Letter to Jenny Marx Longuet, January 11, 1865

Author(s) Karl Marx
Written 11 January 1865


First published, in Russian, in Voinstvuyushchy materialist, Book 4, 1925, and in the language of the original, English, in The Socialist Review (London), No. 44, September 1929
Published in English in Marx-Engels Collected Works, Volume 42


MARX TO HIS DAUGHTER JENNY

IN LONDON

Manchester, 11 January 1865 58 Dover Street

My sweet child,

I wanted to leave Manchester tomorrow, but I'll be hardly able to do so before Sunday (15th Jan.) next.S4 Ernest Jones, whom I am anxious to speak, is busily engaged in the neighbouring towns and has invited me (and Engels) for next Friday evening when he'll be at home. I have not yet seen him, and could not see him before that day. This is one cause of delay. There are others, but at all events I shall not stay longer than until Sunday.

The German translation of the 'Address to the Working Classes'a has been reprinted in the Mainzer Zeitung, the 'Address to Lincoln'b in the Berliner Reform and the London Hermann. The latter honour is probably due to Mr Juch's anxiety lest his rival Bender might monopolize 'our protection'.

The weather here was abominable. Today 'the sun shines', as Müller has it, but its rays are reflected by the ice drops covering the dirty streets. Even the sunbeams must here always have something disagreeable to fall upon.

I have not yet seen a Borchardt, and as to the Gumperts, I had only a few minutes' conversation with the Dr yesterday evening.

On my arrival I did not find Frederick, but in his stead a letter informing me that he would be back from fox-hunting at 6 o'clock. Meanwhile he had taken all precautionary measures for making my entrée joyeuse"'[1] (with your great historical knowledge you'll not be at a loss as to the entrée joyeuse'). Whether his change of domicile is an improvement, seems a rather debatable question. At all events, the people are less impudent.

Apropos. There is much chronique scandaleuse just now in the Freiligrath world, as far as it is connected with the General Bank of Switzerland. There has appeared a pamphlet at Genève, disclosing the scandalous mismanagement of Fazy,[2] Freiligrath's 'natural superior'. He has been forced to resign his post as supreme director of the bank, and um zu retten, was zu retten ist[3] (literally this) Jew Reinach has been put into his place, assisted by a Frenchman and—Karl Vogt who has the despicable meanness of betraying, and denouncing, and publicly declaring against Fazy, his old idol, the man in fact of whom he is a mere 'creature'.

I suppose you are aware that the first abonnement number of the 'Social-Democrat' has been confiscated by the police at Berlin.[4] This is a rather favourable accident. Those fellows stand in need of some small political martyrdom.

I hope all is right at home. The cat being gone, the mice ought to dance. Pay my compliments to Ma, 'Success', 'Mine Own' and the 'Prophet'.[5] As to yourself, my dear Aaron, I dreamt of you last night, and saw you in your bloomer costume, performing the most wonderful jumps, almost flying through the air, after you had before done the Davenport trick in the most admirable manner.[6]

I felt quite proud and chuckled in my sleeves over the success of my old acquaintance, and had the most lively remembrance of the rather unplastic dance you had in bygone times executed before the golden calf, in the desert.[7]

Show Ma the inclosed. She will remember Bochum-Dolfs, from Paris. He is now the happy father of 10 children with whom he 'vagabonds' through the world.

  1. ↑ prince or king into one of his own towns
  2. ↑ James Fazy. Sein Leben und Treiben. (Von einem Westschweizer), Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Nos. 321 360, 16 November 25 December 1864.
  3. ↑ to save what can yet be saved
  4. ↑ The first three issues of Der Social-Demokrat were specimens. On 4 January 1865, No. 4 appeared, the first regular issue for the subscribers. When it was confiscated by the police, Marx congratulated Schweitzer, the editor, on the occasion and emphasised that an open break with Bismarck's ministry was necessary (see K. Marx, 'Statement Regarding the Causes of the Breach with the Social-Demokrat', present edition, Vol. 20).
  5. ↑ Mrs Marx, Laura, and Eleanor Marx and Helene Demuth
  6. ↑ Bloomer costume or Bloomer—female costume of short skirt and trousers introduced in the 1850s by the American dress reformer, Amelia Jenks Bloomer (1818-1894). Davenport tricks were practised by the Davenport brothers, two American circus artists, in the 1860s.
  7. ↑ Here a strip of paper is cut off at the bottom of the page, presumably bearing Marx's signature. The paragraph that follows is a postscript in the left-hand corner of the first page of the letter.