impertinence, curiosity, and love of novelty, than even from the
stronger vices of some of the other servants. The rest, indeed, seldom
got into any scrape of which Parley was not the cause, in some shape
or other."

I am sorry to be obliged to confess, that though Parley was allowed
every refreshment, and all the needful rest which the nature of his
place permitted, yet he thought it very hard to be forced to be so
constantly on duty.

"Nothing but watching," said Parley; "I have, to be sure, many
pleasures, and meat sufficient; and plenty of chat in virtue of my
office; and I pick up a good deal of news of the comers and goers by
day; but it is hard that at night I must watch as narrowly as a
housedog, and yet let in no company without orders, only because there
are said to be a few straggling robbers here in the wilderness, with
whom my master does not care to let us be acquainted. He pretends to
make us vigilant through fear of the robbers, but I suspect it is only
to make us mope alone. A merry companion, and a mug of beer, would
make the night pass cheerfully."

Parley, however, kept all these thoughts to himself, or uttered them
only when no one heard--for talk he must. He began to listen to the
nightly whistling of the robbers under the windows with rather less
alarm than formerly; and he was sometimes so tired of watching, that
he thought it was even better to run the risk of being robbed once,
than to live always in fear of robbers.

There were certain bounds in which the gentleman allowed his servants
to walk and divert themselves at all proper seasons. A pleasant garden