Page:Gesta Romanorum - Swan - Wright - 2.djvu/282

270 and which is your native country?" "Tharsus," returned she, "is the place of my nativity; my father, Stranguilio, and my mother, Dionysias." The nurse groaned, and said, "My daughter, listen to me; I will tell you to whom you owe your birth, in order, that when I am dead, you may have some guide for your future actions. Your father is called Apollonius; and your mother's name is Lucina, the daughter of king Altistrates. She died the moment you were born; and Apollonius, adorning her with regal vesture, cast the chest which contained her into the sea. Twenty sestertia of gold were placed beneath her head, and whosoever discovered it, were entreated to give her burial. The ship in which your unhappy father sailed, tossed to and fro by the winds which formed your cradle, at last put into this port, where we were hospitably received by Stranguilio and Dionysias, to whom your sire also recommended me. He then made a vow, never to clip his beard, or hair, or nails, until you were married. Now I advise, that if, after my death, your present friends would do you