“Our little mute has now been smuggled away into the palace of the Temple and well concealed. There he will remain, and if need be can be passed off as the Dauphin. The triumph is altogether yours, general. You can now be quite at ease in your mind--send me your orders and I shall carry them out. Lasne will take my place now as soon as he likes. The best and safest steps have been taken to ensure the Dauphin’s safety. Consequently I shall be able to get to you in a few days, and shall be able to tell you all further details orally.” These lines herald a momentous alteration in the _régime_ of the prison. First of all, there is the question of Laurent’s leaving it. Presumably his presence is no longer needed there. This suggests that success is assured. And Lasne--how is it that his name makes its appearance here for the first time? We shall find him declaring in 1834 that his service in the Temple began in Fructidor year II., that is to say, between August 18 and September 16, 1794.[75] In that case Laurent would have had him as his colleague for several months already! The Temple documents preserved in the National Archives, and examined fifteen years later, establish the fact that Lasne did not, indeed, enter upon his duties until March 31, 1795, thus bearing out the accuracy of Laurent’s statement. We see, then, that the little mute has been transferred to the palace of the Temple--that is to say, into one of the many empty suites in the great maze of buildings that surrounded the Tower. Here he has been, or perhaps will soon be, joined by the Dauphin himself, for means of retreat from this labyrinth of buildings are infinitely greater than from the fourth storey of the Tower. To replace the mute, another substitute has been found, a scrofulous boy who may be expected soon to die. All barriers to the Dauphin’s escape will thus be removed. So much we gather from Laurent, and all his statements are borne out by documents which have been left by Royalist agents. This second substitution effected, Laurent was able to quit his post with an easy mind, and we find that he did actually leave the Temple on March 29, 1795. His successor, Lasne, arrives two days later. Gomin, who perhaps knows part of the truth through Laurent (and, moreover, his _rôle_ is more especially to attend to Marie Thérèse), is careful not to confide in him, knowing well the risk he would run by so doing. Lasne finds in the prison a boy who is evidently very ill, in great suffering, whose death is soon to be expected. What would be the use of asking questions? It is enough for him to attend to the child as best he may during the few weeks of life that still remain to him. * * * * *