a novice in the art, and not knowing how to manage the birds properly,
they were but little disposed to submit themselves to my hands; and, in
the attempt, I found myself so completely covered with feathers, that
which of the three descriptions of birds aforesaid I most resembled, it
would have been difficult to determine. The fisherman, seeing my
situation, was proceeding to add to the stock of feathers which he had
collected in a great bag, by plucking those from my person, when, wishing
to save him any further trouble, I hurried back to Hellgate."

We cannot accompany Sir Heedless any further; but must conclude with a
few piquancies from the _Vocabulary of the Language of the Great World_,
which is as necessary to the enjoyment of fashionable life, as is a
glossary to an elementary scientific treatise:--

_At Home._--Making your house as unlike home as possible, by turning
every thing topsy-turvy, removing your furniture, and squeezing as many
people into your rooms as can be compressed together.

_Not at Home._--Sitting in your own room, engaged in reading a new novel,
writing notes, or other important business.

_Affection._--A painful sensation, such as gout, rheumatism, cramp,
head-ache, &c.

_Mourning._--An outward covering of black, put on by the relatives of any
deceased person of consequence, or by persons succeeding to a large
fortune, as an emblem of their grief upon so melancholy an event.

_Morning._--The time corresponding to that between our noon and sun-set.