Corporal punishment features extensively in the plot of Trouble at Willow Gables . In a very short time she was lying face down on Philippa's silken knee, with her velvet skirt folded neatly round her waist. The belt had a curious metal buckle, which Philippa rightly adjudged would add an awful sting to the lashes. Oblivious to Marie's piteous tears, cries and struggles, she thrashed till her forearms ached. The definition of a cynic, the way I understand it, is someone who takes pleasure in mocking other people's enjoyment.
Motion is stricter with the poet.