either the House of Bourbon
or the Charter to their respective enemies.

Two opportunities soon presented themselves of explaining myself on this
point in a more personal and precise manner. In 1821, a short time after
the publication of my 'Essay on Conspiracies and Political Justice,' one
of the leaders of the conspiring faction, a man of talent and honour,
but deeply implicated in secret societies, that inheritance of
tyrannical times which becomes the poison of freedom, came to see me,
and expressed with much warmth his grateful acknowledgments. The boldest
conspirators feel gratified, when danger threatens, by shielding
themselves under the principles of justice and moderation professed by
men who take no part in their plots. We conversed freely on all topics.
As he was about to leave me, my visitor, grasping me by the arm,
exclaimed, "Become one of ours!"--"Who do you call yours?"--"Enter with
us into the _Charbonnerie_; it is the only association capable of
overthrowing the Government by which we are humiliated and
oppressed."--I replied, "You deceive yourself, as far as I am concerned;
I do not feel humiliation or oppression either for myself or my
country."--"What can you hope from the people now in power?"--"It is not
a question of hope; I wish to preserve what we possess; we have all we
require to establish a free government for ourselves. Actual power
constantly calls for resistance. In my opinion it does so at this
moment, but not to the extent of being subverted. It is very far from
having done anything to give us either the right or the means of
proceeding to that extremity. We have legal and public arms in abundance
to produce reform by opposition. I neither desire your object nor your
method of attaining it; you will bring much mischief on all, yourselves
included, without success; and if you should succeed, matters would be
still worse."

He went away without anger, for he felt a friendship for me; but I had
not in the slightest degree shaken his passion for plots and secret
societies. It is a fever which admits of no cure, when the soul is once
given up to it, and a yoke not to be thrown off when it has been long
endured.

A little later, in 1822, when the publications I have spoken of had
produced their effect, I received one day a visit from M. Manuel. We had
occasionally met at the houses of mutual friends, and lived on terms of
good understanding without positive intimacy. He evidently came to