Frank and I : A study of flagellation in England

Vintage (or Victorian) erotic fiction.

Flogging, spanking, flagellation--- one of the mysteries of human sexuality that many people enjoy, whether the punishment is in play or for real.



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Excerpt:

A couple of weeks passed. Frank never made the slightest allusion to his past life; he seemed to be perfectly happy, and he had become as much at home as if he had always lived with me at Oakhurst, but he was never forward or presuming in any way. During the time that had passed, I had been able to form an estimate as to the boy's character and disposition. He was straightforward, and perfectly truthful; his nature was affectionate, and he appeared to be fond of me, for he always liked to be in my company, either in or out of the house; and he was always very sorrowful when I went out to dinners or to parties at the neighbouring houses. But he never would accompany me out shooting; he said he could not bear seeing the birds killed. I thought that weak and silly on his part, and I frequently chaffed him about his squeamishness. It was strange that a boy who had had pluck enough to run away to sea should have shrunk from seeing a partridge shot. I had been right in thinking that he was quite unfit to be a sailor.

He had many winning ways. I got quite attached to him, and never regretted having taken him under my care. Of course he was not faultless. He was indolent, he had a hasty temper, he liked having his own way, he was sometimes inclined to be disobedient, and he was rather disposed to treat the servants-the female ones especially-in an imperious way. This trait in his character I attributed to his having had to do with native servants in India during the first ten years of his life.

The days slipped away rapidly and uneventfully; I shot, hunted, and occasionally took a run up to town for a night, and so things went on, until the end of October, when I made up my mind to send Frank to school at the beginning of the new year. Not that I wanted to get rid of him, but because I had an old-standing engagement with a couple of friends to go on a yachting trip to the Mediterranean, and we were to start early in January.

I did not tell Frank that I was going to send him to school, as I knew the idea would make him miserable, and I did not want to have him moping about the house. I had lately been thinking a good deal about his future, and it struck me that I was not acting rightly in allowing him to run wild about the place as he had hitherto been doing. I remembered the old saying about "idle hands and mischief," so I determined to set him some lessons which would keep him employed for part of each day. I at once looked up a number of my old schoolbooks, and when he had had his lunch, I told him that in future I wished him to study every day for a few hours, and I also informed him that I would set him various lessons and exercises, and that I would examine him upon them in the evening when I was at home.

He looked surprised and rather dejected on hearing my announcement, but said he would learn any lessons I chose to set him.

Next morning, before going out hunting, I marked various tasks for him, and sent him into the library to study them, telling him that I expected him to stick to his work, and not to go oat until he had learnt all his lessons. I had a capital run with the hounds, and did not get home until seven o'clock; but as soon as dinner was over, and I had lit my cigar, I made Frank bring me his books and papers; then I examined him, and looked over his exercises, finding that he had done all his tasks fairly well Then we chatted, and played draughts until it was time for him to go to bed. Everything went on pretty well for some days, and then I began to notice that he was chafing under the regular routine which I had laid down; and he got so careless in writing his exercises, and he learnt his lessons so imperfectly that I had often to scold him.

On these occasions he was always penitent, promising to be more diligent, but in a few days he would again grow idle and careless, and at last became positively disobedient. So I came to the conclusion that I should have to adopt severe measures with him; as I did not mean to let him have his own way entirely. I am a bit of a disciplinarian, and I believe in the efficacy of corporal punishment; moreover I think all boys require a flogging occasionally. I was often birched when I was at Eton, and I am sure the punishment was good for me. So one evening, o finding that he had been more than usually idle during the day, I spoke sharply to him, saying: "You have been extremely inattentive to your work of late, and to-day you do not appear to have made an attempt to learn your lessons. I am very angry with you, and if you do not apply yourself more diligently to your tasks, I shall be obliged to flog you."

He started, turned very red, and gazed at me with a frightened expression on his face, saying: "Oh, I am so sorry to have made you angry! I know I have been very idle lately; but I will work hard in future. I will indeed. Oh, I hope you will never flog me," he added, fervently.

"That depends on how you go on. If you persist in not learning your lessons, I will certainly give you a flogging with a birch rod," I said.

He gave a little shudder, and clasped his fingers tightly together.

"Have you ever been birched?" I asked.

The colour deepened in his cheeks, he cast down his eyes, and after a moment's hesitation replied in a low voice: "No, I have never been birched, but Mrs."-he checked himself, and did not pronounce the name which had been on the tip of his tongue-then he went on: "One of the ladies at the house where I lived spanked me three times to try and force me to do a certain thing I had refused to do. I told you that they had ill-treated me.

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