Excerpts From the Letters and Diary of Arthur Rimbaud, Victorian Gentleman
My name is Schuyler Rimbaud. Yes, I know, it's an unusual name, and, no, I'm not related to the French poet – at least I don't think so. It's pronounced "RIM-bawd," and I am English. I believe the name is ultimately German, traceable back to the Anglo-Saxons.
But mine is not the story I wish to relate here. Rather, it is that of my paternal great-grandfather, Arthur Rimbaud, whose letters and diary came into my possession recently as the result of a fire that destroyed a family townhouse in London. I have submitted a portion of these letters and diary to Literotica that concern his sexual activities and attitudes, which, to my mind, are strikingly modern. I think users of this site will find this material stimulating – in all senses of the word. I surely did, and wished to share my findings with like-minded people.
My great-grandad is certainly legendary in our family. He was born in 1852 and became a prosperous businessman, founding a trading company that lives on to this day (I manage the firm's New York office). Arthur was a sportsman, a patron of the arts, a larger-than-life figure (literally – in photographs and paintings of him that I have seen he reminds me of the "we-will-sell-no-wine-before-its-time" Orson Welles). And as you will soon read, he was quite the sexual adventurer. He was married twice, first to Anne Leigh, by whom he had two children. They divorced – amicably – in 1903 (as you might expect in that day and age, that took some doing; but by that time Arthur was wealthy and well connected), and the moment the ink was dry on the divorce decree he married Elise Paray – almost thirty years his junior – who had come into his home only months earlier as a domestic. What a scandal! But he remained successful in business, and by all accounts the marriage was a great match. Elise was the true love of his life. With Elise he fathered two more children, a son, my Grandfather Schuyler, and a daughter, Giselle. One of Grandad's children is my father, Arthur. Sadly, Great-Grandad Arthur and Elise perished on the Titanic, when it went down in the North Atlantic in April of 1912.
I'd like to make a couple of comments about what follows. First, Arthur wrote Elise letters even after she lived in his house, initially as a maid but even as his wife. Why he did that I do not know. Presumably, she wrote back, but her letters, if they existed at all, have been lost. Second, the diary was somewhat burned in the fire (the letters, thankfully, were spared). The fragments I have included, which come after the letters, are portions of entries that remained legible.
So I invite you all to savor what follows, comtemplate the mystery of sexual desire and understand, if you don't already, that there is nothing new under the sun.
19 May 1903
Dear Elise,
I want to say first how much Anne and I enjoyed "auditioning" you last night. You performed splendidly, and we are very happy to extend you an offer to join our household as my wife's personal maid. Before you make your decision I want to go over again exactly what will be expected of you, and to let you know that what is expected of you can change at any time, at our discretion. If you accept our offer, we will expect you to report to us on Monday. You will begin a two-week training program. Lena will be with us for that period, and you will spend every moment with her learning your duties. You will stay in her room, which is next door to ours in the upstairs apartment, and share her bed each night. One of our going-away presents for Lena is access to her replacement at night during the two weeks. That room will become yours when Lena leaves us. As you are no doubt beginning to understand, we consider only girls with marked Sapphic leanings for this position. My wife and I enjoy a robust sensual life, but otherwise her affections are mostly directed to her own sex, and I do not hinder her in this regard. We were both delighted to note how responsive you were to her, and this responsiveness was a strong factor in our decision to offer you the position.
Now to your duties. Your first task each day will be to polish my boots. I have many pairs, and each morning I will select one. You will bring them to a high gloss, then help put them on. If I am pleased with the polish, I may use you. If not, I may punish you. Next you will proceed to my wife and help her with her morning toilet and dress. She enjoys being orally serviced at this time. At all times in the morning while with us you are to dress in one of the corsets we showed you last night, stockings, high- heeled shoes, and nothing else. We expect immediate access to you if we so choose. After my wife is done with you, you are to change into regular dress and go downstairs to help in the kitchen. At 11:45 you will bring lunch for my wife (and me if I am home) up to our apartment, change back into one of your corsets, and serve us precisely at noon. On most occasions you will be our dessert. After lunch is your free time, though we expect the girl in this position to use the time for study of the arts and sciences. I understand you have some training on the piano; I encourage you to continue your study. Eventually, when she is ready, Anne's maid accompanies us to the opera, to galleries, to fine restaurants, and to gatherings of friends who share our philosophy. We are confident that with our guidance you can significantly improve your prospects in society. Look to Lena. She came from a background as humble as yours, yet she is poised to marry well and achieve a relatively high position in society. The same could happen to you, Elise. We are demanding employers, but if you are dedicated, the rewards are great. In the evenings if we have no need for your services, you may fraternize with the help downstairs. The girl in your position has more authority than the other help, and we encourage her to find a young female and male friend from among them. You may spend the night with your new friends, but only in their rooms downstairs. We will expect you upstairs with us three or four nights a week.
Dear Elise, Anne and I do hope you will agree to our terms and accept our offer. It is a three-year engagement, with the right to extend at the end of the term. If you choose to accept, please write me back as soon as possible. You are permitted at this point to make any suggestions regarding the terms of your employment, and we encourage you to do so, especially as regards our physical relationship. We are always seeking new ways to express these delicious and intense feelings, and we feel that you, though inexperienced, will have much to offer us over time.
Yours very sincerely,
Arthur Rimbaud
27 May 1903
Dear Elise,
You are coming to the end of your first week of employment in our house, and I want to make you aware of our ongoing expectations and give you the opportunity to express your feelings about your progress and what you hope to achieve from being in our service.
Overall, Anne and I are very pleased with you. You have several virtues: a strong intelligence combined with a willingness, perhaps a need, to serve; pride enough to temper your docility, so that your submission is not won too easily; strong curiosity about all forms of erotic expression; and, not least, youthfulness and physical beauty.
There are, however, areas for improvement. Some things we hope can be achieved this next week; others may take more time, and that is understood. Remember that Lena leaves in one week, and you will be counted on to step in without missing a beat. Let me review some of our concerns.
Anne's main concern is that you keep yourself completely shaved between your legs. As you now know, she will occasionally give her girls oral pleasure. It is very important to her that she not encounter any hair, not even stubble, when she takes you that way. Nothing will make her reach for the riding crop faster than to find a hair at the tip of her tongue. You discovered that to your dismay a couple of days ago. I suggest that you attend to this task daily. Anne may want you at any time. For my part I have so far withheld from penetrating you from the front or the rear. That will soon change. You have taken me in your mouth, you have seen my member, and I am sure that Anne and Lena have explained to you that I am unusually long and thick. Before I use you otherwise, especially in the rear, I want to be sure that you are sufficiently opened. Anne took your maidenhead with the handle of the riding crop. This week Lena will sleep with you each night wearing one of Anne's strap- ons, graduating from relatively small to one comparable to my size. By this time next week you should be able to accommodate me from the front without discomfort. The rear is, of course, a different matter, and I will have patience with you; but starting next week I will want you to start wearing an anal phallus while performing your chores. Anne has a few sizes. You will be fitted with the smallest one and asked to wear it for only an hour. Over time you will wear larger ones for longer periods of time.
My most pressing concern, Elise, involves your oral skills. In short order you must be able to take more of me in your mouth without gagging and, most importantly, without sacrificing a drop when I spill into you. Soon, even a single drop of my seed that does not find its way down your throat will be reason to take you over my knee. I want you to practice this week with the largest of the strap-ons and with Lena overnight.
Elise, I do want to praise your attention to my feet. You seem genuinely devoted to their care, and you keep my boots in a spotless condition. Am I mistaken, or do you have a singular, erotic attraction to feet? I invite you to comment. Each of us, I think, has some activity that is especially gratifying. Lena, for example, came to understand that hers is to be taken anally. From that time forward I have penetrated her only in that fashion. If you have a special feeling about feet, we can develop practices that please us both. Perhaps I can begin entering you in various ways with my big toe or a portion of my foot. If this is not for you, please tell me. I have no interest in forcing you against your will. I am interested, however, in helping you realize your nature.
In reviewing what I have written, I feel I am being overly critical. You are doing very well, Elise. These are small problems that are easily correctible. Anne and I are quite drawn to you. In fact Lena is quite drawn to you as well. She told me she would miss you "terribly" when she is gone. But let Lena be an example for you. She came to us three years ago from as humble a background as yours, and she hasn't as many charms as you, though I love her dearly. Yet here she is about to marry into society, to a man who moves in our circles and who shares our philosophy. Indeed, Lena will remain in our lives, yours as well; we simply will not see her as frequently. What has happened to Lena could, and should, happen to you, Elise.
I would like your comments about what I have written. Are you happy so far with Anne and me? Will you miss Lena? Is there anything you would like to see changed? Anne and I look forward to years of your service.
Yours very sincerely,
Arthur Rimbaud
18 July 1903
Dearest Elise,
I want to let you know that Anne will spend this coming weekend with Lena and her newlywed, Victor. Anne has known Victor, a man congenial to our philosophy, longer than I have. She is quite close to him, and you know her feelings about Lena. Let me be quite honest, Elise. Anne adores you. That she will spend time with our friends does not diminish her high regard for you. She is doing this out of consideration for me. I, Elise, am the one who truly adores you. Anne understands this, and because our relationship has always been characterized by utter frankness, she will do me this great favor.
I hope you will do me the high honor of spending this weekend in my company. I thought Friday evening we could dine at my club, which features a performance of inspired intertwinings by some very attractive young people. Afterwards, if you were to invite me to your room for the rest of the night, I would be grateful. Saturday we could travel to the country, enjoy a ride on horseback, and find a quiet spot to be leisurely en plein air. I know a charming inn, very discreet and understanding, where we could spend the night. I suggest a visit to my bootmaker on Sunday, back in London. William, I think, can be persuaded to open his shop for a couple of hours for us alone. I want to involve you from now on in the selection of my footwear, and I would also like for him to meet and measure you. I am certain you would be most becoming in your own boots and in various leather garments. Leather will be a visible symbol of the bonds developing between us.
My dear Elise, please say you will join me.
