Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1892-04-13
THE STORY OF PSYCHE.

all uduTulefs, WHO were very beautiful.
The two elder were tall and stately and
had the dark eauty of their father,
but the youngest princess inherited her
mothers mix white skin and shining
gold hair. In all the world there was
no other maiden as lovely as the golden
haired princess Psyche.
In fact, she was so beautiful that the
people of her fathers kingdom said to
each other, "why do we worship women
of other lands anG build temples TO them
and other sacI6ces? None of them are
so beautiful as the daughter of our king.
Not even Venus the goddess of beauty
can outvie the heavenly beauty of golden
haired Psyche" Thus they said,
though the princess herself was igror-
ant of half her TlOveliness and of the adora-
tion that was pad to it.
Now it happened that the peoples
sayings were carried (there's always
somebody TO carry a story to the ears
of Venus who was very powerful god
dess indeed. Her kingdom was very
extensive. aud perhaps there was no
other woman at that time who had SO
many wOrshippers. But all the same
she was very angry to think that there
was another woman Whose friends dared
a'sert was her equal in beauty. "Is
there no One," she cried, "who will
avenge me upon the naughty mortal
who dsres compete with me to Ihom
was awarded tie need of faire5t in a
full council of the godsp'
Venus had son, a handsome, cum
ming, wei meaning young man whose
chief fault lay in his disposition to make
love to every woman he met be she
or nj aF
Hearing his mothers complaints, Cupid
Ohat was the young fellows name)
asked her one day what she would have
him DO. "PUnish this vain young
woman who thinks hers+lf 80 BEAUTIFUL.
Take one of thg arrows which IS capable
of infiicting such smarts and pierce her
bosom with 1t, so that she shall suffer
her wound all Her life long aud be mis-
erable :"
Cupid, being filiaI son, hastened to
obey his mothers wishes. lie started
one night with lis bow and arrows,
(this was before the invention of gun
powdeTl to visit the princess with tle
golden hair whose beauty had 50 anger
ed Venus. He arrived at the King
Phalon's palace late III the night. The
doors were all wide open on account of
the heat, and the guards who usually
stood on duty had gone into the gardens
for greater comfort. Cupid walked I'M
molested through the courts and cor
ridOTs till he came t0 chamber where
a lamp was burning. On an ivcry
couch beneath purple hangings lay
asleep the most beautiful woman tat
he had ever seen. His mother Venus
even could n 1t match her.
How pnnld he harm iS lOyaly m q idap
even If she was his mothers enemy?
Still he did not forget his promise He
thought TO himself, Il will just pick
her beautiful shoulder, and perhaps
Venus Will lie pacihed."
He took the lamp in his hand the |
better to see where to str Ike his arrow,
and advanced to the bed. He bent |
over the sleeping beauty and just touch
ed the rosy shoulder with his arrows
point. 1t was enough to arouse the
princess, who sat up in bed and uttered
a slight scream. Cupid suddenly blew
out the light and escaped the best he
might, but in the excitement and the
darkness he wounded himself with his
own arrow, so that the bloOdran freely.
From that time Cupid never ceased to
love the beautiful Psyche.
AS for the princess herself she thought
she had been dreaming, though the ar
rows point in her shoulder might have
told different story. ''SuTely L shall
never love MORTAL" she said. ''If it
was one of the immortaIs, my visitor
will come again."
And though her two sisters married
and went Psyche still remained in the
palace of King Phalon. Macy sultors
came, but thev all went again, for IN
variabiy the golden haired princess re-
fused to be won. AT last her father
went to the oracle and questioned 1t of
his daughter.
This oracle, we may say at once, was
In the interest of Cupid, who was PLAN
ming how he could wed the princess |
without making his mother angry, SO its |
priest had his answer ready when King |
Phalon asked Of his daughters well |
fare.
"The maiden Is destined for no NOR |
tai lover. On the summit of yonder |
mountain she will find her husband. |
He Is monster whom it will not be J
wise to offend.''
The King was very soTrowful at the |
tidings and all the young maiGens shed |
tears as they parted with their beauti- |
full companion. But Psyche, who | |
half believe miStTusted who the mon |
ster was, bade them all farewell, and |
wenJ bravely to the top of the noun
tain. Arriving there she saw a de- |
lightful valley on the other side. ]
Vending her way thither she found /
magnificent palace, around which were |
groves and fountains and whose roofs |
were of shining gold. AS she entered |
between the marble columns she heard |
q voice say: ENTER this thy abode, |
beautiful princess. All that thou ser st !
Is thine. Thou art its only mistress. |
Whatever thou wishest thou hast only |
to name and it IS thine"
PSYCHE Immediately took a bath and |
charged her raimsnt, then she satdown
to boun eous repast that was served |
in the best taste ina enable. Servants |
came at her call, and whatever she /
asked for was inst Intly provided. |
When the night came she asked to see
her husband.
81 cannot show myself to you as yet,"
answered the voice, but L shall be |
with you every night. Trust me and |
be content, for 1 love you, and no harm
shall come TO you.'
The days and months went by, and /
though Psyche was as happy as could be |
expected, she lorged at times to see
some of her old friends. She lad not
forgotten her father and sisters, and
knew they must be anxious to learn her
fate, so one night she asked her hus-
bad as favor that her sisters might !
visit her. He granted her wish, and
Psyche sent for item at once
OF course they were pleased to accept
the invitation, for they were desirous to
see now their s'er was situated. You
can imagine their surprise to find Psyche
living III such magnificent state, but
they wondered that they never saw her
husband. AT last they questioned her
about him.
Psyche confessed that she had never
seen him, but that she believed him to
be handsome young prince who loved
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