In the night of 22 to 23 October 1834, a terrible fire broke out: everyone thought that the Mont was about to be destroyed by flames. The fire started in the church’s workshops and spread rapidly outside. Fuelled by a strong wind, the fire invaded the prisoners’ workshops, the chapel, and the abbey church. The prisoners all rivalled in their zeal, thanks to which the fire spared the ‘Merveille’ and the abbey lodgings. Only one prisoner seized the opportunity to escape by digging a hole in the wall with a nail.