 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 jailer. 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 jailer 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
