The Merry Order of St. Bridget:Personal Account of the Use of the Rod
Personal Account of the Use of the Rod
9781465533463
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Library of Alexandria
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LETTER 1 THE CHATEAU DE FLORIS. LAURA HOUSE, BAYSWATER, APRIL 10TH, 1868. MY DEAR MARION, I am sure you must have wondered what has become of me in all these years (three, isn't it?) since we met at Lord E-’s place. Perhaps you won't care to hear from me again, and will fancy I have forgotten our old friendship; indeed, my dear, it is not so, but I've been knocking about a bit, and seen the world. I've been in Paris two years in two different places, and learned as much in that time as many folks do in a lifetime. Cooped up as you are in a humdrum sort of place, with one old lady, you can have no idea of what goes on in livelier households. In my last place I was one of six lady’s maids, all with nothing to do but to attend to some separate part of our lady’s toilet. I entered her service from that of a grave austere woman with no ideas of colour beyond brown and grey, and a tremendous church-goer, so you may imagine what a change it was. I soon wearied of that place, you may be sure, and was glad when the Marquise St. Valery took me into her service. The Marquis was immensely proud and very poor, but he bestowed his titles and position upon a banker’s daughter, whose wealth was said to be fabulous. When she married and took her station among the elite of Parisian society, she made up her mind that she would be unapproachable in the matter of luxury. My dear, I can give you no idea of her magnificence or her extravagance. Her house, her carriages, her servants, and the splendour of her attire, were the themes of all Paris, and when she appeared in public she had quite a retinue of admirers and flatterers; while at home she seemed to hold a levee from morning till night. Her toilettes were the admiration of all the fashionable world, and her dressmaker had only to announce that she had anything in hand for the Marquise St. Valery, to have her shop 3 crowded from morning till night with ladies eager to get a sight of what the Queen of fashion was going to appear in next. She was a large voluptuous-looking woman, with a splendid bust and arms, and almost anything looked well upon her,-and for luxurious habits, I never knew anyone who could approach her. I fancied. I was pretty wide awake before I went there, but I learned things I never dreamed of in that establishment. If I had you with me for a day I could tell you such things! Perhaps I may put some of them into a letter yet. Nothing I could see done or hear of being done by fine ladies would astonish me now after what I have seen in that place as well as my present one. We were six of us lady’s maids, and every one had her special duties,-mine was her ladyship’s head, and it was no sinecure, for her hair was her weakest point; it was neither of good quality nor luxuriant, and yet, when she was dressed, she appeared to have a magnificent head. This was my province, and she would change her style half-a-dozen times a day sometimes. You see it was no trouble to her, except to sit and have it put on; so she would wear Madonna bands in the morning, ringlets in the carriage, and a Pompadour coiffure for the evening. I had enough to do with it all. Another maid had the dresses, a third the under linen, and a fourth took charge of her stockings and shoes. Then there was one over us all whose business it was to arrange the toilettes, and superintend the general effect, and woe to her if our lady was not pleased! With all her money, the Marquise had an exceedingly vulgar temper. The other maid had charge of the bath and the linen belonging to it, and her post was not easy to fill. My lady was particular about her scents and powders, and was given to changing her mind at the last minute, and railing because water could not be drawn off and fresh put in half-a-dozen seconds. Then she has pages I don't know how many; they seemed to be all over the place, dressed in all kinds of fantastic liveries—one to hand letters, another to fetch refreshments, another to be always in waiting, c., c.; indeed, there was no end to her vagaries, 4 and for a long time I wondered what she wanted with so many of them, and how she kept them in order. I soon found out. She practised whipping, as almost every fashionable lady does, and kept them in order with the rod. I dare say, shut up as you are, you have never seen anything of the practice since you and I were girls together at Mme. Duhauton’s. Do you remember how we used to indulge in whipping on the sly, when Madame thought we were in bed? That was a very untutored way of proceeding. I have learned better since, and I can tell you that the passion for the rod is one which grows; I am as ardent a votary of whipping now as any of the ladies I have served, and I have had two mistresses who loved it dearly. Mme. St. Valery kept her women and pages in order with the rod, and taught us to dread it, but she was not refined in her manner of using it; she would begin well enough, but it was sure to end in her getting in a passion. Many a time I have smarted well in her service, but if she hit hard she knew how to heal the smarts,-a twenty franc billet-de-banc is a good plaster for the weals of a lady’s rod, and many and many a one I got from her. I might have made a heap of money if I had not been wasteful, for I've been with people who flung it about like dirt, and thought no more of five pound notes than you and I should think of penny pieces. I was obliged to leave the Marquise at last-I could not stand her tantrums; the money was all very well, but there was no pleasing her, or the principal maid either, and as good luck would have it, my present lady wanted a maid, and was pleased with the style of the Marquise’s head-dress and so took me. I call her my lady still, though I have left her for a time, and come to live with her mother, a horrid old frump; the fact is, I am in a kind of disgrace. We had been paying a long visit at the Chateau de Floris, near Tours, and there was nothing going on all day long but gaiety and fun, and the time passed quickly enough. My lady had to leave there; you'd see her name in the papers. She tells her friends she came home to recruit, but that’s not it. My lord brought her off in a hurry, and sent me here, and what do you think for? for going in with a lot more ladies for a sort of club-great fun 5 and secret-only ladies admitted-and how it got to my lord’s ears was the funniest part of all. Anyhow, we had to come away, and he is furious. You will want to know what the club was about; well, it was made up of dressing, talking, and whipping. Yes, my dear, a regular whipping society, where the rod was used with all due forms and ceremonies, and ladies practised and submitted to punishment in every conceivable form. I thought of it all the other day when I came upon a pompous newspaper paragraph about the abolition of whipping in schools and homes, and the decline of the barbarous practice of the rod. Ah, my dear, newspaper folks don't know everything! I think you and I could tell them a little about it. But you wanted to know about the fashions; you've got them all in England, my dear, only the English ladies are not so finished as the French-they don't do things so completely. When I was at Tours-and a funny old place it is-I saw as much of the fashions as though I had been in Paris. There was a large party staying there (at the Chateau de Floris: it is a big old place, almost like a town), and every day the ladies appeared in different dresses in the salons, to say nothing of what they wore in their own private rooms. I know my lady spent a fortune while she was there; she would dress in her own room, where no mortal eyes could sec her but mine, in lace and linen, embroidered silk shoes and lace stockings, expensive enough to provide a family with food and clothes for a year. The Count de Floris spared no expense to please his visitors; and the chateau, which was so secluded as to appear miles from any town, was beautifully furnished and decorated. The Count was a bachelor, and that perhaps accounted for some of the freaks of his lady guests, who could not have ventured upon their vagaries with a mistress at the head of affairs. The drawing-rooms of the chateau were splendid; the new blue was the prevailing colour of the draperies, relieved with silver and satin wood for the framework of the furniture. That the ladies' complexions might not be tried, or the effect of their toilettes marred, there were draperies of white lace very 6 cleverly interspersed, and the prevailing tint of the painted floors and wall paper was white also. The rooms were beautiful to look into of a night when the company were all there in their evening toilettes. One which my lady wore at a ball excited great admiration, and envy too, for she had it sent down from Paris, made after a design she sketched for Elsie herself. You know she is dark, and she chose amber for the colour of her robe; she wore the new pannier petticoat, which only wants a little more expansion to grow into the curious hoops of more than a hundred years ago, when ladies could have carried a box on each side of them; it is a very small affair at present, only meant to support the dress a little, but mark my words, my dear, it will grow-see if it does not. The bottom of it was frilled and edged with Cluny lace, and for bodice my lady wore one of the new slip bodies which form a chemisette and bodice in one. The upper part of it was covered with puffings of amber satin trimmed with lace, and sleeves of the same. My lady always wears sleeves, though it is by no means the prevailing mode here; she says that it is not modest to wear a string of jewels or a slight spray of artificial flowers for a shoulder strap, leaving the arm entirely bare; but it was not modesty, it was my lord I She appeared in a costume of that sort once, and he flew into a passion and made her go and put on something more modest. My lady was very angry, for she is a fine made woman, and her bust and arms are worth looking at. But she pretends now to dislike the fashion. Her stockings were of silk, the new tint of pink-it is more like the faintest possible shade of mauve than anything else-with clocks up the sides, and her slippers were of amber satin, with high gilt heels. They were pointed at the toe in the Marie Antoinette style, and had rosettes with ruby ornaments in the centre; the rosette was of the new blue, edged with black lace and tipped with diamonds. My lady has a lovely foot and ankle, and she knows it, and is fond of having it admired; indeed, her legs and feet have been painted, and modelled, and sung about, by artists, and sculptors, and poets,-and no wonder. I've 7 served a good many fine ladies and beautiful women, but such a symmetrical calf and ankle as hers I never saw. It was her feet that first attracted the attention of a certain Royal Highness, which caused so much scandal a year or two ago,-my lady is almost old enough to be his mother, but that does not matter where beauty is concerned. She wore an amber train, very long behind, with six puffings round the bottom of the skirt; over that, a satin tunic made in a very curious fashion. The front was square and short, like an apron; the back was in three divisions, a good way apart, with deep black lace flounces between them, the bottom one going round the front and along the edge of the apron. The flounces were looped at the sides with large stars of blue flowers mixed with diamonds and rubies, and the headdress corresponded. It was a curious costume, but it suited my lady well. At the same ball, a young lady appeared in a dress which had almost no body; it was so bare that whenever she moved the whole of her bosom could be seen, and was confined on the shoulder by a wreath of snowdrops, cunningly fastened together. The whole of a most beautiful arm was thus exposed, an arm as faultless as my mistress’s leg; it looked like veined marble, against a dress of rich pink silk: her arms were that young lady’s speciality, and she took care everyone should know it. The turn of her neck was another lady’s great point, and she was as careful to let no necklace or anything else come high enough on her throat to interfere with the exhibition of it; she wore a dress of rich blue, trimmed with white lace and pearls, and strings of pearls in her dark hair The luxury and extravagance of the ladies would sound like a fairy tale if put in print, and I don't wonder at my lord taking fright as he did, though my lady was not near so thoughtless as some of them. Our rooms were beautifully fitted up: the bedroom was hung with the new Pans pattern chintz-ugly enough I thought it, but it is all the rage,-and my lord’s dressing room was en suite; my lady’s was different, being all hung with amber and purple, amber predominating, and splendid white lace curtains. 8 Her toilet table was beautiful to look at, for, in addition to her own service, which we carried with us, the Count had given orders that no expense should be spared to make her room as elegant as possible. Out of this apartment opened a bath-room, with fittings of white marble and grey draperies, relieved with blue and gold; it was warmed by a patent stove which also heated a small cupboard for warm towels if required. The windows were beautifully painted with arms of the De Floris, which device was also woven into all the napery used at the chateau. The linen was of the most exquisite description; the trimmed sheets and pillow-cases were of the finest texture-all woven expressly for the Count, with his cipher in the corners and a border of fleur de lis. Ah, the Count was a thorough gentleman, Marion: he gave me a present of a purse containing ten Louis d'ors when I left, and,-but that has nothing to do with it: ladies'-maids have charms as well as their mistresses, and gentlemen have eyes. But I know you are dying to hear all about the club, and how it was set afoot, I can hardly tell you that, but it began with some nonsense in my lady’s room. She had just come out of her bath one day, and was sitting in her chemise and a loose wrapper, for me to put her stockings on, when Lady C-knocked at the door. There were some queer tales going about respecting Lady C-and her maids; she was a passionate, proud woman, and had more than once got into scrapes for allowing her love for the rod to carry her greater lengths in punishing them than they would quietly brook. Her present maid, Stephens by name, looked a regular tartar, and I don't think her ladyship ever tried it on with her Lady C-started at seeing my lady half naked, and whispered something in her ear-Oh, nonsense! my lady said. Why nonsense, my dear? It is universally practised; and then she added something in too low a tone for me to hear, and my lady laughed again. Send your maid away, says Lady C-, and we'll try. Go down stairs till I ring, Anson, my lady said. 9 Not if I know it, I said to myself; and I did not go far, you may be sure. I guessed what they were going to be at, and I was not far wrong. I crept round to the door which communicated with my lord’s room, and peeped through the keyhole. They had locked it, but the key was conveniently turned, and I could see all that transpired. Now for the formula, says Lady C-But where’s the rod? my lady asked. Oh! I'll soon make one, my dear. With that she opened the window, and broke off some slender sprigs from a myrtle which grew outside, completely spoiling the bush by doing it. In a few moments she had them bare of leaves, and tied together with a blue embroidered garter, with silver fringe, which lay upon the floor. Too short to be of much use, she said; but we'll try. Come, my lady, kiss the rod. And my lady knelt and did it, laughing all the while; and then Lady C-pinned up her chemise all round, and gave her a good whipping across her knee. Not with the myrtle, though-it proved too brittle, and broke off in little twigs with every blow. Lady C-was at no loss; she didn't let go of my lady; but put up her great ugly foot, and whipped off her slipper. Such a slipper! it had done duty at more than one ball, and was all frayed and soiled at the edges; she was not like my lady, dainty about her feet in the privacy of her own room, but went any way, to Stephen’s great annoyance, who lost the reversion of many things which should by rights have come to her. I think I can see that old woman now, flourishing that old pink shoe; and I could see by the expression of my lady’s face, that she did not relish being touched with it. My lady had beautiful firm flesh; her skin, though dark, was clear and smooth, and every stroke of the pliable slipper raised a deep red mark. 10 I could see that they were afraid of making too much noise, and so the punishment was not heavy, but my lady scuffled and screamed for all that; and when I was called in, by which time you may be sure I was a long way off, she was very flushed and a little hysterical. I took no notice, and she little thought I had seen all that went on; and old Lady C- (the old gorgon) had her shoe on and went away to her own rooms, looking as stiff and stern as if she had never indulged in any pranks in her life. I said to myself, This won't be the last of it, and I was right; for you know, my dear, how the passion for the rod grows upon those who practise it. It wasn't long before the same thing occurred again; only, this time there were three ladies present, who all took part in whipping and being whipped. My lady had made a rod herself for the occasion, out of some thin whalebone; and a stinging thing it must have been, to judge from the fidgets which seemed to afflict them all after the performance was over. And so it went on, till one morning I was made to dress her with more than usual care, and nearly all the married ladies in the chateau met in her rooms, and went in procession to the Count with a comical petition that the tabagie, which was a magnificently fitted room and in great request, might be given up to their use. Of course the gentlemen objected to give up their special den, where they could retire and enjoy themselves their own way, without fear of interruption; but the ladies had their own special reasons for wanting that particular room. I haven't, however, time to tell you what they wanted with it now; I hear wheels, and my lady will want me; I'll write again as soon as ever I have time, for what came of it was great fun.-Meantime, believe me, Your affectionate friend, MARGARET ANSON. P.S.—I shall write the next letters just as if I was still at the Chateau de Floris, and still engaged in the amusements of the day. 2 THE INITIATORY CEREMONY MY DEAR MARION, I haven't had a minute since I wrote last—my lady has been ill; neuralgia she calls it, I call it tantrums-but that’s no matter. I have got a moment to myself again at last. Where did I leave off? Oh, I remember! about the ladies asking for the tabagie. They got it, and the gentlemen had to take to another smoking room. There was a great deal of joking and fun about it, and the Count offered any other room in the chateau; but they had set their minds on it, and they would have it. You see it was built out at the back, and had two ante-rooms; one the gentlemen used for their hats and sticks, and the other was fitted up as a lavatory. The tabagie opened on both of them, and was a fine room, all fitted up with deep crimson relieved with gold; the furniture was ebony, and the chairs and sofa backs were beautifully carved; there was a sort of dais at the end farthest from the door, covered with cushions, which was very useful to the ladies, for they made it a president’s seat. It was some few days before they made all the necessary arrangements, and in the meantime the Princess Z-, a Russian Lady, and a great beauty, went to Paris; she would not let any one go for her, though every one (gentlemen, at least) in the house offered to go to the end of the world, if need be, to serve her,-and I don't wonder at it, for she was a charming little creature, petite and winning. She was a brunette, like my mistress, but not so dark, and her silky brown hair fell over her shoulders in the loveliest curls I ever saw; she would never dress it in any of the new modes, for she was very vain of it, and with good reason. She was said to have the smallest foot in Europe, and, indeed; her slippers were more like a child’s shoes than anything 12 else. There were all sorts of stories afloat concerning her, and it was pretty well known that she was too lovely for the Empress' peace of mind, or the Emperor’s either for that matter! and that was why she was the Count de Floris' guest instead of being at Court. She set off for Paris in great style with her attendants; she did just as she liked, and her travelling retinue was fit for a queen. The ostensible reason for her going was to see her lawyer; but that was not all,-and the ladies glanced at one another, and laughed, when she gave it with all the gravity possible. They knew well enough what she went for; and when they saw a long box carried up to her dressing room, they did not launch out into any inconvenient curiosity, as some of her intimate friends among the gentlemen did. The day after her return the ladies were to meet in the tabagie for the first time; and the servants had a time of it putting it in order: everything belonging to the gentlemen had to be cleaned out, and the room scented and purified from every taint of tobacco. This wasn't an easy matter after years of smoking, but the Count gave strict orders: he said that whatever the ladies insisted on should be done; and between the gentlemen grumbling, and the ladies fidgetting, and the servants protesting, the nice old lady who was the housekeeper had a hard time of it. But it was done at last, and very thoroughly too, and placed at the ladies' disposal. A chair was set upon the dais, and others all round the room. A large ottoman, about the height of a chair, was wheeled in front of the president’s seat; and two handsome branch candlesticks, which, by right, belonged to the hall, were placed on each side of it; and vases of cut flowers arranged on all the brackets, which were fixed for the gentlemen’s tobacco jars and cigar stands. The gentlemen laughed, and teased the ladies, and one or two went so far as to say to their wives that they insisted on knowing what it was all about; but they got nothing for their pains, save jest for jest, and repartee for questioning. 13 At first it was only the married ladies who joined the assembly, but they were soon reinforced by the others, till at the time of my leaving the chateau all the guests, save a few of the oldest ladies, were mixed up in it. I knew what they were all about, for I listened up, as some one says in a farce, and I knew that sooner or later they would want me, which they did on the very first night. They all agreed to wear fancy dresses, and that, with some of them, meant just going as near naked as they could. One young married lady went as Una, without the lion of course, and really she went as near nature as she could; she had a thin tunic of some glittering stuff, and so few petticoats that I could see her beautiful limbs through it every time she moved,-and, she was a lovely figure. My lady went, that first evening, as la belle Sauvage, Mexican style: a skirt of feathers sewed on to flame-coloured silk, a flesh-coloured bodice, no sleeves, and a real tiger skin hanging from her shoulders,-bare feet in sandals of skin with the hair on. She looked very lovely when her black hair hung loose over her neck and bosom, sparkling with drops to imitate dew; and it seemed a pity that only ladies were to look at her. When I had finished dressing her, and thrown a mantle round her, Lady C-came in hurriedly. We shall make a mess of it after all, without our maids, she said; it will be fatiguing, and we shall require so many things. But it won't do to let them into the secret, my lady said; I could trust Anson here, but I know you all can't say as much for your women. We must have some one, Lady C-said. As president, I could not do without an attendant to,-to- Oh yes, I know, Anson will do, said my lady with a laugh; she must be initiated, though. 14 They both laughed at this, and I felt rather uncomfortable, for I had an inkling of what being initiated meant; but my curiosity overcame my distaste for the ceremony, and I curtseyed in silence. My lady bade me bring her several articles of lingerie from her drawers and lay them out on the sofa beside her; also a handsome cashmere peignoir from the wardrobe. These will do, she said; dress yourself carefully, Anson, against we want you downstairs; make your hair neat, and put on that little lace cap, and those things,-nothing mote. I curtseyed again and my lady went down stairs with her friend, leaving me to prepare for my coming installation as maid to these fair flagellants, for such I now knew they were. Their meetings had hitherto taken place in my mistress' room, where they had exercised the rod upon one another, but none of their maids were near,-I took care of that, for I did not much like any of them: the French girls were not fond of me, because I was a foreigner; and the English ones were very jealous, because the gentlemen gave me more five franc pieces and paid me more attention than any of them, to say nothing of the valets, any one of whom I might have had if I had chosen. But that is not to the purpose. I took a bath, for I knew as well as my lady the best way to make myself attractive, and I knew, too, that not a lady in the chateau had a fairer or clearer skin than myself. I used freely the perfume and powder on the bath-room table, and did not neglect to scent the water as well. I was determined, although my dress was to be so plain, that none of them should excel me in flesh and blood beauty at any rate. Then I brushed and scented my hair and coiled it up under the cap.; I knew the ladies did not want a foil but a set-off to their beauty, so I did my best to make myself as neat and quiet-looking as possible. I put on things laid out for me, and beautiful things they were too; a chemise of fine lawn, trimmed with Valenciennes lace and insertion; a soft white flannel petticoat worked round the bottom with silk; another of white cashmere, very fine, with a flounce round the bottom edged with sky-15 blue velvet. For bodice I had one of my lady’s embroidered ones, and over all the handsome blue peignoir, with ruchings of white; no stays or drawers, and nothing on my feet except blue morning slippers, with tiny white rosettes. They were of watered silk, sandaled over my instep with blue satin ribbon; they were a pair of my lady’s (our feet were exactly the same size, which was convenient for me). In this costume I waited the summons not without a good deal of curiosity and some dread. I knew thoroughly well what the sting of a rod was like, and it was not that I feared, but I knew how far the ladies could go in the matter of tormenting one another, and what might they not take it into their heads to do to me? I had not long to wait, for presently Lady C-’s maid, Stephens, came in, and said snappishly. You're to come down. Stephens was a cross-grained creature, whom we none of us liked; she was always interfering with our pleasures. She was in a cloak too, and I could see she was dressed something like myself, only not with such taste. Lady C-never could dress like my mistress. Stephens wasn't in the secret, and was inclined to be very cross. I wonder what all this tomfoolery is about, she said; I wanted to have gone out this evening. I knew, but I held my tongue. I hoped I should be taken into the room first, and then I should enjoy her surprise. We went down stairs to the tabagie, the door of which was closed, and one of the maids of the Princess Z-standing outside. How I should like to be you two, she said; Madam says she can't trust me. We were each put into a separate room-mine was the lavatory-and our eyes blindfolded with a handkerchief. It seemed to me a long time I 16 waited, but I suppose it was only a few minutes, and then some one entered the room. Take off your cloak, a voice said that I knew for that of Mrs. D-, an English lady, fat, fair, and forty, full of life and fun, who had been one of the movers of the scheme- Now come with me. The door of the tabagie was opened, and she led me in; then it was shut and locked, and I heard the sound of suppressed laughter all around me. Then a voice from the end of the room called Silence, if you please, ladies! and three knocks sounded on a table, and the same voice asked Who comes there? Prompted by Mrs. D-, I answered, A candidate for a place in the Merry Order of St. Bridget. Are you prepared to serve the Merry Order to the best of your power, and to assist, as bidden by your mistress, in the ceremonies thereof? I am And do you bind yourself never to reveal aught that you see, hear or do in this room, on peril of losing your place without a character? I do. Do you know the object of the Merry Order? I do. Detail it. Again prompted, I replied, The wholesome and pleasant discipline of the rod, to be enforced by its members one upon another during their social meeting in this room. 17 Have you ever been whipped? I have. Do you promise to submit to such flagellation as the Merry Order shall ordain for you without rebellion or murmuring thereat. I do. Prepare her. I heard more tittering when this order was given, and I could feel that Mrs. D-was shaking with suppressed laughter as she obeyed the command, and took off my peignoir. She pinned up the petticoats and chemise to my shoulders, and then, my dear, I knew what was coming. Then some one else took hold of one of my hands, and Mrs. D-the other, and waited the word of command. Advance. They led me forward, and at the first step a stinging blow from a birch fell on my hips from one side, then from the other, till I had gone the length of the room I screamed and struggled, but it was all in vain; my guides held me tight, and by the time they stopped I could only sob and writhe. Then came another command, Kneel down, and I knelt in front of the square ottoman; the ladies held my hands across it, and Lady C-came down from her dais, and whipped me till I hardly knew where I was. Then they made me stand up, and her ladyship said Ladies of the Order of St. Bridget, do you receive Margaret Anson as a member and servitor sworn to do your bidding? We do, said those that were not laughing. 18 Let her see, was the next order, and at the word one lady let my clothes drop, and the other took the bandage from my eyes. I was so smarting from the whipping I had received, that I could see nothing for a while, and Mrs. D-took me by the arm and led me to the bottom of the room again. When I recovered myself enough to look about me, I saw a sight that the newspaper man whose paragraph I mentioned in my last, never dreamed of, I am sure; but I must reserve it for my next, as my time and paper are both exhausted. Send me a line to say you have received this, and believe me, Your sincere friend, M. ANSON
