"A very sad thing, monsieur,--our duty. By good luck, the regiment has, so far, received no orders beyond the prevention of traffic. We are restricting ourselves, as you see, to the execution of that order. So long as no one fires on us, we shall fire on no one either. Go and tell that to your men and let them turn back quietly, and if, to go further still, you have enough influence over them to persuade them to return to their homes, you will be doing the very best deed possible!" "I thank you for your advice, monsieur," I said, laughing in my turn; "but I doubt whether my companions will be disposed to follow the latter part of it." "Then it will be so much the worse for them, monsieur!" I bowed and turned to go away. "By the bye," he said, "when will _Antony_ appear? Is not that the title of the first play you mean to have performed?" "Yes, Captain." "When?" "When we have accomplished the Revolution, seeing that the Censorship has suppressed my play, and that it needs nothing less than a Revolution to permit the performance of it--so they have told me at the Ministry of the Interior." The officer shook his head. "Then I am very much afraid, monsieur, that the play will never see daylight." "You are afraid of that?" "Yes." "All right--here's to the first representation! And if you would like seats at it, come to No. 25 rue de l'Université and ask me for them." We bowed. The captain returned to his company, and I rejoined my troop, to whom I related all that had passed. Our first care was to retire beyond gunshot, in case our advisers should change their views for less pacific ones. Then we held counsel together. "Upon my word!" one of my men remarked, "the matter is easy enough. Do we or do we not wish to go where there is fighting?" "We do." "Well, then, let us go down the rue du Harlay, the quai des Orfèvres and return to the Pont Notre-Dame by the rue de la Draperie and the rue de la Cité." This proposition was unanimously adopted: our two drums began to beat again, and we reascended the quai de l'Horloge to put our fresh strategic plan into execution. CHAPTER VII The attack on the Hôtel de Ville--Rout--I take refuge at M. Lethière's--The news--My landlord becomes generous--General La Fayette--Taschereau--Béranger--The list of the Provisional Government--Honest mistake of the _Constitutionnel_