| Author(s) | Friedrich Engels |
|---|---|
| Written | 27 November 1891 |
ENGELS TO LAURA LAFARGUE
AT LE PERREUX
London, 27 November 1891
My dear Laura,
You need not be afraid that it ever entered my mind to think Paul capable of a wilfully mean and dishonorable action. That is entirely out of the question. But the man may be the very soul of honour, and yet commit an étourderie[1] the consequences of which may be incalculable. And my letters contain no charge against Paul except the expression of the possibility that he may have been led into such an étourderie, and, besides, the attempt, supposing that to be the case, to help him out of it as much as lay in my power. To do which, it was absolutely necessary to make clear to him the full portée[2] of the words put into his mouth.
Now you yourself admit that it is just possible he may have been led to commit such a blunder.
To recall the facts. On Monday evening[3] The Evening Standard contains the Reuter[4] which showed to me the necessity of immediate action, 1) to obtain authentic information, 2) to prevent further blunders, in case one had been committed. Hence my letter to you which I hope you will, on re-reading, find less unjustifiable than when you had read it first. Well, the same night, or next morning at latest, I receive from you 1) the enclosed cutting from a paper not named — from which report Reuter had evidently abridged, 2) an Intransigeant 25. Novembre where under the heading: 'Le cit. Lafargue à Bordeaux', it is equally stated that on 22 November Paul, before a meeting of cinq ou six cents personnes... dans la salle des Chats, said qu'à différentes reprises il avait (en 1870) remis à M. Ranc, alors directeur de la Sûreté générale, divers plans et documents importants sur la situation des armées allemandes qui lui avaient été communiqués par des socialistes allemands et qui auraient pu changer la face des choses[5] etc. etc.
From that I was forced to conclude that you knew the contents of these two reports, and that the very fact of your sending them to me without a word of comment, implied a tacit acknowledgement that they were in substance correct. On that conclusion, and moreover remembering certain expressions in the Lille speech, equally sent by you, and which expressions I considered at least uncalled for, I could not act otherwise than write to Paul my letter of Wednesday 25th.[6]
Now of course I see that you had never read a report of Paul's speech, and that my letters to you and to Paul gave you the first intimation of what had been put into his mouth. But now you will also see that this is a matter which must be attended to; that the statement about the action of some German socialists during the war of 1870/71—whether substantially true or substantially false—ought never under any circumstances to have been made, if it was made, and ought to be clearly and unmistakably disavowed, at once, if it was not made; that so long as this report is not completely and absolutely disposed of, it will be absurd to expect our German friends to place any confidence in our French friends; and that the government and bourgeois in Germany will at once exploit this report against our German party in a way which is absolutely incalculable; if it leads to nothing more than a renewal of the old Socialist law, it will be lucky!
So if Paul has been slandered, if he is prepared to declare publicly that he never said a word implying in any way the assertion that German socialists, either in or out of Germany, provided him with military statements, plans, news or anything of the kind for the use of the French government during the war 1870/71—then let him send me that declaration at once and in a registered letter. But it must be plain, without reservation or qualification of any kind, or it will be useless and may turn out worse than useless.
If that plain declaration cannot, for one reason or another, be made, then I see no other way out of the mess but that you and Paul come over here at once and discuss by word of mouth such matters as will evidently be fitted for that mode of settlement alone. Your presence will be almost as necessary as his, to moderate our hot heads and to give us the views of your cool head on the situation in France; and also to help us in finding 'the way out' by your feminine sagacity and souplesse,[7] in cases where we male clumsy stick-in-the-muds are left in the dark. You see I am anxious as anxious can be, to keep Paul out of the difficulty if he has got himself into one; but the very first thing is to prevent the commission of fresh mistakes in case one has already been committed. Tomorrow his election will be settled, on Monday at latest I shall have the first reports from Germany on the effect of this thunderbolt from a clear sky, so if you come on Sunday, to be here in the evening, we might succeed in dispersing at least the worst of the clouds on Monday. A telegram 'Coming to-night' would be agreeable, as we receive no letters on Sunday. And under all and any circumstances I do hope Paul will not take any public steps in a matter deeply concerning other people without first consulting these people, the slightest blunder might be fatal to himself, and he will see, I hope too, that this is no joking matter and must be got out of the world as soon as possible.
Ever yours affectionately,
F.E.