Explain the following lines ( reference to context ) :-

1. i'm too old a bird to be caught with chaff .
2. i'm not a man : now i'm a number ;number 15729 ' and i've lived in hell for ten years .
3. i was a man once . i'm a beast now and they made me what i am

This situation arises when the Bishop was about to call Persome for the keys of the cupboard.The Convict, then says that " I'm too old a bird to be caught with chaff", meaning that he was too experienced to be fooled so easily.

He also says that he is not a man now, but a rampaging beast who is hungry. He also says he is number 15729, that is the number of his in prison. He also says that he has " lived in hell for 10 years ", meaning that he was put in prison for 10 long years.

He says he was a man once, quite long ago, and now he had become a hungry and an angry beast, and being in prison was the cause of this...

Hope it helped :)