CHAPTER I

I go in search of Oudard--The house at the corner of the rue de Rohan--Oudard is with Laffitte--Degousée--General Pajol and M. Dupin--The officers of the 53rd Regiment--Interior of Laffitte's salon--Panic--A deputation comes to offer La Fayette the command of Paris--He accepts--Étienne Arago and the tricoloured cockade--History of the Hôtel de Ville from eight in the morning to half-past three in the afternoon