Oh, this is a heavy day for
me!”

Still, hope was as stubborn now as doubt had been before; she could not
bring herself to accept the verdict of the test; she must try the thing
again--the failure must have been only an accident; so she startled the
boy out of his sleep a second and a third time, at intervals--with the
same result which had marked the first test; then she dragged herself to
bed, and fell sorrowfully asleep, saying, “But I cannot give him up--oh
no, I cannot, I cannot--he _must_ be my boy!”

The poor mother’s interruptions having ceased, and the Prince’s pains
having gradually lost their power to disturb him, utter weariness at
last sealed his eyes in a profound and restful sleep.