grows in one of its crevices. But my father,
King uEgeus, and my dear mother, Aethra,
and all the fathers and mothers in Athens,
and all the sons and daughters too, will love
and honor thee as their benefactress. Come
with us, then; for King Minos will be very
angry when he knows what thou hast done."

Now, some low-minded people, who pretend
to tell the story of Theseus and Ariadne, have
the face to say that this royal and honorable
maiden did really flee away, under cover of
the night, with the young stranger whose life
she had preserved. They say, too, that Prince
Theseus (who would have died sooner than
wrong the meanest creature in the world) un-
gratefully deserted Ariadne, on a solitary island,
where the vessel touched on its voyage to
Athens. But, had the noble Theseus heard
these falsehoods, he would have served their
slanderous authors as he served the Minotaur!
Here is what Ariadne answered, when the brave
prince of Athens besought her to accompany
him: --

"No, Teieseus," the maiden said, pressing his
hand, and then drawing back a step or two,

[[66]]

p065 _ -chap- _ toc-1 _ p066w _ toc-2 _ +chap+ _ p067

v?