g down into the sea when they came to its winding
shores, and the seamen moored the ship to the land, and came forth to
rest until the morning. There they feasted gaily on the beach, and
Theseus talked with Ariadne until the moon was high up in the sky. So
they slept through the still hours of night, but when the sun was
risen, Ariadne was alone upon the sea-shore. In doubt and fear, she
roamed along the beach, but she saw no one, and there was no ship
sailing on the blue sea. In many a bay and nook she sought him, and
she cried in bitter sorrow, "Ah, Theseus, Theseus, hast thou forsaken
me?" Her feet were wounded by the sharp flints, her limbs were faint
from very weariness, and her eyes were dim with tears. Above her rose
the high cliffs like a wall, before her was spread the bright and
laughing sea, and her heart sank within her, for she felt that she
must die. "Ah, Theseus," she cried, "have I done thee wrong? I pitied
thee in the time of thy sorrow and saved thee from thy doom, and then
I listened to thy fair words, and trusted them as a maiden trusts when
love is first awakened within her. Yet hast thou dealt me a hard
requital. Thou art gone to happy Athens, and it may be thou thinkest
already of some bright maiden who there has crossed thy path, and thou
hast left me here to die for weariness and hunger. So would I not
requite thee for a deed of love and pity."

[Illustration: CALLIOPE. (_Muse of Heroic Verse._)]

Wearied and sad of heart, she sank down on the rock, and her long
hair streamed over her fair shoulders. Her hands were clasped around
her knees, and the hot tears ran down her cheeks, and she knew not
that there stood before her one fairer and brighter than the sons of
men, until she heard a voice which said, "Listen to me, daughter of
Minos. I am Dionysos, the lord of the feast and revel. I wander with
light heart and the sweet sounds of laughter and song over land and
sea; I saw thee aid Theseus when he went into the labyrinth to slay
the Minotauros. I heard his fair words when he prayed thee to leave
thy home and go with him to Athens. I saw him this morning, while yet
the stars twinkled in the sky, arouse his men and sail away in his
ship to the land of Aigeus; but I sought not to stay him, for,
Ariadne, thou must dwell with me. Thy love and beauty are a gift too
great for Theseus; but thou shalt be the bride of Dionysos. Thy days
shall be passed amid feasts and banquets, and when thy life is