M.de Baisemeaux," he added, in a sonorous voice, drawing the unhappy governor towards him, "do you know why I am so anxious to speak to the prisoner ?" "No, monseigneur; and allow me to observe that you are terrifying me out of my senses; I am trembling all over--in fact, I feel as though I were about to faint." "You will stand a better chance of fainting outright, Monsieur Baisemeaux, when I return here at the head of ten thousand men and thirty pieces of cannon." "Good heavens, monseigneur, you are losing your senses." "When I have roused the whole population of Paris against you and your accursed towers, and have battered open the gates of this place, and hanged you to the topmost tree of yonder pinnacle!" "Monseigneur! monseigneur! for pity's sake!" "I give you ten minutes to make up your mind," added Fouquet, in a calm voice.

"I will sit down here, in this armchair, and wait for you; if, in ten minutes' time, you still persist, I leave this place, and you may think me as mad as you like.

Then--you shall _see!_" Baisemeaux stamped his foot on the ground like a man in a state of despair, but he did not reply a single syllable; whereupon Fouquet seized a pen and ink, and wrote: "Order for M.le Prevot des Marchands to assemble the municipal guard and to march upon the Bastile on the king's immediate service." Baisemeaux shrugged his shoulders.

Fouquet wrote: "Order for the Duc de Bouillon and M.le Prince de Conde to assume the command of the Swiss guards, of the king's guards, and to march upon the Bastile on the king's immediate service." Baisemeaux reflected.

Fouquet still wrote: "Order for every soldier, citizen, or gentleman to seize and apprehend, wherever he may be found, le Chevalier d'Herblay, Eveque de Vannes, and his accomplices, who are: first, M.de Baisemeaux, governor of the Bastile, suspected of the crimes of high treason and rebellion--" "Stop, monseigneur!" cried Baisemeaux; "I do not understand a single jot of the whole matter; but so many misfortunes, even were it madness itself that had set them at their awful work, might happen here in a couple of hours, that the king, by whom I must be judged, will see whether I have been wrong in withdrawing the countersign before this flood of imminent catastrophes.