Then, as the picture went on, we saw the repeated punishment of the devil beginning to have its inevitable effect on the worthy hermit, whose food consisted for the most part only of fruit and water. Little Alibech became distressed at his want of zeal and found it necessary to rouse the devil into action, till at last, evidently much to her disappointment, Father Rustique had to inform her that his devil was now thoroughly humbled and would not trouble him for some little time.
The light having been turned on in the room, my two companions awoke from the voluptuous dream which they had been living through and sighed deeply.
'Oh!' said Evelyn, arching her delightfully supple and small waist 'I should have liked it to go on for ever!'
'Really?' said I: 'so it interested you very much?'
'Oh! yes. And you too, Nora, didn't it?'
'I should think it did,' said Nora. 'I can't imagine anything more delightful and exciting!'
'But what I can't understand,' said Evelyn excitedly, 'is how the devil which is so big can get into the hell which is so small?
'The entrance to hell has this peculiarity, it is extremely elastic,' I explained. 'Without any trouble, and with very little pain, it can admit the most voluminous demon provided that he does not set about his work roughly. . It is only the first time that it hurts a little, and the intense pleasure soon makes up for the slight pain!. . And now you know how, in order to be perfectly happy, a man and girl behave together. You are, I expect, already much more learned in these matters than the most learned of your companions, but this is only the beginning! For besides putting the devil into hell there are many other caresses by which the supreme pleasure, which Father Rustique and Alibech enjoyed so often, may be obtained through the excitement of the senses, and in these ways I hope to instruct you too, my darlings; you are not tired?
From their sweet little mouths issued a double 'oh!' of protest which made it quite unnecessary for me to pursue that point further, and besides, at that moment, the door opened, after the usual knocks, and Madame rejoined us.
CHAPTER FOUR: Dances
'Now,' said she, 'if you will allow me, I will introduce to you my assistants.' And turning to Evelyn and Nora she continued: 'You will have before you, young ladies, the pick of the beauty and grace of Paris. I make a point of gathering round me only girls who are really beautiful, well educated, and of charming disposition and character. They are well trained and full of tact, and I can assure you that you will in no way suffer by making their acquaintance, but quite the contrary.'
My two little friends bowed somewhat nervously. I pressed them to me affectionately and whispered, 'Even if they are all this, you surpass them a hundredfold!'
A fond look from each of them seemed to thank me, and Madame conducted us to the drawing-room.
Here there was none of that bad taste which is so often to be seen in houses of this description.
The temple of the Rue Ch- is the abode of good style. There are not too many mirrors and there is no tawdry gilding about. All the furniture and fittings are of the best class and seem designed to set off to the best advantage the pretty faces and the sparkling eyes which are to be encountered there.
The drawing-room was already occupied, for we found there about a dozen of the young women of the establishment-or rather I might say of the young girls, for the eldest of them was not more than twenty-five, and some of the younger ones seemed, as indeed I knew them to be, considerably under twenty-one, which is the youngest at which legally a girl may enter a bordel in Paris-who rose to meet us as we entered. They were all charmingly dressed and showed not the slightest signs of being what they really were. One would have taken them for society girls who had met together at a friend's house for a little gossip and music. And indeed one of them was seated at a fine Erard grand which, draped with rich material and half surrounded with little palm trees, occupied one corner of the room. She was just finishing the last bars of the adagio of a sonata as we entered and it was evident from her touch and execution that she was a first-rate pianist.
Among the first of those who came to meet us was my little friend Rose, of whom I have spoken; next to her was her special friend Marie, with whom Rose always liked to 'work' in case, as so often happened, a visitor wished to be 'entertained' by two girls at once.
Madame R introduced the girls to us singly and announced us as her good friend, whom they all knew, and his two nieces.
'And now, girls,' said Madame, 'perhaps you will entertain us with a little music and dancing. I am sure these young ladies will be surprised and delighted with the way in which you dance the Italian dances, for example! Blanche, will you play us something?'
'Certainly, Madame,' replied the girl who had been at the piano. 'An Italian valse? Something dreamy?. . '
'Yes, that's it!' I approved smiling; 'something decidedly “dreamy”!'
Very well!' said Blanche with a merry laugh; 'I will play you Surgente di amore. . “The Springs of Love”.'
'No,' said Madame, 'let us proceed by degrees. Begin with Tesorro mitr, then you will give us lo t'amo and finally will come Surgente di amore.'
The programme being thus arranged, Blanche took her place at the piano, five couples of dancers were assembled, and the impassioned strains of the celebrated valses Tesoro mio and lo t'amo regulated the beautiful dance, quite 'proper' at present but highly voluptuous.
In lo t'amo, especially towards the end, the sensuous nature of the Piedmontese valse became more noticeable. Rose and Marie, were dancing with particularly delightful skilclass="underline" it really seemed that they understood the most refined shades of voluptuousness. Instead of continuing to turn round and round in the valse as their companions did, they seemed to sway from side to side with a delightful undulating motion of their bodies, and of their splendid bottoms, while, face to face or side by side, with their heads thrown back and their nostrils palpitating, their open lips seemed to invite hot burning kisses.
I was seated on a sofa with, of course, Evelyn and Nora on either side of me, and Madame was sitting near us.
I could feel my two little companions vibrate in unison with Rose and Marie, whom I had pointed out to them as the couple most deserving of their attention.
How could I longer restrain the intense ardour which was devouring me!
The charming freshness of Evelyn and Nora and their sweet confidence in me simply drove me mad. I could feel that their virgin modesty was intensely excited and I thought with delight of their sweet young bodies, never yet stained by look or touch, which were experiencing such strange sensations-sensations which I knew were to be so much more acute in a few minutes' time.
'It's pretty, isn't it?' I asked softly.
'Oh! yes,' said Evelyn trembling.
Her lips were slightly parted over her beautiful teeth and her nostrils quivered as though inhaling some rich perfume. Nora whispered, almost touching my cheek: 'Uncle Jack! It's only today for the first time that I realise what dancing really is!'
'You darling! You would like to dance too, wouldn't you?'
'Oh, no! I. . I should be afraid.
'No, you wouldn't be afraid, nor would you, Evelyn, would you?'
'Oh, no, not a bit,' said Evelyn eagerly, 'but I should like to dance with Rose, if I may.'
'Certainly you shall dance with her, and you, Nora, with Marie, and all the others, except the pianist, shall leave the room if you like.'