"ah!" said severino, "i've never enjoyed a finer spectacle: behold, good friends, see the state it puts me in; it is really unbelievable, what feminine anguish obtains from me."

"let's go back to work," quoth clement, "and in order to teach her to bellow at fate, let the bitch be more sharply handled in this second assault."

the project is no sooner conceived than put into execution; up steps severino, but his speeches notwithstanding, his desires require a further degree of irritation and it is only after having used clement's cruel measures that he succeeds in marshaling the forces necessary to accomplish his newest crime. great god! what excess of ferocity! could it be that those monsters would carry it to the point of selecting the instant of a crisis of moral agony as violent as that i was undergoing, in order to submit me to so barbarous a physical one! "'twould be an injustice to this novice," said clement, "were we not to employ in its major form what served us so well in its merely episodic dimension," and thereupon he began to act, adding: "my word upon it, i will treat her no better than did you." "one instant." said antonin to the superior whom he saw about to lay hands upon me again; "while your zeal is exhaled into this pretty maiden's posterior parts, i might, it seems to me, make an offering to the contrary god; we will have her between us two."

the position was so arranged i could still provide jerome with a mouth; clement fitted himself between my hands, i was constrained to arouse him; all the priestesses surrounded this frightful group; each lent an actor what she knew was apt to stir him most profoundly; however, it was i supported them all, the entire weight bore down upon me alone; severino gives the signal, the other three follow close after him and there i am a second time infamously defiled by the proofs of those blackguards' disgusting luxury.

"well," cries the superior, "that should be adequate for the first day; we must now have her remark that her comrades are no better treated than she." i am placed upon an elevated armchair and from there i am compelled to witness those other horrors which are to terminate the orgies.

the monks stand in queue; all the sisters file before them and receive whiplashes from each; next, they are obliged to excite their torturers with their mouths while the latter torment and shower invectives upon them.

the youngest, she of ten, is placed upon a divan and each monk steps forward to expose her to the torture of his choice; near her is the girl of fifteen; it is with her each monk, after having meted out punishment, takes his pleasure; she is the butt; the eldest woman is obliged to stay in close attendance upon the monk presently performing, in order to be of service to him either in this operation or in the act which concludes it. severino uses only his hands to molest what is offered him and speeds to engulf himself in the sanctuary of his whole delight and which she whom they have posted nearby presents to him; armed with a handful of nettles, the eldest woman retaliates upon him for what he has a moment ago done to the child; 'tis in the depths of painful titillations the libertine's transports are born.... consult him; will he confess to cruelty? but he has done nothing he does not endure in his turn.

clement lightly pinches the little girl's flesh; the enjoyment offered within is beyond his capabilities, but he is treated as he has dealt with the girl, and at the feet of the idol he leaves the incense he lacks the strength to fling into its sanctuary.

antonin entertains himself by kneading the fleshier parts of the victim's body; fired by her convulsive struggling, he precipitates himself into the district offered to his chosen pleasures. in his turn he is mauled, beaten, and ecstasy is the fruit of his torments.

old jerome employs his teeth only, but each bite leaves a wound whence blood leaps instantly forth; after receiving a dozen, the target tenders him her open mouth; therein his fury is appeased while he is himself bitten quite as severely as he did bite.

the saintly fathers drink and recover their strength.

the thirty-six-year-old woman, six months pregnant, as i have told you, is perched upon a pedestal eight feet high; unable to pose but one leg, she is obliged to keep the other in the air; round about her, on the floor, are mattresses garnished three feet deep with thorns, splines, holly; a flexible rod is given to her that she may keep herself erect; it is easy to see, on the one hand, that it is to her interest not to tumble, and on the other, that she cannot possibly retain her balance; the alternatives divert the monks; all four of them cluster around her, during the spectacle each has one or two women to excite him in divers manners; great with child as she is, the luckless creature remains in this attitude for nearly a quarter of an hour; at last, strength deserts her, she falls upon the thorns, and our villains, wild with lust, one last time step forward to lavish upon her body their ferocity's abominable homage... the company retires.

the superior put me into the keeping of the thirty-year-old girl of whom i made mention; her name was omphale; she was charged to instruct me, to settle me in my new domicile. but that night i neither saw nor heard anything. annihilated, desperate, i thought of nothing but to capture a little rest. in the room where i had been installed i noticed other women who had not been at the supper; i postponed consideration of these new objects until the following day, and occupied myself with naught else but repose. omphale left me to myself; she went to put herself to bed; scarcely had i stepped into mine when the full horror of my circumstances presented itself to me in yet more lively colors: i could not dispel the thought of the execrations i had suffered, nor of those to which i had been a witness. alas! if at certain times those pleasures had occurred to my wandering imagination, i had thought them chaste, as is the god who inspires them, given by nature in order to comfort human beings; i had fancied them the product of love and delicacy. i had been very far from believing that man, after the example of savage beasts, could only relish them by causing his companion to shudder... then, returning to my own black fate... "o just heaven," i said to myself, "it is then absolutely certain that no virtuous act will emanate from my heart without being answered at once by an agonizing echo! and of what evil was i guilty, great god! in desiring to come to accomplish some religious duties in this monastery? do i offend heaven by wanting to pray? incomprehensible decrees of providence, deign," i continued, "deign to open wide my eyes, cause me to see if you do not wish me to rebel against you!" bitterest tears followed these musings, and i was still inundated with them when daylight appeared; then omphale approached my bed.

"dear companion," she said, "i come to exhort you to be courageous; i too wept during my first days, but now the thing has become a habit; as have i, you will become accustomed to it all; the beginnings are terrible: it is not simply the necessity to sate these debauchees' hungers which is our life's torture, it is the loss of our freedom, it is the cruel manner in which we are handled in this terrible house."

the wretched take comfort in seeing other sufferers about them. however trenchant were my anguishes, they were assuaged for an instant; i begged my companion to inform me of the ills i had to expect.

"in a moment," my instructress said, "but first get up and let me show you about our retreat, observe your new companions; then we'll hold our conversation."

following omphale's suggestion, i began by examining the chamber we were in. it was an exceedingly large chamber, containing eight little beds covered with clean calico spreads; by each bed was a partitioned dressing room; but all the windows which lit both these closets and the room itself were raised five feet above the floor and barred inside and out. in the middle of the room was a large table, secured to the floor, and it was intended for eating or work; three doors bound and braced with iron closed the room; on our side no fittings or keyholes were to be seen; on the other, enormous bolts.

"and this is our prison?"

"alas! yes, my dear," omphale replied; "such is our unique dwelling place; not far from here, the eight other girls have a similar room, and we never communicate with each other save when the monks are pleased to assemble us all at one time."

i peered into the alcove destined for me; it was eight feet square, daylight entered it, as in the great room, by a very high window fitted all over with iron. the only furniture was a bidet, a lavatory basin and a chaise perce'e. i re-emerged; my companions, eager to see me, gathered round in a circle: they were seven, i made the eighth. omphale, inhabiting the other room, was only in this to indoctrinate me; were i to wish it, she would remain with me, and one of the others would take her place in her own chamber; i asked to have the arrangement made. but before coming to omphale's story, it seems to me essential to describe the seven new companions fate had given me; i will proceed according to age, as i did with the others.

the youngest was twelve years old: a very animated, very spirited physiognomy, the loveliest hair, the prettiest mouth.

the second was sixteen: she was one of the most beautiful blondes imaginable, with truly delicious features and all the grace, all the sweetness of her age, mingled with a certain interesting quality, the product of her sadness, which rendered her yet a thousand times more beautiful.

the third was twenty-three; very pretty, but an excessive effrontery, too much impudence degraded, so i thought, the charms nature had endowed her with.

the fourth was twenty-six: she had the figure of venus; but perhaps her forms were rather too pronounced; a dazzling fair skin; a sweet, open, laughing countenance, beautiful eyes, a mouth a trifle large but admirably furnished, and superb blond hair.