Comedy Behind Prison Walls Rea] life comedy has been played behind the grim, grey walls of the great Paris prison La Santo. An incorrigible vagabond named Lange had been sentenced some time ago to four weeks for begging. When his time was up, he was awaiting, in the company of one Perrel, a warder to conduct him to liberty. He confided to his fellow-prisoner that liberty with winter coming on was the last thing he desired, that he had been very disappointed with the short period of imprisonment given him, and that he would much prefer to remain in the well-heated cells of La Santo till the spring came, instead of having to face a cold world without money or shelter.
Perrel, who was serving five yeas for fraud, proposed a bargain. They changed identity papers, and when the warder came he let out Perrel, carefully locking up the chilly vagabond who from now answered to the name of Perrel. All went well. So many hundreds of prisoners are confined in Santo that detection might have been as long in coming as both hoped it would be. But Perrel had forgotten that he had lodged an appeal, and that his barrister had an appointment to see him about it on Wednesday. So when the puzzled advocate arrived he communicated his doubts as to the personality of his client to the authorities.
Lange, who has confessed, will probably have to go out' next month—instead of this, which is bad luck, for the weather is getting colder every day.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.