Letter to Laura Lafargue, February 11, 1889

Author(s) Friedrich Engels
Written 11 February 1889


First published, in the language of the original (English), in: F. Engels, P. et L. Lafargue, Correspondance, t. II, Paris, 1956
Published in English for the first time in Marx-Engels Collected Works, Volume 48


ENGELS TO LAURA LAFARGUE

AT LE PERREUX

London, 11 February 1889

My dear Laura,

Well this Egalité anyhow is quite a relief after the dear dull deadly Cri du Peuple[1] . The last few numbers of that defunct paper were really crushing. Poor Vaillant who can write a very good article when a critical point has been reached, but who is the last man in the world to spin out yarns by the yard day after day—you actually saw him perspire over his daily task, and it was a desponding sight. The involu- tions, evolutions and circumvolutions of Longuet in his attempts to set himself right (and at the same time wrong) with his Radical ex-friends are at least amusing, and artistically done.[2] Paul's [article on] night- work is really good; though he might have tapé un peu plus dur[3] on Boulanger. Today I had no Egalité—perhaps the snow has delayed it. We are six inches deep in it here.

I read your admonition yesterday to Tussy and she pleads guilty. How far she will mind is beyond my cognizance.

Nim was rather out of sorts last week, some sort of derangement of the bowels, but is all right now.

Of Capital, III, vol. I finished section IV yesterday—about 1/3 of the whole cubic foot of ms.

In the Dispatch I send you please note A. Smith on page 2[4] —full of lies as usual—but it shows what the Possibilists are after. That the Germans are going to their congress is a barefaced lie, and that the Danes, Dutch etc. are, is probably another. Bax told Tussy that Hyndman had sounded him as to what the Germans intended doing in this respect, and Bax asked him: are you then the representative of the Possibilists in London? to which Hyndman said he was and in that capacity wanted the information. Whereupon Bax said: then you better write me a letter which I can submit to Engels and Bernstein. There the matter rests at present. But you see how busy they are.

Is Paul going to the Hague 28th inst. (Conference[5] )? Bebel and Liebknecht are going, from here perhaps Bernstein, I am pressing him to go- As to the cash, herewith cheque £20—which I hope will pacify M. Vautour.

Ever yours
RE.

  1. ↑ boring
  2. ↑ An allusion to the article 'Que faire?' ('What is to be done?') written by Charles Longuet and published by the newspaper Egalite on 10 February 1889. In it he attacked the Radicals (see note 200) for their alliance with the Opportunists (see note 199).
  3. ↑ hit a bit harder
  4. ↑ [Ad. Smith], 'The International Workmen's Congress of 1889'
  5. ↑ A reference to the International Socialist Conference in the Hague convened on 28 February 1889 (see note 385).