"No."

"Then let us go to the prison."

We got into the carriage and returned to the city, stopping only
at the gate of the prison. I glanced out of the window.

"Oh!" I exclaimed, "they have spoiled it for me."

"What! They've spoiled it for you?"

"Certainly, it was not like this in my prisoners' time. Can I
speak to the jailer?"

"Certainly."

"Then let us consult him."

We knocked at the door. A man about forty opened it. He recognized
M. Leduc.

"My dear fellow," M. Leduc said to him, "this is one of my learned
friends--"

"Come, come," I exclaimed, interrupting him, "no nonsense."

"Who contends," continued M. Leduc, "that the prison is no longer
the same as it was in the last century?"