that she had not been able to sleep that -night for the excessive heat Quoth the lady: - -“Of what heat dost thou speak, daughter? Nay, it was nowise hot.” - -“Mother mine,” answered Caterina, “you should say ‘to my seeming’ and -belike you would say sooth; but you should consider how much hotter are -young girls than ladies in years.” - -“Daughter mine,” rejoined the lady, “that is true; but I cannot make it -cold and hot at my pleasure, as belike thou wouldst have me do. We must -put up with the weather, such as the seasons make it; maybe this next -night will be cooler and thou wilt sleep better.” - -“God grant it may be so!” cried Caterina. “But it is not usual for the -nights to go cooling, as it groweth towards summer.” - -“Then what wouldst thou have done?” asked the mother; and she answered: - -“An it please my father and you, I would fain have a little bed made in -the gallery, that is beside his chamber and over his garden, and there -sleep. There I should hear the nightingale sing and having a cooler -place to lie in, I should fare much better than in your chamber.” - -Quoth the mother: “Daughter, comfort thyself; I will tell thy father, -and as he will, so will we do.” - -Messer Lizio, hearing all this from his wife, said; for that he was an -old man and maybe therefore somewhat cross-grained: - -“What nightingale is this to whose song she would sleep? I will yet -make her sleep to the chirp of the crickets.” - -Caterina, coming to know this, more of despite than for the heat, not -only slept not that night, but suffered not her mother to sleep, still -complaining of the great heat. Accordingly, next morning, the latter -repaired to her husband and said to him: - -“Sir, you have little tenderness for yonder girl; what mattereth it -to you if she lie in the gallery? She could get no rest all night for -the heat. Besides, can you wonder at her having a mind to hear the -nightingale sing, seeing she is but a child? Young folk are curious of -things like themselves.” - -Messer Lizio, hearing this, said: - -“Go to, make her a bed there, such as you think fit, and bind it -about with some curtain or other, and there let her lie and hear the -nightingale sing to her heart’s content.” - -The girl, learning this, straightway let make a bed in the gallery and -meaning to lie there that same night, watched till she saw Ricciardo -and made him a signal appointed between them, by which he understood -what was to be done. - -Messer Lizio, hearing the girl gone to bed, locked a door that led from -his chamber into the gallery, and betook himself likewise to sleep. - -As for Ricciardo, as soon as he heard quiet on every hand, he mounted -a wall, with the aid of a ladder, and thence, laying hold of certain -toothings of another wall, he made his way, with great toil and danger, -if he had fallen, up to the gallery, where he was quietly received by -the girl with the utmost joy. Then, after many kisses, they went to bed -together and took delight and pleasure one of another well nigh all -that night, making the nightingale sing many a time. - -The nights being short and the delight great and it being now, though -they thought it not, near day, they fell asleep without any covering, -so overheated were they what with the weather and what with their -sport, Caterina having her right arm entwined about Ricciardo’s neck -and holding him with the left hand by that thing which you ladies think -most shame to name among men. - -As they slept on this wise, without awaking, the day came on and Messer -Lizio arose and remembering him that his daughter lay in the gallery, -opened the door softly, saying in himself: - -“Let us see how the nightingale hath made Caterina sleep this night.” - -Then, going in, he softly lifted up the serge wherewith the bed was -curtained about, and saw his daughter and Ricciardo lying asleep, naked -and uncovered, embraced as it hath before been set out; whereupon, -having recognised Ricciardo, he went out again and repairing to his -wife’s chamber, called to her, saying: - -“Quick, wife, get thee up and come see, for that thy daughter hath been -so curious of the nightingale that she hath e’en taken it and hath it -in hand.” - -“How can that be?” quoth she; and he answered: - -“Thou shalt see it, an thou come quickly.” - -Accordingly, she made haste to dress herself and quietly followed her -husband to the bed where, the curtain being drawn, Madam Giacomina -might plainly see how her daughter had taken and held the nightingale, -which she had so longed to hear sing; whereat the lady, holding herself -sore deceived of Ricciardo, would have cried out and railed at him; -but Messer Lizio said to her: - -“Wife, as thou holdest my love dear, look thou say not a word, for, -verily, since she hath gotten it, it shall be hers. Ricciardo is -young and rich and gently born; he cannot make us other than a good -son-in-law. An he would part from thee on good terms, needs must he -first marry her, so it will be found that he hath put the nightingale -in his own cage and not in that of another.” - -The lady was comforted to see that her husband was not angered at the -matter and considering that her daughter had passed a good night and -rested well and had caught the nightingale, to boot, she held her -tongue. Nor had they abidden long after these words when Ricciardo -awoke and seeing that it was broad day, gave himself over for lost and -called Caterina, saying: - -“Alack, my soul, how shall we do, for the day is come and hath caught -me here?” - -Whereupon Messer Lizio came forward and lifting the curtain, answered: - -“We shall do well.” - -When Ricciardo saw him, himseemed the heart was torn out of his body -and sitting up in bed, he said: - -“My lord, I crave your pardon for God’s sake. I acknowledge to have -deserved death, as a disloyal and wicked man; wherefore do you with me -as best pleaseth you; but, I prithee, an it may be, have mercy on my -life and let me not die.” - -“Ricciardo,” answered Messer Lizio, “the love that I bore thee and the -faith I had in thee merited not this return; yet, since thus it is -and youth hath carried thee away into such a fault, do thou, to save -thyself from death and me from shame, take Caterina to thy lawful wife, -so that, like as this night she hath been thine, she may e’en be thine -so long as she shall live. On this wise thou mayst gain my pardon and -thine own safety; but, an thou choose not to do this, commend thy soul -to God.” - -Whilst these words were saying, Caterina let go the nightingale and -covering herself, fell to weeping sore and beseeching her father to -pardon Ricciardo, whilst on the other hand she entreated her lover -to do as Messer Lizio wished, so they might long pass such nights in -security. - -But there needed not overmany prayers, for that, on the one hand, shame -of the fault committed and desire to make amends for it, and on the -other, the fear of death and the wish to escape,--to say nothing of his -ardent love and longing to possess the thing beloved,--made Ricciardo -freely and without hesitation avouch himself ready to do that which -pleased Messer Lizio; whereupon the latter borrowed of Giacomina one of -her rings and there, without budging, Ricciardo in their presence took -Caterina to his wife. This done, Messer Lizio and his lady departed, -saying: - -“Now rest yourselves, for belike you have more need thereof than of -rising.” - -They being gone, the young folk clipped each other anew and not having -run more than half a dozen courses overnight, they ran other twain ere -they arose and so made an end of the first day’s tilting. - -Then they arose and Ricciardo having had more orderly conference with -Lizio a few days after, as it beseemed, he married the damsel over -again, in the presence of their friends and kinsfolk, and brought her -with great pomp to his own house. There he held goodly and honourable -nuptials and after went long nightingale-fowling with her to his -heart’s content, in peace and solace, both by night and by day. - - - - -THE PIKE’S HEAD.[95] - - [95] _Kruptadia_: Heilbronn: Henninger Frères, 1883: vol. 1: _Secret - Stories from the Russian_. - - -Once there lived a peasant and his wife who had a daughter, a young -virgin. The girl went forth to harrow the garden; she harrowed and she -harrowed; anon they called her to the house to eat pancakes. She ran -and left the horse with the harrow, saying unto the beast: - -“Wait there until I return.” - -There was in the house of a neighbour a son, a foolish lad. For long -he had desired to futter the maid; but by what means he could not -conceive. Observing the horse with the harrow, he slipped through the -hedge, unharnessed the horse, and led it into his garden. Leaving -the harrow in its place, he passed the beam through the hedge, and -harnessed the horse afresh from his side. - -The young girl returned and stood astonished. What meant this? The -harrow on one side of the hedge, the horse on the other? She fell to -beating the horse with her whip, saying: - -“Devil! How camest thou there? Thou didst know how to get there. Thou -wilt know how to return. Come! Come! Out of it!” - -The lad stood near; he looked and laughed. - -“I will aid thee an thou wilt,” said he, “but only if thou dost permit -me....” - -The maid was cunning. - -“Willingly,” said she. - -And she armed herself with the head of an old pike, which lay about the -garden, its jaws open. Picking it up, she thrust it in her sleeve and -said to the lad: - -“I do not wish to come to thy side of the hedge, nor do I wish thee to -come to mine, lest any see thee. Do it through the hedge. Pass me thy -yard and I will put it in.” - -The youth drew out his yard and passed it through the hedge. The girl -took the pike’s head, opened it, and put it ‘twixt her thighs. When the -youth rubbed, he scratched his yard so that it bled. Taking it in his -hands, he ran to the house, sat down in a corner, and was very silent. - -“Ah! woe is me!” thought he to himself. “How her coynte biteth! If only -my yard will heal, for the rest of my life I will never address another -girl!” - -Came the time for the youth to settle down; he was affianced to the -daughter of the neighbour, and they were wedded. They dwelt together -for a day, then two, then three; they dwelt together for a week, then a -second, then a third; but the youth feared to touch his wife. - -Constrained one day to go to the house of the young man’s -mother-in-law, they set out on their way. On the road the wife said to -her husband: - -“Listen, now, my dear little Danilka. Why hast thou married since thou -dost naught with me? If thou canst do naught, why spoilest the life of -another in this useless fashion?” - -And Danilka replied: - -“Nay, thou wilt not trap me again. It biteth, thy coynte. My yard hath -long been ill. ‘Tis scarce cured yet.” - -“Thou ravest!” answered she. “At that time I did but play with thee. -Have no fear now. Make trial of this dear little thing[96] of mine. -Thou wilt be enchanted with it.” - - [96] The text says: _ce cher petit_, which may be interpreted as - referring to the wife’s _pudendum_. _C.f._ _Le petit je ne sais - quoi_ (”My~little~what’s~its~name.”), a common erotic term for - the parts concerned. (Farmer: _Slang and its Analogues_; Landes: - _Glossaire Érotique_; and _Le petit Citateur: Notes Érotiques et - Pornographiques_.) The last authority considers that the word _trou_ - (hole) would be understood in the text. _Trou_, of course, is a - common French erotic term for the feminine _pudendum_. On the other - hand, the word _jeu_ (game) may be understood, which would be equally - applicable. _C.f._ Farmer (_Slang_, etc., vol. 3, p. 110): “The first - game ever played,” _i.e._, copulation. Also Landes (_Gloss. Érot._): - “Game: employed in an obscene sense to denote the sexual act.” - -And desire took the youth, and he tucked up his robe, saying: - -“Wait--I am about to bind thy legs, and if thy coynte biteth, I shall -be able to leap to earth and save myself.” - -He let go of the reins and bound the two naked thighs of his young -wife. His instrument was now of sufficient magnitude. When he rammed -the girl, she cried with a loud voice; the horse, which was young, took -fright and began to run away; the sleigh was thrown from side to side; -the peasant fell out; and his young wife, her thighs naked, was dragged -into the courtyard of the mother-in-law. - -The mother-in-law gazed through the window; she perceived the horse of -her son-in-law, and was assured that he brought her some viands for -the feast; she went to meet him and found--her daughter! - -“Ah! little mother!” cried the latter. “Unbind me swiftly ere any see -me.” - -The old woman unbound her and asked what it signified. - -“And thy husband, where is he?” she demanded. - -“The horse threw him into the road.” - -These two entered the house and gazed through the window. Danilka -arrived, approached some small boys who were playing at knuckle-bones, -stopped, and looked about him. The mother-in-law dispatched her eldest -daughter to him. She drew near, saying: - -“Good day, Danilka Ivanitch.” - -“Good-day.” - -“Come into the house. The feast lacketh but thee.” - -“Is my wife within?” - -“Yea.” - -“And hath the blood ceased to flow?” - -But the young girl spat and ran away from him. - -Then the mother-in-law dispatched her daughter-in-law, who would -appease him. - -“Come, come, little Danilka. The blood hath ceased to flow this long -time.” - -She led him within the house, and the mother-in-law came to meet him, -saying: - -“Welcome, my dear little son-in-law.” - -“Varvara--is she within?” - -“Yea.” - -“And hath the blood ceased to flow?” - -“It hath ceased this long time.” - -Then he drew forth his yard and showed it to his mother-in-law, saying: - -“See, little mother, this awl[97] was entirely inside her body.” - - [97] _Alène_ is the word in the text. Not an erotic term for _penis_ - in French and English slang, though we have the verb “to bore.” _C.f._ - Farmer: _Slang and its Analogues_, for his amazing list of synonyms - denoting the sexual act under the heading “Ride.” Blondeau, in his - _Dictionnaire Érotique_ (Isidore Liseux: Paris, 1885), gives no word - in his collection of Latin terms for _penis_ which approximates - exactly to the sense of awl. Landes, Delvau (_Dictionnaire Érotique_), - and _Le petit Citateur_ (_op. cit. supra_) make no mention of the - word. In our story Danilka, in his very primitive fashion, has used - an expression which explains in the simplest way his actions in the - sleigh. - -“Come, come,” said the mother-in-law. “Sit thyself down. ‘Tis time to -eat.” - -They sat down, drank, and ate. - - - - -THE LOVELY NUN AND HER YOUNG BOARDER.[98] - - [98] _Memoirs of Jacques Casanova_: Privately Printed, 1894. Also - _Mémoires de J. Casanova de Seingalt_: Garnier Frères: Paris, n.d. Our - text is a blend of the two versions. - -_Casanova again meets the beautiful nun M--M--, with whom he was on -intimate terms some years previously at Venice. The nun is now in a -convent at Chamberi, where Casanova visits her and her young boarder, -a lovely girl aged twelve or thirteen, who readily succumbs to the -adventurer’s amorous advances. The text continues_:-- - - -I went to the convent, and M--M--came down alone to the grating. She -thanked me for coming to see her, adding that I had come to disturb her -peace of mind. - -“I am all ready, my heart, to climb the garden wall,” I answered, “and -I shall do it more dextrously than thy wretched humpback.” - -“Alas! ‘tis not possible, for, believe me, thou art already spied -upon.... Let us forget all, my dear friend, that we may be spared the -torment of vain desires.” - -“Give me thy hand.” - -“Nay. All is over. I love thee still; probably I shall love thee -always; but I long for thee to go, and by so doing, thou wilt give me -proof of thy love.” - -“This is dreadful; thou amazest me. Thou dost seem in perfect health; -thou art grown even more beautiful; art made for the worship of the -sweetest of gods; ‘tis beyond my powers of comprehension how, with a -temperament like thine, thou canst live in continual abstinence.” - -“Alas! lacking the reality we console ourselves with make-belief.[99] -I will not conceal from thee that I love my young boarder. ‘Tis an -innocent passion, and keepeth my mind calm. Her caresses quench the -flame which would otherwise kill me.”[100] - - [99] _Badinage_ in the French text; _i.e._, _playfulness_, _frolic_, - _sport_, etc., which is hardly in keeping with the context. - - [100] Literally, according to French text: “Her caresses quench a fire - which would kill me did I not weaken its force by this make-belief.” - -“And doth not thy conscience suffer?” - -“I feel no distress in the matter.” - -“But thou dost know ‘tis a sin?” - -“I confess it.” - -“And what sayeth the confessor?” - -“Naught. He absolveth me, and I am happy.” - -“And doth thy pretty boarder confess also?” - -“Assuredly; but she telleth not the father of a matter which she doth -not believe a sin.” - -“I wonder that the confessor hath not taught her, for that species of -instruction is a great pleasure.” - -“Our confessor is a wise old man.” - -“I shall leave thee, then, without a single kiss?” - -“Not one.” - -“May I return on the morrow? I go hence on the following day.” - -“Come; but I shall not descend alone,[101] for others might have -suspicions. I will bring my little one with me, to save appearances. -Come after dining, but to the other parlour.” - - [101] _i.e._, to the grating. - -Had I not known M--M--at Aix, her religious ideas would have astonished -me; but such was her character. She loved God, and did not believe that -the kind Father who made us with passions would be too severe because -we had not the strength to subdue them. I returned to the inn, annoyed -that the lovely nun would have no more to do with me.... - -_After the interval of a night, Casanova returns to the convent, and, -announcing his presence, enters the parlour which M--M--has indicated. -The text continues_:-- - -... She soon descended with her pretty young boarder, who ... had -not yet completed her twelfth year, but was very tall, strong and -well-developed for her age. Gentleness, liveliness, candour, and wit -were united in her features, and gave her an expression of exquisite -charm. She wore a well-made corset which disclosed a white throat, to -which fancy easily added the two spheres which would soon appear there. -Her shapely head, whence hung two superb raven tresses, and her ivory -throat indicated what might be concealed, and my vagrant imagination -formed her into a budding Venus. - -I began by telling her that she was very pretty, and that she would -make happy the husband for whom God had destined her. This compliment, -I felt assured, would cause her to blush. ‘Tis cruel, but thus it is -that the language of seduction ever beginneth. A girl of her years who -doth not blush at the mention of marriage is either a fool or already -expert in profligacy. Despite this, however, the blush which mounteth -to a young girl’s cheek at the onset of a startling idea is indeed a -problem. Whence doth it come? Perchance from pure simplicity; perchance -from shame; often from a mixture of both feelings. Cometh, then, the -combat ‘twixt vice and virtue, and usually ‘tis virtue which hath to -succumb. The desires--true servants of vice--easily attain their ends. -As I knew the young boarder from M--M--’s description, I could not -be unaware of the source of those blushes which did but enhance her -youthful charms. - -Pretending not to notice aught, I conversed for a while with M--M--, -then returned to the assault. She had regained her calm. - -“What is thine age, pretty one?” said I. - -“I am thirteen.” - -“Thou art wrong, my heart,” said her friend. “Thou hast not yet -completed thy twelfth year.” - -“The time will come,” quoth I, “when thou wilt diminish the tale of thy -years instead of increasing it.” - -“I shall never tell a lie, sir; of that I am sure.” - -“So thou wouldst become a nun, my fair friend?” - -“I have not yet that vocation; but naught shall force me to lie, even -though I should live in the world.” - -“Thou art wrong, for thou wilt begin to lie from the moment thou hast a -lover.” - -“Will my lover also tell lies?” - -“Assuredly he will.” - -“Were the matter truly so, I should entertain a bad opinion of love; -but I do not believe it, for I love my dear friend here, and I never -conceal the truth from her.” - -“But thou dost not love a man as thou lovest a woman.” - -“Indeed one doth.” - -“Not so, for thou dost not go to bed with a woman, but thou wilt with -thy husband.” - -“No matter--my love would be the same.” - -“What? Thou wouldst not rather sleep with me than with M--M--?” - -“Nay, in sooth, for thou art a man and would see me.” - -“Thou dost not desire a man to see thee, then?” - -“Nay.” - -“Thou knowest that thou art ugly, then?” - -At this she turned to her friend with a highly vexed air. - -“Am I truly ugly?” she asked. - -“Nay, my heart,” said M--M--, bursting with laughter; “‘tis quite the -other way. Thou art very pretty.” With these words, she took her on her -knee and embraced her tenderly. - -“Thy corset is too tight, mademoiselle; ‘tis not possible to have so -small a waist as thine.” - -“Monsieur is mistaken. Thou canst put thy hand there and see for -thyself.” - -“I do not believe it.” - -M--M--then held her close to the grille and bade me assure myself on -the point. At the same moment she turned up her dress. - -“Thou wast right,” said I, “and I owe thee an apology.” But in my heart -I cursed the chemise and the grille. - -“‘Tis my opinion,” quoth I to M--M--, “that here we have a little lad.” - -Without awaiting a reply, I laboured so well that I satisfied myself, -by touch, as to her sex, and I could see that the little one and her -governess were pleased that my mind was at rest on the subject. - -When I had withdrawn my hand, the little one gave a kiss to M--M--, -whose smiling air reassured her, and begged leave to absent herself -for a moment. It seems I had reduced her to a state in which a brief -space of solitude was necessary, and I myself was in a highly excited -condition. - -When she had gone, I said to M--M--:-- - -“Dost realise that what thou hast shown me hath made me unhappy?” - -“And why?” - -“Because thy boarder is charming and I am dying to possess her.” - -“I grieve for that, since thou canst not go further; moreover, I know -thee, my friend, and e’en though thou couldst satisfy thy passion -without danger to her, I would not yield her to thee; thou wouldst -spoil her.” - -“How?” - -“Dost think that after enjoying thee she would care to enjoy me? I -should lose too heavily by comparison.” - -“Give me thy hand.” - -“Nay.” - -“Stay--one moment.” - -“I do not wish to see aught.” - -“Not even a little?” - -“Naught at all.” - -“Art angered with me, then?” - -“Far from it. If thou hast been pleased, I am glad; and if thou hast -filled her with desires, she will love me all the more.” - -“What happiness, my angel, could we, all three, be alone together and -at liberty!” - -“I feel it, but ‘tis impossible.” - -“Art sure that we are sheltered from all curious eyes?” - -“I am certain.” - -“The height of that wretched grille hath deprived me of the sight of -many charms.” - -“Why didst not go to the other parlour? ‘Tis much lower there.” - -“Let us go there.” - -“Not to-day. I could give no reason for the change.” - -“I will return to-morrow, and in the evening I start for Lyons.” - -The little boarder came back, and I stood up facing her. I had a number -of beautiful seals and trinkets hanging from my watch-chain, and I had -not had time to put myself in a state of perfect decency again. This -she noticed, and my seals serving as a pretext for her curiosity, she -asked if she might look at them. - -“As long as you like, my jewel; look at them and touch them as well.” - -M--M--, foreseeing what would happen, left the room, saying that she -would return anon. I hastened to deprive the curious-minded young -boarder of all interest in my seals by placing in her hands a curiosity -of another kind. She did not conceal her transports nor the pleasure -she felt in satisfying her inquisitiveness about an object which was -quite new to her, and which she was able to examine minutely for the -first time in her life. But soon an effusion of the natural moisture -changed her curiosity into surprise, and I did not interrupt her in her -delighted contemplation of it. - -Perceiving M--M--returning slowly, I lowered my shirt and sat down. -My watch and chains were still on the ledge of the grating, and -M--M--asked her young friend if the trinkets had pleased her. - -“Yea,” replied the little one, in a dreamy and melancholy voice. She -had travelled so far in less than two hours that she had plenty to -think on. - -I passed the rest of the day in relating to M--M--the adventures I had -encountered since I quitted her; but as I had not time to finish my -tale, I promised to return on the following day at the same hour. - -The young girl, who had been listening to me all the while, although I -seemed to be addressing only her friend, said she was dying to know the -end of my adventure with the mistress of the Duke of Matelone.[102] ... - - [102] Referring to a salacious incident shortly before related. - Further details would be out of place in this volume. - -... On the following day, after dining, I returned to the convent, and -having sent up my name to M--M--, I entered the room where the grating -was more convenient. Before long M--M--arrived alone, but divining my -desires, she added that her pretty young friend would soon join us. - -“Thou hast fired her imagination,” she said. “She hath told me all -about it, playing a thousand wanton tricks and calling me her dear -husband. Thou hast seduced her, and I am very glad thou art going, for -I believe she might lose her reason. Thou wilt see how she hath attired -herself.” - -“Art sure of her discretion?” - -“Perfectly, but I beg of thee to do naught in my presence. When I see -the moment approaching, I will leave the room.” - -“Thou art an angel, beloved, but thou mightest be something better an -thou wouldst----” - -“I want naught for myself, because that may not be.” - -“Thou couldst----” - -“Nay--I will have naught to do with a pastime which would re-kindle -fires hardly yet quenched. I have spoken. I suffer; but let us say no -more on the matter.” - -At this moment the young adept entered smiling, her eyes full of fire. -She was attired in a short pelisse, open in front, and an embroidered -muslin skirt which did not go beyond her knees. She looked like a sylph. - -We were scarcely seated ere she reminded me of the place where my tale -had stopped. I continued my recital, and when I was relating how Donna -Lucrezia showed me Leonilda naked, M--M--went out, and the sly little -puss asked me how I assured myself that my daughter was a virgin. - -Taking hold of her through the wretched grating, against which she -placed her pretty body, I showed her how I assured myself of the fact, -and the little one found such pleasure in the game that, so far from -feeling any suffering, she twice swooned away in ecstacy, all the while -pressing my hand to the spot. Then she gave me her hand that she might -afford me the pleasure I had given her, and when M--M--appeared during -this enjoyable occupation, she said hastily:-- - -“It doth not matter. I have told her everything. My friend is kind, and -she will not be vexed.” - -M--M--, in sooth, affected to see naught of all this, and the -precocious young girl wiped her hand in a kind of voluptuous delight, -which showed how well she was pleased. - -I proceeded with my history, but when I came to the episode of the poor -girl who was _tied_,[103] describing all the trouble I had vainly taken -with her, the little boarder grew so curious that she placed herself in -the most seducing attitude so that I might be able to show her what I -did. Seeing this, M--M--made her escape. - - [103] Somewhat obscure. This rendering, that of the English - translation, is not in accord with the French text, nor does it - seem to us to represent what happened as described in the English - translation. - -“Kneel down on the ledge,” said the little wanton, “and let me do it.” - -The reader can guess her intention, and she would have succeeded in her -purpose had not the fire which consumed me distilled itself away at the -orifice. - -The charming novice felt herself besprinkled, but after ascertaining -that naught more could be done, she withdrew in some vexation. My -fingers, however, consoled her for the disappointment, and I had the -pleasure of seeing her look happy once more. - -I quitted these charming creatures in the evening, promising to visit -them again in a year, but as I walked home I could not but reflect how -often these asylums, supposed to be devoted to chastity and prayer, -do contain in themselves the hidden germs of corruption. How many -a timorous and trustful mother is persuaded that the child of her -affection will escape the dangers of the world by taking refuge in the -cloister. But behind these bolts and bars desires grow to a frenzied -extreme; they crave in vain to be satisfied.... - - - - -_JOHN and JOAN._[104] - - [104] J. S. Farmer: _Merry Songs and Ballads_: _Privately Printed_, - 1897: vol. 3: from _Pills to Purge Melancholy_ (1719). A similar - ballad, _John and Jone_, from _Merry Drollerie_ (1661) is given by - Farmer in the second volume of his work. - - - There was a Maid the other Day, - Which in her Master’s Chamber lay; - As Maidens they must not refuse, - In Yeomens Houses thus they use - In a Truckle-bed to lye, - Or another standing by: - Her Master and her Dame, - Said she shou’d do the same. - - This Maid cou’d neither rest nor Sleep, - When that she heard the Bed to crack; - Her Master Captive busie was, - Her Dame cry’d out, you hurt my Back: - Oh Husband you do me wrong, - You’ve lain so hard my Breast upon; - You are such another Man, - You’d have me do more than I can: - Tush Master, then says _Joan_, - Pray let my Dame alone; - What a devilish Squalling you keep, - That I can neither rest nor Sleep. - - This was enough to make a Maiden sick - And full of Pain; - She begins to Fling and Kick, - And swore she’d rent her Smock in twain: - But you shall hear anon, - There was a Man his name was _John_, - To whom this Maid she went alone, - And in this manner made her moan; - I prithee _John_ tell me no Lie, - What ails my Dame to Squeak and Cry? - I prithee _John_ tell me the same, - What is’t my Master gives my Dame? - - It is a Steel, quoth _John_, - My Master gives my Dame at Night: - Altho’ some fault she find, - I’m sure it is her Heart’s Delight: - And you _Joan_ for your part, - You love one withal your Heart: - Yes, marry then quoth _John_, - Therefore to you I make my moan; - If that I may be so bold, - Where are these things to be sold? - At _London_ then said _John_, - Next Market day I’ll bring thee one. - - What will a good one cost, - If I shou’d chance to stand in need? - Twenty Shillings, says _John_, - And for Twenty Shillings you may speed: - Then _Joan_ she ran unto her Chest, - And fetch’d him Twenty Shillings just; - _John_, said she, here is your Coin, - And I pray you have me in your Mind: - And out of my Love therefore, - There is for you two Shillings more; - And I pray thee honest _John Long_, - Buy me one that’s Stiff and Strong. - - To Market then he went, - When he had the Money in his Purse; - He domineer’d and vapour’d, - He was as stout as any Horse: - Some he spent in Ale and Beer, - And some he spent upon good Cheer; - The rest he brought home again, - To serve his turn another time: - Welcome home honest _John_, - God a mercy gentle _Joan_; - Prithee _John_ let me feel, - Hast thou brought me home a Steel? - - Yes, marry then quoth _John_, - And then he took her by the Hand; - He led her into a Room, - Where they cou’d see neither Sun nor Moon: - Together _John_ the Door did clap, - He laid the Steel into her Lap: - With that _Joan_ began to feel, - Cuts Foot, quoth she, ‘tis a dainty Steel: - I prithee tell me, and do not lye, - What are the two Things hang thereby? - They be the two odd Shillings, quoth _John_, - That you put last into my Hand: - If I had known so much before, - I wou’d have giv’n thee two Shillings more.[105] - - [105] _John and Joan_, strictly speaking, is a _variant_ of three - stories quoted earlier on in this volume, (The Instrument, The - Timorous Fiancée and The Enchanted Ring), inasmuch as all contain the - same idea--the possibility of purchasing a _membrum virile_. At the - same time, our ballad has a totally different setting, the maid in - this case obtaining her first knowledge from the actions of others. - - - - -THE HUSBAND AS DOCTOR.[106] - - [106] _Les Cent Nouvelles Nouvelles_: Translated for the first time - into English by Robert B. Douglas (_One Hundred Merrie and Delightsome - Stories_), Paris: Charles Carrington. Also French Text, Paris: Gamier - Frères, n.d. - -_Of a young squire of Champagne who, when he married, had never mounted -a Christian creature--much to his wife’s regret. And of the method her -mother found to instruct him, and how the said squire suddenly wept at -a great feast that was made shortly after he had learned how to perform -the carnal act--as you will hear more plainly hereafter._ - - -‘Tis well known that in the province of Champagne one is sure to -encounter heavy and dull-witted persons--which hath seemed strange -to many, seeing that the district is so near to the country of -Mischief.[107] Many stories could be told of the stupidity of the -Champenois, but this present will suffice. - - [107] Probably Picardy or Lorraine.--Note by R. B. Douglas. - -There dwelt in this province a young man, an orphan, who at the death -of his father and mother had become rich and powerful. He was stupid, -ignorant, and disagreeable, but hard-working, and knew well how -to take care of himself and his affairs, and for this reason many -persons--even people of condition--were willing to give him their -daughter in marriage. - -One of these damsels, above all others, pleased the friends and -relations of our Champenois because of her beauty, goodness, riches and -so forth. They told him ‘twas time he married. - -“Thou art now three-and-twenty years of age,” said they, “and there -could not be a better time. An thou wilt listen to us, we have sought -out for thee a fair and good damsel who seemeth to us well fitted to -thee. It is such an one--thou knowest her full well.” And they told him -her name. - -The young man, who cared little whether he was married or not, so as -he did not lose money by it, answered that he would do whatsoe’er they -wished. - -“Since ye think ‘twill be to my advantage,” said he, “manage the -business to the best of your ability, for I would follow your advice -and instructions.” - -“Thou sayest well,” said these good folk. “We will look and consider as -carefully as though the matter concerned us or one of our children.” - -To cut matters short, a little while afterwards our Champenois was -married; but on the first night, when he was sleeping with his wife, -he, never having mounted on any Christian beast, soon turned his back -to her, and a few poor kisses was aught she had of him, but naught on -her back. At which one may guess his wife was not well pleased, albeit -she concealed her discontent. - -This unsatisfactory State of affairs endured some ten days, and would -have endured yet longer had not the girl’s mother put a stop to it. - -It should be known that the young man was unversed in the mysteries of -wedlock, for during the lifetime of his parents a tight rein had been -kept upon him, and, above all things, he had been forbidden to play at -the beast with two backs,[108] lest he should take too much delight -therein, and waste all his patrimony. Which was prudent on the part -of his parents, for he was not a young man likely to be loved for his -appearance. - - [108] _Faire la bête à deux dos._ A recognised slang term for the - venereal act, used by Rabelais and Shakespeare. _C.f._ Farmer: _Slang - and its Analogues_ (_op. cit. supra_), and Landes: _Glossaire érotique - de la langue française_: Brussels, 1861. - -And since he would do naught to anger his father and mother, and was -not, moreover, of an amorous disposition, he had ever preserved his -chastity, albeit his wife had deprived him of it right gladly had she -known but how. - -On a certain day the mother of the bride came to her daughter, and -questioned her as to her husband’s state and condition and the -countless other things which women like to know. To all of which -questions the bride replied that her husband was a good man, and that -she did not doubt but that she would be happy with him. - -Which answer made the old woman joyous, but, since she knew by her -own experience that there are more things in wedlock than eating and -drinking, she said to her daughter: - -“Come hither, and tell me, on thy word of honour, how he doth acquit -himself at night?” - -When the girl heard this question she was so vexed and shamed that she -might not answer, and her eyes were filled with tears. But her mother, -understanding what meant these tears, said: - -“Weep not, my child. Speak me boldly. I am thy mother, and it behoveth -thee to conceal naught from me. Hath he done naught to thee as yet?” - -The poor girl, having partly recovered, and being reassured by her -mother’s words, ceased her tears, but could not yet make reply. -Whereupon her mother asked again: - -“Speak me boldly and put aside thy grief. Hath he done naught to thee -yet?” - -In a low voice, mingled with tears, the girl replied: - -“On my word, mother, he hath never touched me yet, but, save for that, -there is no man more kind or affectionate.” - -“Tell me,” quoth the mother, “knowest thou if he be properly furnished -with all his members? Speak boldly if thou dost know.” - -“By St. John! He is sound in that respect,” replied the bride. “I have -often, by chance, felt his luggage[109] as I turned to and fro on our -bed when I could not sleep.” - - [109] _Denrée d’aventure._ A recognised erotic term for the male - genital parts. _C.f._ Farmer and Landes (_op. cit. supra_). _Denrée_, - properly, means a “commodity,” which is not far removed from the - English slang term “concern.” (Farmer.) - -“‘Tis enough,” said the mother. “Leave the rest to me. This is what -thou must do. In the morning thou must feign grave illness--e’en as -though thy soul were about to depart thy body. Thy husband will, I -expect full well, seek me out and bid me come to thee, and I will play -my part so that thy business will soon be settled, for I shall carry -thy water to a certain doctor, who will give such counsel as I order.” - -All was accomplished as arranged, for on the morrow, as soon as it was -dawn, the girl, who was sleeping with her husband, fell to complaining -and feigning sickness as though a strong fever racked her body. - -Her foolish husband was much vexed and astonished, and knew not what to -say or do. He sent forthwith for his mother-in-law, who was not long in -coming. As soon as he saw her he said: - -“Alas! mother! thy daughter is dying!” - -“My daughter?” quoth she. “What doth she want?” And while she spoke, -she walked to the patient’s chamber. - -As soon as the mother perceived her daughter, she inquired of her as to -her trouble, and the girl, being well instructed in what she must do, -answered not at first, but, after a while, said: - -“Mother, I am dying.” - -“Please God, thou shalt not die! Take courage! But how cometh it that -thou art fallen ill so suddenly?” - -“I know not! I know not!” answered the girl. “Thou dost madden me by -these questions.” - -The mother took the daughter’s hand, and felt her pulse, her body and -her head; then she said to her son-in-law: - -“In sooth, she is sorely ill. She is on fire. We must find some remedy. -Hast aught of her water?” - -“That which she made last night is there,” said one of the attendants. - -“Give it me,” said the mother. - -She took the urine, and put it in a proper vessel, and told her -son-in-law that she would show it to a physician, that he might know -what he might do to her daughter to cure her. - -“For God’s sake! spare naught!” she said. “I have still some money, but -I love my daughter better than money.” - -“Spare!” said he. “If money can help, I will not fail her.” - -“When thou goest,[110] and while she is resting,” said the mother, “I -will go home; but I will return an I am needed.” - - [110] The text here is somewhat obscure. Mr. Douglas translates “No - need to go so fast.” - -Now it should be known that the old woman on the previous day, when she -quitted her daughter, had instructed the physician, who was well aware -of what he must say. So the young man carried his wife’s water to the -physician, and, having saluted him, related how sick and suffering was -his wife. - -“And I have brought some of her water that thou mayest judge how sick -she is, and the more easily cure her,” said the young man. - -The physician took the vessel of urine, and, turning it about and -examining it, said: - -“Thy wife is sore afflicted with illness and in peril of death unless -succour be forthcoming. Her water showeth it.” - -“Ah! master, for the love of God, tell me what to do, and I will pay -thee well canst thou restore her to health and prevent her from dying!” - -“She need not die an thou obeyest my commands,” quoth the physician. -“But if thou dost not make haste, all the money in the world will not -save her from death.” - -“Tell me, for Gods sake, what to do,” said the other, “and I will do -it.” - -“She must have connection with a man or she will die,” answered the -physician. - -“Connection with a man?” said the other. “What is that?” - -“It meaneth,” continued the doctor, “that thou must mount on top of -her, and speedily ram her three or four times, or more if thou canst; -otherwise, the great heat which doth consume and kill her, will not be -extinguished.” - -“That will be good for her?” - -“She is a dead woman,” answered the physician, “an thou do it not and -do it quickly.” - -“By St. John!” said the other, “I will try what I can do.” - -With that he went home and found his wife, who was groaning and -lamenting loudly. - -“How art thou, beloved?” asked he. - -“I die, beloved,” answered she. - -“Please God, thou shalt not die,” said he. “I have conversed with the -physician, who hath told me what medicine will cure thee.” - -And, as he spoke, he fell to undressing, and lay down beside his wife, -and began to execute in clumsy fashion the orders he had received from -the physician. - -“What dost thou?” asked his wife. “Wouldst kill me?” - -“Nay, I am about to cure thee,” said he. “The physician hath assured -me.” - -And Nature instructing and the patient assisting, he performed upon her -twice or thrice. When resting from his labours, much astonished at -what had befallen, he asked his wife how she was. - -“I am a little better than I was hitherto,” she replied. - -“God be praised,” quoth he. “I hope thou wilt get well and that the -physician hath spoken truly.” - -And with that he fell to again. - -To cut matters short, he performed so well that his wife was cured in a -few days, whereat he was very joyful, as was the mother when she knew -of it. - -Ever afterwards our Champenois became a better fellow than heretofore, -and his wife being now restored to health, he one day invited all his -friends and relatives to dine with him, and also the father and mother -of his wife, and he served good cheer after his own fashion. They drank -to him, and he drank to them, and he was right good company. - -But hear what befell him. In the midst of the feast he fell to weeping, -which much astonished all his friends who were at table with him; and -they demanded what was the matter, but he could not answer for weeping -scalding tears. At length he spake, saying: - -“I have good cause to weep.” - -“By my oath thou hast not!” replied his mother-in-law. “What aileth -thee? Thou art rich and powerful and well-housed, and hast good -friends, nor must thou forget thy fair and good wife, whom God brought -back to health when she was on the verge of the grave. In my thinking -thou shouldst be light-hearted and joyous.” - -“Alas!” said he. “Woe is me! My father and mother, who both loved me, -and who amassed and bequeathed me so much wealth, are dead, and by -my fault, for they died of a fever, and had I well touzled[111] them -both when they were ill, as I did my wife, they would still be on their -feet.” - - [111] _Touzle_ or _Tousle_, in its original sense, meant “to - rumple”--“to pull or mess about,” but came in time to signify, in - erotic slang, the act of “mastering a woman by romping.” (_Vide_ - Farmer: _Slang and its Analogues_.) It belongs to that class of word - connoting the sexual act which may be described as _energetic_, as - implying a sense of lively action and movement. Farmer, under his - key-word _Ride_, gives a number of similar terms, among them:--to - _belly-bump_; to _bounce_; to _cuddle_; to _ferret_; to _frisk_; - to _fumble_; to _hug_; to _hustle_; to _jiggle_; to _jumble_; to - _muddle_; to _niggle_; to _plough_; to _rummage_; to _shake_; and to - _tumble_. _Touzle_ is Fielding’s term for the venereal act. - -There was none at table who, on hearing this, would not fain have -laughed; nevertheless, all restrained themselves as best they might. -The tables were removed and each went his way, and the young man -continued to live with his wife, and, in order that she might remain in -good health, he failed not to tail her pretty often. - - - - -THE PRIEST AND THE LABOURER.[112] - - [112] _Kruptadia_: Heilbronn: Henninger Frères, 1883: _Secret Stories - from the Russian_. - - -Once on a time there dwelt a priest and his wife; they had two -daughters. The priest hired a labourer, and in the spring he made a -pilgrimage; but before setting out he gave his orders to the labourer. - -“See, friend,” said the priest, “on my return I would find all the -garden dug up and the beds set out.” - -“I hear, little father,” answered the labourer. - -The labourer dug so ill that the garden went to wrack and ruin, and all -the while he enjoyed himself. When the priest returned, he went to the -garden and saw that naught had been done. - -“Ah, friend,” asked the priest of the labourer, “is it possible that -thou knowest not how to dig a garden?” - -“Assuredly I know not,” answered the labourer. “Had I known I would -have done it.” - -“Go, then, into the house, and beg of my daughters to give thee an iron -shovel, and I will show thee how to dig.” - -The labourer sped to the house and sought the daughters. - -“Little mistresses,” quoth he, “the little father orders ye to give me -... both of ye....” - -“Give thee what?” - -“Ye know well he meaneth ye yourselves ... to futter!” - -The priest’s daughters fell to abusing the labourer. - -“What availeth it to abuse me?” asked the labourer. “The little father -hath ordered ye to yield me this at once, for the borders of the garden -must be dug. An ye believe not me, ask of him yourselves.” - -One of the daughters straightway ran to the steps leading to the house, -and cried: - -“Little father! Hast ordered us to give this thing to the labourer?” - -“Give it him swiftly! Why keepest him waiting?” answered the priest. - -“Come, my sister,” said the young girl when she returned. “There is no -help for it. We must give it him. So the little father hath ordered.” - -Both then went to bed, and the labourer put the matter through most -expeditiously. Afterwards, he took a shovel from the shed, and ran to -the little father in the garden. The priest showed him how to dig the -borders of the garden, and he himself returned to the house to his -wife. But what saw he? His daughters in tears. - -“Why weep ye?” - -“How should we not weep, little father,” answered they, “when thou -thyself hast ordered the labourer to make mock of us?” - -“To make mock of ye?” - -“Didst not order us to yield it to him?” - -“And why not? I ordered ye to give him a shovel.” - -“A shovel? He hath dishonoured us! He hath taken our virginity!” - -When the priest heard this, he fell into a mighty rage, seized a stake, -and ran headlong to the kitchen garden. The labourer perceived the -priest approaching with a stake. Wretched mischance! He hurled the -shovel from him and took to his heels. The priest sped after him, but -the labourer was the more agile, and vanished from the sight of the -priest. - -Then went the priest in search of his labourer, and in his search he -encountered a peasant. - -“Good day, friend,” said the priest. - -“Good day, little father,” answered the peasant. - -“Hast encountered my labourer?” - -“I know not. A lad passed me, running swiftly.” - -“Tis he! Come with me, little peasant, and aid me in the search. I will -pay thee well.” - -They set out together; not far off they came upon a strolling player. - -“Good day, strolling player,” said the priest. - -“Good day, little father,” answered the strolling player. - -“Hast met a lad just now?” - -“Yea, little father. There was one who went running past me.” - -“‘Tis he! Aid us in the search. I will pay thee well.” - -“Willingly, little father.” - -And the three set forth together. - -Now the labourer had run to the village, and having clad himself in -other garments, went himself to meet the priest. And the priest failed -to recognise him, but questioned him, saying: - -“Tell me, friend--hast seen a labourer on the road?” - -“I have seen one, and he ran to the village.” - -“Come, friend, aid us in the search.” - -“Willingly, little father.” - -All four then went in search of the priest’s labourer; they entered -the village; they walked; they walked unto eventide; naught befell. -Darkness descended. Where might they pass the night? - -Anon they came to a house where dwelt a widow, and they begged leave of -her to pass the night therein. - -“Good people,” replied the widow, “there will be a deluge this night in -my house. I warn ye of it beforehand. Ye will be drowned.” - -Howbeit, she did not refuse them--indeed, she might not--and she let -them enter for the night. - -(Now the widow’s lover had promised to visit her that night.) - -All four then entered the house and betook themselves to bed. The -priest, thinking perchance there might be a deluge, laid hold of a -great trough, set it upon a shelf, and put himself to sleep in the -trough. - -“If there be a deluge,” thought he to himself, “I shall float upon the -top of it in the trough.” - -The strolling player laid himself down by the hearth, his head in the -ashes; the peasant reclined on the bench behind the table; and the -priest’s labourer stretched himself on the stool by the window. Hardly -had they lain down ere they fell into deep slumber, excepting the -labourer, who alone slept not. He it was who heard the lover of the -mistress of the house come beneath the window and knock, saying: - -“Open, my beloved.” - -The labourer arose, opened the window, and spake in low tones, saying: - -“Beloved, thou comest at an ill moment. Strangers are within my house, -passing the night therein. Come thou the next night.” - -“I go, beloved,” answered the lover. “But lean thou from the window -that we may embrace.” - -The labourer turned his posterior to the window and thrust out his -backside. The lover embraced it with rapture. - -“I go ... adieu, my beloved. Fare thee well. I will return to-morrow -night.” - -“Go, loved one. I will await thee, but, as a parting gift, give me thy -yard, which I will hold for several moments in my hand. ‘Twill console -me somewhat.” - -The lover drew forth his yard from his drawers and thrust it towards -the window. - -“Take it, beloved,” quoth he. “Amuse thyself.” - -The labourer took the yard in his hand, caressed it once or twice, drew -his knife from his pocket, and, with one blow, cut off the member and -testicles of the lover. The latter uttered a great cry, and sped amain -to his home. The labourer shut the window, sat down on the bench, and -made a noise with his mouth, as though eating. The peasant heard the -noise and awoke, saying: - -“What eatest thou, comrade?” - -“I have found a morsel of sausage on the table, but I cannot eat it -all, for ‘tis uncooked.” - -“No matter if it be uncooked, comrade. Give me a portion to sample.” - -“There is not much, friend, but take what is left and eat.” And he gave -him the cut-off yard. - -The peasant fell to chewing the ‘sausage’ with fine appetite. He chewed -and chewed, but could not swallow the morsel. - -“What is wrong with it, comrade?” he asked. “‘Tis impossible to eat it. -‘Tis so tough.” - -“Put it in the frying-pan, roast it, and then thou wilt be able to eat -it.” - -The peasant arose, went towards the frying-pan, and crammed the -‘sausage’ right ‘twixt the teeth of the strolling player. He held it -there; he held it there for a long while, making experiment with it. - -“Nay,” said he, at length. “The ‘sausage’ hath not grown tender. The -fire hath done naught.” - -“Cease to wrestle with the thing,” said the labourer. “The mistress of -the house will hear and will scold us. Thou hast scattered the fire -over the frying-pan. Look! sprinkle it with water that the woman may -perceive naught.” - -“But where may I get the water?” - -“Piss o’er it. Better extinguish the fire than have to go forth into -the courtyard.” - -The peasant had great desire to piss, and he pissed forthwith upon the -face of the strolling player. And when the strolling player felt the -water, coming whence he knew not, fall right in his mouth, he said: - -“The deluge hath arrived!” - -And he fell to crying with all the strength of his lungs: - -“Little father! The deluge! The deluge!” - -The priest heard the voice of the strolling player, and, half asleep, -sought to cast himself, together with the trough, straight into the -water, but instead he fell heavily on the ground, bruising himself all -over. - -“Ah! my God!” he cried. “When a child falleth, the good Lord placeth -a cushion under it, but when an old man tumbleth, the devil putteth a -harrow beneath him. Behold me all sore and bruised. Of a certainty I -shall ne’er find that brigand of a labourer.” - -Quoth the labourer to the priest: - -“Seek him no more, I counsel thee. Go home, and may the Lord go with -thee. It were better for thy health.” - - - - -_EXCURSUS_ to _THE PRIEST AND THE LABOURER_. - -The foregoing story reminds one of the device employed by “The Youth -who would Futter his Father’s Wives,” (_The Thousand Nights and a -Night: Supplemental Nights_, vol. 6: Translated by Sir Richard F. -Burton.) In the latter case the father sets out on a journey, but, -having forgotten his shoes, instructs his son, who is accompanying him -for a short way, to return and fetch them. The youth goes back, informs -his father’s wives that they are to sleep with him in his parent’s -absence, and, when they are incredulous, shouts to his father in the -distance: - -“O my papa, one of them or the two of them?” - -The father, referring, of course, to his shoes, shouts back: - -“The two! The two!” - -The wives are convinced by this remark, as were the virgin daughters -of the priest in our story from _Kruptadia_. We shall reserve further -extracts from this Oriental narrative for a subsequent volume of -_Anthologica Rarissima_, the plot and details being inappropriate to -our present theme. - - - - -THE TWO LOVERS AND THE TWO SISTERS.[113] - - [113] Masuccio: _The Novellino_: Translated into English by W. G. - Waters: Lawrence and Bullen: London, 1894: vol. 2, Forty-first Novel. - - -I will tell you, therefore, that in those days when Duke Ranier of -Anjou, envious of the peace and quiet, as well as of the power and the -wisdom of that divine prince, King Don Alfonso, was driven from Naples -and from the Kingdom, it pleased him to tarry for a certain season in -Florence. There were, amongst the other Frenchmen who were involved in -the ruin and shipwreck of his fortunes, two valiant and accomplished -cavaliers, the one named Filippo de Lincurto and the other Ciarlo -d’Amboia. - -Now these two, although they were very prudent and endowed with many -virtues, were inclined nevertheless, being young and given over to -love, to leave the burden of disaster, and the cares thereof as well, -to him who was especially concerned with the same, that is, to the duke. - -It happened that in their daily rides through Florence Filippo fell -deeply in love with a graceful and very lovely young lady of noble -parentage, and wife to a citizen of repute; and while he strove -incessantly to win her, it chanced that Ciarlo, as he ranged another -part of the city, became enamoured of a sister of Filippo’s lady-love, -who abode unmarried in her father’s house. He, unwitting of this -kinship, made up his mind, albeit he deemed her passing fair, to keep -his passion within sober limits, forasmuch as he was well versed in the -strife of love and aware that young damsels are wont to love lightly -and without constancy. Filippo, finding that his fair lady was discreet -and of good understanding, and being also fully prepared to become her -servant, resolved to give her his love entirely; on which account the -lady, realizing his humour and considering his many and praiseworthy -parts, likewise determined to recompense him with all the love of her -heart, and began to favour him with her kindness in such wise that he -saw she was the only woman in the world who knew how to love. - -She, certes, would have let him taste at once the supreme fruit of -love had she not been restrained therefrom by the continual presence -of her husband; so, having given Filippo assurance, both by letter and -by messages, that she was firmly set in this purpose, the two lovers -longed beyond aught else for the time when the husband would take his -departure to Flanders in the galley which was now expected at any hour -to touch at Pisa. - -While they thus abode in pleasureable expectation, Duke Ranier was -obliged to return to France, whereat both the cavaliers felt mightily -aggrieved, and especially that one of the two who loved and likewise -was loved in return; nevertheless, being bound by necessity, they took -their departure, snared as they were in amorous toils. - -Filippo swore to his lady that no obstacle, however great, should -debar him from returning, and that, come what might, he as a loyal -lover would never forsake her. Having consoled her with other speeches -yet more affectionate, he and his companion set forth; and after his -return it came to pass in the course of time, either through some fresh -fancy or through the cares of business, that Filippo, albeit he still -remembered the lady left behind, let the ardent flames of his passion -grow colder every day. He not only forgot his promise to return, but -beyond this neglected to answer any of the many letters writ to him by -the lady. - -On this account she, perceiving how she was well-nigh forsaken by this -lover once so ardent, was stricken with such cruel grief thereanent -that she almost lost her wits; but, calling to mind the stainless -virtue of the cavalier, she could not persuade herself that so noble -a heart could harbour such inhumanity. However, when she remembered -his latest words, both written and sent to her by the mouth of -their trusted messenger, she deliberated how she might by a new and -suggestive plan stimulate the virtue of her lover and thereby make a -final trial on behalf of her passion. - -Thus she caused to be made by a skilled master a ring of gold, wrought -very finely, and in this she had set a counterfeit diamond, most -manifestly false, letting engrave round the ring itself the words, ‘La -ma za batani?’[114] This, after she had wrapped it in fine cambric, -she sent to her Filippo by a certain young man of Florence, who knew -how things stood with her, and who was going to France after his own -affairs, charging him that he should himself deliver it to Filippo with -no farther words than these: “She who loves you and you only sends you -this, and implores you to let her have a fitting answer thereto.” - - [114] St. Matthew, 27, 46: “Why hast thou forsaken me?” - -In due time the envoy with his offering and his message arrived at -Filippo’s house and was joyfully received; but after the cavalier had -marked with amazement what was the quality of the ring, and what the -motto graven thereupon, he went about for several days pondering over -the purport of the same, and finding himself unable to draw from it the -true meaning, he determined to show it to Ciarlo and to divers other -gentlemen of the court; but these, taken singularly and altogether, -what though they used all their wits, were unable to hit the mark. - -Finally its meaning was fathomed by Duke John, who was a gentleman of -great discretion, albeit more fortunate in advising others than in -reaping victory in the many enterprises he undertook. What it said was -this: - -“False diamond, why hast thou forsaken me?” - -When Filippo heard this sentence he saw at once how the lady had most -justly and prudently reproved him for his lover’s unfaith, and began to -consider how he might by a device of the same sort answer so graceful -a proposition and repay so heavy a debt of love. So, being minded to -conclude the matter, he went to his dear friend Ciarlo, beseeching him -by the friendship there was between them, that he would go with him to -Florence for the reason aforesaid. - -And albeit Ciarlo found this somewhat hard at first, he ended by -consenting to oblige so dear a friend, deeming besides that he might -peradventure thereby compass some pleasure for himself and for the -damsel he loved. Thereupon they set forth, and having duly come to -Florence, they began at the first chance to walk past the houses of -their ladies in order to signify their presence; and Filippo soon -sent word by his wonted messenger to his lady how he had sufficiently -understood the message which the ring sent by her had borne, and how -he knew no other method of disproving her false opinion of him save by -bearing witness for himself, wherefore it behoved her to grant him an -interview meet for the occasion. - -The gracious lady, who with her sister had rejoiced amain over the -return of their lovers, and had deliberated what course should be -taken, as soon as she heard this kindly message, so manifestly -springing from love, was filled with such joy that she felt almost -jealous of herself, and so as to lose no more time over the matter -she sent back a brief answer to Filippo, bidding him wait with his -companion before the door of her house next evening. - -Wherefore Filippo, as soon as the hour had come, betook himself merrily -with his friend Ciarlo to the spot which had been named, and there -they caught sight of the lady, who gave them most gladsome reception. -After she had made a trusty maidservant of hers open to them the door -and bring them in, she likewise gave them to understand, by the mouth -of this same woman, that the only way in which the thing she so much -desired could be brought about would be that, while she should be -taking her pleasure with Filippo, Messer Ciarlo should go and strip -naked and lie down in the bed beside her husband, in order that, if -by chance the husband should wake and feel Ciarlo in bed, he might -believe that his wife was still there. - -Unless he should consent to do this, they would all run great peril of -their honour and of their lives as well; wherefore she besought them to -put in practice the timely stratagem which she had provided, or else -withdraw from the place forthwith. - -As soon as Ciarlo heard this request, what though he would have gone -down to hell to serve his comrade, he was conscious that, even if the -business should come to a fortunate issue, it would be to him a great -loss of good fame were he to be found there stark naked; wherefore he -refused altogether to go on such service in such fashion, declaring, -however, that if he might go clad and carrying his sword in his hand he -would willingly do what they wanted. - -Now Filippo had travelled all the way from France to foregather with -his lady-love, and, in considering the difficult parts to which they -had come, he perceived that his friend was speaking and that the -lady was acting with good show of reason; so, after many and divers -arguments, for the reason that the lady remained firmly fixed in her -purpose and that he himself was more than ever fired with amorous -desire, he besought Ciarlo almost with tears that, by the bonds of -friendship, he would consent to oblige them, what though the thing -itself might be unseemly. - -Therefore Ciarlo, seeing how great was the passion which possessed his -friend, and to what a pass the affair had come, determined that he -would if need be meet death itself rather than be wanting in service to -Filippo. - -Thereupon the waiting-woman taking Ciarlo by the hand led him in the -dark to the lady, and she, having given him kindly welcome, took him -into her own chamber, and there bade him take off all his clothes and -get into the bed, keeping his sword at hand. Then she softly bade him -be of good heart and have patience, for she would soon return and -release him. This done, she went full of joy to her Filippo, and having -led him into another room they reaped the full and delightful fruit of -their desire. - -Now when Ciarlo had waited, not two, but four hours, he began to think -that it was full time for the lady, or at least for his trusty comrade, -to come and set him free; so, hearing no one coming, and perceiving -that it was near daybreak, he said to himself: - -“If these others, all afire with love, feel no concern at having left -me here to play a fool’s part, it is now full time for me to take -thought of myself and of my honour.” - -Having softly got out of bed, himseeming that the lady’s husband was -asleep, he went with the sheet over his shoulders to try to escape, but -was hugely annoyed at finding the chamber door securely locked outside; -and, not knowing where the windows were, nor on what place they looked, -he went back to the bed in a fury. - -He heard sounds which told him that the other occupant of the bed -was awake and moving, and, though he was pricked both by fear and -curiosity, he kept aloof and spake not a word. While he was thus -troubled in mind he marked through the fissures of the windows that it -was now broad day, and, fearing amain lest he should be espied by his -bed-partner, he turned his back, and, gathering himself together and -keeping his sword ready for his needs, he resolved to leave whatever -might befall him to Fortune, and kept still, mightily troubled in mind. - -Before long he heard sounds of the fires being kindled throughout the -house, and the hasty steps of the servants as they ran to fetch water; -wherefore he determined at the last rather to die as beseemed a good -cavalier than to be found there stark naked and making shift for a -woman; so, having leapt out of bed with his drawn sword, he went to the -door, and, as he was using all his force to open the same, he became -aware how someone was unfastening it from without. - -He drew back somewhat, and then saw enter Filippo, laughing heartily -and holding the lady by the hand. The two straightway began to embrace -him in merry wise, albeit they saw he was bursting with rage. But when -the lady perceived that he was all bemused, and unwitting where he was, -she took him by the hand and said to him: - -“My good sir, by the sincere love I bear towards you, and also by that -which you have towards certain others, I will assure myself that I may -speak to you concerning a matter which intimacy such as ours will allow -us to discuss. I know not whether Nature may have failed to bestow upon -you French gentlemen that which she always gives to the lower animals. -I mean to say that I know of no male beast, whether wild or tame, -which, when under the sway of love, will not recognise the female by -her odour. And you, forsooth, a wise and discreet gentleman, who have -come hither all the way from France on account of love, can it be that -your frozen nature is so sluggish that, when Fortune lets you spend -the whole of a long night by the side of her for whom you have shown -such great tokens of love, you failed to scent out who she was?” - -Then, having led him up to the bedside, she let him see and know -clearly that it was her sister and no one else who had lain beside him -during the night which was just passed. - -When he perceived this thing the cavalier was not a little ashamed of -himself, but finally all four laughed and joked so merrily that they -could scarce stand upright on their feet; and because of the pass to -which things had come, it seemed meet to all that, for the setting -right of the fault aforesaid, they should once more divide in pairs. - -Whereupon Ciarlo, having got back into bed, plucked the fresh flower -and the earliest fruit of the goodly garden which fell to his lot, and -the two friends remained there, each taking delight with his own lady, -until the husband came back from western parts. - - - - -THE BURNING YARD.[115] - - [115] _Kruptadia_: Heilbronn: Henninger Frères, 1883: vol. 1: _Secret - Stories from the Russian_. - - -A peasant had a daughter who said unto him: “Little father, Vannka -would fain futter me.” “Ah! thou fool!” quoth the peasant. “Why give -thyself to a stranger? We will futter thee right well ourselves.” - -He took an iron stud, warmed it in the stove, and planted it right in -her coynte, in such fashion that she could not piss for three months. - -Vannka encountered the young girl and again made his proposal. - -“Permit me to futter thee,” said he. - -Quoth she: - -“Thou ravest, Vannka, who art sprung from the devil. My little father -hath futtered me, and he hath so scorched my coynte that for three -months I have not been able to piss.” - -“Fear not, simpleton. My yard is cold.” - -“Thou liest, Vannka, devil’s offspring. Let me touch it.” - -“Take it, then.” - -She took his yard in her hand and cried: - -“Ah! wretched devil! thou seest well ‘tis warm! Dip it in the water!” - -Vannka dipped his yard in the water and whistled with pain. - -“See!” quoth the girl. “It hisseth! I told thee ‘twas burning, and thou -didst deceive me, thief!” - -And she would not let herself be futtered by Vannka. - - - - -TAKE TIME BY THE FORELOCK.[116] - - [116] _Les Faceties de Pogge_ (Poggio) _Florentin_: Translated by - Pierre des Brandes: Paris: Gamier Frères, n.d. The English rendering - is, of course, our own. - -_Of a young wife who was made a fool of by her old husband._ - - -A native of Florence, already old, espoused a young maid, whom the -matrons had instructed to resist the first assault of her husband on -the wedding night, and to yield herself as reluctantly as possible. She -refused, therefore, point-blank, to accede to his desires. - -The husband, ‘decks cleared for action and with all sail furled,’ was -astonished by this refusal, and asked why she would not give way to his -wishes. The virgin replied that she had a pain in her head; whereupon -the husband ‘disarmed,’ lay down on his side, and slept till morn. - -The young wife, when she perceived that her husband left her alone, -felt remorse in that she had followed the counsels of the gossips; she -aroused her husband, and told him that she no longer had a pain in the -head. - -“Ah!” quoth the husband. “I, now, have a pain ... in another -part.”[117] And he left his wife virgin as before. - - [117] “The text has a play upon words,” says the translator, “which - could be translated if the French words had the same meaning as the - Latin:--_Dixit (puella) se non amplius dolere caput. Tum ille: ‘At - ego nunc doleo caudam.’_ (The girl said that she no longer had a pain - in the head. Said the husband: ‘But I have a pain in my tail.’)” - This note, we must confess, is a source of some mystification to us, - since the relationship between the French and Latin words is both - simple and direct. _Cauda_, of course, is the Latin word for _tail_: - in the erotic sense it designates the _penis_. (_C.f._ Blondeau: - _Dictionnaire érotique latin-française_: Liseux: Paris, 1885.) The - Italians use the word _coda_ in a similar sense. _Tail_, in French, - is _queue_; in erotic literature it is also a highly common term - for the _membrum virile_. (_C.f._ Landes: _Glossaire érotique de la - langue française_, and Farmer: _Slang and its Analogues_.) Again, - in English, _tail_ is a slang synonym either for the _penis_ or the - female _pudendum_. _C.f._ Farmer: _Slang and its Analogues_, who gives - numerous examples of the use of the word in this sense. We append a - few of his quotations:--(1) Chaucer, _Cant. Tales_, 6047-8: “For al so - siker as cold engendreth hayl, A likerous mouth must han a likerous - TAYL.” (2) Rochester, _Poems_: “Then pulling out the rector of the - females, Nine times he bath’d him in their piping tails.” (3) Motteux, - _Rabelais_, V., xxi.: “They were pulling and hauling the man like mad, - telling him that it is the most grievous ... thing in nature for the - TAIL to be on fire....” - -‘Tis a good plan, therefore, to accept what may be profitable and -pleasant when ‘tis offered. - - - - -_EXCURSUS_ to _TAKE TIME BY THE FORELOCK_. - -Quoting from Mérard de Saint-Just, (_Espiègleries Joyeusetés_), -Poggio’s translator gives a variant in verse of the foregoing story. We -reproduce it in less ambitious English prose:-- - -“Pierre the Red, wrapped in his bed-clothes, felt himself stimulated by -the burning flame of the god of love, and he invited his wife to come -straightway to his arms. It chanced that she was praying, and she made -reply: ‘Wait a while.’ And whilst her _Paters_ and her _Agnus’_ and her -_Aves_ were accomplished, Pierre’s ardour had had time to grow cold. -She entered the bed, but the chilled husband maintained his pretence. -She drew near him; he did not budge. ‘Beloved, what dost wish? I have -said my prayers.’--’Good,’ quoth Pierre the Red. ‘But I have grown -soft.’” - - - - -FIRST MEETING BETWEEN A YOUTH AND HIS FIANCÉE.[118] - - [118] _Kruptadia_: Heilbronn: Henninger Frères, 1883: vol. 1: _Secret - Stories from the Russian_. - - -An old man had a son, a fine lad. Another old man had a daughter, a -marriageable girl. They pictured these two young ones married. - -“Ivanouchka,” said the father, “I desire thee to marry the daughter of -our neighbour; approach her and discourse gently and courteously with -her.” - -“Machoutka,” said the other old man, “I would give thee in marriage to -the son of our neighbour; seek to meet him and have pleasant converse -with him.” - -These two young persons met in the street and greeted each other. - -“Ivanouchka,” quoth the young girl, “my father hath bade me have -pleasant discourse with thee.” - -“My father hath instructed me likewise,” answered the youth. - -“What shall we do? Where sleepest thou, Ivanouchka?” - -“In the hay.” - -“As for me,” quoth the girl, “I sleep in the coach-house. Come this -night to me, and we will hold pleasant converse together.” - -Thus it was. During the night Ivanouchka went and lay down with -Machoutka. - -“Camest thou by the threshing-floor?” asked she. - -“Yea. Hast thou seen the heap of dung?” - -“I have seen it.” - -“What shall we do now?”[119] - - [119] The young people are obviously nervous, and are making - conversation. - -“I must see if thou hast a good instrument.” - -“Come, look,” said he, and undid his drawers. “Behold my riches!” - -“‘Tis too big for me! See how small is mine!” - -“Let me see if mine will go in.” - -And the youth set himself to make the trial; his yard rose up erect -like a stake, and when he thrust it in, the young girl cried with all -her might: - -“Ah! that hurteth me! How it biteth!” - -“Have no fear. My yard hath not sufficient room; for that reason it is -so angry.” - -“I told thee that there was not sufficient space for it.” - -“Wait--it will stretch.” - -Anon, when he made her to feel much pleasure, she said to him: - -“Ah! my little heart! Thy riches are indeed worth much money.” - -They performed and fell asleep. - -But the girl awoke during the night, and kissed the backside of the -young man, which she took for his face. He let her do this to satiety, -and the girl said to him: - -“Knowest thou, Vania, that thou smellest most scurvily!” - - - - -THE BREAKER OF EGGS.[120] - - [120] Béroalde de Verville: _Le Moyen de Parvenir_: Paris, Gamier - Frères; also _Fantastic Tales or The Way to Attain_: translated - by Arthur Machen: Carbonnek, 1890. Our extract is a blend of both - versions, though we have adhered more closely than Machen to the - original text. _Vide_ also _Excursus_ to this story. - - -Once on a time there lived alone in a lodging near St. Ives a young -man. ‘Twas at the time when the debate was running high ‘twixt the -monks and the ministers whether ‘twere better to say: “Blessed are they -that have dined well,” or, “Blessed are they that laugh.” The young man -took but scant interest in these theological discussions, and devoted -his attention to the maid, who was a fine enough young thing, though -somewhat green. He would talk with her coolly and discreetly, and one -day said: - -“Thou art from the country, little friend?” - -“Truly, sir.” - -“I was assured of it and shall love thee none the less: thou art a good -girl and a good housekeeper.” - -“I thank thee kindly, sir.” - -“Well, little friend, since I love thee so much, and that thou mayst -serve us well, I must e’en tell thee, for thine own good profit, of a -certain ill that befalleth country maids when they come to dwell in the -town; ‘tis that small eggs do grow in their bellies and harden there, -so that these poor maids have to show their posteriors to the doctor. I -would grieve shouldst thou come to that, and it shall not be so an thou -wilt hear me. I will do something for thee, and I see that ‘tis full -time to begin, for, by thy colour, I can tell that the eggs are already -there.” - -“Indeed, sir, I am greatly beholden, for truly I am not what I was.” - -“To-morrow morning I will give thee something for this malady.” - -When morning came, she went to his chamber and he gave her a spoonful -of white hypocras,[121] telling her to go about her house-work and, -anon, to break her fast on a little dry bread. This treatment was -continued for two or three days, but one morning, when her mistress was -out of the way, he took hold of the maid and, laughing gently, pushed -her against the bed as if to look into her mouth. - - [121] An infusion of cinnamon bark, soft almonds, and a little musk - and amber, in wine sweetened with sugar. The word is probably derived - from Hippocrates, the famous Greek doctor. - -“Alas! sir! what wouldst do?” she cried. - -“I shall do thee no ill; I would break an egg which is fast hardening.” - -She let him do it, and he did it so well that he put live flesh in live -flesh.[122] So he finished as soon as he had begun, and she found the -business so much to her liking, although he had cooked her somewhat, -that she came back again and again to have the eggs broken; in sooth, -she had wished for a belly in which one might break eggs for an -hundred years without doing aught else. - - [122] We omit the two interjections to be found here in the original - text, not because they are highly flavoured, but simply because they - have no bearing on the narrative. Nor do they merit translation in a - note. - -One day she loitered over long at this pleasant pursuit, and her -mistress fell to scolding her when she descended, saying: - -“Thou sly wench! Thou hast been in mischief with that man above! Idiot! -Little hussy! What hast been about up there?” - -“Naught, madam. Be not wroth; ‘tis as I shall tell thee.” - -“Thou hast been after no good with that man above.” - -“Nay, madam, thou dost him wrong; he is the most honest man in the -world. I had eggs in my belly, and he broke them for me.” - -“Eggs, thou slut! what eggs?” - -“Behold, madam, if ‘tis not so; I will lift my smock; thou canst see -my front part, which is yet all damp with the white of the eggs, which -came out when he broke them.” - - - - -_EXCURSUS_ to _THE BREAKER OF EGGS_. - -_Le Moyen de Parvenir_ of Béroalde de Verville, Canon of St. Gatien -at Tours, once a Hugenot, then a Catholic, finally “neither one nor -the other,”[123] is a work little known to the English reader, be he -student or bibliophile. The cause is not far to seek; no _complete_ and -_unexpurgated_ English translation of this much censured book exists. -Machen’s rendering, while claiming to be the first in our language, is -in no sense full and literal, although free and full-flavoured; the -translator, as he admits in his humourous preface, “has been forced, -much to his sorrow, to weed out some strongly-scented flowers from this -Canonical Garden.” His text, indeed, shows many notable omissions, in -particular the more licentious asides and interjections which have no -actual bearing on the stories; further, there are sundry additions not -found in the old French text--“odd scraps from his own workshop,” as -Machen terms them. - - [123] _Dissertation_ de Bernard de la Monnoye sur _Le Moyen de - Parvenir_. - -For the student, then, there are: Machen’s delightful (but _partial_) -translation, limited to 500 numbered copies and now a rare book,[124] -and numerous editions in _old_ French, some expurgated, and all -difficult of understanding where the average English reader is -concerned. As we note in the preface to Garnier’s latest issue, the -work, for the greater part, “is an enigma to modern readers and -contains a crowd of obscurities ... it would need volume after volume -to explain and comment upon everything that calls for explanation and -comment.” - - [124] An experienced auctioneer of books recently told us that until - December last he had never met with a copy. Strangely enough, two - copies were sold in a week of that month, one, in every respect as - clean and perfect as when printed over thirty years ago, realising - £4.15s. We believe that a few extra copies on large paper still exist, - but the booksellers ask a prohibitive price for them. - -_The Way to Attain_ or _The Right Way with Women_ (the title of de -Verville’s book has suffered various translations) would seem to have -a dual personality; one: a clear-cut collection of stories, witty, -realistic, free, Rabelaisian, or obscene as you choose to term them; -another: the same stories, enmeshed in a mass of innuendo, obscure -sayings, licentious and scatalogical asides, and--sometimes--almost -meaningless phraseology. The trouble is to separate the grain from -the chaff, the stories from the irrelevant verbiage--not that the -latter is not often highly entertaining. Bernard de la Monnoye, in his -_Dissertation_ (_cit. sup._), bears out our criticism when explaining -the plan of the book. “The author supposes a sort of general banquet,” -he writes, “where, without regard for rank or degree, he introduces -persons of every kind and age, scallawags for the most part, who, with -no object but their own amusement, talk with the utmost freedom, and -passing almost imperceptibly from subject to subject, cause the stories -to be lost to sight. In fact, they are so jumbled up in the book that -one is hard put to find them....” - -Both extracts from _The Way to Attain_ given in this volume (Coypeau -and His Thread and The Breaker of Eggs) are told without interruption -in the original French text, but each is introduced in the most -haphazard fashion, preceded and followed by a veritable welter of -inconsequent remarks; if Machen found it necessary to weed out the most -strongly scented flowers from the Canonical garden, the student will -find it equally necessary to dig before he finds the best. - -There are other good things, however, besides the stories in _The Way -to Attain_. While many of the asides and interjections are gross, -vulgar, and, seemingly, pointless, others show a pretty and pungent -wit. The canon is for ever having a thrust at his cloth, the monks, and -the nuns, and some of his criticisms are worth repeating:-- - -“Where there are no monks there can be no shamelessness.” - -“None sit more at their ease than monks, ministers, and consecrated -folk, who, in the place of keeping the holy orders that have been given -them, make them into ordure, and leaving the orders of God take the -orders of the devil, who giveth them grace to be more lewd and whorish -than other men.” - -“The women that frequent the abodes of churchmen are not their wives, -... they are first maids, then mates, then mistresses.” - -“It is better to have in one’s house a wench with whom one can disport -theologically than to go about wandering from pillar to post like a -high-toby, and run the risk of getting a nip, like Cornu, who sighed as -he lay a-dying of the pox: ‘Now I begin to appreciate the beauties of -domesticity.’” - -“Once on a time he was prebendary of Chartres, but he left his stall -to marry a pretty lass, and the morning after the wedding, as they lay -in bed, he said to her: ‘Now, sweetheart, thou dost see how well I love -thee, for I left my fair prebend that I might have thee.’ She replied: -‘Then thou wast a fool; thou shouldst have kept thy prebend, and had me -also.’ ... It would appear that she knew that some canons are given to -waggery.” - -“Such cloisterlings, who love not women, are always ready to fish up -some ancient, stinking heresy under the pretence of discoursing against -the Reformation, talking of vices they impute to others, the which -are more tolerable than their own.... It is better to keep a wench -than to trouble the peace of Christendom, and to do the work is true -godliness, which is the reason why bishops are called fathers-in-God, -... fathers-in-God sounds better than fathers-in-law. And they are -certainly godly, that is happy; for happy, thrice happy is the father -who hath not the trouble of feeding his children.” - -“He was as liberal as our bishop, who had rather give a crown to a -wench than a groat to a poor man.” - -“Assuredly she is a strumpet. I saw her talking to the curate of St. -Paul’s, who had promised his rector to be discreet, and run no more -after the wenches, or at least that he would abstain during Easter -week. But Lord! he hadn’t the patience, and on Easter Monday he spoke -to his woman, and the parson saw him. When they met he told him of it, -saying: ‘I saw thee speaking to a wench. Where is thy shame? Canst not -refrain, at least during the holy season?’ ‘Pardon,’ he replied, ‘I did -but make an appointment for next week.’”[125] - - [125] Our excerpts are drawn chiefly from Machen’s translation. - -We have quoted sufficiently to show that amid this welter of words -there is fruit worth the plucking. The general tone of the work, -however, is coarse; if the canon desired to refer to what is not -usually mentioned in the most Catholic of assemblies, he did so in -the crudest language. To our age the grossness of his obscenity seems -unnecessary; out of place; unpardonable. Is it so? The conversational -atmosphere of a present-day smoking-room would have made de Verville -blush. The old canon wrote as men in those times spoke; we of to-day -write not as we speak, but as we think we ought to speak. It is this -pitiful hypocrisy which blinds us to the fact that in _Le Moyen de -Parvenir_ we have some of the brightest tales and sayings ever penned -by human hand. - - - - - HERE ENDS THE FIRST VOLUME - OF ANTHOLOGICA RARISSIMA: - THE WAY OF A VIRGIN: - PRINTED IN LONDON - FOR MEMBERS OF - THE BROVAN - SOCIETY IN - MCMXXII. - - - * * * * * - -Transcriber’s Notes - -Obvious typographical errors have been silently corrected. Variations -in hyphenation have been standardised but all other spelling and -punctuation remains unchanged. - -Italics are represented thus _italic_. - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Anthologica Rarissima: The Way of a -Virgin, by L. Brovan and C. 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Brovan and C. Brovan - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - -Title: Anthologica Rarissima: The Way of a Virgin - -Author: L. Brovan - C. Brovan - -Release Date: May 13, 2016 [EBook #52059] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ANTHOLOGICA RARISSIMA *** - - - - -Produced by The Online Distributed Proofreading Team at -http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images -generously made available by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - -</pre> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="p6 center">Two Hundred and fifty Copies of this Work have<br /> -been Printed on Hand-made Paper for Private<br /> -Circulation Only among Members of the<br /> -Brovan Society, and Twenty-five for the<br /> -Editors. None of these Copies is<br /> -for Sale. The Society Pledges<br /> -itself Never to Reprint nor to<br /> -Re-issue in any form. Of<br /> -the Brovan Society’s<br /> -Issue, this Copy<br /> -is Number: -</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 289px;"> -<img src="images/p0.jpg" alt="ANTHOLOGICA RARISSIMA." /> -</div> -<h1> -<span class="invisible">ANTHOLOGICA RARISSIMA.</span> - -<small>VOLUME ONE:</small><br /> - -THE WAY OF A VIRGIN. -</h1> - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"> -<img src="images/title.jpg" alt="Title Page" /> -</div> -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="half-title">Anthologica Rarissima:</p> - - -<p class="center"> -Being Excerpts from Rare, Curious and Diverting<br /> -Books, some now for the First Time done into<br /> -English. To which are added Copious<br /> -Explanatory Notes & Bibliographical<br /> -References of Interest to Student,<br /> -Collector and Psychologist:<br /> -the Whole Introduced,<br /> -Compiled & Edited<br /> -by L. and C.<br /> -BROVAN.<br /> -</p> - - - - -<p class="center spaced">VOLUME THE FIRST:<br /> - -The Way of a Virgin.</p> - -<p class="center"> -LONDON: MCMXXII. Printed for<br /> -Members of the BROVAN SOCIETY by<br /> -Private Subscription and for Private Circulation Only.<br /> -</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> -<div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_v">v</span></p> - - - -<h2>FOREWORD.</h2> - -<div> - <img class="drop-cap" src="images/pv.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> -<p class="drop-cap"> -With the publication of -its <em>Records</em>, under the -title of <em>ANTHOLOGICA RARISSIMA</em>, -the <em>Brovan Society</em>, which has been formed -to carry out research work into the less-known -and more curious folk-lore and -literature of Europe and the Orient, takes -leave to explain its aims and aspirations.</p> - -<p>There exists in the literature of -all countries a multitude of books not -usually accorded public circulation. Yet -these books contain some of the most -life-like and diverting material ever -fashioned by human pen. Their contents -have stood the test of time and taste, and -to-day, though publicly ignored, they are -privately applauded. The trend of these -books is, in the main, erotic, or so frank as<span class="pagenum" id="Page_vi">vi</span> -to relegate them to the category of -improper or “privately printed.” Some -have never come under the hands of an -English translator: others in such limited -editions as to make their existence -negligible so far as the average student -is concerned.</p> - -<p><em>Anthologica Rarissima</em> is a modest -attempt to remedy this state of affairs. In -a series of volumes the editors will put -before their readers the cream of what is -tantamount to a small library, and a library -not often seen on the book-lover’s shelves. -Herein will be found, set out in plain -English, curious and diverting extracts -from some of the world’s most remarkable -works. The text will be literal and -unexpurgated. Nothing of interest to the -student of folk-lore, psychology and -literature will be omitted or glossed over, -for the editors believe that a classic -castrated is a classic spoilt. The <em>Records</em> -throughout will be enriched by copious -notes and valuable bibliographical references.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_vii">vii</span></p> - -<p>So far as the compilers are -aware, no similar anthology exists in the -English tongue. It purports to put within -reach of the student and bibliophile comprehensive -and representative excerpts -from writers, the possession of whose -works would entail time and expense -beyond the means of many collectors.</p> - -<p>At present it is impossible to -give a full list of the authors from whom -we shall quote. Mention of such names -as those of Sir Richard Burton, Casanova, -Aretino, the Marquis de Sade, Wilkes, -Boccaccio, Bandello, Masuccio, Straparola, -Rabelais, Lucian, Apuleius, Aristophanes, -Sinistrari, Nicolas Chorier, Poggio, J. S. -Farmer, John Payne, La Fontaine, Chaucer, -Brantôme, Sellon, Pisanus Fraxi, Payne -Knight, Havelock Ellis, Bloch, Huhner, -Forel and Kraft-Ebing, will give some -idea of the work contemplated. Special -attention will be paid to the less-known -folk-lore of Europe and the Orient, as -portrayed in those remarkable books, <cite>Kruptadia</cite>, -<cite>Untrodden Fields of Anthropology</cite>,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_viii">viii</span> -<cite>The Kama Sutra</cite>, <cite>The Ananga Ranga</cite>, <cite>The -Perfumed Garden</cite>, <cite>The Old Man Young -Again</cite>, <cite>Les Cent Nouvelles Nouvelles</cite>, -<cite>Ethnology of the Sixth Sense</cite>, <cite>The Book of -Exposition</cite>, <cite>Priapeia</cite>, <cite>Genital Laws</cite>, <cite>Marriage -Ceremonies and Priapic Rites</cite>, and <cite>Des -Divinités Génératrices</cite>.</p> - -<p><em>Anthologica Rarissima</em>, for reasons -which will seem as regrettable as absurd -to the student and collector, must ever be -a privately printed work; its tone, though -erotic, is in no sense pornographic. The -extracts have been selected with care, and -always with an eye to artistry and bibliographical -value. The complete issue, -extending to many volumes, will form -an unique collection in the English -tongue of a type of literature far too little -known in this country.</p> - -<p>The subject of our first volume—virginity -and its treatment in fable, <i lang="fr">conte</i>, -and legend—is far from exhausted in -these pages. It will be necessary to devote -another <em>Record</em> to the theme at a later<span class="pagenum" id="Page_ix">ix</span> -date. Meanwhile, we have in preparation -Vol. 2: “<em>The Way of a Priest</em>,” Vol. 3: -“<em>The Way of a Wife</em>,” Vol. 4: “<em>The Way -of a Husband</em>,” and Vol. 5: “<em>The Way -of Love</em>.” This last, culled from such -authorities as Ovid, Martial, Catullus, -Aretino, Forberg, Veniero, and the authors -of <cite>The Kama Sutra</cite>, <cite>The Perfumed Garden</cite>, -and <cite>The Ananga Ranga</cite>, should prove the -most complete treatise on the <i lang="la">Ars Amandi</i> -ever published in the English language.</p> - -<p>In conclusion, we can only -reiterate what was said at the outset—that -this work is the outcome of a project -to give the English student and collector -the cream of a rare and remarkable -literature.</p> - -<p>We wish to lay special emphasis -on the literal nature of our text, having -often sacrificed style to preserve it. When -translating from French, where an English -translation already existed, we have never -failed to compare and work upon the two -versions for the composition of our -extract.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_x">x</span></p> - -<p><cite>Les Cent Nouvelles Nouvelles</cite> is -a case in point, the old French text and -Mr. R. B. Douglas’ English translation -both being utilised in our <em>Record</em>. The -same applies to Casanova; each line of -his <cite>Memoirs</cite>, as existing in the privately -printed English translation, has been -closely compared with Garnier’s French -text; while Aretino’s <cite>Dialogues</cite> will be -scrutinised in no fewer than three -languages. Our aim throughout has been -to put before the reader a rendering in -English which most exactly approximates -to the original work of the author in -question.</p> - -<p class="right"> -<i>THE EDITORS.</i> -</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> -</div><div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_xi">xi</span></p> - - - -<h2>CONTENTS.</h2> - - -<div class="center"> -<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary=""> -<col width="10%" /><col width="80%" /><col width="10%" /> -<tr> - <td align="left"></td> - <td align="left"></td> - <td class="tdrb"><small>Page</small>.</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td align="left" colspan="2">FOREWORD.</td> - <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_v">v</a>.</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td align="left" colspan="2">VIRGINITY AND ITS TRADITIONS.</td> - <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_xix">xix</a>.</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td align="left" colspan="2">THE ENCHANTED RING:</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td></td> - <td class="tdl"><i>Of a Young Husband who Sought to - Redeem his Yard from Pawn, and of the - Divers Adventures that Befell him in his - Quest.</i></td> - <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_1">1</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td align="left" colspan="2">VARIANT:</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td></td> - <td class="tdl"><i>Of a Tailor who Consented to Sin with - a certain Woman who Admired his - Proportions; and how they Fared.</i></td> - <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_10">10</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td align="left" colspan="2">THE INSTRUMENT:</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td></td> - <td class="tdl"><i>Of a Young Girl who Desired her Lover - to Buy a Better Instrument, which she - Enjoyed, Lost and Found again.</i></td> - <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_13">13</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td align="left" colspan="2"><i>EXCURSUS</i> to THE INSTRUMENT.</td> - <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_16">16</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td align="left" colspan="2">THE TIMOROUS FIANCÉE:</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td></td> - <td class="tdl"><i>Of a Maid who would Wed None save - Ivan the No-Yard; and how they were - Wed, after which she first Hired, then - Bought, a Good Yard from Ivan’s Uncle.</i></td> - <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_17">17</a><span class="pagenum" id="Page_xii">xii</span></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td align="left" colspan="2"><i>EXCURSUS</i> to THE ENCHANTED RING, THE INSTRUMENT, and THE TIMOROUS FIANCÉE.</td> - <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_22">22</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td align="left" colspan="2">ADVENTURES WITH HEDVIGE AND HELÈNE AT GENEVA:</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td></td> - <td class="tdl"><i>Of an Adventure with two Charming - Cousins, one of whom Desired to know - why a Deity could not Impregnate a - Woman; and how the Hero of our Story - gave Demonstration of Theological and - other Matters.</i></td> - <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_24">24</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td align="left" colspan="2"><i>EXCURSUS</i> to ADVENTURES WITH HEDVIGE AND HELÈNE.</td> - <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_37">37</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td align="left" colspan="2">THE DAMSEL AND THE PRINCE:</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td></td> - <td class="tdl"><i>Of a Young Lady, who, being Enamoured - of a Prince, Sendeth for one of his - Chaplains, and with him Entereth into a - Plot which Bringeth the Affair to the - Desired Issue.</i></td> - <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_42">42</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td align="left" colspan="2"><i>EXCURSUS</i> to THE DAMSEL AND THE PRINCE.</td> - <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_49">49</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td align="left" colspan="2">THE PENITENT NUN:</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td></td> - <td class="tdl"><i>Of a Nun, who Strove to Flee the Shafts - of Love; how she Succeeded; and how - certain Young Nuns Received her - Counsel.</i></td> - <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_52">52</a><span class="pagenum" id="Page_xiii">xiii</span></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td align="left" colspan="2">BEYOND THE MARK:</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td></td> - <td class="tdl"><i>Of a Shepherd who Made an Agreement - with a Shepherdess that he should Mount - upon her; and how he Kept that - Agreement.</i></td> - <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_53">53</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td align="left" colspan="2">THE DEVIL IN HELL:</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td></td> - <td class="tdl"><i>Of a Young Maid, who, Turning Hermit, - was Taught by a Monk to Put the Devil - in Hell; and how she found Much - Pleasure therein.</i></td> - <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_56">56</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td align="left" colspan="2"><i>EXCURSUS</i> to THE DEVIL IN HELL.</td> - <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_63">63</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td align="left" colspan="2">THE WEDDING NIGHT OF JEAN THE FOOL:</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td></td> - <td class="tdl"><i>Of a Young Husband who thought his - Wife would Give him a Chicken on their - Wedding Night; and how he Learned in - what Fashion he must Comport himself - to have that Chicken.</i></td> - <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_65">65</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td align="left" colspan="2">THE MAIDEN WELL GUARDED:</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td></td> - <td class="tdl"><i>Of a Maid who had been most Strictly - Enjoined to Guard her Maidenhead; and - how a Youth Restored it to her when she - Lost it.</i></td> - <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_69">69</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td align="left" colspan="2">VARIANT:</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td></td> - <td class="tdl"><i>Of one Coypeau, who Securely Sewed - up a Damsel’s Maidenhead with his own - Thread.</i></td> - <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_72">72</a><span class="pagenum" id="Page_xiv">xiv</span></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td align="left" colspan="2">TALE OF KAMAR AL-ZAMAN:</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td></td> - <td class="tdl"><i>Of a Prince and a Princess who became - Acquainted in Strange Circumstances; - of their Loves, Separation, Re-union, and - divers Remarkable Happenings.</i></td> - <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_74">74</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td align="left" colspan="2"><i>EXCURSUS</i> to the TALE OF KAMAR AL-ZAMAN.</td> - <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_92">92</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td align="left" colspan="2">THE FOOL:</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td></td> - <td class="tdl"><i>Of a Young Man who would fain have - Wed, yet Contrived to Satisfy his Wish - without Marriage.</i></td> - <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_101">101</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td align="left" colspan="2">“OH MOTHER, ROGER WITH HIS KISSES”:</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td></td> - <td class="tdl"><i>Of the Emotions of an Innocent Virgin - when Wooed Boisterously by her Swain.</i> </td> - <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_103">103</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td align="left" colspan="2">FOOLISH FEAR:</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td></td> - <td class="tdl"><i>Of a Virgin Wife who did not Understand - the Business of Marriage; and how the - Parties went to Law, and what Ensued - therefrom.</i></td> - <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_104">104</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td align="left" colspan="2">THE PRINCESS WHO PISSETH OVER THE HAYCOCKS:</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td></td> - <td class="tdl"><i>Of a King’s Daughter, the Like of whom - was not Seen Elsewhere on Earth; and - how she was Cured of her Ways by a - Young Peasant, divers Physicians and - Charlatans having Failed in the Task.</i></td> - <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_111">111</a><span class="pagenum" id="Page_xv">xv</span></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td align="left" colspan="2">THE COMB:</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td></td> - <td class="tdl"><i>Of a Pope’s Daughter who was “Combed” - by a Peasant; and how the Comb was - Lost and Found again, together with - other Strange and Delightsome Happenings.</i></td> - <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_116">116</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td align="left" colspan="2"><i>EXCURSUS</i> to THE PRINCESS WHO PISSETH OVER THE HAYCOCKS and THE COMB.</td> - <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_121">121</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td align="left" colspan="2">THE SKIRMISH:</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td></td> - <td class="tdl"><i>Of a Virgin who, on her Marriage Eve, - told a Wedded Friend of the Recent and - Disturbing Conduct of her Fiancé.</i></td> - <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_124">124</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td align="left" colspan="2"><i>EXCURSUS</i> to THE SKIRMISH.</td> - <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_132">132</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td align="left" colspan="2">THE NIGHTINGALE:</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td></td> - <td class="tdl"><i>Of a Maid who would fain Hear the - Nightingale Sing; and how she Made it - Sing many Times and even Held it in - her Hand.</i></td> - <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_134">134</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td align="left" colspan="2">THE PIKE’S HEAD:</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td></td> - <td class="tdl"><i>Of a Young Virgin who Played a Trick - on a Youth; and how the Youth, from - Fear of being “Bitten,” was for some - Time Ignorant of the Pleasures of - Marriage.</i></td> - <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_142">142</a><span class="pagenum" id="Page_xvi">xvi</span></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td align="left" colspan="2">THE LOVELY NUN AND HER YOUNG BOARDER:</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td></td> - <td class="tdl"><i>Of a Lovely Young Virgin, who was of - an Inquisitive Turn of Mind, and Proved - herself an Apt Pupil in the School of - Love.</i></td> - <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_147">147</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td align="left" colspan="2">JOHN AND JOAN:</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td></td> - <td class="tdl"><i>Of a Serving Wench who sent her Fellow - Servant to Buy her a Steel; and how - she Fared thereafter.</i> </td> - <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_158">158</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td align="left" colspan="2">THE HUSBAND AS DOCTOR:</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td></td> - <td class="tdl"><i>Of a Young Squire who, when he Married, - had never Mounted a Christian Creature; - of the Means found to Instruct him; and - how, on a Sudden, he Wept at a great - Feast shortly after he had been Instructed.</i></td> - <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_162">162</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td align="left" colspan="2">THE PRIEST AND THE LABOURER:</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td></td> - <td class="tdl"><i>Of a Priest’s two Daughters who were - Tricked by a Labourer; and of divers - Strange and Diverting Happenings - thereafter.</i></td> - <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_171">171</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td align="left" colspan="2"><i>EXCURSUS</i> to THE PRIEST AND THE LABOURER.</td> - <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_178">178</a><span class="pagenum" id="Page_xvii">xvii</span></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td align="left" colspan="2">THE TWO LOVERS AND THE TWO SISTERS:</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td></td> - <td class="tdl"><i>Of two Cavaliers who became Enamoured - of two Sisters; and how they found - Enjoyment of their Love, albeit in Strange - Fashion but none the less Pleasant.</i></td> - <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_179">179</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td align="left" colspan="2">THE BURNING YARD:</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td></td> - <td class="tdl"><i>Of a Maid who would not Suffer a Youth - to Pleasure her, since, so she Alleged, - he had a Burning Yard.</i></td> - <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_188">188</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td align="left" colspan="2">TAKE TIME BY THE FORELOCK:</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td></td> - <td class="tdl"><i>Of a Young Virgin Wife who was Paid - back in her own Coin by her Husband.</i></td> - <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_190">190</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td align="left" colspan="2"><i>EXCURSUS</i> to TAKE TIME BY THE FORELOCK.</td> - <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_192">192</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td align="left" colspan="2">FIRST MEETING BETWEEN A YOUTH AND HIS FIANCÉE:</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td></td> - <td class="tdl"><i>Of a Maid and a Youth who held Pleasant - Converse in a Coach-house; and of - divers Experiments and Discoveries they - made there.</i></td> - <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_193">193</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td align="left" colspan="2">THE BREAKER OF EGGS:</td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td></td> - <td class="tdl"><i>Of a certain Wench who had Eggs in her - Belly, which were Broken for her by an - Obliging Youth.</i> </td> - <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_195">195</a></td> -</tr> -<tr> - <td align="left" colspan="2"><i>EXCURSUS</i> to THE BREAKER OF EGGS.</td> - <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_198">198</a></td> -</tr> -</table></div> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -</div><div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_xviii">xviii</span></p> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_xix">xix</span></p> - - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_xx">xx</span></p> - -<p class="half-title">VIRGINITY AND ITS TRADITIONS.</p> - - - - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poetry"><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse"><i>Chloe! Like a fawn she flees,</i></div> - <div class="verse indent6"><i>Trembling, timid mother-seeking,</i></div> - <div class="verse indent12"><i>Far among the trackless hills;</i></div> - <div class="verse"><i>Starting back from bush and breeze,</i></div> - <div class="verse indent6"><i>When the new-born spring is speaking</i></div> - <div class="verse indent12"><i>To green leaves in little trills.</i></div> - <div class="verse"><i>Oh, how shake her heart, her knees!</i></div> - <div class="verse indent6"><i>Run! A lizard sets a-creaking</i></div> - <div class="verse indent12"><i>That big bush! I bring no ills;</i></div> - <div class="verse"><i>I don’t follow you to seize,</i></div> - <div class="verse indent6"><i>Like some cruel tigress, reeking</i></div> - <div class="verse indent12"><i>Rage; no lion I that kills</i></div> - <div class="verse"><i>In Gætulia, hot to tease</i></div> - <div class="verse indent6"><i>Out your life! So quit your meeking</i></div> - <div class="verse indent12"><i>By your mother! Trust your thrills!</i></div> - <div class="verse"><i>Come and learn my mysteries!</i></div> -</div></div> - -<p class="pl15"> -HORACE, I., xxiii. -</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_xxi">xxi</span></p> - - - - -<h2>VIRGINITY AND ITS TRADITIONS.</h2> - - -<div> - <img class="drop-cap" src="images/pxxi.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> -<p class="drop-cap">In devoting a volume to the romance and folk-lore -of Virginity, it may not be inappropriate -first to examine the psychology of a word and a -quality as magical as they are misused.</p> - -<p>What is virginity? Is it the possession intact -of that delicate piece of membrane, the poets’ ‘<i lang="la">flos -virginitatis</i>,’ or is it some indescribable, intangible -attribute in no sense dependent on physical perfection? -Does it imply abstention from and ignorance -of all sexual pleasures, or must it be a chastity which -falls little short of stupid, even criminal, innocence?</p> - -<p>To us moderns, blessed (or cursed) with a -smattering of science, woman is virginal just as long -as we know or believe her to be, physical qualities -notwithstanding. By the poet of the past, the romanticist, -the mediæval lover, and the ignorant, physical -as well as spiritual proofs were probably required -or expected. To them, virginity was something -tangible; to us it is not.</p> - -<p>Nor is the reason far to seek. For while -Havelock Ellis, the greatest authority on sexual -psychology the world has known, describes the -hymen as having acquired in human estimation a -spiritual value which has made it far more than a part -of the feminine body, ... “something that gives -woman all her worth and dignity, ... her market<span class="pagenum" id="Page_xxii">xxii</span> -value,” he goes on to point out that the presence or -absence of the hymen is no real test of virginity.</p> - -<p>“There are many ways,” he writes, (<cite>Studies in -the Psychology of Sex</cite>: Philadelphia, 1914: vol. 5: -<cite>Erotic Symbolism</cite>), “in which the hymen may be -destroyed apart from coïtus.... On the other hand, -integrity of the hymen is no proof of virginity, apart -from the obvious fact that there may be intercourse -without penetration.... The hymen may be of a -yielding or folding type, so that complete penetration -may take place and yet the hymen be afterwards -found unruptured. It occasionally happens that the -hymen is found intact at the end of pregnancy.”<a id="FNanchor_1" href="#Footnote_1" class="fnanchor">1</a></p> - -<p>And while the foregoing is the exception -rather than the rule, it goes far to prove the fallibility -of the physical, tangible test.</p> - -<p>To most of us, virginity is a quality supposedly -prized at all times and by all races. This is far from -the case. As Havelock Ellis points out, (<cite>op. cit.</cite>), -virginity is not usually of any value among peoples -who are entirely primitive. “Indeed, even in the -classic civilisation which we inherit,” he writes, “it is -easy to show that the virgin and the admiration for -virginity are of late growth; the virgin goddesses -were not originally virgins in our modern sense. -Diana was the many-breasted patroness of childbirth -before she became the chaste and solitary huntress, -for the earliest distinction would appear to have been -simply between the woman who was attached to a -man and the woman who followed an earlier rule of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_xxiii">xxiii</span> -freedom and independence; it was a later notion to -suppose that the latter women were debarred from -sexual intercourse.”</p> - -<p>A French Army Surgeon, Dr. Jacobus X—, -(<cite>Untrodden Fields of Anthropology</cite>: Charles Carrington: -Paris, 1898), has some interesting remarks on the -subject, and we offer no apology for reproducing them -at length. Writing on the “Unimportance of the signs -of virginity in the negress,” he says:—</p> - -<p>“The Negroes of Senegal do not attach, as the -Arabs do, considerable importance to the presence of -the real signs of virginity in young girls.... The -non-existence of the material proofs of virginity -seldom give rise to any complaint on the part of the -husband.... Moreover, the size of the virile member -of the Negro<a id="FNanchor_2" href="#Footnote_2" class="fnanchor">2</a> renders it difficult for him to detect any -trick. The black bride, on the wedding night, shows -herself expert in the art of simulating the struggles of -an expiring virginity, and it is considered good taste -for the girls to require almost to be raped. The least -innocent young women are often the most clever at -this game.</p> - -<p>“Thus, throughout nearly all Senegal, the -European, who has a taste for maidenheads, can -easily be satisfied, provided he is willing to pay the -price.<a id="FNanchor_3" href="#Footnote_3" class="fnanchor">3</a> At St. Louis women of ill-fame procure young -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_xxiv">xxiv</span> -girls, who bear the significant name of the ‘unpierced,’<a id="FNanchor_4" href="#Footnote_4" class="fnanchor">4</a> -and vary from eight or nine years to the -nubile age. It is even easier to obtain a young girl -before she is nubile than afterwards, on account of the -certainty of her not bearing any children. The price -is within the range of all purses, according to quality, -and you can have a negro girl, warranted ‘unpierced’ -(belonging to the category of domestic slaves), for the -modest sum of from eight to sixteen shillings. Of -course, the respectable matron pockets half this sum -for her honorarium....</p> - -<p>“ ... The ‘unpierced’ soon lose their right to -the title when they have to do with a Toubab, but, on -account of the size of their genital parts, the loss of -their maidenhead is not such a serious affair for them -as it would be for a little French girl who was not yet -nubile. I have never remarked in a little negress, -who had been deflowered by a White, the valvular -inflammation, which, with us, is noticed as the result -of premature copulation before the parts are sufficiently -developed.... If the reader will remember -that the European, who is below the average dimensions -in regard to his <i lang="la">penis</i>, is like a little boy in -proportion to the negress of ten or twelve years old, -it is not difficult to imagine that the negress he has -deflowered can entirely take in the yard of the White, -the dimensions of which are much less than that of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_xxv">xxv</span> -the adult black.</p> - -<p>“ ... When the girl has to do later with a -negro husband, an astringent lotion will render the -bride a pseudo-virgin. The deceived husband, not -having the anatomical knowledge necessary to assure -himself of the real existence of the signs of virginity, -feels a difficulty in copulating, and is far from suspecting -any trick.<a id="FNanchor_5" href="#Footnote_5" class="fnanchor">5</a></p> - -<p>“Does not much the same kind of thing -prevail also in Europe? How many girls who have -been deflowered get married without their husband -ever suspecting anything, although he has not the -same physical disadvantages that the black has to -prevent his seeing through the trick? Is it to this<span class="pagenum" id="Page_xxvi">xxvi</span> -amorous blindness that the Greeks and Romans -alluded when they represented Cupid with a bandage -over his eyes? One is almost tempted to believe it.</p> - -<p>“ ... In opposition to those who exact the -virginity of the bride, there are others who attach no -importance whatever to it.... The ancient Egyptians -used to make an incision in the hymen previous to -marriage, and St. Athanasius relates that among the -Phœnicians a slave of the bridegroom was charged by -him to deflower the bride.<a id="FNanchor_6" href="#Footnote_6" class="fnanchor">6</a> The Caraib Indians -attached no value to virginity, and only the daughters -of the higher classes were shut up during two years -previous to marriage.</p> - -<p>“It appears that among the Chibcha Indians -in Central America virginity is not at all esteemed; -it was considered to be a proof that the maiden had -never been able to inspire love.</p> - -<p>“In ancient Peru the old maids were the -objects of high esteem. There were sacred virgins -called ‘Wives of the Sun,’ somewhat similar to the -Roman vestals.<a id="FNanchor_7" href="#Footnote_7" class="fnanchor">7</a> (The nuns of the present day, do -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_xxvii">xxvii</span> -they not style themselves the ‘Spouses of Christ’?). -They made a vow of perpetual chastity.... It is also -said they were buried alive when they happened to -break their vow of chastity, unless indeed they could -prove having conceived, not from a man, but from -the sun.</p> - -<p>“Several authors worthy of credence assure -us that these vestals were guarded by eunuchs. The -temple at Cuzco had one thousand virgins, that of -Caranqua two hundred. It would appear, however, -that the virginity of these vestals was not so very -sacred after all, for the Inca Kings used to choose from -among them concubines for themselves or for their<span class="pagenum" id="Page_xxviii">xxviii</span> -principal vassals and favourite friends.</p> - -<p>“Marco Polo narrates how young girls were -exposed by their mothers on the public highway in -order that travellers might freely make use of them.<a id="FNanchor_8" href="#Footnote_8" class="fnanchor">8</a> -A young girl was expected to have at least twenty -presents earned by such prostitutions before she could -hope to find a husband. This did not prevent them -from being very virtuous after marriage, nor their -virtue from being much appreciated.<a id="FNanchor_9" href="#Footnote_9" class="fnanchor">9</a></p> - -<p>“Waitz assures us that in several countries of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_xxix">xxix</span> -Africa a young girl is preferred for wife when she has -made herself remarked by several amours and by -much fecundity. (<cite>C.f.</cite> Havelock Ellis, <cite>op. cit.</cite>, vol.6: -‘Equally unsound is the notion that the virgin bride -brings her husband at marriage an important capital -which is consumed in the first act of intercourse and -can never be recovered. That is a notion which has -survived into civilisation, but it belongs to barbarism -and not to civilisation. So far as it has any validity it -lies within a sphere of erotic perversity which cannot -be taken into consideration in an estimation of moral -values. For most men, however, in any case, whether -they realise it or not, the woman who has been -initiated into the mysteries of love has a higher erotic -value than the virgin,<a id="FNanchor_10" href="#Footnote_10" class="fnanchor">10</a> and there need be no anxiety -on this ground concerning the wife who has lost her -virginity.’)</p> - -<p>“It was impossible,” continues Dr. Jacobus -X—, “ever to find the signs of virginity among the -Machacura women in Brazil, and Feldner explains -the reason thus:—</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_xxx">xxx</span></p> - -<p>“‘Among them a virgin is never to be found, -for this reason: that the mother from her daughter’s -tenderest years endeavours with the utmost care to -remove all tightness of the vagina and obstacle therein. -With this end in view, the leaf of a tree folded in the -shape of a funnel is held in the right hand, then -while the index finger is introduced into the genital -parts and worked to and fro, warm water is admitted -by means of the funnel.’ (<cite>Journey Across Brazil</cite>, 1828.)</p> - -<p>“Among the Sakalaves in Madagascar the -young girls deflower themselves, when the parents -have not previously seen to this necessary preparation -for marriage.</p> - -<p>“Among the Balanti of Senegambia, one of -the most degraded races in Africa, the girls cannot -find a husband until they have been deflowered by -their King, who often exacts costly presents from his -female subjects for putting them in condition to be -able to marry.</p> - -<p>“Barth, (1856), in describing Adamad, says -that the chief of the Bagoli used to lie the first night -with the daughters of the Fulba, a people under his -sway. Similar facts are related of the aborigines of -Brazil and of the Kinipeto Esquimaux.</p> - -<p>“Demosthenes informs us that there was a -celebrated Greek hetaira, named Mæra, who had -seven slaves whom she called her daughters, so that -being supposed to be free a higher price was paid for -their favours. She sold their virginity five or six -times over, and ended by selling the whole lot -together.</p> - -<p>“The god Mutinus, Mutunus or Tutunus of -ancient Rome used to have the new brides come and -sit upon his knees, as if to offer him their virginity.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_xxxi">xxxi</span> -St. Augustine says: ‘In the celebration of nuptials the -newly wed bride used to be bidden sit on the shaft of -Priapus.’ Lactantius gives more precise details: ‘And -Mutunus, in whose shameful lap brides sit, in order -that the god may appear to have gathered the first-fruits -of their virginity.’ It appears, however, that -this offering was not merely symbolical, for when -they had become wives, they used to return to the -favourite deity to pray for fecundity.<a id="FNanchor_11" href="#Footnote_11" class="fnanchor">11</a></p> - -<p>“Arnobius also asks: ‘Is it Tutunus, on whose -huge organs and bristling tool you think it an auspicious -and desirable thing that your matrons should be -mounted?’</p> - -<p>“Pertunda was another hermaphrodite divinity -that St. Augustine maliciously proposed rather to -name the <i lang="la">Deus Pretundus</i> (who strikes first); it was -carried on to the nuptial bed to aid the bridegroom: -‘Pertunda stands there ready in the bed-chamber -for the aid of husbands excavating the virgin pit.’ -(Arnobius.)</p> - -<p>“The Kondadgis (Ceylon), the Cambodgians, -and other peoples charged their priests with the defloration -of their brides.</p> - -<p>“Jager communicated to the Berlin Anthropological -Society a passage from Gemelli Cancri,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_xxxii">xxxii</span> -which mentions a <i lang="la">stupratio officialis</i><a id="FNanchor_12" href="#Footnote_12" class="fnanchor">12</a> practised at a -certain period among the Bisayos of the Philippine -Islands: ‘There is no known example of a custom -so barbarous as that which had been there established, -of having public officials, and even paid very dearly, -to take the virginity of young girls, the same being -considered to be an obstacle to the pleasures of the -husband. As a fact there no longer exists any trace -of this infamous practice since the establishment of -the Spanish rule, ... but even to-day a Bisayo feels -vexed to find his wife safe from suspicion, because -he concludes, that not having excited the desire of -anyone, she must have some bad quality which will -prevent him from being happy with her.’</p> - -<p>“On the Malabar Coast, also, there were -Brahmins whose only religious office was to gather -the virgin flower of young girls. These latter used to -pay them for it, without which they could not find -husbands. The King of Calicut himself used to grant -the right of the first night to a Brahmin; the King of -Tamassat grants it to the first stranger who arrives in -the town; whereas the King of Campa reserves to -himself the <i lang="la">jus primæ noctis</i><a id="FNanchor_13" href="#Footnote_13" class="fnanchor">13</a> for all the marriages in -the kingdom. (<cite>De Gubernatis, Histoire des voyageurs -italiens aux Indes Orientales</cite>: Livourne, 1875.)</p> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_xxxiii">xxxiii</span></p> -<p>“Warthema says that the King of Calicut, -when he took a wife, chose the most worthy and -learned Brahmin to deflower the maiden; for this -service he received from 400 to 500 crowns. At -Tenasserim fathers used to beg of their daughters to -allow themselves to be deflowered by Christians or -Mohammedans.</p> - -<p>“Pascal de Andagoya, who visited Nicaragua -between 1514 and 1522, says that it was usual for a -grand-priest to lie during the first night with the bride, -and Oviedo, (1535), speaking of the Acovacks and other -American nations, relates that the wife, in order that -the marriage should be happy, passed the first nuptial -night with the priest or <i lang="it">piache</i>, and Gomarra, (1551), -relates the same thing of the inhabitants of Cumana.</p> - -<p>“In Europe, young girls who are not very -virtuous, and who have studied all the various forms -of flirtation, are most generally passed off as virgins -when they marry. Even when it does not really -exist, there are many ways by which a virginity—which -perhaps has been sold over and over again by -expert and clever procuresses—can be simulated. A -little time before going to the nuptial bed, the girl -inserts into her vagina a few drops of pigeon’s blood; -or in some cases she selects for her wedding day the -last day of menstruation. A sponge, skilfully placed, -allows the blood to flow at the moment of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_xxxiv">xxxiv</span> -catastrophe, when a sudden ‘Oh!’ announces to the -unsuspecting husband that the temple has been -violated for the first time, and that the veil of the -<i lang="la">sanctum sanctorum</i> has really been rent by him. Add -also to these methods injections so astringent that, at -the required time, they will give to a prostitute, whose -gap has been widened by a thousand customers, a -tightness greater than that of a real virgin.”</p> - -<p>The more one examines the question, the -more one is convinced that virginity or chastity has -come to be regarded as a spiritual and moral asset -only in civilised, or comparatively civilised, society. -“In considering the moral quality of chastity among -savages,” writes Havelock Ellis (<cite>Studies in the Psychology -of Sex</cite>, vol. 6, p. 147), “we must carefully separate -that chastity which among semi-primitive peoples is -exclusively imposed upon women. This has no -moral quality whatever, for it is not exercised as a -useful discipline, but merely enforced in order to -heighten the economic and erotic value of women.</p> - -<p>“Many authorities believe that the regard for -women as property furnishes the true reason for the -widespread insistence on virginity in brides. Thus -A. B. Ellis, speaking of the West Coast of Africa -(<cite>Yoruba Speaking Peoples</cite>, pp. 183 <cite>et seq.</cite>), says that -girls of good class are betrothed as mere children, and -are carefully guarded from men, while girls of lower -class are seldom betrothed, and may lead any life -they choose.”</p> - -<p>Virginity in woman, it seems, has been set -on a pedestal unsupported by history, science, or -investigation. It is obviously the outcome of man’s -desire, when he buys or acquires, to obtain unsoiled -goods. Comes a time, however, when the value of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_xxxv">xxxv</span> -these so-called unsoiled goods grows questionable. -Something virgin, in terms of common sense, is not -necessarily something valuable; here enters the -thinking, and, ultimately, the erotic, element. Let a -man fall to asking why he demands virginity, and he -will speedily begin to realise that it is the last thing -he requires. Virginity spells ignorance, awkwardness -and obstacles; maturity means understanding and -co-operation. Thus, by easy stages, we reach the -conclusion, mentioned by Havelock Ellis and quoted -above, that for most men, whether they realise it or -not, the love-wise woman has a greater erotic value -than the virgin.<a id="FNanchor_14" href="#Footnote_14" class="fnanchor">14</a></p> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_xxxvi">xxxvi</span></p> -<p>Quoting Westermarck (<cite>History of Human -Marriage</cite>), he goes on to refer to the fact that the -seduction of an unmarried girl “is chiefly, if not -exclusively, regarded as an offence against the parents -or family of the girl,” and there is no indication that -it is ever held by savages that any wrong has been -done to the woman herself.</p> - -<p>“Westermarck realises at the same time,” adds -Havelock Ellis, “that the preference given to virgins -has also a biological basis in the instinctive masculine -feeling of jealousy in regard to women who have had -intercourse with other men, and especially in the -erotic charm for men of the emotional state of shyness -which accompanies virginity.”</p> - -<p>Here, in all probability, are the most powerful -reasons for the value placed on virginity; each -reason, too, is highly practical. Who among us truly -wants to share his most treasured possession? And -the shy charm of virginity ‘neath the attack of the -amorous lover is as undeniable as it is indescribable. -Hence the virgin’s lure for the old and worn-out roué, -who finds in her shrinking reluctance a stimulant to -his erotic prowess which sympathy, boldness, even -lewdness, have no power to furnish. That quaint old -book, “<cite>Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure</cite>,” (London, -1780), gives a typical account of the attempt and -failure of an aged rake to ravish the then virginal -heroine of the story.<a id="FNanchor_15" href="#Footnote_15" class="fnanchor">15</a></p> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_xxxvii">xxxvii</span></p> -<p>At certain times and with certain peoples the -virgin maid has been fenced about with all manner -of safeguards up to the very hour of her marriage; but -have these and other peoples ever troubled to preserve -the virginity of their daughters as they were at pains -to guard the chastity of their wives? What nation -ever inflicted that ghastly contrivance, the Girdle of -Chastity, upon its virgin daughters? This bar to -erotic pleasure was reserved exclusively for the -potentially froward wife.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_xxxviii">xxxviii</span></p> - -<p>Originating in the woollen band worn by the -Spartan virgins<a id="FNanchor_16" href="#Footnote_16" class="fnanchor">16</a>—a garment removed for the first -time by the husband on the wedding night—these -Girdles of Chastity, with their padlocks and keys, -were undoubtedly in use in the fourteenth or fifteenth -century, and in use for an unmistakable purpose. -“The first to employ this apparatus,” says Dr. Jacobus -X—(<cite>Ethnology of the Sixth Sense</cite>: Charles Carrington: -Paris, 1899), “was Francis of Tarrara, -Provost of Padua in the fourteenth century. It was a -belt having a central piece made of ivory, with a -barbed narrow slit down the middle, which was -passed between the legs and fixed there by lock and -key. A specimen of this safety apparatus is to be -seen actually at the Musée de Cluny in Paris.”</p> - -<p>Dr. Caufeynon, the great authority on the -subject, believes, however, that these girdles only -date from the Renaissance.<a id="FNanchor_17" href="#Footnote_17" class="fnanchor">17</a> In his remarkable little<span class="pagenum" id="Page_xxxix">xxxix</span> -work, <cite>La Ceinture de Chasteté</cite> (Paris, 1904), which -contains numerous engravings and photographic -designs, he gives an illustration of the specimen in -the Musée de Cluny. Quoting Brantôme (<cite>Lives of -Fair and Gallant Ladies</cite>), he adds:—</p> - -<p>“In the time of Henry the king there lived an -ironmonger who brought to the fair of St. Germain a -dozen of certain machines to bridle the parts of -women; they were fashioned of iron and went round -like a girdle, and went below and were closed with a -key. So cleverly were they fashioned that it was not -possible for the women, when once bridled, to arrive -at the sweet pleasure, there being but a few small -holes in it for pissing.</p> - -<p>“‘Tis said there were five or six jealous husbands, -who bought these machines and bridled their -wives with them in such fashion that they might well -have said ‘Farewell, happy time,’ had there not been -one who bethought her of applying to a locksmith -very skilled in his art, to whom she showed the -machine, her own, her husband being then out in the -fields; and he applied his mind so well to the matter -that he made for her a false key, with which the lady -opened or closed the machine at any time and when -she willed.</p> - -<p>“The husband never discovered aught to say -on the matter; and the lady gave herself up to her -own good pleasure, despite her foolish, jealous, cuckold -husband, being ever able to live in the freedom of -cuckoldom. But the wicked locksmith who fashioned -the false key tasted of it all; and he did well, so they -say, for he was the first to taste of it.</p> - -<p>“They say, too, that there were many gallant -and honest gentlemen of the court who threatened<span class="pagenum" id="Page_xl">xl</span> -that ironmonger with death did he ever presume to -carry about such merchandise; so much so that he -was afraid and returned no more and threw away all -the rest, and no more was heard of. Wherein he was -wise, for it were enough to lose half the world, for -want of any body to people it, through such bridles, -clasps and fastenings of a nature abominable and -detestable and enemies to human multiplication.”</p> - -<p>The troubadour Guillaume de Machault -speaks of a key given to him by Agnes of Navarre; -this key was obviously intended to unlock a girdle of -chastity. Nicolas Chorier, in his erotic <cite>Dialogues of -Luisa Sigea</cite> (Paris: Isidore Liseux, 1890), mentions the -apparatus. Although the existence of such girdles -has often been denied, “the presence of many undoubted -specimens in several of the most important -museums of Europe,” says Dr. Jacobus X—(<cite>Ethnology -of the Sixth Sense</cite>), “places their authenticity -beyond all doubt. This custom existed more -particularly during the time of the Crusades, ... -but a very curious instance is mentioned as having -occurred as late as the middle of the eighteenth -century, for it is recorded that the advocate Feydeau -pleaded before the supreme court of Montpellier on -behalf of a woman who accused her husband of -making her undergo this shameful treatment. (<cite>Petition -against the introduction of padlocks or girdles of -chastity, Montpellier, 1750.</cite>)”</p> - -<p>All this only goes to show that virginity and -chastity are two very different things, and that the -latter was obviously of more account than the former -in the eyes of mediæval man. Much the same obtains -to-day. To a certain extent we seek to preserve the -virginity of our daughters; but is there any limit to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_xli">xli</span> -the precautions with which a jealous husband will -fence about his wife? In short, virginity concerns -alone her who loses it; is any man’s for the taking. -Chastity is another person’s property.</p> - -<p>This slight survey of virginity would be incomplete -without a reference to the operation of -infibulation<a id="FNanchor_18" href="#Footnote_18" class="fnanchor">18</a>—the artificial adhesion of the <i lang="la">labia -majora</i> by means of a ring or stitches with a view to -the prevention of sexual intercourse. Kisch, (<cite>The -Sexual Life of Woman</cite>: translated by M. Eden Paul: -London: Wm. Heinemann), quotes the authority of -Ploss-Bartels for saying that this operation is practised -by many savage peoples, among them the Bedschas, -the Gallas, the Somalis, the inhabitants of Harrar, at -Massaua, etc.</p> - -<p>“The purpose of this practise,” he adds, “is to -preserve the chastity of the girls until marriage, when -the reverse operative procedure is undertaken. If the -husband goes away on a journey, in many cases the -operation of infibulation is once more performed -upon his wives. Slave-dealers also make use of this -operation so as to prevent their slaves from becoming -pregnant. It is reported, however, that the operation -does not invariably produce the desired effect.”</p> - -<p>Nothing we have said or quoted, however, -can alter the fact that virginity has been and will<span class="pagenum" id="Page_xlii">xlii</span> -always be a certain asset in civilised or semi-civilised -communities. There is a romance attached to the -term which neither cynicism nor materialism can kill. -Incidentally, there is a strong business side to the -question. Who, as we said before, wants to feel that -his dearest possession has been shared by others? -Who, in more modern parlance, wants damaged -goods?</p> - -<p>While life lasts, the virgin maid will lure the -normal lover, common sense and cold facts notwithstanding. -What the poet sang and the amorous swain -coveted in those by-gone times of pomp and paganism, -in the days of chivalry, and even in that dreary early -Victorian era, will be sung and coveted centuries -hence. Science, new discoveries, new theories, new -ideals, new conditions, cannot oust human nature, -our undeniable birthright. The sanctity and value of -virginity are traditions; and, as Havelock Ellis says, -in that singularly beautiful postscript to his <cite>Studies</cite>, -“there can be no world without traditions; neither -can there be any life without movement. As -Heracleitus knew at the outset of modern philosophy, -we cannot bathe twice in the same stream, though, as -we know to-day, the stream still flows in an unending -circle. There is never a moment when the new dawn -is not breaking over the earth, and never a moment -when the sunset ceases to die. It is well to greet -serenely even the first glimmer of the dawn when we -see it, not hastening toward it with undue speed, nor -leaving the sunset without gratitude for the dying -light that once was dawn.</p> - -<p>“In the moral world we are ourselves the -light-bearers, and the cosmic process is in us made -flesh. For a brief space it is granted to us, if we will,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_xliii">xliii</span> -to enlighten the darkness that surrounds our path. -As in the ancient torch-race, which seemed to -Lucretius to be the symbol of all life, we press forward -torch in hand along the course. Soon from behind -comes the runner who will outpace us. All our skill -lies in giving into his hand the living torch, bright -and unflickering, as we ourselves disappear in the -darkness.”</p> - -<p>Beautiful words, and fitting monument to a -man who gave thirty years of his life to the production -of a work that will live for all time. Hardly applicable -to our present theme some, perhaps, will say. -We take leave to differ. In the relations between man -and woman all life is epitomised. Each bears the -torch, and the race they run is the life they lead. To -almost all is granted the chance to hand on the torch -in living, breathing prototype.</p> - -<p>Let us recognise new conditions, new ideas; -let us welcome, examine and weigh them, that none -may say we do not ‘greet serenely the dawn.’ But -let us also remember that theory cannot oust fact, -nor materialism human nature.</p> - -<p>Down the ages man has altered in custom -and habit, but in his spiritual essence not at all. Save -for local and racial differences, humanity has shared -the same passions of pain, sorrow, happiness, anger, -laughter and lust throughout all time. Human nature -alone does not change; our birthright is immutable. -Human nature ever has, and ever will, set store by -virginity. It has become a tradition. And without -tradition, as the great psychologist has truly told us, -there is no world.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - - -</div><div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_1">1</span></p> -<p class="half-title">THE WAY OF A VIRGIN.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - - -<h2 title="THE ENCHANTED RING.">THE ENCHANTED RING.<a id="FNanchor_19" href="#Footnote_19" class="fnanchor">19</a></h2> - - -<div> - <img class="drop-cap" src="images/i.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> -<p class="drop-cap">In a certain reign, in a certain kingdom, there -lived once on a time three peasant brethren, -who quarrelled among themselves and divided -up their goods; they did not share -equally, and the division gave much to the elder -brethren but very little to the youngest.</p> - -<p>All three were young lads. They went forth -together into the courtyard, saying one to the other:</p> - -<p>“‘Tis time for us to wed.”</p> - -<p>“‘Tis well enough for ye,” quoth the youngest -brother. “Ye are rich, and the rich can marry. -But what may I do? I am poor. I have not even a -log of wood to my name. All I have for a fortune is -a yard which reacheth to my knees!”</p> - -<p>On this very moment there chanced to pass -a merchant’s daughter, who overheard these words -and said to herself:</p> - -<p>“Ah! that I might have this young man for a -husband! He hath a yard that reacheth to his very -knees!”</p> - -<p>The two elder brethren married; the youngest -remained single.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_2">2</span></p> - -<p>The merchant’s daughter, back in her home, -had no thought in her head but to wed the young -peasant; several rich merchants sought her hand in -marriage, but she would have none of them.</p> - -<p>“I will wed with none save this young man,” -quoth she.</p> - -<p>Her father and mother sought to dissuade her. -“What art thinking on, foolish one?” said they. -“Come back to thy senses! Why wouldst wed with -a poor peasant?”</p> - -<p>“Concern not yourselves with that!” answered -she. “‘Tis not ye who will have to live with him!”</p> - -<p>The merchant’s daughter came to an understanding -with the matchmaker, and dispatched her to -tell the young man to come without fail and ask her -hand in marriage. The matchmaker went to see him, -saying:</p> - -<p>“Hearken, oh! my little dove. Why standest -there gaping? Go ask in marriage the merchant’s -daughter. She hath awaited thee this long time, and -will wed thee with joy.”</p> - -<p>The young man swiftly apparelled himself, -donned a new smock-frock, took his new hat, and hied -him forthwith to the house of the merchant to ask -his daughter’s hand in marriage. When the -merchant’s daughter perceived him, when she recognised -that it was indeed he whose yard reached to his -knees, she fell to asking her father and mother for -their blessing on a union indissoluble.</p> - -<p>On the wedding night she went to bed with -her husband, and perceived that he had but a little -yard, smaller even than a finger.</p> - -<p>“Oh! thou scoundrel!” she cried. “Thou -boastest ownership of a yard reaching to thy knees!<span class="pagenum" id="Page_3">3</span> -What hast done with it?”</p> - -<p>“Dear wife, thou knowest that I was a bachelor, -and very poor; when I resolved to marry, I had -neither gold nor aught else to enable me so to do. So -I have pledged my yard.”<a id="FNanchor_20" href="#Footnote_20" class="fnanchor">20</a></p> - -<p>“And for what sum hast thou pledged thy yard?”</p> - -<p>“But for little—for fifty roubles.”</p> - -<p>“Good. On the morrow I will go seek my -mother, I will beg money of her, and thou wilt go -without fail to recover thy yard. If thou dost not buy -it back, enter not the house!”</p> - -<p>She waited until morn, then ran swiftly in -search of her mother, saying:</p> - -<p>“Grant me a favour, little mother. Give me -fifty roubles. I have sore need of them.”</p> - -<p>“But tell me why thou hast need of them.”</p> - -<p>“See, little mother. My husband had a yard -which reached to his knees. When we desired to -marry, he knew not where to find the money, the poor -man, and he hath pledged his yard for fifty roubles. -Now my husband hath but a tiny yard, even smaller -than a finger. ‘Tis of the utmost necessity, therefore, -to buy back his ancient yard.”</p> - -<p>The mother, understanding the need, drew -fifty roubles from her purse, and gave them to her -daughter. The latter returned to her home and gave -the money to her husband, saying:</p> - -<p>“Go! Run now swiftly to buy back thine -ancient yard, in order that strangers may not make -use of it!”</p> - -<p>The young man took the money and went -forth, eyes downcast. Where might he turn now?<span class="pagenum" id="Page_4">4</span> -Where find for his wife such a yard? Best leave it -to chance.</p> - -<p>He went forward, now swiftly, now slowly, -and at length he encountered an aged woman.</p> - -<p>“Good day, good woman.”</p> - -<p>“Good day, good man. Whither goest thou at -this pace?”</p> - -<p>“Ah, good woman—would thou knewest—would -thou didst know my sorrow—would I might -tell thee whither I go!”</p> - -<p>“Tell me thy sorrow, little dove. Perchance -I can come to thine aid.”</p> - -<p>“I am shamed to tell it thee.”</p> - -<p>“Fear not, have no shame. Speak boldly.”</p> - -<p>“Ah, well, see here, good woman. I had -boasted of having a yard that reached to my knees; a -merchant’s daughter, who had heard this, espoused -me, but when she lay with me on our wedding night -and perceived that I had but a little yard, smaller than -a finger, she cried out and asked what I had done -with my great yard. I told her that I had pledged it -for fifty roubles; she gave me the money and bade -me buy it back without fail; otherwise, I might not -show myself again at my home. And I know not -how to satisfy my little dove.”</p> - -<p>The aged woman made answer to him:</p> - -<p>“Give me thy money,” said she, “and I will -find a remedy for thy sorrow.”</p> - -<p>Forthwith he drew the fifty roubles from his -pocket and gave them to her; the aged woman -handed to him a ring.</p> - -<p>“Come, take this ring,” quoth she. “Put it -only on thy finger nail.”</p> - -<p>The young man took the ring, and scarce had<span class="pagenum" id="Page_5">5</span> -he put it on his finger nail ere his yard stretched -itself a cubit’s length.</p> - -<p>“Well, what of it?” asked the aged woman. -“Doth thy yard reach to thy knees?”</p> - -<p>“Yea, good woman. It reacheth even below -my knees.”</p> - -<p>“Now, my little dove, pass the ring down thy -whole finger.”</p> - -<p>He passed the ring over his entire finger, and -his yard lengthened out even unto seven versts.<a id="FNanchor_21" href="#Footnote_21" class="fnanchor">21</a></p> - -<p>“Ah! good woman! where shall I lodge it? -It will bring me ill fortune with my wife.”</p> - -<p>“Thrust up the ring to thy finger nail; thy -yard will be but a cubit’s span. This for thy guidance—pay -attention and never put the ring beyond -thy finger nail.”</p> - -<p>He thanked the aged woman, and retook the -road homeward; and as he journeyed he rejoiced in -that he need not appear before his wife with empty -hands.</p> - -<p>But as he went, he felt a desire to eat. Going -aside, he seated himself not far from the road at the -foot of a burdock, drew biscuits from his wallet, -dipped them in water, and fell to eating. Anon, -desire to slumber o’er-came him; he lay down, belly -uppermost, and played with the ring. He put it upon -his finger nail, and his yard rose to the height of a -cubit’s span; he pressed his whole finger through the -ring, and his yard rose to a height of seven versts; he -removed the ring, and his yard became small as -before. He examined and re-examined the ring, and -thus he fell asleep. But he forgot to conceal the ring,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_6">6</span> -which rested upon his belly.</p> - -<p>There chanced to pass in a carriage a lord -and his wife. The lord saw, not far from the road, a -peasant aslumbering, and upon his belly glittered a -ring, as it were a live coal in the sun. He stopped -the horses, saying to his lackey:</p> - -<p>“Approach the peasant, take the ring, and -bring it to me.”</p> - -<p>Straightway the lackey ran to the peasant, -and carried back the ring to the lord. And these -went on their way.</p> - -<p>The lord admired the ring.</p> - -<p>“Look thou, my dear loved one,” said he to his -wife. “What a superb ring! Behold! I put it upon -my finger.” And he passed it down his whole finger.</p> - -<p>Straightway his yard reached out, o’erturned -the coachman from his box seat, struck one of the -mares right beneath the tail, pushed aside the animal, -and caused the carriage to go ahead of it.<a id="FNanchor_22" href="#Footnote_22" class="fnanchor">22</a></p> - -<p>The lady beheld what misfortune had befallen, -was greatly affrighted, and cried with all her -force to the lackey, saying:</p> - -<p>“Run most swiftly to the peasant and lead -him hither!”</p> - -<p>The lackey sped amain to the peasant and -aroused him, saying:</p> - -<p>“Come swiftly, my little peasant, to my -master!”</p> - -<p>The peasant sought his ring.</p> - -<p>“A curse on thee! Thou hast taken my ring!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_7">7</span></p> - -<p>“Seek not,” said the lackey. “Come to my -master. He hath thy ring, which hath caused us a -great fuss.”</p> - -<p>The peasant ran to the carriage. Quoth the -lord to him:</p> - -<p>“Pardon me, but come to my aid in my misfortune!”</p> - -<p>“What wilt give me, lord?”</p> - -<p>“Here are one hundred roubles.”</p> - -<p>“Give me two hundred and I will deliver -thee.”</p> - -<p>The lord drew two hundred roubles from his -pocket, the peasant took the money, and withdrew the -ring from the lord’s finger, whereat the yard vanished -as if by magic, and there was left to the lord but his -former little instrument.</p> - -<p>The lord went his way, and the peasant hied -him homeward with the ring. His wife was at the -window and saw him come; she ran to meet him.</p> - -<p>“Hast brought it back?” asked she.</p> - -<p>“I have.”</p> - -<p>“Show it me!”</p> - -<p>“Come within the chamber. I cannot show -it thee outside.”</p> - -<p>They entered the chamber, nor did the wife -cease to repeat: “Show it me! Show it me!”</p> - -<p>He placed the ring on his finger-nail, and his -yard lengthened a cubit’s span; then he drew off his -drawers, saying: “Behold, wife!”</p> - -<p>The wife fell on his neck.</p> - -<p>“My dear little husband, here is truly an -instrument that will be better in our house than with -strangers. Come swiftly and eat; then we will to bed -and make trial of it.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_8">8</span></p> - -<p>Forthwith she put upon the table all manner -of meats and beverages, and they fell to eating and -drinking. Having feasted, they betook themselves to -bed. When he had pierced his wife with this yard, -she, for three whole days, was ever peering ‘neath his -garment; it seemed to her that the yard was ever -thrusting between her legs.</p> - -<p>She went to pay a visit to her mother, what -time her husband hied him to the garden and lay -down ‘neath an apple tree.</p> - -<p>“Well,” asked the mother of her daughter, -“have ye bought back the yard?”</p> - -<p>“We have bought it back, little mother.”</p> - -<p>And the mother had but one thought: to steal -away, profiting by her daughter’s visit, to run to the -house of her son-in-law, and to make trial of his -great yard.</p> - -<p>And while the daughter chattered, the mother -came to the house of the son-in-law and sped into -the garden. The son-in-law was aslumbering; the -ring was on his finger nail, and his yard stood erect to -the height of a cubit’s span.</p> - -<p>“I will mount upon his yard,” said the good -mother to herself.</p> - -<p>And she mounted, in sooth, upon the yard, -and balanced herself thereon.</p> - -<p>But, by ill fortune, the ring slipped to the -base of the finger of the son-in-law what time he -slept, and the yard raised the good mother to the -height of seven versts.</p> - -<p>The daughter perceived that her mother had -gone forth, she divined the reason, and hastened to -return home. In her house there was no one. She -went into the garden, and what saw she? Her<span class="pagenum" id="Page_9">9</span> -husband aslumbering, his yard raised to a vast height, -and, all in the clouds, the good mother, scarce visible; -and she, when the wind blew, turned upon the yard -as though upon a stake.</p> - -<p>What to do? How remove her mother from -off the yard?</p> - -<p>A great crowd had come together; they discussed; -they proferred counsel. Said some: there is -naught for it but to take a hatchet and cut the yard. -Said others: no, ‘tis a bad plan. Why lose two -souls? For as soon as the yard is cut, the woman -will fall and kill herself. ‘Tis better to pray to God -that perchance by some miracle the old woman will -disentangle herself from it.</p> - -<p>During this time the son-in-law awoke, and -perceived that his ring had descended to the base of -his finger, that his yard raised itself towards the sky -to a height of seven versts, and that it nailed him -solidly to the earth, in such wise that he could not -turn upon his other side.</p> - -<p>He withdrew very softly the ring from his -finger; his yard descended to the height of a cubit’s -span; and the son-in-law saw his mother-in-law -suspended upon it.</p> - -<p>“How camest thou there, little mother?”</p> - -<p>“Pardon, my little son-in-law. I will not do -it any more!”</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> -</div><div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_10">10</span></p> - - - -<h3><i>VARIANT.</i></h3> - - -<div> - <img class="drop-cap" src="images/o.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> -<p class="drop-cap">Once on a time a tailor possessed a magic ring; -as soon as he put it upon his finger, his yard -assumed an extraordinary development. It -fell out that he went to work at the house of -a woman; by nature he was gay and given to jesting, -and when he lay down to slumber he neglected -always to cover his genitals.</p> - -<p>The woman observed that he had a yard of -great proportions; desirous of sampling the power of -such an instrument, she summoned the tailor to her -chamber.</p> - -<p>“Hearken,” quoth she to him. “Consent to -sin once with me.”</p> - -<p>“Why not, madam? But only on one condition—that -thou dost not fart! If thou dost fart, thou -shalt pay me three hundred roubles.”</p> - -<p>“Very good,” answered she.</p> - -<p>They betook themselves to bed; the good woman -took all possible precautions not to expel wind -during the sexual act; she instructed her chambermaid -to seek a large onion, to thrust this into her fundament, -and to hold it there with both hands. These orders -were carried out minutely, but at the first assault -delivered by the tailor upon the woman, the onion -was violently expelled and struck the chambermaid<span class="pagenum" id="Page_11">11</span> -with such force that she was killed outright!</p> - -<p>The woman lost her three hundred roubles; -the tailor pocketed this sum and hied him homeward. -Having journeyed some distance, he felt a desire to -slumber and lay down in a field. He placed the ring -upon his finger and his yard stretched to the length -of one verst. As he lay thus, slumber o’ertook him, -and whilst he slept came seven starving wolves, -which devoured the greater part of his yard. He -awoke as if naught had chanced,<a id="FNanchor_23" href="#Footnote_23" class="fnanchor">23</a> took the ring from -his finger, put it in his pocket, and pursued his way.</p> - -<p>Came night, and the tailor entered the house -of a peasant. Now this peasant had married a young -woman who had a liking for well-membered men. -The guest went to sleep in the courtyard, leaving his -yard exposed. Perceiving it, the peasant’s wife felt a -great desire; raising her robe, she coupled with the -tailor.</p> - -<p>“Good,” quoth he to himself; and he placed -the ring on his finger, and his yard rose little by little -to the height of one verst. But when the wife perceived -herself so far from the earth, all desire to futter -left her, and she clung with both hands to this strange -support in mid-air.</p> - -<p>Beholding the peril that beset the wretched -woman, her neighbours and relations fell to praying -for the safety of both. But the tailor gently withdrew -the ring from his finger; gradually the dimensions -of his member decreased, and, when it reached -but to a small height, the woman jumped to earth.</p> - -<p>“Ah! insatiable coynte,” quoth the tailor<span class="pagenum" id="Page_12">12</span> -to her. “It had been thy death had they cut my -yard.”<a id="FNanchor_24" href="#Footnote_24" class="fnanchor">24</a></p> -<hr class="chap" /> -</div><div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_13">13</span></p> - - - -<h2 title="THE INSTRUMENT.">THE INSTRUMENT.<a id="FNanchor_25" href="#Footnote_25" class="fnanchor">25</a></h2> - - -<div> - <img class="drop-cap" src="images/o.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> -<p class="drop-cap">Once on a time a youth, wishing to become a -smith, quitted his village and hired himself -as an apprentice to a farrier. His master was -a busy man, all the beds in his house being -filled by his workmen, and when evening came he -was sore pressed to find sleeping quarters for his apprentice. -Reflecting long, he thus finally argued:—</p> - -<p>“In each bed are several persons; my daughter -alone hath one to herself. With her will I put the -youth to sleep. His parents are good people, and I -have known him from boyhood. There is no danger.”</p> - -<p>When these two were in bed together, the -youth began to caress the daughter, a maid nigh unto -sixteen years, and since she did not repulse him, he -lost no time in showing her how one makes love. -The daughter found the business very much to her -liking, and Pierre (for so the apprentice was named) -gave her several lessons in this pretty game. She -did not tire, and wished that the play might last the -whole night long; but Pierre, awearied, would fain -have slept. Anon, when he began to grow drowsy, -she pinched him and snuggled up to him; but he did -not respond to her allurements.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_14">14</span></p> - -<p>“Pierre,” said she, “dost play no more with -thine implement?”</p> - -<p>“No—’tis used up,” quoth Pierre.</p> - -<p>“‘Tis a pity,” said the girl. “Why is it not -more solid? Would it cost much to have another?”</p> - -<p>“Yea—at least three or four hundred francs.”</p> - -<p>“I myself have not that sum; but I know -where my father keepeth his money, and on the -morrow I will give thee the wherewithal to procure -another. What dost thou call it?”</p> - -<p>“‘Tis called an ‘instrument’,”<a id="FNanchor_26" href="#Footnote_26" class="fnanchor">26</a> quoth Pierre.</p> - -<p>In the morning the girl, taking her father’s -money, gave it to the apprentice, who hied him to the -town and made pretence of buying another instrument; -and when night came, he played on his -instrument to the infinite satisfaction of the girl.</p> - -<p>On the morrow the apprentice received a -letter, wherein he learned that his mother lay ill and -desired to see him. He started on his journey forthwith. -Anon the girl appeared, and not seeing the -apprentice, inquired:</p> - -<p>“Where is Pierre?”</p> - -<p>And they answered her that he was gone and -would return no more. Whereat she sped after him, -and when she perceived him afar off, cried out:—</p> - -<p>“Pierre! Pierre! At least leave me the instrument!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_15">15</span></p> - -<p>Pierre, who was in a field at the moment, -wrenched up a big turnip, and casting it into a swamp -at the feet of the girl, cried out:—</p> - -<p>“Take it—’tis there!”</p> - -<p>And while the girl sought the instrument, he -continued on his way.</p> - -<p>With both her eyes she looked, but of Pierre’s -instrument could perceive no vestige. Anon she sat -down on the edge of the swamp and gave herself up -to tears. Presently there chanced to pass the vicar, -who made inquiry as to the cause of her grief.</p> - -<p>“Oh! thy reverence!” she made answer. -“The instrument hath fallen in the swamp and I -cannot recover it. A sad pity, for ‘tis a precious instrument -and cost three or four hundred francs.”</p> - -<p>“Let us both seek,” quoth the vicar. “I will -aid thee.”</p> - -<p>He tucked up his gown, and both fell to -seeking in the swamp, which was somewhat deep. -Anon the girl turned her head, and perceiving the -vicar with his garments tucked up above his hips, -cried out:—</p> - -<p>“Ah! thy reverence! No need for further -search! ‘Tis thou who hast the instrument ‘twixt thy -legs!”</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> -</div><div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_16">16</span></p> - - - -<h3><i>EXCURSUS</i> to <i>THE INSTRUMENT</i></h3> - - -<p>A variant of the foregoing story, (<cite>The -Instrument</cite>), is to be found in <cite>Le Moyen de Parvenir</cite> -(Béroalde de Verville). The editors of <cite>Kruptadia</cite> -draw attention to it, quoting the following extract:—</p> - -<p>The simpleton husband Hauteroue, while -futtering his wife, remarked:—</p> - -<p>“What a labour it is, my love!”</p> - -<p>“I am not surprised,” quoth she. “Thou dost -work with a bad implement.”</p> - -<p>“I should have a better had I the money.”</p> - -<p>“Let not that hinder thee; I will give thee the -money on the morrow.”</p> - -<p>When the husband received his money, he set -out to enjoy himself; then he went to bed with his -wife, whom he pleasured well.</p> - -<p>“Ho! my love!” said she. “This implement -is as good as the one thou hadst. But, love, what hast -done with the other?”</p> - -<p>“I have thrown it away, my love.”</p> - -<p>“Bah! Thou hast made a great mistake. -‘Twould have served for my mother!”</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> -</div><div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_17">17</span></p> - - - - -<h2 title="THE TIMOROUS FIANCÉE.">THE TIMOROUS FIANCÉE.<a id="FNanchor_27" href="#Footnote_27" class="fnanchor">27</a></h2> - - -<div> - <img class="drop-cap" src="images/t.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> -<p class="drop-cap">Two young girls held converse together. -Quoth one:</p> - -<p>“Like thee, little one, I, too, will never -marry.”</p> - -<p>“And why should we marry against our -will?” said the other. “We have no masters.”</p> - -<p>“Hast seen, little one, that instrument with -which men make trial upon us?”</p> - -<p>“I have seen it.”</p> - -<p>“And is it not huge?”</p> - -<p>“Little one, it is assuredly of the size of an -arm!”</p> - -<p>“One would never come out of it alive.”</p> - -<p>“Come, I will tickle thee with a straw.”</p> - -<p>“That also hurteth me.”</p> - -<p>The foolish one lay down, and the wiser fell -to tickling her with a straw. “Ah! that hurteth!” she -repeated.</p> - -<p>Now the father of one of the young girls -forced her to take a husband; she waited two nights, -then went to see her young friend.</p> - -<p>“Good day, little one,” she said.</p> - -<p>The latter besought her to relate forthwith -what had befallen.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_18">18</span></p> - -<p>“Ah!” answered the young wife. “Had I -known, had I truly known the business, I had not -listened to my father or my mother. I thought to lose -my life, and my tongue hung from my mouth a foot -in length.”</p> - -<p>The young friend was so affrighted that she -had no wish to speak further of fiancés.</p> - -<p>“I will wed with none,” quoth she. “And if -my father seeks to employ violence, 1 will espouse, -for form’s sake, the first bachelor I encounter.”</p> - -<p>Now there was in the same village a young -lad and a very poor. None would give him a seemly -maid in marriage, and he did not desire an ill; by -chance he overheard the conversation of the young -girls.</p> - -<p>“Wait,” thought he to himself. “I will play -a trick on that one. At a suitable moment I will say -that I have no yard.”</p> - -<p>Came a day when the young girl went to -mass; she beheld the lad leading his horse, thin and -unshod, to the watering place; the poor beast went -limping, and the young girl laughed. They came to -a steep slope; the mare climbed with difficulty, then -fell and rolled on her back. The lad was annoyed, -seized the mare by her tail, and fell to beating her -without pity, saying:</p> - -<p>“Get up! Thou wilt flay all the skin off thyself!”</p> - -<p>“Why beatest thou the horse, brigand?” -asked the young girl.</p> - -<p>The lad lifted the tail, looked at it and said:</p> - -<p>“And what should I do? Futter her? But -I have no yard.”</p> - -<p>When the girl heard his words, she pissed<span class="pagenum" id="Page_19">19</span> -herself with joy, saying:</p> - -<p>“Behold! the good God hath sent me a fiancé -after my liking!”</p> - -<p>She returned to her house, sat down in a -secluded corner, and fell to pouting. Presently all -the family seated themselves at table, calling on her -to come, but she replied in anger:</p> - -<p>“I will not!”</p> - -<p>“Come, Douniouchka,” said the mother. -“What art thinking of? Tell me.”</p> - -<p>The father intervened.</p> - -<p>“Why dost pout? Perchance thou dost -desire to wed? Thou wouldst wed with this one and -not with that?” -The young girl had but one idea in her head: -to wed Ivan the No-Yard.</p> - -<p>“I will wed,” she replied, “neither this one -nor that. An it please ye or not, I will wed Ivan.”</p> - -<p>“What sayest thou, little fool? Art enraged, -or hast lost thy reason? Thou wouldst share thy life -with him?”</p> - -<p>“He is my destiny. Seek not to marry me to -another, else I will drown or strangle myself.”</p> - -<p>Hitherto the old father had not honoured the -poverty-stricken Ivan with so much as a look, but -now he went himself to the lad to make him release -his daughter. He approached. Ivan was seated, -repairing an old hempen shoe.</p> - -<p>“Good day, Ivanouchka.”</p> - -<p>“Good day, old man.”</p> - -<p>“What dost thou?”</p> - -<p>“I seek to mend my hempen shoes.”</p> - -<p>“Shoes? Thou hast need of new boots.”</p> - -<p>“Since I have with difficulty amassed fifteen<span class="pagenum" id="Page_20">20</span> -copeks to buy these shoes, where shall I find money -to purchase boots?”</p> - -<p>“And why dost thou not marry, Vania?”</p> - -<p>“Who would give me his daughter?”</p> - -<p>“I, if thou wilt! Kiss me on the mouth.”</p> - -<p>And they came to an understanding.</p> - -<p>At the rich man’s house there was no lack of -beer and brandy. The girl and the lad were wed -forthwith, high feast was held, and then the best man -conducted the young people to their sleeping chamber -and put them to bed. One knows the sequel. -Ivan pierced the young girl till she bled and there -was a road by which he might travel.</p> - -<p>“What a blockhead, what a fool I have been!” -thought Dounuka. “What have I done? How much -better had I taken one richly-endowed! But where -hath he found this yard? I will question him.”</p> - -<p>And she questioned him, saying:</p> - -<p>“Hearken, Ivanouchka. Where hast got this -yard?”</p> - -<p>“I have hired it from mine uncle for one -night.”</p> - -<p>“Ah! my little dove! Beg it of him for yet -another night.”</p> - -<p>A second night passed and she said to him -again:</p> - -<p>“Little dove! Beg of thine uncle if he will -not sell thee the yard outright. But bargain well.”</p> - -<p>“Good. One can always bargain.”</p> - -<p>He went to the house of his grandsire, came -to an understanding with him,<a id="FNanchor_28" href="#Footnote_28" class="fnanchor">28</a> and returned to his -home.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_21">21</span></p> -<p>“Well, what of it?” asked his wife.</p> - -<p>“What can I say?” answered the lad. “There -was no bargaining with him. We must give him -three hundred roubles or he will not yield us the -yard. And where may we get this sum?”</p> - -<p>“Ah, well. Return and beg him to hire thee -the yard for yet another night. To-morrow I ask my -father for the money, and we will buy the yard outright.”</p> - -<p>“Nay—go thyself and ask it of him. In sooth, -I dare not.”</p> - -<p>She went to the uncle’s house, entered his -apartment, prayed to heaven, and bowed, saying:</p> - -<p>“Good day, mine uncle.”</p> - -<p>“Thou art welcome. What good news hast -thou?”</p> - -<p>“See, mine uncle, I am shamed to speak, but -‘twould be a sin an I kept silent. Lend thy yard to -Ivan for a night.”</p> - -<p>The relative took counsel with himself, shook -his head, and said:</p> - -<p>“It can be lent, but care must be taken of a -yard belonging to another.”</p> - -<p>“We will take care of it, uncle. I swear by -the Cross. And to-morrow, without fail, we will buy -it outright of thee.”</p> - -<p>“Go, then, and send Ivan to me.”</p> - -<p>She bowed to the earth and left the house.</p> - -<p>On the morrow she went to seek her father, -asked of him three hundred roubles for her husband, -and bought for herself a good yard.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> -</div><div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_22">22</span></p> - - - - -<h3><i>EXCURSUS</i> to <i>THE ENCHANTED RING</i>, -<i>THE INSTRUMENT</i>, and <i>THE TIMOROUS -FIANCÉE</i>.</h3> - - -<p>Each of the three foregoing stories is remarkable -for the fact that it contains the same naïve idea—the -possibility of purchasing a male “implement.” -The idea is fairly common in folk-lore stories of virginity, -but, almost always, results in a highly humorous -situation. It is a crude but very effective method -of depicting the ignorance, even stupidity, of a virgin -girl. It also affords the story-teller an opportunity of -an indirect reference to a favourite theme—the erotic -tendency of women once their sexual senses are -aroused.<a id="FNanchor_29" href="#Footnote_29" class="fnanchor">29</a></p> - -<p>One episode of <cite>The Enchanted Ring</cite> (the -remarkable qualities of the young man’s <i lang="la">penis</i> when -adorned with the ring) can hardly fail to recall “<cite>The -Night of Power</cite>,” (Sir Richard F. Burton’s <cite>Thousand -Nights and a Night</cite>), wherein the husband’s organs -undergo rapid and wonderful transformation. This -tale is described by Sir Richard Burton as “the -grossest and most brutal satire on the sex, suggesting -that a woman would prefer an additional inch of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_23">23</span> -<i lang="la">penis</i> to anything this world or the next can offer -her.” One cannot help noting, none the less, the -indecent anxiety of the mother-in-law, in our story -from <cite>Kruptadia</cite>, to sample the mighty yard of the -newly-returned husband.<a id="FNanchor_30" href="#Footnote_30" class="fnanchor">30</a></p> -<hr class="chap" /> -</div><div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_24">24</span></p> - - - -<h2 title="ADVENTURES WITH HEDVIGE AND HELÈNE AT GENEVA.">ADVENTURES WITH HEDVIGE AND -HELÈNE AT GENEVA.<a id="FNanchor_31" href="#Footnote_31" class="fnanchor">31</a></h2> - -<blockquote> - -<p><i>Casanova makes the acquaintance of two -charming cousins, Hedvige and Helène, at Geneva. -After sundry meetings, at which theology and sexual -matters are discussed in a frank and amusing fashion, -Casanova gets the chance to take his two charmers for -a stroll in the garden where they can be sure of immunity -from interruption. Casanova’s opportunity -occurs as a result of Hedvige’s desire to know why a -deity could not impregnate a woman, a male acquaintance -having said that he could not with propriety -expound such mysteries to her. Casanova gladly -agrees to make the matter clear, adding, however, -that he must be allowed to speak quite plainly. The -text continues:</i></p></blockquote> - - -<div> - <img class="drop-cap" src="images/y.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> -<p class="drop-cap">Yea, speak clearly,” quoth Hedvige, “for none -can hear us; but I am forced to confess that -I am cognisant of the formation of man only -in theory and by lecture. True, I have seen -statues, but I have never seen and still less have I<span class="pagenum" id="Page_25">25</span> -examined real<a id="FNanchor_32" href="#Footnote_32" class="fnanchor">32</a> man. And thou, Helène?”</p> - -<p>“I have never desired so to do.”</p> - -<p>“Why not? ‘Tis good to know all.”</p> - -<p>“Well, my charming Hedvige,” said I, “thy -theologian wished to tell thee that Jesus was not -capable of erection.”</p> - -<p>“What is that?”</p> - -<p>“Give me thy hand.”</p> - -<p>“I feel it and I can picture it; for, without -this natural phenomenon, man could not impregnate -his consort. And this foolish theologian pretendeth -that it is an imperfection!”</p> - -<p>“Yea, for this phenomenon springeth from -desire, for ‘tis very true that it would not have worked -in me, sweet Hedvige, had I not found thee charming -and had not what I had seen of thee given me the -most seductive idea of the beauties I see not. Tell -me frankly if, after feeling this rigidity of mine, thou -dost not experience an agreeable sensation?”</p> - -<p>“I confess it; ‘tis precisely where thou -pressest. Dost not feel as I, my dear Helène, an -itching and a longing on likening to the very true -discourse given to us by this gentleman?”</p> - -<p>“Yea, I feel it, but I feel it very often, without -any discourse exciting it.”</p> - -<p>“And then,” quoth I, “Nature forceth thee to -appease it thus?”</p> - -<p>“Not at all.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, that it were so, Hedvige! Even in sleep -one’s hand strayeth there by instinct; and, lacking -this easement, I have read that we should suffer -terrible maladies.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_26">26</span></p> - -<p>And whilst we continued this philosophical -converse, which the youthful theologian sustained -with an authoritative tone, and which brought a look -of voluptuousness to the lovely complexion of her -cousin, we came to the edge of a fine pool where one -descended by a marble staircase to bathe. Although -it was chilly, our heads were warm, and it came to -me to propose to the maidens that they put their feet -in the water, assuring them that it would do them -good and, if they permitted me, that I would count it -an honour to remove their shoes and stockings.</p> - -<p>“Come,” said Hedvige, “I like the project -well.”</p> - -<p>“I, too,” said Helène.</p> - -<p>“Seat yourselves, ladies, on the first stair.”</p> - -<p>Behold them, then, seated, and thy servant, -on the fourth stair, busy unshoeing them, what time -he extolled the beauty of their legs and made pretence -to be incurious at the moment to see higher than the -knee. Then, having gone down to the water, they -had perforce to lift their garments, and in this business -I encouraged them.</p> - -<p>“Ah, well,” remarked Hedvige, “men also -have thighs.”</p> - -<p>Helène, who would have felt shame to show -less courage than her cousin, did not hang back.</p> - -<p>“Come, my charming naiads,” quoth I, “‘tis -enough. Ye will catch cold if ye remain for long in -the water.”</p> - -<p>They reascended the staircase backwards, -ever holding up their robes lest they might wet them; -and it fell to me to dry their limbs with all the handkerchiefs -that I possessed. This pleasant task permitted -me to see and touch everything at my leisure,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_27">27</span> -and the reader will scarce need my word to affirm -that I made the best of my opportunity. The pretty -niece (Hedvige) declared that I was too curious, but -Helène let me have my way with an air so tender -and so languid that I was hard pressed not to push -the matter further. In the end, having again put on -their shoes and stockings, I told them that I was enchanted -to have viewed the secret charms of the two -most lovely ladies in Geneva.</p> - -<p>“What effect hath it on thee?” asked Hedvige -of me.</p> - -<p>“I dare not tell ye to look, but feel, both of ye.”</p> - -<p>“Bathe thou thyself also.”</p> - -<p>“Impossible. The business is too long for a -man.”</p> - -<p>“But we have yet two full hours to remain -here without fear of interruption from anyone.”</p> - -<p>This response caused me to see the happiness -that awaited me; but I did not think fit to expose -myself to an illness by entering the water in the state -in which I was. Seeing a summer-house not far off -and assured that M. Tronchin would have left it -open, I took my two beauties by the arm and led them -thither, not letting them guess, however, my intentions.</p> - -<p>The summer-house was full of vases of <i lang="fr">pot -pourri</i>, pretty engravings, and so forth; but what I -valued most was a large and lovely divan, fit for -repose and for pleasure. There, seated ‘twixt these -two beauties and lavishing caresses upon them, I said -that I desired to show them that which they had -never seen, at the same time exposing to their gaze -the principal agent of humanity. They raised themselves -to admire it, and then, taking the hand of each<span class="pagenum" id="Page_28">28</span> -one of them, I procured for them a considerable -pleasure; but, in the course of this labour, an abundant -emission on my part caused them great amazement.</p> - -<p>“‘Tis its speech,” said I. “The speech of the -great creator of men.”</p> - -<p>“‘Tis delicious!” cried Helène, laughing at -the term ‘speech.’</p> - -<p>“I, too, have the power of speech,” said Hedvige, -“and I will show it thee, if thou wilt wait a -moment.”</p> - -<p>“Put thyself in my hands, sweet Hedvige. -I will spare thee the trouble of making it come thyself, -and I will do it better than thee.”</p> - -<p>“I well believe it. But I have never done -that with a man.”</p> - -<p>“Nor I,” said Helène.</p> - -<p>When they had placed themselves directly -before me, their arms enlaced, I made them swoon -away afresh. Then, having seated ourselves, what -time my hand strayed all over their charms, I let -them divert themselves at their leisure, till in the end -I moistened their palms with a second emission of -the natural moisture, which they examined curiously -on their fingers.</p> - -<p>Having once again put ourselves in a state of -decency, we passed yet another half hour in exchanging -kisses, after which I told them that they -had rendered me partially happy, but, to make the -work perfect, that I hoped they would devise a means -of granting me their first favours. Then I showed -them those preservative sachets which the English -have invented in order to rid the fair sex of all fear.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_29">29</span> -These little “purses,”<a id="FNanchor_33" href="#Footnote_33" class="fnanchor">33</a> the use of which I explained -to them, excited their admiration, and Hedvige said -to her cousin that she would give thought to the -matter. Become intimate friends and in good case to -become even better, we took our way towards the -house, where we found Helène’s mother and the -minister walking by the edge of the lake....</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p><i>Follows now the description of a dinner at -which Casanova, Hedvige and Helène are present. -The text continues:</i></p></blockquote> - -<p>Helène shone in solving the questions put to -her by the company. M. de Ximenes begged her to -justify as best she might our first mother, who had -deceived her husband by causing him to eat the fatal -apple.</p> - -<p>“Eve,” quoth she, “deceived not her husband; -she did but cajole him into eating it in the hope of -giving him one more perfection. Moreover, Eve had -not received the prohibition from God but from -Adam; in her act there was seduction, not deceit; in -all probability her womanly sense did not let her -regard the prohibition as serious.” ...</p> - -<p>... Another lady then asked her if one might -believe the history of the apple to be symbolical. -Hedvige answered:</p> - -<p>“I think not, since it could only be a symbol -of sexual union, and ‘tis established that such was -not consummated ‘twixt Adam and Eve in the -Garden of Eden.”</p> - -<p>“On this point the learned differ.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_30">30</span></p> - -<p>“So much the worse for them, madam; the -Scripture is plain enough. ‘Tis written in the first -verse of the fourth chapter that Adam knew Eve after -his expulsion from their terrestrial paradise, and that -in consequence she conceived Cain.”</p> - -<p>“Yea, but the verse sayeth not that Adam did -not know her before, and, consequently, he might so -have done.”</p> - -<p>“This I cannot allow, for had he known her -before she would have conceived; ‘twere foolish to -suppose that two creatures, who had just quitted -God’s hands, and were, in consequence, as nigh perfect -as is possible, could consummate the act of generation -with no result.”</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p><i>The conversation now becomes very theological -and controversial, and we take leave to omit it.</i></p></blockquote> - -<p>... After dinner ... I went apart with -Helène, who told me that her cousin and the pastor -would sup with her mother on the following day.</p> - -<p>“Hedvige,” she added, “will stay and sleep -with me, as is ever her custom when she cometh with -her uncle to sup. It remaineth to be seen if thou art -willing to hide in a spot I will show thee to-morrow -at eleven of the clock, in order to pass the night with -us. Call on my mother at that hour to-morrow, and -I will find means of showing thee the spot....”</p> - -<p>... In the morning I paid the mother a visit, -and as Helène was escorting me out, she showed me -a closed door ‘twixt the two stairs.</p> - -<p>“At seven hours of the clock,” said she, “thou -will find it open, and when thou art within, put on -the bolt. Take care lest any see thee as thou enter -the house.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_31">31</span></p> - -<blockquote> - -<p><i>Casanova, in due course, takes up his position -in the hiding place, and during his long wait for the -two charmers, gives himself up to reflection on his -past. The text continues:</i></p></blockquote> - -<p>... In my long and profligate career, during -which I have turned the heads of several hundreds of -ladies, I have grown familiar with all methods of seduction; -but it hath ever been my guiding principle -never to press my attack against novices or those in -whom prejudices were likely to prove an obstacle, -save in the presence of another woman. Timidity, I -soon discovered, maketh a girl averse from seduction; -in company with another girl she is easily conquered; -the weakness of one bringeth on the fall of the other.</p> - -<p>Fathers and mothers are of contrary opinion, -but they err. They will not trust their daughter to -take a walk or go to a ball with a young man, but no -difficulty is made if she hath another girl with her. -I repeat—they err; if the young man hath the requisite -skill, their daughter is lost. A sense of false shame -hindereth them from making a determined resistance -to seduction, but, the first step taken, the fall cometh -inevitably and rapidly. One girl, granting some -small favour, straightway maketh her friend grant a -much greater, thereby to hide her own blushes; and -if the seducer be clever at his trade, the youthful -innocent will soon have travelled too far to be able to -draw back. In addition, the more innocent the girl, -the greater her ignorance of seduction’s methods. -Ere she hath time to think, pleasure doth attract her, -curiosity draweth her yet a little further, and opportunity -doth the rest.</p> - -<p>For example, ‘twere possible I had been able -to seduce Hedvige without Helène, but I am assured<span class="pagenum" id="Page_32">32</span> -I had never succeeded with Helène had she not seen -her cousin grant me certain licenses what time she -took liberties with me—practices which she thought, -doubtless, contrary to the modesty and decorum of a -respectable young woman.... I desire what I say -to be a warning to fathers and mothers, and to secure -me a place in their esteem, at any rate.</p> - -<p>Shortly after the pastor had gone I heard -three light knocks on my prison door. I opened it, -and a hand soft as satin grasped mine. My whole -being quivered. ‘Twas Helène’s hand, and that -happy moment had already repaid me for my long -waiting.</p> - -<p>“Follow me softly,” she said, in a low voice; -but scarce had she closed the door ere I, in my impatience, -clasped her tenderly in my arms, and caused -her to feel the effect which her mere presence had -produced on me, what time I assured myself of her -docility.</p> - -<p>“Be prudent, my friend,” said she to me, “and -come softly upstairs.”</p> - -<p>I followed her as best I might in the darkness, -she leading me along a gallery into a room without -light, the door of which she closed behind us, and -thence into a lighted chamber, wherein was Hedvige, -well nigh in a state of nudity. She came to me with -open arms on the instant she saw me, and, embracing -me ardently, signified her appreciation of my -patience in my weary prison.</p> - -<p>“Divine Hedvige,” quoth I, “had I not loved -thee madly, I had not stayed one fourth of an hour -in that dismal cell; but for thy sake I would readily -pass hours there daily till I quit this spot. But let us -lose no time. To bed!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_33">33</span></p> - -<p>“Do ye twain get to bed,” quoth Helène. “I -will couch on the divan.”</p> - -<p>“Oh!” cried Hedvige. “Think not so. Our -fate must be exactly equal.”</p> - -<p>“Yea, beloved Helène,” said I, embracing her. -“I love thee both with equal ardour, and these ceremonies -but waste the time wherein I should be convincing -ye of my passion. Follow my example. I -am about to disrobe and place myself in the midst of -the bed. Come lie beside me, and ye will see if I -love ye as ye are worthy to be loved. If all be safe, I -will remain till ye send me away, but whate’er ye do, -of your mercy extinguish not the light.”</p> - -<p>In the twinkling of an eye, all the while discussing -the theory of shame with Hedvige the theologian, -I presented myself to their gaze in the costume -of Adam. Hedvige, blushing but fearing, perchance, -to depreciate herself in my opinion by any further -reserve, parted with the last shred of modesty, citing -the opinion of St. Clement Alexandrinus, who held -that in the shirt lay the seat of shame.</p> - -<p>I praised unstintingly her charms and the -perfection of her form, thereby hoping to encourage -Helène, who was disrobing but slowly; but a charge -of mock modesty from her cousin had more effect -than all my praises. At length this Venus was in a -state of nature, covering her most secret parts with -one hand, concealing one breast with the other, and -seeming most sadly shamed of all she could not conceal. -Her modest confusion, this strife ‘twixt expiring -modesty and growing passion, enchanted me.</p> - -<p>Hedvige was taller than Helène, her skin was -whiter, and her breasts twice the size of her cousin’s; -but in Helène was more animation, her form was<span class="pagenum" id="Page_34">34</span> -more sweetly moulded, and her bust was on the -model of the Venus de Medici.</p> - -<p>By degrees she became bolder, put at ease by -her cousin, and we passed several moments in admiring -each other; then to bed we went. Nature -called loudly, and all we desired was to satisfy its -demands. With a coolness that I did not fear would -fail me, I made a woman of Hedvige, and when all -was o’er she kissed me, saying that the pain was -naught compared to the pleasure.</p> - -<p>Next came the turn of Helène, who was six -years younger than Hedvige; but the finest “fleece”<a id="FNanchor_34" href="#Footnote_34" class="fnanchor">34</a> -that e’er I saw presented something of an obstacle. -This she parted with her two hands, being jealous of -her cousin’s success; and although she was not initiated -into the mysteries of love without woeful pain, -her sighs were truly sighs of happiness as she responded -to my ardent efforts. Her charms and vivacious -movements caused me to shorten the sacrifice, -and when I quitted the sanctuary my two beauties -perceived I was in need of repose.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_35">35</span></p> -<p>The altar was purified of the blood of the victims, -and we all bathed, enchanted to serve one -another.</p> - -<p>Life returned to me ‘neath their curious fingers, -and the sight filled them with joy.... For several -hours I overwhelmed them with happiness, passing -five or six times from one to the other before exhausting -myself and arriving at the ecstatic spasm. In the -intervals, perceiving them docile and desirous, I made -them execute Aretin’s most complicated postures, a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_36">36</span> -business that amused them beyond measure.<a id="FNanchor_35" href="#Footnote_35" class="fnanchor">35</a> We -were lavish with our kisses on whatever part took our -fancy, and just as Hedvige applied her lips to the -mouth of the pistol, it went off and the discharge inundated -her face and her bosom. She was delighted, -and studied the eruption to an end with all the -curiosity of a physician.</p> - -<p>The night seemed short, though we had not -lost a moment’s space, and at daybreak we had to -part. 1 left them in bed, being fortunate to get away -observed of none.</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p><i>In the evening, after supper, Casanova contrives -another meeting with his charmers.</i></p></blockquote> - -<p>... Going out with my heroines, I worked -wonders. Hedvige philosophised over the pleasure, -and told me that she would ne’er have tasted it had I -not chanced to encounter her uncle. Helène did not -speak; more voluptuous than her cousin, she swelled -out like a dove, and came to life only to expire a -moment after. I wondered at her amazing fecundity, -although such is not uncommon; while I was engaged -in one operation, she passed fourteen times from life -to death. True, ‘twas the sixth course I had run, so I -made my pace somewhat slower to enjoy the pleasure -she took in the business....</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p><i>After passing another night with the cousins, -Casanova again sets out on his travels; and here, for -the time being, we will leave him.</i></p></blockquote> - -<hr class="chap" /> -</div><div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_37">37</span></p> - - - - -<h3><i>EXCURSUS</i> to <i>ADVENTURES WITH HEDVIGE -AND HELÈNE AT GENEVA</i>.</h3> - - -<p>Jacques Casanova, Chevalier de Seingalt, -Knight of the Golden Spur, and one of the most remarkable -figures in history and letters, was born on -April 2nd, 1725. To-day, nearly two hundred years -afterwards, his <cite>Memoirs</cite> are more vivid and readable -than anything penned by our contemporary writers.</p> - -<p>“He who opens these wonderful pages,” says -the English translator in his preface, “is as one who -sits in a theatre and looks across the gloom, not on a -stage-play, but on another and a vanished world. -The curtain draws up, and suddenly a hundred and -fifty years are rolled away, and in bright light stands -out before us the whole life of the past; the gay -dresses, the polished wit, the careless morals, and all -the revel and dancing of those merry years before the -mighty deluge of the Revolution.</p> - -<p>“The palaces and marble stairs of old Venice -are no longer desolate, but thronged with scarlet-robed -senators, prisoners with the doom of the Ten -upon their heads cross the Bridge of Sighs, at dead of -night the nun slips out of the convent gate to the dark -canal where a gondola is waiting, we assist at the <i lang="it">parties -fines</i> of cardinals, and we see the bank made at faro.</p> - -<p>“Venice gives place to the assembly rooms of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_38">38</span> -Mrs. Cornely and the fast taverns of the London of -1760; we pass from Versailles to the Winter Palace of -St. Petersburg in the days of Catherine, from the -policy of the Great Frederick to the lewd mirth of -strolling-players, and the presence-chamber of the -Vatican is succeeded by an intrigue in a garret.</p> - -<p>“It is indeed a new experience to read this -history of a man who, refraining from nothing, has -concealed nothing; of one who stood in the courts of -Louis the Magnificent for Madame de Pompadour and -the nobles of the <i lang="fr">ancien régime</i>, and had an affair -with an adventuress of Denmark Street, Soho; who -was bound over to keep the peace by Fielding, and -knew Cagliostro.</p> - -<p>“The friend of popes and kings and noblemen, -and of all the male and female ruffians and -vagabonds of Europe, abbé, soldier, charlatan, gamester, -financier, diplomatist, <i lang="fr">viveur</i>, philosopher, virtuoso, -‘chemist, fiddler, and buffoon’, each of these, -and all of these, was Giacomo Casanova, Chevalier -de Seingalt, Knight of the Golden Spur.”</p> - -<p>The English translation of Casanova’s -<cite>Memoirs</cite>, from which the foregoing is taken, is a -valuable work. To-day the twelve volume set, of -which 1,000 copies were privately printed in 1894, -commands anything from thirty to forty-five pounds -in the sale-room or book-seller’s shop. We have been -told that the printer of this English version was prosecuted, -and all copies of the work confiscated by -the police, who were ordered to burn them. Further, -we are told that the copies we buy and read to-day -are the copies burned by the police.</p> - -<p>If this be so, all honour to the police, for the -destruction of any scholarly rendering of these<span class="pagenum" id="Page_39">39</span> -<cite>Memoirs</cite> can only be described as an act of vandalism. -Because Casanova is not for the multitude, -does it follow he is not for the few? Translated into -the English tongue, Casanova’s <cite>Memoirs</cite> must be -“privately printed” by reason of his plain speech in -the matter of amorous intrigue, yet, were every erotic -word and scene expunged, the work would still be of -fascinating interest and inestimable value to the -student of history. There exists a bowdlerised and -abridged edition of these <cite>Memoirs</cite>; we have never -seen, and we never wish to see, this work. A study -of life, without a leavening of human nature, is worse -than useless.</p> - -<p>Casanova, if any reliance is to be set on his -writings, was a sexual athlete—a member of that rare -and remarkable class of men who are capable of -amazing feats in the lists of love. Frequent reference -is made to his prowess and observations by the great -sexual psychologists, Havelock Ellis in particular. -Bloch, (<cite>The Sexual Life of Our Time</cite>), quoting from -a work by Oscar A. H. Schmitz, has some interesting -remarks to make on the character of Casanova.</p> - -<p>“Casanova,” he says, “is pre-eminently the -erotic, also crafty and deceitful (seducer), not, however, -for the gratification of his need of power, but -rather for the agreeable satisfaction of his need for -sensual love; ... for Casanova each one is ‘the -woman’ ... Casanova is human, cares always for the -happiness of the woman he loves, and devotes to -them a tender reflection; ... Casanova is the typical -feminist, he possesses a profound understanding of -woman’s soul, is not disappointed by love, and needs -for his life’s happiness continuous contact with feminine -natures....”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_40">40</span></p> - -<p>“Whatever I have done in the course of my -life,” says Casanova,<a id="FNanchor_36" href="#Footnote_36" class="fnanchor">36</a> “whether it be good or evil, has -been done freely; I am a free agent.... Man is free, -but his freedom ceases when he has no faith in it.... -Man is free; yet we must not suppose he is at liberty -to do everything he pleases, for he becomes a slave -the moment he allows his actions to be ruled by his -passions. The man who has sufficient power over -himself to wait until his nature has recovered its even -balance is the truly wise man, but such beings are -seldom met with....</p> - -<p>“The sanguine temperament rendered me -very sensible to the attractions of voluptuousness.... -The chief business of my life has always been to indulge -my senses; I never knew anything of greater -importance. I felt myself born for the fair sex, I have -ever loved it dearly, and I have been loved by it as -often and as much as I could....</p> - -<p>“ ... Should anyone bring against me an accusation -of sensuality he would be wrong, for all the -fierceness of my senses never caused me to neglect -any of my duties.... I have always been fond of -highly-seasoned, rich dishes.... As for women, I have -always found the odour of my beloved ones exceeding -pleasant....</p> - -<p>“ ... It may be that certain love scenes will -be considered too explicit, but let no one blame me, -unless it be for lack of skill, for I ought not to be -scolded because, in my old age, I can find no other -enjoyment but that which recollections of the past -afford to me. After all, virtuous and prudish readers -are at liberty to skip over any offensive pictures, and -I think it my duty to give them this piece of advice....</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_41">41</span></p> - -<p>“ ... My Memoirs are not written for young -persons who, in order to avoid false steps and slippery -roads, ought to spend their youth in blissful ignorance, -but for those who, having thorough experience -of life, are no longer exposed to temptation, and who, -having but too often gone through the fire, are like -salamanders, and can be scorched by it no more.... -I have no hesitation in saying that the really virtuous -are those persons who can practise virtue without the -slightest trouble; such persons are always full of -toleration, and it is to them that my Memoirs are -addressed....”</p> - -<p>Casanova, as he himself tells us, was three -score and twelve years when he wrote his <cite>Memoirs</cite>. -The writing, he adds, was both a solace and a -pleasure. Nevertheless, as the English translator -says in his appendix, “the last five years of his life -were passed in petty mortifications.... Death came -to him somewhat as a release. He received the -sacraments with devotion, exclaimed: ‘Great God, -and all ye who witness my death, I have lived a -philosopher and I die a Christian,’ and so died—a -quiet ending to a wonderfully brilliant and entirely -useless career.”</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> -</div><div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_42">42</span></p> - - - - -<h2 title="THE DAMSEL AND THE PRINCE.">THE DAMSEL AND THE PRINCE.<a id="FNanchor_37" href="#Footnote_37" class="fnanchor">37</a></h2> - -<p><i>A young lady being enamoured of the Prince -of Salerno sends for one of his chaplains and declares -to him that she has received from the said prince -numerous letters praying for her love. The chaplain, -having divined her motive, enters into a plot with her -and brings the affair to the issue desired.</i></p> - - -<div> - <img class="drop-cap" src="images/a.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> -<p class="drop-cap">At that time when our most glorious lord and -king, Don Fernando, was entertaining Naples, -according to his constant use, with those -joustings, those marvellous hunting parties, -and those sumptuous festivals which were famed far -and wide, it chanced that amongst the other merry-makers -was a certain young damsel, of beauty almost -unrivalled, and a scion of one of the noblest houses -of our Parthenopean city.</p> - -<p>Now for some time past she had often let her -eyes regale themselves with the beauty and the grace -of form belonging to my most illustrious lord, the -Prince of Salerno, and beyond this had heard sung, -over and over again, the praises of his extraordinary -worth. By this time she was more than ever<span class="pagenum" id="Page_43">43</span> -captivated by him, wherefore she became so lovesick -that she could only give thought to the gentleman by -whom her fancy had been ensnared.</p> - -<p>After she had let her thoughts ... engage -themselves in many and divers plans by which she -might honourably achieve the victory in so worthy -an adventure, she found that all these schemes were -over-difficult to compass; wherefore it more than -once came into her head that she would follow the -advice of certain other ladies of her acquaintance, -who, whenever they found they could not refrain -from entering the lists of love, were wont to send -word to the gallant youths beloved of them and -challenge them to the amorous warfare.</p> - -<p>But this damsel, who was gifted with no -small prudence, and was persuaded at the same time -that she would not, by following such a course, be -setting a very high value either upon herself or upon -her undertaking, suddenly determined that she would -make trial of a novel and very crafty stratagem to -induce the prince aforesaid to cull the first fruits of -her virgin garden. Having chosen a time when the -prince had gone to other parts for diversion in the -chase, she let come to her a certain priest, a man -whom she could fully trust, and one who was much -about the house, and to him she gave directions as to -what she would have him do.</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p><i>This priest now brings Fra Paulo, the chaplain -and the prince’s most trusted attendant, to the damsel -who alleges the receipt of impassioned love-letters -from the prince. She is at a loss to know whether -these letters have been concocted by one of her -brothers with a view to putting her constancy to proof, -or whether they have really been written by the prince<span class="pagenum" id="Page_44">44</span> -who “is in sooth taken with love of me, seeing that I -have at times kept my eyes fixed upon him somewhat -more than was due.” The text continues</i>:—</p></blockquote> - -<p>With these, and with other words of a like -character, which had been prepared with the most -consummate art, she laid before the chaplain the -letters aforesaid, by way of giving him still farther -assurance of the truth of her craftily devised discourse. -Fra Paulo, although, as a prudent man, and as one -accustomed to bring contests of this sort to a victorious -issue, he had fully detected and comprehended the -hidden wishes and purpose of the young lady, -nevertheless, as she went on step by step with her -reasonings and arguments, was astonished at finding -so great ingenuity and astuteness in the brain of a -damsel so delicate and youthful.</p> - -<p>Still, as he remarked more than once that, -whenever she mentioned the name of his lord the -prince, her face changed colour, he understood that -the passion which possessed her must be indeed -burning and fierce. Wherefore he determined to let -this same wind speed his own bark over such a -pleasant sea, and he thus made answer to her:—</p> - -<p>“Lady mine, because of your kindness, you -have thought well enough of me to unveil to me your -secret affairs, you may rest assured that, no less for -the preservation of your own good name than for the -safeguarding of my lord’s, I will deal with this matter -with all that silence and secrecy which, according to -your judgement and mine as well, the gravity and -importance of the same demand....</p> - -<p>“ ... I declare once for all that these letters -were never written by my lord; in sooth, if they had -been his handiwork, I should have marvelled amain,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_45">45</span> -because it is his custom never to write with his own -hand to any woman, however fiercely his passion -may be kindled for her, unless he may first have -made proof of her love.... At the outset of all his -love affairs the letters and messages thereanent are -written and arranged by the agency of the chamberlain, -who is in his closest confidence. Wherefore I -hold it for certain that these same letters must be from -the hands of this man....</p> - -<p>“ ... Many a time, when I have chanced to -be discoursing concerning the beauty of women with -my lord, he, with a little sigh, which he seemed fain -to repress, has never ceased to place you before all -other ladies. And although his words are rare and -few and sententious, he has full often let me know -secretly that you are the only one to whom he has -entirely given his love.</p> - -<p>“Therefore meseems that ... you should -give me authority to act, so I may be able to place the -whole matter together with your own doubts and -fears, before the notice of my lord.... And in order -that you may speedily be informed of the answer, -and that the affair may be kept no long time in suspense, -it will behove you to be on the watch for me, -for when you shall see me pass by your house, and -call to a certain boy who will be standing opposite -thereto, you may be assured that I have done my -errand, and on the following morning let us meet -once more in this same spot.”</p> - -<p>The young lady, deeming that she had -assuredly gulled the friar by her trick, and that her -plot could not now fail to come to an issue perfectly -satisfactory to her, was so greatly overjoyed that it -seemed to her as if she had in sooth been crowned by<span class="pagenum" id="Page_46">46</span> -Heaven.... Then, having brought their discourse to -an end, and each one being in a contented mood, -though for a different cause, they went their several -ways.</p> - -<p>As Fortune willed it ... the friar was met -by the news that the prince had already taken the -road with the intention of being in Naples on the -following day. Wherefore Fra Paulo, having gone -out to meet him, was mightily glad to let him know -the whole history of the craft of the amorous damsel, -and of the scheme which she had framed. The -prince gave ear to the same with no less amazement -than pleasure; for, albeit he had rarely cast his eyes -upon this young girl, and retained no recollection of -her beauty, nevertheless it seemed to him to be only -just and right that he should hold dear those who -loved him. So he made answer to the friar, and bade -him set the business in progress in such wise that the -meeting might be brought to pass at the earliest -possible time.</p> - -<p>The friar, pleased beyond measure and eager -to do service to the prince, betook himself towards the -house of the damsel as soon as he had dismounted -from his beast. Then, having made the sign which -had been agreed between themselves—a sign which -she observed and understood with the utmost pleasure—the -damsel duly repaired on the following morning -to the spot which had been chosen; and there, when -she met the friar, he said to her:—</p> - -<p>“My dear lord, who for your pleasure arrived -last night in Naples, commends himself to you. I -have set before him at full length the purport of the -converse betwixt you and me, but I could not draw -from his lips any other reply except that he prays and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_47">47</span> -conjures you, by the perfect love which he has for so -long a time borne and still bears to you, and also by -that love which you should dutifully entertain -towards him, that it will please you, on this same -evening, to give him a kindly audience in order that -he may, without needing to confide in any living -man, lay bare to you those matters which he has kept -hitherto, and still keeps, secured by a strong lock -within his passionate breast.”</p> - -<p>The young woman, who, as she listened to -these words, was so vastly overjoyed that she could -with difficulty contain herself within her skin, now -felt that every hour would be as a thousand years -until she should find herself engaged in the supreme -conclusions of love; and, after a few feeble denials -and hesitations, answered that she was ready to do -what the prince desired. She did not quit the friar’s -company until they had, in discreet wise, settled -when and in what manner and in what place she and -the prince should come together for the amorous -battle.</p> - -<p>The friar then betook himself straightway to -his beloved lord and prince, who indeed was awaiting -him and his answer. Then he set forth everything to -the prince, who, when himseemed that the appointed -time had come, went with his attendants to the -meeting-place, and there he found the lovely young -damsel, who, delicately arrayed and perfumed, -received him with open arms and exceeding great -delight.</p> - -<p>Then, after countless kisses had been given -and received by the prince, they got on board their -bark, and after the helm had been duly set and the -sails spread to the wind, the damsel, what though she<span class="pagenum" id="Page_48">48</span> -was not as yet greatly versed in the mariner’s art, let -her lover navigate the sea of love during all the time -they were able to spend together. When at last they -found themselves with great delight once more in -port, the damsel, tenderly clasping the neck of the -prince with her arms, thus addressed him:—</p> - -<p>“My sweetest lord, for that I alone, aided by -my own skill and forethought, have succeeded in -bringing you hither this first time I have but to thank -myself, but for the future I must leave to the care of -you and of Love the devising of the means whereby -you may be able to show me further proofs of your -passion. Now there remains nothing more for me to -say except that I recommend myself without ceasing -to your favour.”</p> - -<p>Thereupon the illustrious lord the prince -heartened her with soft and tender words, and they -then took leave of one another with great pleasure -and delight; and if anyone should still wish to know -whether, and in what fashion, this love of theirs bore -further fruit, let him inquire on his own behalf.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> -</div><div class="chapter"> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_49">49</span></p> - - - - -<h3><i>EXCURSUS</i> to <i>THE DAMSEL AND THE -PRINCE</i>.</h3> - -<p>Because Masuccio—so far as the general -public is concerned—may be counted among the -lesser-known of the Novellieri of the Cinquecento, it -may not be inappropriate to give a few details of his -life and work. To this purpose we cannot do better -than quote from the admirable introduction to Mr. W. -G. Waters’ translation of the <cite>Novellino</cite>, whence is -taken our story of <i>The Damsel and the Prince</i>.</p> - -<p>Masuccio, says Mr. Waters, “was probably -born about 1420.... Seeing that he was Sanseverino’s -secretary, and that the great majority of his novels -are dedicated to prominent Neapolitans, it may be -assumed that his life was chiefly spent in Naples and -the neighbourhood.... After 1474 Masuccio fades -entirely from view....</p> - -<p>“Masuccio seems to have rated himself as one -with a message to deliver ... his phraseology gives -one the impression that he wrote with his feelings at -white heat.... In the very Prologue to the work he -announces his primary theme, by proclaiming himself -the scourger of priestly vices.... If the words -which a man speaks or writes are ever to be taken as -evidence of the mind that is in him, then assuredly -Masuccio may be credited with ardent hatred of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_50">50</span> -the offences he denounces.<a id="FNanchor_38" href="#Footnote_38" class="fnanchor">38</a> Putting aside occasional -lapses into licentiousness of expression as accidents -inseparable from the age in which he wrote, it is -almost impossible to doubt his sincerity as a would-be -reformer of manners....</p> - -<p>“ ... Masuccio’s canvas is a limited one. -A few of his stories are in the vein of genuine buffo, -a few more are tragedies pure and simple, but the -majority of the residue will be found to treat of one -or other of his two particular themes, the castigation -of profligate clerics and unchaste women. He -devotes one part of the work to each of these specially; -but in the other parts he never lets a friar or a woman -escape the lash if he finds the chance of laying it on.</p> - -<p>“The most scathing passages ... are those -which occur here and there in the ‘Masuccio’ at the -end of his stories.... As an instance may be quoted -the conclusion to Novel XXIII., in which, after -screaming himself hoarse over the crimes of women, -he finishes with these words:—</p> - -<p>“‘Would that it had been God’s pleasure and -Nature’s to have suffered us to be brought forth from -the oak-trees, or indeed to have been engendered -from water and mire like the frogs in the humid rains -of summer, rather than to have taken our origin from -so base, so corrupt, and so vilely fashioned a sex as -womankind.’”</p> - -<p>As a further example of Masuccio’s hatred -of women, Mr. Waters cites “the frightful indictment<span class="pagenum" id="Page_51">51</span> -at the end of Novel VI. which he prefers against -women who put on the habit of religious houses.” -We might do worse than quote it:—</p> - -<p>“ ... I keep silence, likewise, concerning -all that might be said on the subject of the marriage -of these women with friars ... how they make -sumptuous marriage feasts, inviting thereto from this -convent and that their friends, who present themselves -with equipages laden with all manner of rich -goods.... With the consent of the abbess and of -their prelate they execute marriage contracts, duly -written and sealed; and then, having supped off all -manner of sumptuous meats, and performed every -other ceremony pertaining to the rite of marriage, -they go to bed one with another without showing -any fear or shame, just as if their union had been -contracted with the full sanction of their own fathers, -and by the laws of marriage....”<a id="FNanchor_39" href="#Footnote_39" class="fnanchor">39</a></p> - -<p>Space will not permit us, however, to deal <i lang="la">in -extenso</i> with Masuccio’s hatred of priest and woman. -We can best refer the reader to his <cite>Novellino</cite>, or to -such extracts as we shall make from them in subsequent -volumes of <em>Anthologica Rarissima</em>. Our -purpose, in the foregoing sketch, was to give some -slight impression of the aims and mentality of the -author of the two stories reproduced in this particular -volume.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> -</div><div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_52">52</span></p> - - - - -<h2 title="THE PENITENT NUN.">THE PENITENT NUN.<a id="FNanchor_40" href="#Footnote_40" class="fnanchor">40</a></h2> - - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poetry"><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse">Dame <i>Jane</i> a sprightly Nun, and gay,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">And formed of very yielding Clay,</div> - <div class="verse">Had long with resolution strove</div> - <div class="verse indent4">To guard against the Shafts of Love.</div> - <div class="verse">Fond <i>Cupid</i> smiling, spies the Fair,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">And soon he baffles all her Care,</div> - <div class="verse">In vain she tries her Pain to smother,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">The Nymph too frail, the Nymph too frail, becomes a Mother.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse">But no, these little Follies o’er,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">She firmly vows she’ll sin no more;</div> - <div class="verse">No more to Vice will fall a Prey,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">But spend in Prayer each fleeting Day.</div> - <div class="verse">Close in her Cell immur’d she lies,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">Nor from the Cross removes her Eyes;</div> - <div class="verse">Whilst Sisters crouding at the Crate,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">Spend all their Time, spend all their Time in Worldly Prate.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse">The Abbess, overjoy’d to find</div> - <div class="verse indent4">This happy Change in Jenny’s Mind,</div> - <div class="verse">The rest, with Air compos’d, addressing,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">“Daughters, if you expect a Blessing,</div> - <div class="verse">“From pious <i>Jane</i>, Example take,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">“The World and all its Joys forsake.”</div> - <div class="verse">“We will (they all replied as One)</div> - <div class="verse indent4">“But first let’s do as <i>Jane</i> has done.”</div> -</div></div></div> -<hr class="chap" /> -</div><div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_53">53</span></p> - - - -<h2 title="BEYOND THE MARK.">BEYOND THE MARK.<a id="FNanchor_41" href="#Footnote_41" class="fnanchor">41</a></h2> - -<p><i>Of a shepherd who made an agreement with a -shepherdess that he should mount upon her “in order -that he might see farther,” but was not to penetrate -beyond a mark which she herself made with her hand -upon the instrument of the said shepherd—as will -more plainly appear hereafter.</i></p> - - -<div> - <img class="drop-cap" src="images/l.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> -<p class="drop-cap">Listen, an it please ye, to what happened, near -Lille, to a shepherd and a young shepherdess -who tended their flocks together, or near -together.</p> - -<p>Nature had already stirred in them, and they -were of an age to know “the way of the world,” so one -day an agreement was made between them that the -shepherd should mount on the shepherdess “in order -to see farther,”<a id="FNanchor_42" href="#Footnote_42" class="fnanchor">42</a>—provided, however, that he should -not penetrate beyond a mark which she made with -her hand upon the natural instrument of the shepherd, -and which was about two fingers’ breadth below the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_54">54</span> -head; and the mark was made with a blackberry -taken from the hedge.</p> - -<p>That being done, they began God’s work, -and the shepherd pushed in as though it had cost him -no trouble, and without thinking about any mark or -sign, or the promise he had made to the shepherdess, -for all that he had it buried up to the hilt, and if he -had had more he would have found a place to put it.</p> - -<p>The pretty shepherdess, who had never had -such a wedding, enjoyed herself so much that she -would willingly have done nothing else all her life. -The battle being ended, both went to look after their -sheep, which had meanwhile strayed some distance. -They being brought together again, the shepherd, -who was called Hacquin, to pass the time, sat in a -swing set up between two hedges, and there he -swung, as happy as a king.</p> - -<p>The shepherdess sat by the side of a ditch, -and made a wreath of flowers. She sang a little song, -hoping that it would attract the shepherd, and he -would begin the game over again; but that was very -far from his thoughts. When she found he did not -come, she began to call: “Hacquin! Hacquin!”</p> - -<p>And he replied: “What wantest thou?”</p> - -<p>“Come hither! Come hither! Wilt thou?” -said she.</p> - -<p>But Hacquin had had a surfeit of pleasure -and made answer:</p> - -<p>“In God’s name, leave me alone. I do naught. -I enjoy myself.”</p> - -<p>Then the shepherdess cried:</p> - -<p>“Come hither, Hacquin; I will let thee go in -further, without making any mark.”</p> - -<p>“By St. John,” said Hacquin, “I went far<span class="pagenum" id="Page_55">55</span> -beyond the mark, and I do not want any more.”</p> - -<p>He would not go to the shepherdess, who -was much vexed to have to remain idle.<a id="FNanchor_43" href="#Footnote_43" class="fnanchor">43</a></p> -<hr class="chap" /> -</div><div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_56">56</span></p> - - - -<h2 title="THE DEVIL IN HELL.">THE DEVIL IN HELL.<a id="FNanchor_44" href="#Footnote_44" class="fnanchor">44</a></h2> - - -<div> - <img class="drop-cap" src="images/i.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> -<p class="drop-cap">In the city of Capsa in Barbary there was -aforetime a very rich man, who, among his -other children, had a fair and winsome -young daughter, by name Alibech. She, not -being a Christian and hearing many Christians who -abode in the town mightily extol the Christian faith -and the service of God, one day questioned one of -them in what manner one might avail to serve God -with the least hindrance. The other answered that -they best served God who most strictly eschewed the -things of the world, as those did who had betaken -them into the solitudes of the deserts of Thebaïs.</p> - -<p>The girl, who was maybe fourteen years old -and very simple, moved by no ordered desire, but by -some childish fancy, set off next morning by stealth -and all alone, to go to the desert of Thebaïs without -letting any know her intent.</p> - -<p>After some days, her desire persisting, she -won, with no little toil, to the deserts in question and -seeing a hut afar off, went thither and found at the -door a holy man, who marvelled to see her there and -asked her what she sought. She replied that, being -inspired of God, she went seeking to enter into His<span class="pagenum" id="Page_57">57</span> -service and was now in quest of one who should -teach her how it behoved to serve Him.</p> - -<p>The worthy man, seeing her young and very -fair and fearing lest, an he entertained her, the devil -should beguile him, commended her pious intent and -giving her somewhat to eat of roots and herbs and -wild apples and dates and to drink of water, said to -her:</p> - -<p>“Daughter mine, not far hence is a holy man, -who is a much better master than I of that which thou -goest seeking; do thou betake thyself to him;” and -put her in the way. However, when she reached the -man in question, she had of him the same answer -and faring farther, came to the cell of a young hermit, -a very devout and good man, whose name was Rustico -and to whom she made the same request as she had -done to the others.</p> - -<p>He, having a mind to make a trial of his own -constancy, sent her not away, as the others had done, -but received her into his cell, and the night being -come, he made her a little bed of palm-fronds and -bade her lie down to rest thereon.</p> - -<p>This done, temptations tarried not to give -battle to his powers of resistance and he, finding -himself grossly deceived by these latter, turned tail, -without many assaults, and confessed himself beaten; -then, laying aside devout thoughts and orisons and -mortifications, he fell to revolving in his memory the -youth and beauty of the damsel and bethinking himself -what course he should take with her, so as to win -to that which he desired of her, without her taking -him for a debauched fellow.</p> - -<p>Accordingly, having sounded her with sundry -questions, he found that she had never known<span class="pagenum" id="Page_58">58</span> -man and was in truth as simple as she seemed; -wherefore he bethought him, how, under colour of -the service of God, he might bring her to his -pleasures. In the first place, he showed her with -many words how great an enemy the devil was of -God the Lord and after gave her to understand that -the most acceptable service that could be rendered to -God was to put back the devil in hell, whereto He -had condemned him. The girl asked him how this -might be done; and he, “Thou shalt soon know that; -do thou but as thou shalt see me do.” So saying, he -proceeded to put off the few garments he had and -abode stark naked, as likewise did the girl, whereupon -he fell on his knees, as he would pray, and caused -her abide over against himself.</p> - -<p>Matters standing thus and Rustico being more -than ever inflamed in his desires to see her so fair, -there came the resurrection of the flesh, which -Alibech observing and marvelling:</p> - -<p>“Rustico,” quoth she, “What is that I see on -thee which thrusteth forth thus and which I have -not?”</p> - -<p>“Faith, daughter mine,” answered he, “this is -the devil whereof I bespoke thee; and see now, he -giveth me such sore annoy that I can scarce put up -with it.”</p> - -<p>Then said the girl:</p> - -<p>“Now praised be God! I see I fare better -than thou, in that I have none of yonder devil.”</p> - -<p>“True,” rejoined Rustico; “but thou hast -overwhat that I have not, and thou hast it instead of -this.”</p> - -<p>“What is that?” asked Alibech; and he:</p> - -<p>“Thou hast hell, and I tell thee methinketh<span class="pagenum" id="Page_59">59</span> -God hath sent thee hither for my soul’s health, for -that, whenas this devil doth me this annoy, an it -please thee have so much compassion on me as to -suffer me put him back into hell, thou wilt give the -utmost solacement and wilt do God a very great -pleasure and service, so indeed thou be come into -these parts to do as thou sayest.”</p> - -<p>The girl answered in good faith:</p> - -<p>“Marry, father mine, since I have hell, be it -whensoever it pleaseth thee;” whereupon quoth -Rustico:</p> - -<p>“Daughter, blessed be thou; let us go then -and put him back there, so he may after leave me in -peace.”</p> - -<p>So saying, he laid her on one of their little -beds and taught her how she should do to imprison -that accursed one of God. The girl, who had never -yet put any devil in hell, for the first time felt some -little pain; wherefore she said to Rustico:</p> - -<p>“Certes, father mine, this same devil must be -an ill thing and an enemy in very deed of God, for -that it irketh hell itself, let be otherwhat, when he is -put back therein.”</p> - -<p>“Daughter,” answered Rustico, “it will not -always happen thus;” and to the end that this should -not happen, six times, or ever they stirred from the -bed, they put him in hell again, insomuch that for the -nonce they so took the conceit out of his head that he -willingly abode at peace. But, it returning to him -again and again the ensuing days and the obedient -girl still lending herself to take it out of him, it befell -that the sport began to please her and she said to -Rustico:</p> - -<p>“I see now that those good people in Capsa<span class="pagenum" id="Page_60">60</span> -spoke sooth, when they avouched that it was so sweet -a thing to serve God; for certes, I remember me not -to have ever done aught that afforded me such pleasance -and delight as putting the devil in hell; wherefore -methinketh that whoso applieth himself unto -aught other than God His service is a fool.”</p> - -<p>Accordingly, she came ofttimes to Rustico -and said to him:</p> - -<p>“Father mine, I came here to serve God and -not to abide idle; let us go put the devil in hell.” -Which doing, she said whiles:</p> - -<p>“Rustico, I know not why the devil fleeth -away from hell; for, an he abode there as willingly -as hell receiveth him and holdeth him, he would -never come forth therefrom.”</p> - -<p>The girl, then, on this wise often inviting -Rustico and exhorting him to the service of God, so -took the bombast out of his doublet that he felt cold -what time another had sweated; wherefore he fell to -telling her that the devil was not to be chastised nor -put into hell, save whenas he should lift up his head -for pride.</p> - -<p>“And we,” added he, “by God’s grace, have -so baffled him that he prayeth our Lord to suffer him -abide in peace;” and on this wise he for awhile imposed -silence on her.</p> - -<p>However, when she saw that he required her -not of putting the devil in hell, she said to him one -day:</p> - -<p>“Rustico, an thy devil be chastened and give -thee no more annoy, my hell letteth me not be; -wherefore thou wilt do well to aid me with thy devil -in abating the raging of my hell, even as with my hell -I have helped thee take the conceit out of thy devil.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_61">61</span></p> - -<p>Rustico, who lived on roots and water, could -ill avail to answer her calls and told her that it would -need overmany devils to appease hell, but he would -do what he might thereof. Accordingly he satisfied -her bytimes, but so seldom it was but casting a bean -into the lion’s mouth; whereat the girl, herseeming -she served not God as diligently as she would fain -have done, murmured somewhat.</p> - -<p>But, whilst this debate was toward between -Rustico his devil and Alibech her hell, for overmuch -desire on the one part and lack of power on the other, -it befell that a fire broke out in Capsa and burnt -Alibech’s father in his own house, with as many -children and other family as he had; by reason -whereof she abode heir to all his good.</p> - -<p>Thereupon, a young man called Nëerbale, -who had spent all his substance in gallantry, hearing -that she was alive, set out in search of her and finding -her, before the court (<i>i.e.</i>, the government) had laid -hands upon her father’s estate, as that of a man dying -without heir, to Rustico’s great satisfaction, but against -her own will, brought her back to Capsa, where he -took her to wife and succeeded, in her right, to the -ample inheritance of her father.</p> - -<p>There, being asked by the women at what -she served God in the desert, she answered (Nëerbale -having not yet lain with her) that she served Him at -putting the devil in hell and that Nëerbale had done -a grievous sin in that he had taken her from such -service.</p> - -<p>The ladies asked:</p> - -<p>“How putteth one the devil in hell?”</p> - -<p>And the girl, what with words and what with -gestures, expounded it to them; whereat they set up<span class="pagenum" id="Page_62">62</span> -so great a laughing that they laugh yet and said:</p> - -<p>“Give yourself no concern, my child; nay, -for that is done here also and Nëerbale will serve our -Lord full well with thee at this.”</p> - -<p>Thereafter, telling it from one to another -throughout the city, they brought it to a common -saying there that the most acceptable service one -could render to God was to put the devil in hell, -which byword, having passed the sea hither, is yet -current here. Wherefore do all you young ladies, -who have need of God’s grace, learn to put the devil -in hell, for that this is highly acceptable to Him and -pleasing to both parties and much good may grow -and ensue thereof.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> -</div><div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_63">63</span></p> - - - - -<h3><i>EXCURSUS</i> to <i>THE DEVIL IN HELL</i>.</h3> - - -<p>Boccaccio’s immortal story of Alibech who -“turned hermit and was taught by Rustico, a monk, -to put the devil in hell” has been drawn upon or -brazenly copied by innumerable <i lang="fr">raconteurs</i>. La -Fontaine has an exactly similar story. “To put the -devil in hell” has passed into use as an accepted slang -term for the act of copulation. <em>Hell</em>, in English, and -<i lang="fr">Enfer</i> in French, are erotic synonyms for the female -<i lang="la">pudendum</i>, as are <em>devil</em> and <i lang="fr">diable</i> for the male organ -of generation. (<cite>C.f.</cite> Farmer: <cite>Slang and its Analogues</cite> -and <cite>Vocabula Amatoria</cite>; also Landes: <cite>Glossaire -érotique de la langue française</cite>.) “Vainly doth hell -her prisoner recall,” says La Fontaine; “the devil is -dumb.”</p> - -<p>It is a moot point whether “The Devil in Hell” -should have been included in this or the subsequent -volume, <cite>The Way of a Priest</cite>. It seems to us, however, -that the woman’s part transcends the man’s -throughout, and for that reason we prefer to look upon -the story as illustrating a phase of virginity rather -than as an example of priestly lust.</p> - -<p>Boccaccio’s “Nightingale,” which is also -given in this volume, has provided yet another French -slang term for the <i lang="la">penis</i>. “To put the nightingale in -its cage or nest” is a fanciful but frequent description -of the venereal act. (<i>C.f.</i> Pietro Aretino’s <cite>Dialogues</cite>:<span class="pagenum" id="Page_64">64</span> -1. <cite>The Life of Nuns</cite>: English and French translations: -Liseux, Paris, 1889 and 1882.) On the other hand, -<em>nightingale</em>, in old English slang, denoted a prostitute. -(Farmer: <cite>Slang and its Analogues</cite>.)</p> - -<p>The inclusion of any of Boccaccio’s tales in -this volume has not gone uncritised by friends and -advisers. “<cite>The Decameron</cite>,” they argue, “is accessible -to all; it is hackneyed nowadays.” If the frequent -issue of cheap, castrated and badly-produced editions -of the immortal work are these so-called means of -access, the argument is a poor one.</p> - -<p>Boccaccio, to be appreciated, must be read in -the original, unexpurgated Italian, or, at any rate, in -a translation which is equally free and is the work of -a scholar and booklover. Some of Boccaccio’s stories -are fitly classed as the world’s best, and among these -“The Devil in Hell” takes place. It is a story that has -lived for centuries and will live while literature lasts.</p> - -<p>Further, so far as we know, in one English -translation alone, Payne’s, (<i lang="la">vide</i> note <i lang="la">ante</i>, <a href="#Page_56">p. 56</a>), is -this story told in its entirety in our own language; in -other editions the most dramatic part of the narrative, -the part, in fact, which <em>makes</em> the story, is invariably -rendered in Italian or French, or is hopelessly bowdlerised. -Thus is prudery satisfied and genius mocked. -“The Devil in Hell” is strong fare assuredly, but it is -served up in so artistic a manner as to please even -the most delicate palate.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> -</div><div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_65">65</span></p> - - - - -<h2 title="THE WEDDING NIGHT OF JEAN THE FOOL.">THE WEDDING NIGHT OF JEAN THE FOOL.<a id="FNanchor_45" href="#Footnote_45" class="fnanchor">45</a></h2> - - -<div> - <img class="drop-cap" src="images/m.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> -<p class="drop-cap">“Mother mine,” quoth Jean the Fool, “I would -marry.”</p> - -<p>“Thou wouldst marry, poor innocent? -And what wouldst thou do with a woman? -And who would want thee? To marry, thou must -have culture at thy back (for thus they term those -who have worldly goods), and thou hast none. Furthermore, -thou must pay court to the maidens, and -thou art too great a fool to know how to do that.”</p> - -<p>“What doth one do when he goeth to visit -the maidens?”</p> - -<p>“One goeth to them when they hold a party, -one indulgeth in all manner of drolleries, one pincheth -them, one snatcheth their handkerchiefs when -they blow their noses, one pulleth at their petticoats, -and one laugheth.”</p> - -<p>“Good,” said Jean to himself; and went out.</p> - -<p>Passing down a road, narrow and filled with -mire, he sat down, and when he felt he had sufficient -‘cultivation’ on his backside, he went to a farm where -there was a party. The youths and maidens, when -they saw Jean the Idiot enter all smeared with mire, -drew back to make room for him, lest they themselves<span class="pagenum" id="Page_66">66</span> -be soiled. In the end he found in the lobby a -stool on which he sat near one of the maidens, whom -he scrutinised closely.</p> - -<p>She drew away from him; Jean pinched her, -rudely snatched away her handkerchief when she -sought to make use of it, and laughed like a fool. -Then, thinking to succeed with her, he tugged so -violently at her petticoat that he broke the strings that -held it up. The maiden, half undressed, was enraged, -and Jean was kicked out of doors, amid the shouting -and jeering of the entire company.</p> - -<p>From this moment Jean the Fool had no desire -to pay court to maidens. But his mother, who felt -herself growing old and had need of a daughter-in-law -to aid her, said to him one day:</p> - -<p>“Jean, thou must marry.”</p> - -<p>“Nay, indeed, mother mine. I was tricked -enough when I saw the maidens.”</p> - -<p>“Nevertheless, ‘tis good to be married. Thy -wife will give thee a chicken to eat.”<a id="FNanchor_46" href="#Footnote_46" class="fnanchor">46</a></p> - -<p>Jean gave his consent and was married. -When he was abed with his wife, he believed that -she would serve up a chicken for him, and he said to -her:</p> - -<p>“Give it me.”</p> - -<p>“Take it,” answered his wife.</p> - -<p>“Give it me, I tell thee.”</p> - -<p>“Take it, then.”</p> - -<p>Thus passed the night, and on the morrow<span class="pagenum" id="Page_67">67</span> -Jean the Fool went weeping to his mother, saying:</p> - -<p>“Mother, I begged her for it, and she would -not give it me.”</p> - -<p>“He lieth!” cried the wife. “I have told him -to take it if he wished it.”</p> - -<p>And she went to complain to her mother that -she had married an idiot, who passed the whole night -saying “Give it me” without doing aught else. The -good woman saw clearly that her son-in-law was -foolish, and she bade him on the following night -mount upon his wife and thrust at a spot where he -felt some hair.</p> - -<p>Jean did as he was counselled, but instead of -stretching himself at full length upon her, laid himself -across his wife and began to thrust with all his -force, but without success, as one can well imagine, a -woman’s slit not being at the same angle as her -mouth.</p> - -<p>Nor was it until the third night that Jean the -Fool learned how he must comport himself to have a -chicken, and then he found it very much to his taste -and his wife also.<a id="FNanchor_47" href="#Footnote_47" class="fnanchor">47</a></p> -<hr class="chap" /> -</div><div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_68">68</span></p> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_69">69</span></p> - - - -<h2 title="THE MAIDEN WELL GUARDED.">THE MAIDEN WELL GUARDED.<a id="FNanchor_48" href="#Footnote_48" class="fnanchor">48</a></h2> - - -<div> - <img class="drop-cap" src="images/t.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> -<p class="drop-cap">There lived a maiden whose mother guarded -her with infinite care lest some youth should -do her ill; and she was brought up in all -innocence. And when she begged to go to -gatherings even as other maids of her age, her mother -was wont to answer her, saying:</p> - -<p>“Nay, my daughter, thou shalt not go, for -there thou art like to lose thy maidenhead.”</p> - -<p>One day, nevertheless, Pierre, the maiden’s -lover, who was a good lad and a quiet, came seeking -to conduct her to an assembly, and both lad and maid -besought the mother to let them go. In the end she -consented, thinking in herself that Pierre was too -honest to do her daughter ill, and she enjoined him -guard her well.</p> - -<p>Behold, then, these two on their way; and as -they went, the maiden said:</p> - -<p>“My mother hath strictly enjoined me to -guard my maidenhead. It seemeth that at assemblies -one is in case to lose it. How best preserve it?”</p> - -<p>“Hath not thy mother shown thee a method -of so doing?”</p> - -<p>“Yea,” answered the maiden, “she hath en<span class="pagenum" id="Page_70">70</span>joined -me to press my thighs tightly together.”</p> - -<p>Quitting the road, they entered a wood -wherein were several streamlets, which one crossed by -means of planks. Even as the maid walked upon one -of these planks Pierre, who marched behind her, cast -a stone into the water hard by the girl.</p> - -<p>“Alas!” cried the maiden. “What will my -mother say? Behold, my maidenhead hath fallen in -the water and is lost!”</p> - -<p>“Fear not,” answered the lad. “‘Tis fortunate -I am here. I will restore it thee. Come with me -‘neath the trees, and say naught if the business -hurteth thee, for ‘tis all for thy good.”</p> - -<p>Then Pierre, in very sooth, ‘put back’ the -maidenhead for her, and shortly afterward they came -to the second plank. Even as the girl stood upon it, -two or three frogs, slumbering at the streamside, were -affrighted and hopped into the water, which spirted -up ‘neath the maiden.</p> - -<p>“Ah! Pierre!” cried she. “‘Tis lost again! -It seemeth that it was not firm. ‘Twas most wrong of -thee not to have put it back more firmly.”</p> - -<p>“Say no more,” answered Pierre. “I will again -put it back.”</p> - -<p>And when the maidenhead had been put -back for the second time, they went on, reaching the -assembly, where they diverted themselves as did the -others.</p> - -<p>On their return journey, even as the young -girl passed over a plank, Pierre cast in the water an -apple which he had in his pocket.</p> - -<p>“What will my mother say?” cried the girl. -“‘Tis the third time I have lost it to-day!”</p> - -<p>“Fear not,” quoth Pierre. “I am about to sew<span class="pagenum" id="Page_71">71</span> -it on again.”</p> - -<p>When the maidenhead had been resewed, -the girl, who was acquiring a taste for this form of -embroidery, said to Pierre:</p> - -<p>“‘Tis not sewn sufficiently firm.”</p> - -<p>“Indeed it is.”</p> - -<p>“‘Tis not.”</p> - -<p>“But I have no more thread.”</p> - -<p>“Miserable deceiver!” cried the girl. “He -saith he hath no more thread, yet all the while he -possesseth two great balls of it!”<a id="FNanchor_49" href="#Footnote_49" class="fnanchor">49</a></p> -<hr class="chap" /> -</div><div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_72">72</span></p> - - - -<h3><i>VARIANT.</i></h3> - - -<p>Béroalde de Verville, in <cite>Le Moyen de -Parvenir</cite>, has a similar tale. As it differs in several -respects from our <cite>Kruptadia</cite> version, we give it here. -Our extract is from Arthur Machen’s text, which -is, so far as we know, the only English translation -of the old French Canon’s much censured work.<a id="FNanchor_50" href="#Footnote_50" class="fnanchor">50</a> -Donatus, one of the characters in the book, is -speaking:—</p> - -<p>... That’s like the case of my landlady’s -daughter.... One day this young wench desired -to go to a bride-ale, and asked leave of her mother, -who granted it on the condition that she would -solemnly, paragraphically, and distinctively promise -to keep her maidenhead,<a id="FNanchor_51" href="#Footnote_51" class="fnanchor">51</a> to which condition the -girl agreed with all her heart.</p> - -<p>So she went away to the wedding, and set -herself to keep guard o’er her maidenhead. The -lasses and lads all danced away, but she not a step, -nor did she dare approach the board where the others -were engaged in the quintessential operation of -making ordure with the teeth. The poor girl stayed -all the time in a corner of the room, with her two -hands at the bottom of her stomach, just opposite to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_73">73</span> -the diameter (I mean opposite to the centre which so -far was cut by no diameter). Coypeau, seeing her -thus dung in the mouth (I should say, down in the -mouth) came up to her and said:</p> - -<p>“What cheer, Coz; shall we foot it awhile?”</p> - -<p>“Nay, I dare not, for fear I lose my maidenhead; -my mother bade me take great care of it.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, Oh,” says he, “and is that all? Why -Coz, sweet Coz, follow me to this little closet, and I’ll -sew it up so tight that it shall never fall out.”</p> - -<p>All this he said in a whisper, but she heard -him well enough, for she was fain to be a-dancing; -and so she followed him. He then proceeded to -show her how the wolf dances with his tail between -his legs, and sewed up her maidenhead so securely -that he told her it would never fall out by that way.</p> - -<p>Thereupon she began to dance, and enjoyed -herself to her heart’s content; but she liked needlework -so well that she asked for some more, and had -three stitches. (That was enough in all conscience, -though I have threaded the needle<a id="FNanchor_52" href="#Footnote_52" class="fnanchor">52</a> for Madeleine -forty-five times in forty-four hours; five by night -and by day <i lang="fr">forté</i>.) Coypeau was not quite so strong -as that, but he gave the poor girl a great treat. She ate -some sweetmeats, and feeling ashamed no longer, -bethought her of her maidenhead, and went up to him, -and asked him if he would give it another stitch.</p> - -<p>“Faith! “ said he, “I can’t, I haven’t any more -thread.”</p> - -<p>“Come, Come,” quoth she, “I thought I saw -two nice little balls of thread.”</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> -</div><div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_74">74</span></p> - - - - -<h2 title="TALE OF KAMAR AL-ZAMAN.">TALE OF KAMAR AL-ZAMAN.<a id="FNanchor_53" href="#Footnote_53" class="fnanchor">53</a></h2> - - -<p><i>King Shahriman had a son, Kamar al-Zaman, -who “grew up of surpassing beauty ... and symmetry,” -but was unwilling to marry. For this he is eventually -cast into prison. A similar fate has befallen Princess -Budur, daughter of King Ghayur, Lord of China Islands -and Seas, and for a similar reason. The maiden is -pictured as one “than whom Allah hath made none -fairer in her time ... with cheeks like purple wine ... -lips as coral ... breasts like two globes of ivory, from -whose brightness the moons borrow light, and a stomach -with little waves as it were a figured cloth ... with creases -like folded scrolls, ending in a waist slender past all -imagination; based upon back parts like a hillock of -blown sand, that force her to sit when she would lief -stand....”</i></p> - -<p><i>Two genii, Maymunah, a woman, and Dahnash, -a man, now come into the story, the former as a champion -of Kamar, the latter as Princess Budur’s. After -a long dispute as to the rival charms of Prince and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_75">75</span> -Princess, they convey the latter to the Prince’s side, -the test of beauty to be as follows</i>:—</p> - -<p><i>Each is to be awakened in turn, without -knowledge of the other, and whichever is the more -enamoured will be held inferior in comeliness.</i></p> - -<p><i>Dahnash then changes himself into a flea, -and bites Kamar al-Zaman, who wakes up. The text -continues</i>:—</p> - - -<p>... Then turning sideways, he found lying -by him something whose breath was sweeter than -musk and whose skin was softer than cream. Hereat -he marvelled with great marvel, and he sat up and -looked at what lay beside him; when he saw it to be -a young lady like an union pearl, or a shining sun, or -a dome seen from afar on a well-built wall: for she -was five feet tall ... bosomed high and rosy-cheeked....</p> - -<p>And when Kamar al-Zaman saw the lady -Budur, daughter of King Ghayur, and her beauty and -comeliness, she was sleeping clad in a shift of Venetian -silk, without her petticoat trousers, and wore on -her head a kerchief embroidered with gold and set -with stones of price; her ears were hung with twin -earrings which shone like constellations, and round -her neck was a collar of union pearls, of size unique, -past the competence of any king.</p> - -<p>When he saw this, his reason was confounded -and natural heat began to stir in him; Allah awoke -in him the desire of coïtion and he said to himself:</p> - -<p>“Whatso Allah willeth, that shall be, and -what he willeth not shall be!”</p> - -<p>So saying, he put out his hand, turning her -over, loosed the collar of her chemise; then arose -before his sight her bosom, with its breasts like double<span class="pagenum" id="Page_76">76</span> -globes of ivory; whereat his inclination for her redoubled -and he desired her with exceeding hot desire. -He would have awakened her but she would not -awake, for Dahnash had made her sleep heavy; so he -shook her and moved her, saying:</p> - -<p>“O my beloved, awake and look on me; I am -Kamar al-Zaman.”</p> - -<p>But she awoke not, neither moved her head; -whereupon he considered her case for a long hour -and said to himself:</p> - -<p>“If I guess aright, this is the damsel to whom -my father would have married me, and these three -years I have refused her; but Inshallah!—God willing—as -soon as it is dawn, I will say to him: Marry me -to her, that I may enjoy her; nor will I let half the -day pass ere I possess her and take my fill of her -beauty and loveliness.”</p> - -<p>Then he bent over Budur to buss her, whereat -the Jinniyah Maymunah trembled and was abashed -and Dahnash, the Ifrit, was like to fly for joy. But -as Kamar al-Zaman was about to kiss her on the -mouth, he was ashamed before Allah and turned -away his head and averted his face, saying to his -heart: “Have patience.”</p> - -<p>Then he took thought awhile and said:</p> - -<p>“I will be patient; haply my father when he -was wroth with me and sent me to this jail, may have -brought my young lady and made her lie by my side -to try me with her, and may have charged her not to -be readily awakened when I would arouse her, and -may have said to her:</p> - -<p>“‘Whatever thing Kamar al-Zaman do to thee, -make me ware thereof’;</p> - -<p>“Or belike my sire standeth hidden in some<span class="pagenum" id="Page_77">77</span> -stead whence (being himself unseen) he can see all I -do with this young lady; and to-morrow he will scold -me and cry:</p> - -<p>“‘How cometh it that thou sayest, I have no -mind to marry; and yet thou didst kiss and embrace -yonder damsel?’</p> - -<p>“So I will withhold myself lest I be ashamed -before my sire; and the right and proper thing to do -is not to touch her at this present, nor even to look -upon her, except to take from her somewhat which -shall serve as a token to me and a memorial of her; -that some sign endure between me and her.”</p> - -<p>Then Kamar al-Zaman raised the young -lady’s hand and took from her little finger a seal-ring -worth an immense amount of money, for that its -bezel was a precious jewel ... and set it on his own; -then, turning his back to her, went to sleep.<a id="FNanchor_54" href="#Footnote_54" class="fnanchor">54</a> ...</p> - -<p>Thereupon Maymunah changed herself into -a flea and entering into the raiment of Budur, the -loved of Dahnash, crept up her calf and came upon -her thigh and, reaching a place some four carats<a id="FNanchor_55" href="#Footnote_55" class="fnanchor">55</a> -below her navel, there bit her. Thereupon she -opened her eyes and sitting up in bed, saw a youth -lying beside her and breathing heavily in his sleep, -the loveliest of Almighty Allah’s creatures, with eyes -that put to shame the fairest Houris of Heaven; and -a mouth like Solomon’s seal, whose water was sweeter -to the taste and more efficacious than a theriack, and -lips the colour of coral-stone, and cheeks like blood-red anemone....</p> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_78">78</span></p> -<p>Now when Princess Budur saw him, she was -seized by a transport of passion and yearning and -love-longing, and she said to herself:</p> - -<p>“Alas, my shame! This is a strange youth -and I know him not. How cometh he to be lying by -my side on one bed?”</p> - -<p>Then she looked at him a second time and, -noting his beauty and loveliness, said:</p> - -<p>“By Allah, he is indeed a comely youth and -my heart is well-nigh torn in sunder with longing -for him! But alas, how am I shamed by him! By -the Almighty, had I known it was this youth who -sought me in marriage of my father, I had not rejected -him, but had wived with him and enjoyed his loveliness!”</p> - -<p>Then she gazed in his face and said:</p> - -<p>“O my lord and light of mine eyes, awake -from sleep and take thy pleasure in my beauty and -grace.”</p> - -<p>And she moved him with her hand; but -Maymunah the Jinniyah let down sleep upon him as -it were a curtain, and pressed heavily on his head -with her wings so that Kamar al-Zaman awoke not. -Then Princess Budur shook him with her hands and -said:</p> - -<p>“My life on thee, hearken to me; awake and -up from thy sleep and look on the narcissus and the -tender down thereon, and enjoy the sight of naked -waist and navel; and touzle me and tumble me from -this moment till break of day! Allah upon thee, O -my lord, sit up and prop thee against the pillow and -slumber not!”</p> - -<p>Still Kamar al-Zaman made her no reply but<span class="pagenum" id="Page_79">79</span> -breathed hard in his sleep. Continued she:</p> - -<p>“Alas! Alas! thou art insolent in thy beauty -and comeliness and grace and loving looks! But if -thou art handsome, so am I handsome; what then is -this thou dost? Have they taught thee to flout me -or hath my father, the wretched old fellow, made -thee swear not to speak to me to-night?”</p> - -<p>But Kamar al-Zaman opened not his mouth -neither awoke, whereat her passion for him redoubled -and Allah inflamed her heart with love of him. She -stole one glance of eyes that cost her a thousand -sighs: her heart fluttered, and her vitals throbbed -and her hands and feet quivered; and she said to -Kamar al-Zaman:</p> - -<p>“Talk to me, O my lord! Speak to me, O -my friend! Answer me, O my beloved, and tell me -thy name, for indeed thou hast ravished my wit!”</p> - -<p>And during all this time he abode drowned -in sleep and answered her not a word, and Princess -Budur sighed and said:</p> - -<p>“Alas! Alas! why art thou so proud and -self-satisfied?”</p> - -<p>Then she shook him and turning his hand -over, saw her seal-ring on his little finger, whereat -she cried a loud cry, and followed it with a sigh of -passion and said:</p> - -<p>“Alack! Alack! By Allah, thou art my -beloved and thou lovest me! Yet thou seemest to -turn thee away from me out of coquetry, for all, O -my darling, thou camest to me, whilst I was asleep -and knew not what thou didst with me, and tookest -my seal-ring; and yet I will not pull it off thy finger.”</p> - -<p>So saying, she opened the bosom of his shirt -and bent over him and kissed him and put forth her<span class="pagenum" id="Page_80">80</span> -hand to him, seeking somewhat that she might take -as a token, but found nothing. Then she thrust her -hand into his breast and, because of the smoothness -of his body, it slipped down to his waist and thence -to his navel and thence to his yard, whereupon her -heart ached and her vitals quivered and lust was sore -upon her, for that the desire of women is fiercer than -the desire of men,<a id="FNanchor_56" href="#Footnote_56" class="fnanchor">56</a> and she was ashamed of her own -shamelessness.</p> - -<p>Then she plucked his seal-ring from his -finger, and put it on her own instead of the ring he -had taken, and bussed his inner lips and hands, nor -did she leave any part of him unkissed; after which -she took him to her breast and embraced him and, -laying one of her hands under his neck and the other -under his arm-pit, nestled close to him and fell asleep -by his side.</p> - -<p>... When Princess Budur fell asleep by the -side of Kamar al-Zaman, after doing that which she -did, quoth Maymunah to Dahnash:</p> - -<p>“Sawst thou, O accursed, how proudly and -coquettishly my beloved bore himself, and how hotly -and passionately thy mistress showed herself to my -dearling? There can be no doubt that my beloved -is handsomer than thine; nevertheless I pardon -thee.”</p> - -<p>... The two Ifrits went forward to Princess<span class="pagenum" id="Page_81">81</span> -Budur and upraising her flew away with her; then, -bearing her back to her own place, they laid her on -her own bed, while Maymunah abode alone with -Kamar al-Zaman, gazing upon him as he slept, till -the night was all but spent, when she went her way. -As soon as morning morrowed, the Prince awoke from -sleep and turned right and left, but found not the -maiden by him and said in his mind:</p> - -<p>“What is this business? It is as if my father -would incline me to marriage with the damsel who -was with me and have now taken her away by stealth, -to the intent that my desire for wedlock may -redouble.”</p> - -<p>Then he called out to the eunuch who slept -at the door, saying:</p> - -<p>“Woe to thee, O damned one, arise at once!”</p> - -<p>So the eunuch rose, bemused with sleep, and -brought him basin and ewer, whereupon Kamar -al-Zaman entered the water-closet and did his need;<a id="FNanchor_57" href="#Footnote_57" class="fnanchor">57</a> -then, coming out, made the Wuzu-ablution and -prayed the dawn-prayer, after which he sat telling -on his beads the ninety-and-nine names of Almighty -Allah....</p> - -<p><i>Strictly speaking, the rest of the story, which -is of great length, is somewhat out of place in this -volume. The reader, however, may be interested to -know the upshot of the stratagem adopted by the genii, -so we take leave to give it, summarising where necessary.</i></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_82">82</span></p> - -<p><i>Kamar al-Zaman and the Princess Budur, -madly in love but grief-stricken by their separation, -are eventually brought together and married. Later -while on a journey, they are again separated by divers -mischances, Kamar becoming an assistant to a gardener, -while Budur, having adopted male garb to preserve -her chastity, reaches the dominions of King Armanus. -Here she is taken for a king’s son, and Armanus, who -is old, gives her his daughter Hayat al-Nufus in -marriage and makes her lord of his kingdom. An -embarrassing situation now arises, Budur being unable -to consummate the marriage or to explain her failure -to the bride. Matters come to a crisis on the third -night when Hayat speaks out. The text continues</i>:—</p> - -<p>... Hayat al-Nufus caught her by the skirt -and clung to her, saying:</p> - -<p>“O my lord, art thou not ashamed before my -father, after all his favour, to neglect me at such a -time as this”</p> - -<p>When Queen Budur heard her words, she sat -down in the same place and said:</p> - -<p>“O my beloved, what is this thou sayest?”</p> - -<p>She replied:</p> - -<p>“What I say is that I never saw any so proud -of himself as thou. Is every fair one so disdainful? -I say not this to incline thee to me; I say it only of -my fear for thee from King Armanus; because he -purposeth, unless thou go in unto me this very night, -and do away my maidenhead, to strip thee of the -kingship on the morrow and banish thee his kingdom; -and peradventure his excessive anger may lead him -to slay thee. But I, O my lord, have ruth on thee and -give thee fair warning; and it is thy right to reck.”</p> - -<p>Now when Queen Budur heard her speak<span class="pagenum" id="Page_83">83</span> -these words, she bowed her head groundwards -awhile in sore perplexity and said in herself:</p> - -<p>“If I refuse I’m lost; and if I obey I’m shamed. -But I am now Queen of all the Ebony Islands and -they are under my rule, nor shall I ever again meet -my Kamar al-Zaman save in this place; for there is -no way for him to his native land but through the -Ebony Islands. Verily, I know not what to do in -my present case, but I commit my care to Allah who -directeth all for the best, for I am no man that I should -arise and open this virgin girl.”</p> - -<p>Then quoth Queen Budur to Hayat al-Nufus:</p> - -<p>“O my beloved, that I have neglected thee -and abstained from thee is in my own despite.”</p> - -<p>And she told her her whole story from -beginning to end and showed her person to her, -saying:</p> - -<p>“I conjure you by Allah to keep my counsel, -for I have concealed my case only that Allah may -re-unite me with my beloved Kamar al-Zaman and -then come what may.”</p> - -<p>... The Princess heard her with extreme -wonderment and was moved to pity and prayed Allah -to re-unite her with her beloved, saying:</p> - -<p>“Fear nothing, O my sister; but have patience -till Allah bring to pass that which must come to pass.... -O my sister, verily the breasts of the noble and -brave are of secrets the grave; and I will not discover -thine.”</p> - -<p>Then they toyed and embraced and kissed -and slept till near the Mu’ezzin’s call to dawn-prayer, -when Hayat al-Nufus arose and took a pigeon-poult,<a id="FNanchor_58" href="#Footnote_58" class="fnanchor">58</a> -and cut its throat over her smock and besmeared -herself with its blood. Then she pulled off her -petticoat-trousers and cried aloud, whereupon her -people hastened to her and raised the usual lullilooing -and outcries of joy and gladness....</p> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_84">84</span></p> -<p><i>We can omit a description of the manner in -which Kamar al-Zaman is at length brought to the -Ebony Islands, where honour and dignity are heaped -upon him, in particular by Queen Budur, whom he -believes to be a man and the king of the dominion. -Growing suspicious of these favours, Kamar asks -permission to depart. The text continues</i>:—</p> - -<p>... Answered Kamar al-Zaman:</p> - -<p>“O King, verily this favour, if there be no -reason for it, is indeed a wonder of wonders, more by -token that thou hast advanced me to dignities such -as befit men of age and experience, albeit I am as it -were a young child.”</p> - -<p>And Queen Budur rejoined:</p> - -<p>“The reason is that I love thee for thine<span class="pagenum" id="Page_85">85</span> -exceeding loveliness and thy surpassing beauty; and -if thou wilt but grant me my desire of thy body, I -will advance thee yet farther in honour and favour -and largesse; and I will make thee Wazir, for all thy -tender age, even as the folk made me Sultan over -them and I no older than thou....”</p> - -<p>When Kamar al-Zaman heard these words, -he was abashed and his cheeks flushed till they -seemed aflame; and he said:</p> - -<p>“I need not these favours which lead to the -commission of sin; I will live poor in wealth but -wealthy in virtue and honour.”</p> - -<p>Quoth she:</p> - -<p>“I am not to be duped by thy scruples, arising -from prudery and coquettish ways; and Allah bless -him who saith:—</p> - -<p><i>To him I spake of coupling, but he said to me, -‘How long this noyous long persistency?’</i></p> - -<p><i>But when gold piece I showëd him, he cried, -‘Who from the Almighty Sovereign e’er shall flee?’</i>”</p> - -<p>Now when Kamar al-Zaman heard these -words and understood her verses and their import, he -said:</p> - -<p>“O King, I have not the habit of these doings, -nor have I strength to bear these heavy burthens for -which elder age than I have proved unable; then -how will it be with my tender age?”</p> - -<p>But she smiled at his speech and retorted:</p> - -<p>“Indeed, it is a matter right marvellous how -error springeth from the disorder of man’s intendiment! -Since thou art a boy, why standest thou in -fear of sin or the doing of things forbidden, seeing -that thou art not yet come to the years of canonical -responsibility; and the offences of a child incur<span class="pagenum" id="Page_86">86</span> -neither punishment nor reproof? Verily, thou hast -committed thyself to a quibble for the sake of contention, -and it is thy duty to bow before a proposal -of fruition, so henceforward cease from denial and -coyness, for the commandment of Allah is a decree -foreordained: indeed, I have more reason than thou -to fear falling and by sin to be misled; and well-inspired -was he who said:—</p> - -<p><i>My prickle is big and the little one said, -‘Thrust boldly in vitals with lion-like stroke!’</i></p> - -<p><i>Then I, ‘’Tis a sin!’; and he, ‘No sin to me!’ -So I had him at once with a counterfeit poke.”</i><a id="FNanchor_59" href="#Footnote_59" class="fnanchor">59</a></p> - -<p>When Kamar al-Zaman heard these words, -the light became darkness in his sight and he said:</p> - -<p>“O King, thou hast in thy household fair -women and female slaves, who have not their like in -this age: shall not these suffice thee without me? -Do thy will with them and let me go!”</p> - -<p>She replied:</p> - -<p>“Thou sayest sooth, but it is not with them -that one who loveth thee can heal himself of torment -and can abate his fever; for, when tastes and inclinations -are corrupted by vice, they hear and obey other -than good advice. So leave arguing and listen to what -the poet saith:—</p> - -<p><i>Seest not the bazaar with its fruit in rows? -These men are for figs and for sycamore those!</i><a id="FNanchor_60" href="#Footnote_60" class="fnanchor">60</a></p> - -<p>“And what another saith:—</p> - -<p><i>O beauty’s Union! love for thee’s my creed; -free choice of Faith and eke my best desire</i>:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_87">87</span></p> - -<p><i>Women I have forsworn for thee; so may -deem me all men this day a shaveling friar.</i></p> - -<p>“And yet another:—</p> - -<p><i>A boy of twice ten is fit for a King!</i></p> - -<p>“And yet another:—</p> - -<p><i>The penis smooth and round was made with -anus best to match it: Had it been made for cunnus’ -sake it had been formed like hatchet!</i></p> - -<p>“And yet another said:—</p> - -<p><i>My soul thy sacrifice! I chose thee out who -art not menstruous or oviparous</i>:</p> - -<p><i>Did I with women mell, I should beget brats -till the wide wide world grew strait for us.</i></p> - -<p>“And yet another:—</p> - -<p><i>She saith</i> (<i>sore hurt in sense the most acute, -for she had proffered what did not besuit</i>):—</p> - -<p>‘<i>Unless thou stroke as man should swive his -wife, blame not when horns thy brow shall incornute!</i></p> - -<p>‘<i>Thy wand seems waxen, to a limpo grown: -and more I palm it, softer grows the brute!</i>’</p> - -<p>“And yet another:—</p> - -<p><i>Quoth she (for I to lie with her forbore), ‘O -folly-following fool, O fool to core</i>:</p> - -<p>‘<i>If thou my coynte for Kiblah<a id="FNanchor_61" href="#Footnote_61" class="fnanchor">61</a> to thy coigne -reject, we’ll show thee what shall please thee more.</i>’<a id="FNanchor_62" href="#Footnote_62" class="fnanchor">62</a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_88">88</span></p> - -<p>“And yet another:—</p> - -<p><i>She proffered me a tender coynte: Quoth I, -‘I will not roger thee!’</i></p> - -<p><i>She drew back, saying, ‘From the Faith he -turns, who’s turned by Heaven’s decree!</i><a id="FNanchor_63" href="#Footnote_63" class="fnanchor">63</a></p> - -<p><i>’And front-wise futtering, in one day, is -obsolete persistency!’</i></p> - -<p><i>Then swung she round and shining rump like -silvern lump she showëd me!</i></p> - -<p><i>I cried: ‘Well done, O mistress mine! No -more am I in pain for thee;</i></p> - -<p><i>’O thou of all that Allah oped<a id="FNanchor_64" href="#Footnote_64" class="fnanchor">64</a> showest me -fairest victory!’</i></p> - -<p>“And yet another:—</p> - -<p><i>Men craving pardon will uphold their hands; -women pray pardon with their legs on high:</i><a id="FNanchor_65" href="#Footnote_65" class="fnanchor">65</a></p> -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_89">89</span></p> -<p><i>Out on it for a pious, prayerful work! The -Lord shall raise it in the depths to lie.</i>”<a id="FNanchor_66" href="#Footnote_66" class="fnanchor">66</a></p> - -<p>When Kamar al-Zaman heard her quote this -poetry, and was certified that there was no escaping -compliance with what willed she, he said:</p> - -<p>“O King of the age, if thou must needs have -it so, make covenant with me that thou wilt do this -thing with me but once, though it avail not to correct -thy depraved appetite; and that thou wilt never again -require this thing of me to the end of time; so perchance -shall Allah purge me of the sin.”</p> - -<p>She replied:</p> - -<p>“I promise thee this same, hoping that Allah -of His favour will relent toward us and blot out our -mortal offence; for the girdle of Heaven’s forgiveness -is not indeed so strait, but it may compass us around -and absolve us of the excess of our heinous sins and -bring us to the light of salvation out of the darkness -of error; and indeed excellently well saith the -poet:—</p> - -<p><i>Of evil thing the folk suspect us twain; and -to this thought their hearts and souls are bent:</i></p> - -<p><i>Come, dear! let’s justify and free their souls -that wrong us; one good bout and then—repent!”</i></p> - -<p>Thereupon she made with him an agreement -and a covenant and swore a solemn oath by Him -who is Self-existent, that this thing should befall -betwixt them but once and never again for all time, -and that the desire of him was driving her to death -and perdition. So he rose up with her, on this condition, -and went with her to her own boudoir, that<span class="pagenum" id="Page_90">90</span> -she might quench the lowe of her lust, saying:</p> - -<p>“There is no Majesty, and there is no Might -save in Allah, the Glorious, the Great! This is the -fated decree of the All-powerful, the All-wise!”</p> - -<p>And he doffed his bag-trousers, shameful -and abashed, with the tears running from his eyes -from stress of affright. Thereat she smiled and -making him mount upon a couch with her, said to -him:</p> - -<p>“After this night, thou shalt see naught that -will offend thee.”</p> - -<p>Then she turned to him bussing and bosoming -him and bending calf over calf, and said to him:</p> - -<p>“Put thy hand between my thighs to the -accustomed place; so haply it may stand up to prayer -after prostration.”</p> - -<p>He wept and cried:</p> - -<p>“I am not good at aught of this.”</p> - -<p>But she said:</p> - -<p>“By my life, an thou do as I bid thee, it shall -profit thee!”</p> - -<p>So he put out his hand, with vitals afire for -confusion, and found her thighs cooler than cream -and softer than silk. The touching of them pleasured -him and he moved his hand hither and thither, till it -came to a dome abounding in good gifts and movements -and shifts, and said in himself:</p> - -<p>“Perhaps this King is an hermaphrodite,<a id="FNanchor_67" href="#Footnote_67" class="fnanchor">67</a> -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_91">91</span> -neither man nor woman quite.”</p> - -<p>So he said to her:</p> - -<p>“O King, I cannot find that thou hast a tool -like the tools of men; what then moved thee to do -this deed?”</p> - -<p>Then loudly laughed Queen Budur till she -fell on her back,<a id="FNanchor_68" href="#Footnote_68" class="fnanchor">68</a> and said:</p> - -<p>“O my dearling, how quickly thou hast forgotten -the nights we have lain together!”</p> - -<p>Then she made herself known to him, and -he knew her for his wife, the Lady Budur, daughter -of King al-Ghayur, Lord of the Isles and the Seas. -So he embraced her and she embraced him, and he -kissed her and she kissed him; then they lay down -on the bed of pleasure voluptuous....</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p><i>Here we end our extract from the Tale of -Kamar al-Zaman, although the story runs on for -another forty odd pages in Sir Richard Burton’s translation. -A situation similar to that just described occurs -in another story in ‘The Nights,’ and we shall have -occasion to quote from that in a subsequent volume.</i></p> - -<hr class="chap" /> -</div><div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_92">92</span></p> - - - - -<h3><i>EXCURSUS</i> to <i>THE TALE OF KAMAR -AL-ZAMAN</i>.</h3> - -<p>“We are told that in the East there was once -a woman named Moarbeda who was a philosopher -and considered to be the wisest woman of her time. -When Moarbeda was once asked: ‘In what part of a -woman’s body does her mind reside?’ she replied: -‘Between her thighs.’”—Havelock Ellis: <cite>Studies in the -Psychology of Sex</cite>, Vol. 3: <cite>The Sexual Impulse in -Women</cite>.<a id="FNanchor_69" href="#Footnote_69" class="fnanchor">69</a></p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The amativeness of woman, as compared -with that of man, is a question, of course, entirely -beyond the scope of this note. We must be content -with examining some of the most interesting and -pertinent extracts from the works of those qualified -to speak on the subject.</p> - -<p>At the outset we are confronted with the -striking fact that, while the ancients were prone to -regard woman as generally amative, even lustful, -modern thought has exactly reversed this opinion. -“It seems to have been reserved for the nineteenth -century,” says Havelock Ellis, (<i lang="la">op. cit. supra</i>), “to -state that women are apt to be congenitally incapable<span class="pagenum" id="Page_93">93</span> -of experiencing complete sexual satisfaction, and -peculiarly liable to sexual anaesthesia. This idea -appears to have been almost unknown to the -eighteenth century....”</p> - -<p>Thus we have two schools of thought, one -attributing to woman an intense sexual impulse, even -greater than in man, the other holding her sexually -frigid by nature and erotic only by pretence or -accident. We may helpfully quote again from our -Havelock Ellis, who has summarised in masterly -fashion the various authorities on both sides:—</p> - -<p>“In the treatise <cite>On Generation</cite>, (chap. 5), -which until recent times was commonly ascribed to -Hippocrates,” he says, “it is stated that men have -greater pleasure in coïtus than women, though the -pleasure of women lasts longer, and this opinion, -though not usually accepted, was treated with great -respect by medical authors down to the end of the 17th -century.... Gall had stated decisively that the sexual -desires of men are stronger and more imperious than -those of women. (<cite>Fonctions du Cerveau</cite>, 1825).... -Raciborski declared that three-fourths of women -merely endure the approaches of men. (<cite>De la Puberté -chez la Femme</cite>).</p> - -<p>“‘When the question is carefully inquired -into and without prejudice,’ said Lawson Tait, ‘it is -found that women have their sexual appetites far less -developed than men.’ (Lawson Tait, <cite>Provincial -Medical Journal</cite>, 1891). ‘The sexual instinct is very -powerful in man and comparatively weak in women,’ -he stated elsewhere. (<cite>Diseases of Women</cite>, 1889). -Hammond stated that ... ‘it is doubtful if in one-tenth -of the instances of intercourse they [women] experience -the slightest pleasurable sensation from first to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_94">94</span> -last.’ (Hammond, <cite>Sexual Impotence</cite>).</p> - -<p>“Lombroso and Ferrero consider that sexual -sensibility ... is less pronounced in women.... -‘Woman is naturally and organically frigid....’ -(Lombroso and Ferrero, <cite>La Donna Deliquente, la -Prostituta, e la Donna Normale</cite>, 1893). Krafft-Ebing -was of opinion that women require less sexual satisfaction -than men, being less sensual.... ‘The sensuality -of men,’ Moll states, ‘is in my opinion very -much greater than that of women.’</p> - -<p>“Adler, who discusses the direction at some -length, decides that the sexual needs of women are -less than those of men, though in some cases the -orgasm in quantity and quality greatly exceeds that -of men. He believes, not only that the sexual -impulse in women is absolutely less than in men, -and requires stronger stimulation to arouse it, but that -also it suffers from a latency due to inhibition, which -acts like a foreign body in the brain ... and demands -great skill in the man who is to awaken the woman -to love.”</p> - -<p>Here we have one side of the question—a side -strangely at variance with ancient thought, romance -and history. The supposed frigidity of women is -characterised by Havelock Ellis as ‘an opinion of -very recent growth ... confined, on the whole, to a -few countries.’ (<cite>Studies</cite>, vol. 3, page 196). He goes -on to quote Brierre de Boismont, who wrote: ‘Turn -to history, and on every page you will be able to -recognise the predominance of erotic ideas in -women.’ It is the same to-day, he adds, and he -attributes it to the fact that men are more easily able -to gratify their sexual impulses. (<cite>Des Hallucinations</cite>, -1862).</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_95">95</span></p> - -<p>“The laws of Manu,” continues Havelock -Ellis, “attribute to women concupiscence and anger, -the love of bed and of adornment. The Jews attribute -to women greater sexual desire than to men. This is -illustrated, according to Knobel (as quoted by Dillman), -by <cite>Genesis</cite>, chapter 3, verse 16.<a id="FNanchor_70" href="#Footnote_70" class="fnanchor">70</a></p> - -<p>“In Greek antiquity, ... in love between men -and women the latter were nearly always regarded -as taking the more active part. In all Greek love-stories -of early date the woman falls in love with the -man, and never the reverse. Æschylus makes even a -father assume that his daughters will misbehave if -left to themselves. Euripides emphasised the importance -of women. ‘The Euripidean woman who falls -in love thinks first of all: “How can I seduce the man -I love?”’ (E.F.M. Benecke: <cite>Antimachus of Colophon -and the Position of Women in Greek Poetry</cite>, 1896).</p> - -<p>“The most famous passage in Latin literature -as to the question of whether men or women obtain -greater pleasure from sexual intercourse is that in -which Ovid relates the legend of Tiresias (<cite>Metamorphoses</cite>, -3, 317-333). Tiresias, having been both a man -and a woman, decided in favour of women.... In a -passage quoted from a lost work of Galen by the -Arabian biographer, Abu-l-Faraj, that great physician -says of the Christians ‘that they practice celibacy, -that even many of their women do so.’ So that in -Galen’s opinion it was more difficult for a woman -than for a man to be continent. The same view is -widely prevalent among Arabic authors, and there is<span class="pagenum" id="Page_96">96</span> -an Arabic saying that ‘The longing of the woman for -the penis is greater than that of the man for the -vulva.’<a id="FNanchor_71" href="#Footnote_71" class="fnanchor">71</a></p> - -<p>“The early Christian Fathers clearly show -that they regard women as more inclined to sexual -enjoyment than men. That was ... the opinion of -Tertullian (<cite>De Virginibus Velandis</cite>), and it is clearly -implied in some of St. Jerome’s epistles.</p> - -<p>“Notwithstanding the influence of Christianity, -among the vigorous barbarian races of mediæval -Europe the existence of sexual appetite in women -was not considered to be, as it later became, a matter -to be concealed or denied. Thus in 1068 the -ecclesiastical historian, Ordericus Vitalis (himself -half Norman and half English), narrates that the -wives of the Norman knights who had accompanied -William the Conqueror to England two years earlier -sent over to their husbands to say that they were -consumed by the fierce flames of desire, and that if -their husbands failed to return very shortly they -proposed to take other husbands. It is added that -this threat brought a few husbands back to their -wanton ladies.</p> - -<p>“During the mediæval period in Europe, -largely in consequence, no doubt, of the predominance -of ascetic ideals set up by men who naturally regarded -women as the symbol of sex, the doctrine of the -incontinence of woman became firmly fixed.... -Humanism and the spread of the Renaissance movement -brought in a spirit more sympathetic to women.... -We begin to find attempts at analysing the sexual -emotions. In the seventeenth century a book of this<span class="pagenum" id="Page_97">97</span> -kind was written by Venette. In matters of love, -Venette declared, ‘men are but children compared to -women. In these matters women have a more lively -imagination, and they usually have more leisure to -think of love. Women are much more lascivious -and amorous than men.’ In a subsequent chapter, -dealing with the question whether men or women -receive more pleasure from the sexual embrace, -Venette concludes, after admitting the great difficulty -of the question, that man’s pleasure is greater, but -that woman’s lasts longer. (N. Venette, <cite>De la Génération -de l’Homme ou Tableau de l’Amour Conjugal</cite>, -1688).”</p> - -<p>These and similar quotations, all acknowledging -or laying stress on the erotic appetite of -women, might be continued indefinitely. Among -the other supporters of the opinion quoted by Havelock -Ellis are Montaigne (<cite>Essais</cite>), Schurig (<cite>Parthenologia</cite>), -Plazzonus (<cite>De Partibus Generationi Inservientibus</cite>), -Ferrand (<cite>De la Maladie d’Amour</cite>), Zacchia -(<cite>Quæstiones Medico-Legales</cite>), Sinibaldus (<cite>Geneanthropeia</cite>), -Senancour (<cite>De l’Amour</cite>), Busch, Guttceit,<a id="FNanchor_72" href="#Footnote_72" class="fnanchor">72</a> -Mantegazza (<cite>Fisiologia del Piacere</cite>), Forel (<cite>The -Sexual Question</cite>), who believed that women are more -erotic than men, and Bloch (<cite>The Sexual Life of Our -Time</cite>), who says, “The sexual sensibility of women -is certainly different from that of men, but in strength -it is at least as great.”</p> - -<p>For our part, we find it hard to ignore that<span class="pagenum" id="Page_98">98</span> -overwhelming consensus of opinion among early -writers as to the erotic nature of the average woman. -Was not this feminine amativeness the theme upon -which were built the undying <i lang="fr">contes</i> and <i lang="fr">fabliaux</i> of -Boccaccio, Bandello, Masuccio, Straparola, La Fontaine, -Poggio, Ser Giovanni, Chaucer, Brantôme and -a host of others? Are we to label Casanova’s -<cite>Memoirs</cite> as worthless because his women seem, in -our modern eyes, erotic beyond all belief? Turning -to the literature of the East, where woman’s ‘thirst for -coïtion is written between her eyes,’<a id="FNanchor_73" href="#Footnote_73" class="fnanchor">73</a> are we to hold -the feminine attributes therein described as peculiar -to those peoples and times? Must we believe that all -these writers fashioned women out of their own -lascivious fancy, or that the sexual impulse in the -women of those races has totally changed?</p> - -<p>Without a doubt, time and custom are -responsible for much that seems obscure and irreconcilable. -Many of our authorities are writing of -an age in which men and women spoke and acted in -a manner which to-day seems coarse and inexcusably -free. Because in the past woman more readily gave -outward expression to her inward feeling, it does not -follow now that, by reason of her greater reserve, she<span class="pagenum" id="Page_99">99</span> -lacks these emotions.</p> - -<p>History has shown us psychologists and -investigators in plenty, but they were not the psychologists -of to-day, recording the results of their -investigations with meticulous care and detail. The -sexually frigid woman, we can confidently assume, -was by no means unknown to the ancients. She was, -however, unusual, abnormal; and if a sexually frigid -woman be accounted abnormal, it is not hard to see -why a normal is deemed erotic.</p> - -<p>In these times, when it is the fashion to -dissect everyone and everything, we are prone to -argue from the ordinary to the extraordinary, from the -peculiar to the general; sexual frigidity in woman, at -first an anomaly, ends in being a trait; the exception -becomes, does not prove, the rule.</p> - -<p>Needless to say, a great psychologist like -Havelock Ellis has a wealth of information to offer -on the subject, and we commend our readers to his -masterly handling of it. He has something to say on -every aspect of the question, from the case of the -woman who is cold almost to the point of sexlessness -to that of the erotic wife who ‘becomes frenzied with -excitement during intercourse and insensible to -everything but the pleasure of it.’ In conclusion, he -adjusts the scales with exquisite and scientific precision, -holding that ‘the distribution of the sexual -impulse between the two sexes is fairly balanced.’</p> - -<p>Earlier on, however, he makes a point which -we shall do well to bear in mind. ‘ ... Sexual -impulse is by no means so weak in women as many -would lead us to think. It would appear that, whereas -in earlier ages there was generally a tendency to -credit women with an unduly large share of the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_100">100</span> -sexual impulse, there is now a tendency unduly to -minimise the sexual impulse in women.’</p> - -<p>We shall have frequent occasion in subsequent -volumes of <em>Anthologica Rarissima</em> to return -to this subject, for, as the student of folk-lore, -psychology and human life will readily agree, sexual -impulse is perhaps the most powerful basic motive of -our many daily acts and tasks.<a id="FNanchor_74" href="#Footnote_74" class="fnanchor">74</a></p> -<hr class="chap" /> -</div><div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_101">101</span></p> - - - -<h2 title="THE FOOL.">THE FOOL.<a id="FNanchor_75" href="#Footnote_75" class="fnanchor">75</a></h2> - - -<div> - <img class="drop-cap" src="images/a.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> -<p class="drop-cap">A peasant and his wife had a half-witted son, -who pictured himself married and sleeping -with his wife. He spoke of this matter to -his father.</p> - -<p>“Marry me, little father,” he said.</p> - -<p>Said the little father:</p> - -<p>“Wait, my son. You are still too young to -marry. Thy yard hath not yet reached to thy backside. -When it doth reach there, I will marry thee.”</p> - -<p>The son seized his yard with his two hands, -stretched it with all his strength, and inspected it.</p> - -<p>“‘Tis true,” quoth he. “It hath not yet -reached to my backside. ‘Tis still too soon for me to -marry. My yard is yet small. It reacheth not to my -backside. I must wait a year or two.”</p> - -<p>Time passed. The youth had naught to do -but lengthen his yard; and he did it so often and so -well that not only did his yard reach to his backside, -but even passed beyond it.</p> - -<p>“I shall have no shame in sleeping with my -wife,” said he. “I will satisfy her myself. She will -have no need to resort to strangers.”</p> - -<p>“Vain to expect sense on the part of a fool,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_102">102</span>” -argued the father to himself; and he spake his son, -saying:</p> - -<p>“Since thy yard is become so great that it -passeth beyond thy backside, there is no need for -thee to marry. Live single, rest at home, and futter -thyself.”</p> - -<p>Thus the matter ended.<a id="FNanchor_76" href="#Footnote_76" class="fnanchor">76</a></p> -<hr class="chap" /> -</div><div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_103">103</span></p> - - - -<h2 title="“OH MOTHER, ROGER WITH HIS KISSES.”">“OH MOTHER, ROGER WITH HIS KISSES.”<a id="FNanchor_77" href="#Footnote_77" class="fnanchor">77</a></h2> - - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poetry"><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse">Oh Mother, <i>Roger</i> with his Kisses</div> - <div class="verse indent4">Almost stops my Breath, I vow;</div> - <div class="verse">Why does he gripe my Hand to pieces,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">And yet he says he loves me too?</div> - <div class="verse indent8">Tell me, Mother, pray now do!</div> - <div class="verse indent8">Pray now do, pray now do,</div> - <div class="verse indent8">Tell me, Mother, pray now do,</div> - <div class="verse indent8">Pray now, pray now, pray now do,</div> - <div class="verse indent8">What Roger means when he does so?</div> - <div class="verse indent8">For never stir I long to know.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse">Nay more, the naughty Man beside it,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">Something in my Mouth he put;</div> - <div class="verse">I call’d him Beast, and try’d to Bite it,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">But for my Life I cannot do’t;</div> - <div class="verse indent8">Tell me, Mother, pray now do!</div> - <div class="verse indent8">Pray now do, pray now do,</div> - <div class="verse indent8">Tell me, Mother, pray now do,</div> - <div class="verse indent8">Pray now, pray now, pray now do,</div> - <div class="verse indent8">What Roger means when he does so?</div> - <div class="verse indent8">For never stir I long to know.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse">He sets me in his Lap whole Hours,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">Where I feel I know not what;</div> - <div class="verse">Something I never felt in yours,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">Pray tell me Mother what is that?</div> - <div class="verse indent8">Tell me Mother what is that?</div> - <div class="verse indent8">For never stir I long to know.</div> -</div></div></div> -<hr class="chap" /> -</div><div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_104">104</span></p> - - - -<h2 title="FOOLISH FEAR.">FOOLISH FEAR.<a id="FNanchor_78" href="#Footnote_78" class="fnanchor">78</a></h2> - -<p><i>Of a young man of Rouen, married to a fair -young girl of the age of fifteen or thereabouts; and -how the mother of the girl wished to have the marriage -annulled by the Judge of Rouen, and of the sentence -which the said Judge pronounced when he had heard -the parties—as you will hear more plainly in the -course of the said story.</i></p> - - -<div> - <img class="drop-cap" src="images/i.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> -<p class="drop-cap">In the good town of Rouen, not long ago, a -young man was married to a fair and tender -virgin, aged fifteen, or thereabouts. On the -day of the great feast—that is to say, the -wedding—the mother of the young girl, as is customary -in such places, instructed the bride in all the -mysteries of wedlock, and taught her how to behave -to her husband on the first night.</p> - -<p>The young girl, who was looking forward to -the time when she could put these doctrines into -practice, took great pains and trouble to remember the -lesson given her by her good mother, and it seemed to -her that when the time came for her to put these -counsels into execution, that she would perform her -duties so well that her husband would praise her, and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_105">105</span> -be well pleased with her.</p> - -<p>The wedding was performed with all honour -and due solemnity, and the desired night came; and -soon after the feast was ended, and the young people -had withdrawn after having taken leave of the newly -married couple, the mother, cousins, neighbours, and -other lady friends led the bride to the chamber where -she was to spend the night with her husband, where -they joyfully divested her of her raiment, and put -her to bed, as was right and proper. Then they -wished her good-night, and one said:</p> - -<p>“My dear, may God give thee joy and pleasure -in thy husband, and mayst thou so live with him as -to be for the salvation of both your souls.”</p> - -<p>Another said:</p> - -<p>“My dear, God give thee such peace and -happiness with thy husband, that the heavens may -be filled with your works.”</p> - -<p>And all, having expressed similar wishes, -left. The bride’s mother, who remained the last, -questioned her daughter if perchance she had remembered -the lesson she had been taught. And the -girl, who, as the proverb goes, did not carry her tongue -in her pocket, replied that she well remembered all -that had been told her, and—thank God—had forgotten -nothing.</p> - -<p>“Well done,” said the mother. “Now I will -leave thee, recommending thee to God and praying -that He may give thee good luck. Farewell, my dear -child.”</p> - -<p>“Farewell, my good and wise mother.”</p> - -<p>As soon as the schoolmistress<a id="FNanchor_79" href="#Footnote_79" class="fnanchor">79</a> had finished,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_106">106</span> -the husband, who was outside the door expecting -something better, came in. The mother closed the -door, and told him that she hoped he would be gentle -with her daughter. He promised that he would, and -as soon as he had bolted the door, he—who had nothing -on but his doublet—threw it off, jumped on the bed, -drew as close as he might to his bride, and, lance in -hand, prepared to give battle.</p> - -<p>But when he approached the barrier where -the skirmish was to take place, the girl laid hold of -his lance, which was as straight and stiff as a cow-keeper’s -horn, and when she felt how hard and big it -was, she was sore affrighted, and fell to crying aloud, -saying that her shield was not of a strength to receive -and bear the blows of so huge a weapon.</p> - -<p>All his efforts notwithstanding, the husband -could not persuade her to joust with him, and this -bickering endured throughout the night, without his -being able to do aught, which much displeased our -bridegroom. Nevertheless, he abode patient, hoping -to make up for the time lost on the following night; -but ‘twas the same as on the first night, even so on -the third, and even so up to the fifteenth, matters -remaining just as I have related.</p> - -<p>And when fifteen days had passed since the -young couple were wed, they still not having come -together, the mother came to visit her pupil, and after -a thousand questions, spoke to the girl of her husband, -demanding what sort of a man he was and whether -he did his duty well. And the girl answered that he -was very well as a man, and was a quiet and a peaceable.</p> - -<p>“But,” said the mother, “doth he do what he -ought to do?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_107">107</span></p> - -<p>“Yea,” quoth the girl, “but....”</p> - -<p>“But <em>what</em>?” said the mother. “Thou art -keeping something back, I am assured. Tell me -forthwith and conceal naught; for I must know now. -Is he a man capable of performing his marital duties -in the way I taught thee?”</p> - -<p>The poor girl, being thus pressed, was obliged -to own that he had not yet done the business, but -she did not say that she was the cause of the delay, -and that she had always refused the combat.</p> - -<p>When her mother heard this sad news, God -knows what a disturbance she made, swearing by all -her gods that she would soon find a remedy for that, -for she was well acquainted with the Judge of Rouen, -who was her friend, and would favour her cause.</p> - -<p>“The marriage must be annulled,” said she, -“and I have no doubt but that I shall find a way, and -thou mayst be sure, my child, that before two days -are past thou wilt be divorced and married to another -man, who will not let thee rest in peace all that time. -Dost leave the business to me.”</p> - -<p>The good woman, half beside herself, went -and related her wrong to her husband, the father of -the girl, and told him that they had lost their daughter, -and adducing many reasons why the marriage should -be annulled.</p> - -<p>She pleaded her cause so well that her husband -took her side, and was content that the bridegroom -(who knew no reason why a complaint should -be lodged against him) should be cited before the -Judge. But, at any rate, he was personally summoned -to appear before the Judge, at his wife’s demand, to -show cause why he should not leave her, and permit -her to marry again, or explain the reason why, in so<span class="pagenum" id="Page_108">108</span> -many days that he had lived with her, he had not -demonstrated that he was a man, and performed the -duties that a husband should.</p> - -<p>When the day came, the parties presented -themselves at the proper time and place, and they -were called upon to state their case. The mother of -the bride began to plead her daughter’s cause, and -God knoweth the laws concerning marriage which -she quoted, none of which, she maintained, had her -son-in-law fulfilled; therefore she demanded that he -should be divorced from her daughter forthwith -without more ado.</p> - -<p>The young man was much astonished to find -himself thus attacked, but lost no time in replying to -the allegations of his adversary, quietly stating his -case, and relating in what wise his wife had always -refused him leave to perform his marital duties.</p> - -<p>The mother, when she heard this reply, was -more wroth than ever, and could scarce bring herself -to believe it; and she asked her daughter if that was -true which her husband had said.</p> - -<p>“Yea, truly, mother,” replied the girl.</p> - -<p>“Oh, wretched child,” said her mother. -“Wherefore didst thou refuse? Did I not teach thee -thy lesson many times?”</p> - -<p>The poor girl might not answer, so shamed -was she.</p> - -<p>“At any rate,” said the mother, “I must know -the reason why thou hast refused. Tell it me forthwith, -lest I grow exceeding wroth.”</p> - -<p>The girl was forced to confess that she had -found the lance of the champion so vast, that she had -not dared to present her shield lest he killed her; and -so she still felt, nor was she reassured on that point,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_109">109</span> -albeit her mother had bade her be without fear. -Whereat the mother addressed the Judge, saying:</p> - -<p>“Monseigneur, thou hast heard the confession -of my daughter, and the defence of my son-in-law. -I beg of thee give judgement forthwith.”</p> - -<p>The Judge gave orders for a bed to be prepared -in his house, the couple to lie on it together; -and he commanded the bride boldly to lay hold of -the tilting staff,<a id="FNanchor_80" href="#Footnote_80" class="fnanchor">80</a> and put it where it was ordered to -go. When this judgement was delivered, the mother -said:</p> - -<p>“I thank thee, my lord; thou hast judged well. -Come, my child, do what thou shouldst, and take -heed to obey the Judge, and put the lance where it -should be put.”</p> - -<p>“I am satisfied,” answered the daughter, “to -put it where it ought to go, but it may rot there ere I<span class="pagenum" id="Page_110">110</span> -take it out again.”</p> - -<p>So they quitted the court, and went and -carried out the sentence themselves, without the aid -of any sergeants. By this means the young man -enjoyed his joust, and was sooner weary of it than she -who would not begin.<a id="FNanchor_81" href="#Footnote_81" class="fnanchor">81</a></p> -<hr class="chap" /> -</div><div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_111">111</span></p> - - - -<h2 title="THE PRINCESS WHO PISSETH OVER THE HAYCOCKS.">THE PRINCESS WHO PISSETH OVER -THE HAYCOCKS.<a id="FNanchor_82" href="#Footnote_82" class="fnanchor">82</a></h2> - - -<div> - <img class="drop-cap" src="images/a.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> -<p class="drop-cap">A peasant died and left three sons. On their -return home from the interment of their -father, the three young men took counsel -together. The dead man had not been -wealthy, and he bequeathed to his sons only his -house and a small piece of land.</p> - -<p>After much discussion, it was decided that -the eldest should leave the house and land to his -brethren, and go forth into the world to seek his -fortune. If he succeeded, he would return forthwith -to his brethren that they might share his good fortune, -but if he did not return within a year and a day, the -second brother should set out in search of him. This -agreed, the eldest embraced his brethren and set -forth.</p> - -<p>Sallying from the village, he discovered two -roads. In perplexity, he tossed a coin in the air, and -as it fell, so he made his choice. He journeyed long -without encountering aught but inns and farms, -where he spent the night, renewing his quest on the -morrow. At length, after travelling fifteen days, he -came to a magnificent castle.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_112">112</span></p> - -<p>“‘Tis here perchance I shall find fortune,” -quoth he. “I will enter the castle and seek service -within.”</p> - -<p>But all the offices were filled. Going forth, -he encountered the owner of the castle, who was king -of the countryside, and at his request the youth related -his purpose in coming to this domain.</p> - -<p>Quoth the king:</p> - -<p>“Employment I have none to offer thee in -my palace; but I have a better proposal to make. I -have a daughter of the like not seen elsewhere on -earth. She pisseth over the most lofty houses. All -the physicians I have summoned cannot cure her, -and it is a sad pity, for she is of surpassing beauty. -If thou canst prevent her from pissing over the -haycocks which thou shalt erect, thy fortune is made. -I will give her to thee in marriage. If thou failest, -thou shalt go join in their prison those imbeciles of -physicians and charlatans who have already sought -to succeed in this my proposal. Thou dost understand? -See then if thou believest thyself capable of -this achievement.”</p> - -<p>The youth, having taken counsel with himself -for several moments, accepted the king’s proposal. -This latter, leading him within the palace, set him to -dine with his wife and daughter. The Princess was -a marvel of beauty, and the peasant could not satiate -his eyes of her perfections. He was apportioned a -chamber in the castle, what time he awaited the day -of his trial.</p> - -<p>On the morrow the young adventurer chose -a vast field, and thither caused to be borne five or six -hundred loads of hay. Next he took a hundred -peasants and set them to erect an enormous haycock.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_113">113</span></p> - -<p>“If the Princess doth succeed in pissing o’er -this heap of hay,” he thought, “I am mad.” And he -went to tell the king the haycock was ready.</p> - -<p>On the morrow came the Princess; and she -fell to laughing when she saw the haycock. She -raised her robe and pissed high o’er the heap of hay. -The youth was thunderstruck. On the order of the -king, they seized the youth and cast him into a -dungeon with the physicians who had essayed the -venture before him.</p> - -<p>A year and a day after the departure of his -eldest brother, the second peasant set forth in his turn, -taking the road followed by his brother one year -before. Journeying fifteen days, he, too, came upon -the castle, and, entering therein, demanded the work -of a servant. Him also the king saw, putting the -proposal he had made to his elder brother. Which -proposal the youth accepted.</p> - -<p>Well received by the family of the Princess, -he pictured himself already the son-in-law of the -king, and built project upon project for the future. -He chose a vast plain, and thither caused to be borne -six thousand loads of hay. Next he took one thousand -labourers and set them to erect the haycock.</p> - -<p>On the morrow the Princess approached the -haycock, gave vent to a great shriek of laughter, -raised her robe, and—pissed high o’er the haycock.</p> - -<p>And the second brother went to join his elder -in the dungeon of the king’s palace.</p> - -<p>The youngest peasant was sore pained in that -his brethren returned not.</p> - -<p>“Assuredly they have suffered some mischance -in their travels,” quoth he to himself. “‘Twere -ill of me did I not set forth in search of them, and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_114">114</span> -render them aid in their misfortune.”</p> - -<p>He, in his turn, quitted the village. Chance -took him by the same road as that taken by his -brethren, and he came to the palace of the king who -held them prisoner. He entered the palace, saw the -king, and accepted the proposal made to him. At -table he found the Princess adorable, and the Princess -found him charming. This he perceived, and resolved -never to quit her side. All night he dreamed of the -Princess, nor did he wake till the sun was up. Then -he fell to leisurely reflection.</p> - -<p>“All the same,” said he to himself, “if I -succeed in taking the maidenhead of the Princess -before the trial, perchance she will not piss so high. -I am convinced that all dependeth on her virginity. -I will attempt this method.”</p> - -<p>When day came, he arose and went to walk -in the castle park. The Princess had not slept the -whole night long, ever seeing the countenance of the -young man. At daybreak she arose and went to -walk in the park, where she encountered the young -peasant.</p> - -<p>And this last did not let slip the occasion; he -approached the young girl and avowed that he died -of love for her. The Princess was easy of persuasion, -and one hour afterward she had lost her maidenhead. -Then she re-entered the palace, the youth walking -till the hour of the morning meal, when he, too, -entered the palace as if naught had happened.</p> - -<p>At noontide he caused to be borne into a -corner of the park a single load of hay; then told the -king that he was ready for the trial.</p> - -<p>And when the king, accompanied by his -daughter, approached the tiny haycock which had<span class="pagenum" id="Page_115">115</span> -been erected by the young man, he cried out that the -trial was not serious, and he counselled the peasant -to construct a much loftier haycock. But the peasant -affirmed that the heap of hay was sufficient, whereat -the king ordered his daughter to piss.</p> - -<p>Who was the most astonished? Truly the -king and the Princess, when the latter only succeeded -in watering her stockings, for the charming channel, -wherein the young man had laboured with the girl, -from being narrow, had grown great.</p> - -<p>Judge then if the peasant was satisfied. The -Princess, though she did not let the youth perceive it, -was likewise satisfied. And the king gave his -daughter to the young man, their nuptials were -celebrated, the young peasants became princes, and -all lived happily ever afterward.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> -</div><div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_116">116</span></p> - - - - -<h2 title="THE COMB.">THE COMB.<a id="FNanchor_83" href="#Footnote_83" class="fnanchor">83</a></h2> - - -<p>An old man bought a sheep’s cloak for his -wife, and he futtered her the whole night long at the -foot of the fence. In the morning the weather was -damp, and the old woman, with back bent, went -weeping; but the old man followed and mounted her. -Said the woman to her husband:</p> - -<p>“Tear me not in this fashion, Gabriel!”</p> - -<p>But the man was hard of hearing, knew not -what she said, thrust his yard into her, and futtered -her dog-fashion.... The eye is ne’er too weary to see, -nor the backside to fizzle, nor the nose to take snuff, -nor the coynte to lose the chance of a goodly futter.... But -this by way of a prelude ... a foreword.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<div> - <img class="drop-cap" src="images/o.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> -<p class="drop-cap">Once there lived a pope,<a id="FNanchor_84" href="#Footnote_84" class="fnanchor">84</a> who possessed a -daughter, a virgin and an artless. And when -summer came the pope was wont to hire -workmen to mow the hay; and he hired -them in this wise:</p> - -<p>If his daughter pissed o’er the haycock which -the workman had mown, the man went wageless.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_117">117</span> -Workmen a-plenty hired themselves to the pope, but, -one and all, they laboured wageless; the daughter, -whatsoe’er the height of the haycock, pissed o’er it.</p> - -<p>Yet another workman and a bold did accept -the conditions; if the pope’s daughter pissed o’er the -haycock which he had mown, no claim for his work -would he make. Then mowed the workman his hay; -when he had mown it and set it in a heap, he lay -down beside the haycock, drew forth his yard from -his drawers, and fell to toying with it. The pope’s -daughter drew nigh to the workman to scrutinise the -haycock, cast a glance at him, and said:</p> - -<p>“What dost thou, little peasant?”</p> - -<p>“I rub my comb.”</p> - -<p>“What dost comb with this comb of thine?”</p> - -<p>“Come—I will comb thee. Lie down on the -hay.”</p> - -<p>The pope’s daughter lay down on the hay, -the workman fell to combing her, and he winnowed -her as was proper. Anon the young girl rose up and -said:</p> - -<p>“What a delicious comb!”</p> - -<p>Afterwards she sought to piss o’er the haycock; -of no avail; she did piss upon herself, as it -might run from a sieve. Seeking out her father, she -spake him, saying:</p> - -<p>“The haycock is too high; I may not piss o’er -it.”</p> - -<p>“Ah! my daughter! here in sooth is a goodly -workman. I will hire him for a year.”</p> - -<p>And when the workman came to receive his -wage, the pope said:</p> - -<p>“Friend, hire thyself to me for a year.”</p> - -<p>“I am willing,” quoth the workman; and he<span class="pagenum" id="Page_118">118</span> -hired himself to the pope. Most contented, too, was -the pope’s daughter, and when night came she sought -the workman, saying:</p> - -<p>“Comb me.”</p> - -<p>“Nay, I will not comb thee for nought. Give -me one hundred roubles. Buy the comb.”</p> - -<p>The pope’s daughter gave him one hundred -roubles, and nightly he combed her.</p> - -<p>Came a time when the workman fell out with -the pope, saying:</p> - -<p>“Render me my wage, little father.”</p> - -<p>His wage rendered, the workman went his -way. Now the pope’s daughter was not present -when these things were done, but when she returned -to the house she inquired:</p> - -<p>“Where is the workman?”</p> - -<p>“He demanded his wage and is gone forthwith -to the village,” quoth the pope.</p> - -<p>“Ah! little father! what hast thou done? He -hath carried off my comb!” cried the pope’s -daughter.</p> - -<p>She hastened in pursuit, and came upon him -by a little stream; the workman had tucked up his -drawers and was fording the stream.</p> - -<p>“Give me my comb!” cried the pope’s -daughter.</p> - -<p>The workman took a stone and cast it into the -water.</p> - -<p>“Pick it up,” said he; and, passing to the -other side of the stream, went his way.</p> - -<p>The pope’s daughter tucked up her petticoat, -entered the water, and sought the comb. She rummaged -at the bottom of the stream. No comb.</p> - -<p>Chanced to pass a lord, who cried to her:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_119">119</span></p> - -<p>“What seekest, little dove?”</p> - -<p>“My comb! I have purchased it from a -workman for one hundred roubles; departing, he -carried it off with him. Him I pursued, and he cast -the comb in the water.”</p> - -<p>The lord descended from his carriage, removed -his breeches, and entered the water in search -of the comb. They searched; together they searched. -On a sudden the pope’s daughter perceived that a -yard hung ‘twixt the lord’s legs. She seized it with -both hands, gripped it fast, and cried:</p> - -<p>“Shame on thee, lord! ‘Tis my comb! Give -it me!”</p> - -<p>“What dost thou, shameless one? Leave -hold of me!” said the lord.</p> - -<p>“Nay, ‘tis thou who art shameless! Thou -wouldst take what pertains to another. Give me my -comb!”</p> - -<p>And she dragged him by his yard to her -father.</p> - -<p>The pope gazed through the window. Behold, -his daughter dragged a lord by his yard and -never ceased from crying: “Give me my comb, -wretched fellow!” what time the lord made plaintive -sound, saying: “Little father, deliver me from a death -not deserved! All my life I will not forget thee!”</p> - -<p>From his drawers the pope drew forth his -yard, displayed it to his daughter through the window, -and cried:</p> - -<p>“My daughter! my daughter! Here is thy -comb!”</p> - -<p>“Truly ‘tis mine!” cried the daughter. -“Behold its red end! And I thought the lord had -taken it!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_120">120</span></p> - -<p>And she released this unfortunate and sped -into the house. The lord drew on his hose and took -to his heels.</p> - -<p>The girl came running into the house.</p> - -<p>“Where is my comb, little father?”</p> - -<p>“Ah! what a daughter!” grumbled the pope. -“See, little mother. I believe she hath lost her -maidenhead.”</p> - -<p>“Examine her thyself, little father,” said the -popess. “That will be better.”</p> - -<p>The pope lowered his drawers and gave the -comb to his daughter. When they were in action, -the pope gasped and cried:</p> - -<p>“No, no—the girl hath not lost her honour....”</p> - -<p>Quoth the popess:</p> - -<p>“Little father, push her honour yet further -back.”</p> - -<p>“Fear not, little mother. She will not let it -fall. I have pushed it far.”</p> - -<p>Thus went the pope’s daughter to the comb. -Henceforward the pope combed them both, regaling -them with his little ‘doll,’<a id="FNanchor_85" href="#Footnote_85" class="fnanchor">85</a> passing his life in futtering -both daughter and mother.</p> -<hr class="chap" /> -</div><div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_121">121</span></p> - - - -<h3><i>EXCURSUS</i> to <i>THE PRINCESS WHO PISSETH -OVER THE HAYCOCKS</i> and <i>THE COMB</i>.</h3> - -<p>The main theme of these two stories—— the -ability of a virgin girl to urinate to a great height—— is -founded on physiological fact, although, of course, -grossly distorted and exaggerated. “In children,” says -Havelock Ellis, (<cite>Studies in the Psychology of Sex</cite>, -vol. 5: <cite>Erotic Symbolism</cite>), “the vulva appears to look -directly forward and the clitoris and urinary meatus -easily appear, while in adult women, and especially -after attempts at coïtus have been made, the vulva -appears directed more below and behind, and the -clitoris and meatus more covered by the labia majora; -so that the child urinates forward, while the adult -woman is usually able to urinate almost directly -downwards in the erect position, though in some -cases (as may occasionally be observed in the street) -she can only do so when bending slightly forwards.</p> - -<p>“This difference in the direction of the stream -formerly furnished one of the methods of diagnosing -virginity, an uncertain one, since the difference is -largely due to age and individual variation. The -main factor in the position and aspect of the vulva is -pelvic inclination....”</p> - -<p>Havelock Ellis, later on in the same volume -of his <cite>Studies</cite>, again refers to the subject:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_122">122</span></p> - -<p>“A sign to which the old authors often attached -much importance was furnished by the urinary -stream. In the <cite>De Secretis Mulierum</cite>, wrongly attributed -to Albertus Magnus,<a id="FNanchor_86" href="#Footnote_86" class="fnanchor">86</a> it is laid down that ‘the -virgin urinates higher than the woman.’ Riolan, in -his <cite>Anthropographia</cite>, discussing the ability of virgins -to ejaculate urine to a height, states that Scaliger had -observed women who were virgins emit urine in a -high jet against a wall, but that married women could -seldom do this. Bonaciolus also stated that the urine -of virgins is emitted in a small stream to a distance -with an acute hissing sound. (<cite>Parthenologia</cite>, p. 281.)<a id="FNanchor_87" href="#Footnote_87" class="fnanchor">87</a> -... There is no doubt a tendency for the various -stresses of sexual life to produce an influence in this -direction, though they act far too slowly and uncertainly -to be a reliable index to the presence or the -absence of virginity.</p> - -<p>“Another common ancient test of virginity -by urination rests on a psychic basis, and appears in -a variety of forms which are really all reducible to<span class="pagenum" id="Page_123">123</span> -the same principle. Thus we are told in <cite>De Secretis -Mulierum</cite> that to ascertain if a girl has been seduced -she should be given to eat of powdered crocus flowers, -and if she has been seduced she immediately urinates. -We are here concerned with auto-suggestion, and it -may well be believed that with nervous and credulous -girls this test often revealed the truth....</p> - -<p>“ ... The ancient custom, known in classic -times, of measuring the neck the day after marriage -was frequently practised to ascertain if a girl was or -was not a virgin. There were various ways of doing -this. One was to measure with a thread the circumference -of the bride’s neck before she went to bed on -the bridal night. If in the morning the same thread -would not go around her neck it was a sure sign that -she had lost her virginity during the night; if it would, -she was still a virgin or had been deflowered at an -earlier period. Catullus alluded to this custom,<a id="FNanchor_88" href="#Footnote_88" class="fnanchor">88</a> which -still exists, or existed until lately,<a id="FNanchor_89" href="#Footnote_89" class="fnanchor">89</a> in the south of -France. It is perfectly sound, for it rests on the -intimate response by congestion of the thyroid gland -to sexual excitement. (<cite>Parthenologia</cite>, p. 283.)”</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> -</div><div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_124">124</span></p> - - -<h2 title="THE SKIRMISH.">THE SKIRMISH.<a id="FNanchor_90" href="#Footnote_90" class="fnanchor">90</a></h2> - - -<p class="center"><i>Tullia.</i></p> - -<div> - <img class="drop-cap" src="images/s.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> -<p class="drop-cap">Sweet it is to me, dearest cousin, that thy -marriage with Caviceo is finally concluded: -for, the night which will make thee a wife in -his embraces will, I assure thee, afford thee -by far the greatest of all pleasures; provided Venus -befriend thee, as this thy heavenly shape deserveth.</p> - -<p class="center"><i>Ottavia.</i></p> - -<p>My mother told me this morning that I am -to be wedded to-morrow to Caviceo. And I see that -the requisites for the pomp of this event are being -prepared at home with great care: the bed, bed-room, -and so forth. But, of course, these things cause less -joy than fear in my soul; for, whatever in fine may -be that pleasure of which thou, my dearest cousin, -speakest, I neither know nor even imagine.</p> - -<p class="center"><i>Tullia.</i></p> - -<p>It should seem nowise strange that thou at -this age and so soft (for thou hast barely attained thy<span class="pagenum" id="Page_125">125</span> -fifteenth year), dost not know what I, though older -when I married, wholly ignored; that delight which -Pomponia used to promise and so loudly extol, having -been tasting it herself since three years.</p> - -<p class="center"><i>Ottavia.</i></p> - -<p>But what greatly surpriseth me is that thou -shouldst wholly ignore it. Allow me to speak more -openly now that I am on the eve of complete freedom. -For if the practice were lacking, which thou certainly -hadst not, yet thy great learning must have disclosed -these secrets to thee. I often hear thee extolled to -the clouds in the most flattering terms, because thou -art so skilled in Latin and Greek literature as in nearly -all the liberal arts that there seemeth to be naught -which thou dost not know.</p> - -<p class="center"><i>Tullia.</i></p> - -<p>My father had so much to do in this, that, -with the same zeal as most other girls are seeking -after the reputation of being handsome and elegant, -I was entirely bent on acquiring the honour of being -a learned maid. And they that prefer to flatter than -speak the truth, say: she hath not quite lost her time.</p> - -<p class="center"><i>Ottavia.</i></p> - -<p>They who will not flatter say also: scarcely -have esteem of virtue, good morals remained with -those of our sex who were considered learned, even -when they obtained this honour.</p> - -<p class="center"><i>Tullia.</i></p> - -<p>Would they deny I am chaste, while owning -I am learned?</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_126">126</span></p> - -<p class="center"><i>Ottavia.</i></p> - -<p>Ay, they would; but thou hast won the -admiration of all while taking care that thy learning -did not interfere with thy good and chaste morals; it -hath produced an extraordinary prodigy. But how -could it be possible that the Muses, who are styled -virgins, should be deemed hostile to the honour of -virgins? Why are they said to corrupt our minds, they -who are as the ardour of our souls, stimulating us all, -men and women alike, to grand and praiseworthy -actions? Undoubtedly because men, from a certain -haughty and silly malignity, envy us these resources -of which they themselves are proud, by making us the -victims of their jealousy. Men shun every poison and -venom just as we do, whom they call the weaker sex, -because the same pest which may take our lives away, -may take theirs away too. If learning be a venom and a -pest for us, as they assert, how is it that so dangerous -a thing, in order to be useful to men, (for they do not -deny but that it is useful to them), should change its -nature all on a sudden? If learning is, of its very -essence, a certain source of every evil and crime for -us, how shall they drink out of the same source the -nectarean waters of immortal glory: whilst we unhappy -and wretched women shall drink a sort of -sulphureous Stygian water which will excite us to -those debaucheries, to which they drive us by their -sway or lead us by their example? For, I remember -that thou spokest thus on this subject a few days ago -in thy conversation with Caviceo. It is exceedingly -nice of thee to have conserved until now that pure -reputation of an honest woman, with that beauty -which inflameth even the coldest, with that learning -which doth captivate those insensible of beauty.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_127">127</span></p> - -<p class="center"><i>Tullia.</i></p> - -<p>Thou who speakest thus, thou who knowest -that love inflameth men’s hearts, art not so simple as -I thought.</p> - -<p class="center"><i>Ottavia.</i></p> - -<p>Am I totally ignorant of what Caviceo’s eyes, -brow, in a word, his whole countenance so often told -me, even though he were silent? I was indeed truly -surprised at the unwonted fire of his kisses, when he -made free with me eight days ago; I know but too -well what that ardour and fire meant.</p> - -<p class="center"><i>Tullia.</i></p> - -<p>Thy mother was absent? thou wast alone? -thou wast not at all afraid of him?</p> - -<p class="center"><i>Ottavia.</i></p> - -<p>My mother was gone out; but what was to -be feared from him? Of course I feared naught.</p> - -<p class="center"><i>Tullia.</i></p> - -<p>All he asked was kisses?</p> - -<p class="center"><i>Ottavia.</i></p> - -<p>On the contrary, the fool took them against my -will, brandishing his glowing tongue between my -lips.</p> - -<p class="center"><i>Tullia.</i></p> - -<p>What sensation came over thee, then?</p> - -<p class="center"><i>Ottavia.</i></p> - -<p>I shall acknowledge it: some heat or other<span class="pagenum" id="Page_128">128</span> -hitherto unfelt passed through my veins: my whole -frame was inflamed. He thought that a maiden blush -bepainted my cheek; for a little while he forebore his -folly and busy hand.... I shall ever hate those -roguish hands, from the very fact that they with their -fire impregnated me, tortured and wearied!</p> - -<p class="center"><i>Tullia.</i></p> - -<p>A nice affair!</p> - -<p class="center"><i>Ottavia.</i></p> - -<p>Why? having stuck his hand in my breast, -he seized one of my paps, then the other; and while -he was handling each of them rather hard, lo! he -tossed me over on my back in spite of me.</p> - -<p class="center"><i>Tullia.</i></p> - -<p>Thou art blushing; the deed was accomplished.</p> - -<p class="center"><i>Ottavia.</i></p> - -<p>His left hand was laid on my bosom (I am -stating how the thing was done), he easily overcame -all my efforts; he next slipped his right hand under -my petticoat. I blush, I blush to tell it.</p> - -<p class="center"><i>Tullia.</i></p> - -<p>Lay aside that ridiculous modesty; fancy thou -art relating to thyself what thou art telling me.</p> - -<p class="center"><i>Ottavia.</i></p> - -<p>Having speedily lifted my petticoat above -my knees, he handled my thighs. Oh! hadst thou -beheld his sparkling eyes!</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_129">129</span></p> - -<p class="center"><i>Tullia.</i></p> - -<p>So thou wast happy then!</p> - -<p class="center"><i>Ottavia.</i></p> - -<p>Having carried his hand higher, he invaded -that place which, they say, distinguisheth us from the -other sex; ay, it is now a year ago, and ever since a -lot of blood doth run from me every month during -several days.</p> - -<p class="center"><i>Tullia.</i></p> - -<p>Bravo, Caviceo! ah! ah! ah!</p> - -<p class="center"><i>Ottavia.</i></p> - -<p>Oh, the rascal! “This part,” he saith, “will soon -rejoice me exceedingly. Do consent, my Ottavia.” -A little more and I had fainted at these words.</p> - -<p class="center"><i>Tullia.</i></p> - -<p>What did he then do?</p> - -<p class="center"><i>Ottavia.</i></p> - -<p>That part of me, thou wouldst scarcely -believe, hath a very small slit....</p> - -<p class="center"><i>Tullia.</i></p> - -<p>But inflamed, but glowing.</p> - -<p class="center"><i>Ottavia.</i></p> - -<p>He thrust his finger into it, and, as the place -could barely contain it, I felt a sharp pain throughout -all my senses. But he: “I have a virgin,” said he, and -no sooner said than forcibly opening my thighs which -I kept as tight as ever I could, he threw himself upon -me.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_130">130</span></p> - -<p class="center"><i>Tullia.</i></p> - -<p>Thou art silent? he put naught but his -finger in?</p> - -<p class="center"><i>Ottavia.</i></p> - -<p>I felt ... but what effrontery is mine to speak -so much about it!</p> - -<p class="center"><i>Tullia.</i></p> - -<p>And I too, whom thou makest so much of, -have undergone it, as thou. Naught is more daring -than a bridegroom, whom every delay doth exasperate -exceedingly, until he gathereth that flower of his bride.</p> - -<p class="center"><i>Ottavia.</i></p> - -<p>I soon felt some hard and warm mass between -my thighs. He forced me to open; with a robust -effort he directed that thing against my body and that -slit. But I, having mustered up strength, threw myself -to the other side, and slipping my left hand -between us both, I laid it on that place where the fray -was so furiously raging.</p> - -<p class="center"><i>Tullia.</i></p> - -<p>Thou couldst with one hand ward off so -powerful a catapult?</p> - -<p class="center"><i>Ottavia.</i></p> - -<p>Yea. “O naughty man,” would I say, “why -dost thou annoy me thus? Let me go, if thou lovest -me: by what crime have I deserved this torture?” -And tears flowed from my eyes: but such was the -state of my mind, that I did not even dare open my -mouth or utter a cry to call for help.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_131">131</span></p> - -<p class="center"><i>Tullia.</i></p> - -<p>Withal Caviceo did not even pierce thee -with his lance[91]? it did not enter into thy trench<a id="FNanchor_91" href="#Footnote_91" class="fnanchor">91</a>?</p> - -<p class="center"><i>Ottavia.</i></p> - -<p>I seized it and held it aside, but unlucky -event! I felt myself completely drenched with a -regular shower like fire, and, naked as I was, wet up -to the navel. I put my hand to it again; but when -falling on that sort of slimy fluid with which the mad -fellow had flooded me, my hand recoiled from fright -and horror.</p> - -<p class="center"><i>Tullia.</i></p> - -<p>Therefore neither was he vanquished nor -thou victorious, since he was very near carrying off a -real victory.</p> - -<p class="center"><i>Ottavia.</i></p> - -<p>Caviceo was far more agreeable to me since -that day. Nor do I know the powerful desire that -doth agitate my soul. I ignore what I long for, and -cannot mention it. All I know is that Caviceo -pleaseth me far more than all mortals; I expect from -him alone the supreme pleasure which I do not -understand, as I ignore what it may be like. I desire -naught and yet desire....</p> - -<p><i>Here we end our extract from Luisa’s Dialogues. -We shall have occasion to quote from them again in -subsequent volumes of Anthologica Rarissima.</i></p> - -<hr class="chap" /> -</div><div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_132">132</span></p> - - - - -<h3><i>EXCURSUS</i> to <i>THE SKIRMISH</i>.</h3> - -<p>Nicolas Chorier, the author of the <cite>Dialogues -of Luisa Sigea</cite> (the book is commonly called the <cite>Aloisia</cite> -or the <cite>Meursius</cite>, after the name of the supposed author -or translator) was born at Vienne, Dauphiny, in 1612; -he received a law-doctor’s degree in 1639, and practised -the profession of lawyer at the Court of Aids in -his native town.<a id="FNanchor_92" href="#Footnote_92" class="fnanchor">92</a> A man of cultivated mind, a passionate -lover of letters, a first-rate Latinist, he devoted -only a very limited part of his time to causes of the -bar.</p> - -<p>While passing out of the Jesuit Academy, -and during the course of his law studies, he tried -his hand at a variety of works both in French and -Latin.... The composition of the <cite>Aloisia</cite>, or at -least the first draft, for he must often have retouched -this chief work, may be traced back to that time. “I -wrote then,” he tells us in his <cite>Memoirs</cite>, “<cite>Epistles</cite>, -<cite>Speeches</cite>, a <cite>Political Dissertation</cite> on the French -alliance with the Ottoman Empire, and two <cite>Satires</cite>, -the one Menippean, the other Sotadical.”<a id="FNanchor_93" href="#Footnote_93" class="fnanchor">93</a> ... -<span class="pagenum" id="Page_133">133</span> -It was about the year 1660 that he had, according -to all probability, the first edition of the <cite>Aloisia</cite> -secretly printed in Lyons. The work was supposed -to have been written in Spanish, in the 16th century, -by an erudite young girl, Luisa Sigea, whose father, -Jacques Sigée, a native of France, had quitted his -country to settle down at Toledo. (Luisa Sigea, who -was born at Toledo about the year 1530 and died in -1560, says the English translator in a note, knew Latin, -Greek, Hebrew, Syriac and Arabic. She was styled -the Minerva of her time.) The Spanish work was lost; -but there remained a Latin manuscript translation of -it, which Chorier, in order to secure himself, attributed -to the learned Dutchman Joannes Meursius, dead -twenty years before.... Chorier died in 1692; he -left several manuscript works behind him, some of -which have since been printed.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> -</div><div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_134">134</span></p> - - - - -<h2 title="THE NIGHTINGALE.">THE NIGHTINGALE.<a id="FNanchor_94" href="#Footnote_94" class="fnanchor">94</a></h2> - - -<div> - <img class="drop-cap" src="images/t.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> -<p class="drop-cap">There lived in Romagna a gentleman of great -worth and good breeding, called Messer Lizio -da Valbona, to whom, well-nigh in his old -age, it chanced there was born of his wife, -Madame Giacomina by name, a daughter, who grew -up fair and agreeable beyond any other of the country; -and for that she was the only child that remained to -her father and mother, they loved and tended her -exceeding dear and guarded her with marvellous -diligence, looking to make some great alliance by her.</p> - -<p>Now there was a young man of the Manardi -of Brettinoro, comely and lusty of his person, by name -Ricciardo, who much frequented Messer Lizio’s house -and conversed amain with him and of whom the -latter and his lady took no more account than they -would have taken of a son of theirs. Now, this Ricciardo, -looking once and again upon the young lady -and seeing her very fair and sprightly and commendable -of manners and fashions, fell desperately in love -with her, but was very careful to keep his love secret.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_135">135</span></p> - -<p>The damsel presently became aware thereof -and without anywise seeking to shun the stroke, -began on like wise to love him; whereat Ricciardo -was mightily rejoiced. He had many a time a mind -to speak to her, but kept silence for misdoubtance; -however, one day taking courage and opportunity, -he said to her:</p> - -<p>“I prithee, Caterina, cause me not to die of -love.”</p> - -<p>To which she straightway made answer: -“Would God thou wouldst not cause <em>me</em> die!”</p> - -<p>This answer added much courage and pleasure -to Ricciardo and he said to her:</p> - -<p>“Never shall aught that may be agreeable to -thee miscarry for me; but it resteth with thee to find -a means of saving thy life and mine.”</p> - -<p>“Ricciardo,” answered she, “thou seest how -straitly I am guarded; wherefore, for my part, I cannot -see how thou mayst avail to come at me; but, if thou -canst see aught that I may do without shame to myself, -tell it me and I will do it.”</p> - -<p>Ricciardo, having bethought himself of sundry -things, answered promptly:</p> - -<p>“My sweet Caterina, I can see no way, except -that thou lie or make shift to come upon the gallery -that adjoineth thy father’s garden, where an I knew -that thou wouldst be anights, I would without fail -contrive to come to thee, how high soever it may be.”</p> - -<p>“If thou have the heart to come thither,” -rejoined Caterina, “methinketh I can well enough -win to be there.”</p> - -<p>Ricciardo assented and they kissed each other -once only in haste and went their ways.</p> - -<p>Next day, it being then near the end of May,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_136">136</span> -the girl began to complain before her mother that she -had not been able to sleep that night for the excessive -heat Quoth the lady:</p> - -<p>“Of what heat dost thou speak, daughter? -Nay, it was nowise hot.”</p> - -<p>“Mother mine,” answered Caterina, “you -should say ‘to my seeming’ and belike you would say -sooth; but you should consider how much hotter are -young girls than ladies in years.”</p> - -<p>“Daughter mine,” rejoined the lady, “that is -true; but I cannot make it cold and hot at my pleasure, -as belike thou wouldst have me do. We must put up -with the weather, such as the seasons make it; maybe -this next night will be cooler and thou wilt sleep -better.”</p> - -<p>“God grant it may be so!” cried Caterina. -“But it is not usual for the nights to go cooling, as it -groweth towards summer.”</p> - -<p>“Then what wouldst thou have done?” asked -the mother; and she answered:</p> - -<p>“An it please my father and you, I would -fain have a little bed made in the gallery, that is beside -his chamber and over his garden, and there sleep. -There I should hear the nightingale sing and having -a cooler place to lie in, I should fare much better than -in your chamber.”</p> - -<p>Quoth the mother: “Daughter, comfort thyself; -I will tell thy father, and as he will, so will we -do.”</p> - -<p>Messer Lizio, hearing all this from his wife, -said; for that he was an old man and maybe therefore -somewhat cross-grained:</p> - -<p>“What nightingale is this to whose song she -would sleep? I will yet make her sleep to the chirp<span class="pagenum" id="Page_137">137</span> -of the crickets.”</p> - -<p>Caterina, coming to know this, more of -despite than for the heat, not only slept not that night, -but suffered not her mother to sleep, still complaining -of the great heat. Accordingly, next morning, the -latter repaired to her husband and said to him:</p> - -<p>“Sir, you have little tenderness for yonder -girl; what mattereth it to you if she lie in the gallery? -She could get no rest all night for the heat. Besides, -can you wonder at her having a mind to hear the -nightingale sing, seeing she is but a child? Young -folk are curious of things like themselves.”</p> - -<p>Messer Lizio, hearing this, said:</p> - -<p>“Go to, make her a bed there, such as you -think fit, and bind it about with some curtain or other, -and there let her lie and hear the nightingale sing to -her heart’s content.”</p> - -<p>The girl, learning this, straightway let make -a bed in the gallery and meaning to lie there that -same night, watched till she saw Ricciardo and made -him a signal appointed between them, by which he -understood what was to be done.</p> - -<p>Messer Lizio, hearing the girl gone to bed, -locked a door that led from his chamber into the -gallery, and betook himself likewise to sleep.</p> - -<p>As for Ricciardo, as soon as he heard quiet on -every hand, he mounted a wall, with the aid of a -ladder, and thence, laying hold of certain toothings of -another wall, he made his way, with great toil and -danger, if he had fallen, up to the gallery, where he -was quietly received by the girl with the utmost joy. -Then, after many kisses, they went to bed together -and took delight and pleasure one of another well -nigh all that night, making the nightingale sing many<span class="pagenum" id="Page_138">138</span> -a time.</p> - -<p>The nights being short and the delight great -and it being now, though they thought it not, near -day, they fell asleep without any covering, so overheated -were they what with the weather and what -with their sport, Caterina having her right arm entwined -about Ricciardo’s neck and holding him with -the left hand by that thing which you ladies think -most shame to name among men.</p> - -<p>As they slept on this wise, without awaking, -the day came on and Messer Lizio arose and remembering -him that his daughter lay in the gallery, opened -the door softly, saying in himself:</p> - -<p>“Let us see how the nightingale hath made -Caterina sleep this night.”</p> - -<p>Then, going in, he softly lifted up the serge -wherewith the bed was curtained about, and saw his -daughter and Ricciardo lying asleep, naked and uncovered, -embraced as it hath before been set out; -whereupon, having recognised Ricciardo, he went out -again and repairing to his wife’s chamber, called to -her, saying:</p> - -<p>“Quick, wife, get thee up and come see, for -that thy daughter hath been so curious of the nightingale -that she hath e’en taken it and hath it in hand.”</p> - -<p>“How can that be?” quoth she; and he -answered:</p> - -<p>“Thou shalt see it, an thou come quickly.”</p> - -<p>Accordingly, she made haste to dress herself -and quietly followed her husband to the bed where, -the curtain being drawn, Madam Giacomina might -plainly see how her daughter had taken and held the -nightingale, which she had so longed to hear sing; -whereat the lady, holding herself sore deceived of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_139">139</span> -Ricciardo, would have cried out and railed at him; -but Messer Lizio said to her:</p> - -<p>“Wife, as thou holdest my love dear, look thou -say not a word, for, verily, since she hath gotten it, it -shall be hers. Ricciardo is young and rich and gently -born; he cannot make us other than a good son-in-law. -An he would part from thee on good terms, needs -must he first marry her, so it will be found that he -hath put the nightingale in his own cage and not in -that of another.”</p> - -<p>The lady was comforted to see that her husband -was not angered at the matter and considering -that her daughter had passed a good night and rested -well and had caught the nightingale, to boot, she held -her tongue. Nor had they abidden long after these -words when Ricciardo awoke and seeing that it was -broad day, gave himself over for lost and called Caterina, -saying:</p> - -<p>“Alack, my soul, how shall we do, for the day -is come and hath caught me here?”</p> - -<p>Whereupon Messer Lizio came forward and -lifting the curtain, answered:</p> - -<p>“We shall do well.”</p> - -<p>When Ricciardo saw him, himseemed the -heart was torn out of his body and sitting up in bed, -he said:</p> - -<p>“My lord, I crave your pardon for God’s sake. -I acknowledge to have deserved death, as a disloyal -and wicked man; wherefore do you with me as best -pleaseth you; but, I prithee, an it may be, have mercy -on my life and let me not die.”</p> - -<p>“Ricciardo,” answered Messer Lizio, “the love -that I bore thee and the faith I had in thee merited -not this return; yet, since thus it is and youth hath<span class="pagenum" id="Page_140">140</span> -carried thee away into such a fault, do thou, to save -thyself from death and me from shame, take Caterina -to thy lawful wife, so that, like as this night she hath -been thine, she may e’en be thine so long as she shall -live. On this wise thou mayst gain my pardon and -thine own safety; but, an thou choose not to do this, -commend thy soul to God.”</p> - -<p>Whilst these words were saying, Caterina let -go the nightingale and covering herself, fell to weeping -sore and beseeching her father to pardon Ricciardo, -whilst on the other hand she entreated her lover to do -as Messer Lizio wished, so they might long pass such -nights in security.</p> - -<p>But there needed not overmany prayers, for -that, on the one hand, shame of the fault committed -and desire to make amends for it, and on the other, -the fear of death and the wish to escape,—to say -nothing of his ardent love and longing to possess the -thing beloved,—made Ricciardo freely and without -hesitation avouch himself ready to do that which -pleased Messer Lizio; whereupon the latter borrowed -of Giacomina one of her rings and there, without -budging, Ricciardo in their presence took Caterina to -his wife. This done, Messer Lizio and his lady -departed, saying:</p> - -<p>“Now rest yourselves, for belike you have -more need thereof than of rising.”</p> - -<p>They being gone, the young folk clipped each -other anew and not having run more than half a -dozen courses overnight, they ran other twain ere -they arose and so made an end of the first day’s -tilting.</p> - -<p>Then they arose and Ricciardo having had -more orderly conference with Lizio a few days after,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_141">141</span> -as it beseemed, he married the damsel over again, in -the presence of their friends and kinsfolk, and brought -her with great pomp to his own house. There he -held goodly and honourable nuptials and after went -long nightingale-fowling with her to his heart’s content, -in peace and solace, both by night and by day.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> -</div><div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_142">142</span></p> - - - - -<h2 title="THE PIKE’S HEAD.">THE PIKE’S HEAD.<a id="FNanchor_95" href="#Footnote_95" class="fnanchor">95</a></h2> - - -<div> - <img class="drop-cap" src="images/o.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> -<p class="drop-cap">Once there lived a peasant and his wife who -had a daughter, a young virgin. The girl -went forth to harrow the garden; she harrowed -and she harrowed; anon they called -her to the house to eat pancakes. She ran and left the -horse with the harrow, saying unto the beast:</p> - -<p>“Wait there until I return.”</p> - -<p>There was in the house of a neighbour a son, -a foolish lad. For long he had desired to futter the -maid; but by what means he could not conceive. -Observing the horse with the harrow, he slipped -through the hedge, unharnessed the horse, and led it -into his garden. Leaving the harrow in its place, he -passed the beam through the hedge, and harnessed -the horse afresh from his side.</p> - -<p>The young girl returned and stood astonished. -What meant this? The harrow on one side of the -hedge, the horse on the other? She fell to beating -the horse with her whip, saying:</p> - -<p>“Devil! How camest thou there? Thou didst -know how to get there. Thou wilt know how to return. -Come! Come! Out of it!”</p> - -<p>The lad stood near; he looked and laughed.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_143">143</span></p> - -<p>“I will aid thee an thou wilt,” said he, “but -only if thou dost permit me....”</p> - -<p>The maid was cunning.</p> - -<p>“Willingly,” said she.</p> - -<p>And she armed herself with the head of an -old pike, which lay about the garden, its jaws open. -Picking it up, she thrust it in her sleeve and said to -the lad:</p> - -<p>“I do not wish to come to thy side of the -hedge, nor do I wish thee to come to mine, lest any -see thee. Do it through the hedge. Pass me thy yard -and I will put it in.”</p> - -<p>The youth drew out his yard and passed it -through the hedge. The girl took the pike’s head, -opened it, and put it ‘twixt her thighs. When the -youth rubbed, he scratched his yard so that it bled. -Taking it in his hands, he ran to the house, sat down -in a corner, and was very silent.</p> - -<p>“Ah! woe is me!” thought he to himself. -“How her coynte biteth! If only my yard will heal, -for the rest of my life I will never address another -girl!”</p> - -<p>Came the time for the youth to settle down; -he was affianced to the daughter of the neighbour, -and they were wedded. They dwelt together for a -day, then two, then three; they dwelt together for a -week, then a second, then a third; but the youth -feared to touch his wife.</p> - -<p>Constrained one day to go to the house of the -young man’s mother-in-law, they set out on their -way. On the road the wife said to her husband:</p> - -<p>“Listen, now, my dear little Danilka. Why -hast thou married since thou dost naught with me? -If thou canst do naught, why spoilest the life of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_144">144</span> -another in this useless fashion?”</p> - -<p>And Danilka replied:</p> - -<p>“Nay, thou wilt not trap me again. It biteth, -thy coynte. My yard hath long been ill. ‘Tis scarce -cured yet.”</p> - -<p>“Thou ravest!” answered she. “At that time -I did but play with thee. Have no fear now. Make -trial of this dear little thing<a id="FNanchor_96" href="#Footnote_96" class="fnanchor">96</a> of mine. Thou wilt be -enchanted with it.”</p> - -<p>And desire took the youth, and he tucked up -his robe, saying:</p> - -<p>“Wait—I am about to bind thy legs, and if -thy coynte biteth, I shall be able to leap to earth and -save myself.”</p> - -<p>He let go of the reins and bound the two -naked thighs of his young wife. His instrument was -now of sufficient magnitude. When he rammed the -girl, she cried with a loud voice; the horse, which was -young, took fright and began to run away; the sleigh -was thrown from side to side; the peasant fell out; -and his young wife, her thighs naked, was dragged -into the courtyard of the mother-in-law.</p> - -<p>The mother-in-law gazed through the window; -she perceived the horse of her son-in-law, and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_145">145</span> -was assured that he brought her some viands for the -feast; she went to meet him and found—her daughter!</p> - -<p>“Ah! little mother!” cried the latter. “Unbind -me swiftly ere any see me.”</p> - -<p>The old woman unbound her and asked what -it signified.</p> - -<p>“And thy husband, where is he?” she demanded.</p> - -<p>“The horse threw him into the road.”</p> - -<p>These two entered the house and gazed -through the window. Danilka arrived, approached -some small boys who were playing at knuckle-bones, -stopped, and looked about him. The mother-in-law -dispatched her eldest daughter to him. She drew near, -saying:</p> - -<p>“Good day, Danilka Ivanitch.”</p> - -<p>“Good-day.”</p> - -<p>“Come into the house. The feast lacketh but -thee.”</p> - -<p>“Is my wife within?”</p> - -<p>“Yea.”</p> - -<p>“And hath the blood ceased to flow?”</p> - -<p>But the young girl spat and ran away from -him.</p> - -<p>Then the mother-in-law dispatched her -daughter-in-law, who would appease him.</p> - -<p>“Come, come, little Danilka. The blood hath -ceased to flow this long time.”</p> - -<p>She led him within the house, and the -mother-in-law came to meet him, saying:</p> - -<p>“Welcome, my dear little son-in-law.”</p> - -<p>“Varvara—is she within?”</p> - -<p>“Yea.”</p> - -<p>“And hath the blood ceased to flow?”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_146">146</span></p> - -<p>“It hath ceased this long time.”</p> - -<p>Then he drew forth his yard and showed it -to his mother-in-law, saying:</p> - -<p>“See, little mother, this awl<a id="FNanchor_97" href="#Footnote_97" class="fnanchor">97</a> was entirely -inside her body.”</p> - -<p>“Come, come,” said the mother-in-law. “Sit -thyself down. ‘Tis time to eat.”</p> - -<p>They sat down, drank, and ate.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> -</div><div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_147">147</span></p> - - - - -<h2 title="THE LOVELY NUN AND HER YOUNG BOARDER.">THE LOVELY NUN AND HER YOUNG -BOARDER.<a id="FNanchor_98" href="#Footnote_98" class="fnanchor">98</a></h2> - -<p><i>Casanova again meets the beautiful nun M—M—, with -whom he was on intimate terms some years -previously at Venice. The nun is now in a convent at -Chamberi, where Casanova visits her and her young -boarder, a lovely girl aged twelve or thirteen, who -readily succumbs to the adventurer’s amorous advances. -The text continues</i>:—</p> - - -<div> - <img class="drop-cap" src="images/i.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> -<p class="drop-cap">I went to the convent, and M—M—came -down alone to the grating. She thanked me -for coming to see her, adding that I had -come to disturb her peace of mind.</p> - -<p>“I am all ready, my heart, to climb the garden -wall,” I answered, “and I shall do it more dextrously -than thy wretched humpback.”</p> - -<p>“Alas! ‘tis not possible, for, believe me, thou -art already spied upon.... Let us forget all, my dear -friend, that we may be spared the torment of vain -desires.”</p> - -<p>“Give me thy hand.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_148">148</span></p> - -<p>“Nay. All is over. I love thee still; probably -I shall love thee always; but I long for thee to go, -and by so doing, thou wilt give me proof of thy love.”</p> - -<p>“This is dreadful; thou amazest me. Thou -dost seem in perfect health; thou art grown even -more beautiful; art made for the worship of the -sweetest of gods; ‘tis beyond my powers of comprehension -how, with a temperament like thine, thou -canst live in continual abstinence.”</p> - -<p>“Alas! lacking the reality we console ourselves -with make-belief.<a id="FNanchor_99" href="#Footnote_99" class="fnanchor">99</a> I will not conceal from -thee that I love my young boarder. ‘Tis an innocent -passion, and keepeth my mind calm. Her caresses -quench the flame which would otherwise kill me.”<a id="FNanchor_100" href="#Footnote_100" class="fnanchor">100</a></p> - -<p>“And doth not thy conscience suffer?”</p> - -<p>“I feel no distress in the matter.”</p> - -<p>“But thou dost know ‘tis a sin?”</p> - -<p>“I confess it.”</p> - -<p>“And what sayeth the confessor?”</p> - -<p>“Naught. He absolveth me, and I am happy.”</p> - -<p>“And doth thy pretty boarder confess also?”</p> - -<p>“Assuredly; but she telleth not the father of -a matter which she doth not believe a sin.”</p> - -<p>“I wonder that the confessor hath not taught -her, for that species of instruction is a great pleasure.”</p> - -<p>“Our confessor is a wise old man.”</p> - -<p>“I shall leave thee, then, without a single -kiss?”</p> - -<p>“Not one.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_149">149</span></p> - -<p>“May I return on the morrow? I go hence -on the following day.”</p> - -<p>“Come; but I shall not descend alone,<a id="FNanchor_101" href="#Footnote_101" class="fnanchor">101</a> for -others might have suspicions. I will bring my little -one with me, to save appearances. Come after dining, -but to the other parlour.”</p> - -<p>Had I not known M—M—at Aix, her religious -ideas would have astonished me; but such was -her character. She loved God, and did not believe -that the kind Father who made us with passions -would be too severe because we had not the strength -to subdue them. I returned to the inn, annoyed that -the lovely nun would have no more to do with me....</p> - -<p><i>After the interval of a night, Casanova returns -to the convent, and, announcing his presence, enters -the parlour which M—M—has indicated. The text -continues</i>:—</p> - -<p>... She soon descended with her pretty young -boarder, who ... had not yet completed her twelfth -year, but was very tall, strong and well-developed for -her age. Gentleness, liveliness, candour, and wit -were united in her features, and gave her an expression -of exquisite charm. She wore a well-made corset -which disclosed a white throat, to which fancy easily -added the two spheres which would soon appear there. -Her shapely head, whence hung two superb raven -tresses, and her ivory throat indicated what might be -concealed, and my vagrant imagination formed her -into a budding Venus.</p> - -<p>I began by telling her that she was very -pretty, and that she would make happy the husband<span class="pagenum" id="Page_150">150</span> -for whom God had destined her. This compliment, -I felt assured, would cause her to blush. ‘Tis cruel, -but thus it is that the language of seduction ever beginneth. -A girl of her years who doth not blush at the -mention of marriage is either a fool or already expert -in profligacy. Despite this, however, the blush which -mounteth to a young girl’s cheek at the onset of a -startling idea is indeed a problem. Whence doth it -come? Perchance from pure simplicity; perchance -from shame; often from a mixture of both feelings. -Cometh, then, the combat ‘twixt vice and virtue, and -usually ‘tis virtue which hath to succumb. The desires—true -servants of vice—easily attain their ends. As -I knew the young boarder from M—M—’s description, -I could not be unaware of the source of those blushes -which did but enhance her youthful charms.</p> - -<p>Pretending not to notice aught, I conversed -for a while with M—M—, then returned to the assault. -She had regained her calm.</p> - -<p>“What is thine age, pretty one?” said I.</p> - -<p>“I am thirteen.”</p> - -<p>“Thou art wrong, my heart,” said her friend. -“Thou hast not yet completed thy twelfth year.”</p> - -<p>“The time will come,” quoth I, “when thou -wilt diminish the tale of thy years instead of increasing -it.”</p> - -<p>“I shall never tell a lie, sir; of that I am sure.”</p> - -<p>“So thou wouldst become a nun, my fair -friend?”</p> - -<p>“I have not yet that vocation; but naught -shall force me to lie, even though I should live in the -world.”</p> - -<p>“Thou art wrong, for thou wilt begin to lie -from the moment thou hast a lover.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_151">151</span></p> - -<p>“Will my lover also tell lies?”</p> - -<p>“Assuredly he will.”</p> - -<p>“Were the matter truly so, I should entertain -a bad opinion of love; but I do not believe it, for I -love my dear friend here, and I never conceal the -truth from her.”</p> - -<p>“But thou dost not love a man as thou lovest -a woman.”</p> - -<p>“Indeed one doth.”</p> - -<p>“Not so, for thou dost not go to bed with a -woman, but thou wilt with thy husband.”</p> - -<p>“No matter—my love would be the same.”</p> - -<p>“What? Thou wouldst not rather sleep with -me than with M—M—?”</p> - -<p>“Nay, in sooth, for thou art a man and would -see me.”</p> - -<p>“Thou dost not desire a man to see thee, -then?”</p> - -<p>“Nay.”</p> - -<p>“Thou knowest that thou art ugly, then?”</p> - -<p>At this she turned to her friend with a highly -vexed air.</p> - -<p>“Am I truly ugly?” she asked.</p> - -<p>“Nay, my heart,” said M—M—, bursting with -laughter; “‘tis quite the other way. Thou art very -pretty.” With these words, she took her on her knee -and embraced her tenderly.</p> - -<p>“Thy corset is too tight, mademoiselle; ‘tis not -possible to have so small a waist as thine.”</p> - -<p>“Monsieur is mistaken. Thou canst put thy -hand there and see for thyself.”</p> - -<p>“I do not believe it.”</p> - -<p>M—M—then held her close to the grille and -bade me assure myself on the point. At the same<span class="pagenum" id="Page_152">152</span> -moment she turned up her dress.</p> - -<p>“Thou wast right,” said I, “and I owe thee an -apology.” But in my heart I cursed the chemise and -the grille.</p> - -<p>“‘Tis my opinion,” quoth I to M—M—, “that -here we have a little lad.”</p> - -<p>Without awaiting a reply, I laboured so well -that I satisfied myself, by touch, as to her sex, and I -could see that the little one and her governess were -pleased that my mind was at rest on the subject.</p> - -<p>When I had withdrawn my hand, the little -one gave a kiss to M—M—, whose smiling air reassured -her, and begged leave to absent herself for a -moment. It seems I had reduced her to a state in -which a brief space of solitude was necessary, and I -myself was in a highly excited condition.</p> - -<p>When she had gone, I said to M—M—:—</p> - -<p>“Dost realise that what thou hast shown me -hath made me unhappy?”</p> - -<p>“And why?”</p> - -<p>“Because thy boarder is charming and I am -dying to possess her.”</p> - -<p>“I grieve for that, since thou canst not go -further; moreover, I know thee, my friend, and e’en -though thou couldst satisfy thy passion without -danger to her, I would not yield her to thee; thou -wouldst spoil her.”</p> - -<p>“How?”</p> - -<p>“Dost think that after enjoying thee she would -care to enjoy me? I should lose too heavily by comparison.”</p> - -<p>“Give me thy hand.”</p> - -<p>“Nay.”</p> - -<p>“Stay—one moment.”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_153">153</span></p> - -<p>“I do not wish to see aught.”</p> - -<p>“Not even a little?”</p> - -<p>“Naught at all.”</p> - -<p>“Art angered with me, then?”</p> - -<p>“Far from it. If thou hast been pleased, I am -glad; and if thou hast filled her with desires, she will -love me all the more.”</p> - -<p>“What happiness, my angel, could we, all -three, be alone together and at liberty!”</p> - -<p>“I feel it, but ‘tis impossible.”</p> - -<p>“Art sure that we are sheltered from all -curious eyes?”</p> - -<p>“I am certain.”</p> - -<p>“The height of that wretched grille hath deprived -me of the sight of many charms.”</p> - -<p>“Why didst not go to the other parlour? ‘Tis -much lower there.”</p> - -<p>“Let us go there.”</p> - -<p>“Not to-day. I could give no reason for the -change.”</p> - -<p>“I will return to-morrow, and in the evening -I start for Lyons.”</p> - -<p>The little boarder came back, and I stood up -facing her. I had a number of beautiful seals and -trinkets hanging from my watch-chain, and I had not -had time to put myself in a state of perfect decency -again. This she noticed, and my seals serving as -a pretext for her curiosity, she asked if she might look -at them.</p> - -<p>“As long as you like, my jewel; look at them -and touch them as well.”</p> - -<p>M—M—, foreseeing what would happen, -left the room, saying that she would return anon. I -hastened to deprive the curious-minded young<span class="pagenum" id="Page_154">154</span> -boarder of all interest in my seals by placing in her -hands a curiosity of another kind. She did not conceal -her transports nor the pleasure she felt in satisfying -her inquisitiveness about an object which was -quite new to her, and which she was able to examine -minutely for the first time in her life. But soon an -effusion of the natural moisture changed her curiosity -into surprise, and I did not interrupt her in her delighted -contemplation of it.</p> - -<p>Perceiving M—M—returning slowly, I -lowered my shirt and sat down. My watch and -chains were still on the ledge of the grating, and M—M—asked -her young friend if the trinkets had -pleased her.</p> - -<p>“Yea,” replied the little one, in a dreamy and -melancholy voice. She had travelled so far in less -than two hours that she had plenty to think on.</p> - -<p>I passed the rest of the day in relating to M—M—the -adventures I had encountered since I quitted -her; but as I had not time to finish my tale, I promised -to return on the following day at the same -hour.</p> - -<p>The young girl, who had been listening to -me all the while, although I seemed to be addressing -only her friend, said she was dying to know the end -of my adventure with the mistress of the Duke of -Matelone.<a id="FNanchor_102" href="#Footnote_102" class="fnanchor">102</a> ...</p> - -<p>... On the following day, after dining, I -returned to the convent, and having sent up my name -to M—M—, I entered the room where the grating was -more convenient. Before long M—M—arrived alone,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_155">155</span> -but divining my desires, she added that her pretty -young friend would soon join us.</p> - -<p>“Thou hast fired her imagination,” she said. -“She hath told me all about it, playing a thousand -wanton tricks and calling me her dear husband. -Thou hast seduced her, and I am very glad thou art -going, for I believe she might lose her reason. Thou -wilt see how she hath attired herself.”</p> - -<p>“Art sure of her discretion?”</p> - -<p>“Perfectly, but I beg of thee to do naught in -my presence. When I see the moment approaching, -I will leave the room.”</p> - -<p>“Thou art an angel, beloved, but thou -mightest be something better an thou wouldst——”</p> - -<p>“I want naught for myself, because that may -not be.”</p> - -<p>“Thou couldst——”</p> - -<p>“Nay—I will have naught to do with a pastime -which would re-kindle fires hardly yet quenched. -I have spoken. I suffer; but let us say no more -on the matter.”</p> - -<p>At this moment the young adept entered -smiling, her eyes full of fire. She was attired in a -short pelisse, open in front, and an embroidered -muslin skirt which did not go beyond her knees. She -looked like a sylph.</p> - -<p>We were scarcely seated ere she reminded -me of the place where my tale had stopped. I continued -my recital, and when I was relating how -Donna Lucrezia showed me Leonilda naked, M—M—went -out, and the sly little puss asked me how -I assured myself that my daughter was a virgin.</p> - -<p>Taking hold of her through the wretched -grating, against which she placed her pretty body, I<span class="pagenum" id="Page_156">156</span> -showed her how I assured myself of the fact, and the -little one found such pleasure in the game that, so far -from feeling any suffering, she twice swooned away -in ecstacy, all the while pressing my hand to the -spot. Then she gave me her hand that she might -afford me the pleasure I had given her, and when -M—M—appeared during this enjoyable occupation, -she said hastily:—</p> - -<p>“It doth not matter. I have told her everything. -My friend is kind, and she will not be vexed.”</p> - -<p>M—M—, in sooth, affected to see naught of -all this, and the precocious young girl wiped her -hand in a kind of voluptuous delight, which showed -how well she was pleased.</p> - -<p>I proceeded with my history, but when I -came to the episode of the poor girl who was <em>tied</em>,<a id="FNanchor_103" href="#Footnote_103" class="fnanchor">103</a> -describing all the trouble I had vainly taken with her, -the little boarder grew so curious that she placed herself -in the most seducing attitude so that I might be -able to show her what I did. Seeing this, M—M—made -her escape.</p> - -<p>“Kneel down on the ledge,” said the little -wanton, “and let me do it.”</p> - -<p>The reader can guess her intention, and she -would have succeeded in her purpose had not the -fire which consumed me distilled itself away at the -orifice.</p> - -<p>The charming novice felt herself besprinkled, -but after ascertaining that naught more could be -done, she withdrew in some vexation. My fingers,<span class="pagenum" id="Page_157">157</span> -however, consoled her for the disappointment, and I -had the pleasure of seeing her look happy once more.</p> - -<p>I quitted these charming creatures in the -evening, promising to visit them again in a year, but -as I walked home I could not but reflect how often -these asylums, supposed to be devoted to chastity and -prayer, do contain in themselves the hidden germs -of corruption. How many a timorous and trustful -mother is persuaded that the child of her affection -will escape the dangers of the world by taking refuge -in the cloister. But behind these bolts and bars -desires grow to a frenzied extreme; they crave in -vain to be satisfied....</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> -</div><div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_158">158</span></p> - - - - -<h2 title="JOHN and JOAN."><i>JOHN and JOAN.</i><a id="FNanchor_104" href="#Footnote_104" class="fnanchor">104</a></h2> - - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poetry"><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse">There was a Maid the other Day,</div> - <div class="verse">Which in her Master’s Chamber lay;</div> - <div class="verse">As Maidens they must not refuse,</div> - <div class="verse">In Yeomens Houses thus they use</div> - <div class="verse">In a Truckle-bed to lye,</div> - <div class="verse">Or another standing by:</div> - <div class="verse">Her Master and her Dame,</div> - <div class="verse">Said she shou’d do the same.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse">This Maid cou’d neither rest nor Sleep,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">When that she heard the Bed to crack;</div> - <div class="verse">Her Master Captive busie was,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">Her Dame cry’d out, you hurt my Back:</div> - <div class="verse">Oh Husband you do me wrong,</div> - <div class="verse">You’ve lain so hard my Breast upon;</div> - <div class="verse">You are such another Man,</div> - <div class="verse">You’d have me do more than I can:</div> - <div class="verse">Tush Master, then says <i>Joan</i>,</div> - <div class="verse">Pray let my Dame alone;</div> - <div class="verse">What a devilish Squalling you keep,</div> - <div class="verse">That I can neither rest nor Sleep.</div><span class="pagenum" id="Page_159">159</span> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse">This was enough to make a Maiden sick</div> - <div class="verse indent4">And full of Pain;</div> - <div class="verse">She begins to Fling and Kick,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">And swore she’d rent her Smock in twain:</div> - <div class="verse">But you shall hear anon,</div> - <div class="verse">There was a Man his name was <i>John</i>,</div> - <div class="verse">To whom this Maid she went alone,</div> - <div class="verse">And in this manner made her moan;</div> - <div class="verse">I prithee <i>John</i> tell me no Lie,</div> - <div class="verse">What ails my Dame to Squeak and Cry?</div> - <div class="verse">I prithee <i>John</i> tell me the same,</div> - <div class="verse">What is’t my Master gives my Dame?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse">It is a Steel, quoth <i>John</i>,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">My Master gives my Dame at Night:</div> - <div class="verse">Altho’ some fault she find,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">I’m sure it is her Heart’s Delight:</div> - <div class="verse">And you <i>Joan</i> for your part,</div> - <div class="verse">You love one withal your Heart:</div> - <div class="verse">Yes, marry then quoth <i>John</i>,</div> - <div class="verse">Therefore to you I make my moan;</div> - <div class="verse">If that I may be so bold,</div> - <div class="verse">Where are these things to be sold?</div> - <div class="verse">At <i>London</i> then said <i>John</i>,</div> - <div class="verse">Next Market day I’ll bring thee one.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse">What will a good one cost,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">If I shou’d chance to stand in need?</div> - <div class="verse">Twenty Shillings, says <i>John</i>,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">And for Twenty Shillings you may speed:</div><span class="pagenum" id="Page_160">160</span> - <div class="verse">Then <i>Joan</i> she ran unto her Chest,</div> - <div class="verse">And fetch’d him Twenty Shillings just;</div> - <div class="verse"><i>John</i>, said she, here is your Coin,</div> - <div class="verse">And I pray you have me in your Mind:</div> - <div class="verse">And out of my Love therefore,</div> - <div class="verse">There is for you two Shillings more;</div> - <div class="verse">And I pray thee honest <i>John Long</i>,</div> - <div class="verse">Buy me one that’s Stiff and Strong.</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse">To Market then he went,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">When he had the Money in his Purse;</div> - <div class="verse">He domineer’d and vapour’d,</div> - <div class="verse indent4">He was as stout as any Horse:</div> - <div class="verse">Some he spent in Ale and Beer,</div> - <div class="verse">And some he spent upon good Cheer;</div> - <div class="verse">The rest he brought home again,</div> - <div class="verse">To serve his turn another time:</div> - <div class="verse">Welcome home honest <i>John</i>,</div> - <div class="verse">God a mercy gentle <i>Joan</i>;</div> - <div class="verse">Prithee <i>John</i> let me feel,</div> - <div class="verse">Hast thou brought me home a Steel?</div> -</div><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse">Yes, marry then quoth <i>John</i>,</div> - <div class="verse">And then he took her by the Hand;</div> - <div class="verse">He led her into a Room,</div> - <div class="verse">Where they cou’d see neither Sun nor Moon:</div> - <div class="verse">Together <i>John</i> the Door did clap,</div> - <div class="verse">He laid the Steel into her Lap:</div> - <div class="verse">With that <i>Joan</i> began to feel,</div> - <div class="verse">Cuts Foot, quoth she, ‘tis a dainty Steel:</div><span class="pagenum" id="Page_161">161</span> - <div class="verse">I prithee tell me, and do not lye,</div> - <div class="verse">What are the two Things hang thereby?</div> - <div class="verse">They be the two odd Shillings, quoth <i>John</i>,</div> - <div class="verse">That you put last into my Hand:</div> - <div class="verse">If I had known so much before,</div> - <div class="verse">I wou’d have giv’n thee two Shillings more.<a id="FNanchor_105" href="#Footnote_105" class="fnanchor">105</a></div> -</div></div></div> -<hr class="chap" /> -</div><div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_162">162</span></p> - - - -<h2 title="THE HUSBAND AS DOCTOR.">THE HUSBAND AS DOCTOR.<a id="FNanchor_106" href="#Footnote_106" class="fnanchor">106</a></h2> - -<p><i>Of a young squire of Champagne who, when -he married, had never mounted a Christian creature—much -to his wife’s regret. And of the method her -mother found to instruct him, and how the said squire -suddenly wept at a great feast that was made shortly -after he had learned how to perform the carnal act—as -you will hear more plainly hereafter.</i></p> - - -<div> - <img class="drop-cap" src="images/t.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> -<p class="drop-cap">‘Tis well known that in the province of -Champagne one is sure to encounter heavy -and dull-witted persons—which hath seemed -strange to many, seeing that the district -is so near to the country of Mischief.<a id="FNanchor_107" href="#Footnote_107" class="fnanchor">107</a> Many stories -could be told of the stupidity of the Champenois, but -this present will suffice.</p> - -<p>There dwelt in this province a young man, -an orphan, who at the death of his father and mother -had become rich and powerful. He was stupid, -ignorant, and disagreeable, but hard-working, and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_163">163</span> -knew well how to take care of himself and his affairs, -and for this reason many persons—even people of -condition—were willing to give him their daughter in -marriage.</p> - -<p>One of these damsels, above all others, -pleased the friends and relations of our Champenois -because of her beauty, goodness, riches and so forth. -They told him ‘twas time he married.</p> - -<p>“Thou art now three-and-twenty years of -age,” said they, “and there could not be a better time. -An thou wilt listen to us, we have sought out for thee -a fair and good damsel who seemeth to us well fitted -to thee. It is such an one—thou knowest her full -well.” And they told him her name.</p> - -<p>The young man, who cared little whether he -was married or not, so as he did not lose money by -it, answered that he would do whatsoe’er they wished.</p> - -<p>“Since ye think ‘twill be to my advantage,” -said he, “manage the business to the best of your -ability, for I would follow your advice and instructions.”</p> - -<p>“Thou sayest well,” said these good folk. “We -will look and consider as carefully as though the -matter concerned us or one of our children.”</p> - -<p>To cut matters short, a little while afterwards -our Champenois was married; but on the first night, -when he was sleeping with his wife, he, never having -mounted on any Christian beast, soon turned his back -to her, and a few poor kisses was aught she had of him, -but naught on her back. At which one may guess -his wife was not well pleased, albeit she concealed -her discontent.</p> - -<p>This unsatisfactory State of affairs endured -some ten days, and would have endured yet longer<span class="pagenum" id="Page_164">164</span> -had not the girl’s mother put a stop to it.</p> - -<p>It should be known that the young man was -unversed in the mysteries of wedlock, for during the -lifetime of his parents a tight rein had been kept upon -him, and, above all things, he had been forbidden to -play at the beast with two backs,<a id="FNanchor_108" href="#Footnote_108" class="fnanchor">108</a> lest he should take -too much delight therein, and waste all his patrimony. -Which was prudent on the part of his parents, for he -was not a young man likely to be loved for his -appearance.</p> - -<p>And since he would do naught to anger his -father and mother, and was not, moreover, of an -amorous disposition, he had ever preserved his chastity, -albeit his wife had deprived him of it right gladly -had she known but how.</p> - -<p>On a certain day the mother of the bride -came to her daughter, and questioned her as to her -husband’s state and condition and the countless other -things which women like to know. To all of which -questions the bride replied that her husband was a -good man, and that she did not doubt but that she -would be happy with him.</p> - -<p>Which answer made the old woman joyous, -but, since she knew by her own experience that there -are more things in wedlock than eating and drinking, -she said to her daughter:</p> - -<p>“Come hither, and tell me, on thy word of -honour, how he doth acquit himself at night?”</p> - -<p>When the girl heard this question she was so -vexed and shamed that she might not answer, and<span class="pagenum" id="Page_165">165</span> -her eyes were filled with tears. But her mother, -understanding what meant these tears, said:</p> - -<p>“Weep not, my child. Speak me boldly. I am -thy mother, and it behoveth thee to conceal naught -from me. Hath he done naught to thee as yet?”</p> - -<p>The poor girl, having partly recovered, and -being reassured by her mother’s words, ceased her -tears, but could not yet make reply. Whereupon her -mother asked again:</p> - -<p>“Speak me boldly and put aside thy grief. -Hath he done naught to thee yet?”</p> - -<p>In a low voice, mingled with tears, the girl -replied:</p> - -<p>“On my word, mother, he hath never touched -me yet, but, save for that, there is no man more kind -or affectionate.”</p> - -<p>“Tell me,” quoth the mother, “knowest thou -if he be properly furnished with all his members? -Speak boldly if thou dost know.”</p> - -<p>“By St. John! He is sound in that respect,” -replied the bride. “I have often, by chance, felt his -luggage<a id="FNanchor_109" href="#Footnote_109" class="fnanchor">109</a> as I turned to and fro on our bed when I -could not sleep.”</p> - -<p>“‘Tis enough,” said the mother. “Leave the -rest to me. This is what thou must do. In the -morning thou must feign grave illness—e’en as though -thy soul were about to depart thy body. Thy husband -will, I expect full well, seek me out and bid me -come to thee, and I will play my part so that thy<span class="pagenum" id="Page_166">166</span> -business will soon be settled, for I shall carry thy -water to a certain doctor, who will give such counsel -as I order.”</p> - -<p>All was accomplished as arranged, for on the -morrow, as soon as it was dawn, the girl, who was -sleeping with her husband, fell to complaining and -feigning sickness as though a strong fever racked -her body.</p> - -<p>Her foolish husband was much vexed and -astonished, and knew not what to say or do. He sent -forthwith for his mother-in-law, who was not long in -coming. As soon as he saw her he said:</p> - -<p>“Alas! mother! thy daughter is dying!”</p> - -<p>“My daughter?” quoth she. “What doth she -want?” And while she spoke, she walked to the -patient’s chamber.</p> - -<p>As soon as the mother perceived her daughter, -she inquired of her as to her trouble, and the girl, -being well instructed in what she must do, answered -not at first, but, after a while, said:</p> - -<p>“Mother, I am dying.”</p> - -<p>“Please God, thou shalt not die! Take courage! -But how cometh it that thou art fallen ill so -suddenly?”</p> - -<p>“I know not! I know not!” answered the -girl. “Thou dost madden me by these questions.”</p> - -<p>The mother took the daughter’s hand, and felt -her pulse, her body and her head; then she said to -her son-in-law:</p> - -<p>“In sooth, she is sorely ill. She is on fire. We -must find some remedy. Hast aught of her water?”</p> - -<p>“That which she made last night is there,” -said one of the attendants.</p> - -<p>“Give it me,” said the mother.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_167">167</span></p> - -<p>She took the urine, and put it in a proper -vessel, and told her son-in-law that she would show -it to a physician, that he might know what he might -do to her daughter to cure her.</p> - -<p>“For God’s sake! spare naught!” she said. -“I have still some money, but I love my daughter -better than money.”</p> - -<p>“Spare!” said he. “If money can help, I will -not fail her.”</p> - -<p>“When thou goest,<a id="FNanchor_110" href="#Footnote_110" class="fnanchor">110</a> and while she is resting,” -said the mother, “I will go home; but I will return an -I am needed.”</p> - -<p>Now it should be known that the old woman -on the previous day, when she quitted her daughter, -had instructed the physician, who was well aware of -what he must say. So the young man carried his -wife’s water to the physician, and, having saluted -him, related how sick and suffering was his wife.</p> - -<p>“And I have brought some of her water that -thou mayest judge how sick she is, and the more -easily cure her,” said the young man.</p> - -<p>The physician took the vessel of urine, and, -turning it about and examining it, said:</p> - -<p>“Thy wife is sore afflicted with illness and in -peril of death unless succour be forthcoming. Her -water showeth it.”</p> - -<p>“Ah! master, for the love of God, tell me -what to do, and I will pay thee well canst thou restore -her to health and prevent her from dying!”</p> - -<p>“She need not die an thou obeyest my commands,” -quoth the physician. “But if thou dost not -make haste, all the money in the world will not save<span class="pagenum" id="Page_168">168</span> -her from death.”</p> - -<p>“Tell me, for Gods sake, what to do,” said -the other, “and I will do it.”</p> - -<p>“She must have connection with a man or she -will die,” answered the physician.</p> - -<p>“Connection with a man?” said the other. -“What is that?”</p> - -<p>“It meaneth,” continued the doctor, “that thou -must mount on top of her, and speedily ram her three -or four times, or more if thou canst; otherwise, the -great heat which doth consume and kill her, will not -be extinguished.”</p> - -<p>“That will be good for her?”</p> - -<p>“She is a dead woman,” answered the physician, -“an thou do it not and do it quickly.”</p> - -<p>“By St. John!” said the other, “I will try -what I can do.”</p> - -<p>With that he went home and found his wife, -who was groaning and lamenting loudly.</p> - -<p>“How art thou, beloved?” asked he.</p> - -<p>“I die, beloved,” answered she.</p> - -<p>“Please God, thou shalt not die,” said he. “I -have conversed with the physician, who hath told -me what medicine will cure thee.”</p> - -<p>And, as he spoke, he fell to undressing, and -lay down beside his wife, and began to execute in -clumsy fashion the orders he had received from the -physician.</p> - -<p>“What dost thou?” asked his wife. “Wouldst -kill me?”</p> - -<p>“Nay, I am about to cure thee,” said he. “The -physician hath assured me.”</p> - -<p>And Nature instructing and the patient assisting, -he performed upon her twice or thrice. When<span class="pagenum" id="Page_169">169</span> -resting from his labours, much astonished at what -had befallen, he asked his wife how she was.</p> - -<p>“I am a little better than I was hitherto,” she -replied.</p> - -<p>“God be praised,” quoth he. “I hope thou -wilt get well and that the physician hath spoken -truly.”</p> - -<p>And with that he fell to again.</p> - -<p>To cut matters short, he performed so well -that his wife was cured in a few days, whereat he was -very joyful, as was the mother when she knew of it.</p> - -<p>Ever afterwards our Champenois became a -better fellow than heretofore, and his wife being now -restored to health, he one day invited all his friends -and relatives to dine with him, and also the father -and mother of his wife, and he served good cheer after -his own fashion. They drank to him, and he drank -to them, and he was right good company.</p> - -<p>But hear what befell him. In the midst of the -feast he fell to weeping, which much astonished all -his friends who were at table with him; and they -demanded what was the matter, but he could not -answer for weeping scalding tears. At length he -spake, saying:</p> - -<p>“I have good cause to weep.”</p> - -<p>“By my oath thou hast not!” replied his -mother-in-law. “What aileth thee? Thou art rich -and powerful and well-housed, and hast good friends, -nor must thou forget thy fair and good wife, whom -God brought back to health when she was on the -verge of the grave. In my thinking thou shouldst be -light-hearted and joyous.”</p> - -<p>“Alas!” said he. “Woe is me! My father -and mother, who both loved me, and who amassed<span class="pagenum" id="Page_170">170</span> -and bequeathed me so much wealth, are dead, and -by my fault, for they died of a fever, and had I well -touzled<a id="FNanchor_111" href="#Footnote_111" class="fnanchor">111</a> them both when they were ill, as I did my -wife, they would still be on their feet.”</p> - -<p>There was none at table who, on hearing this, -would not fain have laughed; nevertheless, all restrained -themselves as best they might. The tables -were removed and each went his way, and the young -man continued to live with his wife, and, in order -that she might remain in good health, he failed not to -tail her pretty often.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> -</div><div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_171">171</span></p> - - - - -<h2 title="THE PRIEST AND THE LABOURER.">THE PRIEST AND THE LABOURER.<a id="FNanchor_112" href="#Footnote_112" class="fnanchor">112</a></h2> - - -<div> - <img class="drop-cap" src="images/o.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> -<p class="drop-cap">Once on a time there dwelt a priest and his -wife; they had two daughters. The priest -hired a labourer, and in the spring he made -a pilgrimage; but before setting out he gave -his orders to the labourer.</p> - -<p>“See, friend,” said the priest, “on my return I -would find all the garden dug up and the beds set -out.”</p> - -<p>“I hear, little father,” answered the labourer.</p> - -<p>The labourer dug so ill that the garden went -to wrack and ruin, and all the while he enjoyed himself. -When the priest returned, he went to the garden -and saw that naught had been done.</p> - -<p>“Ah, friend,” asked the priest of the labourer, -“is it possible that thou knowest not how to dig a -garden?”</p> - -<p>“Assuredly I know not,” answered the -labourer. “Had I known I would have done it.”</p> - -<p>“Go, then, into the house, and beg of my -daughters to give thee an iron shovel, and I will show -thee how to dig.”</p> - -<p>The labourer sped to the house and sought -the daughters.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_172">172</span></p> - -<p>“Little mistresses,” quoth he, “the little father -orders ye to give me ... both of ye....”</p> - -<p>“Give thee what?”</p> - -<p>“Ye know well he meaneth ye yourselves ... -to futter!”</p> - -<p>The priest’s daughters fell to abusing the -labourer.</p> - -<p>“What availeth it to abuse me?” asked the -labourer. “The little father hath ordered ye to yield -me this at once, for the borders of the garden must be -dug. An ye believe not me, ask of him yourselves.”</p> - -<p>One of the daughters straightway ran to the -steps leading to the house, and cried:</p> - -<p>“Little father! Hast ordered us to give this -thing to the labourer?”</p> - -<p>“Give it him swiftly! Why keepest him -waiting?” answered the priest.</p> - -<p>“Come, my sister,” said the young girl when -she returned. “There is no help for it. We must give -it him. So the little father hath ordered.”</p> - -<p>Both then went to bed, and the labourer put -the matter through most expeditiously. Afterwards, -he took a shovel from the shed, and ran to the little -father in the garden. The priest showed him how to -dig the borders of the garden, and he himself returned -to the house to his wife. But what saw he? His -daughters in tears.</p> - -<p>“Why weep ye?”</p> - -<p>“How should we not weep, little father,” -answered they, “when thou thyself hast ordered the -labourer to make mock of us?”</p> - -<p>“To make mock of ye?”</p> - -<p>“Didst not order us to yield it to him?”</p> - -<p>“And why not? I ordered ye to give him a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_173">173</span> -shovel.”</p> - -<p>“A shovel? He hath dishonoured us! He -hath taken our virginity!”</p> - -<p>When the priest heard this, he fell into a -mighty rage, seized a stake, and ran headlong to the -kitchen garden. The labourer perceived the priest -approaching with a stake. Wretched mischance! He -hurled the shovel from him and took to his heels. The -priest sped after him, but the labourer was the more -agile, and vanished from the sight of the priest.</p> - -<p>Then went the priest in search of his labourer, -and in his search he encountered a peasant.</p> - -<p>“Good day, friend,” said the priest.</p> - -<p>“Good day, little father,” answered the peasant.</p> - -<p>“Hast encountered my labourer?”</p> - -<p>“I know not. A lad passed me, running -swiftly.”</p> - -<p>“Tis he! Come with me, little peasant, and -aid me in the search. I will pay thee well.”</p> - -<p>They set out together; not far off they came -upon a strolling player.</p> - -<p>“Good day, strolling player,” said the priest.</p> - -<p>“Good day, little father,” answered the strolling -player.</p> - -<p>“Hast met a lad just now?”</p> - -<p>“Yea, little father. There was one who went -running past me.”</p> - -<p>“‘Tis he! Aid us in the search. I will pay -thee well.”</p> - -<p>“Willingly, little father.”</p> - -<p>And the three set forth together.</p> - -<p>Now the labourer had run to the village, and -having clad himself in other garments, went himself -to meet the priest. And the priest failed to recognise<span class="pagenum" id="Page_174">174</span> -him, but questioned him, saying:</p> - -<p>“Tell me, friend—hast seen a labourer on the -road?”</p> - -<p>“I have seen one, and he ran to the village.”</p> - -<p>“Come, friend, aid us in the search.”</p> - -<p>“Willingly, little father.”</p> - -<p>All four then went in search of the priest’s -labourer; they entered the village; they walked; they -walked unto eventide; naught befell. Darkness -descended. Where might they pass the night?</p> - -<p>Anon they came to a house where dwelt a -widow, and they begged leave of her to pass the night -therein.</p> - -<p>“Good people,” replied the widow, “there will -be a deluge this night in my house. I warn ye of it -beforehand. Ye will be drowned.”</p> - -<p>Howbeit, she did not refuse them—indeed, -she might not—and she let them enter for the night.</p> - -<p>(Now the widow’s lover had promised to visit -her that night.)</p> - -<p>All four then entered the house and betook -themselves to bed. The priest, thinking perchance -there might be a deluge, laid hold of a great trough, -set it upon a shelf, and put himself to sleep in the -trough.</p> - -<p>“If there be a deluge,” thought he to himself, -“I shall float upon the top of it in the trough.”</p> - -<p>The strolling player laid himself down by the -hearth, his head in the ashes; the peasant reclined on -the bench behind the table; and the priest’s labourer -stretched himself on the stool by the window. Hardly -had they lain down ere they fell into deep slumber, -excepting the labourer, who alone slept not. He it -was who heard the lover of the mistress of the house<span class="pagenum" id="Page_175">175</span> -come beneath the window and knock, saying:</p> - -<p>“Open, my beloved.”</p> - -<p>The labourer arose, opened the window, and -spake in low tones, saying:</p> - -<p>“Beloved, thou comest at an ill moment. -Strangers are within my house, passing the night -therein. Come thou the next night.”</p> - -<p>“I go, beloved,” answered the lover. “But -lean thou from the window that we may embrace.”</p> - -<p>The labourer turned his posterior to the window -and thrust out his backside. The lover embraced -it with rapture.</p> - -<p>“I go ... adieu, my beloved. Fare thee well. -I will return to-morrow night.”</p> - -<p>“Go, loved one. I will await thee, but, as a -parting gift, give me thy yard, which I will hold for -several moments in my hand. ‘Twill console me -somewhat.”</p> - -<p>The lover drew forth his yard from his -drawers and thrust it towards the window.</p> - -<p>“Take it, beloved,” quoth he. “Amuse thyself.”</p> - -<p>The labourer took the yard in his hand, -caressed it once or twice, drew his knife from his -pocket, and, with one blow, cut off the member and -testicles of the lover. The latter uttered a great cry, -and sped amain to his home. The labourer shut the -window, sat down on the bench, and made a noise -with his mouth, as though eating. The peasant heard -the noise and awoke, saying:</p> - -<p>“What eatest thou, comrade?”</p> - -<p>“I have found a morsel of sausage on the -table, but I cannot eat it all, for ‘tis uncooked.”</p> - -<p>“No matter if it be uncooked, comrade. Give<span class="pagenum" id="Page_176">176</span> -me a portion to sample.”</p> - -<p>“There is not much, friend, but take what is -left and eat.” And he gave him the cut-off yard.</p> - -<p>The peasant fell to chewing the ‘sausage’ with -fine appetite. He chewed and chewed, but could not -swallow the morsel.</p> - -<p>“What is wrong with it, comrade?” he asked. -“‘Tis impossible to eat it. ‘Tis so tough.”</p> - -<p>“Put it in the frying-pan, roast it, and then -thou wilt be able to eat it.”</p> - -<p>The peasant arose, went towards the frying-pan, -and crammed the ‘sausage’ right ‘twixt the teeth -of the strolling player. He held it there; he held it -there for a long while, making experiment with it.</p> - -<p>“Nay,” said he, at length. “The ‘sausage’ -hath not grown tender. The fire hath done naught.”</p> - -<p>“Cease to wrestle with the thing,” said the -labourer. “The mistress of the house will hear and -will scold us. Thou hast scattered the fire over the -frying-pan. Look! sprinkle it with water that the -woman may perceive naught.”</p> - -<p>“But where may I get the water?”</p> - -<p>“Piss o’er it. Better extinguish the fire than -have to go forth into the courtyard.”</p> - -<p>The peasant had great desire to piss, and he -pissed forthwith upon the face of the strolling player. -And when the strolling player felt the water, coming -whence he knew not, fall right in his mouth, he said:</p> - -<p>“The deluge hath arrived!”</p> - -<p>And he fell to crying with all the strength of -his lungs:</p> - -<p>“Little father! The deluge! The deluge!”</p> - -<p>The priest heard the voice of the strolling -player, and, half asleep, sought to cast himself, together<span class="pagenum" id="Page_177">177</span> -with the trough, straight into the water, but instead -he fell heavily on the ground, bruising himself all -over.</p> - -<p>“Ah! my God!” he cried. “When a child -falleth, the good Lord placeth a cushion under it, but -when an old man tumbleth, the devil putteth a harrow -beneath him. Behold me all sore and bruised. Of a -certainty I shall ne’er find that brigand of a labourer.”</p> - -<p>Quoth the labourer to the priest:</p> - -<p>“Seek him no more, I counsel thee. Go home, -and may the Lord go with thee. It were better for thy -health.”</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> -</div><div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_178">178</span></p> - - - - -<h3><i>EXCURSUS</i> to <i>THE PRIEST AND THE -LABOURER</i>.</h3> - -<p>The foregoing story reminds one of the device -employed by “The Youth who would Futter his -Father’s Wives,” (<cite>The Thousand Nights and a Night: -Supplemental Nights</cite>, vol. 6: Translated by Sir Richard -F. Burton.) In the latter case the father sets out on a -journey, but, having forgotten his shoes, instructs his -son, who is accompanying him for a short way, to -return and fetch them. The youth goes back, informs -his father’s wives that they are to sleep with him in -his parent’s absence, and, when they are incredulous, -shouts to his father in the distance:</p> - -<p>“O my papa, one of them or the two of -them?”</p> - -<p>The father, referring, of course, to his shoes, -shouts back:</p> - -<p>“The two! The two!”</p> - -<p>The wives are convinced by this remark, as -were the virgin daughters of the priest in our story -from <cite>Kruptadia</cite>. We shall reserve further extracts -from this Oriental narrative for a subsequent volume -of <em>Anthologica Rarissima</em>, the plot and details being -inappropriate to our present theme.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> -</div><div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_179">179</span></p> - - - - -<h2 title="THE TWO LOVERS AND THE TWO SISTERS.">THE TWO LOVERS AND THE TWO -SISTERS.<a id="FNanchor_113" href="#Footnote_113" class="fnanchor">113</a></h2> - - -<div> - <img class="drop-cap" src="images/i.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> -<p class="drop-cap">I will tell you, therefore, that in those days -when Duke Ranier of Anjou, envious of the -peace and quiet, as well as of the power and -the wisdom of that divine prince, King Don -Alfonso, was driven from Naples and from the Kingdom, -it pleased him to tarry for a certain season in -Florence. There were, amongst the other Frenchmen -who were involved in the ruin and shipwreck of his -fortunes, two valiant and accomplished cavaliers, the -one named Filippo de Lincurto and the other Ciarlo -d’Amboia.</p> - -<p>Now these two, although they were very -prudent and endowed with many virtues, were inclined -nevertheless, being young and given over to -love, to leave the burden of disaster, and the cares -thereof as well, to him who was especially concerned -with the same, that is, to the duke.</p> - -<p>It happened that in their daily rides through -Florence Filippo fell deeply in love with a graceful -and very lovely young lady of noble parentage, and -wife to a citizen of repute; and while he strove in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_180">180</span>cessantly -to win her, it chanced that Ciarlo, as he -ranged another part of the city, became enamoured -of a sister of Filippo’s lady-love, who abode unmarried -in her father’s house. He, unwitting of this kinship, -made up his mind, albeit he deemed her passing fair, -to keep his passion within sober limits, forasmuch as -he was well versed in the strife of love and aware that -young damsels are wont to love lightly and without -constancy. Filippo, finding that his fair lady was -discreet and of good understanding, and being also -fully prepared to become her servant, resolved to give -her his love entirely; on which account the lady, -realizing his humour and considering his many and -praiseworthy parts, likewise determined to recompense -him with all the love of her heart, and began to -favour him with her kindness in such wise that he -saw she was the only woman in the world who knew -how to love.</p> - -<p>She, certes, would have let him taste at once -the supreme fruit of love had she not been restrained -therefrom by the continual presence of her husband; -so, having given Filippo assurance, both by letter -and by messages, that she was firmly set in this -purpose, the two lovers longed beyond aught else for -the time when the husband would take his departure -to Flanders in the galley which was now expected at -any hour to touch at Pisa.</p> - -<p>While they thus abode in pleasureable expectation, -Duke Ranier was obliged to return to -France, whereat both the cavaliers felt mightily -aggrieved, and especially that one of the two who -loved and likewise was loved in return; nevertheless, -being bound by necessity, they took their departure, -snared as they were in amorous toils.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_181">181</span></p> - -<p>Filippo swore to his lady that no obstacle, -however great, should debar him from returning, and -that, come what might, he as a loyal lover would -never forsake her. Having consoled her with other -speeches yet more affectionate, he and his companion -set forth; and after his return it came to pass in the -course of time, either through some fresh fancy or -through the cares of business, that Filippo, albeit he -still remembered the lady left behind, let the ardent -flames of his passion grow colder every day. He not -only forgot his promise to return, but beyond this -neglected to answer any of the many letters writ to -him by the lady.</p> - -<p>On this account she, perceiving how she was -well-nigh forsaken by this lover once so ardent, was -stricken with such cruel grief thereanent that she -almost lost her wits; but, calling to mind the stainless -virtue of the cavalier, she could not persuade herself -that so noble a heart could harbour such inhumanity. -However, when she remembered his latest words, -both written and sent to her by the mouth of their -trusted messenger, she deliberated how she might by -a new and suggestive plan stimulate the virtue of her -lover and thereby make a final trial on behalf of her -passion.</p> - -<p>Thus she caused to be made by a skilled -master a ring of gold, wrought very finely, and in this -she had set a counterfeit diamond, most manifestly -false, letting engrave round the ring itself the words, -‘La ma za batani?’<a id="FNanchor_114" href="#Footnote_114" class="fnanchor">114</a> This, after she had wrapped it in -fine cambric, she sent to her Filippo by a certain -young man of Florence, who knew how things stood -with her, and who was going to France after his own<span class="pagenum" id="Page_182">182</span> -affairs, charging him that he should himself deliver -it to Filippo with no farther words than these: “She -who loves you and you only sends you this, and -implores you to let her have a fitting answer thereto.”</p> - -<p>In due time the envoy with his offering and -his message arrived at Filippo’s house and was joyfully -received; but after the cavalier had marked with -amazement what was the quality of the ring, and -what the motto graven thereupon, he went about for -several days pondering over the purport of the same, -and finding himself unable to draw from it the true -meaning, he determined to show it to Ciarlo and to -divers other gentlemen of the court; but these, taken -singularly and altogether, what though they used all -their wits, were unable to hit the mark.</p> - -<p>Finally its meaning was fathomed by Duke -John, who was a gentleman of great discretion, albeit -more fortunate in advising others than in reaping -victory in the many enterprises he undertook. What -it said was this:</p> - -<p>“False diamond, why hast thou forsaken -me?”</p> - -<p>When Filippo heard this sentence he saw at -once how the lady had most justly and prudently -reproved him for his lover’s unfaith, and began to -consider how he might by a device of the same sort -answer so graceful a proposition and repay so heavy -a debt of love. So, being minded to conclude the -matter, he went to his dear friend Ciarlo, beseeching -him by the friendship there was between them, that -he would go with him to Florence for the reason -aforesaid.</p> - -<p>And albeit Ciarlo found this somewhat hard -at first, he ended by consenting to oblige so dear a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_183">183</span> -friend, deeming besides that he might peradventure -thereby compass some pleasure for himself and for -the damsel he loved. Thereupon they set forth, and -having duly come to Florence, they began at the first -chance to walk past the houses of their ladies in order -to signify their presence; and Filippo soon sent word -by his wonted messenger to his lady how he had -sufficiently understood the message which the ring -sent by her had borne, and how he knew no other -method of disproving her false opinion of him save -by bearing witness for himself, wherefore it behoved -her to grant him an interview meet for the occasion.</p> - -<p>The gracious lady, who with her sister had -rejoiced amain over the return of their lovers, and had -deliberated what course should be taken, as soon as -she heard this kindly message, so manifestly springing -from love, was filled with such joy that she felt -almost jealous of herself, and so as to lose no more -time over the matter she sent back a brief answer to -Filippo, bidding him wait with his companion before -the door of her house next evening.</p> - -<p>Wherefore Filippo, as soon as the hour had -come, betook himself merrily with his friend Ciarlo -to the spot which had been named, and there they -caught sight of the lady, who gave them most gladsome -reception. After she had made a trusty maidservant -of hers open to them the door and bring them -in, she likewise gave them to understand, by the -mouth of this same woman, that the only way in -which the thing she so much desired could be brought -about would be that, while she should be taking her -pleasure with Filippo, Messer Ciarlo should go and -strip naked and lie down in the bed beside her husband, -in order that, if by chance the husband should<span class="pagenum" id="Page_184">184</span> -wake and feel Ciarlo in bed, he might believe that -his wife was still there.</p> - -<p>Unless he should consent to do this, they -would all run great peril of their honour and of their -lives as well; wherefore she besought them to put in -practice the timely stratagem which she had provided, -or else withdraw from the place forthwith.</p> - -<p>As soon as Ciarlo heard this request, what -though he would have gone down to hell to serve his -comrade, he was conscious that, even if the business -should come to a fortunate issue, it would be to him -a great loss of good fame were he to be found there -stark naked; wherefore he refused altogether to go on -such service in such fashion, declaring, however, that -if he might go clad and carrying his sword in his -hand he would willingly do what they wanted.</p> - -<p>Now Filippo had travelled all the way from -France to foregather with his lady-love, and, in considering -the difficult parts to which they had come, -he perceived that his friend was speaking and that -the lady was acting with good show of reason; so, after -many and divers arguments, for the reason that the -lady remained firmly fixed in her purpose and that -he himself was more than ever fired with amorous -desire, he besought Ciarlo almost with tears that, -by the bonds of friendship, he would consent to -oblige them, what though the thing itself might be -unseemly.</p> - -<p>Therefore Ciarlo, seeing how great was the -passion which possessed his friend, and to what a -pass the affair had come, determined that he would if -need be meet death itself rather than be wanting in -service to Filippo.</p> - -<p>Thereupon the waiting-woman taking Ciarlo<span class="pagenum" id="Page_185">185</span> -by the hand led him in the dark to the lady, and she, -having given him kindly welcome, took him into her -own chamber, and there bade him take off all his -clothes and get into the bed, keeping his sword at -hand. Then she softly bade him be of good heart and -have patience, for she would soon return and release -him. This done, she went full of joy to her Filippo, -and having led him into another room they reaped -the full and delightful fruit of their desire.</p> - -<p>Now when Ciarlo had waited, not two, but -four hours, he began to think that it was full time for -the lady, or at least for his trusty comrade, to come -and set him free; so, hearing no one coming, and -perceiving that it was near daybreak, he said to himself:</p> - -<p>“If these others, all afire with love, feel no -concern at having left me here to play a fool’s part, it -is now full time for me to take thought of myself and -of my honour.”</p> - -<p>Having softly got out of bed, himseeming -that the lady’s husband was asleep, he went with the -sheet over his shoulders to try to escape, but was -hugely annoyed at finding the chamber door securely -locked outside; and, not knowing where the windows -were, nor on what place they looked, he went back to -the bed in a fury.</p> - -<p>He heard sounds which told him that the -other occupant of the bed was awake and moving, -and, though he was pricked both by fear and curiosity, -he kept aloof and spake not a word. While he was -thus troubled in mind he marked through the fissures -of the windows that it was now broad day, and, fearing -amain lest he should be espied by his bed-partner, -he turned his back, and, gathering himself together<span class="pagenum" id="Page_186">186</span> -and keeping his sword ready for his needs, he resolved -to leave whatever might befall him to Fortune, -and kept still, mightily troubled in mind.</p> - -<p>Before long he heard sounds of the fires being -kindled throughout the house, and the hasty steps of -the servants as they ran to fetch water; wherefore he -determined at the last rather to die as beseemed a good -cavalier than to be found there stark naked and -making shift for a woman; so, having leapt out of -bed with his drawn sword, he went to the door, and, -as he was using all his force to open the same, he -became aware how someone was unfastening it from -without.</p> - -<p>He drew back somewhat, and then saw enter -Filippo, laughing heartily and holding the lady by -the hand. The two straightway began to embrace -him in merry wise, albeit they saw he was bursting -with rage. But when the lady perceived that he was -all bemused, and unwitting where he was, she took -him by the hand and said to him:</p> - -<p>“My good sir, by the sincere love I bear -towards you, and also by that which you have towards -certain others, I will assure myself that I may -speak to you concerning a matter which intimacy -such as ours will allow us to discuss. I know not -whether Nature may have failed to bestow upon you -French gentlemen that which she always gives to the -lower animals. I mean to say that I know of no male -beast, whether wild or tame, which, when under the -sway of love, will not recognise the female by her -odour. And you, forsooth, a wise and discreet gentleman, -who have come hither all the way from France -on account of love, can it be that your frozen nature -is so sluggish that, when Fortune lets you spend the<span class="pagenum" id="Page_187">187</span> -whole of a long night by the side of her for whom -you have shown such great tokens of love, you failed -to scent out who she was?”</p> - -<p>Then, having led him up to the bedside, she -let him see and know clearly that it was her sister -and no one else who had lain beside him during the -night which was just passed.</p> - -<p>When he perceived this thing the cavalier -was not a little ashamed of himself, but finally all -four laughed and joked so merrily that they could -scarce stand upright on their feet; and because of the -pass to which things had come, it seemed meet to all -that, for the setting right of the fault aforesaid, they -should once more divide in pairs.</p> - -<p>Whereupon Ciarlo, having got back into bed, -plucked the fresh flower and the earliest fruit of the -goodly garden which fell to his lot, and the two friends -remained there, each taking delight with his own lady, -until the husband came back from western parts.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> -</div><div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_188">188</span></p> - - - - -<h2 title="THE BURNING YARD.">THE BURNING YARD.<a id="FNanchor_115" href="#Footnote_115" class="fnanchor">115</a></h2> - - -<div> - <img class="drop-cap" src="images/a.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> -<p class="drop-cap">A peasant had a daughter who said unto him: -“Little father, Vannka would fain futter me.” -“Ah! thou fool!” quoth the peasant. “Why -give thyself to a stranger? We will futter -thee right well ourselves.”</p> - -<p>He took an iron stud, warmed it in the stove, -and planted it right in her coynte, in such fashion -that she could not piss for three months.</p> - -<p>Vannka encountered the young girl and -again made his proposal.</p> - -<p>“Permit me to futter thee,” said he.</p> - -<p>Quoth she:</p> - -<p>“Thou ravest, Vannka, who art sprung from -the devil. My little father hath futtered me, and he -hath so scorched my coynte that for three months I -have not been able to piss.”</p> - -<p>“Fear not, simpleton. My yard is cold.”</p> - -<p>“Thou liest, Vannka, devil’s offspring. Let -me touch it.”</p> - -<p>“Take it, then.”</p> - -<p>She took his yard in her hand and cried:</p> - -<p>“Ah! wretched devil! thou seest well ‘tis -warm! Dip it in the water!”</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_189">189</span></p> - -<p>Vannka dipped his yard in the water and -whistled with pain.</p> - -<p>“See!” quoth the girl. “It hisseth! I told -thee ‘twas burning, and thou didst deceive me, -thief!”</p> - -<p>And she would not let herself be futtered by -Vannka.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> -</div><div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_190">190</span></p> - - - - -<h2 title="TAKE TIME BY THE FORELOCK.">TAKE TIME BY THE FORELOCK.<a id="FNanchor_116" href="#Footnote_116" class="fnanchor">116</a></h2> - -<p><i>Of a young wife who was made a fool of by -her old husband.</i></p> - - -<div> - <img class="drop-cap" src="images/a.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> -<p class="drop-cap">A native of Florence, already old, espoused a -young maid, whom the matrons had instructed -to resist the first assault of her husband -on the wedding night, and to yield -herself as reluctantly as possible. She refused, therefore, -point-blank, to accede to his desires.</p> - -<p>The husband, ‘decks cleared for action and -with all sail furled,’ was astonished by this refusal, -and asked why she would not give way to his wishes. -The virgin replied that she had a pain in her head; -whereupon the husband ‘disarmed,’ lay down on his -side, and slept till morn.</p> - -<p>The young wife, when she perceived that her -husband left her alone, felt remorse in that she had -followed the counsels of the gossips; she aroused her -husband, and told him that she no longer had a pain -in the head.</p> - -<p>“Ah!” quoth the husband. “I, now, have a<span class="pagenum" id="Page_191">191</span> -pain ... in another part.”<a id="FNanchor_117" href="#Footnote_117" class="fnanchor">117</a> And he left his wife -virgin as before.</p> - -<p>‘Tis a good plan, therefore, to accept what -may be profitable and pleasant when ‘tis offered.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> -</div><div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_192">192</span></p> - - - - -<h3><i>EXCURSUS</i> to <i>TAKE TIME BY THE -FORELOCK</i>.</h3> - -<p>Quoting from Mérard de Saint-Just, (<cite>Espiègleries -Joyeusetés</cite>), Poggio’s translator gives a variant -in verse of the foregoing story. We reproduce it in -less ambitious English prose:—</p> - -<p>“Pierre the Red, wrapped in his bed-clothes, -felt himself stimulated by the burning flame of the -god of love, and he invited his wife to come straightway -to his arms. It chanced that she was praying, -and she made reply: ‘Wait a while.’ And whilst her -<i lang="la">Paters</i> and her <i lang="la">Agnus’</i> and her <i lang="la">Aves</i> were accomplished, -Pierre’s ardour had had time to grow cold. She -entered the bed, but the chilled husband maintained -his pretence. She drew near him; he did not budge. -‘Beloved, what dost wish? I have said my prayers.’—’Good,’ -quoth Pierre the Red. ‘But I have grown -soft.’”</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> -</div><div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_193">193</span></p> - -<h2 title="FIRST MEETING BETWEEN A YOUTH AND HIS FIANCÉE.">FIRST MEETING BETWEEN A YOUTH -AND HIS FIANCÉE.<a id="FNanchor_118" href="#Footnote_118" class="fnanchor">118</a></h2> - - -<div> - <img class="drop-cap" src="images/a.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> -<p class="drop-cap">An old man had a son, a fine lad. Another old -man had a daughter, a marriageable girl. -They pictured these two young ones married.</p> - -<p>“Ivanouchka,” said the father, “I desire thee -to marry the daughter of our neighbour; approach -her and discourse gently and courteously with her.”</p> - -<p>“Machoutka,” said the other old man, “I -would give thee in marriage to the son of our neighbour; -seek to meet him and have pleasant converse -with him.”</p> - -<p>These two young persons met in the street -and greeted each other.</p> - -<p>“Ivanouchka,” quoth the young girl, “my -father hath bade me have pleasant discourse with -thee.”</p> - -<p>“My father hath instructed me likewise,” -answered the youth.</p> - -<p>“What shall we do? Where sleepest thou, -Ivanouchka?”</p> - -<p>“In the hay.”</p> - -<p>“As for me,” quoth the girl, “I sleep in the -coach-house. Come this night to me, and we will<span class="pagenum" id="Page_194">194</span> -hold pleasant converse together.”</p> - -<p>Thus it was. During the night Ivanouchka -went and lay down with Machoutka.</p> - -<p>“Camest thou by the threshing-floor?” asked -she.</p> - -<p>“Yea. Hast thou seen the heap of dung?”</p> - -<p>“I have seen it.”</p> - -<p>“What shall we do now?”<a id="FNanchor_119" href="#Footnote_119" class="fnanchor">119</a></p> - -<p>“I must see if thou hast a good instrument.”</p> - -<p>“Come, look,” said he, and undid his drawers. -“Behold my riches!”</p> - -<p>“‘Tis too big for me! See how small is mine!”</p> - -<p>“Let me see if mine will go in.”</p> - -<p>And the youth set himself to make the trial; -his yard rose up erect like a stake, and when he thrust -it in, the young girl cried with all her might:</p> - -<p>“Ah! that hurteth me! How it biteth!”</p> - -<p>“Have no fear. My yard hath not sufficient -room; for that reason it is so angry.”</p> - -<p>“I told thee that there was not sufficient -space for it.”</p> - -<p>“Wait—it will stretch.”</p> - -<p>Anon, when he made her to feel much -pleasure, she said to him:</p> - -<p>“Ah! my little heart! Thy riches are indeed -worth much money.”</p> - -<p>They performed and fell asleep.</p> - -<p>But the girl awoke during the night, and -kissed the backside of the young man, which she -took for his face. He let her do this to satiety, and the -girl said to him:</p> - -<p>“Knowest thou, Vania, that thou smellest -most scurvily!”</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> -</div><div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_195">195</span></p> - - - - -<h2 title="THE BREAKER OF EGGS.">THE BREAKER OF EGGS.<a id="FNanchor_120" href="#Footnote_120" class="fnanchor">120</a></h2> - - -<div> - <img class="drop-cap" src="images/o.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> -<p class="drop-cap">Once on a time there lived alone in a lodging -near St. Ives a young man. ‘Twas at the -time when the debate was running high -‘twixt the monks and the ministers whether -‘twere better to say: “Blessed are they that have -dined well,” or, “Blessed are they that laugh.” The -young man took but scant interest in these theological -discussions, and devoted his attention to the maid, -who was a fine enough young thing, though somewhat -green. He would talk with her coolly and discreetly, -and one day said:</p> - -<p>“Thou art from the country, little friend?”</p> - -<p>“Truly, sir.”</p> - -<p>“I was assured of it and shall love thee none -the less: thou art a good girl and a good housekeeper.”</p> - -<p>“I thank thee kindly, sir.”</p> - -<p>“Well, little friend, since I love thee so much, -and that thou mayst serve us well, I must e’en tell -thee, for thine own good profit, of a certain ill that -befalleth country maids when they come to dwell in -the town; ‘tis that small eggs do grow in their bellies<span class="pagenum" id="Page_196">196</span> -and harden there, so that these poor maids have to -show their posteriors to the doctor. I would grieve -shouldst thou come to that, and it shall not be so an -thou wilt hear me. I will do something for thee, and -I see that ‘tis full time to begin, for, by thy colour, I -can tell that the eggs are already there.”</p> - -<p>“Indeed, sir, I am greatly beholden, for truly -I am not what I was.”</p> - -<p>“To-morrow morning I will give thee something -for this malady.”</p> - -<p>When morning came, she went to his chamber -and he gave her a spoonful of white hypocras,<a id="FNanchor_121" href="#Footnote_121" class="fnanchor">121</a> -telling her to go about her house-work and, anon, to -break her fast on a little dry bread. This treatment -was continued for two or three days, but one morning, -when her mistress was out of the way, he took hold of -the maid and, laughing gently, pushed her against -the bed as if to look into her mouth.</p> - -<p>“Alas! sir! what wouldst do?” she cried.</p> - -<p>“I shall do thee no ill; I would break an egg -which is fast hardening.”</p> - -<p>She let him do it, and he did it so well that -he put live flesh in live flesh.<a id="FNanchor_122" href="#Footnote_122" class="fnanchor">122</a> So he finished as soon -as he had begun, and she found the business so -much to her liking, although he had cooked her somewhat, -that she came back again and again to have the -eggs broken; in sooth, she had wished for a belly in<span class="pagenum" id="Page_197">197</span> -which one might break eggs for an hundred years -without doing aught else.</p> - -<p>One day she loitered over long at this pleasant -pursuit, and her mistress fell to scolding her when -she descended, saying:</p> - -<p>“Thou sly wench! Thou hast been in -mischief with that man above! Idiot! Little hussy! -What hast been about up there?”</p> - -<p>“Naught, madam. Be not wroth; ‘tis as I -shall tell thee.”</p> - -<p>“Thou hast been after no good with that man -above.”</p> - -<p>“Nay, madam, thou dost him wrong; he is -the most honest man in the world. I had eggs in my -belly, and he broke them for me.”</p> - -<p>“Eggs, thou slut! what eggs?”</p> - -<p>“Behold, madam, if ‘tis not so; I will lift my -smock; thou canst see my front part, which is yet all -damp with the white of the eggs, which came out -when he broke them.”</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> -</div><div class="chapter"> - -<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_198">198</span></p> - - - - -<h3><i>EXCURSUS</i> to <i>THE BREAKER OF EGGS</i>.</h3> - -<p><cite>Le Moyen de Parvenir</cite> of Béroalde de Verville, -Canon of St. Gatien at Tours, once a Hugenot, then -a Catholic, finally “neither one nor the other,”<a id="FNanchor_123" href="#Footnote_123" class="fnanchor">123</a> is a -work little known to the English reader, be he student -or bibliophile. The cause is not far to seek; no <em>complete</em> -and <em>unexpurgated</em> English translation of this -much censured book exists. Machen’s rendering, -while claiming to be the first in our language, is in -no sense full and literal, although free and full-flavoured; -the translator, as he admits in his humourous -preface, “has been forced, much to his sorrow, to -weed out some strongly-scented flowers from this -Canonical Garden.” His text, indeed, shows many -notable omissions, in particular the more licentious -asides and interjections which have no actual bearing -on the stories; further, there are sundry additions -not found in the old French text—“odd scraps from -his own workshop,” as Machen terms them.</p> - -<p>For the student, then, there are: Machen’s -delightful (but <em>partial</em>) translation, limited to 500 -numbered copies and now a rare book,<a id="FNanchor_124" href="#Footnote_124" class="fnanchor">124</a> and numerous<span class="pagenum" id="Page_199">199</span> -editions in <em>old</em> French, some expurgated, and all -difficult of understanding where the average English -reader is concerned. As we note in the preface to -Garnier’s latest issue, the work, for the greater part, -“is an enigma to modern readers and contains a -crowd of obscurities ... it would need volume after -volume to explain and comment upon everything -that calls for explanation and comment.”</p> - -<p><cite>The Way to Attain</cite> or <cite>The Right Way with -Women</cite> (the title of de Verville’s book has suffered -various translations) would seem to have a dual -personality; one: a clear-cut collection of stories, -witty, realistic, free, Rabelaisian, or obscene as you -choose to term them; another: the same stories, enmeshed -in a mass of innuendo, obscure sayings, -licentious and scatalogical asides, and—sometimes—almost -meaningless phraseology. The trouble is to -separate the grain from the chaff, the stories from the -irrelevant verbiage—not that the latter is not often -highly entertaining. Bernard de la Monnoye, in his -<cite>Dissertation</cite> (<i lang="la">cit. sup.</i>), bears out our criticism when -explaining the plan of the book. “The author supposes -a sort of general banquet,” he writes, “where, without -regard for rank or degree, he introduces persons of -every kind and age, scallawags for the most part, -who, with no object but their own amusement, talk -with the utmost freedom, and passing almost imperceptibly -from subject to subject, cause the stories to -be lost to sight. In fact, they are so jumbled up in -the book that one is hard put to find them....”</p> - -<p>Both extracts from <cite>The Way to Attain</cite> given<span class="pagenum" id="Page_200">200</span> -in this volume (Coypeau and His Thread and The -Breaker of Eggs) are told without interruption in the -original French text, but each is introduced in the -most haphazard fashion, preceded and followed by a -veritable welter of inconsequent remarks; if Machen -found it necessary to weed out the most strongly -scented flowers from the Canonical garden, the -student will find it equally necessary to dig before -he finds the best.</p> - -<p>There are other good things, however, besides -the stories in <cite>The Way to Attain</cite>. While many of the -asides and interjections are gross, vulgar, and, seemingly, -pointless, others show a pretty and pungent -wit. The canon is for ever having a thrust at his -cloth, the monks, and the nuns, and some of his -criticisms are worth repeating:—</p> - -<p>“Where there are no monks there can be no -shamelessness.”</p> - -<p>“None sit more at their ease than monks, -ministers, and consecrated folk, who, in the place of -keeping the holy orders that have been given them, -make them into ordure, and leaving the orders of God -take the orders of the devil, who giveth them grace to -be more lewd and whorish than other men.”</p> - -<p>“The women that frequent the abodes of -churchmen are not their wives, ... they are first -maids, then mates, then mistresses.”</p> - -<p>“It is better to have in one’s house a wench -with whom one can disport theologically than to go -about wandering from pillar to post like a high-toby, -and run the risk of getting a nip, like Cornu, who -sighed as he lay a-dying of the pox: ‘Now I begin to -appreciate the beauties of domesticity.’”</p> - -<p>“Once on a time he was prebendary of<span class="pagenum" id="Page_201">201</span> -Chartres, but he left his stall to marry a pretty lass, -and the morning after the wedding, as they lay in bed, -he said to her: ‘Now, sweetheart, thou dost see how -well I love thee, for I left my fair prebend that I -might have thee.’ She replied: ‘Then thou wast a -fool; thou shouldst have kept thy prebend, and had -me also.’ ... It would appear that she knew that -some canons are given to waggery.”</p> - -<p>“Such cloisterlings, who love not women, are -always ready to fish up some ancient, stinking heresy -under the pretence of discoursing against the Reformation, -talking of vices they impute to others, the -which are more tolerable than their own.... It is -better to keep a wench than to trouble the peace of -Christendom, and to do the work is true godliness, -which is the reason why bishops are called fathers-in-God, ... fathers-in-God -sounds better than fathers-in-law. -And they are certainly godly, that is happy; -for happy, thrice happy is the father who hath not the -trouble of feeding his children.”</p> - -<p>“He was as liberal as our bishop, who had -rather give a crown to a wench than a groat to a poor -man.”</p> - -<p>“Assuredly she is a strumpet. I saw her talking -to the curate of St. Paul’s, who had promised his -rector to be discreet, and run no more after the -wenches, or at least that he would abstain during -Easter week. But Lord! he hadn’t the patience, and -on Easter Monday he spoke to his woman, and the -parson saw him. When they met he told him of it, -saying: ‘I saw thee speaking to a wench. Where is -thy shame? Canst not refrain, at least during the -holy season?’ ‘Pardon,’ he replied, ‘I did but make<span class="pagenum" id="Page_202">202</span> -an appointment for next week.’”<a id="FNanchor_125" href="#Footnote_125" class="fnanchor">125</a></p> - -<p>We have quoted sufficiently to show that -amid this welter of words there is fruit worth the -plucking. The general tone of the work, however, is -coarse; if the canon desired to refer to what is not -usually mentioned in the most Catholic of assemblies, -he did so in the crudest language. To our age the -grossness of his obscenity seems unnecessary; out of -place; unpardonable. Is it so? The conversational -atmosphere of a present-day smoking-room would -have made de Verville blush. The old canon wrote -as men in those times spoke; we of to-day write not -as we speak, but as we think we ought to speak. It is -this pitiful hypocrisy which blinds us to the fact that -in <cite>Le Moyen de Parvenir</cite> we have some of the -brightest tales and sayings ever penned by human -hand.</p> - - - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;"> -<img src="images/end.jpg" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="center"> -HERE ENDS THE FIRST VOLUME<br /> -OF ANTHOLOGICA RARISSIMA:<br /> -THE WAY OF A VIRGIN:<br /> -PRINTED IN LONDON<br /> -FOR MEMBERS OF<br /> -THE BROVAN<br /> -SOCIETY IN<br /> -MCMXXII.<br /> -</p> - -<div class="footnotes"> -<h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_1" href="#FNanchor_1" class="label">1</a> -Schurig, in the 17th century, notes a case of this kind. -<i>C.f.</i> his <cite>Gynæcologia</cite>, where he speaks of a girl being pregnant -without losing her virginity. <i lang="la">Vide</i> note, p. 100 post, where further -details of the life and works of this erudite physician will be found.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_2" href="#FNanchor_2" class="label">2</a> -Sir Richard Burton, (<cite>The Thousand Nights and a Night</cite>), -describes how he measured in Somaliland a negro’s <i lang="la">penis</i>, which, -when quiescent, was six inches long; this organ, however, would -not increase proportionately when in erection.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_3" href="#FNanchor_3" class="label">3</a> -A celebrated Parisian courtesan used to boast, according -to Mantegazza, that she had “sold her virginity” on 82 different -occasions! <i lang="la">Vide</i> <cite>Curious Bypaths of History</cite>: Carrington: Paris, -1898, for further details on this subject.—Note by Dr. Jacobus X—.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_4" href="#FNanchor_4" class="label">4</a> -<i>C.f.</i> <cite>The Thousand Nights and a Night</cite>, (Sir Richard F. -Burton; the privately printed and uncastrated editions), where the -expression is common. “ ... He found her a pearl unpierced.” -Again: “ ... went in unto the Princess and found her jewel which -had been hidden, an union pearl unthridden, and a filly that none -but he had ridden....” Compare, also, the French erotic slang -percer (to pierce), signifying the act of sexual intercourse. (Farmer: -<cite>Slang and its Analogues</cite>, p. 25, vol. 6; <cite>Vocabula Amatoria, etc.</cite>)</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_5" href="#FNanchor_5" class="label">5</a> -“The Chinese ... have discovered a way of forming a -new virginity when by some accident that object has gone astray. -The method consists in astringent lotions applied to the parts, the -effect of which so draws them together that a certain amount of -vigour is required in order to pass through, the husband—on a -nuptial night—being convinced that he has overcome the usual -barrier. To make the illusion more complete, a leech-bite is made -just inside the critical part, and the little wound is plugged with a -minute pellet of vegetable tinder, with the result that the effort -made by the husband to overcome the difficulty displaces the -pellet and a slight flow of blood ensues.” (<cite>Curious Bypaths of -History</cite>, <i lang="la">op. cit. sup.</i>) That this method is by no means peculiar -to the Chinese is instanced by Brantôme in his <cite>Lives of Fair and -Gallant Ladies</cite> (Paris: Carrington, 1901: first English translation), -where the genial old soldier-philosopher says:—“How clever -these doctors be! for they do give women remedies to make them -appear virgin and intact as they were afore.... One such especially -I learned of a quack these last few days. Take leeches and apply -to the privy parts, getting them to drain and suck the blood in that -region. Now the leeches, in sucking, do engender and leave -behind little blebs or blisters full of blood. Then when the gallant -bridegroom cometh on his marriage night to give assault, he doth -burst these same blisters and the blood discharging from them; the -thing is all bathed in gore, to the great satisfaction of both the -twain; for so ‘the honour of the citadel is saved.’”</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_6" href="#FNanchor_6" class="label">6</a> -“That this eagerness after virginity is not an original -lust, I must, indeed, prove from the opinion of a certain remote -people, who esteem the taking of a maidenhead as a laborious and -illiberal practice, which they delegate to men hired for that purpose, -ere themselves condescend to lie with their wives; who are returned -with disgrace to their friends, if it be discovered that they have -brought their virginity with them.”—<cite>The Battles of Venus</cite>: The -Hague, 1760, quoted by Pisanus Fraxi in his <cite>Index Librorum -Prohibitorum</cite>. <i lang="la">Vide</i> also <i lang="la">post</i> in this Study.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_7" href="#FNanchor_7" class="label">7</a> -“Now as to these vows of virginity, Heliogabalus did -promulgate a law to the effect that no Roman maid, not even a -Vestal Virgin, was bound to perpetuate virginity, saying how that -the female sex was over weak for women to be bound to a pact -they could never be sure of keeping.” (Brantôme: <cite>Lives of Fair -and Gallant Ladies</cite>.) The author of this edict was not without a -knowledge of sexual psychology, for we have ample evidence that -some of the Vestals failed in their duty, which was, nominally, to -guard the sacred fire and the Holy Things of Rome. “Far up by -Porta Pia,” says F. Marion Crawford (<cite>Ave Roma Immortalis</cite>: -London, 1903), “over against the new Treasury, under a modern -street, lie the bones of guilty Vestals, buried living, each in a little -vault two fathoms deep, with the small dish and crust and the -earthen lamp that soon flickered out in the close, damp air.” Vestal -Virgins had many privileges denied to other Roman women; they -were free for life; they had a right to be present at the Emperor’s -games; and they were treated with marked respect by the highest -in the land. That the privileges of virginity did not necessarily -make for the owner’s happiness is instanced by Brantôme’s grim -story. “Maids and virgins,” he writes (<cite>Lives of Fair and Gallant -Ladies</cite>), “would seem in old days at Rome to have been highly -honoured and privileged, so much so that the law had no jurisdiction -over them to sentence them to death. Hence the story we -read of a Roman Senator in the time of the Triumvirate, which -was condemned to die among other victims of the Proscription, -and not he alone, but all the offspring of his loins. So when a -daughter of his house did appear on the scaffold, a very fair and -lovely girl, but of unripe years and yet a virgin, ‘twas needful for -the executioner to deflower her himself and take her maidenhead -on the scaffold, and only then when she was so polluted, could he -ply his knife upon her. The Emperor Tiberius did delight in -having fair virgins thus publicly deflowered, and then put to -death,—a right villainous piece of cruelty, pardy!”</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_8" href="#FNanchor_8" class="label">8</a> -<i>C.f.</i> Herodotus, who tells us that in the fifth century -before Christ every woman, once in her life, had to come to the -temple of Mylitta, the Babylonian Venus, and yield herself to the -first stranger who threw a coin in her lap, in worship of the goddess. -The money could not be refused, however small the amount, but -it was given as an offertory to the temple, and the woman, having -followed the man and thus made oblation to Mylitta, returned -home and lived chastely ever afterwards. (Havelock Ellis: <cite>Studies -in the Psychology of Sex</cite>: vol. 6: <cite>Sex in Relation to Society</cite>.) -Havelock Ellis has quoted Herodotus in relation to prostitution, -holding that its origin is to be found primarily in religious custom. -In our opinion, the practice also merits inclusion in a catalogue of -virginal folk-lore, and we are further justified in our view by the -statement that the woman who so yielded herself lived chastely -ever afterwards.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_9" href="#FNanchor_9" class="label">9</a> -“In old times we read of a custom in the isle of Cyprus, -which ‘tis said the kindly goddess Venus, the patroness of that -land, did introduce. This was that the maids of that island should -go forth and wander along the banks, shores and cliffs of the sea, -for to earn their marriage portions by the generous giving of their -bodies to mariners, sailors and seafarers along that coast. These -would put in to shore on purpose, very often indeed turning from -their straight course by compass to land there; and so taking their -pleasant refreshment with them, would pay handsomely, and -presently hie them away again to sea, for their part only too sorry -to leave such good entertainment behind. Thus would these fair -maids win their marriage dowers, some more, some less, some high, -some low, some grand, some lowly, according to the beauty, gifts -and carnal attractions of each damsel.” (Brantôme: <cite>Lives of Fair -and Gallant Ladies</cite>.)</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_10" href="#FNanchor_10" class="label">10</a> -“I am not surprised if the Phœnicians, according to St. -Athanasius, obliged their daughters, by severe laws, to suffer themselves -before marriage to be deflowered by valets, or also that the -Armenians, as Strabo relates, sacrificed their daughters in the -temple of the Goddess Anaitis, with the object of being eased of -their maidenheads, so as to be able afterwards to find advantageous -marriages suited to their condition; for one cannot describe what -exhaustion and what sufferings a man has to undergo in his first -action, at all events if the girl be narrow.... It is far sweeter to -have connection with a woman accustomed to the pleasures of love -than to caress one who has not yet known a man; for as we ask a -locksmith to ease the wards of a new lock he brings us, to save us -the trouble we might have the first day, so had the nations of -whom we spoke good reason for establishing such laws.” (Nicolas -Venette: <cite>La Génération de L’Homme, ou Tableau de L’Amour -Conjugal</cite>: Paris, 1751.)</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_11" href="#FNanchor_11" class="label">11</a> -“According to Festus, <em>Mutinus</em> is a god differing wholly -from Priapus, having a public sanctuary at Rome, where the statue -was placed sitting with <i lang="la">penis</i> erect. Newly mated girls were placed -in his lap, before being led away to their husbands, so that the -deity might appear to have foretasted their virginity, this being -supposed to render the bride fruitful.” (<cite>Priapeia</cite>: Cosmopoli, 1890.) -Schurig (<cite>Gynæcologia</cite>: <i lang="la">op. cit. sup.</i>) instances the Indian custom of -deflowering young brides by means of an enormous priapus in the -temples.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_12" href="#FNanchor_12" class="label">12</a> -<i>i.e.</i>, a legalised defilement or ravishing. Blondeau, in -his <cite>Dictionnaire érotique latin-français</cite> (Liseux: Paris, 1885), translates -<i lang="la">stupratio</i> as “a combat in which one forces a beauty to yield to -one’s passion ... to take possession of the honour of some pretty -woman ... the struggle in which women succumb with pleasure.” -<i lang="la">Stupro</i>, the verb; <i lang="la">stuprator</i>, the noun; and <i lang="la">stupratus</i>, the adjective -have kindred meanings.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_13" href="#FNanchor_13" class="label">13</a> -An old established practice whereby newly married -women are deflowered by others than their husbands, whether by priest, lord, or stranger. To discuss this relic of feudalism would -be beyond the scope of a note; it is summed up briefly in the idea -that the lord of a domain was entitled to exact tribute from his -subjects in the form of intercourse with every bride on the first -night of her marriage. Our readers are referred to Dr. Karl -Schmidt’s <cite>Jus Primæ Noctis (The Law of the First Night)</cite>, the most -comprehensive treatise on the subject.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_14" href="#FNanchor_14" class="label">14</a> -Brantôme, of course, has some pertinent remarks on the -subject. In his <cite>Lives of Fair and Gallant Ladies</cite>, he devotes the -seventh <cite>Discourse</cite> to the following topic: <cite>Concerning married women, -widows and maids,—to wit, which of these same be better than other -to love</cite>. “One day,” writes the genial philosopher, “when I was at -the Court of Spain at Madrid, and conversing with a very honourable -lady, ... she did chance to ask me this question following:—’Which -of the three had the greater heat of love: widow, wife or -maid?’ After myself had told her mine opinion she did in turn -give me hers in some such terms as these: ‘That albeit maids, with -all that heat of blood that is theirs, be right well disposed to love, -yet do they not love so well as wives and widows. This is because -of the great experience of the business the latter have, and the -obvious fact that supposing a man born blind, ... he can never -desire the gift of sight so strongly as he that has sweetly enjoyed -the same a while and then been deprived of it.’” Later, quoting -Boccaccio, Brantôme also says:—“The widow is more painstaking -of the pleasure of love an hundred fold than the virgin, seeing the -latter is all for dearly guarding her precious virginity and maidenhead. -Further, virgins be naturally timid, and above all in this -matter, awkward and inept to find the sweet artifices and pretty -complaisances required under divers circumstances in such -encounters. But this is not so with the widow, who is already well -practised, bold and ready in this art, having long ago bestowed and -given away what the virgin doth make so much ado about giving.... -Beside all this, the maid doth dread this first assault of her -virginity, ... whereas widows have no such fear, but do submit -themselves very sweetly and gently, even when the assailant be of -the roughest.”</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_15" href="#FNanchor_15" class="label">15</a> -We can supplement these remarks by a further quotation -from that curious work already noticed, <cite>The Battles of Venus</cite>, -wherein we read: “This lust, then, after the <em>untouched</em> morsel, I -take not to be an original dictate of nature; but consequently to -result from much experience with women, which has been demonstrated -to lead to novelty of wishes from fastidious impotence.... -Yet, in truth, I esteem the fruition of a virgin to be, with respect -both to the mind and body of the enjoyer, the highest aggravation -of sensual delight. In the first place, his fancy is heated with the -prospect of enjoying a woman, after whom he has perhaps long -sighed and has been in pursuit, who he thinks has never before -been in bed with a man, (in whose arms never before has man laid), -and in triumphing in the first sight of her virgin charms. This -precious operation, then, of fancy, has been shown in the highest -degree to prepare the body for enjoyment. Secondly, his body -perceives, in that of a virgin, the cause of the greatest aggravation -of delight. I mean not only in the coyness and resistance which -she makes to his efforts, but when he is on the point of accomplishing -them: when arrived, as the poet sings, ‘on the brink of -giddy rapture,’ when in pity to a tender virgin’s sufferings, he is -intreated not to break fiercely in, but to spare ‘fierce dilaceration -and dire pangs.’ The resistance which the small, and as yet unopened, -mouth of bliss makes to his eager endeavours, serves only, -and that on a physical principle, to strengthen the instrument of -his attack, and concurs, with the instigation of his ardent fancy, to -reinforce his efforts, to unite all the co-operative powers of enjoyment, -and to produce an emission copious, rapid, and transporting.... -‘In this case, part of the delight arises from considering that -... you feel the convulsive wrigglings of the chaste nymph you -have so long adored....’” Our acknowledgements are again due -to Pisanus Fraxi, from whose <cite>Index Librorum Prohibitorum</cite> our -extract is taken. The author of <cite>The Battles of Venus</cite>, it need hardly -be said, is in no sense an authority; his work, indeed, is pornographic -rather than artistic; at the same time, it is impossible to -ignore his flashes of insight into a question which has exercised -the minds of the greatest psychologists.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_16" href="#FNanchor_16" class="label">16</a> -Brantôme, apparently, had a poor opinion of Spartan -virginity. “What kind of virtue was it?” he asks. (<cite>Lives of Fair and -Gallant Ladies.</cite>) “Why! on their solemn feast-days the Spartan -maids were used to sing and dance in public stark naked with the -lads, and even wrestle in the open market place,—the which -however was done in all honesty and good faith, so History saith. -But what sort of honesty and purity was this, we may well ask, to -look on at these pretty maids so performing publicly? Honesty was -it never a whit, but pleasure in the sight of them, and especially of -their bodily movements and dancing postures, and above all in -their wrestling; and chiefest of all when they came to fall one atop -of the other, as they say in Latin: ‘She underneath, he atop; he -underneath, she atop.’ You will never persuade me ‘twas all -honesty and purity herein with these Spartan maidens. I ween -there is never chastity so chaste that would not have been shaken -thereby, or that, so making in public and by day these feint assaults, -they did not presently in privity and by night and on assignation -proceed to greater combats and night attacks.”</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_17" href="#FNanchor_17" class="label">17</a> -Havelock Ellis, <i lang="la">op. cit.</i>, vol. 6: <cite>Sex in Relation to Society</cite>, -p. 163.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_18" href="#FNanchor_18" class="label">18</a> -<i>C.f.</i> the Latin <i lang="la">infibulare</i>=to clasp, buckle, or button -together. (Smith’s Latin-English dictionary.) The noun <i lang="la">fibula</i> can -be translated: (1) a clasp, buckle, pin, latchet, brace; (2) a surgical -instrument for drawing together the edges of a gaping wound; -(3) a ring drawn through the prepuce to prevent copulation. Celsus, -Martial and Juvenal use the word in this sense. “The ancient -Romans prevented actors from copulating, with the object of -preserving their voices. Martial speaks of singers who sometimes -broke the ring, and whom it was necessary to bring back again to -the blacksmith.” (Jacobus X—, <i lang="la">op. cit.</i>)</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_19" href="#FNanchor_19" class="label">19</a> -<cite>Kruptadia</cite>: Heilbronn, 1883: Henninger Frères: vol. 1: -<cite>Secret Stories from the Russian</cite>, No. 32. Also <cite>Contes Secrets Russes</cite>: -Paris: Liseux, 1891.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_20" href="#FNanchor_20" class="label">20</a> -Literally: “put it in pawn.”</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_21" href="#FNanchor_21" class="label">21</a> -A verst would be about 1,170 yards. The virtue of the -ring was indeed remarkable!</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_22" href="#FNanchor_22" class="label">22</a> -<cite>Contes Secrets Russes</cite> translate: “His yard stretched -forth, hurled the driver from his seat, passed beyond the team of -horses, and reached out in front of the carriage for a distance of -seven versts.”</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_23" href="#FNanchor_23" class="label">23</a> -The <cite>Kruptadia</cite> version says: “As if flies had just tickled -his yard.”</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_24" href="#FNanchor_24" class="label">24</a> -The main theme of these foregoing <cite>contes</cite>—the yard -which increases to gigantic proportions—is not confined to -Russian folk-lore. In <cite>Kruptadia</cite>, vol. 2: <cite>Some Erotic Folk-Lore -from Scotland</cite>, we find the following:—A man and a woman -were in each other’s embraces. The man was succuba. His yard -began to enlarge and enlarge and lift the woman. When she was -nearly reaching the roof she exclaimed: “Farewell freens, farewell -foes, For I’m awa’ to heaven On a pintel’s nose.”</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_25" href="#FNanchor_25" class="label">25</a> -<cite>Kruptadia</cite>: Heilbronn: Henninger Frères, 1884: <cite>Breton -Folk Lore</cite>.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_26" href="#FNanchor_26" class="label">26</a> -<i lang="fr">Frenolle</i> is the word in the text—probably a fantastic -term, since Pierre’s “instrument” is not known by that name in -Haut Bretagne. Farmer, in his monumental work <cite>Slang and its -Analogues</cite>, (Privately Printed, 1890-1904) and Landes (<cite>Glossaire -Érotique de la Langue française</cite>—Brussels, 1861) do not include the -word in their comprehensive lists of French erotic synonyms for -<i lang="la">penis</i>. Nor can we find mention of it in <cite>Vocabula Amatoria</cite> -(London, 1896). Littré, even, does not give the word.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_27" href="#FNanchor_27" class="label">27</a> -<cite>Kruptadia</cite>: Heilbronn: 1883: Henninger Frères: vol. 1: -<cite>Secret Stories from the Russian</cite>.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_28" href="#FNanchor_28" class="label">28</a> -<i lang="fr">Lui donne le mot.</i> “Put him wise” would be the exact -modern equivalent.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_29" href="#FNanchor_29" class="label">29</a> -<i>C.f.</i> <i>Excursus</i> to <i>The Tale of Kamar al-Zaman</i>, where the -subject is discussed at length.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_30" href="#FNanchor_30" class="label">30</a> -In <cite>The Night of Power</cite> we have the story of a man who, -believing that three prayers would be granted to him, consults his -wife as to what he shall ask. She advises him to ask Allah to -“greaten and magnify his yard.” He does so, whereupon his yard -“became as big as a column, and he could neither sit nor stand -nor move about nor even stir from his stead; and when he would -have carnally known his wife, she fled before him from place to -place.” In distress the husband asks, as his second wish, to be -delivered of this burden, and “immediately his prickle disappeared -altogether and he became clean smooth. When his wife saw this, -she said: ‘I have no occasion for thee now thou art become pegless -as an eunuch, shaven and shorn.... Pray Allah the most -High to restore thee thy yard as it was.’ So he prayed to his Lord -and his prickle was restored to its first estate. Thus the man lost -his three wishes by the ill counsel and lack of wit in the woman.” -Our brief summary is taken from Sir Richard F. Burton’s translation -of <cite>The Thousand Nights and a Night</cite>.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_31" href="#FNanchor_31" class="label">31</a> -<cite>Memoirs of Jacques Casanova</cite>: For the first time translated -into English and Privately Printed, 1894: 12 vols.: 1000 -copies only. Also <cite>Mémoires de J. Casanova de Seingalt: Garnier -Frères</cite>, Paris, N.D. Our text is a blend of the two versions.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_32" href="#FNanchor_32" class="label">32</a> -<i>i.e.</i>, naked.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_33" href="#FNanchor_33" class="label">33</a> -<i lang="fr">Capote Anglaise</i>: in slang terms, a French letter or -condom. The French talk about an “English” letter; we say the -reverse.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_34" href="#FNanchor_34" class="label">34</a> -“Fleece,” of course, is an accepted erotic term for pubic -hair (Farmer: <cite>Slang and its Analogues</cite>); <i>c.f.</i> also the French term -<i lang="fr">toison</i>. Helène’s hirsute adornment is in keeping with psychological -precept—that hairiness and sensuality go hand in hand. -Havelock Ellis, in his <cite>Studies</cite>, quotes numerous authorities who -are strongly of this opinion, (vol. 5: <cite>Erotic Symbolism</cite>). Lombroso, -he adds, found that prostitutes generally tend to be hairy. In -another volume of his <cite>Studies</cite>, Havelock Ellis relates the history of -a man for whom a hirsute <i lang="la">mons veneris</i> always had a peculiar attraction. -“When accosted by prostitutes,” says the subject of this -history, “I would never go with them unless assured that the <i lang="la">mons -veneris</i> was very hirsute.” That genial old soldier Brantôme (<cite>Lives -of Fair and Gallant Ladies</cite>: Translated by A. R. Allinson: Paris, -Charles Carrington, 1901) says: “I have heard speak of a certain -great lady, and I have known her myself and do know her still, -who is all shaggy and hairy over the chest, stomach, shoulders and -all down the spine, and on her bottom, like a savage.... The proverb -hath it, no person thus hairy is ever rich or wanton; but -verily in this case the lady is both the one and the other, I can -assure you....” Brantôme also speaks of women who “have hair -in that part not curly at all, but so long and drooping, you would -say they were the moustachios of a Saracen’s head. Nathless -they do never remove this fleece, but prefer to have it so, seeing -there is a saying: ‘A grassgrown path and a hairy coynte are both -good roads to ride.’ ... I have heard speak of another fair and honourable -lady which did have the hair of this part so long she would -entwine the same with strings or ribbons of silk, crimson and other -colours, and have them curled like the curls of a wig, and attached -to her thighs. And in such guise would she show her <i lang="fr">motte</i> to her -husband or lover. Or else she would unwind the ribbons and -cords, so that the hair did remain after in curl, and looking prettier -so than it would otherwise have done.” Elsewhere Brantôme tells -of a gentleman of his acquaintance who, while sleeping with a -very beautiful lady, “and one of good condition, and doing his devoir -with her, did find in that part sundry hairs so sharp and -prickly that ‘twas with all the difficulty in the world he could -finish, so sharply did these prick and pierce him....” Abnormal -growth of pubic hair is by no means confined to <i lang="fr">conte</i> and fable. -Jahn, says Havelock Ellis in his <cite>Studies</cite>, delivered a woman whose -pubic hair was longer than that of her head, reaching below her -knees. Paulini also knew a woman “whose pubic hair nearly -reached her knees and was sold to make wigs. Bartholin -mentions a soldier’s wife who plaited her pubic hair behind her -back.” (<cite>Erotic Symbolism</cite>). We have no actual evidence that -Helène’s growth was of these abnormal dimensions, but it was obviously -out of the ordinary to provoke comment from a man of -Casanova’s experience.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_35" href="#FNanchor_35" class="label">35</a> -Pietro Aretino, author of <cite>The Ragionamenti</cite>, is generally -supposed to have enumerated a variety of postures in which the -venereal act might be performed. To the many he is known solely -as “the man of the postures.” This particular claim to distinction -is, to say the least, a matter much in dispute, but we will reserve -discussion of the question for Vol. 2 of <em>Anthologica Rarissima</em>, -where lavish excerpts from Aretino’s works will be given.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_36" href="#FNanchor_36" class="label">36</a> -English translation of the Author’s Preface.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_37" href="#FNanchor_37" class="label">37</a> -Masuccio: <cite>The Novellino</cite>, translated into English by -W. G. Waters: London, Lawrence and Bullen, 1895.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_38" href="#FNanchor_38" class="label">38</a> -Masuccio, of course, cannot claim any peculiar virtue -in this respect, lust in the guise or under the cloak of religion -being a favourite theme of mediæval and even later novelists. We -shall deal at length with the subject in the second volume of -<em>Anthologica Rarissima: The Way of a Priest</em>.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_39" href="#FNanchor_39" class="label">39</a> -<i>C.f.</i> <cite>The New Metamorphosis, or The Golden Ass of -Apuleius altered and improved to Modern Times</cite>, by Carlo Socio: -London, 1822, extracts from which, exactly germane to Masuccio’s -denunciation, will be found in vol. 2 of <em>Anthologica Rarissima: The -Way of a Priest</em>.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_40" href="#FNanchor_40" class="label">40</a> -J. S. Farmer: <cite>Merry Songs and Ballads</cite>: vol. 5: by John -Lockman: from <cite>Musical Miscellany</cite>, (1731). Farmer, of course, is -the editor and compiler of <cite>Slang and its Analogues</cite>, to which we -make constant reference.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_41" href="#FNanchor_41" class="label">41</a> -<cite>Les Cent Nouvelles Nouvelles</cite>: “now first done into the -English tongue by Robert B. Douglas, (<cite>One Hundred Merrie and -Delightsome Stories</cite>)”: Paris, Charles Carrington, 1899 (?): 82nd -story. The editors of <em>Anthologica Rarissima</em> have taken slight -liberties with Mr. Douglas’ translation, deeming archaic phraseology -more fitting to the atmosphere of the narrative.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_42" href="#FNanchor_42" class="label">42</a> -The phrase has passed into use as an accepted slang -term for the sexual act.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_43" href="#FNanchor_43" class="label">43</a> -<cite>Songs of the Groves: Records of the Ancient World</cite>, (The -Vine Press: Steyning, Sussex: 1921), has a singularly charming -account of a rustic courtship. <cite>The Wooing</cite>, the poem to which we -refer, is a rendering from the Greek of Theocritus, and is remarkable -for the vivid picture conjured up before our eyes in a few -lines of verse. Daphnis, a young shepherd, and a maiden, discourse -of love and marriage; eventually she yields to his passion:— -</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poetry"><div class="stanza"> - <div class="verse">“<i>Remove your hand, you satyr; do not seek my blossoms so!</i>”</div> - <div class="verse">“<i>Just a first glance! Oh! I must see those snowy flowers of mine!</i>”</div> - <div class="verse">“<i>O Pan! O Pan! I’m fainting! Take away that hand of thine!</i>”</div> - <div class="verse">“<i>Darling, look up! Don’t tremble so! Why fear your Lycidas?</i>”</div> - <div class="verse">“<i>Oh, Daphnis! I shall spoil my robe; it’s filthy on this grass.</i>”</div> - <div class="verse">“<i>But—just see here!—the softest fleece over your robe I’ve thrown.</i>”</div> - <div class="verse">“<i>Ah me! Oh! Don’t undo my belt! Why do you loose my zone?</i>”</div> - <div class="verse">“<i>Because the Paphian Queen must have it for an offering.</i>”</div> - <div class="verse">“<i>Some one will come! I hear a noise! Leave off, you cruel thing!</i>”</div> - <div class="verse">“<i>A noise? My cypresses: they murmur how my darling weds.</i>”</div> - <div class="verse">“<i>Oh, I am bare! You’ve torn my robe into a string of shreds!</i>”</div> - <div class="verse">“<i>A better robe I’ll give you soon; a larger robe I’ll buy.</i>”</div> - <div class="verse">“<i>Oh, yes! You’ll give me all, when soon salt even you’ll deny.</i>”</div> - <div class="verse">“<i>Oh, I could pour my soul into you for your dear delight!</i>”</div> - <div class="verse">“<i>Forgive, O Artemis, forgive your faithless acolyte.</i>”</div> - <div class="verse">“<i>Venus shall have an ox; a calf for Cupid I will burn.</i>”</div> - <div class="verse">“<i>A virgin came I hither, but a woman shall return.</i>”</div> - <div class="verse">“<i>The nurse, the mother, of my babes, now never more a maid.</i>”</div> - <div class="verse"><i>So with young limbs entwined in love all joyously they played,</i></div> - <div class="verse"><i>Soft-murmuring each to each; then from their secret couch they leap:</i></div> - <div class="verse"><i>She, when she had arisen, went away to feed her sheep;</i></div> - <div class="verse"><i>Shame was in her eyes, but her heart beat high above:</i></div> - <div class="verse"><i>Joyous, he went to feed his flocks, glad from the bed of love.</i></div> -</div></div></div> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_44" href="#FNanchor_44" class="label">44</a> -<cite>The Decameron</cite> of Giovanni Boccaccio, translated by -John Payne, Villon Society, 1884. See <i>Excursus</i> to this story.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_45" href="#FNanchor_45" class="label">45</a> -<cite>Kruptadia</cite>: Heilbronn, Henninger Frères, 1884: vol. 2, -<cite>Breton Folk Lore</cite>.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_46" href="#FNanchor_46" class="label">46</a> -The play on words here is somewhat obscure. <i lang="fr">Manger -un poulet</i> is not a slang term for the sexual act. Interpreting -freely, we might read: “Will give thee a chicken to pluck,” <i>i.e.</i>: -her virginity. This is borne out by the wife’s subsequent behaviour. -On the other hand, the mother may be speaking simply and -literally.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_47" href="#FNanchor_47" class="label">47</a> -We make no apology for the frequent extracts from -<cite>Kruptadia</cite> to be found in this volume and those to follow of -<i>Anthologica Rarissima</i>. <cite>Kruptadia</cite>, perhaps the most remarkable -<i lang="fr">recueil</i> of folk lore stories, songs, sayings and proverbs in the -world, is a work far too little known to the student and bibliophile. -Its rarity may be explained by the fact that comparatively few -copies of each volume were struck off. Of Vol. 2, from which -“The Wedding Night of Jean the Fool” is taken, only 135 numbered -copies were done. A complete 12-volume set, in the original -format (the work was begun in Heilbronn by Henninger Frères -and completed in Paris by Welter) is not often seen, and we count -ourselves fortunate in having one before us as we write. Havelock -Ellis frequently refers to the collection in his <cite>Studies in the Psychology -of Sex</cite>, while Pisanus Fraxi, the great bibliographer of erotic, -prohibited and uncommon books, was just able to notice the first -two volumes in his <cite>Catena Librorum Tacendorum</cite>, (London: -Privately Printed: 1885). He pays generous tribute to the production. -“Students of folk lore,” he writes, “will hail with delight -the appearance of this well-printed and carefully got up little -volume, to be followed, let us hope, by many others of the same -kind, equally remarkable for talented and faithful rendering, and -masterly editing.” Dealing with the tales themselves, he goes on -to say that “they reveal to us in an interesting and unequivocal -manner the feelings, aspirations, modes of thought, manner of -living of the people who tell them, and are possibly one of the -most valuable contributions to the study of folk lore which has yet -appeared.... They are all characteristic—all good.” Fraxi then -gives the pith of “The Enchanted Ring,” which we have already -printed at length in this volume. In the concluding pages of his -<cite>Catena Librorum Tacendorum</cite>, Fraxi states that vol. 2 of <cite>Kruptadia</cite> -has reached him in time to mention briefly its contents. Since -these words were written, ten other volumes have been issued—a -veritable mine of entertaining and instructive information. We -even go so far as to say that genuine students of folk lore and -collectors of curious literature cannot afford to ignore <cite>Kruptadia</cite>, -even as they should have access to Pisanus Fraxi’s 3-volume -work, <cite>INDEX LIBRORUM PROHIBITORUM</cite>, <cite>CENTURIA -LIBRORUM ABSCONDITORUM</cite>, and <cite>CATENA LIBRORUM -TACENDORUM</cite>. Possession of these works by all is impossible -owing to their rarity, cost and small imprint. Not every student -can afford to pay £20 to £30 for the complete set of <cite>Kruptadia</cite>, -even if he be lucky enough to chance on such a find, while Fraxi’s -amazing bibliography, in the sale room alone, commands about -£35; and while the price tends steadily to increase, the appearance -of the complete 3-volume set as steadily decreases.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_48" href="#FNanchor_48" class="label">48</a> -<cite>Kruptadia</cite>: Heilbronn, Henninger Frères, 1884: <cite>Breton -Folk Lore</cite>.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_49" href="#FNanchor_49" class="label">49</a> -<em>Peloton</em> is the word in the text, signifying, literally, -<em>a ball made of things (thread, silk or wool) wound round it</em>. The -play on words is remarkably apt in the last few lines of the story, -<em>peloton</em> exactly connoting, in the mind of the simple girl, the -youth’s testicles and pubic hair.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_50" href="#FNanchor_50" class="label">50</a> -<cite>Fantastic Tales or The Way to Attain: A Book full of -Pantagruelism: Now for the first time done into English</cite> by Arthur -Machen: Privately Printed: Carbonnek, 1890. We shall return to -the subject of De Verville’s work in a later page of this volume.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_51" href="#FNanchor_51" class="label">51</a> -The word is ours. Machen translates “honour.”</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_52" href="#FNanchor_52" class="label">52</a> -<i lang="fr">Enfiler une aiguille</i>, more usually, <i lang="fr">enfiler</i>. The expression -is common to most erotic writers. <i lang="la">Vide</i> various erotic -lexicographers quoted <i lang="la">ante</i>.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_53" href="#FNanchor_53" class="label">53</a> -<cite>The Thousand Nights and a Night</cite>, translated by Sir -Richard F. Burton, and printed by the Burton Club for private -subscribers only: Lauristan Edition, limited to 1,000 numbered sets. -As the story in the original is of considerable length, we have -summarised portions of it, retaining in its entirety that part of the -text which will appeal most to the bibliophile. The paragraphing, -also, is in many cases our own.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_54" href="#FNanchor_54" class="label">54</a> -“The young man,” says Sir Richard Burton, in a footnote, -“must have been a demon of chastity.”</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_55" href="#FNanchor_55" class="label">55</a> -Carat = one finger-breadth here. The derivation is -from the Greek <i lang="el">Keration</i>, a bean, the seed of the <i lang="la">abrus precatorius</i>.—Note -by Sir Richard Burton.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_56" href="#FNanchor_56" class="label">56</a> -... In hot-damp climates the venereal requirements -and reproductive powers of the female greatly exceed those of the -male.... In cold-dry or hot-dry mountainous lands the reverse is -the case; hence polygamy there prevails whilst the low countries -require polyandry in either form, legal or illegal, <i>i.e.</i>, prostitution.—Note -by Sir Richard Burton. See, also, <i lang="la">excursus</i> to this story, -where the subject is dealt with at length.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_57" href="#FNanchor_57" class="label">57</a> -“This morning evacuation,” says Sir Richard Burton, -in a footnote, “is considered, in the East, a <i lang="la">sine qua non</i> of health.... -The natives of India ... unlike Europeans, accustom themselves -to evacuate twice a day, evening as well as morning. This may, -perhaps, partly account for their mildness and effeminacy; for:—’C’est -la constipation qui rend l’homme rigoureux.’”</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_58" href="#FNanchor_58" class="label">58</a> -“The belief that young pigeons’ blood resembles the -virginal discharge is universal,” says Sir Richard Burton, in a -footnote; “but the blood most resembling man’s is that of the pig, -which in other points is so very human. In our day Arabs and -Hindus rarely submit to inspection the nuptial sheet, as practised -by the Israelites and Persians. The bride takes to bed a white -kerchief with which she staunches the blood and next morning the -stains are displayed in the Harem. In Darfour this is done by the -bridegroom. “<i lang="la">Prima Venus debet esse cruenta</i>” (Love’s first battle -should be bloody), say the Easterns with much truth, and they -have no faith in our complaisant creed which allows the hymen-membrane -to disappear by any but one accident.” The creed, of -course, is not peculiar to the East, and realistic descriptions of this -“sanguinary combat” will be found in Nicolas Chorier’s <cite>Dialogues</cite>, -<cite>Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure</cite>, (<i lang="la">op. cit.</i>), and other erotic works. -<i>C.f.</i> also the modern custom of including a clean sheet among the -bride’s trousseau. Further remarks on this subject will be found -in our preliminary essay to this volume, “Human Nature, -Tradition, and Virginity.”</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_59" href="#FNanchor_59" class="label">59</a> -“<i>i.e.</i>, Not the real thing (with a woman),” says Sir R. -Burton, in a note. “It may also mean ‘by his incitement of me.’ -All this scene is written in the worst form of Persian-Egyptian -blackguardism, and forms a curious anthropological study.”</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_60" href="#FNanchor_60" class="label">60</a> -<i>i.e.</i>, Some men prefer sodomy (figs = <i lang="la">anus</i>); others -natural intercourse (sycamore = <i lang="la">cunnus</i>).</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_61" href="#FNanchor_61" class="label">61</a> -Note by Sir Richard Burton: Kiblah = the fronting -place of prayer; Mecca for Moslems, Jerusalem for Jews and -early Christians.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_62" href="#FNanchor_62" class="label">62</a> -Note by Sir Richard Burton: The Koran says (chap. 2): -“Your wives are your tillage: go in therefore unto your tillage -in what manner soever you will.” Usually this is understood as -meaning in any posture, standing or sitting, lying, backwards or -forwards. Yet there is a popular saying about the man whom the -woman rides (vulg. <em>St. George</em>; in France, <i lang="fr">le postillion</i>): “Cursed -be he who maketh woman Heaven and himself earth!” Some -hold the Koranic passage to have been revealed in confutation of -the Jews, who pretended that if a man lay with his wife backwards, -he would beget a cleverer child. Others again understood it of -preposterous venery; which is absurd: every ancient law-giver -framed his code to increase the true wealth of the people—population—and -severely punished all processes, like onanism, -which impeded it. The Persians utilise the hatred of women for -such misuse when they would force a wife to demand a divorce -and thus forfeit her claim to dowry; they convert them into -catamites till, after a month or so, they lose all patience and leave -the house. We do not propose to add to Sir Richard’s note, -reserving our remarks on the subject for their proper place in a -subsequent volume.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_63" href="#FNanchor_63" class="label">63</a> -Note by Sir Richard: Koran 51, 9, alluding, in the text, -to the preposterous venery her lover demands.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_64" href="#FNanchor_64" class="label">64</a> -Note by Sir Richard: Arab “Futùh,” meaning openings, -and also victories, benefits. The lover congratulates her on her -mortifying self in order to please him.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_65" href="#FNanchor_65" class="label">65</a> -<i lang="la">Vide</i> note to <i lang="la">Excursus</i> to this story, p. 100.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_66" href="#FNanchor_66" class="label">66</a> -Note by Sir Richard: “And the righteous work will be -exalt.” (Koran 35, 11). Applied ironically.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_67" href="#FNanchor_67" class="label">67</a> -Note by Sir Richard: Easterns still believe in what -Westerns know to be an impossibility, human beings with the -parts and proportions of both sexes equally developed and capable -of reproduction; and Al-Islam even provides special rules for them. -... The old Greeks dreamed, after their fashion, a beautiful -poetic dream of a human animal uniting the contradictory -beauties of man and woman. The duality of the generative -organs seems an old Egyptian tradition; at least we find it in -<cite>Genesis</cite> (1.27), where the image of the Deity is created male and -female, before man was formed out of the dust of the ground (2.7). -The old tradition found its way to India (if the Hindus did not -borrow the idea from the Greeks); and one of the forms of -Mahadeva, the third person of their triad, is entitled “Ardhanári” -= the Half-Woman, which has suggested to them some charming -pictures. Europeans, seeing the left breast conspicuously feminine, -have indulged in silly surmises about the “Amazons.”</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_68" href="#FNanchor_68" class="label">68</a> -Note by Sir Richard: This is a mere phrase for our -“dying of laughter”: the queen was on her back. And as Easterns -sit on carpets, their falling back is very different from the same -movement off a chair.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_69" href="#FNanchor_69" class="label">69</a> -Havelock Ellis is quoting from <cite>The Perfumed Garden of -The Cheikh Nefzaoui</cite>: Cosmopoli, 1886, printed for the Kama -Shastra Society of London and Benares.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_70" href="#FNanchor_70" class="label">70</a> -“Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy -sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth -children; and thy desire <em>shall be to thy husband</em>, and he shall rule -over thee.”</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_71" href="#FNanchor_71" class="label">71</a> -<cite>The Perfumed Garden of the Cheikh Nefzaoui</cite>: Cosmopoli, -1886.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_72" href="#FNanchor_72" class="label">72</a> -“In Russia at all events, a girl, as very many have -acknowledged to me, cannot resist the ever-stronger impulses of -sex beyond the twenty-second or twenty-third year. And if she -cannot do so in natural ways she adopts artificial ways. The belief -that the feminine sex feels the stimulus of sex less than the male -is quite false.”—Guttceit, <cite>Dreissig Jahre Praxis</cite>, 1873.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_73" href="#FNanchor_73" class="label">73</a> -<cite>The Perfumed Garden.</cite> As illustrating our subject, the -Cheikh Nefzaoui tells a quaint story of a man who, owing to -physical disability, was unable to satisfy the sexual needs of his -wife. A wise man gives him a remedy whereby his member grows -“long and thick.” The Cheikh continues: “When his wife saw it -in that state she was surprised, but it came still better when he -made her feel in the matter of enjoyment quite another thing than -she had been accustomed to experience; he began in fact to work -her with his tool in quite a remarkable manner, to such a point that -she rattled and sighed and sobbed during the operation. As soon -as the wife found in her husband such eminently good qualities, -she gave him her fortune, and placed her person and all she had -at his disposal.”</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_74" href="#FNanchor_74" class="label">74</a> -Queen Budur’s remark that “Women pray pardon with -their legs on high,” (p. 88 <i lang="la">ante</i>), finds an echo in Aristophanes’ -<cite>Lysistrata</cite> and <cite>The Ecclesiazusæ</cite>. In the former play, Athenian -women promise Lysistrata that, if forced to intercourse by their -husbands, <em>they will not lift their legs in the air</em>; in the latter, we -have a woman saying: “How are we going to lift up our arms in -the Assembly (<i>i.e.</i>, vote), we, who only know how to lift our legs -in the act of love?” -</p> -<p> -Two of the authorities quoted by Havelock Ellis on p. 97 -of the foregoing <i>Excursus</i> merit further brief mention. Martin -Schurig, author of <cite>Parthenologia</cite> and numerous other medical -works, flourished as a physician in Dresden between 1688 and 1733. -Although many of his theories have long since been exploded, his -great erudition is much to be admired. His books deal with the -most amazing questions; among the many curious passages in -<cite>Parthenologia</cite> will be found the following: “Chastity put to the -proof by a hot iron and boiling water”; “Conception without -insertion of the <i lang="la">penis</i>”; “Andramytes, King of the Lydori, was the -inventor of castration of women, and Semiramis of that of men.” -Dr. Sinibaldus’ <cite>Geneanthropeia</cite>, published in 1642, is a very remarkable -work on physical love and its aberrations, treating, for -example, of “The shape of the Phallus”; “Eunuchism”; -“Aphrodisiacs”; “Influence of the Stars on Copulation”; “Effects -and manner of Copulation”; “Pleasure of Copulation as enjoyed -by man and woman.” Little is known of Sinibaldus’ life beyond -that he was a doctor at Rome. His <cite>Geneanthropeia</cite>, according to -Pisanus Fraxi, (<cite>Index Librorum Prohibitorum</cite>: London, 1877), has -been rendered, in a very emasculated form, into English, under -the title of <cite>Rare Verities. The Cabinet of Venus Unlocked</cite>: London, -1658. The volume is rare, but a copy is to be found in the British -Museum.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_75" href="#FNanchor_75" class="label">75</a> -<cite>Kruptadia</cite>: Heilbronn, Henninger Frères, 1883: vol. 1, -<cite>Secret Stories from the Russian</cite>, No. 12.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_76" href="#FNanchor_76" class="label">76</a> -Stories of sexual ignorance, amounting in the case of -men to veritable imbecility, are numerous in <cite>Kruptadia</cite>. In Vol. X., -<cite>Stories of Picardy</cite>, we have the tale of a young girl who had been -seduced, but had married a half-witted youth, whom she was -forced to instruct in the art of love. When they were in bed -together, “she showed him how children are made—a business -entirely unknown to him. After the explanations had been given -in theory, the husband mounted upon his wife, desiring to show -that he had learned his lesson well; but the young wife cried out -in surprise: ‘’Tis too high! ‘Tis too high!’ An instant later she -was forced to say: ‘’Tis too low! ‘Tis too low!’ Several other of -his efforts having failed, she told her husband that he did but -knock at the side of the door. Whereat the latter, aweary of ‘Too -high’ and ‘Too low,’ exclaimed: ‘Since thou knowest the spot so -well, put it there thyself!’”</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_77" href="#FNanchor_77" class="label">77</a> -J. S. Farmer: <cite>Merry Songs and Ballads</cite>: <cite>Privately -Printed</cite>, 1897: Words and Music in <cite>Pills to Purge Melancholy</cite>, -(1707), 1, 214.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_78" href="#FNanchor_78" class="label">78</a> -<cite>Les Cent Nouvelles Nouvelles</cite>: R. B. Douglas’ translation: -Paris, Charles Carrington. <i>C.f.</i> note <i lang="la">ante</i>.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_79" href="#FNanchor_79" class="label">79</a> -Obviously a play on words, with reference to the -lessons in marital duty given by the mother to the daughter.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_80" href="#FNanchor_80" class="label">80</a> -Mr. Douglas translates simply: ... “stick or instrument.” -The word in the text, <i lang="fr">bourdon</i>, signifies literally “a pilgrim’s staff.” -It is followed by the word <i lang="fr">joustouer</i>, “to tilt or joust,” or “a tilter, a -jouster,” which Mr. Douglas ignores. The combination, however, -seems to keep more faithfully to the spirit of the story. On the -other hand, <i lang="fr">bourdon</i> is a recognised erotic term for <i lang="la">penis</i>. Farmer, -(<cite>Slang and its Analogues</cite>: vol. 5, p. 290), quotes Rabelais as employing -the word in this sense. Landes, (<cite>Glossaire érotique de la langue -française</cite>: Brussels, 1861), includes it in a list which comprises 212 -slang terms for the male organ of generation. <cite>Le petit Citateur: -Notes érotiques et pornographiques</cite>: Paris, 1881: only 300 printed, -a curious and valuable little work dealing with the lesser known -expressions and metaphors of venery, and intended to serve as a -complement to the ordinary erotic dictionary, describes <i lang="fr">bourdon</i> -as “the virile member, the grand chord which gives the note in the -amorous duet.” The <cite>Memoirs of Miss Fanny</cite> are quoted: “ ... -enraptured, split open by the enormous size of my ravisher’s -<i lang="fr">bourdon</i>, my thighs all bloodstained, I remained for some time -overwhelmed by fatigue and pleasure....” The French text -referred to in the foregoing note is that of Garnier Frères, Paris, -n.d.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_81" href="#FNanchor_81" class="label">81</a> -This story, the 86th of <cite>Les Cent Nouvelles Nouvelles</cite>, is -singularly lacking in climax when compared with the majority of -old <i lang="fr">fabliaux</i>. The opening is very promising; but once the -husband has stated his case, the fabric seems to fall to pieces, and -the wife’s final speech is as silly as it is unjustified. The author -has tried to round off the story by dragging in the ages-old tag -about the woman who, from hating the pleasures of love, becomes -a veritable glutton for them. Compared with “Beyond the Mark,” -which is artistic and dramatic from the first to the last line, “Foolish -Fear” is a poor thing. Nevertheless, we have thought fit to include -it in this anthology because its opening is as characteristic as its -finish is <i lang="fr">un</i>characteristic of this type of <i lang="fr">fabliaux</i>.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_82" href="#FNanchor_82" class="label">82</a> -<cite>Kruptadia</cite>: Henninger Frères, Heilbronn, 1883: <cite>Stories -of Picardy.</cite></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_83" href="#FNanchor_83" class="label">83</a> -<cite>Kruptadia</cite>: Heilbronn, Henninger Frères, 1883, vol. 1: -<cite>Secret Stories from the Russian</cite>.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_84" href="#FNanchor_84" class="label">84</a> -A priest of the Greek Church.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_85" href="#FNanchor_85" class="label">85</a> -French <i lang="fr">Poupée</i>, which, in the slang phraseology of that -language, properly denotes a harlot. On the other hand, we have -the term <em>dolly</em> as a synonym for <i lang="la">penis</i>. (<i>C.f.</i> Farmer: <cite>Slang and its -Analogues</cite>.) This use of <i lang="fr">poupée</i>, which, of course, is literally -translated by <em>doll</em>, is peculiar; our French lexicographers do not -include it in their lists of synonyms for the <i lang="la">membrum virile</i>.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_86" href="#FNanchor_86" class="label">86</a> -“Already in the thirteenth century, Albert Bollstœdt, -Bishop of Ratisbonne, better known as Albertus Magnus, had, in -spite of his clerical profession, furnished much scabrous matter -concerning the opposite sex in his work <cite>De Secretis Mulierum</cite>.”—<cite>Centuria -Librorum Absconditorum</cite>: Pisanus Fraxi (Ashbee): London: -Privately Printed, 1879. The compiler of this monumental work -and the two companion volumes, <cite>Index Librorum Prohibitorum</cite> -and <cite>Catena Librorum Tacendorum</cite>, would seem to be at variance -with Havelock Ellis. A further reference to Albertus Magnus by -Fraxi is worth giving: “Shall a bishop, raised to the See of Ratisbonne, -(exclaims the erudite James Atkinson) and (still more -monstrous) shall a canonised man, an ‘in cœlum sublevatus,’ -undertake a natural history of the most natural secret, inter -secretalia fœminea? Is the natural and divine law at once to be -expounded, inter Scyllam et Charybdim, of defailance and human -orgasm?”—— Medical Bibliography, p. 72.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_87" href="#FNanchor_87" class="label">87</a> -We have already referred to Schurig’s work.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_88" href="#FNanchor_88" class="label">88</a> -“Nor shall the nurse at orient light returning, with -yester-e’en’s thread succeed in circling her neck.”—<cite>The Carmina -of Catullus</cite>: Englished into verse and prose by Sir R. F. Burton -and L. C. Smithers: London, 1894. Burton and Smithers, apparently, -were unaware of the medical significance of the test, for they -add in a note: “The ancients, says Pezay, had faith in another -equally absurd test of virginity. They measured the circumference -of the neck with a thread. Then the girl under trial took the two -ends of the magic thread in her teeth, and if it was found to be so -long that its bight could be passed over her head, it was clear she -was not a maid. By this rule all the thin girls might pass for -vestals, and all the plump ones for the reverse.”</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_89" href="#FNanchor_89" class="label">89</a> -Havelock Ellis is writing in 1914.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_90" href="#FNanchor_90" class="label">90</a> -<cite>The Dialogues of Luisa Sigea</cite>: Translated from the Latin -of Nicolas Chorier: Paris: Isidore Liseux, 1890. Our extract is -from the opening lines of the first dialogue; the phraseology, at -times, is our own.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_91" href="#FNanchor_91" class="label">91</a> -Erotic terms in English, French and Latin slang, -respectively, for the <i lang="la">penis</i> and female <i lang="la">pudendum</i>. (<i>C.f.</i> Farmer, -<i lang="la">op. cit.</i>).</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_92" href="#FNanchor_92" class="label">92</a> -We are quoting from the English translator’s “Notice -of Nicolas Chorier” in the Liseux edition already mentioned.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_93" href="#FNanchor_93" class="label">93</a> -The Sotadical Satire is so-called after Sotades, who -lived three centuries before Christ, and whose erotic poems are -unfortunately lost.—English Translator’s note. According to a -note in <cite>Priapeia</cite> (Cosmopoli, 1890, <em>Privately Printed</em>), Sotades, the -Mantinean poet, was the first to treat of Greek love, or dishonest -and unnatural love. He wrote in the Ionian dialect, and according to -Suidas he was the author of a poem entitled <cite>Cinædica</cite> -(Martial, 2. 86). The title would leave us in no doubt as to the -trend of the work. (Cinædus = he who indulges in unnatural lust; -Cinædicus = pertaining to one who is unchaste.—<cite>Smith’s Latin English -Dictionary.</cite>) <cite>C.f.</cite> also Sir Richard Burton’s “Sotadic Zone” in -the <cite>Terminal Essay</cite> to <cite>The Thousand Nights and a Night</cite> (<i lang="la">op. cit. sup.</i>).</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_94" href="#FNanchor_94" class="label">94</a> -<cite>The Decameron</cite> of Giovanni Boccaccio: Englished by -John Payne: Villon Society, 1886. This is the fourth story of the -fifth day, the actual title being: “<cite>Ricciardo Manardi, being found -by Messer Lizio da Valbona with his daughter, espouseth her and -abideth with her father in peace.</cite>”</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_95" href="#FNanchor_95" class="label">95</a> -<cite>Kruptadia</cite>: Heilbronn: Henninger Frères, 1883: vol. 1: -<cite>Secret Stories from the Russian</cite>.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_96" href="#FNanchor_96" class="label">96</a> -The text says: <i lang="fr">ce cher petit</i>, which may be interpreted -as referring to the wife’s <i lang="la">pudendum</i>. <i>C.f.</i> <i lang="fr">Le petit je ne sais quoi</i> -(“My~little~what’s~its~name”), a common erotic term for the parts -concerned. (Farmer: <cite>Slang and its Analogues</cite>; Landes: <cite>Glossaire -Érotique</cite>; and <cite>Le petit Citateur: Notes Érotiques et Pornographiques</cite>.) -The last authority considers that the word <i lang="fr">trou</i> (hole) would be -understood in the text. <i lang="fr">Trou</i>, of course, is a common French erotic -term for the feminine <i lang="la">pudendum</i>. On the other hand, the word -<i lang="fr">jeu</i> (game) may be understood, which would be equally applicable. -<i>C.f.</i> Farmer (<cite>Slang</cite>, etc., vol. 3, p. 110): “The first game ever -played,” <i>i.e.</i>, copulation. Also Landes (<cite>Gloss. Érot.</cite>): “Game: employed -in an obscene sense to denote the sexual act.”</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_97" href="#FNanchor_97" class="label">97</a> -<i lang="fr">Alène</i> is the word in the text. Not an erotic term for -<i lang="la">penis</i> in French and English slang, though we have the verb “to -bore.” <i>C.f.</i> Farmer: <cite>Slang and its Analogues</cite>, for his amazing list -of synonyms denoting the sexual act under the heading “Ride.” -Blondeau, in his <cite>Dictionnaire Érotique</cite> (Isidore Liseux: Paris, 1885), -gives no word in his collection of Latin terms for <i lang="la">penis</i> which -approximates exactly to the sense of awl. Landes, Delvau (<cite>Dictionnaire -Érotique</cite>), and <cite>Le petit Citateur</cite> (<i lang="la">op. cit. supra</i>) make no -mention of the word. In our story Danilka, in his very primitive -fashion, has used an expression which explains in the simplest -way his actions in the sleigh.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_98" href="#FNanchor_98" class="label">98</a> -<cite>Memoirs of Jacques Casanova</cite>: Privately Printed, 1894. -Also <cite>Mémoires de J. Casanova de Seingalt</cite>: Garnier Frères: Paris, -n.d. Our text is a blend of the two versions.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_99" href="#FNanchor_99" class="label">99</a> -<i lang="fr">Badinage</i> in the French text; <i>i.e.</i>, <em>playfulness</em>, <em>frolic</em>, -<em>sport</em>, etc., which is hardly in keeping with the context.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_100" href="#FNanchor_100" class="label">100</a> -Literally, according to French text: “Her caresses -quench a fire which would kill me did I not weaken its force by -this make-belief.”</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_101" href="#FNanchor_101" class="label">101</a> -<i>i.e.</i>, to the grating.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_102" href="#FNanchor_102" class="label">102</a> -Referring to a salacious incident shortly before related. -Further details would be out of place in this volume.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_103" href="#FNanchor_103" class="label">103</a> -Somewhat obscure. This rendering, that of the English -translation, is not in accord with the French text, nor does it seem -to us to represent what happened as described in the English -translation.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_104" href="#FNanchor_104" class="label">104</a> -J. S. Farmer: <cite>Merry Songs and Ballads</cite>: <cite>Privately Printed</cite>, -1897: vol. 3: from <cite>Pills to Purge Melancholy</cite> (1719). A similar -ballad, <cite>John and Jone</cite>, from <cite>Merry Drollerie</cite> (1661) is given by -Farmer in the second volume of his work.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_105" href="#FNanchor_105" class="label">105</a> -<em>John and Joan</em>, strictly speaking, is a <em>variant</em> of three -stories quoted earlier on in this volume, (The Instrument, The -Timorous Fiancée and The Enchanted Ring), inasmuch as all -contain the same idea—the possibility of purchasing a <i lang="la">membrum -virile</i>. At the same time, our ballad has a totally different setting, -the maid in this case obtaining her first knowledge from the -actions of others.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_106" href="#FNanchor_106" class="label">106</a> -<cite>Les Cent Nouvelles Nouvelles</cite>: Translated for the first -time into English by Robert B. Douglas (<cite>One Hundred Merrie and -Delightsome Stories</cite>), Paris: Charles Carrington. Also French Text, -Paris: Gamier Frères, n.d.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_107" href="#FNanchor_107" class="label">107</a> -Probably Picardy or Lorraine.—Note by R. B. Douglas.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_108" href="#FNanchor_108" class="label">108</a> -<i lang="fr">Faire la bête à deux dos.</i> A recognised slang term for -the venereal act, used by Rabelais and Shakespeare. <i>C.f.</i> Farmer: -<cite>Slang and its Analogues</cite> (<i lang="la">op. cit. supra</i>), and Landes: <cite>Glossaire -érotique de la langue française</cite>: Brussels, 1861.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_109" href="#FNanchor_109" class="label">109</a> -<i lang="fr">Denrée d’aventure.</i> A recognised erotic term for the -male genital parts. <i>C.f.</i> Farmer and Landes (<i lang="la">op. cit. supra</i>). -<i lang="fr">Denrée</i>, properly, means a “commodity,” which is not far removed -from the English slang term “concern.” (Farmer.)</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_110" href="#FNanchor_110" class="label">110</a> -The text here is somewhat obscure. Mr. Douglas -translates “No need to go so fast.”</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_111" href="#FNanchor_111" class="label">111</a> -<em>Touzle</em> or <em>Tousle</em>, in its original sense, meant “to rumple”—“to -pull or mess about,” but came in time to signify, in erotic -slang, the act of “mastering a woman by romping.” (<i lang="la">Vide</i> Farmer: -<cite>Slang and its Analogues</cite>.) It belongs to that class of word connoting -the sexual act which may be described as <em>energetic</em>, as implying a -sense of lively action and movement. Farmer, under his key-word -<em>Ride</em>, gives a number of similar terms, among them:—to <em>belly-bump</em>; -to <em>bounce</em>; to <em>cuddle</em>; to <em>ferret</em>; to <em>frisk</em>; to <em>fumble</em>; to -<em>hug</em>; to <em>hustle</em>; to <em>jiggle</em>; to <em>jumble</em>; to <em>muddle</em>; to <em>niggle</em>; to -<em>plough</em>; to <em>rummage</em>; to <em>shake</em>; and to <em>tumble</em>. <em>Touzle</em> is Fielding’s -term for the venereal act.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_112" href="#FNanchor_112" class="label">112</a> -<cite>Kruptadia</cite>: Heilbronn: Henninger Frères, 1883: <cite>Secret -Stories from the Russian</cite>.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_113" href="#FNanchor_113" class="label">113</a> -Masuccio: <cite>The Novellino</cite>: Translated into English by -W. G. Waters: Lawrence and Bullen: London, 1894: vol. 2, Forty-first -Novel.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_114" href="#FNanchor_114" class="label">114</a> -St. Matthew, 27, 46: “Why hast thou forsaken me?”</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_115" href="#FNanchor_115" class="label">115</a> -<cite>Kruptadia</cite>: Heilbronn: Henninger Frères, 1883: vol. 1: -<cite>Secret Stories from the Russian</cite>.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_116" href="#FNanchor_116" class="label">116</a> -<cite>Les Faceties de Pogge</cite> (Poggio) <cite>Florentin</cite>: Translated by -Pierre des Brandes: Paris: Gamier Frères, n.d. The English -rendering is, of course, our own.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_117" href="#FNanchor_117" class="label">117</a> -“The text has a play upon words,” says the translator, -“which could be translated if the French words had the same -meaning as the Latin:—<i lang="la">Dixit (puella) se non amplius dolere caput. -Tum ille: ‘At ego nunc doleo caudam.’</i> (The girl said that she no -longer had a pain in the head. Said the husband: ‘But I have a -pain in my tail.’)” This note, we must confess, is a source of some -mystification to us, since the relationship between the French and -Latin words is both simple and direct. <i lang="la">Cauda</i>, of course, is the -Latin word for <em>tail</em>: in the erotic sense it designates the <i lang="la">penis</i>. -(<i>C.f.</i> Blondeau: <cite>Dictionnaire érotique latin-française</cite>: Liseux: Paris, -1885.) The Italians use the word <i lang="it">coda</i> in a similar sense. <em>Tail</em>, in -French, is <i lang="fr">queue</i>; in erotic literature it is also a highly common -term for the <i lang="la">membrum virile</i>. (<i>C.f.</i> Landes: <cite>Glossaire érotique de -la langue française</cite>, and Farmer: <cite>Slang and its Analogues</cite>.) Again, -in English, <i>tail</i> is a slang synonym either for the <i lang="la">penis</i> or the -female <i lang="la">pudendum</i>. <i>C.f.</i> Farmer: <cite>Slang and its Analogues</cite>, who gives -numerous examples of the use of the word in this sense. We -append a few of his quotations:—(1) Chaucer, <cite>Cant. Tales</cite>, 6047-8: -“For al so siker as cold engendreth hayl, A likerous mouth must -han a likerous TAYL.” (2) Rochester, <cite>Poems</cite>: “Then pulling out -the rector of the females, Nine times he bath’d him in their piping -tails.” (3) Motteux, <cite>Rabelais</cite>, V., xxi.: “They were pulling and -hauling the man like mad, telling him that it is the most grievous ... -thing in nature for the TAIL to be on fire....”</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_118" href="#FNanchor_118" class="label">118</a> -<cite>Kruptadia</cite>: Heilbronn: Henninger Frères, 1883: vol. 1: -<cite>Secret Stories from the Russian</cite>.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_119" href="#FNanchor_119" class="label">119</a> -The young people are obviously nervous, and are -making conversation.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_120" href="#FNanchor_120" class="label">120</a> -Béroalde de Verville: <cite>Le Moyen de Parvenir</cite>: Paris, -Gamier Frères; also <cite>Fantastic Tales or The Way to Attain</cite>: translated -by Arthur Machen: Carbonnek, 1890. Our extract is a blend -of both versions, though we have adhered more closely than -Machen to the original text. <i lang="la">Vide</i> also <i>Excursus</i> to this story.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_121" href="#FNanchor_121" class="label">121</a> -An infusion of cinnamon bark, soft almonds, and a -little musk and amber, in wine sweetened with sugar. The word is -probably derived from Hippocrates, the famous Greek doctor.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_122" href="#FNanchor_122" class="label">122</a> -We omit the two interjections to be found here in the -original text, not because they are highly flavoured, but simply -because they have no bearing on the narrative. Nor do they merit -translation in a note.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_123" href="#FNanchor_123" class="label">123</a> -<cite>Dissertation</cite> de Bernard de la Monnoye sur <cite>Le Moyen -de Parvenir</cite>.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_124" href="#FNanchor_124" class="label">124</a> -An experienced auctioneer of books recently told us -that until December last he had never met with a copy. Strangely -enough, two copies were sold in a week of that month, one, in -every respect as clean and perfect as when printed over thirty years -ago, realising £4.15s. We believe that a few extra copies on large -paper still exist, but the booksellers ask a prohibitive price for them.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a id="Footnote_125" href="#FNanchor_125" class="label">125</a> -Our excerpts are drawn chiefly from Machen’s translation.</p></div></div></div> -</div> - - -<div class="transnote"> - -<h3>Transcriber’s Notes</h3> -<p>Obvious typographical errors have been silently corrected. Variations -in hyphenation have been standardised but all other spelling and -punctuation remains unchanged.</p> - -</div> - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Anthologica Rarissima: The Way of a -Virgin, by L. Brovan and C. 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