w you when we go home, Ben,' said his uncle, 'an entertaining
paper upon such shadows.'[A]

'Hark!' cried Ben; 'did you hear that noise?'

They all listened, and they heard a bird singing in the cathedral.

'It's our old robin, sir,' said the lad who had opened the cathedral
door for them.

'Yes,' said Mr. Gresham, 'there he is, boys--look--perched upon the
organ; he often sits there, and sings whilst the organ is playing.'

'And,' continued the lad who showed the cathedral, 'he has lived here
these many, many winters. They say he is fifteen years old; and he is so
tame, poor fellow! that if I had a bit of bread he'd come down and feed
in my hand.'

'I've a bit of bun here,' cried Ben joyfully, producing the remains of
the bun which Hal but an hour before would have thrown away. 'Pray, let
us see the poor robin eat out of your hand.'

The lad crumbled the bun and called to the robin, who fluttered and
chirped and seemed rejoiced at the sight of the bread; but yet he did
not come down from his pinnacle on the organ.

'He is afraid of _us_,' said Ben; 'he is not used to eat before
strangers, I suppose.'

'Ah, no, sir,' said the young man, with a deep sigh, 'that is not the
thing. He is used enough to eat afore company. Time was he'd have come
down for me before ever so many fine folks, and have eat his crumbs out
of my hand at my first call; but, poor fellow! it's not his fault now.
He does not know me now, sir, since my _accident_, because of this great
black patch.'

The young man put his hand to his right eye, which was covered with a
huge black patch. Ben asked what _accident_ he meant; and the lad told
him that, but a few weeks ago, he had lost the sight of his eye by the
stroke of a stone, which reached him as he was passing under the rocks
at Clifton, unluckily when the workmen were blasting.

'I don't mind so much for myself, sir,' said the lad; 'but I can't work
so well now, as I used to do before my accident, for my old mother, who
has had a _stroke_ of the palsy; and I've a many little brothers and
sisters not well able yet to get their own livelihood, though they be as
willing as willing can be.'

'Where does your mother live?' said Mr. Gresham.

'Hard by, sir, just close to the church here. It was _her_ that always
had the showing of it to strangers, till she lost the use of her poor
limbs.'

'Shall we, may we, uncle, go that way? This is the house, is it not?'
said Ben, when they went out o