Applying the same old methods

Every woman is the result of her upbringing. And a wife who pleases her husband is sure to have had a strict upbringing and been taught from an early age what obedience is and what manners are expected of a good girl. It is therefore not a mistake to remind them of their childhood and youth from time to time and bring them back to the place of their origin.

The differences in parenting methods become particularly clear when dealing with a woman who grew up in another country. Especially when it comes to a country where the good old methods of child-rearing are still alive today. And there are more such countries than is commonly believed. In the middle of Europe. Right in the neighborhood.

One of them is Ireland. The island of Ireland has always retained an independence that sets it apart from the rest of the continent. It is now quite peaceful there, but there is still a deep gulf between devout Catholics and Protestants of other faiths. And not only in Northern Ireland, which is still occupied by Great Britain.

Outside of the big cities, however, not much has changed. Life there is still going its usual way and people think a lot of old traditions that a good Irishman won't shake. This includes the fact that on the Emerald Isle the man is still the master in the house and all women inside the typical natural stone walls are subject to his command. There may be emancipation in the cities. In the country, on the other hand, a man who does not know how to lead his family with a firm hand is somehow not considered a real man.

In the absence of the father, the grandfather automatically takes command of the family. And he not only has full authority but also the right to take charge if there are signs of disobedience. Whereby this right expressly refers not only to his son's children but also to his wife, who is subject to the discipline of her father-in-law just as much as that of her husband.

Björn Schwenger, whom fate had brought together with one of those well-bred Irish women who are traded as insider tips in certain circles of men, also learned to appreciate this realization.

His marriage had resulted in two girls who were now in their troubled teens and in constant need of paternal discipline. Björn was an old-fashioned father. He not only knew how to keep his pretty wife in discipline and subservience and to maintain the upbringing that had been good for her when she was still living with her parents. He applied the same iron-clad principles to raising the two girls, who knew exactly what was in store for them if they didn't parry.

If one of them violated one of the numerous rules of conduct that formed the law in the Schwenger house, the cooperative wife reported this to the householder, who immediately initiated the necessary measures. The sinner in question was instructed to get ready and report to the home office of the master of the house, wearing only a T-shirt. His strap was an original Irish tawse of the kind that used to be found in every school and which had probably shaped the education of unruly young girls for several centuries. Life in Ireland used to be exceptionally hard, and the methods of bringing up children were just as tough. Godly girls had to be obedient, and when they didn't, they were taught the painful way to keep the commandments of the Lord.

A tawse had quite a bite, and no girl could endure its effects without uttering shrieks and making whatever promises her tutor wished to hear. The visible result was impressive and led to clearly swollen buttocks, which glowed a bright red and not only really burned but also left vivid memories in the mind of the sinner.

Björn was still amazed at how often he had to repeat this procedure, although both girls had a hell of a respect for the snappy leather.

It was a summer vacation trip with his wife and children that brought Bjorn to his wife's homeland, and it was there that he learned how to really bring up rebellious teenagers. The scene was a small farm because his wife had grown up in the country. There were no immediate neighbors here and the stern husband was genuinely fascinated by the life one led while he was a guest. After all, there was always something to do on a farm and his hosts only had time for their guests in the evening. But then everybody ate really hearty and a cool Irish beer was always at hand.

Björn could vividly imagine how his wife had grown up here and when he started talking to his elderly father-in-law, he quickly realized that he was dealing with a down-to-earth man who had raised his daughters in the same way as an Irish family man of the old school does. In his house, a stubborn girl not only got a slap in the face immediately. For his wife and her younger sisters, open disobedience was inevitably a case for the leather belt, which was generally used only on bare skin.

He should get to know the leather strap himself in a few days.

Initially, Björn's daughters were anything but enthusiastic about the idea of spending their summer holidays on an Irish farm. Young girls just have different ideas for a great vacation. But when they were there, they thought it was actually “cool”, to put it in their own language. After all, there were ponies and other animals here, and the two girls quickly disappeared into a world that had largely remained foreign to them until now. As a result, their father didn't see them all day and they didn't come out until dinner to tell about their experiences.

The big turning point came about a week later when Björn's father-in-law dragged the two brats across the yard one evening and expressed his displeasure about something verbosely. He held her tightly and visibly upset, reported to her father what had happened.

Apparently, he'd caught the teenagers in the barn, which at this time of year was stuffed to the brim with freshly harvested hay. The tragedy was that both had apparently used the seclusion of the old wooden building to smoke their first cigarette in secret. At least they insisted that this was their very first cigarette and that they had accidentally found the pack and matches somewhere in the house. Apparently, it hadn't occurred to them that you weren't smoking in a barn and that open fires were strictly forbidden amid all that combustible material. They also didn't really realize that you don't just take other people's tobacco products to satisfy your own curiosity. The two must have felt so adventurous that they had completely forgotten basic principles.

Father-in-law assured that he had expressly pointed out to the two never to handle fire in the barn. Just last year, a neighbor's entire barn burned down because two young hitchhikers thought they needed a smoke before going to bed. The old man was extremely upset and made no secret of what he would like to do with their asses.

"Both of them need a good beating," was his solution. "I'd stripe their asses so they'll remember it for the rest of their lives."

Björn had the same thought. First, the two had stolen. Then they smoked, although they were forbidden to do so. And to make matters worse, they had shown the incredible stupidity of doing this in a barn of all places, even though they knew exactly how dangerous it was. So, the father didn't think twice:

"I wouldn't mind if you made them pay for what they did," was his reaction. "Let your anger run free. Tan their fur properly so they never do something stupid like that again.”

Said and done. The two perpetrators were initially locked in their room and grounded for the rest of the day. "I still have a lot to do. But you can be sure, tonight I'll take care of them both," was the comment of the upset father-in-law.

The two teenagers were noticeably subdued as they sat at the dining table with the entire family in the evening. They were obviously not very hungry and only ate a little. Her eyes flickered uncertainly while being largely ignored by the rest of the group.

The big moment came after the table was broken and everyone settled into the adjoining living room. All but the two girls.

"You stay here," was the order that the master of the house addressed to them. "I'll be with you in a moment and I expect you'll be stripped down to your shirts by then."

"We shall …"

"Did I not make myself clear? Get ready. You know that I will punish you."

"But that's not possible, we..."

"I don't tolerate arguments, and so that you can learn this, you will now undress completely. When I come back you will be naked.”

Her father ignored the pleading looks his daughters gave when shocked to be asked to undress in front of a strange man. Her mother showed no emotion either. Even at home, the two had to undress to be punished. But it was different to face your father almost naked than a grandfather whom you hardly knew.

Hesitantly and visibly embarrassed, the two girls began to take off their clothes. They had obviously realized that any resistance would only make their situation worse. So, they took off one piece of clothing after the other and finally stood stark naked in front of the large dining table where their punishment was supposed to be carried out. The rest of the family showed no emotion and waited in silence for the inevitable ritual. Anyone who was at home here knew what was about to happen and everyone connected it with their own thoughts and memories.

When the master of the house was ready, he entered the room with the meaningful expression of a man aware of his responsible task. In his right hand, he held the traditional tool of discipline which had been used on millions of Irish girls and had evidently been used countless times in this house to punish children and remind young women of their duties. The tawse, made of brown-tanned leather, showed that it had been passed down from one head of the family to another for generations. The leather was visibly old and worn, but decades of careful maintenance had retained its value and not diminished its effectiveness.

Bjorn was impressed. The Irish were proud of their traditions and this simple strip of leather struck him as a symbol of a centuries-old custom that had survived into these modern times when nothing else seemed the same. The father of the family felt the breath of history and watched in awe as the master of the house stepped in front of the two sinners who awaited their punishment. How many girls had experienced punishment in the exact same place, naked to the navel and trembling with fear? His two daughters had been surprisingly obedient to the dictates of the master of the house. They could have avoided being completely exposed now in front of the man they barely knew and the one who had raised their mother the very same old-fashioned way.

He started an expansive sermon that not only impressed the two sinners. He reminded them again of the dangers of open fire. He spoke of recklessness and irresponsibility and emphasized the harmful effects of smoking on their health. And he let them know that he would take each one of them one by one, punishing them in the way this House had done for generations.

He then asked the younger of the two to lean over the edge of the massive dining table and instructed her older sister to stand to one side to witness her sister's whipping.

No doubt the old man exuded authority. His words were clear and his statements unmistakable. The impressive leather strap in his right hand underlined the seriousness of his intentions and the obvious trembling of the two naked girls showed that his performance was not without effect.

The old man was in his element and everyone in the room sensed that his authority was unbroken. After the reason for the forthcoming punishment was clear, he took the expected position and placed himself slightly to the side in front of the girl, who was moving her small butt restlessly back and forth. She was already well developed, Björn once again recognized appreciatively and was proud of his extremely pretty daughter. He knew there were tons of lustful eyes on her at school and no doubt many a boy was jerking off at night dreaming about her. But he also knew that he would keep her in an iron grip until it was time to marry her off to the right man.

The old Tawse whizzed through the air with an ominous sound and landed on the girl's two exposed buttocks with a satisfying smack. A tiny moment of shock passed and the little one let out a piercing scream while her whole body bucked, and the pain made her jump up.

So far, she had only felt her father's leather belt and was just making a completely new experience. This tawse was made of thick cowhide, split in two at its active end, and was undoubtedly one of the most effective tools for showing a girl that she had done forbidden things and had to pay for it. Her rather pale skin now wore an unmistakable, wide welt that ran across both buttocks and almost looked like a brand mark. With a normal leather belt, it would have taken two or three slashes to produce the same effect.

Her educator apparently wanted the punishment to be deeply engraved in her memory. So, he waited until the girl had obediently returned to the expected posture and swung again. The reaction was the same. She jumped up again. She danced wildly on both legs, and it took a while for the pain to subside before she regained her composure. The third and fourth slashes had the same effect, with the stern master applying the latter while she was still standing, her buttocks clenched tightly. Reaching backward during punishment was strictly forbidden, and it kept her from using her hands to protect her buttocks.

She received exactly half a dozen lashes before the tawse returned to passivity and the punishment was ended. A reasonable measure for her age, Björn thought while examining his daughter's buttocks, which were now one single red-hot area.

"Stand there in the corner and think about the reason for your rebuke," was the instruction of the master of the house, and the addressee, sobbing profusely, did as she was told.

Björn realized that he had never punished his daughter so violently. He could now vividly imagine what his wife's upbringing had been like before he met her. She was a good woman. She was obedient. She supported him wherever she could. She was the product of this man who was just demonstrating to him how to deal with daughters, to punish their recklessness and put them on the path that was meant for them.

A sign with his finger was enough and the older of his two daughters took the place of her younger sister without a word. Björn sensed her determination to accept the inevitable punishment, as befitted her age. Her buttocks were already much more developed and she presented her educator with two well-pronounced buttocks, which he perceived visibly with satisfaction. She tensed her muscles as she heard the hiss of the first blow. And she gasped as the leather reached its destination and the now familiar sound signaled the beginning of the punishment.

She too reacted violently, and her father had no doubt that the pain shot through her body like a bolt of lightning. But her reactions were surprisingly restrained, even though it was easy to see that she had to use all her willpower not to give her grandfather the satisfaction of having broken her pride with the first blow.

But an experienced educator knows how to put a young woman in her place. And he sees it as a special challenge to break her will and elicit the tears that replace proud defiance with pure remorse. The head of the house struck again and everyone could see that this time he had swung extra far to let the leather hit its target with extra force. The result seemed convincing, for this time the girl at least made a stifled sound, although the brave daughter seemed to be gritting her teeth to maintain her steadfastness.

The result was that there were no restful breaks for her to recover from the sting of one swipe before having to process the next. Rather, the determined family man struck without interruption and in a short time transformed the female-sized buttocks of the offender into a single, deep red tarnished area. Everyone in the room knew that this apparently unapologetic girl would have trouble using a chair without flinching when she sat down for several days.

Probably no one in the room had counted, but it was at least a dozen smacks later when the lips of the obviously obdurate sinner finally parted, and the first pained noises were heard. She received two particularly well-placed final smacks before she, too, was sent to a corner of the room to regret her misconduct.

The master of the house withdrew without a word to put the tawse back in its place and came back a little later to take care of his guests, who now regarded the incident as settled and had lapsed into lively conversation.

The two girls had learned their lesson and now knew that you never go into a barn with matches to smoke secretly. Their bums would remind them for days to come that in Ireland they don't hesitate to bring a frivolous girl to her senses and that the tawse is traditionally used for this, which is at hand in every family and is usually only used by the head of the house.

Björn had received a vivid demonstration and now knew that he actually had never really touched his two daughters in the past. His wife, in turn, had been reminded that nothing had changed in their parent's home and that, despite his age, her father was still determined to fulfill his duties as head of the family.