eethought had the upper
hand, and served you as you serve us: wouldn't you think it shameful?"

"Of course," he blurted. Then, correcting himself, he added: "But you
never will get the upper hand."

"How do you know?" I asked. "Freethought _has_ the upper hand in
France."

"Yes," he replied, "but that is an infidel country. It will never be so
here."

"But suppose," I continued, "it _were_ so here, and we imprisoned you
for deriding our opinions as you imprison us for deriding yours. Would
you not say you were persecuted?"

"Oh," he said, "that's a different thing."

Mr. Bradlaugh was then mentioned.

"By the way, you're remarkably like him," said the chaplain.

I thought it a brilliant discovery, and still more so when I learned, a
few minutes later, that he had not seen Mr. Bradlaugh for thirty years.

Darwin was referred to next.

"I suppose you know he's been disproved," said the chaplain,
complacently.

"No, I don't," I answered; "nor do I quite understand what you mean.
_What_ has been disproved?"

"Why," he said, "I mean that man isn't a monkey."

"Indeed!" I rejoined; "I am not aware that Darwin ever said that man
_is_ a monkey. Nor do I think so myself--except in some extreme cases."

Whether this was construed as a personality or not I am unable to
decide, but our interview soon terminated. Parson Plaford called on
me two or three times during the next few weeks, promised me some good
books to read as soon as the regulations permitted, and fulfilled his
promise by never visiting me again.

Mr. Ramsey was nursed a little longer. I suppose the chaplain had hopes
of him. But he finally relinquished them when Mr. Ramsey said one Monday
morning, on being asked what he thought of yesterday's sermon, "I wonder
how you could talk such nonsense. Why, I could preach a better sermon
myself."

"Could you?" bristled the little man. And from that moment he gave Mr.
Ramsey up for lost.

One day the chaplain ran full butt against Mr. Kemp in the corridor.
"Ah," he said, "how are you getting on?" Mr. Kemp made a curt reply. The
fact was, he was chewing a small piece of tobacco, an article which does
somehow creep into the prison in minute quantities, and is swapped for
large pieces of bread. Mr. Kemp was enjoying the luxury, although it
would have been nauseous in other circumstances; for the prison fare
is so insipid that even a dose of medicine is an agreeable change. Now
Parson Plaford and Mr. Kemp ar