Letter to Friedrich Engels, April 28, 1870

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MARX TO ENGELS

IN MANCHESTER

[London,] 28 April 1870

DEAR FRED,

I visited Schapper again yesterday. I FEAR HE IS FAST SINKING. He himself spoke of his death as settled, even told me he had instructed his wife to have him buried next Sunday. It is consumption of the lungs. Schapper spoke and acted really d'une manière distinguée. As long as his wife and eldest son were in the room he conducted the conversation (he can only speak with difficulty) in French. Je ferai bientôt la dernière grimace. He poked fun at old Oborski, who in the past few months has become a Catholic and says his prayers; ditto at Ruge, who once again believes in the immortality of the soul. In this case, he said, Schapper's soul would play rough with Ruge's soul in the hereafter. It gives him pleasure to make jokes about the old stories, meetings with Louis Bonaparte, Dr Conneau, Persigny, General Cavaignac etc., later Willich, etc. It comforts him that his daughter is married, his eldest son Karl is independent (a bookbinder), and each of the two younger ones already earning £1 PER WEEK (as goldsmiths). H e hopes his brother (Nassau) will take in his youngest. H e has left all his scant possessions to his wife, and she will live with the two younger boys. 'Tell all our people that I have remained true to our principles. I am no theoretician. During the period of reaction I had my hands full bringing u p my family. I have lived as a HARD WORKING worker, and die a proletarian.' I gave him your greetings, and said that, had you believed the business was dangerous, you would have come up to see him. This obviously pleased him. Schapper is 57 years old. The true manliness of his character emerged once again clearly and strikingly.

Leaving Schapper, I had to make a second sick-bed visit. Borkheim wrote me a few lines the day before yesterday, that he had been at home sick the whole week, would probably have to stay in bed another week, then to the country, etc. From the way his wife received me, I saw immediately that the matter was sérieux He had had typhoid fever; seems now on the road to improvement. His lungs have certainly been affected. The English doctor—one of the hospital doctors here—predicted all this, and repeats now that he hopes, and is virtually sure, that he will get away with it this time, but that if Borkheim does not abandon his mad life, he has not as much as a year before him.

The fact is that Borkheim studies Russian etc., with frenzy from 4.30 or 5 in the morning until 9, then again from 7 in the evening until 11. You know he writes polemical letters to everybody under the sun and, since he came into possession of a considerable library, has wished to make himself a scholar by brute force.

The doctor demands that he should chuck up everything except business for at least two years, and devote his leisure to light reading and other relaxations. Otherwise he is lost, and this inevitably. He has not the physical strength to do the work of two people.

I saw him for ABOUT 10 MINUTES. He looked damnably fatigué and thin. I told him that, as long as you were tied to business, you had engaged yourself only VERY MODERATELY in other things. I did this on purpose, since I know he respects you very much. When I came downstairs to his wife in the PARLOUR I recounted the conversation to her. She said—and I promised to do what I could to this end—that you would do her the greatest favour by writing to her husband. First of all, it would cheer him up greatly—such a sign of attention on your part—and second, he.would take it to heart if you advised him not to ruin himself by EXTRA WORK.

It is my FEELING that Borkheim is, at the moment, hors de danger, but he must watch out like the devil. Apropos. He is very annoyed with Liebknecht, for first printing the Bakunin letter and then writing to him (Borkheim) that he (Borkheim) must now answer.

Good old Wilhelm, always READY to make BLUNDERS so that others must work! C'est un imbécile Flourens has already visited me at home several times. H e is a very nice fellow. His predominant characteristic is AUDACITY. But he is very well educated in the natural sciences. For a year he gave lectures on ethnology 6 3 0 at Paris University, and was all over the place in Southern Europe, Turkey, ASIA MINOR, etc. Full of illusions and revolutionary impatience, BUT A VERY JOLLY FELLOW WITH ALL THAT, not one of the 'damned serious' school of men. His name has been proposed for our COUNCIL, where he has twice assisted as a guest. It would be a very good thing if he were to stay here longer. It is WORTH WHILE working on him. If, however, Bonaparte grants an amnesty after the plebiscite, he will return to Paris. Yesterday evening, he and Tibaldi were given a banquet by the FRENCH Freemasons' lodge, the FRENCH BRANCH, etc. L. Blanc, Talandier, etc., also wanted t o b take part. All the French revolutionary riff-raff here are courting him, but he is already PRETTY WELL informed about these gentry.

My best thanks for your explanation about the IRISH BOG. For fun I got hold of the RETURN on GAME LAWS CONVICTIONS (ENGLAND AND WALES) for 1869. Total number of CONVICTIONS: 10,345. These are thus the specific AGRARIAN CRIMES of the English and Welsh. Why does not Mr Gladstone also suspend the constitution in England?

You were right to smell a rat in Pigott's letter. From the enclosed Flag of Ireland (LETTER of the Paris correspondent of The Irishman in it) one can see the fellow Pigott's mauvaise foi—since he knows we take The Irishman here—has the muck printed in the Flag. I a m sending you, with the Flag, 5 numbers of Spanish organs of the International, viz. 2 Federacion, 1 Obrero and 1 Solidaridad I shall only send off the copies of Marseillaise on Saturday. First, I must make some notes from them about the Creuzot case, etc. for the CENTRAL COUNCIL.

Last Tuesday the Central Council 7 3 unanimously adopted my proposal (SUPPORTED BY Mottershead): TO SEVER OUR CONNEXION WITH THE Bee-Hive AND TO PUBLISH THAT RESOLUTION. Mr Applegarth sat opposite me while I was giving the reasons for my proposal, with A DIMINISHED HEAD. H e and Odger on editorial committee of Bee-Hive. I denounced the paper as being sold to the bourgeois (S. Morley, etc.), mentioned particularly its treatment of o u r Irish resolutions and debates, etc. I should introduce the formal motion on the decision of the COUNCIL next Tuesday.

Salut.

Your

Moor