In those days even ladies wore no drawers. Their dresses rarely came
below their ankles, they wore bustles, and standing over a grating,
anyone below them, saw much more, and more easily, than they can in
these days of draggling dresses, and cunt swabbing breeches, which
the commonest girl wears round her rump. For all that, so close to the
thighs, do chemise and petticoats cling, that it was difficult to see
the hairy slits, which it was our great desire to look at. Garters and
thighs well above the knees, we saw by scores. Every now and then either
by reason of scanty clothing, or short dresses, or by a woman's stooping
and opening her legs to look more easily low down at the window, we had
a glimpse of the cunt; and great was our randiness and delight when we
did. On the whole we were well rewarded. Many as the legs and thighs
are, that I have since seen, I doubt whether I have seen so many pairs
of legs half-way up the thighs, and all but to the split, as I saw in
the times we stood under that big linendraper's shop window. Old and
young, thin and fat, dirty and clean, ragged and neat, there was every
possible variety and number of legs and their coverings.
There were two states of the weather which favoured us: if muddy, women
lifted their clothes up high. Having no modern squeamishness, all they
cared about was to prevent them getting muddy; and then with the common
classes, we got many a glimpse of the split. But a brilliant day was the
best. Then the reflected light being strong, we could see higher up if
the lady was in a favourable position. We could see if they had clouts
round their cunts, and had some strange sights of which I will only tell
one or two. One day, quite at the end of the gratings, two women,
neat, clean, plump, and of the poorer classes (for we could soon tell
the poorer classes from their legs and under-clothings), stood close
together. It was my five minutes. Henry was at my back. They had been
standing talking, close together, not seeming to be looking at the shop,
in fact they were at the spot where the shop window finished. One put
her leg up against a ledge, keeping the other on the grating; it was
a bright day, and I saw the dark hair of her cunt as plainly as if she
were standing to show it me. The next minute she gathered up her clothes
a little high, and squatted down on her heels as if to piddle, her bum
came down within four or five inches of the grating, and I saw through
the bars, her cunt open just as a woman does when she pisses. I thought
she was going to do so, when a plantive cry explained it all; she had
a baby, and all the movements were to enable her to do something to
it conveniently. At the same time her companion dropped on one knee,
pulling her clothes a little up, and arranging them so as to prevent
soiling them, she put the other leg out in front, and sat back on
the heel of the kneeling leg. Then was another split, younger and
lighter-haired, partly visible from below, but not so plainly as the
dark-haired one; and they did something in that position for five
minutes to the squalling child.
I lost all prudence, whispered to Henry; and together we stood looking,
till they moved away. "My prick will burst," said I. "So will mine,"
said he. The next instant both our pricks were out, and looking up
at the legs, stood we two young men, frigging till two jets of spunk
spurted across the area. It would have been a fine sight for the women
had they looked down, but women rarely did. They stood over the gratings
usually with the greatest unconcern, looking at the shop windows, or
only glanced below for an instant, at the dark, uninhabitated looking
area.
This was the beginning of a new state of things. We got reckless; Henry
had business to attend to, I none, I ceased to think about what might be
said of our being so much in the store-house; and used to go by myself,
and stay there two or three hours at a time. Then I gave way to erotic
excesses. My prick would stand as I went down the stairs. I used to wait
prick in hand, playing with it, looking up and longing for a poke
until I saw a pair of thighs plainly, then able to stand it no longer,
frigged; hating myself even whilst I did it, and longing to put my spunk
in the right place. I used to catch it in one hand, whilst I frigged
with the other, then fling the spunk up towards the girls' legs. It was
madness; for although the feet of the women were not three feet above my
head, yet the smallness of the quantity thrown (after what stuck to my
fingers), and the iron bars above, seemed to make it impossible that any
of it should reach its intended destination; but I think it did one day.
A youngish female was stooping, and showing part of her thighs. I flung
up what I had just discharged; suddenly her legs closed, she stepped
quickly aside, looked down and went away. I am still under the
impression that a drop of my sperm, must have hit her naked legs.
We both also grew more lascivious, having frigged before each other, we
took to frigging each other. I went to my home, on going back, found
he had taken other young men to see the legs. One night five of us had
dinner, we smoked and drank, our talk grew baudier; we had mostly been
schoolfellows, and dare say we had all seen each other's doodles, but I
cannot assert that positively. We finished by showing them to each other
now, betting on their length and size, and finished up by a frigging
sweep-stakes for him who spent first.
At a signal, five young men (none I am sure nineteen years old) seated
on chairs in the middle of the room began frigging themselves, amidst
noise and laughter. The noise soon subsided, the voices grew quiet, then
ceased, and was succeeded by convulsive breathing sighs and long-drawn
breaths, the legs of some writhed, and stretched out, their backsides
wriggled on the chairs, one suddenly stood up. Five hands were frigging
as fast as they could, the prick-knobs standing out of a bright
vermillion tint looking as if they must burst away from the hands which
held them. Suddenly one cried "f-fi-fir-first," as some drops of gruelly
fluid flew across the room, and the frigger sunk back in the chair. At
the same instant almost the other jets spurted, and all five men were
directly sitting down, some with eyes closed, others with eyes wide
open, all quiet and palpitating, gently frigging, squeezing, and
tittillating their pricks until pleasure had ceased.
Afterwards we were quiet, then came more grog, more allusion to the legs
of women, their cunts and pleasures, more baudiness, more showing of
pricks and ballocks, another sweep-stakes, another frigging match, and
then we separated.
I do not think that excepting to Henry, that baudy evening ever was
referred to by me.