True Tales of the Insects

There lived in a certain city of Crete a king and queen, who had three fair daughters. The two elder were deemed worthy of the praises of mankind, and were early wedded to suitors befitting their rank; but the exquisite and inaccessible beauty of the youngest sister could neither be expressed nor sufficiently ap-plauded by the poverty of human speech, and at length the crowds which collected in her honour from far and near, overcome with admiration, worshipped her as Venus herself. Venus's temples were abandoned, her ceremonies neglected, her images uncrowned, and her desolate altars defiled with ashes, while a girl was supplicated in her stead. Inflamed with jealousy, and raging high, that goddess commands her son of the flames and arrows to avenge the insult, and punish inspiringPsyche— for such was the name of the girl—by her with an infatuation for some despicable mortal, and Cupid

" Had still no thought but to do all her will, Nor cared to think if it were good or ill: So beautiful and pitiless he went.

Fig. 28.—The dragon's bride.

And toward him still the blossomed fruit-trees leant,

And after him the wind crept murmuring,

And on the boughs the birds forgot to sing." *

But when he saw Psyche, he fell in love with her. in spite of In the mean time her father, fearing—since, her renowned and glorious beauty, she remained unasked

in she had in some way incurred the dis- marriage—that pleasure of the gods, consulted the oracle of Apollo, and was directed to prepare his daughter for deadly nuptials: clothed in mourning garments, she must be led to a rock, there to become the bride of a dragon. Words fail to describe the anguish of her parents, who, clay after day, delay the execution of the sentence; the whole city laments; but at last the sad procession sets out, and Psyche is left alone, weeping and trembling on the destined spot. Each moment may see the arrival of the monster; but lo! sfentle breezes raise her, and waft her to valley, leaving her softly reclining on a bank of dewy grass. When she opens her eyes, she espies a royal palace, full in every part of gold and silver and gems, precious beyond all price— a very abode for a god. Here she resides, waited upon by invisible servants; she has but to wish for refreshment and instantly banquets appear before her; a singer sings to her, but is unseen; an invisible musician plays; and she has a husband, who

• W. Morris, " Earthly Paradise."

invariably leaves her before the morning light; she has never beheld him, nor heard his name, and is threatened with dire calamity should she attempt to inquire concerning the person of her lover. But after a while Psyche's heart yearns towards her family, and she begs that she may receive the visits of her sisters. At first the sisters are content to embrace and rejoice over her whom they had believed to be dead, but soon the gorgeousness of her surroundings, her good fortune as compared with theirs, aroused within them feelings of envy, hatred, and malice; " I am not a woman," exclaimed one, "nor do I breathe if I do not hurl her headlong from such mighty possessions; " and they agree to unite to accomplish this. Repeatedly is Psyche warned to beware her of their perfidy. But Psyche is simple, of a loving and pliant disposition, no match for her sharp-witted, determined sisters. Simulating their base designs under an appearance of great affection, they entrap her into what amounts to a confession of ignorance of her husband, and induce her, by insinuation, to behold his countenance. Silently, at dead of night, she steals to the side of his couch, a lamp in her hand, and a razor, to cut off the head of the monster that she has been persuaded to expect. To her startled eyes no monster is revealed, but the beautiful god Cupid.

The razor drops from her powerless hand, and, terrified and shaking in every limb, she sinks fainting

on the ground, until gradually the consciousness of the amazing beauty and radiance of the god revives her. There, at the foot of the bed, lie his bow and arrows, which Psyche grasps with eager curiosity, and drawing one of the arrows from the quiver, touches the point with the tip of her finger to try its sharpness, inadvertently piercing her flesh; and thus ignorant Psyche

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Fig. 2(). — Hctaira esmcralda, from Brazil: a clear-wing Butterfl}'.

voluntarily fell in love with Love. But now, suddenly, the lamp throws out a drop of hot oil on the right shoulder of the god. Cupid burnt, awakes, leaps from

the bed, disengages himself from her clinging arms, and after reproaching her bitterly for her forfeited fidelity, springs with his pinions on high, and vanishes from the sight of his most unhappy wife. Now follow Psyche’s wanderings and trials. Inconsolable, knowing no rest, she is driven about from place to Fic. 30.—The Calliper Butterfly (Chavaxes hadenit), from Java: sucking liquid from a muddy spot. place seeking her beloved, her desire of finding him increasing with the difficulty of the search; then hope changing to despair, even of her own safety, she casts herself on the mercy of Venus: perchance she may meet him in the house of his mother. ‘At length,” cries she, “have you thought proper to come and pay your respects to your mother-inlaw! But take courage, for your reception will be such as a good mother-in-law ought to give;” thereupon her servants Solicitude and Sorrow scourge and otherwise

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95 Badenoch

FIG. 31.—Morpho menelaus, from tropical America. Brilliant metallic blue and black.

torment the miserable girl, and, laughing and scoffing, she flies upon her, rending her garments, tearing her hair, and beating her, and subsequently sets her a series of impossible tasks, all of which Psyche accomplishes by extraneous aid; but there was no appeasing the ire of the enraged goddess. " There is one more labour, my dear, that you ought to perform," said she, with a sinister smile. To the realms of the Shades Psyche must go, to fetch a casket from Proserpine. Psyche is sensible that her last hour has come. Again, however, miraculous assistance intervenes, and she has almost fulfilled her embassy, and is returning from the infernal regions, when a rash curiosity seizes her to open the box, from which issues a deadly sleep, and she falls down motionless, in appearance a corpse. Cupid could contain himself no longer, but flying swiftly to her, lovingly called her back to life, then, with rapid wing, mounted to the summit of heaven, and entreated mighty Jupiter on his behalf. A meeting of the Celestials is summoned, before whom Jupiter proclaims it to be his will that Cupid shall abide by his choice, and orders Mercury to convey Psyche to heaven; and as soon as she arrived, extending to her a cup of ambrosia, "Take this, Psyche," he said, "and be immortal; nor shall Cupid ever depart from thy embrace, but these nuptials of yours shall be perpetual;" and without delay, the wedding supper was served. And,

by-and-by, a daughter was born to Cupid and Psyche, whom we call Pleasure.

The Origin.

While Apuleius cannot be credited with the invention of this poetically beautiful fable, his taste and feeling can hardly be too highly commended for this recognition of the capabilities of a wild flower of folk-lore. Doubtless the story is adapted from an ancient popular legend, of which traces are found in most lands. Everywhere the central situations in the tales are the same. The beloved may not be seen unveiled, his or her name may not be uttered; but the several taboos are always broken, and the pair are severed, sometimes for ever, or a reconciliation is effected, after protracted searchings and wanderings. We may believe, with Mr. Andrew Lang, that the myth arose out of a nuptial custom and law now among some savages such a forgotten—probably story being evolved tocustom actually exists—the illustrate and enforce the law; and since these sinsfular rules of etiquette appear to have been widely prevalent, there is nothing remarkable in the distribution of the myth among the most diverse races. The stories may have been separately invented in different lands, or may have been transmitted from people to people.

Into the myth Apuleius infuses an allegorical purport,

entirely in accordance with the Platonic philosophy. Long before the beginning of the Roman Empire, the Platonic myth of the fallen soul, who undergoes a series of trials as a means of purification, to fit it for its mystic union with Love Everlasting, seems to have taken a great hold on the public mind in Greece, and was a well-known and favourite subject with celebrated sculptors and engravers of gems. Psyche signifies the soul, which was at first symbolized as a butterfly, but like other animal symbols, this of Psyche was gradually merged into the human form, that of a slender oirl, the wines only being retained to mark its meaning. The gem engravers exhibit infinite fertility of invention in depict-ing scenes played by Love and the Soul. In some devices, probably the oldest, Cupid appears alone, chasing, tormenting, or caressing the butterfly; Psyche in pj'oprid persona he continually treats with harshness and indignity, or the lovers meet, showing by tenderest caresses delight at the reunion, or are united in marriage; in sculpture they clasp each other in close embrace, as in the group of the Capitol. We know that Apuleius travelled in Greece, chiefly to acquire religious information, and, clearly, thtse ideas and representations were of a nature to aftbrd subject - matter for his imaginative genius to work upon in the construction of his story.

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Conspicuous Beatity and Abundance of the Symbols.

Than the Butterfly the world offers no illustration of the soul more striking, for it bursts in beauty on the wing from a dull, lowly chrysalis, its previous deathlike stage, a lively image of the soul, freed and purified from material things. Almost needless to say, butterflies are the most beautiful of all insects, in fact, for gorgeousness of attire, as a whole, they have scarcely a rival in the animal world; many may be likened in splendour to animated flowers. In the equatorial regions they constitute one of the most prominent and constant displays of animal life. Their abundance, their conspicuous hues, their size, as well as their peculiarities of shape and habits, all conspire to arrest the attention of the least observant of mortals. In the vicinity of old towns, both in the East and West, they are especially plentiful, and love to sport along roads and pathways in forests. Description can give no adequate idea of their rich and dazzling colours. Intense blues there are, satiny greens, gorgeous crimsons, fiery orange, golden yellows; not in small spots and patches, but in great masses, ofttimes contrasted by deep velvety black. We see wings spangled with metallic green, others literally glitter with spots and markings as of molten gold or silver