his own youthful strength, and to cheer him up
with the alacrity of his loving spirit. When a
son takes his father into his warm heart, it
renews the old man's youth in a better way
than by the heat of Medea's magic caldron.
And this was what Theseus resolved to do. He
could scarcely wait to see whether King Aegeus
would recognize him, so eager was he to throw
himself into his arms.

Advancing to the foot of the throne, he at-
tempted to make a little speech, which he had
been thinking about, as he came up the stairs.
But he was almost choked by a great many
tender feelings that gushed out of his heart
and swelled into his throat, all struggling to find
utterance together. And therefore, unless he
could have laid his full, over-brimming heart
into the king's hand, poor Theseus knew not
what to do or say. The cunning Medea ob-
served what was passing in the young man's
mind. She was more wicked at that moment
than ever she had been before; for (and it makes
me tremble to tell you of it) she did her worst
to turn all this unspeakable love with which
Theseus was agitated, to his own ruin and
destruction.

[[34]]

p033 _ -chap- _ toc-1 _ p034w _ toc-2 _ +chap+ _ p035

v?