Letter to Max Oppenheim, September 20, 1874

Author(s) Karl Marx
Written 20 September 1874


First published in Rheinische Zeitung, Köln. 21. Februar 1933
Printed according to the original
Published in English for the first time in Marx-Engels Collected Works, Volume 45


MARX TO MAX OPPENHEIM

IN PRAGUE

Karlsbad, 20 September 1874

Dear Friend,

My daughter[1] and I had been eagerly looking forward to spending a few days with you in Prague and we had made all our arrangements yesterday to make our way tomorrow (Monday) to the old Hussite city. Today, however, simultaneously with your kind letter, we received news from Hamburg which makes it imperative for me to choose the direct route via Leipzig in order to settle some business.[2]

However, all is not lost. I am almost certain to be coming back to Karlsbad next year and will incorporate the visit to Prague in my travel plans from the very start. Your sister[3] will already have written to you how very anxious I am, quite apart from the varied points of interest which Prague itself has to offer, to extend my personal acquaintance with yourself beyond the brief intermezzo here at the spa.

Farewell and rest assured of my feelings of friendship towards you; my travelling companion sends her best regards.

Yours,

Karl Marx

  1. ↑ Eleanor
  2. ↑ On 15 August 1874 Marx, accompanied by his daughter Eleanor, left for Karlsbad (Karlovy Vary) on doctors' recommendations, where he stayed from 19 August to 21 September. On the way back to London, Marx stopped off in Dresden, Leipzig, Berlin and Hamburg. In Leipzig, where he stayed approximately from 25 to 28 September, he had talks about the state of the German working-class movement with Wilhelm Liebknecht and Wilhelm Bios, as well as with members of the Leipzig party branch. While in Hamburg on 29 September-1 October, Marx met Social-Democratic leaders.
  3. ↑ Gertrud Kugelmann