“No, sir,” cried the officer; “it is a Frenchman, who, in good French, says to you, ‘Make way, in the name of the King!’”
“And I reply to you, in better French, if your hussars do not lay down their arms, we will fire on them, and not one shall leave Varennes alive. Soldiers, present arms—and, gunners, to your pieces!”
Then, stepping two paces forward, he said to M. Goguelot, “Take care, sir. I have sighted you with my gun.”
“Vive la nation!” cried the hussars, as they saw the musket barrels pointed at them, with the matches burning brightly in the obscurity, and the two little pieces of cannon placed in battery at the bottom of the Rue St. Jean.
At this moment, several National Guards sprang upon M. Goguelot’s horse, snatched the rider from the saddle, and dashed him head-foremost into the road, where he lay for a moment or so, completely stunned.
They treated M. Damas and M. de Choiseul, who appeared on the door-step at that moment, in the same fashion.
In the midst of this struggle, I set out for the Place Latry, by way of the Rue l’Horloge. When I got there, I found that M. Maugin had started for Paris, by wish of the municipality, at full speed.
I ran to the house of another doctor of less skill than M. Maugin—a M. Saulnier—and brought him to the Rue de la Basse Cour, where the hussars were drinking and fraternizing with the National Guard.
M. de Malmy was wounded in the shoulder by a ball which had traversed the deltoid muscles. His leg was not broken, but his knee was badly sprained.