"It is impossible that they could have taken the Bastille!" exclaimed de Lacheville, rising to his feet and steadying himself by holding to the back of his chair. "There are thirty thousand of them," replied d'Arlincourt, "and through some treachery they have obtained arms. In order to save bloodshed Governor Delaunay surrendered the fortress on receiving the promise of the insurgents that the lives of all its defenders should be spared. They are now dragging him through the streets, crying out for his blood. The man was mad to trust the word of such a rabble." "Let us go into the salon," remarked St. Hilaire quietly. "There we can reassure the ladies and also view this interesting spectacle." The three gentlemen entered the room which fronted upon the street, d'Arlincourt with compressed lips and flashing eyes; de Lacheville, unsteady of gait and with wine-flushed face, murmuring maledictions against the beast multitude; and St. Hilaire, cool and calm as was his wont. In the salon they found the chevalier entertaining Madame de Rémur with an anecdote which was the occasion of much laughter on her part. The poet was reciting some of his own verses to the countess, while the philosopher was asleep in an arm-chair. "The crowd have torn down the Bastille," cried de Lacheville, speaking in a thick voice, "and they are now coming down this street, seeking whom they can devour." The ladies cried out in terror. "Marquis, you have interrupted one of my best stories," said the chevalier petulantly. "But, chevalier, the mob have taken the Bastille." "Couldn't you have allowed them two minutes more to complete their work? However, what you say is very interesting, though it does not surprise me. I have been expecting it." "You forget that the chevalier is gifted with second sight," said the count, with a slight sneer. "I have been expecting it for some time," continued the chevalier, "though what they wanted to take it for, I cannot imagine. If they should attack the Hôtel de Ville or the Louvre, or march against Versailles, I could understand it." Madame de Rémur and the philosopher, who had awakened from his nap, had approached to hear the news; and the Marquis de Lacheville repeated it to them as if he had been an eye-witness of the whole affair. "For my part," he said in conclusion, "I think this disturbance amounts to very little; the Baron de Besneval has but to give the order to his troops, and the valiant mob will disperse like chaff. I have seen such fellows run before this. It is amusing to see what a steel bayonet will do toward accelerating the pace of the canaille." "They say that the French Guards are not loyal," remarked the chevalier.