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| Heart of a King : Diary ~ 17th July
1898 Domino Domino: domino at Domin-o (dot) org (dot) uk Category: Child
Today, my governess Miss Reed taught us about Queen Elizabeth. She was a famous queen and she was the daughter of King Henry VIII. In the normal course I would not use my diary to write about history, but hearing her brave speech as she faced the Armada, a thrill ran through me. "I know I have but the body of a weak and feeble woman;" she said, "but I have the heart of a king" I have only the weak and feeble body of a ten-year old child of my sex, but I have the heart of a king too. I can run and jump as well as my brothers, and when we ride out, when we can escape our groom - I dare anything those boys can, and more. Even Roland, who at 15 is almost a man now - even he was impressed that I urged Sleip to leap the hedge, no matter that I took a tumble into the ditch, Sleip flew over. My brothers tease that I should ride a mount named Sleep, but they are fools. I have read the book in Papa's library about the great Sleipnir, that Odin rode. His name means gliding, and my Sleip can fly like a bird. But my delicate frame ever betrays me. My brothers melted into library, study and bedroom as victorious and flushed from our stolen gallop, we were met at the door by the avenging angel Miss Reed. My heart remained defiant and strong, but her strength is superior, and pinching my ear she led me away in ignominy to the nursery, where she forcibly stripped my soiled and tattered garments from my body. I knew that there would be a price to pay. Silently with burning eyes I signal my hatred, but she is unmoved. I turn and bend over the side of my bed. Doing so before being ordered is a small defiant victory for me. The cane whips down across my nether part (one), and I grasp at the bedclothes determined to avoid crying out. Again the cane slices down (two) - another line of agony. It is only a small cane but Miss Reed has supple wrists (three). In between each stroke I see in my mind the angry weals. I can feel my flesh whiten, tighten and sear (four). The strokes are unhurried, but so severe I cannot help but groan. Another (five) and they are overlapping now. They cut me, they burn (six). I cannot breathe with their force, and unbidden the tears spring to my eyes (seven). I clutch the bedclothes more desperately. Again the cruel cane slashes into me (eight) and I sob. After 9 strokes I lose count and no longer rigid I sag against the bed in physical submission. She thinks she has conquered me, Miss Reed, but although this
weak and feeble child's body cannot resist her greater vigour, I have a
pure hatred towards her and the heart of a king which she cannot
touch. References: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleipnir |
| Readers
Comments: |
| CK:
CrimsnKid6 (at) aol (dot) com Well, of course Queen Elizabeth I didn't have to physically face the Spanish Armada, the British Navy did that, but she clearly might have faced some unpleasant consequences if her naval forces (with big-time support from Mother Nature) hadn't defeated the Armada. It's enlightening to see a young boy, feeling physically overshadowed by his older brothers, modeling himself after a weak and frail but courageous woman and acting defiant in spite of his small stature by taking the punitive consequences of his riding mishap bravely–just as "Good Queen Bess" conceivably could have had to suffer the results of military defeat if the Armada had been victorious. "Pure hatred" seems a bit extreme since Miss Reed was after all just doing her job as a strict governess of the time (ironically it was she who taught the young narrator about Elizabeth), but a ten-year-old boy with an intensely smarting seat can be excused for a touch of hyperbole. (Ironically this narrative is set near the end of the long reign of another famous female monarch, Queen Victoria, and it could've been entered in the "Historical" category as well.) The writing style struck me as a pretty authentic representation of how a well-educated but preadolescent English boy might have expressed himself around the turn of the (20th) century, especially his description of his own punishment between cuts of the cane. (P.S.: Harry Turtledove's alternate history novel RULED BRITTANIA gives an interesting speculative take on the results of a victory by the Spanish Armada.) |
| Alex:
alexbirch (at) blueyonder (dot) co (dot) uk I thought this story was a little gem! It was written with style and feeling and the little girl's defiant courage in the face of her governess and her, typically, sneering brothers was beautifully evoked. It is such a delight to read a short spanking story which attempts to be different and so successfully gets inside the head of a 19th century child, keeping the reader focused from beginning to end. A child's diary written, of the period, with style and conviction. Absolutely lovely! |
| Steven:
js
(at) smilingwithteeth (dot) com A very well written slice of Victorian history. This story goes to show that sometimes the person with the power is not the one wielding the cane. I enjoy the old english verbiage and the author painted a thoroughly visual picture in spite of not having the luxury of a 1000 or more words to work with. |
| Kris:
worsci (at) webtv (dot) net Nice working of history into the storytelling. Well put together, lovely details of the punishment itself. If I have a criticism, it's that the language did not "feel" archaic, although as I'm not a historical literature buff, I'm not sure what could be changed to accomodate that. |