One circumstance in particular had helped to expedite the flight and Arago's good intentions on the prince's behalf. When they reached the Maine barrière the men were stopped; no armed troops whatever were to be allowed to leave Paris. Their first instinct was towards forcing the obstacle in their way, but they consented to parley with the sentries on duty, and finally ended by fraternising with them. Some of the men even went inside the guard-house itself, while the rest sat down in the ditches hollowed out between the trees to catch rain-water. Arago ordered bread and some bottles of wine for them and I himself undertook to go in search of information. An hour later, he reached Montrouge. M. le Duc de Chartres had just left. He took a copy of General La Fayette's letter to justify the prince's release and carried it back to his men. They took the news in very ill humour, and Étienne could only manage to calm them down by promising that he would take them back to the Hôtel de Ville and give them powder to their hearts' content. Étienne had thus come back with this twofold object in view, of reporting the news of the flight of the Duc de Chartres to General La Fayette, and of giving his men their promised powder. But he had some difficulty in keeping his promise; there had been such a waste of powder that no one knew where to obtain any. "I give you my word of honour," La Fayette, who could not believe in such a lack of ammunition, said to Étienne, "that if Charles X. were to return to Paris, we should not have four thousand rounds to fire with!" I heard this answer, and did not let it fall to the ground. When Arago had gone away, I went up to La Fayette. "General," I said to him, "did I not hear you tell Arago just now that you were short of powder?" "Quite true," the general said; "but perhaps I was wrong in mentioning it." "Will you let me go and fetch some?" "You?" "I, myself, certainly." "Wherefrom?" "Wherever there may chance to be any, either at Soissons or at la Fère." "They will not give you any." "Then I will take it." "What! you? You will take it?" "Yes." "By force?" "Why not? The Louvre has been taken by force, surely!" "You are certainly mad, my friend," the general replied. "Not so, I swear it; I am sane enough!" "Come, come, go home; you are tired out, past talking almost. They tell me you spent the night here." "General, give me an order to get powder." "Nothing of the kind." "Do you really mean you do not wish me to go?" "I do not wish to have you shot." "Thank you; but pray be good enough to give me a free pass to General Gérard's presence." "Why, yes, I will do that willingly. Monsieur Bonnelier, draw up a passport for M. Dumas." "Bonnelier is busy, general; I will do it myself, and you can sign it immediately.... You are quite right, I must go home, for I am quite done up!" I went to a table and drew up the following passport:-- "30 _July_ 1830, 1 o'clock