e wine caused our eyes to sparkle and unloosened
our tongues.

"Come, girls," said Herbert, rising from his chair after we had
finished dessert, "follow me, and I will conduct you to the room
destined to be the theater of our joys."

We obeyed and he led us to a part of the house I had never visited
before. At the end of a passage he unlocked a door and ushered us into
a magnificently furnished chamber, in fact it was furnished with a
luxury which I had never before imagined. The apartment was of octagon
shape and was lighted by a chandelier which hung from the ceiling,
suspended therefrom by silver chains. The ceiling itself was
beautifully frescoed and was painted with scenes from heathen
mythology. Placed here and there throughout the chamber were statuettes
made of Parian marble which almost seemed to breathe in the soft
artificial light. The floor was covered with a gorgeous medallion
carpet and around the walls were placed easy chairs and sofas of the
most costly description. A peculiar intoxicating perfume was shed
through the room, which had the effect of inducing a soft languor.
There were eight panels formed by the octagon shape of the room. The
upper portion of each panel was filled by a beautifully executed oil
painting, the lower portion by a mirror or plate glass descending to
the floor.

Each painting was numbered from one to eight, and they were such
exciting subjects and so beautifully executed that I cannot refrain
from giving a description of them to the reader. Number one represented
a beautiful girl reclining on a sofa, her petticoats raised to reveal
the lower portion of her body. Her head was thrown back, her breasts
were bare, and her thighs were elevated in the air. In front of her was
a young man with the insignia of his sex proudly elevated, menacing the
domain of Venus with his formidable weapon. Another girl seated on the
sofa behind him was endeavoring to pull him away from her more
fortunate companion--her clothes too were raised above her navel,
revealing all the secrets of her person. The artist had painted her
charms so perfectly that it was difficult to believe they were not
real. The lips of her slit and the hair surmounting the hillock of
Venus was done to the very life. This picture was labeled _The Dispute_.

Number two, labeled _A Water Party_, represented a boat gliding down a
silver stream. On the edge of the boat sat a man entirely naked with a
girl in the same condition i