                          THE SIXTEENTH DAY

       Our heroes rose as bright and fresh as if they had just arrived
from confession; but upon close inspection, one might have noticed
that the Duc was beginning to tire a little. Blame for this could have
been bestowed upon Duclos; there is no question but that the girl had
entirely mastered the art of procuring him delight and that, according
to his own words, his discharges were lubricious with no one else,
which would corroborate the idea that these matters depend solely upon
caprice, upon idiosyncrasy, and that age, looks, virtue, and all the
rest have nothing whatever to do with the problem, that it all boils
down to a certain tactfulness which is much more often found possessed
by beauties in the autumn of life than by those others of no
experience whom the springtide yet crowns with all her show.
       There was as well another creature in the company who was
beginning to make herself very amiable and to attract considerable
attention; we are referring to Julie. She was already announcing signs
of imagination, debauchery, and of libertinage. Astute enough to sense
that she stood in need of protection, clever enough to caress those
very persons for whom perhaps she did not at heart have a very great
fondness, she contrived to become Duclos' friend, this in order to try
to achieve some favor in the eyes of her father upon the others. Every
time her turn came to lie with the Duc, she would adopt Duclos'
techniques and emulate them so successfully, give proof of such skill,
so much consideration, that the Duc was always sure of obtaining
delicious discharges whenever he used those two creatures to procure
them. Nevertheless, his enhusiasm for his daughter was waning
prodigiously, and perhaps without Duclos' assistance, for the narrator
consistently spoke well in her behalf, she would never have been able
to occupy a place in his good graces. Her husband, Curval, was roughly
of the same mind regarding her, and although, by means of her impure
mouth and kisses, she still managed to wheedle a few discharges from
him, disgust was dangerously near to becoming his predominating
attitude toward her: one might even have said that the fires of his
hostility were fanned by her impudicious caresses. Durcet held her in
no esteem, she had not made him discharge more than twice since the
adventures at Silling had started. And so it seemed that no one but
the Bishop remained to her, and he indeed was fond of her libertine
jargon, and judged hers to be the world's finest ass; and it is
certain that Nature had furnished her with one as lovely as that which
had been given to Venus. She hence made the most of that part, for she
wished absolutely to please at whatever the price; as she felt an
extreme need for a protector, she sought to cultivate Duclos.
       At the chapel appeared that day no more than three persons:
Hb, Constance, Martaine; no one had been found at fault that
morning. After the three subjects had ridded themselves of their
freight, Durcet was taken by an impulse to be delivered of his. The
Duc, who since early morning had been fluttering and buzzing about the
financier's behind, seized the opportunity to satisfy himself and,
sending away everyone but Constance, whom they kept as an aide, they
encloseted themselves in the chapel. The Duc was appeased by the
generous mouthful of shit he had from Durcet; these gentlemen,
however, did not limit themselves to that prelude, and afterward
Constance reported to the Bishop that they had performed infamies for
a good thirty minutes. But what is one to expect? they had been
friends, as I have said, since childhood, and since then had never
ceased reminding one another of their schoolboy pleasures. As for
Constance, she served no great purpose during this tte--tte; she
wiped asses, sucked and frigged a few pricks, and that was about all.
       They retired to the salon, the four friends conversed there for
a while, and the midday meal was announced. It was, as usual, splendid
and libertine and, after some lewd fingerings and bawdy colling, and a
few scandalous remarks which spiced their lascivious byplay, they
returned to the salon where Zphyr and Hyacinthe, Michette and Colombe
were waiting to serve coffee. The Duc thigh-fucked Michette, and
Curval, Hyacinthe; Durcet fetched shit out of Colombe, and the Bishop
dropped some in Zphyr's mouth; Curval, recollecting one of the
passions Duclos had related the day before, was moved to shit in
Colombe's cunt; old Thrse, who was supervising the day's quartet,
placed Colombe in a suitable posture, and Curval performed. But as he
produced colossal turds, proportioned by the immense quantity of
victuals wherewith he stuffed himself every day, almost all of his
creation spilled upon the floor and it was, so to speak, only
superficially he beshitified that pretty little virgin cunt which had
not, one would have thought, been intended by Nature to be used for
such disagreeable pleasures.
       Deliciously frigged by Zphyr, the Bishop yielded his fuck
philosophically, joining, to the delights he was feeling, that other
offered by the wonderful spectacle being enacted about him. He was
furious, he scolded Zphyr, he scolded Curval, he fumed and grumbled
at everyone. He was given a large glass of elixir whereby they hoped
his faculties would be restored, Michette and Colombe settled him upon
a sofa for his nap and stood by him while he slept. He woke amply
refreshed and, in order to give him additional strength, Colombe
sucked him for a moment or two; his engine responded by showing some
positive signs of life, and they went next into the auditorium. The
Bishop had Julie on his couch; as he was rather fond of her, the sight
of her improved his mood. The Duc had aline; Durcet, Constance; the
Prsident, his daughter. Everything being ready, the lovely Duclos
installed herself upon her throne and began thus:

       There is nothing more untrue than to say money acquired through
crime brings no happiness. No greater error, I assure you; my house
prospered; never had so many clients come there during Fournier's
administration. It was then an idea occurred to me, a rather cruel
idea, I admit, but one which, I dare flatter myself in believing, will
not be altogether displeasing to your Lordships. It seemed to me that
when one had not done unto another the good one ought to have done
him, there existed a certain wicked voluptuousness in doing him ill,
and my perfidious imagination suggested a little libertine mischief at
the expense of that same Petignon, my benefactress' son, and the
individual to whom I had been charged to surrender a fortune which,
doubtless, would have proven very welcome to that wretch, and which I
had already begun to squander upon trifles. The occasion arrived in
this way: the poor shoemaker, married to a girl of his own class and
sort, had, as the unique fruit of this unfortunate marriage, a
daughter of about twelve; I had been to told that, together with all
the lovely features of childhood, she possessed all the attributes of
the most tender beauty. This child, then being brought up humbly but
nevertheless as carefully as the parents' indigence could permit, for
she was the joy and light of their life, this child, I say, struck me
as a capture well worth making.
       Petignon had never come ot the house, he knew nothing of the
legal rights that were his; immediately after Fournier had mentioned
him to me, my first move was to obtain information about him and those
around him, and thus I learned that he possessed a treasure in his
house. At about the same time the Comte de Mesanges came to me; a
famous libertine of whose profession Desgranges will doubtless have at
least one occasion to speak, the Comte requested me to provide him
with a maid of no more than thirteen at whatever the price. I don't
know what he wanted with the article, for he passed for a man with
very rigorous scruples when it was a question of women, but his
proposal was simple enough: after having, with the help of experts,
established her virginity, he said he would buy her from me for a
fixed sum and, from this moment on, she would be his, he would be her
master, and, he added, the child would be removed, perhaps
permanently, from France.
       As the Comte was one of my habitus - you shall see him enter
upon the scene very soon - I set everything in motion in an effort to
satisfy him; Petignon's little daughter seemed to me exactly what he
needed. But how was I to get my hands upon her? The child never left
the house, it was there she received her education; so carefully was
she supervised, so circumspectly that I began to despair of the prize.
Nor was I able to employ that masterful debaucher of girls I mentioned
some time ago; he was away from the city, and the Comte was urging me
to hurry. And so I could find only one means, and this means could not
have been better designed to serve the secret little wickedness which
was impelling me to commit this crime, for the crime was aggravated by
it. I resolved to embroil husband and wife in some kind of difficulty,
to strive to get both of them imprisoned, and in this way removing
some of the obstacles between the child and myself, I fancied I would
encounter no trouble in luring her into the snare. Wherewith I
consulted one of my friends, a skilled barrister whom I trusted and
who was capable of anything; I put him on the scent, he went directly
to work: he compiled information, made inquiries, located creditors,
aroused them, supported their claims, in brief, it took less than a
week to lodge husband and wife behind bars. From then on everything
was easy; an adroit scout accosted the little girl, who had been
abandoned to the care of some poor neighbors, she was led to me. Her
appearance perfectly matched the reports I had received: she had a
sweet, a soft, a fair skin, the roundest little ornaments, charms
perfectly shaped. . . . In a word, it were difficult to find a
prettier child.
       As she cost me, all told, about twenty louis, and as the Comte
wished to pay a flat price for her and, having once bought her
outright, wished neither to hear another word about the transaction
nor have further dealings with anyone, I let her go for one hundred
louis; it being essential to my interests that no one get wind of my
part in the thing, I was content with a net profit of sixty louis,
given my attorney another twenty to create just that kind of stir
which would prevent her parents from having news of their daughter for
a long time. But news did reach them; the girl's disappearance was
impossible to conceal. The neighbors who had been guilty of negligence
excused themselves at best they were able, and as for the poor
shoemaker and his wife, my man-of-law managed matters so well that
they were never able to remedy the accident, for both of them died in
jail some eleven years after I had made off with my prey. I reaped a
twofold advantage from that little mishap, since it simultaneously
assured me undisputed ownership of the child I was negotiating to sell
and also assured me 60,000 francs for my trouble. As for the child,
the Comte was satisfied with her; never did he encounter any
difficulties, never did I, no, not a word was said, and it is more
than likely Madame Desgranges will finish her story; I know no more
about it. But it is high time to return to my own adventures, and to
the daily events which may offer you the voluptuous details we have
listed.

       "Oh by God!" Curval broke in, "I adore your prudence - there is
something in your method which bespeaks a meditated villainy, an
orderliness which pleases me more than I can say. And as for that
rascality of having given the final stroke to a victim you had until
then only scratched . . .ah, that seems to me a refinement of infamy
which deserves a place amongst our own masterpieces."
       "I wonder, however," said Durcet, "whether I might not have
done worse, for, after all, those parents could have obtained their
release from jail: there are God knows how many fools in the world who
think of nothing but helping such people. Those eleven years during
which they lingered on meant worry for you."
       "Monsieur," Duclos answered him, "when one does not enjoy the
influence you have in society, when for one's little pranks one is
forced to employ second-rate allies, caution often becomes very
necessary, and at such times one dares not do all one would like."
       "True, true," said the Duc, "she was unable to go any further."
       And the amiable creature took up the thread of her narrative.

       Dreadful it is, my Lords, said that accomplished girl, to have
still to relate turpitudes in kind like to those I have been speaking
about for several days; but you have required that I cite everything
which might bear an even faint resemblance to this great genre of
abomination, and insisted too that I suppress nothing. But three more
examples of these filthy atrocities and we shall then continue on to
other fantasies.
       The first I propose to mention is that of an elderly
administrator of the demesne, a man of I should say three score and
six. He would have the woman remove all her clothes and, after having
fondled her buttocks with less delicacy than brutality, he would
promptly order her to shit on the floor before his eyes, in the middle
of the room. When he had relished this prospect, he would in his turn
step up and lay his own turd next to hers, then, combining them with
his hands, he would oblige the girl to get down on all fours and eat
the hash, and while eating she was to present her behind, which she
was to have brought to the party in a most maculated state. While the
ceremony was in progress he would manualize himself, and used to
discharge as soon as the last bite had vanished. There were few girls,
as your Lordships may readily believe, who would consent to submit
themselves to such vile use, but all the same the administrator had to
have them youthful and healthy. . . . Well, I used somehow to find
what he needed, for everything is to be found in Paris; however, the
merchandise came dear.
       The second example of the three I have left to cite of this
species also required what might be termed a furious docility on the
girl's part; but as this libertine wished her to be extremely young, I
had less trouble supplying him: children lend themselves to these
games more readily than do mature women. I located a pretty little
shopgirl of twelve or thirteen for the gentleman whom we are about to
see in action; he arrives, has the girl take off only the clothing
that covers her from the waist down; he toys with her behind for a
brief moment, gets her to fart a little, then gives himself four or
five copious enemas which, subsequently, he obliges his little partner
to receive into her mouth and to swallow as the cascade tumbles out of
his rectum. Meanwhile, as he was seated astride her chest, he employed
one hand to frig a rather thick device and with the other he kneaded
and pinched her mons veneris and, in order that he might do it all as
he wished, he had to have a completely hairless cunt to work with.
This individual wanted to continue on even after his sixth explosion,
for his discharge was not yet achieved. The little girl, convulsed
with vomiting, managed to articulate her disinclination to proceed,
she begged to be spared, he laughed at her, introduced a seventh
draught, expelled it, and his fuck finally did indeed flow.
       An elderly banker provides us with the last example of these
unclean horrors - or rather the last example of a man for whom they
were the principal element, for I must warn you that we shall have
repeated occasion to behold them as accessories to the main endeavor.
He had to have a handsome woman, but one aged from forty to forty-five
and with an extremely flabby pair of breasts. Immediately they were
encloseted together he would have her remove all she was wearing from
the waist up, and having brutally handled her teats, would cry: "These
damned cow dugs! what good are such tripes, eh? What are they for if
not to wipe my ass upon?" Next he would squeeze them, twist them,
wring them, twine them together, tug them, pound them, spit upon them,
kick and trample them, all the while saying, what a damned infamous
thing is a flabby tit, he could not imagine what Nature had intended
these bags of skin for, why had Nature spoiled and dishonored woman's
body with these things? etc. After all these preposterous remarks he
would remove every stitch of his clothing. My God, what a body! how am
I to describe it to your Lordships! 'Twas no more than a disgusting
ulcer, a running sore, pus seemed to cover him from head to toe, I
could smell his infected odor even in the adjacent room from which I
was observing the ritual; such was the relic which, however, the woman
had to suck.

       "Suck?" said the Duc.

       Yes, Messieurs, Duclos affirmed, suck from top to bottom, every
square inch of his body had to be sucked, the tongue was to neglect
nothing, to explore it all; I had forewarned the girl, but apparently
in vain. She'd not expected this; for upon catching sight of that
ambulatory corpse she shrank away in horror.
       "What's this, bitch?" says he, "do I disgust you? Why, that's a
pity, for you're going to have to suck me, your tongue is going to
have to lick every part of my body. Come now! Stop playing the shy
little girl; others have done the job, see to it that you do it as
well as they. That's enough, I tell you, no nonsense."
       Ah, they speak true when they say that with money one can
accomplish anything; the poor creature I had given him was in the
extremest misery, and her was a chance to earn two louis: she did
everything she was told, and the podagrous old scoundrel, thrilled by
the sensation of a tongue straying softly over his hideous body and
sweetening the bitter pungency devouring him, frigged himself
voluptuously during the entire operation. When it had been completed,
and completed, as you may well suppose, despite the horrible revulsion
of the luckless woman, when it was done, I say, he had her lie down
upon the floor on her back, he got astride her, shitted all over her
bubs, and squeezing his performance between them, he used them, first
one, then the other, to wipe his ass. But with what regards his
discharge, I saw not so much as a hint, and some time later I learned
that it required several such operations before he could be induced to
part with his liquor; and as he was a man who seldom twice visited the
same place, I saw no more of him and, to tell the truth, was by no
means sorry.

       "Upon my soul," the Duc observed, "I find the conclusion of
that man's operation very reasonable indeed, and I too have never been
able to believe that teats were intended for anything but bumwipes."
       "One may be certain," said Curval, who at the moment was rather
brutally handling those belonging to the sweet and tender Aline, "one
may be certain indeed that a tit is a very infamous object. I never
catch sight of one without being plunged straightway into a rage. Upon
seeing these things I experience a certain disgust, a certain
repugnance assails me . . . only a cunt has a worse and more decided
effect upon me."
       And so saying, he flung himself into his closet, dragging Aline
by the breast and calling out to Sophie and Zelmire, his quatrain's
two girls, and Fanchon to follow him. One cannot be sure of precisely
what he did, but a loud scream, clearly a woman's, was heard by the
others in the auditorium, and shortly afterward came the bellowings
that usually indicated the Prsident had discharged. He returned.
Aline was weeping and held a kerchief over her breast, and as these
events rarely created any stir, or, at best, a few chuckles, Duclos
went on with her story at once.

       Several days later I myself took care, said she, of an old monk
whose mania, more wearying to the hand, was rather less revolting to
the stomach. He presented me with a great ugly behind covered with
skin as tough as bull's hide and as wrinkled as a dried leaf; the task
here was to knead his ass, to handle it, drub and thump it, squeeze it
with all my strength, but when I reached the hole, nothing I did
seemed sufficiently violent: I had to catch up the skin, rub it, pinch
it, roll it between my fingers, use my nails, and it was thanks only
to the vigor of my ministrations his fuck finally emerged. He attended
to his own frigging while I abused his bum and vent, and I was not
even obliged to show him my ankles. But that man must have made a very
fierce and old habit of those manipulations, for his behind, although
slack and hanging, was nevertheless upholstered by a skin as horny and
as thick as leather.
       The next day, doubtless having spoken highly of me and my
dexterity to his friends in the monastery, he sent one of his brethren
upon whose ass one had to bestow slaps, indeed blows of the hand, and
stout ones at that; but this new ecclesiastic, more of a libertine and
an examiner, preceded his rite by a meticulous inspection of his
woman's buttocks, and my ass was kissed, nuzzled, tongued ten or
twelve times over, the intervals being filled by blows aimed at his.
When his hide had taken a scarlet hue, his prick got bravely up, and I
can certify that it was one of the noblest engines I had palmed and
fingered until that day. He put it into my hand, recommending that I
frig it while continuing to slap him with the other.

       "Unless I am gravely mistaken," said the Bishop, "we have
finally reached the article of passive fustigation."
       "Yes, Monseigneur," replied Duclos, "we have, and as my task
for today has been fulfilled, you will consent to allow me to postpone
until tomorrow the beginning of fustigatory tastes; we shall devote
several soirees to dealing with them."
       As nearly half an hour remained before supper, Durcet said
that, to stimulate his appetite, he wished to give his entrails a few
rinses; his announcement made something of an impression upon the
women, who began to tremble; but sentence had been decreed, there was
no revoking it. Thrse, his servant that day, assured him she
introduced the tube with wonderful skill; from the assertion she
passed to the proof, and as soon as the little financier felt his
bowels loaded, he singled out Rosette, beckoned her to him, and bade
her open her mouth. There was some balking, a few complaints and a
word or two of pleading, but the capital thing was obedience and, sure
enough, the poor little girl swallowed two eruptions, having been
granted the option or regurgitating them afterward. And regurgitate
them she did, and soon. Happily, the supper bell sounded, for the
financier was getting ready to begin again. But the prospect of a meal
changed the disposition of their Lordships' minds, they went to taste
different pleasures. A few turds were lodged on a few bubs at the
orgies, and a great deal of shit was gleaned from asses; within the
assembly's full view, the Duc consumed Duclos' turd, while that
splendid girl sucked him, and while the bawdy fellow's hands roamed
here and there, his fuck came out in a thick spray; Curval having
imitated him with Champville, the friends began to speak of retiring
for the night.
