Heathen mythology Part 12

The nymph Psyche was one of those exquisite beings, so seldom met with in the present degenerate days; and even then, so rare was her beauty, that the people of earth looked on her almost as a divinity, and in some instances would have wors.h.i.+pped her in the belief that she was Venus, visiting the earth.

"In her bower she lay, like a snow-wreath flung, Mid flowers of brightest hue: Pouting roses about her hung, Violets 'neath her mantle sprung, Shedding their light of blue.

"Pillowed on one fair arm she lay, Beneath her silver veil; Her golden locks in wanton play, As sunbeams through the mist make way, Stole round her bosom pale!

"Falling waters afar were heard, To lull the slumb'ring fair: Yet ever and aye, her soul seemed stirred, In dove-like murmurs, as if the bird Of dreams sat brooding there.

"All rude winds were hushed to rest; Only the enamoured south, Wantoning round her swan-like breast-- The silken folds of her azure vest Kissed with its fragrant mouth."

ANON.

To one so jealous as Venus, this homage paid to Psyche was an enormous crime, and she determined to take vengeance for the offence, by punis.h.i.+ng her in the tenderest part of a woman's nature; for she commanded Cupid to make her fall deeply in love, with the ugliest being he could find.

With the intention of fulfilling this commission, Cupid visited Psyche, but so beautiful was the being he came to see, that he found himself compelled to pay the same homage to her which others had done; and finished by becoming deeply enamoured himself, as he saw

"Upon her purple couch sweet Psyche laid, Her radiant lips a downy slumber sealed, In light transparent veil alone arrayed, Her bosom's opening charms were half revealed, And scarce the lucid folds her polished limbs concealed.

"He half relenting on her beauties gazed, Just then awaking with a sudden start, Her opening eye in humid l.u.s.tre blazed, Unseen he still remained, enchanted and amazed."

MRS. TIGHE.

Fearful, however, of his mother's displeasure, he carried on the {80} affair with great secrecy, and by his divine power, conveyed her to a palace he had formed in a region full of beauty: here, when the shadows of night had visited the earth, Cupid sought the presence of his love.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

"--------Who first told how Psyche went On the smooth wind to realms of wonderment?

What Psyche felt, and Love, when their full lips First touched; * * * *

* * * With all their sighs And how they kist each other's tremulous eyes: The silver lamp--the ravishment--the wonder-- The darkness--loneliness, and fearful thunder."

KEATS.

But the happiness which had fallen to the lot of the beautiful Psyche, was too delightful and too pure, not to meet with something which should realize the after thought of the poet, that "the course of true love never did run smooth." The restless nature of the nymph would not allow her to remain quietly in possession or her beautiful lot, or in the enchanted place which the power of the G.o.d had raised for her, though few could be so delightful, when,

"In broad pinions from the realms above, Descending Cupid seeks the Cyprian grove; To his wide arms enamoured Psyche springs And clasps her lover with Aurelian wings, A purple sash across his shoulder bends, And fringed with gold the quivered shafts suspends; The bending bow obeys the silken string, And, as he steps, the silver arrows ring.

Thin folds of gauze, with dim transparence flow, O'er her fair forehead and her neck of snow; The winding woof her graceful limbs surrounds Swells in the breeze, and sweeps the velvet grounds; {81} As hand in hand along the flowery meads, His blus.h.i.+ng bride the quivered hero leads; Charmed round their heads pursuing Zephyrs throng, And scatter roses as they move along; Bright beams of spring in soft effusion play, And halcyon hours invite them on their way.

Delighted Hymen hears their whispered vows, And binds his chaplets round their polished brows, Guides to his altar, ties the flowery bands, And as they kneel unites their willing hands."

DARWIN.

The love which had fallen upon Psyche, and the affection which dropped in honied words from Cupid's lips, was so endearing, that the nymph longed to communicate the delightful story of her good fortune to her less gifted, but envious sisters.

She therefore told them of the glories of her marriage; though her bridegroom had never made himself visible to her, and though to her he had no name save that fond one of husband, yet still she could talk of the beauties of her magic palace, of the musical voice of her invisible lover, and of the heart-touching and pa.s.sionate endearments he bestowed on her.

But all this was no pleasant intelligence to them, for with the malice of ill-nature, they determined to be revenged on her for a happiness which was no fault. They affected to believe that her husband had wicked designs in his concealment, and that he would desert his Psyche if he became visible to her--or they a.s.serted that they had no doubt though the lips and skin of this mysterious being seemed so soft to their sister, it was by the power of enchantment, and that the light would reveal a monster whose presence would astonish no less than it would frighten: and succeeded in persuading her, by their next meeting, to provide herself with the means of procuring a light, and a dagger to stab him, should he prove the monstrous being they averred.

The next night came, and Psyche, when she heard the thrilling tones of her husband's voice, could scarcely keep her secret. Dreading the anger of her sisters, however, she waited until Cupid was locked in slumber, and from its hiding place procured the light and the dagger.

--------------"She softly rose, And seized the lamp--where it obscurely lay, With hand too rashly daring to disclose The sacred veil which hung mysterious o'er her woes."

TIGHE.

{82}

For a time the nymph scarcely dared to cast a glance on the being she was so anxious to view; and stood half shrinking from the desired sight.

----"In her spiritual divinity, Young Psyche stood the sleeping Eros by, What time she to the couch had, daring, trod; And, by the glad light, saw her bridegroom G.o.d!

O'er him she knelt enamoured, and her sigh Breathed near and nearer to his silent mouth, Rich with the h.o.a.rded odours of the south!"

BULWER.

But who can conceive her rapturous delight, when, instead of the fearful being she dreaded, she beheld one whose every limb, and every feature, shone with a radiant and celestial beauty.

"All imperceptibly to human touch, His wings display celestial essence light; The clear effulgence of the blaze is such, The brilliant plumage s.h.i.+nes so heavenly bright, That mortal eyes turn dazzled from the sight; A youth he seems in manhood's freshest years; Round his fair neck, as changing with delight, Each golden curl resplendently appears, Or shades his darker brow, which grace majestic wears."

TIGHE.

Her eyes were rivetted on his exquisite form, until they forgot all else; even her love, her kindness, and her pa.s.sionate endearments, all vanished in that long, earnest, and delighted gaze.

"Speechless with awe; in transport strangely lost, Long Psyche stood, with fixed, adoring eye; Her limbs immoveable, her senses tossed Between amazement, fear, and ecstacy, She hangs enamoured o'er the deity."

TIGHE.

In the trembling transport which pervaded her, however, there fell a drop of burning wax from the light which she held, on the marble-like shoulder of Cupid, and he awoke.

"From her trembling hand extinguished falls The fatal lamp. He starts--and suddenly Tremendous thunders echo through the halls, While ruins hideous crash bursts o'er the affrighted walls."

TIGHE.

The spell was broken--the palace vanished--the G.o.d disappeared, and Psyche, mourning in bitter tears for her foolish curiosity, found herself standing on a desolate rock. {83}

"Dread horror seizes on her sinking heart, A mortal chillness shudders at her breast, Her soul shrinks, fainting, from death's icy dart, The groan scarce uttered, dies, but half expressed, And down she sinks in deadly swoon oppressed: But when at length, awaking from her trance, The terrors of her fate stood all confessed, In vain she casts around her timid glance, The rudely frowning scenes, her former joys enhance.

"No traces of those joys, alas! remain; A desert solitude alone appears.

No verdant shade relieves the sandy plain, The wide spread waste, no gentle fountain cheers; One barren face the dreary prospect wears; Nought thro' the vast horizon meets her eye To calm the dismal tumult of her fears, No trace of human habitation nigh, A sandy wild beneath, above a threatening sky."

TIGHE.

The abandoned Psyche attempted to drown herself in the neighbouring waters.

The stream, fearing the power of the G.o.d, returned her to earth upon a bank of flowers.

She then went through the world in search of her lost love, persecuted, and subjected to numerous trials by Venus; who, determined on destroying, sent her to Proserpine with a box to request some of her beauty. The mission was accomplished in safety, but Psyche nearly fell a victim to curiosity and avarice; for she opened the box to look at its contents, and endeavoured to take a portion of it to herself, that she might appear more beautiful in the eyes of her lost husband. On opening it, a deep slumber fell on the unwary mortal, and she lay upon the earth, until Cupid, luckily escaping from the confinement to which his mother had subjected him, found his lost love, and reproached her for her curiosity.

In addition to this, Venus imposed upon Psyche the most difficult tasks; she poured upon the nymph torments the most excruciating, and took delight in rendering her miserable, who, not content with being taken for the G.o.ddess of beauty, had concluded by seducing from her the duty of her son.

Jupiter, however, was moved to pity by this relentless rigour, and by the touching nature of the story; he took her up to heaven, restored Cupid to his place, and making Psyche immortal, gave her in marriage to the G.o.d of love, in the presence of the celestial inhabitants. To use the elegant language of Mr. Keightley, {84}

"The hours shed roses through the sky, the Graces sprinkled the halls of heaven with fragrant odours, Apollo plays on his lyre, the Arcadian G.o.d on his reeds, the Muses sing in chorus, while Venus dances with grace and elegance, to celebrate the nuptials of her son."