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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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