Letter to Karl Marx, November 17, 1859

Author(s) Friedrich Engels
Written 17 November 1859


First published in: Marx and Engels, Works, First Russian Edition, Vol. XXII, Moscow, 1929
Printed according to the original
Published in English for the first time in Marx-Engels Collected Works, Volume 40


ENGELS TO MARX

IN LONDON

Manchester, 17 November 1859

Dear Moor,

As though it wasn't enough to be saddled with a Russian, I have a Genevan arriving today, and Ermen shows an increasing tendency to foist onto me the onerous side of representing the firm. Nevertheless I still had hopes this morning of finding time for an article, but it proved utterly impossible. Next Tuesday, however, you will get an article on Morocco,[1] you may be sure of that. This will be followed as soon as possible by more on the RIFLE VOLUNTEER MOVEMENT,[2] Prussian army reform[3] and diverse other matters.

The business of the ASSAULT has been settled[4] Thirty pounds damages and twenty-five costs. It's been paid-^partly by borrow- ing. The action was brought in London and, quite apart from the scandal up here, the publication in the German papers of The Times report of the affair would have been a nice juicy titbit for Kinkel & Co.

Schiller festival. Programme enclosed, likewise the original poetical creations consisting, as you will observe, of

Prologue by Meissner, Catalogue by Samelson, Epilogue by Siebel.

Pro- and epi- only saved by the antithesis of the catalogue. The first part went OFF in a resounding failure. Dr Marcus (bankrupt woollen merchant with an Erlangen[5] doctorate à 66 talers, 20 silver groschen) read the committee's report in a lachrymose voice, Siebel declaimed the prologue passably well, but indistinctly, Theodores spoke flowery nonsense very indistinctly indeed, all that one could hear being rrrrrr—the choir sang splendidly—Morell delivered himself of platitudes in English, but audibly and fluently—'Die Kraniche des Ibykus'[6] sent the entire audience to sleep. Fortunately this made everything so late that a full performance of the programme would have lasted until 1 o'clock in the morning. Samelson's stanzas were therefore con- signed to the lumber room. The 'Armada'[7] was excellently recited by one Link, then came the play.[8] A very nice stage, but bad acoustics, excellent grouping, much—almost too much—activity constantly going on up stage. All in all, the lads acted quite well but were difficult to understand on account of the unduly voluminous beards they wore in front of their mouths and also because they didn't address the audience properly. The friar was good (Dolch, a former corps student, author of a Geschichte des Deutschen Studententhums, a fool and a donkey). Siebel's epilogue, delivered by Link in a most melodious voice and with much decorum, was effective. In short, part 2 saved the day; in the second part and in the piece dropped from the first the lads predominated (also indirectly attributable to a good deal of •UNDERHAND INFLUENCE' on my part, for the introduction to Wallensteins Lager was composed from data supplied by me and was actually very good); the first was dominated by the wiseacres and self-assertive philistines and schoolmasters.

Now they propose to found a Schiller Institute[9] with the surplus, the surplus, however, being a deficit of £150!

On Saturday a festive guzzle which I didn't attend. Numerous toasts and readings of all the REJECTED ADDRESSES

On Friday night the singers and actors went on carousing until four o'clock in the morning—a very merry affair.

Your

F. E.

What is all this about a brawl at the Crystal Palace[10] ?

  1. ↑ At the beginning of December Engels wrote the article 'Progress of the Moorish War'.
  2. ↑ The rifle volunteer movement started in Britain at the end of 1850 as a reaction to Napoleon Ill's aggressive policy, which was seen as holding the threat of a French invasion of the British Isles. Progressive circles believed that the movement could also help reform the extremely conservative British military system. An article by Engels on the volunteer movement in Britain appeared in the New-York Daily Tribune later (see F. Engels, 'The British Volunteer Force', present edition, Vol. 17). Engels also wrote a series of articles on the subject for the Manchester weekly The Volunteer Journal, for Lancashire and Cheshire (present edition, Vol. 18).—530, 544, 546
  3. ↑ F. Engels, 'Military Reform in Germany'.
  4. ↑ See this volume, p. 490.
  5. ↑ University town in Bavaria
  6. ↑ a poem by Schiller
  7. ↑ F. Schiller, 'Die unüberwindliche Flotte'.
  8. ↑ F. Schiller, Wallensteins Lager—first part of the trilogy Wallenstein.
  9. ↑ The Schiller society, founded in Manchester in November 1859 in connection with the centenary of Schiller's birth, was conceived as a cultural and social centre of the city's German colony. At first Engels was critical of the society and kept aloof from it. But after certain amendments were made in the Rules, he became a member of its board, in 1864, and later President of the society, devoting much time to it and exercising a considerable influence on its activities.—517, 531
  10. ↑ On 10 November 1859 the Crystal Palace (see Note 89) was the scene of festivities to mark the centenary of Schiller's birth, with German petty- bourgeois refugees, above all Kinkel, playing the main role.—531, 534