these lubricious anti-fantasies were of a nature to induce a rapid relapse into shrivelled timidity of companions normally fortitudinous member ; and since the knot in the velvet rope by which it was secured depended wholly on its fulcrums generously engorged girth , the rope soon lost its anchor to the top of the building and the final effect of this bizarre sequence of events was coxcombs immediate encounter with a sidewalk not as easily taunted into flaccidity as companions most prized possession .