Page 438 - les-miserables

‘Monsieur,’ said he, ‘where is the court-house, if you
please.’
‘You do not belong in town, sir?’ replied the bourgeois,
who was an oldish man; ‘well, follow me. I happen to be go-
ing in the direction of the court-house, that is to say, in the
direction of the hotel of the prefecture; for the court-house
is undergoing repairs just at this moment, and the courts
are holding their sittings provisionally in the prefecture.’
‘Is it there that the Assizes are held?’ he asked.
‘Certainly, sir; you see, the prefecture of to-day was the
bishop’s palace before the Revolution. M. de Conzie, who
was bishop in ‘82, built a grand hall there. It is in this grand
hall that the court is held.’
On the way, the bourgeois said to him:—
‘If Monsieur desires to witness a case, it is rather late. The
sittings generally close at six o’clock.’
When they arrived on the grand square, however, the
man pointed out to him four long windows all lighted up,
in the front of a vast and gloomy building.
‘Upon my word, sir, you are in luck; you have arrived in
season. Do you see those four windows? That is the Court
of Assizes. There is light there, so they are not through.
The matter must have been greatly protracted, and they are
holding an evening session. Do you take an interest in this
affair? Is it a criminal case? Are you a witness?’
He replied:—
‘I have not come on any business; I only wish to speak to
one of the lawyers.’
‘That is different,’ said the bourgeois. ‘Stop, sir; here is

438 Les Miserables