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The Cynosure

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Ishill, Joseph, editor (1924). Peter Kropotkin: the Rebel, Thinker and Humanitarian. Berkeley Heights, N.J.: Free Spirit Press.

"On the part of an anarchist", it will be said, "it is very natural and contains nothing that should appear meritorious to us". Quite so. But how many an anarchist in his place would have been the anarchist that he was?

.      .      .      .      .      .

Detained in France...Kropotkin was sentence to five years imprisonment for "affiliation with the International".

Affiliated with the International he evidently had been, but, of all those who were sentences with him he was indeed the only one I know of who had been affiliated with it. And as, in fact, the International had ceased to exist for several years, the crime of affiliation no longer existed.

At my house they seized a letter of Kropotkin's in which he discoursed on questions pertaining to "Le Révolté", complaining especially of my bad punctuation. This letter was read at the trial. It was rather a meager proof in support of the accusation and a better was not produced. But at a political trial it is unnecessary to be too particular about the selection of proofs...

Kropotkin and the others were transferred to Clairvaux. There beside his scientific and literary work, Kropotkin found the means of organizing different courses in order to perfect the education of his comrades. In his correspondence he was particularly interested in the "Child"—the "child" being "Le Révolté".

It was there that he found time to collect in book-form his best articles from "Le Révolté". Reclus found the title for it: "Paroles d'un Révolté".

Reclus, moreover, had a talent for finding titles. It was he who baptised "La Conquéte du Pain". At the time of the publication of the French edition of "Memoirs of a Revolutionist", he suggested "Autour d'une Vie". And for "Mutual Aid" he found the word "Entr'Aide" for the French edition.

I have a vague idea that it was he who suggested to me the title of La Société Mourante et l'Anarchie".

Eleven years later, when, thanks to this last book—which was my first—I was called to reside at Clairvaux at the government's expense, I found the memory of Kropotkin among the prison-officials, director, inspector, and even guards as fresh as if he had been there only the day before, so impressed were they by his personality.

But our relations were rather epistolatory. We only saw each other on his rare visits to Paris or on my as rare visits to England.

When amnesty, at the advent of Felix Faure, opened the gates of Clairvaux for me, my first care was to resume relations with those comrades who were not dispersed.

Reclus had written asking me what I intended to do. To continue our propaganda and set the journal on its feet again, of course. And procuring a round-trip ticket to Brussels where Reclus lived, I paid him a visit.

His first words were: "Have you seen Kropotkin?" "No." "Then you must go and see Kropotkin. We can do nothing without Kropotkin."

Taking my valise again the next morning, I embarked at Ostend for Douvres where I took the train to London. It I needless to speak of the welcome accorded me by Kropotkin. He was with us in all we would undertake. We could count on his co-operation.

As I was short on money so that I could not risk losing the benefit of my return-ticket which was good for only

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