Miss Strang Chapter 93

By Governess

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This story is intended for adults only. It contains depictions of forced nudity, spanking, and sexual activity of preteen and young teen children for the purpose of punishment. None of the behaviors in this story should be attempted in real life. If you are not of legal age in your community to read or view such material, please leave now.

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Chapter 93

“So you see a boy’s resistance to discipline arising from original sin? Is that so, Miss Innes?”

“Yes, Mr Thorne, I do. Many regard original sin as little more than a guilty stain or a disfigurement. But it’s more than that. Much more. It’s an active principle, a cancer within a boy from the very day of his birth. The Serpent promised our first parents that if they ate from the forbidden tree they would become as gods. And they did. They died to the one true God and became gods in their own eyes, yielding obedience to none but themselves. And so it is with a boy from birth. He is greedy for attention. Self-seeking. A law to himself. And he resents any attempt to discipline him and to rein back his arrogance. And so strong is his self-will, that only the rod can curb him.”

“And yet, despite the rod, he continues to resist. You said that unlike a colt a boy needs to be broken every day of his life?”

“Yes, Mr Thorne. For the rod is not a final solution to a boy’s sinful condition. It is a necessary restraint. In itself, it does not bring salvation. Only the Lord Jesus Christ can do that.”

Colonel Massingham nodded.

“I heartily agree with that Miss Innes. But how do you understand the forgiveness that’s bestowed on a boy after a sound flogging compared with the forgiveness found in Christ and in Christ alone?”

Miss Innes gave a wan smile.

“That is a very searching question, Colonel. And the more I think about the value of flogging a boy and the power of the rod, the more I stand amazed at what has rightly been described as the sacrament of childhood. And when I select a birch from the pail to flog one of our reformatory boys, I realise I’m holding in my hand more than a bundle of twigs. As Miss Strang said a moment ago, it is the rod of Aaron.”

She paused.

“But at the first tap of Aaron’s rod, the water was ready to gush forth from the rock. But not so with a boy. He lives as a god within the citadel of his own will. And no fortress is entered by tapping at the door. A boy needs to be soundly flogged before his resistance is broken. But while a citadel built by human hands may be utterly destroyed, a boy’s will dwells within the living flesh of his body. We torment the flesh so that he yields his will to us. But a boy’s will is never fully surrendered. And as the agony of the flogging fades so does his will recover its bent towards wickedness and deceit. And the rod will again be required.”

Colonel Massingham ran his finger down the side of his face.

“I am sure you are right, Miss Innes. A mere tap with the rod is not going to bring forth tears of repentance worthy of forgiveness. But you have not answered my question as to how the forgiveness granted to a boy after a flogging differs from God’s forgiveness in Christ.”

Miss Innes nodded.

“The answer is implicit in what I have said, Colonel. A flogging is a restraint. Each time there is an offence, the boy is bared and the rod applied to his flesh, administered with a vigour and severity sufficient to overcome his rebellious will and render it submissive. And then, and only then, do we pronounce him forgiven. But what we are pardoning is one single act of disobedience. And if there is another act of indiscipline, as there will be, then another flogging must be given. As Mrs Massingham said, as the rock followed the Children of Israel through the Wilderness, so does the rod follow a boy as he grows and develops.”

Colonel Massingham was about to speak, but she held up her hand.

“You will remember that St Paul told the Corinthian Christians that the rock that followed them through the Wilderness was Christ. Well, so too is the rod that follows a boy throughout his childhood and adolescence. Each flogging he receives enables him to share in the forgiveness of Christ.”

“But, Miss Innes, why then is repeated flogging necessary? Surely once a boy shares in that forgiveness, he is forgiven for all time?”

“No, Colonel. There is a difference. The floggings a boy receives at the hands of his mother, or governess or later from his tutor or schoolmaster are like the sacrifices of the Old Testament that needed to be repeated endlessly. As St Paul says in his Epistle to the Hebrews, the blood of bulls and goats in themselves can never forgive sins. But when Christ came, the old order was swept away. But throughout those years before Christ, the blood of bulls and goats that had not the power in itself to forgive sins, did so because it was an anticipation, a sharing in that one future sacrifice that would end all sacrifice.”

“I’m not sure I entirely understand, Miss Innes”

“What I am saying is that just as individual sins were forgiven under the Old Covenant because each individual sacrifice shared in the one sacrifice of Christ, so a boy’s individual sins are forgiven because each of his floggings similarly shares in that one final sacrifice.”

Mr Thorne tapped his fork on the side of his plate.

“But Miss Innes, the Old Testament sacrifices pre-date Christ. Now Christ has come we no longer look forward but back to the work He has completed. As he said ‘It is finished’. So I remain perplexed.”

“It all turns on how we understand the status of a child, Mr Thorne. Christ may have come, but until a boy receives Him as his Saviour, he is as much under the Old Covenant as one of the Children of Israel wandering in the wilderness. He is under law not under grace. And if that is forgotten, we will fail properly to minister to a child. For until a boy suffers the severity of the law he will not be driven to Christ. As St Paul says, the law is our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ. And that is why it’s so important to provide a clear and comprehensive set of laws for a boy. And to punish him severely each and every time he offends.”

I could see Miss Strang, who was seated on the far side of the table, had narrowed her eyes and was nodding her head in agreement.

“You are so right, Miss Innes. As your father so perceptively said a moment ago, unless a child is convicted of his sins he has nothing to repent. But of course unless given a law to obey, there is no possibility of his sinning. As St Paul rightly says in his Epistle to the Romans, ‘I had not known sin, but by the law.’”

She nodded.

“And I am pleased that you stress the need for severity, Miss Innes. If a child needs to be spanked he needs to be spanked soundly; and if flogged, then flogged well. Only so will a child learn.”

Miss Innes smiled.

“Indeed, Miss Strang. But there is another reason for severity. If a boy is to share in the sufferings Of Christ, then his suffering must never be a mockery of Our Saviour’s suffering. St Paul in discussing the animal sacrifices of the Old Testament says that ‘without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness’. And he implies that blood had to be shed under the Old Dispensation because it was Christ’s blood that was shed under the New, and it was in that that all those animal sacrifices in a mysterious way shared. And the same is true of a boy’s flogging.”

Mr Thorne set his head on one side, questioningly.

“You mean, Miss Innes, that every boy who is whipped should be whipped until bloody?”

“It may sound severe, Mr Thorne, but a boy’s pranks and escapades often result in bruises and broken skin. If we accept such injury from play, which is an indulgence, why should it be thought wrong for a boy to suffer similar abrasions from punishment justly given for sins committed? And that is why I favour the birch, particularly for a younger boy, where even half a dozen vigorous strokes with its lithe tracery of twigs will puncture the soft skin of his bottom. And I see no harm in that. The seams of blood on the surface of his skin are soon wiped away, and his hot and smarting flesh testifies to his having paid the penalty that forgiveness demands. For an older boy, a cane or tawse are equally effective. A sound tawsing of several dozen strokes will inevitably burst the skin of an older boy’s bottom and leave him with sore and smarting abrasions.”

And I remembered how she had administered the tawse to the boy Burns. How she had lashed the heavy reformatory strap with all her energy and strength across the bareness of his bottom and thighs.

“So you would abandon good old fashioned spanking, would you Miss Innes. Set aside the hairbrush and replace it with the birch. But I believe the hairbrush remains in constant use at the Reformatory. Is that not so?”

She gave a wry smile.

“You are right, Mr Thorne. It is the Principal’s wish that younger boys in our care who have not benefited from a mother’s loving discipline should as far as possible experience that in the Reformatory. We have as you may know a rising scale of punishments, depending largely on the frequency of offending. And that scale certainly starts with a spanking, given with the back of a stout hairbrush. I do not wish to be disloyal, but both the Matron and I would prefer a simpler and more direct scale of punishments that relied more on routine birching. But at the moment we have, of course, to work to the Principal’s instructions. I might add that in her own home, Mrs McLaughlan favours the birch even for her youngest child.”

She smiled.

“But even a spanking can leave a small boy a little bloodied. It depends on how it is given. The rump of a five or six year is soft and sensitive, and if the brush is brought down as though aiming several inches below the surface of the skin, then even six strokes will leave him bloody and howling.”

Mr Thorne turned to Miss Strang.

“And do you, too, have a proclivity for the birch, Miss Strang? I have heard it said that the weaker sex favours the birch as it requires less strength to impart an effective whipping to a boy.”

Miss Strang smiled.

“It would have to be a very weak woman that lacked the strength to discipline a boy and bring him to heel. In my experience, the weakness lies not in a woman’s physical strength but often in her will and determination. I have taken positions with families where the mother’s notion of punishment is several smacks to the bottom with a soft slipper. I explain that a boy needs clear rules to govern his conduct and equally clear and painful consequences if those rules are broken. At the very least a sound spanking with the hard back of a hairbrush on his bare flesh. If at the end of a month, I had not convinced such a mother of the necessity of such discipline, then I would hand in my notice. But usually, the mother was persuaded of the necessity of the new routine, and the boy submitted. I took such positions as they offered a challenge, and the opportunity to rescue a boy from the slippery slope of ill-discipline that leads to perdition.”

“But the birch, Miss Strang?”

“Yes, I have birched many a boy, Mr Thorne and girls, too - as a certain girl in this room will testify.”

She looked across at me.

“And blood has been drawn. However, I have given many punishments where the child’s bottom is left red and smarting but unbloodied. And having listened to Miss Innes’s exposition I have to question whether that was right. However, I do recall that under the old covenant, where for some reason a lamb could not be provided for sacrifice, a grain or cereal offering could be substituted from which, naturally, no blood could be shed. And God still accepted it. Perhaps a spanking given to a boy with the firm intention of causing suffering in payment for disobedience is similarly accepted by Our Lord. Even though he is left unbloodied.”

She paused.

“However, we read in Genesis that God had respect for the animal sacrifice of Abel but none for that of his brother Cain who brought an offering of the fruit of the ground. So it is clear that a sacrifice where blood is spilt is preferred by God and if Miss Innes’s analysis is correct we ought to be mindful of that when punishing the children in our charge.”

“So you intend to make greater use of the birch in future do you, Miss Strang?”

“I am not sure, Mr Thorne. Up until now I have favoured a variety of implements each with its different character. The hairbrush, for example, has a decidedly feminine character. Even if displayed on a hall table or kept in a drawer, its true home is on a lady’s dressing table to untangle and tidy her hair. When used to punish a child and to straighten out his behaviour, it is redolent of the same practical and maternal concern. And the unmistakeable sound of that hard wooden back smacking soft resilient flesh with the writhing child held lovingly over the knee, has a quality all of its own. I can quite understand, the Principal of the Reformatory wishing to include spanking in the punishment regime for his boys.”

“But you have not answered my question, Miss Strang. When you are tutoring our boys from the orphanage will they be subject to birchen discipline?”

“Well, Mr Thorne, Mrs McLaughlan has certainly encouraged me to make greater use of the birch. And I may do so. Many of my positions have been in the metropolis, where obtaining a regular supply of rods is difficult. And binding up rods is a time-consuming business. Mrs McLaughlan tells me that Wilkins, who I gather is the Reformatory handyman, prepares the birches not only for the Reformatory boys but also for her own children.”

“But let no such consideration deter you here, Miss Strang. Hemsley can fulfil the role of Wilkins and does so whenever a birch rod is required in this household. I saw him this afternoon binding up two birches and I assumed that they were for your schoolroom. But I now understand they were for another purpose.”

Mrs Innes gave a small satisfied smile.

“Yes, I instructed Hemsley to prepare those rods. They are for two disobedient and devious girls who are to be birched tomorrow.”

She turned to her daughter.

“And I would be grateful if you would assist in that, Rachel. The two rods are already steeping in a pail in the scullery. Shall we say eight o’clock tomorrow morning, before the start of the working day?”

“Yes, mother. I am more than happy to do that.”

Mr Thorne tilted his head back.

“But I have not yet heard from Miss Strang on the fate that awaits our Orphanage boys should they fall short of her expectations. It seems Hemsley can provide a steady supply of rods and so any reservations she may have are surely resolved?”

Miss Strang smiled.

“Perhaps, Mr Thorne. How old were the three boys I am to tutor? Six, seven and ten was it not? Well in that case I would need different weights of rod. I would certainly wish to punish the younger boys across my knee, unless they were guilty of flagrant or repeated disobedience. So, I would need a smaller rod suitable for such nursery correction. If the ten year old were birched, it would have to be with a heavier and lengthier rod.”

She paused.

“I am sure all that is possible, but I still have reservations. A birch rod not only rapidly wears out and needs to be replaced, but during a flogging bits break off and scatter everywhere. When I have used the birch in the past, I have sometimes insisted that the culprit sweeps up the birchen detritus. But that is not always possible and is a distraction. And then if blood is drawn, as Miss Innes advocates, the boy will need to be sponged, preferably with a saline solution and then dried. Again these are not insuperable objections, but they are time-consuming and present difficulties.”

She set her head on one side, and pursed her lips.

“But if I am honest, Mr Thorne, I am reluctant to restrict myself to a single implement of correction. Punishment must be assured and a boy left in no doubt that correction follows wrongdoing as the night follows day; but for a boy to be in doubt about whether he is to be spanked, or caned, or birched adds a valuable pungency to his correction. It lifts it out of the routine and keeps his discipline active and fresh. And that this uncertainty is only resolved by his governess’s choice makes him acutely aware that he is completely under her control and determination.

“But I also feel Miss Innes is right in what she says about a boy’s sin being forgiven through sharing in Our Lord’s sacrifice. And if that is so, then his punishment must be of a severity not to mock the suffering of our Saviour. But as Miss Innes has also said a boy is born in iniquity and in all his doings there is sin and rebellion. To some, carelessness or lack of attention are hardly sins, but I certainly regard them as such. A boy whose mind wanders and who fails as a consequence displays both disrespect and a sinful self-regard that needs to be punished. In my experience, there is seldom a day when a boy does not require the rod of correction. Surely the need for such regular and frequent punishment precludes birching him bloody on each and every occasion?”

Mr Thorne smiled.

“So how do you answer that Miss Innes.

“By saying I believe I have been misunderstood, Mr Thorne. I am not saying that a boy’s blood needs to be shed each and every time he sins. It is sufficient that once a week he atones for his sins by a birching. During the course of each week, sins committed should be recorded by the boy in a punishment book, and on each occasion followed by a chastisement that promises that a thorough punishment will be administered in due course.”

“And what should be the nature of that promissory chastisement, Miss Innes?”

“Well, it needs to be painful, even if the cuts don’t break the skin and bleed. A swishy rattan cane, the tawse, even a sound spanking with the back of a hairbrush, each is a tried and trusted methods of correction. But, as I say, the boy should be under no misapprehension that that whipping is but a foretaste of the full expiation for his sins at the end of the week when he is birched. I suggest that a good time for the weekly birching would be at the conclusion of the school day on a Friday. And immediately before the birching, the boy should be made to read out the record of his sins written in his punishment book.”

Mrs Massingham placed the knife and fork together on her plate.

“But am I to understand, Miss Innes that such a severe flogging would be hanging over a boy during the course of a whole week?”

“Whether it was for a whole week would depend on when he first offended, Mrs Massingham. If it was on a Thursday, then he would have such a flogging ‘hanging over him’ for only a day. But I am not sure I understand your objection?”

“But it’s such a severe punishment, Miss Innes and the thought that the boy should be living in such dread . . .”

Miss Innes gave a frown.

“It may be a severe punishment, but if a boy is to appreciate the deadly nature of sin, Mrs Massingham, severity is necessary. A boy must learn that sins have to be paid for if they are to be forgiven. And a flogging needs to be severe enough for him to dread a repetition. For the first few days after a birching he will experience a dull ache, and discomfort as clothing or sheets rub against his flesh. And when that has passed, the marks that remain will serve as a reminder of the need for unswerving obedience. But after that, there is only the unassisted memory to restrain him. And that is why the flogging he receives should not only draw blood but be agonisingly painful. I want a boy, when he is tempted to assert his will against lawful authority, to shiver at the memory of his suffering, to tremble and to feel his stomach turn over at the prospect of a repetition. Only so will he be kept on the path that leads to life rather than wander thoughtlessly along the primrose path that leads to ruin.”

She paused.

“And as for dread. I would expect a boy to dread punishment. The dread is an indication that the punishment is sufficiently severe to deter, as well as to justify forgiveness. A boy does not dread a slap on the wrist, but then a slap on the wrist is a mockery of what true and effective punishment should be. And when punishment finally comes it should not disappoint. It should be all that a boy fears and more.”

Mr Thorne turned to Miss Strang.

“So Miss Strang will you be instituting such a regime for my orphanage boys?”

“If you mean will I make greater use of the birch in the way recommended by Miss Innes, I have yet to decide, Mr Thorne.”

She gave a small smile.

“But I can certainly provide an assurance that any boy I tutor will have far more to fear than a slap on the wrist. And that any punishment I give will not disappoint but will exceed his deepest forebodings.”

At that point Mrs Innes rose.

“Well, I think the time has come to withdraw and leave the gentleman to enjoy their own company for a while.”

“But you, Arbuthnot, will stay and look after any needs they may have.”

(to be continued)

(The End)