The Superior
, with whom Olive had been a favourite, now vented her spite in every direction amongst the young lady pupils of the seminary, and I for one soon fell under her displeasure, and was ordered to be tied up to their whipping post; it was only for slightly oversleeping myself, and not dressing quickly when the bell rang for us to get up at 6 A.M.
I was suspended by my wrists being tied high up the post as I stood upon a small [34] ]footstool
, then it was suddenly kicked away, the jerk of the sudden strain on my wrists almost making the straps cut into the flesh. My feet were dangling some inches from the ground, “Oh! Oh! Ah—r—r—r—re!” I screamed, “How cruel! Oh! Papa! Papa!
If you only knew how they are treating me in this awful place!”
Lady Superior (who seemed delighted at the sight of my pain),—“Hold your foolish noise, Mdlle. Lucille, wait till you have something to scream about, girl.” Then the old Serena, who it seemed was always in attendance at punishment time, pinned up my skirts and opened my drawers behind, and the Superior went on, “This rod shall make all the sluggards turn out quicker in the morning; what do you think, Mademoiselle, of making us all wait prayers for ten minutes
? will you wake—wake—wake up sharper in future?”
She gave me three smarting cuts at each word, and my suspended position added so [35] ]much to the intensity of my pain, that I screamed, kicked, and plunged about as I swung by my wrists from the post. “Sister Serena,” exclaimed the Superior, “keep the girl steady or I cannot plant my cuts as effectually as I ought to do upon her naughty impudent bottom, she shan’t sleep for a week if I can
only make it sore enough!” Serena now held me to
the post with one hand, to prevent my swaying about, whilst the rod rained a succession of withering, scorching cuts on my buttocks, and just underneath the parting of the cheeks of my bottom. My screams were heartrending, but they only seemed to enjoy it more and the Superior never ended her objurgations till the rod was worn out.