crown and sceptre, which ought to be his own
by right of inheritance. Thus these bad-hearted
nephews of King Aegeus, who were the own
cousins of Theseus, at once became his enemies.
A still more dangerous enemy was Medea, the
wicked enchantress; for she was now the king's
wife, and wanted to give the kingdom to her
son Medus, instead of letting it be given to the
son of Aethra, whom she hated.

It so happened that the king's nephews met
Theseus, and found out who he was, just as he
reached the entrance of the royal palace. With
all their evil designs against him, they pretended
to be their cousin's best friends, and expressed
great joy at making his acquaintance. They
proposed to him that he should come into the
king's presence as a stranger, in order to try
whether Aegeus would discover in the young
man's features any likeness either to himself or
his mother Aethra, and thus recognize him for a
son. Theseus consented; for he fancied that
his father would know him in a moment, by the
love that was in his heart. But, while he waited
at the door, the nephews ran and told King
that a young man had arrived in Athens,

[[30]]

p029 _ -chap- _ toc-1 _ p030w _ toc-2 _ +chap+ _ p031

v?