Justina

“ But here seeing you stand unmoved, Like a rock mid raging seas, No extraneous miseries Make me say I love you now. 'Tis not for my friends I bow, So your warning hear with ease.— To Lelius what shall I say? JUSTINA. That he Well may trust the boding fears Of his love of many years. CYPRIAN. To Florus? JUSTINA. Not my face to see. CYPRIAN. And to myself? JUSTINA. Your love should be Not so bold. CYPRIAN. Though a god should woo? JUSTINA. Will a god do more for you Than for those I have denied? CYPRIAN. Yes. JUSTINA. Well then, I have replied To Lelius, Florus, and to you. ”

“ CYPRIAN. Thou dost owe Him that, Justina, For thy God was thy defender, He watched o'er thee in His goodness. Get my prayers to Him accepted. JUSTINA. Pray with faith, and He will listen. CYPRIAN. Then with that I will address Him. Though a fear, that's not despair, Makes me for my great sins tremble. JUSTINA. Oh! have confidence. CYPRIAN. My crimes are So immense. JUSTINA. But more immense are His great mercies. CYPRIAN. Then, will He Pardon have on me? JUSTINA. 'Tis certain. CYPRIAN. How, if my soul surrendered To the Demon's self, as purchase Of thy beauty? ”

“ The children seem to dance in the evening more gaily than ever, since Justina is at home, and Justina is a noble young girl, well-grown and with a noble exterior, but too pale in complexion. She has a fine talent for the piano, and in the evening, when the dancing is over, she and her sister, Illione, sing to the piano negro-songs, which amuse their father as much as they amuse me, and we sit under the piazza in the delicious night air often till midnight. ”

“ JUSTINA. Do not say it. FLORUS. To your honour. JUSTINA. Thus will you blast me? FLORUS. Yes, for hypocritical virtue Merits something even harsher. LELIUS [at the door, aside] . Florus was not then the hero Of the balcony; some more happy Lover than us twain she welcomes. JUSTINA. Oh! defame not noble damsels, Since you noble blood inherit. FLORUS. Noble damsel, dar'st thou call thee, When thy very arms received him, And from thy balcony he departed? Power subdued thee; from the fact That the Governor is his father, Vanity led thee on to show That in Antioch he commanded... ”

“ At the moment, Justina was occupying a palace at a short distance from Bregetio, where the death of her husband occurred. Gratian, the son of Severa, had already been invested by his father with the imperial purple; but the court ministers, inspired probably with the thought of those advantages which such men enjoy during the reign of an infant, immediately planned to exalt to the throne of Valentinian the latter's four-year-old son, who bore the same name. Justina was sent for and placed by the ministers on a regal platform facing the troops. She held her young son in her arms ”

“ Emptage is reclining upon the settee, her eyes closed, a bottle of smelling-salts in her hand. Justina is pacing the room between the door and the window. Mrs. Emptage is a pretty, carefully-preserved woman with dyed hair and “touched-up” face: she is old enough to be the mother of a 2daughter of nine-and-twenty. Justina is of that age, good-looking, “smart,” and already somewhat passé. ”

“ She may have been thoughtless and faulty, but she was so young, and he was gone. Besides, no man can stand by calmly and see one woman pitted against another.
‘Of what do you accuse me?’ demanded Lady Amabel, with heightened colour.
‘Of what do I accuse you?’ almost screamed Justina. ‘Of perfidy, of treachery, toward him,’ pointing to Mr Warden Scott, ‘and toward me. I accuse you of attempting to win my dear husband’s affections from me—which you never did, thank God!—and of rendering this home as desolate as it was happy. ”

“ And if a lady will secure an uncommonly good-looking and agreeable man all to herself, she must expect to see others attempt to share the prize with her.’
Poor Justina! With as many blessings as one would think heart could desire, she was not above poisoning her life’s happiness by a touch of jealousy; and so I pitied her. It is a terrible foe with which to contend.
‘But this is but one off the list,’ I continued, wishing to divert her mind from [28] the contemplation of Sir Harry’s cousin. ‘Who are those two dark girls standing together at the side table? ”

“ The Empress was so violently incensed against Germanus, and showed her dislike of him so plainly, that no one dared to connect himself with him by marriage, although he was the Emperor's nephew, and his children remained unmarried as long as she lived, while his daughter Justina was also without a husband at the age of eighteen. For this reason, when John was sent by Belisarius on a mission to Byzantium, Germanus was forced to enter upon negotiations with him with a view to marriage with his daughter, although such an alliance was far beneath him. ”

“ It doesn’t follow, because it can’t follow. But he would kill you and everybody would say of you, “Serve him right; another unsatisfactory husband disposed of!” And you would be buried, and my sister would be free and would go to Trouville in August in her weeds, and we should all have a splendid time generally.
Fraser. [Dryly.] If we were French.
Justina. Yes. [Going to the window.] Why aren’t we French!
223Mrs. Cloys. Justina——!
Fraser. [Advancing to Mrs. Cloys, hesitatingly, uncomfortably—lowering his voice.] I can’t deny that I have behaved in a very poor fashion to Theophila——
Justina. ”

“ Justina. [Reading.] “Jack Allingham would not treat a woman——” [Staring at Mrs. Cloys.] Oh——!
Mrs. Cloys. This Mr. Allingham? Exceedingly kind and gentle to women—is that the class of man he belongs to?
91Justina. Y—yes.
Mrs. Cloys. Suppose—suppose this wretched girl lets her mind dwell too much just now on Mr. Allingham’s—kindness!
Justina. Aunt!
Mrs. Cloys. [Again returning the letter to Justina—with decision.] Where does he live? Where is he likely to be found?
Justina. It’s in the Red Book. [Pointing to the writing-table.] Claude——!
Sir Fletcher Portwood. Bring me the Red Book! ”

“ As regards the relation of the sexes, the greatest contrast lay in the Christian conception of a purified spiritual love, as compared with the carnal and sensual love of the pagan peoples. This is illustrated by the popularity of the celebrated legend of Cyprian and Justina, which was later versified by the Empress Eudoxia. ”

“ I'm the biggest" When they had been all finally satisfied, she would embrace with great tenderness all her sons, inquiring of each in turn as to his health.
Sometimes in the conversation there would come a cloud of sadness as some relative would be mentioned who had departed since the last family reunion. Then finally, after having returned to the garden to play for a while under the great trees, the bell of the nearby church would strike the hour of noon, and Justina would appear at the grape arbor entrance crying, "Come one, come all! The soup is getting cold!" ”

“ Justinian governed the Roman Empire for thirty-eight years (527-565) , and great and curious events occurred in his time. The Empress Theodora was daughter of an official called the Master of the Bears, and took to the stage in her youth. Her forte was not to sing or dance or play on the flute, but to act in pantomime and buffoonery, her eyes being bright, and her agile and elegant form drawing down endless applause. She captivated the nephew of the Emperor Justin, young Justinian, whom she married, and she maintained an ascendency over him to the last. ”

“ It is said that Justinian's mother told some of her intimates that Justinian was not the son of Sabbatius, her husband, or of any human being; but that, at the time when she became pregnant, an unseen demon companied with her, whom she only felt as when a man has connection with a woman, and who then vanished away as in a dream.
Some who have been in Justinian's company in the palace very late at night, men with a clear conscience, have thought that in his place they have beheld a strange and devilish form. ”

“ Thus did Theodora, as I have told you, in spite of her birth and bringing-up, reach the throne without finding any obstacle in her way. Justinian felt no shame at having wedded her, although he might have chosen the best born, the best educated, the most modest and virtuously nurtured virgin in all the Roman Empire, with outstanding breasts, as the saying is; whereas he preferred to take to himself the common refuse of all mankind, and without a thought of all that has been told, married a woman stained with the shame of many abortions and many other crimes. ”

“ We stayed several hours with Justine, and it was with great difficulty that Elizabeth could tear herself away. “I wish,” cried she, “that I were to die with you; I cannot live in this world of misery.”
Justine assumed an air of cheerfulness, while she with difficulty repressed her bitter tears. She embraced Elizabeth and said in a voice of half-suppressed emotion, “Farewell, sweet lady, dearest Elizabeth, my beloved and only friend; may heaven, in its bounty, bless and preserve you; may this be the last misfortune that you will ever suffer! Live, and be happy, and make others so.” ”

“ Least of all can I sketch Justinian the Great, the half-Teuton peasant, whom his uncle Justin sent for out of the Dardanian hills, to make him a demigod upon earth. Men whispered in after years that he was born of a demon, a demon himself, passing whole days without food, wandering up and down his palace corridors all night, resolving dark things, and labouring all day with Herculean force to carry them out. ”

“ The courage of Theodora saved Justinian, who proposed to fly with the imperial treasures. She found means to communicate with the leaders of the blues and to sow the seeds of jealousy, which soon revived the animosity of the factions. The blues were easily persuaded to turn their weapons against their old foes, and the greens were left deserted in the hippodrome with their unfortunate emperor. Then Justinian took his revenge in a slaughter which assured the greens that their cause was hopeless. Thirty thousand of them were murdered almost in cold blood. ”

“ She was by nature very curious, and Justine’s narrative gave her some pleasant and exciting thrills.
“I could make a splendid story out of this and frighten Flora so that she would scream,” thought Augusta to herself. “It is such fun frightening people, particularly in the dark, or just when you are going to bed. I do wish I could sleep at the Asprays’ house next week. However, that is not to be thought of.”
“Now, miss,” said Justine, “there is only one thing more of any importance to-day. Do you see these keys?”
“Yes,” said Augusta. “Why, these are Aunt Jessie’s special private keys.” ”

“ In addition to her royal descent, which was derived from a long line of kingly ancestors, the Gothic queen was a woman of great personal charm, of cultivated mind, and of an age scarcely exceeding that of the Eastern Empress. Justinian was much impressed at the prospect of a princess of her rank placing herself under his protection, and he prepared a temporary establishment at Epidamnus, in a style suitable to her dignity, in anticipation of her being obliged to fly from the soil of Italy. ”

“ She exercised over him that influence which a stronger character always exercises over a weaker, whatever their respective positions; and unfortunately it was seldom a good influence, for Theodora (q.v.) seems to have been a woman who, with all her brilliant gifts of intelligence and manner, had no principles and no pity. Justinian was rather quick than strong or profound; his policy does not strike one as the result of deliberate and well-considered views, but dictated by the hopes and fancies of the moment. ”

“ We are not bound to accept them, for they are uncorroborated; yet the accounts of Justinian’s government given in the Anecdota agree in too many respects with what we know aliunde to enable us to reject them altogether; and it must be admitted that there is a certain internal consistency in the whole picture which the Anecdota present of the empress. About the beauty, the intellectual gifts, and the imperious will of Theodora there can be no doubt, for as to these all our authorities agree. She was evidently an extraordinary person, born to shine in any station of life. ”

“ How can one believe this man to have been anything but an evil demon, who never took his fill of drink, food, or sleep, but snatched at the meals which were set before him anyhow, and roamed about the palace at untimely hours of the night, and yet was so passionately addicted to venery.
Some of Theodora's lovers, when she was still on the stage, declare that a demon had fallen upon them and driven them out of her bedchamber that it might pass the night with her. There was a dancer named Macedonia, who belonged to the Blue faction at Antioch, and had very great influence with Justinian. ”

“ He was a faithless friend, an inexorable foe, and mad for murder and plunder; quarrelsome and revolutionary, easily led to do evil, never persuaded to act rightly, he was quick to contrive and carry out what was evil, but loathed even to hear of good actions.
How could any man fully describe Justinian's character? He had all these vices and other even greater ones, in larger proportion than any man; indeed, Nature seemed to have taken away all other men's vices and to have implanted them all in this man's breast. ”

“ But when she came back to Byzantium once more, Justinian conceived for her an overpowering love; and at first he knew her as a mistress, though he did advance her to the rank of the Patricians. Theodora accordingly succeeded at once in acquiring extraordinary influence and a fairly large fortune. For she seemed to the man the sweetest thing in the world, as is wont to happen with lovers who love extravagantly, and he was fain to bestow upon his beloved all favours and all money. ”