THE CAPTIVE.

PARIS.

THE bird in his cage pursued me into my room. I sat down close to my table, and leaning my head upon my hand, I began to figure to myself the miseries of confinement. I was in a right frame for it, and so I gave full scope to my imagination.

I was going to begin with the millions of my fellow-creatures, born to no inheritance but slavery; but finding, however affecting the picture was, that I could not bring it near me, and that the multitudes of sad groups in it did but distract me;

-I took a single captive, and having first shut him up in his dungeon, I then looked through the twilight of his grated door to take his picture.

I beheld his body half wasted away with long expectation and confinement, and felt what kind of sickness of heart it is which

arises from hope deferred. Upon looking nearer, I saw him pale and feverish in thirty years, the western breeze had not once fanned his blood; he had seen no. sun, no moon, in all that time, nor had the voice of friend or kinsman breathed through his lattice! — his children

But here my heart began to bleed, and I was forced to go on with another part of the portrait.

He was sitting upon the ground, upon a little straw in the furthest corner of his dungeon, which was alternately his chair and bed: a little calendar of small sticks was laid at the head, notched all over with the dismal days and nights he had passed there: he had one of these little sticks in his hand, and with a rusty nail he was etching another day of misery to add to the heap.

As I darkened the little light he had, he lifted up a hopeless eye towards the door, then cast it down, shook his head, and went on with his work of affliction. I heard his chains upon his legs, as he turned his body to lay his little stick upon the bundle. He gave

a deep sigh.-I saw the iron enter into his soul !

-I burst into tears.—I could not sustain the picture of confinement which my fancy had drawn. I started up from my chair, and, calling La Fleur, I bid him bespeak me a remise, and have it ready at the door of the hotel by nine in the morning.

"I'll go directly," said I to myself, "to Monsieur le Duc de Choiseul."

La Fleur would have put me to bed; but, not willing he should see anything upon my cheek, which would cost the honest fellow a heart-ache, I told him I would go to bed myself, and bid him do the same.

I GOT into

THE STARLING.

ROAD TO VERSAILLES.

my

remise the hour I proposed; La Fleur got up behind, and I bid the coachman make the best of his way to Versailles.

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As there was nothing in this road, or rather nothing which I look for in travelling, I cannot the blank better than with a short history of this self-same bird, which became the subject of the last chapter.

up

Whilst the Honourable Mr.

was wait

ing for a wind at Dover, it had been caught upon the cliffs, before it could well fly, by an English lad who was his groom; who, not caring to destroy it, had taken it in his breast into the packet; and, by course of feeding it, and taking it once under his protection, in a day or two grew fond of it, and got it safe along with him to Paris.

At Paris, the lad had laid out a livre in a little cage for the starling; and, as he had little to do better, the five months his master

stayed there, he taught it in his mother's tongue the four simple words (and no more) to which I owned myself so much its debtor.

Upon his master's going on for Italy, the lad had given it to the master of the hotel.

But his little song for liberty being in an unknown language at Paris, the bird had little or no store set by him: so La Fleur bought both him and his cage for me for a bottle of Burgundy.

In my return from Italy, I brought him with me to the country in whose language he had learned his notes; and telling the story of him to Lord A., Lord A. begged the bird of me; in a week, Lord A. gave him to Lord B.; Lord B. made a present of him to Lord C.; and Lord C.'s gentleman sold him to Lord D.'s for a shilling; Lord D. gave him to Lord E.; and so on-half round the alphabet. From that rank, he passed into the lower house, and passed the hands of as many commoners. But as all these wanted to get in, and my bird wanted to get out, he had almost as