"No."
"I should say not. The roads are blocked; but the post still runs."
"As far as Alençon. I left it there."
"Ah, it will not be long before we shall have no more posts in France. The horses are all gone; one worth three hundred francs costs six hundred, and the price of fodder is beyond all reason. I used to be a postmaster; and now, you see, I keep a tavern. Out of thirteen hundred and thirteen postmasters, two hundred have resigned. Have you been travelling according to the new tariff, citizen?"
"You mean the tariff of the 1st of May? Yes."
"Twenty sous a post for a carriage, twelve for a gig, five for a van. Did you not buy this horse at Alençon?"
"Yes."
"And you have been travelling all day?"
"Yes, since dawn."
"And yesterday?"