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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 able at
the end of a month to understand a great deal of the conversation which I

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