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degree of honorable distinction at the next Commencement. In
his oration for the bachelor's degree, he gives me to

understand, he will treat of the classical myths, viewed in the
aspect of baby stories, and has a great mind to discuss the

expediency of using up the whole of ancient history, for the
same purpose. I do not know what he means to do with himself

after leaving college, but trust that, by dabbling so early
with the dangerous and seductive business of authorship, he

will not bc tempted to become an author by profession. If so I
shall be very sorry for the little that I have had to do with

the matter, in encouraging these first beginnings.
I wish there were any likelihood of my soon seeing Primrose,

Periwinkle, Dandelion, Sweet Fern, Clover Plantain,
Huckleberry, Milkweed, Cowslip, Buttercup, Blue Eye, and Squash

Blossom again. But as I do not know when I shall re-visit
Tanglewood, and as Eustace Bright probably will not ask me to

edit a third "WonderBook," the public of little folks must not
expect to hear any more about those dear children from me.

Heaven bless them, and everybody else, whether grown people or
children!

THE MINOTAUR.
In the old city of Troezene, at the foot of a lofty mountain,

there lived, a very long time ago, a little boy named Theseus.
His grandfather, King Pittheus, was the sovereign of that

country, and was reckoned a very wise man; so that Theseus,
being brought up in the royal palace, and being naturally a

bright lad, could hardly fail of profiting by the old king's
instructions. His mother's name was Aethra. As for his father,

the boy had never seen him. But, from his earliest remembrance,
Aethra used to go with little Theseus into a wood, and sit down

upon a moss-grown rock, which was deeply sunken into the earth.
Here she often talked with her son about his father, and said

that he was called Aegeus, and that he was a great king, and
ruled over Attica, and dwelt at Athens, which was as famous a

city as any in the world. Theseus was very fond of hearing
about King Aegeus, and often asked his good mother Aethra why

he did not come and live with them at Troezene.
"Ah, my dear son," answered Aethra, with a sigh, "a monarch has

his people to take care of. The men and women over whom he
rules are in the place of children to him; and he can seldom

spare time to love his own children as other parents do. Your
father will never be able to leave his kingdom for the sake of

seeing his little boy."
"Well, but, dear mother," asked the boy, "why cannot I go to

this famous city of Athens, and tell King Aegeus that I am his
son?"

"That may happen by and by," said Aethra. "Be patient, and we
shall see. You are not yet big and strong enough to set out on

such an errand."
"And how soon shall I be strong enough?" Theseus persisted in

inquiring.
"You are but a tiny boy as yet," replied his mother. "See if

you can lift this rock on which we are sitting?"
The little fellow had a great opinion of his own strength. So,

grasping the rough protuberances of the rock, he tugged and
toiled amain, and got himself quite out of breath, without

being able to stir the heavy stone. It seemed to be rooted into
the ground. No wonder he could not move it; for it would have

taken all the force of a very strong man to lift it out of its
earthy bed.

His mother stood looking on, with a sad kind of a smile on her
lips and in her eyes, to see the zealous and yet puny efforts

of her little boy. She could not help being sorrowful at
finding him already so impatient to begin his adventures in the

world.
"You see how it is, my dear Theseus," said she. "You must

possess far more strength than now before I can trust you to go
to Athens, and tell King Aegeus that you are his son. But when

you can lift this rock, and show me what is hidden beneath it,
I promise you my permission to depart."

Often and often, after this, did Theseus ask his mother whether
it was yet time for him to go to Athens; and still his mother

pointed to the rock, and told him that, for years to come, he
could not be strong enough to move it. And again and again the

rosy-checked and curly-headed boy would tug and strain at the
huge mass of stone, striving, child as he was, to do what a

giant could hardly have done without taking both of his great
hands to the task. Meanwhile the rock seemed to be sinking

farther and farther into the ground. The moss grew over it
thicker and thicker, until at last it looked almost like a soft

green seat, with only a few gray knobs of granite peeping out.
The overhanging trees, also, shed their brown leaves upon It,

as often as the autumn came; and at its base grew ferns and
wild flowers, some of which crept quite over its surface. To

all appearance, the rock was as firmly fastened as any other
portion of the earth's substance.

But, difficult as the matter looked, Theseus was now growing up
to be such a vigorous youth, that, in his own opinion, the time

would quickly come when he might hope to get the upper hand of
this ponderous lump of stone.

"Mother, I do believe it has started!" cried he, after one of
his attempts. "The earth around it is certainly a little

cracked!"
"No, no, child!" his mother hastily answered. "It is not

possible you can have moved it, such a boy as you still are!"
Nor would she be convinced, although Theseus showed 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 Aethra," he exclaimed, "I never felt half so
strong as now! I am no longer a child, nor a boy, nor a mere

youth! I feel myself a man! It is now time to make one earnest
trial to remove the stone."

"Ah, my dearest Theseus," replied his mother "not yet! not
yet!"

"Yes, mother," said he, resolutely, "the time has come!"
Then Theseus bent himself in good earnest to the task, and

strained every sinew, with manly strength and resolution. He
put his whole brave heart into the effort. He wrestled with the

big and sluggish stone, as if it had been a living enemy. He
heaved, he lifted, he resolved now to succeed, or else to

perish there, and let the rock be his monument forever! Aethra
stood gazing at him, and clasped her hands, partly with a

mother's pride, and partly with a mother's sorrow. The great
rock stirred! Yes, it was raised slowly from the bedded moss

and earth, uprooting the shrubs and flowers along with it, and
was turned upon its side. Theseus had conquered!

While takingbreath, he looked joyfully at his mother, and she
smiled upon him through her tears.

"Yes, Theseus," she said, "the time has come, and you must stay
no longer at my side! See what King Aegeus, your royal father,

left for you beneath the stone, when he lifted it in his mighty
arms, and laid it on the spot whence you have now removed it."

Theseus looked, and saw that the rock had been placed over
another slab of stone, containing a cavity within it; so that

it somewhat resembled a roughly-made chest or coffer, of which
the upper mass had served as the lid. Within the cavity lay a

sword, with a golden hilt, and a pair of sandals.
"That was your father's sword," said Aethra, "and those were

his sandals. When he went to be king of Athens, he bade me
treat you as a child until you should prove yourself a man by

lifting this heavy stone. That task being accomplished, you are
to put on his sandals, in order to follow in your father's

footsteps, and to gird on his sword, so that you may fight
giants and dragons, as King Aegeus did in his youth."

"I will set out for Athens this very day!" cried Theseus.
But his mother persuaded him to stay a day or two longer, while

she got ready some necessary articles for his journey. When his
grandfather, the wise King Pittheus, heard that Theseus

intended to present himself at his father's palace, he
earnestly advised him to get on board of a vessel, and go by

sea; because he might thus arrive within fifteen miles of
Athens, without either fatigue or danger.

"The roads are very bad by land," quoth the venerable king;
"and they are terribly infested with robbers and monsters. A

mere lad, like Theseus, is not fit to be trusted on such a
perilous journey, all by himself. No, no; let him go by sea."

But when Theseus heard of robbers and monsters, he pricked up
his ears, and was so much the more eager to take the road along

which they were to be met with. On the third day, therefore, he
bade a respectfulfarewell to his grandfather, thanking him for

all his kindness; and, after affectionately embracing his
mother, he set forth with a good many of her tears glistening

on his cheeks, and some, if the truth must be told, that had
gushed out of his own eyes. But he let the sun and wind dry

them, and walked stoutly on, playing with the golden hilt of
his sword, and taking very manly strides in his father's

sandals.
I cannot stop to tell you hardly any of the adventures that

befell Theseus on the road to Athens. It is enough to say, that
he quite cleared that part of the country of the robbers about

whom King Pittheus had been so much alarmed. One of these bad
people was named Procrustes; and he was indeed a terrible

fellow, and had an ugly way of making fun of the poor travelers
who happened to fall into his clutches. In his cavern he had a

bed, on which, with great pretense of hospitality, he invited
his guests to lie down; but, if they happened to be shorter

than the bed, this wickedvillain stretched them out by main
force; or, if they were too tall, he lopped off their heads or

feet, and laughed at what he had done, as an excellent joke.
Thus, however weary a man might be, he never liked to lie in

the bed of Procrustes. Another of these robbers, named Scinis,
must likewise have been a very great scoundrel. He was in the

habit of flinging his victims off a high cliff into the sea;
and, in order to give him exactly his deserts, Theseus tossed

him off the very same place. But if you will believe me, the
sea would not pollute itself by receiving such a bad person

into its bosom; neither would the earth, having once got rid of
him, consent to take him back; so that, between the cliff and

the sea, Scinis stuck fast in the air, which was forced to bear
the burden of his naughtiness.

After these memorable deeds, Theseus heard of an enormous sow,
which ran wild, and was the terror of all the farmers round

about; and, as he did not consider himself above doing any good
thing that came in his way, he killed this monstrous creature,

and gave the carcass to the poor people for bacon. The great
sow had been an awful beast, while ramping about the woods and

fields, but was a pleasant object enough when cut up into
joints, and smoking on I know not how many dinner tables.

Thus, by the time he reached his journey's end, Theseus had


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