| Author(s) | Karl Marx |
|---|---|
| Written | 12 February 1856 |
MARX TO ENGELS[1]
IN MANCHESTER
[London,] 12 February 1856
28 Dean Street, Soho
Dear Frederic,
I am still being plus ou moins[2] persecuted by State haemorrhoids and consequent DULLNESS of spirits. On top of which Pieper has just been playing me some music of the future.[3] C'est affreux[4] and makes one afraid of the 'future', including its poetical music.
At the Museum[5] I have made a number of historical discoveries about the end of the 17th and the early decades of the 18th centuries concerning the struggle between Peter I and Charles XII and the decisive role played in that drama by England. At that time the foreign policy of the Tories and Whigs differed quite simply in that the former sold themselves to France, the latter to Russia. This venality was taken for granted and is discussed and declared 'a matter of course' by contemporary writers. From the start, William III harboured MISGIVINGS about Sa Majesté Czarienne,[6] as is proved by his offensive and defensive treaty with Charles XII. Under him the ministers acted contrary to his inclination. From George I onwards things were easy for the Whigs since the ELECTORS of Hanover were already pursuing a foolish dynastic policy and regarded Verden and Bremen as the focal points of European interest. That mainly England contributed to turning Russia into a BALTIC POWER is, perhaps, less interesting than the fact that, as early as the beginning of the 18th century, this policy was already being denounced, and the future growth of the MUSCOVITE EMPIRE predicted with remarkable accuracy. Despite the unexampled indulgence of the official British and the direct aid they accorded Peter, the latter was at the same time engaging in underhand dealings with the Pretender.[7] In this his personal physician (Erskine), a relation of the Comte de Mar, acted as go-between. The main sources for the whole of this mysterious story are:
a) Truth is Truth, as it is timed, or Our Ministry's present Measures against the Muscovite vindicated by Plain and Obvious reasons, tending
to prove that it is no less the interest of Our British trade, than that of Our State, that the Czar be not suffered to retain a Fleet, if needs must that he should [have] a Sea Port in the Baltick etc. London 1719.
The author[8] was ambassador in Petersburg from 1710-1715 and, as he says, was
b) Mémoire présenté à Sa Maj. Britannique par M. Wesselowsky, Ministre de Sa Maj. Czar. London 1717.
An apologia by the Russians respecting their underhand dealings with the Pretender, especially remarkable for being altogether in the style (although not yet with quite the polish) of Pozzo di Borgo and Co.,[9] hence evidence that qualitatively Russian diplomacy has made no progress since Pierre I.
c) The defensive treaty concluded in the year 1700 between His late M. King William of Glorious Memory and His Present Swedish Maj. King Charles XII, etc., to which some queries are appended (1716).
d) The Northern Crisis, or Impartial Reflections on the Policies of the Czar.... 'Parvo motu primo mox se attollit in auras'.[10] London 1716.
One of the most extraordinary pamphlets ever written. Might, with minor MODIFICATIONS, have appeared in the year 1853. Contains, as do also a) and c), evidence of English treachery. In a postscript the anonymous author[11] says:
e) An Inquiry into the Reasons of the Conduct of Great Britain with Relation to the Present State of Affairs in Europe. London I727.[13]
Interesting only because it reveals that Ripperda, the Spanish diplomatic chevalier d'industrie, subsequently a minister, HAD A VERY PARTICULAR INTIMACY WITH THE RUSSIAN MINISTER', etc. Likewise the other leading double-dealer in the diplomatic world of the time, Baron Görtz.
f) Tagebuch Peters des Grossen vom Jahre 1698 bis zum Schlüsse des Neustädter Friedens, aus dem russischen Original übersetzt, so nach denen im Archive befindlichen und von Seiner Kaiserlichen Majestät eigenhändigen ergänzenden Handschriften gedruckt worden. With a
prefatory note by the Russian editor, Prince Mikhail Shcherbatov (mep6aTOBT>) (Petersburg, 2 August 1770), in German, Berlin and Leipzig 1773.
Although Catherine II naturally had this diary censored before publication, it nevertheless contains much that confirms the FACTS given in the above-mentioned pamphlets.
g) Copies and Extracts of several letters written by the King of Sweden and his Ministers relating to the Négociations of Baron Gertz etc., published at Copenhagen by order of the King of Denmark. London 1717.
h) Letters which passed between Count Gyllenborg, the Baron Görtz, Spätre etc., published by authority. London 1717.
g) and h) are, of course, well known to all historians who, however, lack the key to the proper understanding of the same. Both publications turn more especially on Charles XII's plan, conceived as an act of vengeance upon England, to land a Swedish army on the English coast and proclaim the Pretender.
Besides these pamphlets there are a number of other writings which occasionally refer to the Swedish-English-Russian business, or English pamphlets obviously inspired by the Swedish ambas- sador Gyllenborg, as, for instance, Remarks on Mr Jackson's Memorial etc.
You can see what kind of means the Whigs resorted to from their having put it about
No one can fail to notice that, at the very time the English were making such a ridiculous hullaballoo about Austria setting up the Compagnie des Indes at Ostend, they formally placed their fleet at Peter's disposal and helped him found his ports in the Baltic. Yet from the complaints of the English BALTIC MERCHANTS of that time it transpires that Monsieur Peter was very far from gentle with them. England was, moreover, the first great European power to recognize his imperial title, etc. What the above-mentioned pamphlets prove above all is that she was acting neither under an illusion nor out of ignorance.
The following anecdotes about Peter from the Memoirs of Frederick the Great's Sister[14] will amuse you. Peter and the Czarina[15] were paying them a visit at Potsdam.
'La Czarine débuta par baiser la main à la reine[16] qu'il voulut embrasser, mais elle le repoussa. Elle lui présenta ensuite le duc et la duchesse de Mecklenbourg[17]
qui les avaient accompagnés et 400 soi-disant dames qui étaient à sa suite. C'était pour la plupart, des servantes allemandes, qui faisaient les fonctions de dames, de femmes de chambre, de cuisinières et de blanchisseuses. Presque toutes ces créatures portaient chacune sur les bras un enfant richement vêtu; et lorsqu'on leur demandait, si c'étaient les leurs, elles répondaient en faisant des salamalecs à la Russienne: Le Czar m'a fait l'honneur de me faire cet enfant. La reine ne voulut pas saluer ces créatures'[18] etc.
In one of the rooms at Potsdam there stood a Priapus
'dans une posture très indécente. Le Czar admira cette statue beaucoup et ordonna à la Czarine de la baiser. Elle voulut s'en défendre, il se fâcha et lui dit en allemand corrompu: Kop ob.... La Czarine eût si peur qu'elle fit tout ce qu'il voulut. Il demanda sans façon cette statue et plusieurs autres au roi[19] qui ne put les lui refuser'[20] etc.
I should like to put to some use the curious items I have discovered at the Museum. They are too retrospective for a newspaper. So I shall try 'Putnam'. But first you must let me know when the 'IMPROVEMENTS IN MODERN WARFARE' can be ready, since Putnam will, of course, insist on having the goods he ordered first[21] before he considers any fresh offers.
I was most interested in the French business and would ask you to send me the Examiner whenever it contains similar stuff. Here the Guardian may be seen at Wylde's. Writing for the papers is at present very onerous, since nothing is happening in England and the turn economic affairs are taking is still far from clear. Crucial in this respect just now are the stock market swindles, concerning which the necessary material is wanting.
Have since seen Bruno[22] once or twice. The fellow clearly has
something in mind, having come sans le sou[23] to his cher frère[24] He's a thorough-going old bachelor, anxiously concerned for his own conservation and preservation, and not without secret MISGIVINGS about his attitude to the present. Litde by litde he is discovering that London is a remarkable place, that in it there are 'contrasts between poor and rich' and other suchlike 'discoveries'. His would-be gentility and repudiation of the world on the one hand, and his childish curiosity and rustic astonishment at EVERYTHING and ANYTHING on die other, provide a far from edifying contrast. At present he is engaged mainly in mugging up English. As soon as I have another encounter with him I shall tell you about it.
Salut.
Your
K. M.