If one must go to jail at all one could scarcely choose a more entertaining jail than that of Valedolmo.

It occupies a structure which was once a palace; and its cells, planned for other purposes, are spacious.

But its most gratifying feature, to one forcibly removed from social intercourse, is its outlook.

The windows command the Piazza Garibaldi, which is the social centre of the town; it contains the village post, the fountain, the tobacco shop, the washing-trough, and the two rival cafes, the 'Independenza' and the 'Liberta.' The piazza is always dirty and noisy--that goes without saying--but on Wednesday morning at nine o'clock, it is peculiarly dirty and noisy.

Wednesday is Valedolmo's market day, and the square is so cluttered with booths and hucksters and anxious buyers, that the peaceable pedestrian can scarcely wedge his way through.