Statira

“ Starveling has nothing to say in the drama.--Shakespeare, Midsummer Night’s Dream (1592) .
Stati ́ra, the heroine of La Calprenède’s romance of Cassandra. Statīra is the daughter of Darīus, and is represented as the “most perfect of the works of creation.” Oroondatês is in love with her, and ultimately marries her.
Statira, daughter of Dari ́us, and wife of Alexander. Young, beautiful, womanly, of strong affection, noble bearing, mild yet haughty, yielding yet brave. Her love for Alexander was unbounded. ”

“ There were two very different characters in which she acquitted herself with uncommon applause: if anything could excuse that desperate extravagance of love, that almost frantic passion of Lee's Alexander the Great, it must have been when Mrs. Bracegirdle was his Statira: as when she acted Millamant, all the faults, follies, and affectation of that agreeable tyrant were venially melted down into so many charms and attractions of a conscious beauty. ”

“ Ctesias affirms, that Parysatis, cutting a bird of this kind into two pieces with a knife, one side of which had been smeared with the drug, the other side being clear of it, ate the untouched and wholesome part herself, and gave Statira that which was thus infected; but Dinon will not have it to be Parysatis, but Melantas, that cut up the bird and presented the envenomed part of it to Statira; who, dying with dreadful agonies and convulsions, was herself sensible of what had happened to her, and aroused in the king's mind suspicion of his mother, whose savage and implacable temper he knew. ”

“ Selina looked at her with expressionless eyes, but Susannah spoke.
"Who are you, madam?"
"I was 'Statira,' ma'am," answered the actress, "but I am as free as you to come and look at him now."
She lifted her head defiantly; tears had stained the rouge and powder on her face, and her powdered hair was disarranged under her fantastic hat.
"Poor soul," said Miss Chressham. "I suppose you cared too. Do not look at me so fiercely," she added softly; "it does not hurt us that you have come." ”

“ I dare answer for thee, said Arabella, smiling at the turn she gave to her words, thou art no Barsina; and I should wrong thee very much to compare thee with that wise princess; for thou art certainly one of the most simple wenches in the world. But since thou hast gone so far, let me know what the unfortunate person desires of me; for, since I am neither more rigid nor pretend to more virtue than Statira, I may do at least as much for him as that great queen did for Oroondates. ”

“ Here, again, the mere student of "unmixed" history may start up and say, "Why! this Statira, who was also called Barsine [an independent personage here] was murdered by Roxana after Alexander's death!" But, as was also said, these romancers exercise the privilege of mercy freely; and though La Calprenède's Roxana is naughty enough for anything (she makes, of course, the most shameless love to Oroondates) , she is not allowed to kill her rival, who is made happy, after another series of endless adventures of her own, her lover's, and other people's. ”

“ I can rant upon the boards, 'tis all. When most I wish to disguise my feelings, then do I find how poor an actress I am."
"Do you wish to act for my benefit, my dear?" asked Lord Lyndwood lightly.
She gave him a dark bright glance.
"Sometimes, maybe. Now the sun is setting, will you see me to my chair?"
They made slow way back through the thinning crowd.
Mrs. Beale was suddenly gay.
"What flowers will you bring me to-night? When last I played Statira, Lord Sandys sent me more yellow roses than I could wear in a month. The Fenton was furious; but you, nothing from you!" ”

“ By the way, the already-mentioned "harmonising" is in few places more oddly shown than by the remark that Plutarch's error in representing Statira as killed was due to the fact that he did not recognise her under her later name of Cassandra—a piece of Gascon half-naïveté, half-jest which Mlle. de Scudéry's Norman shrewdness [203] would hardly have allowed. There is also much more of the supernatural in these books than in hers, and the characters are much less prim. Roxana, who, of course, is meant to be naughty, actually sends a bracelet of her hair to Oroondates! ”

“ The generic characters above given will distinguish them as peculiar to the tropics, and principally those of South America; one or two species only being found in Africa, and five or six inhabiting India.
I have no doubt this is the Pap. Statira of Cramer; it is found only in Brazil, and has been erroneously considered by Godart and Latreille as a variety of C. Jugurthina, an Indian insect, and which in fact is not in itself a species, being no other than the female of C. Alcmeone, as an attentive examination of a vast number of both, collected in Java by Dr. ”

“ The old woman and the lad stood staring at us in dismay.
"Come, senor, come," he said.
"We are not going, Juan," I answered, quietly; and Sarita put her hands to her face distractedly, and then she cried again impulsively—
"Oh, you must go. You must go."
"Come, then," and, grasping her hand, I led her toward the door.
"Quick, senor, quick," said the boy again.
"Quick, Sarita," I repeated. "Every moment lost may be fatal."
"I will go. Yes, I will go. Quick, Mother Calvarro, my things;" and, smiling to me with every sign of agitation, she took them from the old woman's hand. ”

“ I warned my dearest that her last hope was gone; that youth—even diplomatic youth—would side with youth, and that if she looked to you for help in her plans, she would be disappointed. We discussed you, analysed you, weighed you, thought of you, talked of you, and, I think, each resolved to win you. I did;" and she smiled frankly.
"Sarita!" exclaimed Madame Chansette, protestingly. "You must have mercy on Mr. Carbonnell. He does not know you."
"I will have no mercy where he is concerned. ”

“ Madame Chansette rose at that, and Sarita rose too, and took her arm tenderly and, as it were, protectingly.
"I will leave you. Sarita will speak freely, Mr. Carbonnell; but remember she is steering for shipwreck—her own words."
They went away together then, and presently Sarita came back alone.
"You will think ours a strange household and a stranger partnership. But for all our conventionality we love each other as if we were mother and daughter; and I know how much I make that dear heart suffer at times." She paused, and then said: "And so you are the real Ferdinand Carbonnell. ”

“ As poet, Statius unquestionably shines in many respects when compared with most other post-Augustans. He was born with exceptional talent, and his poetic expression is, with all its faults, richer on the whole and less forced, more buoyant and more felicitous, than is to be found generally in the Silver Age of Latin poetry. Statius is at his best in his occasional verses, the Silvae, which have a character of their own, and in their best parts a charm of their own. ”

“ Sarita, who had drawn herself hurriedly from my arms, turned pale and gazed at the shut door, trembling with agitation and distress.
"I have sown passion, and the harvest will be death," she murmured, repeating my words. "Heaven have mercy upon us."
"Or upon him," I answered. "But we need not take it quite so seriously. Come, sweetheart," and I held out my arms to her.
"No, no, no. It can never be, Ferdinand. I was mad," she cried distractedly.
"It was a very sweet madness, and shall last our lifetime," I answered, but she would not let me place my arm round her again. ”

“ Curwen and Mercy to leave, with Sarita, if she'll go. But the others must go, and probably poor old Madame Chansette with them. If Sarita goes, I go; if she stops on, I stop on. I was a fool to leave the hotel at all last night, and my brain must have been addled or in my boots for me to do it."
"Why not go to London and clear the business there out of the way; let things simmer down here, and leave me in charge of them; and then come back and do what has to be done?"
"Have you ever cared for a woman, Silas?" ”

“ For a time not a word was spoken, and then Livenza broke the silence.
"We may as well end this pretence, Sarita. I have lied to you. Your Englishman is not coming here, he is lying snug, safely caged in a gaol in Madrid, and I have brought you here for my own purposes. To tell you again what you once used to let me tell you freely, and what you know well enough—that I love you; love you, do you hear, as no cold-blooded English dog knows how to love. You are mine now, and shall never belong to another."
I saw Sarita start, and wince at the words. ”

“ Sarita, my love, would have yielded, but Sarita, the Carlist, was still the stronger; and my appeal fell on ears deadened by the calls of her patriotism and the cause she loved so fanatically. She grew less and less in sympathy as I pleaded.
"You must not tempt me to treachery, Ferdinand, and I cannot, I dare not, I will not listen. I should despise myself. ”

“ But I did not yield a jot from my purpose.
"That must be as you will, Sarita," I said, calmly. "Nothing can change my resolve. Because I will not see or say that all you do is right, you are angry. Well, leave it there. Believe me, I will stop this and save you from yourself."
"I do not want your help; and I will not have it. An enemy of Spain can be no friend of mine," she cried, passionately, and was going from the room with all the signs of her anger and emotion flaming in her face when the door was opened and a servant ushered in Colonel Livenza. ”

“ I'm off to the hotel."
"You'd better see the chief and tell him. He can do more than you."
"He can't save Sarita from Quesada, and I can, and will. Of course, there's the chance that these agents of his will lay me by the heels, and we must reckon with that. I don't know what's going to happen; but I do know this, that where Sarita goes, I follow; and so long as I'm outside a gaol I'll try and communicate with you twice a day. If a day passes and you don't hear from me, then tell the chief what's wrong; and if he can't get me out of any bother, then let the people at the Palace know. ”

“ I cried.
"I would rather be in danger where you are not, than safe where you are, Lord Glisfoyle." The cold, cutting words struck me to the heart.
"That is very hard to hear, Sarita."
"It is harder to say, but it is no less than the truth."
"Yet, I will not believe it. Your heart will not say it. You know how I love you. You know I have not a thought or care but for your good, your safety, your happiness. You have confessed you love me; I know you do. I know that it was your love for me that prompted you just now to think of my danger and consent to leave Madrid. ”

“ The good and amiable Chansette has what you English call a bee in her bonnet on that subject; and unfortunately the two children share the delusion. Why, if there was such property I should surely know of it; do you think I should not positively hail the chance of providing adequately for Sarita? Not for Ramon, perhaps. That I grant you. The young dog deserves the whip and worse. My very life is not safe while he is at liberty. But Sarita—why, I like the child. ”

“ Mercy, dear, I am in sore trouble and perplexity. If you can make an effort and rally now and help me, you will do me the greatest favour in the world. Both Sarita Castelar—who is your cousin—and I are in imminent danger of being arrested and sent to gaol, and I want your woman's wit, and that of our good friend here—to get us out of it. Mrs. Curwen, you have often declared your friendship for me, will you show it now in this? ”

“ What I wish is for Sarita to go away with me, either to Paris or England. She is getting so involved here. She is a dreadful Carlist, as I suppose you know; and believes she can play a great part in the political affairs of the nation. As if that were possible in a country like Spain. How it will end I am afraid to think. But we shall all be ruined;" and she sighed and tossed up her hands with a gesture of despair.
"But women are not taken very seriously in politics here, are they?" ”

“ She pulled herself together, and kissing me, sat up.
"This awful news about Lascelles——" she began.
"You must put the thought of it away for the present, Mercy, and face the danger here," I interposed, earnestly. "There is no time for the indulgence of grief."
Mrs. Curwen had stood in silence during the short by-scene with Mercy, and the catchy breathing, slightly paled cheek, firmly pressed lip, and quick glances flashed from me to Sarita, told me she was moved. ”

“ The words were not off his tongue before Sarita, who was sitting close to the door, jumped to her feet, looked at me in the deepest consternation, and, turning pale to the lips in the greatness of her surprise, faced me with a look of such unmistakable fear and dismay that it brought gathering clouds of suspicion to the faces of many of those present. ”

“ There is every fear of an outbreak."
The news might well make me grave. It was into this hornets' nest I had to follow Sarita, and in following her had to take the double risk of danger from both sides.
If the police agents identified me, I should be clapped into gaol by them as the dangerous revolutionary, Ferdinand Carbonnell; while the Carlists might very probably hold me for a spy and a traitor, the proper mark for either bullet or dagger.
But go to Saragossa and on to Daroca, aye, and on to the end of the world, I would, if necessary, and if I could get there, in search of Sarita ”

“ She had roused my fears for Sarita.
"I thought he meditated some act of violence against you, and he is headstrong enough to do anything—even against her."
"You can surely prevent that," I cried, quickly, in alarm. "You were strong to save me."
The look with which she answered me lives in my memory to this hour. Then she drew her hands from mine, and said coldly—
"I can do nothing. You have made him desperate." And with a change of tone, after a slight pause, as though excusing her own hardness of thought and resolve, she added: "Besides, I do not know where she is ”