There are two principal prisons in Rouen: the _house of correction_, and
the _maison de justice_, in the court of the Palais-de-Justice. The
first, commonly called _Bicêtre_, contains the debtors, prisoners
accused but not tried, and those sentenced to imprisonment under twelve
months; in the second those already convicted for crimes are confined.
Those sentenced to more than twelve months are sent to the central depôt
at Gaillon, ten leagues distant from Rouen.

According to a statement made by Mr Vingtrinier, the principal
physician of the prisons, the average of the population of the house of
correction is about three hundred; that of the _maison de justice_ about
ninety; the mortality about one in fifty nine, in the first, and one in
sixty eight, in the second.




SOLDIERS BARRACKS.


There are three different barracks in Rouen: the first is situated near
the _quai aux Meules_ at Saint-Sever, and contains about one thousand
men. The second on the Champ-de-Mars, and contains about seven hundred
and fifty men. The third is the _caserne Bonne-Nouvelle_, situated in
the suburb of Saint-Sever. Most people pass the ancient priory of
_Bonne-Nouvelle_ (so named by Queen Matilda, on receiving the news of
the victory of Hastings), and see only a barrack. To the monks who
formerly inhabited this ancient priory, cuirassiers, dragoons and foot
soldiers have succeeded.