“You may judge then what was my terror, when I found myself in the actual presence of the obdurate boy, who had so wantonly exposed these little innocents to a painful death, by taking them from their parents. Happily for me, my mistress did not quit the room, or allow him to touch me. I really think I should have expired through fear, if he had. “After this unpleasant visit, I remained some time without any material interruption to my comfort. My new protectress was very fond of me, and treated me with the greatest kindness. The room I inhabited was, as I had supposed, her study; and as she was there occupied several hours in the day, I was not without company, nor often shut up in my cage. I had, indeed, abundant reason to be satisfied, as far as she was concerned; yet I was not without apprehension on account of the younger children of the family, who were all spoiled by indulgence. You, perhaps, wonder how it happened that Miss Stanton was so amiable; but I have yet to inform you, that the present Mrs. Stanton was not her own mother. She was so unfortunate as to lose the latter, when about seven years old, and her father had shortly after married a good-hearted but weak woman, who rendered her children miserable, by the very means she employed in order to promote their happiness. They were incessantly wishing for something they had not, and never satisfied with what they had; and their mother, instead of endeavouring to repress this unreasonable propensity, encouraged it, by attending, with the utmost anxiety, to their most trivial or capricious wishes, which were no sooner gratified, than new desires arose in endless succession. I could here enumerate several instances of their whims and humours, which fell under my notice, but such details of folly would rather fatigue than amuse you. I must, however, observe, that Miss Stanton was so amiable, that she conciliated the affection of the children (though she never indulged their caprices) and that of her mother-in-law, to whom she always behaved with the greatest tenderness and respect. “You must now prepare for a more eventful period of my history, for I am about to enter on a new mode of life. I had not been two months with Miss Stanton, when she and Mrs. Stanton were invited to spend a few weeks, with a friend who lived at a considerable distance. On hearing of this, I was extremely anxious to learn how I was to be disposed of during their absence, and finding that I was to be entrusted to the servants, all of whom were entirely controlled by the children, I thought it high time to provide for my safety by flight: determining to risk any thing, rather than remain exposed to the malice and mischief of these spoiled children, or, at least, to continual apprehension from them.