"No, no, child!" his mother hastily answered.
M It is not possible you can have moved it,
such a boy as you still are!"

Nor would she be convinced, although The-
seus showsd her the place where he fancied that
the stem of a flower had been partly uprooted
by the movement of the rock. But Aethra
sighed, and looked disquieted; for, no doubt,
she began to be conscious that her son was
no longer a child, and that, in a little while
hence, she must send him forth among the
perils and troubles of the world.

It was not more than a year afterwards when
they were again sitting on the moss-covered
stone. Aethra had once more told him the oft-
repeated story of his father, and how gladly he
would receive Theseus at his stately palace, and
how he would present him to his courtiers and
the people, and tell them that here was the heir
of his dominions. The eyes of Theseus glowed
with enthusiasm, and he would hardly sit still to
hear his mother speak.

"Dear mother uEthra," he exclaimed, "I never
felt half so strong as now! I am no longer a
child, nor a boy, nor a mere youth I I feel my-

[[23]]

p022 _ -chap- _ toc-1 _ p023w _ toc-2 _ +chap+ _ p024

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