ll 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.

He added,--

"This explosion will awaken the people."

"But," several cried out, "suppose it does not awaken them?"

"We shall die."

"I am on your side," said I to him.

We each pressed the other's hand. But objections burst forth.

No one trembled, but all criticised the proposal. Would it not be
madness? And useless madness? Would it not be to play the last card of
the Republic without any possible chance of success? What good fortune
for Bonaparte! To crush with one blow all that remained of those who were
resisting and of those who were combating! To finish with them once for
all! We were beaten, granted, but was it necessary to add annihilation to
defeat? No possible chance of success. The brains of an army cannot be
blown out. To do what Charamaule advised would be to open the tomb,
nothing more. It would be a magnificent suicide, but it would be a
suicide. Under certain circumstances it is selfish to be mer