On the surface all was peace and goodwill, but under the surface
seethed plot and counterplot, and behind the scenes two great
governments were extremely anxious, and high officials in the Secret
Service spent sleepless nights. As no 'untoward incident' had
happened, the vigilance of the authorities on both sides of the
Channel relaxed at the very moment when, if they had known their
adversaries, it should have been redoubled. Always beware of the
anarchist when he has been good: look out for the reaction. It annoys
him to be compelled to remain quiet when there is a grand opportunity
for strutting across the world's stage, and when he misses the
psychological moment, he is apt to turn 'nasty', as the English say.

When it first became known that there was to be a Royal procession
through the streets of Paris, a few fanatical hot-heads, both in that
city and in London, wished to take action, but they were overruled by
the saner members of the organisation. It must not be supposed that
anarchists are a band of lunatics. There are able brains among them,
and these born leaders as naturally assume control in the underground
world of anarchy as would have been the case if they had devoted their
talents to affairs in ordinary life. They were men whose minds, at one
period, had taken the wrong turning. These people, although they
calmed the frenzy of the extremists, nevertheless regarded the
possible _rapprochement_ between England and France with grave
apprehension. If France and England became as friendly as France and
Russia, might not the refuge which England had given to anarchy become
a thing of the past? I may say here that my own weight as an anarchist
while attending these meetings in disguise under the name of Paul
Ducharme was invariably thrown in to help the cause of moderation. My
role, of course, was not to talk too much; not to make myself
prominent, yet in such a gathering a man cannot remain wholly a
spectator. Care for my own safety led me to be as inconspicuous as
possible, for members of communities banded together against the laws
of the land in which they live, are extremely suspicious of one
another, and an inadvertent word may cause disaster to the person
speaking it.

Perhaps it was this conservatism on my part that caused my advice to
be sought after by the inner circle; what you might term the governing
body of the anarchists; for, strange as it may appear, this
organisation, sworn to put down al