The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1889-02-14
IheodOn.

keeper, attached 10 the hippodrome at
Constantinople, and was one Of three sis
tiers whom their mother sent on the stage
when they were still children Of seven or
eight years old. With no talent either
for music or dancing, her fortune was in
her face and her tongue. Her pretty
features, her nimble movements, her
audacious smartness in repartee, made
her the most popular and notorious in the
pantomimes ito use the nearest modern
equivalent) which delighted q people
whose taste had fallen below the regular
drama. Needless to say what was the
morality Of the byzantine stage, or what
the life which the young actress led. Her
enemies Of later years declared It to have
been more than usually shameless and
disgusting, but the question, II delicately
balanced less or more, besides being now
insoluble, need make little difference to
our view Of her character. After some
years she accompanied wealthy Tyrian,
as his mistress, to the eovernorship Of
Tipoli, quarreled with him, left him, and
after having been reduced to sad straits
in Egypt, found her way back to Con-
stantinople, where, according 10 q story
current long aiterward in the city, she
sought to support herself by spinning
wool in house near the edge Of the Col
den Horn. This looks like trying TO turn
over new leaf. However, she did not
conceal her charms. Encouraged by the
words Of an Oriental fortune teller, who
had promised her wealth and power, she
threw herself In the way Of Justinian,
who yielded at once 20 her destinations.
He was then about forty years Of age
probably some twenty years her senior
nephew Of the reigning emperor, and
gathering into his hands the reins Of gov
eminent, which were beginning to slip
from the grasp Of his aged and ignorant
uncle. lie was an ableand well educated
man, already remarkable for his fondness
for theology and assiduous attention to
public business. His passion led him to
promise to marry the Whilom actress, but
law dating tIn slbsfance) from the time
Of Augustus, and Ie-enacted bv later en-
perors, forbade the union Of senators and
other persons Of exalted rank 10 women
who had been on the stage. Nothing was
left but TO repeal the law, which the en-
perOF was compelled by the urgency Of
bis nephew 10 do, and the statute may
still be read in that corpus jGris which so
long held sway over continetal Europe, q
monument Of Theodora's arts and JUS
tinian's susceptibility. There had been,
however, q more serious obstacle TO the
nuptials Of the eager pair. The Empress
Euphemia was an ignorant and rustic
person, who had risen in life too late to
acquire the polish Of the capital. But she
was pious, and she was respectable to the
backbone. She had probably heard Of
TheOd0Ea'S earlier fame, for the court was
Ike most courts; anyhow she knew what
Theodore had been, and the idea Of her
nephew marrying such person was too
shocking to be considered. While she
lived she held out and kept her husband
TO his resistance; but when she died he
gave way, the law was repealed, the mar
rage was sOlemnized, and when In few
years the old emperor died, Theodora was
crowned along with her husband, and re-
eeived the homage Of the senate, the
priesthood and the people. A rise Ike
this had never been seen before, not even
In COnstantinople, and was never seen
again. That such q person should have
married an emperor was wonderful
enough. But that Of all emperors she
should have married Justinian, the stu
dious and pious Justinian, the industri-
Gus and abstemious Justinian-here was,
indeed, matter for a hymn to Aphrodite,
had there been . poet TO sing it.-COn-
tempOrary Rsrisw.