A woman sees him trying to find a shelter, and tells him to go to the church, where he encounters bishop Myriel of Digne who turns his life around by showing him mercy and encouraging him to become a changed man. When Valjean attempts to book a room at an inn, he shows his yellow passport to identify himself, causing the owner and his wife to deny him service on account that they are law-abiding subjects of the Crown and God-fearing people who will not have anything to do with crooks. Valjean's yellow passport states he has been released from prison and a list of his convicted crimes, which is an effective mark of banishment. Upon Valjean's release, he is issued a passport jaune, or "yellow passport", which he is required to show for identification or present to the police lieutenant of any village he passes through. During his time there, he was known as Prisoner 24601. He entered the galleys in Toulon in 1796 and left in 1815. While Valjean only said he was given a wooden bed to sleep on when later describing his time in prison, in actuality he had to face much worse conditions as many of his fellow prisoners were dangerous felons and hardened career criminals, and diseases spread rapidly. He was sent to prison for five years for "burglary at night in an inhabited house". In desperation, he broke the window of a baker named Maubert Isabeau in order to steal bread to feed his sister's children. As a result, Valjean was laid off and his family starved. However, when winter came there was no further need for tree pruners. While the job only paid the paltry sum of 18 sous a day, Valjean used his meager profits to do what he could for his family. Valjean went into his father's line of work, getting a job in Faverolles as a tree pruner. Unfortunately, his sister was widowed, having seven children to look after, the eldest being eight and the youngest being one year old. His parents died when he was very young, leaving him with his older sister to fend for him. Valjean was born into a poor peasant family. 1.2 Montreuil-sur-Mer and Monsieur le Maire.
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