| Author(s) | Friedrich Engels |
|---|---|
| Written | 9 February 1886 |
ENGELS TO LAURA LAFARGUE
IN PARIS
London, 9 February 1886
My dear Laura,
Our clever folk of the Social Democratic Federation[1] scorn to rest on their laurels. Yesterday they must needs interfere in a meeting of the unemployed — who count now by hundreds of thousands — in order to preach La Révolution — revolution in general, and ask the mass to hold up their hands, those who were ready to follow Mr Champion to—well to what he does not know himself. Hyndman who can only overcome his personal cowardice by deafening himself by his own shouts, went on in the same strain.[2] Of course you know what a meeting at 3 p. m. in Trafalgar Square consists of: numbers of the poor devils of the East End who vegetate in the borderland between working class and lumpen proletariat, and a sufficient admixture of roughs and 'Arrys to leaven the whole into a mass ready for any 'lark' up to a wild riot à propos de rien.[3] Well just at the time when this element was getting the upper hand (Kautsky who was there says das eigentliche Meeting war vorbei; die Keilerei ging los und so ging ich weg[4] ) the wiseacres above-named took these roughs in procession through Pall Mall and Piccadilly to Hyde Park for another and a truly revolutionary meeting. But on the road the roughs took matters into their own hands, smashed club windows and shop fronts, plundered first wine-stores and baker's shops, and then some jewellers' shops also, so that in Hyde Park our revolutionary swells had to preach le calme et la modération![5] While they were soft-sawdering, the wrecking and plundering went on outside in Audley St. and even as far as Oxford Street where at last the police interfered.
The absence of the police shows that the row was wanted, but that Hyndman and Co. donnaient dans le piège[6] is impardonable and brands them finally as not only helpless fools but also as scamps. They wanted to wash off the disgrace of their electoral manoeuvres[7] and now they have done an irreparable damage to the movement here. To make a revolution — and that à propos de rien,[8] when and where they liked — they thought nothing else was required but the paltry tricks sufficient to 'boss' an agitation for any vile fad, packing meetings, lying in the press, and then, with five and twenty men seemed to back them up, appealing to the masses to 'rise' somehow, as best they might, against nobody in particular and everything in general, and trust to luck for the result. Well I don't know whether they will get over it so easily this time. I should not wonder if they were arrested before the week is out. English law is very definite in this respect: you may spout as long as you like, so long as nothing follows; but as soon as any 'overt acts' of rioting ensue, you are held responsible for them, and many a poor devil of a Chartist, Harney and Jones and others, got two years for less. Besides, n'est pas Louise Michel qui veut.[9]
At last I have got nearly the whole of the ms. of the English translation of Volume I of Capital in my hands, the small remnant Edward has promised for Sunday. I shall go at it this week — the only thing that keeps me from it is the revision of a translation (English) of my old book on the English working class[10] by an American lady[11] who has also found a publisher for it in America — strange to say! This I do in the evenings and shall — unless much interrupted — finish this week. As soon as I see my way to fix a date for the printing to begin, I shall go and see Kegan Paul, and if we do not come to terms with him, go somewhere else, we have hints and offers from more than one. Our position in this respect is much improved. After that,— Volume III, and no more interruptions tolerated.
We thought it very strange that Bernstein should have recommended a fellow like Quarck and asked him. Here is his reply which I give you literally so that there can be no mistake:
'Von einer Quarck-Empfehlung bin ich mir gar nichts bewusst, wie sollte ich einen Mann empfehlen den ich gar nicht kenne? Es ist möglich dass ich auf eine Anfrage einmal geantwortet, der Mann sei kein Parteigenosse, aber es liege nichts gegen ihn vor, aber auch nur möglich... Sollte da nicht eine Verwechslung vorliegen? Ich selbst kenne Quarck gar nicht, habe auch noch nie mit ihm korrespondiert. Also wie gesagt, ich bestreite nicht absolut, über Quarck einmal Auskunft erteilt zu haben, aber empfohlen habe ich ihn nicht.'[12]
Pardon me that I bother you again with this affair, but I wish to have this extract forwarded to Paris in the original German. As to the rest I write to Paul about it. Otherwise I wish Deville every happiness in his new ménage[13] and hope it will not interfere too much with his regularity of habits. If once settled down in a new routine, he promises to be the best and happiest of husbands.
The people here go on much as usual. Edward has taken a hall in Tottenham Court Road where he preaches twice every Sunday to an attentive and on the whole reasonably well paying audience — it interferes rather with his after-dinner port, but it's a good thing for him as it defeats Bradlaugh's plan to ruin him as a public lecturer, he also goes now and then to provincial towns for 3 lectures on a Sunday! and one the Saturday evening. Bax is something like Paul, writes charming articles often enough in The Commonweal, but utterly unaccountable when an idea runs away with him. For practical agitation poor Bax is most dangerous, being utterly inexperienced; throws the ideas of the study, quite raw, into the meeting-room; has the feeling that something must be done to set the ball rolling, and does not know what; withal very nice, very intelligent, very industrious, so that we may hope he will outlive his zeal.
Yours affectionately,
F. E.