Letter to Karl Marx, April 16, 1869

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Author(s) Friedrich Engels
Written 16 April 1869


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Extract published in Marx Engels on Literature and Art, Progress Publishers, 1976;

First published in part in Der Briefwechsel zwischen F. Engels und K. Marx, Bd. 4, Stuttgart, 1913 and in full in MEGA, Abt. IIl, Bd. 4, Berlin, 1931

An excerpt from this letter was published in English for the first time in: Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, Selected Letters. The Personal Correspondence, 1844-1877, Ed. by F. J. Raddatz, Little, Brown and Company, Boston, Toronto, 1981

Published in English in full for the first time in Marx-Engels Collected Works, Volume 43
Collection(s): Marx Engels on Literature and Art
Keywords : Letter, Diderot, Karl Marx

To Marx in London


Manchester, April 16, 1869[edit source]

Dear Moor,

Enclosed returned the 2 Ludlows[1] and the 2 ‘knavish tricks’.[2] From Wilhelm you sent only the few lines for me, not those to you to which you refer.[3] If Wilhelm can’t d o more than this, t h en it is a miracle he did not d o even worse in Barmen.[4] In a few days I shall send you reports in Zukunft about the general assembly[5] which appeared very late and show that the ground had already been well prepared in Schweitzer’s association, and that the rebellion would have broken out even without Wilhelm.

The Ludlow correspondence very useful.

Many thanks for the Rameau[6] which will give me much pleasure. At the moment I am reading almost nothing, in order finally to get my eye back on the right track; I have also cut down on my work at the office.

Wilhelm is badly mistaken if he thinks I would send him the Peasant War[7] on the basis of such vague promises, so he could subsequently pop up and yell that, if I did not send the sum of umpteen pounds, it would be impossible to print the final sheets. His letter is real twaddle, and his calm assumption that you should pay his fees is impudent.

Fowler, the STIPENDIARY MAGISTRATE here, who had the Fenians brought into court shackled to one another, has relinquished his post. Leaving behind his wife and 2 children, he has eloped with the wife of Milne, the CHAIRMAN OF QUARTER SESSIONS (daughter of the late Brooks, the rich BANKER, and WORTH £80,000 IN HER OWN RIGHT), who, for her part, left 5 children with her beloved husband. Great consternation amongst the philistines.

Salut.

Your

F. E.

This final story can only be explained etymologically; Fowler from Fowl ≈ Vogel.[8]

  1. ↑ Engels is probably referring to an article by J. M. Ludlow ‘Ferdinand Lassalle, the German Social-Democrat’ published in The Fortnightly Review on 1 April, and Ludlow’s letter to Marx of 12 April 1869, a reply to Marx’s letter of 10 Apri
  2. ↑ See Marx's Letter to Friedrich Engels, April 15, 1869
  3. ↑ A reference to Liebknecht's letter to Marx of 12 April 1869.
  4. ↑ A reference to the dispute between Liebknecht, Bebel and Schweitzer at the congress of the General Association of German Workers held in Barmen-Elberfeld on 28-31 March 1869. Bebel and Liebknecht accused Schweitzer of having contacts with the Bismarck Government and of attempts to prevent the formation of a united workers’ party in Germany. The congress showed that Schweitzer’s authority had been undermined: 14 delegates representing 4,635 of the Association’s members refused to give him a vote of confidence, while 42 delegates with 7,400 votes gave such a vote. The congress adopted a number of resolutions aimed at restricting Schweitzer’s dictatorial powers and making the internal life of the Association more democratic: in addition to the President, it was to be headed by a board of twelve members and its seat was to be in Hamburg. A proposal was moved to convene a Social-Democratic congress in Germany with a view to ‘founding a united organisation’. On Schweitzer’s suggestion, it was resolved to establish closer contacts with the International to the extent permitted by the German law. In fact, however, the Association’s leadership continued to pursue a sectarian policy and obstruct the affiliation of the Association with the International.
  5. ↑ Die Zukunft, Nos. 76, 79, 80 and 86; 2, 6, 7 and 14 April 1869.
  6. ↑ D. Diderot, Le neveu de Rameau...
  7. ↑ F. Engels, The Peasant War in Germany.
  8. ↑ This may be an allusion to the German word 'vögeln' ('have it off with').
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