Cupid

“ And lurk in the flowers that swing in the breeze;
There counting the kisses, the sweet stolen blisses,
Of Strephon and Phyllis in languorous ease.
We trifle and putter, our hearts in a flutter,
In a tangled skein spun by the toiletted fair,
The weary hours whiling, and dull care beguiling—
Lo! dimpled and smiling, you’re loitering there!
O wary elf Cupid, O cunning, coy Cupid,
Are lovers all stupid, dear, rollicking boy?
While maidens are sighing and love-knots are tying,
The snap of your bow-string bodes sorrow and joy!
Harold Van Santvoord.
[16]
BANISHED LOVE
O shepherds! ”

“ Cupid is now armed with two bows, one of which he bends with the aid of the Graces, to secure a happy smiling lot, and he with the other, blind-folded, lets fly his arrows, to the confusion and misery of many in life. Like his mother, he is constantly in want. He is eager, ravenous, and wandering about bare-footed, without home or habitation, sleeping before doors or by the wayside, under the open sky. But at the same time he is ever forming designs upon all that is beautiful, is forward, cunning, and fond of new tricks. ”

“ And as Cupid was exceedingly mischievous, and fond of aiming his arrows at people for his own amusement, the wrong women were always falling in love with the wrong men, and the wrong men with the wrong women: and so a great deal of fresh trouble came into the world, as if there had not been enough before, without the mischievous tricks of Cupid. ”

“ There had been one picture in particular, the Martyrdom of Cupid, by Luca Signorelli, in which Cupid himself, and the nymphs who persecute him, are of a beauty so overpowering that J. Spratt and the trusty friends would always feel faint, and weak in their backs and legs, through sheer excess of sensuous pleasure when they gazed at it; and varied as those nymphs were in form, hue, and feature, she could not claim the remotest resemblance to any single nymph amongst them, not even when she tried in a little round mirror. ”

“ For Cupid, advancing to a slow tune, steadies with his wand the rolling mass upon the stage, that then begins to teem with its motley inhabitant, and just representative of the created world, active, wicked, gay, amusing, which gains your heart, but never your esteem: tricking, shifting, and worthless as it is—but after all its frisks, all its escapes, is condemned at last to burn in fire, and pass entirely away. Such was, I trust, the idea of the person, whoever he was, that had the honour first to compose this curious exhibition, and model this mythological device into a pantomime! ”

“ Lyce, the gods have heard my prayers, as gods will hear the dutiful,
And brought old age upon you, though you still affect the beautiful.
You sport among the boys, and drink and chatter on quite aimlessly;
And in your cups with quavering voice you torment Cupid shamelessly.
For blooming Chia, Cupid has a feeling more than brotherly;
He knows a handsaw from a hawk whenever winds are southerly. ”

“ Hardly has the young man closed his eyes when the figure of Cupid, on the clock which marks the hour, begins to fight with Saturn. The latter, vanquished, disappears—the signal for the Hours to troop forth and make a mischievous escape. Time, therefore, is in suspense and nought can challenge Cupid’s sway. The great tapestry comes to life, the figures move and breathe, and the Vicomte, starting from his slumber—or is he still only in a dream?—finds himself in the midst of the fair Armida’s glittering court. ”

“ Cupid, however, falls in love with her himself, and carries her off to a secluded spot, where he visits her by night, unseen and unrecognized by her. Persuaded by her sisters that her companion is a hideous monster, and forgetful of his warning, she lights a lamp to look upon him while he is asleep; in her ecstasy at his beauty she lets fall a drop of burning oil upon the face of Cupid, who awakes and disappears. Wandering over the earth in search of him, Psyche falls into the hands of Venus, who forces her to undertake the most difficult tasks. ”

“ You remember that Venus, in a fit of jealousy, ordered Cupid to inspire Psyche with a love for the most contemptible of all men, but Cupid was so stricken with her beauty that he himself fell in love with her. ”

“ Music had always been a passion with him until love had become its rival. Now Cupid had fled, he turned back to his old love. Drifting to Germany, he found congenial friends, and for some years made a meager living for himself and child, sending all he could spare to America for his golden-haired darling. ”

“ As he leaned nearer to the sleeping maiden one of his own arrows grazed his side, and all unknowingly he was wounded. Not wishing to harm the beauty that he was now beginning to love, Cupid softly left the room and went back to Olympus.
When Venus found that her rival was not dead, and that Cupid refused to hurt a thing so fair, she began to persecute poor Psyche until life grew unbearable for the helpless maiden, and she determined to kill herself. So she stole secretly from the palace and climbed up a high mountain, where there was a ledge of rock overhanging a steep cliff. ”

“ They are both surpassingly beautiful, though not at all alike!—the former a blonde, with deep blue eyes and golden tresses; the latter a brunette, with locks as dark as a feather fallen from the wings of night, and black eyes, from which Cupid, who continually lurks under the long lashes, borrows the barbs for the arrows with which he mortally wounds multitudes of unlucky swains. ”

“ Forgive me, Campaspe!
And now Cupid made another unusual move. He invaded her sacred bathroom. More curious—had he, she wondered, succumbed to emotion?—than annoyed, Campaspe slowly crossed the room and peered through the crack left at the hinges by the door slightly ajar. Cupid stood before the mirror combing his hair. Life, she assured herself, grew more amusing all the time. She was certain that she would remain young as her mother had. Getting bored was what aged people, and she was never bored.
The boys arrived about five, quiet, well-behaved, handsome lads. ”

“ And no doubt it may appear very wonderful that Cupid, who is, as they say, as blind as a bat, and so hits by chance, should have the power of imparting to the eyes of his victims the faculty not only of seeing each other more clearly than before, but also of reading each other’s eyes so plainly, that by a glance they know that they are mutually thinking of each other. ”

“ In this collection was the famous sleeping Cupid represented lying on a lion's skin to express his absolute dominion over fierceness and strength, some roses being scattered on the skin, probably as emblems of silence and secrecy, as Cupid presented that flower to Harpocrates, the god of silence, as a bribe to him to conceal the amours of his mother, to whom the rose is also supposed to be sacred. Below the foot of Cupid on the cushion is the figure of a lizard, which some have supposed to have been placed here as a known ingredient of great efficacy in love-charms ”

“ And yet, who had not rather be your fool and sot, always merry, ever young, and making sport for other people, than either Homer's Jupiter with his crooked counsels, terrible to everyone; or old Pan with his hubbubs; or smutty Vulcan half covered with cinders; or even Pallas herself, so dreadful with her Gorgon's head and spear and a countenance like bullbeef? Why is Cupid always portrayed like a boy, but because he is a very wag and can neither do nor so much as think of anything sober? Why Venus ever in her prime, but because of her affinity with me? ”

“ X comes from Cupid’s own mark, used by him in the days before writing was invented and every one had his or her own particular mark to sign checks, I. O. U’s, and Love Letters.
We are indebted to the British Museum for allowing us access to their treasure chambers. There we find this mark on many dainty billet-doux left upon Psyche’s dressing table by Cupid.
The symbol, for many centuries, of True Love, and many variations of it were used; such as:
X girls are usually thought of with great tenderness by a man, but they are sometimes a considerable annoyance, as, for example, Xanthippe. ”

“ But a full-fledged Cupid is a plucky animal, and not easily killed by anything no more tangible than smell, and the particular Cupid that had possession of the voyager’s heart came of a long-suffering breed, and was equal to almost any emergency. So as Johannes did not feel his ardent passion die, or even turn sick at the stomach, he thought he could manage to get through. If he couldn’t get along any other way, he could fill his pockets with brimstone matches, and his boots full of blue vitriol. ”

“ Why was every one so pathetic today? She remembered that Paul had once asked her why she had married, and she had answered that everybody should marry at least once, and he had insisted. But why Cupid? and she had replied, He's the very man I should have married. How true! she thought now with a smile.
The dinner, on the verandah of the Claremont, was rather solemn. Zimbule ate little and did not talk at all. Cupid made a determined effort to entertain his wife. ”

“ On the contrary, Cupid is a little fellow so fond of his liberty and so wilful that anything that tends to influence him—worse than that, to force him—has on him the contrary effect to that which should be expected. ”

“ I'll look into her eyes, their love light showing,
Small need of words we'll know;
For tender glances sprung from hearts aglowing,
With meaning overflow.
Cupid—
Such sentiments as these I quite approve:
I'm hopeful for the outcome of your love.
Cupid (turning to Frosties) —
Who are these furry folk that round us stand?
They seem like members of the Frosties' band.
Frosties (in chorus) —
We are the elves of the Northern Light,
Of the ice blink and the snow ”

“ Psyche, sunk on her knees, is imploring Cupid’s forgiveness, and the sweet smile on his lips shows that her prayer is inwardly accepted. Laymen, at least, can hardly look without rapture on the exquisite beauty of the forms, and the lovely expression of the countenances. ”

“ Thereupon she calls her winged son Cupid, mischievous enough in his own nature, and rouses and provokes him yet more by her complaints. She points out Psyche to him and says, "My dear son, punish that contumacious beauty; give thy mother a revenge as sweet as her injuries are great; infuse into the bosom of that haughty girl a passion for some low, mean, unworthy being, so that she may reap a mortification as great as her present exultation and triumph."
Cupid prepared to obey the commands of his mother. There are two fountains in Venus's garden, one of sweet waters, the other of bitter. ”

“ There he associated with the Muses, became intimate with Mercury, kept company with Hymen, and grew in favour with every one except the implacable Momus. Unfortunately, Cupid became insolent and vain, behaving with arrogance to the superior powers. He made enmity reign where peace and concord should have been found. Feuds raged among the gods and goddesses on his account. To rid themselves of a pest, the rulers of heaven called an assembly of the gods, to consider how peace could be restored. Cupid was accused of being a public incendiary, a disturber of good order ”

“ If the time shall ever come when she shall need to go back to city life she will be ready.
Look at her now as she steps to the door in anticipation of Nathan’s home-coming. Her shining ringlets hang about her fair face in the way her husband loves best to see them; her arched, short upper lip describes the Cupid’s bow over the full under one, and her large, luminous black eyes, gleaming with slumbering fires, look out upon the smooth, sunlit expanse before her. She is a beautiful and charming picture of a happy and contented wife. ”

“ Sir Norman promptly paid her for the compliment in Cupid's own coin:
“Little flatterer! I can almost forgive Count L'Estrange for wanting to marry you; for I presume he it only a man, and not quite equal to impossibilities. ”

“ We feel like questioning Cupid's sanity when he brings together persons of such diverse natures, training, antecedents, and tendencies, but among opposites, in disposition, Cupid displays his best achievements. They took life together as they found it. To have "saved" one of the world's greatest forces, to have "made him a man" was more than an equivalent for living on short commons for some few weeks while they were getting under way. ”

“ His respect for Cupid had as much avoirdupois as his respect for Mars. His love for his wife was an insane love—it far outdid his [Pg 67] love for his chiefdom. And he had a wife who was worthy of him and as faithful to him as he was to her—she adored the very skins he wore across his shoulders. Being happily united himself, and having such a respect for Cupid and the fair sex, he passed a law that no man or woman should take unto themselves a partner for life until thoroughly satisfied and convinced that the love flames between them would be of everlasting duration, and were genuine. ”

“ Did not Psyche believe that Cupid was a serpent? Your adventure resembles hers. You are not less beautiful. If it were Cupid who loves you, would you not return his passion?" "If Cupid and the unknown were the same person," said the Princess, blushing, "I should love Cupid ”

“ In the fifth a man sits looking upon the ground, while Cupid sits perched upon his back, and he knows not why he is there. In the sixth Cupid has taken his flight and is just beyond the reach of an old man, [163] who stretches out his hands in vain to recover the fugitive. ”

“ Psyche (i. e. the soul) , in the later Greek mythology the youngest of three daughters of a king, and of such beauty as to eclipse the attractions and awake the jealousy of Venus, the goddess of beauty, who in consequence sent Cupid, her son, to inspire her with love for a hideous monster, and so compass her ruin. Cupid, fascinated with her himself, spirited her away to a palace furnished with every delight, but instead of delivering her over to the monster, visited her himself at night as her husband, and left her before daybreak in the morning, because she must on no account know who he was. ”