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 house-dog, and yet let in no company without orders;
only because there is 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 cheerily."
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 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 the fear of robbers.

There were certain bounds in which the lord allowed his servants to
walk and divert themselves at all proper seasons. A pleasant garden
surrounded the castle, and a thick hedge separated this garden from
the wilderness which was infested by the robbers; in this garden
they were permitted to amuse themselves. The master advised them
always to keep within these bounds. "While you observe this rule,"
said he, "you will be safe and well; and you will consult your own
safety and happiness, as well as show your love to me, by not
venturing over to the extremity of your bounds; he who goes as far
as he dares, always shows a wish to go further than he ought, and
commonly does so."

It was remarkable, that the nearer these servants kept to the
castle, and the further from the _hedge_, the more ugly the
wilderness appeared. And the nearer they approached the forbidden
bounds, their own home appeared more dull, and the wilderness more
delightful. And this the master knew when he gave his orders; for he
never either did or said any thing without a good reason. And when
his servants sometimes desired an explanation of the reason, he used
to tell them they would understand it when t