A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy

In his room, Yorick sits at his table and thinks about imprisonment. He imagines the life of a person locked in a cell. After despairing over his situation, he eventually calls for La Fleur and asks for a coach to be made ready first thing in the morning.

After a night’s sleep, Yorick takes the coach to Versailles. During the course of the journey, he discusses a short history of the starling he encountered in the cage. It arrived from England, brought by “an English lad” (44) who travelled with a gentleman. He’d brought the bird all the way to Paris and, when he was set to leave the hotel, he left it behind. La Fleur purchases the bird and its cage “for a bottle of Burgundy” (44) and gives it to Yorick. Eventually, the bird will be bought and sold by a string of aristocrats and “many commoners” (44), so Yorick admits that the reader might well have heard the starling’s song.

In Versailles, Yorick intends to meet Monsieur le Duc de C---, whom he hopes will be able to help him with his legal issue. When he arrives, he is told that the Duc de C--- is busy.