Letter to Ludwig Schorlemmer, June 5, 1892

ENGELS TO LUDWIG SCHORLEMMER

IN DARMSTADT

London, 5 June 1892

Dear Mr Schorlemmer,

I arrived back from Manchester yesterday evening^[1] and am sorry to say that I cannot give you any better news of Carl.^[2] He is in bed and very apathetic, wants peace and quiet, but otherwise suffers no pain at all; he is not quite clear in the head and his memory often fails him, besides which he frequently misunderstands what is being said to him. I visited him six times, never for longer than five or ten minutes which is about as much as he can stand.

I can now tell you something I have withheld from you hitherto, namely that in the past week or so he has been found beyond doubt to have developed a carcinogenic tumour of the right lung extending pretty much over the whole of the upper third of the organ. In consequence of the pressure of this tumour on the nerve ends and the larger blood vessels, the activity of the brain is impaired and the right arm paralysed and swollen. The existence of this tumour explains the earlier symptoms the intense debility following his influenza and the failure to overcome that debility. But unhappily the discovery of the cause deprives us of all hope that he may recover and now all we can wish is that the painless condition he is now in persists until the end. Gumpert says this could come at any moment, though again Carl might, in the absence of any complications, continue in his present state but growing steadily weaker for several more weeks and possibly even longer.

I have made sure that he is well looked after. The hospital nurse obtained for him by Gumpert appears to know her business properly and to be taking great care of him, quite unlike the London nurses, my experience of whom has not been exactly happy. Also the owners of the house where he has been living for the past fourteen years are doing everything that lies within their power. The landlord showed me his fairly voluminous mss and promised me faithfully that he would hand them over to Carl's executors^[3] and to no one else. I spoke to one of these two executors, a chemist and an old friend of ours,^[4] and told him what I thought should be done first—at the very outset to safeguard the manuscripts and the interests of the heirs thereto; he was in full accord with me, so that in that respect my mind is at rest. Since there are people about who would not be averse to pluming themselves with Carl's feathers and have, indeed, already made some attempt in that direction, I thought I ought to do all I could to frustrate them. More about this anon.

Should you or any other member of your family wish to set your minds at rest by coming over here and seeing with your own eyes how Carl is faring, Dr Gumpert would gladly do anything to make matters easier for you in Manchester, as I would here.

We have discovered that a niece of yours from Bordeaux is here in London, but have been unable to get her address out of Carl; would you be so good as to let us have it? We might be able to be of some use to the young lady.

I would also ask you to be so kind as to write at once (in German) to Dr Gumpert, whose address I give below, to say whether a telegram addressed TO LUDWIG SCHORLEMMER, Darmstadt, would reach you or whether a more detailed address is necessary and, if so, what it is.

With kind regards to your mother and to your whole family, I remain,

Yours very sincerely,

F. Engels

Dr Gumpert, 203 High Street, Oxford Road, Manchester, England

Bebel and Singer went back to Germany on Wednesday.^[5]

Mrs Kautsky likewise sends her most cordial regards.