We held, however, one other meeting.  This was on the 6th, at the house of the Representative Raymond, in the Place de la Madeleine.  Nearly all of us met there.  I was enabled to shake the hands of Edgar Quinet, of Chauffour, of Clement Dulac, of Bancel, of Versigny, of Emile Pean, and I again met our energetic and honest host of the Rue Blanche, Coppens, and our courageous colleague, Pons Stande, whom we had lost sight of in the smoke of the battle.  From the windows of the room where we were deliberating we could see the Place de la Madeleine and the Boulevards militarily occupied, and covered with a fierce and deep mass of soldiers drawn up in battle order, and which still seemed to face a possible combat.  Charamaule came in.

He drew two pistols from his great cloak, placed them on the table, and said, “All is at an end.  Nothing feasible and sensible remains, except a deed of rashness.  I propose it.  Are you of my opinion, Victor Hugo?”

“Yes,” I answered.

I did not know what he was going to say, but I knew that he would only say that which was noble.

This was his proposition.

“We number,” resumed he, “about fifty Representatives of the People, still standing and assembled together.  We are all that remains of the National Assembly, of Universal Suffrage, of the Law, of Right.  To-morrow, where shall we be?  We do not know.  Scattered or dead.  The hour of to-day is ours; this hour gone and past, we have nothing left but the shadow.  The opportunity is unique.  Let us profit by it.”

He stopped, looked at us fixedly with his steadfast gaze, and resumed,—­

“Let us take the advantage of this chance of being alive and the good fortune of being together.  The group which is here is the whole of the Republic.  Well, then; let us offer in our persons all the Republic to the army, and let us make the army fall back before the Republic, and Might fall back before Right.  In that supreme moment one of the two must tremble, Might or Right, and if Right does not tremble Might will tremble.  If we do not tremble the soldiers will tremble.  Let us march upon the Crime.  If the Law advances, the Crime will draw back.  In either case we shall have done our duty.  Living, we shall be preservers, dead, we shall be heroes.  This is what I propose.”

A profound silence ensued.

“Let us put on our sashes, and let us all go down in a procession, two by two, into the Place de la Madeleine.  You can see that Colonel before that large flight of steps, with his regiment in battle array; we will go to him, and there, before his soldiers, I will summon him to come over to the side of duty, and to restore his regiment to the Republic.  If he refuses ...”

Charamaule took his two pistols in his hands.

“...  I will blow out his brains.”

“Charamaule,” said I, “I will be by your side.”

“I knew that well,” Charamaule said to me.