ot too soon leave
us together, she went out, after recommending to him to use moderation
with so tender a novice.

But whilst she was employing his attention, mine had been taken up with
examining the figure and person of this unhappy young gentleman, who was
thus unaccountably condemned to have his pleasure lashed into him, as
boys have their learning.

He was exceedingly fair, and, smooth complexioned, and appeared to me no
more than twenty at most, though he was three years older than what
my conjectures gave him; but then he owed this favourable mistake to
a habit of fatness, which spread through a short, squab stature; and
a round, plump, fresh coloured face gave him greatly the look of
a Bacchus, had not an air of austerity, not to say sternness, very
unsuitable even to his shape of face, dashed that character of joy,
necessary to complete the resemblance. His dress was extremely neat, but
plain, and far inferior to the ample fortune he was in full possession
of; this too was a taste in him, and not avarice.

As soon as Mrs. Cole was gone, he seated me near him, when now his face
changed upon me, into an expression of the most pleasing sweetness and
good humour, the most remarkable for its sudden shift from the other
extreme, which I found afterwards, when I knew more of his character,
was owing to a habitual state of conflict with, and dislike of
himself, for being enslaved to so peculiar a lust, by the fatality of a
constitutional ascendant, that rendered him incapable of receiving any
pleasure, till he submitted to these extraordinary means of procuring
it at the hands of pain, whilst the constancy of this repining
consciousness stamped at length that cast of sourness and severity on
his features: which was, in fact, very foreign to the natural sweetness
of his temper.

After a competent preparation by apologies, and encouragement to go
through my part with spirit and constancy, he stood up near the fire,
whilst I went to fetch the instruments of discipline out of a closet
hard by: these were several rods, made each of two or three strong twigs
of birch tied together, which he took, handled, and viewed with as much
pleasure, as I did with a kind of shuddering presage.

Next we took from the side of the room a long broad bench, made easy to
lie at length on by a soft cushion in a callico-cover; and everything
being now ready, he took his coat and waistcoat off; and at his motion
and desire, I unbuttoned hi