had been pleased to fix their head-quarters in our street.  About half-past eleven, however, those of them who were collected here having heard that the popular forces who were fighting before the Louvre were nearly disabled by the cannon of the troops occupying that palace, their Polytechnic chief called upon them to follow him to the assistance of their brethren.  Having entreated them to refrain from extravagant excesses, he rushed forward, and soon arrived at the scene of action.  Here I saw him turn round and address his followers thus, ’Le cannon a deja extermine plusieurs de vos comarades; dans un instant il est a vous; suivez moi, et apprenez comme il faut mourir;’ (the cannon has already destroyed numbers of your brethren; the next instant it will be directed against you:  follow me, and learn how to die.) Having uttered these words, he darted forward, just as the gun which was pointed at him was discharged, and was blown into atoms.  The people, however, following where he had led, in the enthusiasm of the moment seized the gun, and turned it immediately against the Swiss and the Guards that were stationed at the balconies of the Louvre.  Other guns were afterwards taken—­and the consequence was that the soldiers at last retreated with great precipitation, and concentrated their strength on the Place du Carrousel.  The tricolour was already waving over the Louvre.  I observed a little, insignificant urchin climb up the walls, and plant it during the contest.

“The last struggle made by the Guards for their royal master was to save the proud palace of his ancestors; but, alas, the attempt was vain.  A storm of balls was poured in upon them from so many sides, that the little presence of mind they had preserved until now, deserted them at this trying moment; and after a few ineffectual discharges, they retreated toward the Champs Elysees; and the populace, unchecked by any power but their own will, rushed en masse into the regal mansion.

“During this attack, short as it was, I happened to be in a situation far more critical than that of the generality of the combatants on either side.  On entering the Place du Carrousel by the archway leading from the Quays, we found the confusion extreme—­and, as the fire besides grew every moment hotter and hotter, I felt the necessity of taking refuge somewhere, and in my agitation ran forward and sheltered myself under the Triumphal Arch.  Here I passed the short interval during which the combat lasted in a confusion of all the senses, which extended minutes to months, and gave to something less than half a quarter of an hour the importance of a century; for I was all the time between the two fires.  Fortunately, as I have said, the affair did not last very long; and when the victorious rabble at last rushed into the Tuileries, I followed the general movement, and soon after found myself in the throne hall, where I was joined by my two missing friends.”