Page:Original stories from real life 1796.pdf/44

Rh on the wall; and others have laid ſtraws in rows. One miſerable captive found a ſpider; he nouriſhed it for two or three years; it grew tame, and partook of his lonely meal. The keeper obſerved it, and mentioned the circumſtance to the ſuperior, who ordered him to cruſh it. In vain did the man beg to have his ſpider ſpared. You find, Mary, that the naſty creature which you deſpiſed was a comfort in ſolitude. The keeper obeyed the cruel command and the unhappy wretch felt more pain when he heard the cruſh, than he had ever experienced in his long confinement. He looked round a dreary apartment, and the ſmall portion of light which the grated bars admitted only ſerved to ſhew him, that he breathed where nothing elſe drew breath. Rh