he very first
instance, when I should have been incarcerated for violating some prison
regulation, this naive and timid man absolutely refused to do it;
and only when I threatened to get another man immediately, a more
conscientious jailer, was he compelled to perform his duty. Though he
always locked the door punctually, he at first neglected his duty of
watching me through the peephole; and when I tried to test his firmness
by suggesting a change in some rule or other to the detriment of common
sense he yielded willingly and quickly. One day, on trapping him in this
way, I said to him:

"My friend, you are simply foolish. If you will not watch me and guard
me properly I shall run away to another prison, taking my legacy along
with me. What will you do then?"

I am happy to inform you that at the present time all these
misunderstandings have been removed, and if there is anything I can
complain of it is rather excessive strictness than mildness. Now that
my jailer has entered into the spirit of his position this honest man
treats me with extreme sternness, not for the sake of the profit but
for the sake of the principle. Thus, in the beginning of this week he
incarcerated me for twenty-four hours for violating some rule, of which,
it seemed to me, I was not guilty; and protesting against this seeming
injustice I had the unpardonable weakness to say to him:

"In the end I will drive you away from here. You must not forget that
you are my servant."

"Before you drive me away I will incarcerate you," replied this worthy
man.

"But how about the money?" I asked with astonishment. "Don't you know
that you will be deprived of it?"

"Do I need your money? I would give up all my own money if I could stop
being what I am. But what can I do if you violate the rule and I must
punish you by incarcerating you?"

I am powerless to describe the joyous emotion which came over me at
the thought that the consciousness of duty had at last entered his dark
mind, and that now, even if in a moment of weakness I wanted to leave my
prison, my conscientious jailer would not permit me to do it. The spark
of firmness which glittered in his round eyes showed me clearly that no
matter where I might run away he would find me and bring me back; and
that the revolver which he often forgot to take before, and which he now
cleans every day, would do its work in the event I decided to run away.

And for the first time in all these years I fell