I TOOK a fingle captive, and having firft. fhut him up in his dungeon, I then looked through the twilight of his grated door to take his picture..

I BEHELD his body half wafted away with long expectation and confinement, and felt what kind of sickness of the heart it was which arifes from hope deferred. Upon looking nearer, I faw him pale and feverish: in thirty years the western breeze had not once fanned his blood - he had feen no fun, no moon in all that timenor had the voice of friend or kinfman breathed through his lattice-his chil dren

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

He was fitting upon the ground upon a little ftraw, in the furtheft corner of his

dungeon,

dungeon, which was alternately his chair. and bed: a little calendar of small sticks were laid at the head, notched all over with the difmal days and nights he had paffed there, he had one of thefe little fticks in his hand, and with a rusty nail. he was etching another day of mifery to add to the heap. A's I darkned the lit tle light he had, he lifted up a hopeless eye towards the door, then caft it down. -fhook 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 figh I faw the iron enter into. his foul-I. burst into tears-I could not. fuftain the picture of confinement which my fancy had drawn-I ftarted up from my chair, and calling La Fleur, I bid him. befpeak me a remife, and have it ready. at the door of the hotel by nine in the morning.

-I'LL

-I'LL go directly, faid I, myself to Monfieur Le Duc de Choiseul.

LA Fleur would have put me to bed; but not willing he should fee any thing upon my cheek which. would coft the honeft fellow a heart-I told him, I would go to bed

acheby myself

and bid him go do the

fame.

THE

THE STARLING

ROAD TO VERSAILLES.

GOT into my remife the hour I

pro

pofed: La Fleur got up behind, and I bid the coachman make the best of his way to Verfailles.

As there is nothing in this road, or rather nothing which I look for in travelling, I cannot fill up the blank better than with a fhort hiftory of this felf-fame bird, which became the fubject of the laft chapter.

WHILST the honourable Mr. *** was waiting 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;

groom; who not caring to deftroy it, had taken it in his breaft 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 fafe along with him to Paris.

AT Paris the lad had laid out a livre in a little cage for the ftarling, and as he had little to do better the five months his master ftaid there, he taught it in his mother's tongue the four fimple words -(and no more)--to which I owned myfelf fo much its debtor.

UPON his mafter's going on for Italy -the dad had given it to the master of the hotel-But his little fong for liberty, being in an unknown language at Paris, the bird had little or no store set by him

-fo La Fleur bought both him and his cage for me for a bottle of Burgundy.

IN