It was Lieutenant Aubert Roche. The commandant was sent for and immediately arrived.
"Monsieur, you are lost!" cried the young man.
"You are surrounded by sixty thousand men of the National Guard, and one hundred thousand of the people of Paris!"
"What is demanded?" was the trembling response.
"That you evacuate the Tuileries!—resign it to the National Guard!"
"The troops shall be withdrawn, Monsieur. Orders for their retirement to the palace shall be issued instantly."
"That will not do! The palace must be evacuated," insisted the Lieutenant, "or the people will raze it to the ground!"
"Come with me, Monsieur," said the commandant.
The gate was immediately opened, and Lieutenant Roche, accompanied by M. Leseur, chef de bataillon, bearing a flag of truce, followed the commandant to the Pavillon de l'Horloge, where stood the Duke of Nemours, pale with excitement, surrounded by generals.
"Monseigneur," said the commandant, "suffer me to present a deputation from the people."