Euphrasia

“ My Lord Jesus Christ, accept this child, since she desires only thee." Then turning to her child, she gave her much good advice and put her in the hands of the abbess. A few years later this generous mother died, after a holy life, in the same monastery, in the arms of her daughter. The young Euphrasia walked on with giant steps in the way of virtue and miracles that have given her great renown among the Greeks, and made the Church honor her as a saint. [11]
Perhaps some will fancy that such doctrine and such examples are out of harmony with the manners and ideas of our day. They are not. ”

“ To dare and do greatly for Greece was the ambition of Constantine. To cheer and watch over her brother, to regulate his wilder and more untaught soul, to paint in celestial colours the bourne he tended towards by action, were Euphrasia’s tasks.
“There is a heaven,” said the dying man as he told his tale,—“there is a paradise for those who die in the just cause. I know not what joys are there prepared for the blest; but they can scarcely transcend those that were mine as I listened to my own sweet sister, and felt my heart swell with patriotism and fond, warm affection.” ”

“ Years passed away, and the little flower grew up and bloomed in the cool shade of the cloister, and her mother had rejoined Antigonus in bliss, when the emperor wrote to Euphrasia to order her instantly to return to Constantinople244 and marry the young man to whom he had betrothed her. She was of imperial blood, and Theodosius considered that, on the death of her mother, the charge of Euphrasia, who was now an heiress and very wealthy, devolved on him. She replied, imploring him to allow her to follow her vocation, and requested him to dispose of all her property for the benefit of the poor. ”

“ Sylvie said at length, admonishing them. "And the Second Cataract is grander than this."
"You number them going down," said Mr. Kirkbright.
"Yes. People always number things as they come to them, don't they? Our first is somebody's else last, I suppose, always."
"What a little spirit that is!" said Christopher Kirkbright to Miss Euphrasia, dropping back to help his sister down a rocky plunge.
"A little spirit waked up by touch of misfortune," said Miss Euphrasia. "She would have gone through life blindfolded by purple and fine linen, if things had been left as they were with her." ”

“ Phoc. By Heav'n I will; [Pg 33]
My breath shall wake his rage; this very night
When sleep sits heavy on the slumb'ring city,
Then Greece unsheaths her sword, and great revenge
Shall stalk with death and horror o'er the ranks
Of slaughter'd troops a sacrifice to freedom!
But first let me behold Euphrasia.
Mel. Hush
Thy pent-up valour: to a secret haunt
I'll guide thy steps; there dwell, and in apt time
I'll bring Euphrasia to thy longing arms.
Phoc. Oh! lead me to her ”

“ Ah, traitress! exclaimed I, with virtuous indignation, abandoned Euphrasia! Not satisfied to humbug a silly old gentleman with a tale of love, you share his property in your person with another, and add profligacy to dissimulation! But to be sure, on afterthoughts, I was but a greenhorn when I took on so for such a trivial occurrence! ”

“ Out of Euphrasia's eyes, as she gazed at the mantel-shelf, shone the light of undying fires within—fires which at a touch could blaze forth after endless years, transforming the wrinkled face, softening the sterner lines of character. And suddenly there was a new bond between the two. So used are the young to the acceptance of the sacrifice of the old that they lose sight of that sacrifice. But Austen saw now, in a flash, the years of Euphrasia's self-denial, the years of memories, the years of regrets for that which might have been. ”

“ Arcas. The grey of morn breaks thro' yon eastern clouds.
'Twere time this interview should end: the hour
Now warns Euphrasia hence: what man could dare,
I have indulg'd—Philotas!—ha! the cell
Left void!—Evander gone!—What may this mean?
Philotas, speak.
Enter Philotas.
Phil. Oh! vile, detested lot,
Here to obey the savage tyrant's will,
And murder virtue that can thus behold
Its executioner, and smile upon him. ”

“ All follow Philotas, except Phocion.
Phoc. Satisfy my doubts; how fares Euphrasia?
Mel. Euphrasia lives, and fills the anxious moments
With every virtue. Wherefore venture hither?
Why with rash valour penetrate our gates?
Phoc. Could I refrain? Oh! could I tamely wait
Th' event of ling'ring war? With patience count
The lazy-pacing hours, while here in Syracuse
The tyrant keeps all that my heart holds dear ”

“ Truly, the holy woman Euphrosyne's prayer to God was, both day and night, that she might never during her life be discovered. So when no revelation came to the abbot or the brethren, then he consoled him and said: 'son, weary thou not of the Lord's discipline, because He correcteth every son whom He loveth; and know thou that, without God's will, not one sparrow falleth on the earth. How much more can anything happen to thy daughter without God's ordinance? ”

“ She could wait better than Rodney. Because,—she knew she was waiting, and satisfied to wait. How did Rodney know that?
It was what he kept asking his Aunt Euphrasia in his frequent, boyish, yet most manly, letters. And she kept answering, "You need not fear. I think I understand Sylvie. I can see. If there were anything in the way, I would tell you."
But at last she had to say,—not, "I think I understand Sylvie,"—but, "I understand girls, Rodney. I am a woman, remember. I have been a girl, and I have waited. I have waited all my life. The right girls can." ”

“ Miss Euphrasia got up and walked over to her toilet-glass. Do you think, with all her outgoing goodness, she had not enough in her for this, of that sweet woman-feeling that desires a true beauty-blossoming for each good season of life as it comes? A pure, gentle showing, in face and voice and movement, of all that is lovely for a woman to show, and that she tells one of God's own words by showing, if only it be true, and not a putting on of falseness? ”

“ Now, ye just gods, if vengeance you prepare,
Now find the guilty head.
Enter Euphrasia, from the Tomb.
Eup. Virgins, I thank you—Oh! more lightly now
My heart expands; the pious act is done,
And I have paid my tribute to a parent.
Ah! wherefore does the tyrant bend his way?
Phil. He flies the altar; leaves th' unfinish'd rites.
No god there smiles propitious on his cause.
Fate lifts the awful balance; weighs his life,
The lives of numbers, in the trembling scale. ”

“ Hark you, Gil Blas! said Euphrasia; fortune declares in your favor if you do not balk her. Let us put our heads together, my good friend. Don Gonzales is old, and a good deal shaken in constitution; so that a very little fever, in the hands of a very great doctor, would carry him to a better place. Let us take time by the forelock, and ply our arts so busily as to secure to me the largest slice of his effects. If I prosper, you shall not starve, I promise you; and my bare word is a better security than all the deeds and conveyances of all the lawyers in Madrid. ”

“ Shall Euphrasia's voice
Be hush'd to silence, when a father dies?
Shall not the monster hear his deeds accurst?
Shall he not tremble, when a daughter comes,
Wild with her griefs, and terible with wrongs;
Fierce in despair, all nature in her cause
Alarm'd and rous'd with horror?
Melanthon come; my wrongs will lend me force;
The weakness of my sex is gone; this arm
Feels tenfold strength; this arm shall do a deed
For Heav'n and earth, for men and gods to wonder at!
This arm shall vindicate a father's cause.
ACT THE SECOND. SCENE I.
A wild romantic Scene amidst overhanging Rocks ”

“ Therefore, when we find opportunities of suffering for charity, we ought to bless God for them.----St. Vincent de Paul
St. Euphrasia, a nun in the Thebaid, was so full of charity that she spent whole weeks without taking food, on account of her excessive occupation in the service of others, and because she devoted to prayer any little time she had left. It was noticed that for a whole year she never sat down; and her active kindness made her dear and lovely in the eyes of the whole convent, so that she seemed to them not an earthly creature, but an Angel incarnate. ”

“ I fear to ask it, where is virtuous Phocion?
Eup. Fled from the tyrant's pow'r.
Eva. And left thee here
Expos'd and helpless?
Eup. He is all truth and honour:
He fled to save my child.
Eva. My young Evander!
Your boy is safe, Euphrasia?—Oh! my heart!
Alas! quite gone; worn out with misery;
Oh! weak, decay'd old man!
Eup. Inhuman wretches!
Will none relieve his want? A drop of water
Might save his life; and even that's deny'd him.
Eva. These strong emotions—Oh! that eager air—
It is too much—assist me; bear me hence ”

“ Call on Evander lost;—
And cruel gods, and cruel stars invoking,
Stand on the cliff in madness and despair.
Phil. By Heav'n,
My heart in pity bleeds.
No other fear assails this warlike breast.
I pity your misfortunes; yes, by Heav'n,
My heart bleeds for you.—Gods! you've touch'd my soul!
The gen'rous impulse is not giv'n in vain.
I feel thee, Nature, and I dare obey.
Oh! thou hast conquer'd.—Go, Euphrasia, go,
Behold thy father.
Eup. Raise me, raise me up ”

“ Why, if they did, need they remind her of herself and him, instead of merely the thoughts that they had had together, the intent of which was high above them both? Why need she be pleased and shy in her selfhood,—ashamed lest he should detect the thought of pleasure in her at his sharing with her his grand purpose, recognizing in her the echo of his inspiration? What made it so different that Christopher Kirkbright should discover and acknowledge such a sympathy between them, from her meeting it, as she had long done, in Miss Euphrasia? ”

“ Go with my child, torn from this matron breast,
This breast that still should yield its nurture to him,
Fly with my infant to some happier shore,
If he be safe, Euphrasia dies content.
Till that sad close of all, the task be mine
To tend a father with delighted care, [Pg 13]
To smooth the pillow of declining age,
See him sink gradual into mere decay,
On the last verge of life watch ev'ry look,
Explore each fond unutterable wish,
Catch his last breath, and close his eyes in peace.
Mel. I would not add to my afflictions; yet
My heart misgives; Evander's fatal period——
Eup. ”

“ Then Euphrosyne thought thus, saying; ' if I go now to a women's convent, then my father will seek me there, and will find me there; and then he will take me thence by force for my bridegroom's sake; but I will go to a man's minster where no man will suspect me.' Then she put off her womanly garb from her, and clothed herself with a man's; and in the eventide departed from her ha^ll, and took, with her fifty mancuses, and that night she hid herself in a secret place. ”

“ And will you then refuse, when thus the gods
Afford a refuge to thee?
Eva. Oh! my child,
There is no refuge for me.
Eup. Pardon, sir:
Euphrasia's care has form'd a safe retreat;
There may'st thou dwell; it will not long be wanted.
Soon shall Timoleon with resistless force,
Burst yon devoted walls.
Eva. Timoleon!
Eup. Yes.
The brave Timoleon, with the pow'r of Greece;
Another day shall make this city his.
Eva. Timoleon come to vindicate my rights! [Pg 28]
Oh! thou shalt reign in Sicily! my child
Shall grace her father's throne. Indulgent Heaven! ”

“ I only wake to misery.
Phil. How didst thou gain the summit of the rock?
Eup. Give me my father; here you hold him fetter'd; [Pg 19]
Oh! give him to me——If ever
The touch of nature throbb'd within your breast,
Admit me to Evander. In these caves
I know he pines in want; let me convey
Some charitable succour to a father.
Phil. Alas, Euphrasia! 'would I dare comply!
Eup. It will be virtue in thee. Thou, like me,
Wert born in Greece:—Oh! by our common parent—
Nay, stay; thou shalt not fly; Philotas, stay;—
You have a father too; think, were his lot
Hard as Evander's ”

“ The gods of the Euphrates, like those of the Nile, constituted a countless multitude of visible and invisible beings, distributed into tribes and empires throughout all the regions of the universe. A particular function or occupation formed, so to speak, the principality of each one, in which he worked with an indefatigable zeal, under the orders of his respective prince or king ”

“ The Euphrates and its branches do not at all times succeed in reaching the sea: they are lost for the most part in vast lagoons to which the tide comes up, and in its ebb bears their waters away with it. ”

“ The connection between a fish god and a corn god is not necessarily remote when we consider that in Babylonia and Egypt the harvest was the gift of the rivers.
The Euphrates, indeed, was hailed as a creator of all that grew on its banks.
O thou River who didst create all things,
When the great gods dug thee out,
They set prosperity upon thy banks,
Within thee Ea, the King of the Deep, created his dwelling...
Thou judgest the cause of mankind! ”

“ The four angels of the Euphrates, now ordered to be released, may be the same as those whom Christ for bade to injure the earth until the Church could be firmly established after the persecutions. [4]
15. Even the time for the manifestation of these evil spirits and their minions has been accurately fixed in the designs of Providence. The very day and hour has been determined.
Great numbers will be done to death in the religious wars and revolutions stirred up by these angels from the Euphrates. The prophecy may also mean that large numbers will be led into new errors and schisms. ”

“ This hymn brought comfort with it, and as she gazed on the young light, the rays of which were not yet strong enough to dazzle her, she thought of her childhood, and the tears gathered in her eyes. Then she looked down over the broad plain. There was the Euphrates with his yellow waves looking so like the Nile; the many villages, just as in her own home, peeping out from among luxuriant cornfields and plantations of fig-trees. To the west lay the royal hunting-park; she could see its tall cypresses and nut-trees miles away in the distance. ”