figure as robust as was consistent with the most perfect female beauty, yet not more so; her hands and feet might have served as models to a sculptor.  Having set the stew upon the table, she retired with a glance of pity, whereon (remembering pity’s kinsman) I decided that she should pity me a little more.  She returned with a bottle and a glass, and found me sitting on the bed with my hands over my face, looking the very picture of abject misery, and, like all pictures, rather untruthful.  As I watched her, through my fingers, out of the room again, I felt sure that she was exceedingly sorry for me.  Her back being turned, I set to work and ate my dinner, which was excellent.

She returned in about an hour to take away; and there came with her a man who had a great bunch of keys at his waist, and whose manner convinced me that he was the jailor.  I afterwards found that he was father to the beautiful creature who had brought me my dinner.  I am not a much greater hypocrite than other people, and do what I would, I could not look so very miserable.  I had already recovered from my dejection, and felt in a most genial humour both with my jailor and his daughter.  I thanked them for their attention towards me; and, though they could not understand, they looked at one another and laughed and chattered till the old man said something or other which I suppose was a joke; for the girl laughed merrily and ran away, leaving her father to take away the dinner things.  Then I had another visitor, who was not so prepossessing, and who seemed to have a great idea of himself and a small one of me.  He brought a book with him, and pens and paper—­all very English; and yet, neither paper, nor printing, nor binding, nor pen, nor ink, were quite the same as ours.

He gave me to understand that he was to teach me the language and that we were to begin at once.  This delighted me, both because I should be more comfortable when I could understand and make myself understood, and because I supposed that the authorities would hardly teach me the language if they intended any cruel usage towards me afterwards.  We began at once, and I learnt the names of everything in the room, and also the numerals and personal pronouns.  I found to my sorrow that the resemblance to European things, which I had so frequently observed hitherto, did not hold good in the matter of language; for I could detect no analogy whatever between this and any tongue of which I have the slightest knowledge,—­a thing which made me think it possible that I might be learning Hebrew.

I must detail no longer; from this time my days were spent with a monotony which would have been tedious but for the society of Yram, the jailor’s daughter, who had taken a great fancy for me and treated me with the utmost kindness.  The man came every day to teach me the language, but my real dictionary and grammar were Yram; and I consulted them to such purpose that I made the most extraordinary progress, being