watchedtheducksforfiveorsixminutes，andthemiller’smenmusthavenoticedme。Isawthewomengoingtowash；theyareprobablystillthere。Theymadealittlefunofme，anddeclaredthatIwasnothandsome；Itoldthemitwasnotallgoldthatglittered。Fromthere，IfollowedthelongavenuetoTivoli，whereItalkedwiththegardener。Prayhavethesefactsverified；anddonotevenarrestme，forIgiveyoumywordofhonorthatIwillstayquietlyinthisofficetillyouareconvincedofmyinnocence。“
Thesesensiblewords，saidwithouttheleasthesitation，andwiththeeaseofamanwhoisperfectlysureofhisfacts，madesomeimpressiononthemagistrates。
“Yes，wemustfindallthesepersonsandsummonthem，“saidMonsieurMouilleron；“butitismorethantheaffairofaday。Makeupyourmind，therefore，inyourowninterests，tobeimprisonedinthePalais。“
“ProvidedIcanwritetomymother，soastoreassureher，poorwoman——oh！youcanreadtheletter，“headded。
Thisrequestwastoojustnottobegranted，andJosephwrotethefollowingletter:——