| Author(s) | Friedrich Engels |
|---|---|
| Written | 8 March 1870 |
ENGELS TO RUDOLF ENGELS
IN BARMEN
Manchester, 8 March 1870
Dear Rudolf,
I received your telegram today a few minutes before 5, which means it took scarcely 3 hours, since it was dated 1.52 p.m. So far your news is good, and I hope it remains so.
Hermann's letter from Saturday[1] I received only this morning; the storms must have delayed the Sunday boat from Ostend. In the regular run of things I should have received it yesterday afternoon, some hours before Hermann's telegram,0 and then your information would have accorded properly. The matter seems to
me extremely serious, and the worst is that it can drag on for a very long time and cause mother, at her age, a great deal of suffering, even if everything goes well this time. That the doctor is quite satisfied I understand to mean under the prevailing circumstances; a haemorrhage lasting from Wednesday until the following Tuesday appears to me to be certainly something serious. But we should hope for the best, namely that, when this is past, this does not re-occur.
I am ready to leave at any moment and, if my presence is desirable, I can, depending on the time at which I receive your telegram, either leave here at midday and arrive there the following evening, or leave late in the evening, per day-boat to Ostend, and get to Cologne the same day, where I would surely have to lie up for the night.
Try to keep mother as cheerful and in as good heart as possible. Best greetings.
Your
Frederick