"Messieurs," he said, turning to the three or four persons who awaited his commands, "will you come with me to see what is going on?" Thus, whilst M. Pasquier was returning to the audience chamber, which was nearly deserted, to pronounce, by the dismal light of a half-lighted chandelier, the sentence condemning the accused to imprisonment for life and punishing the Prince de Polignac to civil death, the man of 1789 and of 1830 was making his appearance in the streets, as calm on that 21 December, as he announced to the people the quasi-absolution of the ex-ministers, as he had been forty years before, when he announced, to the fathers of those who were listening to him then, the flight of the king to Varennes. For a single instant it seemed as though the noble old man had presumed too much on the magnanimity of the crowd and on his popularity: for the waves of that ocean which, at first, made way respectfully before him, now gathered round him angrily. A threatening growl ran through the multitude, which knew its power and had but to make a move to grind everything to powder or smash everything like glass. Cries of "Death to the ministers! Put them to death! Put them to death!" were uttered on all sides. La Fayette tried to speak but loud imprecations drowned his voice. At last he succeeded in being heard, and, "Citizens, I do not recognise among you the heroes of July!" he said to the people. "No wonder!" replied a voice; "how could you, seeing you were not on their side!" It was a critical moment; there were only four or five of us artillerymen all together. M. Sarrans, who accompanied the general, signed to us to come up to him, and thanks to our uniform, which the people held in respect as a sign of the opposition party, we managed to make our way to the general, who, recognising me, took me by the arm; other patriots joined us, and La Fayette found himself surrounded by a party of friends, amongst whom he could breathe freely. But, on all sides, the National Guards were furious, and were deserting their posts, some loading their rifles, others flinging them down and all crying out treason.