"I will too," said Laffitte; "we must have a third." The general and the banker looked round; nobody offered. "Ah! if only Arago were here!" said Laffitte. "You know that you can count upon him," I hazarded; "he will not deny you: I have just left his brother, who is in the very thick of the insurrection." "We can risk our own heads," said Laffitte, "but not those of our friends." "Was it not done in 1830 for the Comte de Choiseul?" "Yes; but the situation is more serious than in 1830." "It is the same," I ventured to say. "Excuse me! in 1830 we had the Duc d'Orléans with us." "Behind us!" "Still, he was there, and the proof of it is that to-day he is king." "If he is the king, General La Fayette will recollect that it was no fault of ours." Yes, wisdom lay in the young heads! I saw nothing was going to be done in this direction, and that the night would be spent in discussion. I went out: this was the easier to manage as I was a personage of but little importance, and probably no one noticed my absence. It was my intention to go either to the _National,_ or to Ambert; but, when I regained the boulevard, I learnt that they were fighting in the rue du Croissant. I had no arms. Furthermore, I could scarcely stand, for I was consumed with fever. I took a cab and drove home. I fainted as I was going upstairs, and they found me unconscious half-way up between the first and second landing. Whilst I was being discovered on my staircase, and being undressed and put to bed, the insurrection pursued its course.