`` After a few days , to be sure , '' said he , mournfully , `` I might make shift to hobble along with a stick . But that would only delay you , and perhaps hinder you from finding dear little Europa , after all your pains and trouble . Do you go forward , therefore , my beloved companions , and leave me to follow as I may . '' `` Thou hast been a true friend , dear Thasus , '' said Queen Telephassa , kissing his forehead . `` Being neither my son , nor the brother of our lost Europa , thou hast shown thyself truer to me and her than Phoenix and Cilix did , whom we have left behind us . Without thy loving help , and that of my son Cadmus , my limbs could not have borne me half so far as this . Now , take thy rest , and be at peace . For -- and it is the first time I have owned it to myself -- I begin to question whether we shall ever find my beloved daughter in this world . '' Saying this , the poor queen shed tears , because it was a grievous trial to the mother 's heart to confess that her hopes were growing faint . From that day forward , Cadmus noticed that she never traveled with the same alacrity of spirit that had heretofore supported her . Her weight was heavier upon his arm . Before setting out , Cadmus helped Thasus build a bower ; while Telephassa , being too infirm to give any great assistance , advised them how to fit it up and furnish it , so that it might be as comfortable as a hut of branches could . Thasus , however , did not spend all his days in this green bower . For it happened to him , as to Phoenix and Cilix , that other homeless people visited the spot , and liked it , and built themselves habitations in the neighborhood . So here , in the course of a few years , was another thriving city , with a red freestone palace in the center of it , where Thasus sat upon a throne , doing justice to the people , with a purple robe over his shoulders , a sceptre in his hand , and a crown upon his head . The inhabitants had made him king , not for the sake of any royal blood -LRB- for none was in his veins -RRB- , but because Thasus was an upright , true-hearted , and courageous man , and therefore fit to rule . But when the affairs of his kingdom were all settled , King Thasus laid aside his purple robe and crown , and sceptre , and bade his worthiest subjects distribute justice to the people in his stead . Then , grasping the pilgrim 's staff that had supported him so long , he set forth again , hoping still to discover some hoof-mark of the snow-white bull , some trace of the vanished child . He returned after a lengthened absence , and sat down wearily upon his throne . To his latest hour , nevertheless , King Thasus showed his true-hearted remembrance of Europa , by ordering that a fire should always be kept burning in his palace , and a bath steaming hot , and food ready to be served up , and a bed with snow-white sheets , in case the maiden should arrive , and require immediate refreshment .
And , though Europa never came , the good Thasus had the blessings XXXXX many a poor traveler , who profited by the food and lodging which were meant for the little playmate of the king 's boyhood .
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