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and as softly as foot can fall \ he opens the door, 

 and steals in his head with the utmost caution ; on 

 which, to his never-failing surprise and disappoint- 

 ment, all the pigeons make their escape through 

 the open holes ; he has now no resource but enter- 

 ing the dove-cot, and remaining there with un- 

 wearied patience for the accidental return of the 

 birds, which nine times out of ten does not take 

 place till too late for dinner, and Cubina returns 

 empty-handed. Having observed this proceeding 

 constantly repeated during a fortnight, I took pity 

 upon his embarrassment, and ordered two wooden 

 sliders to be fitted to the holes. Cubina was de- 

 lighted with this exquisite invention, and failed 

 not the next morning to close all the holes on the 

 right with one of the sliders; he then stepped 

 boldly into the dove-cot, when to his utter con- 

 fusion the pigeons flew away through the holes on 

 the left. Here then he discovered where the fault 

 lay, so he lost no time in closing the remaining 

 aperture with the second slider, and the pigeons 

 were thus prevented from returning at all. Cubina 

 waited long with exemplary patience, but without 

 success, so he abandoned the new invention in 

 despair, made no farther use of the sliders, and 

 continues to steal up the ladder as he did before,. 

 A few days ago, Nicholas, a mulatto carpenter, 

 was ordered to make a box for the conveyance of 

 four jars of sweetmeats, of which he took previous 

 measure ; yet first he made a box so small that it 



