Letter to Laura Lafargue, June 9, 1892

Author(s) Friedrich Engels
Written 9 June 1892


First published, in the language of the original (English), in: F. Engels, P. et L. Lafargue, Correspondance, t. III, Paris, 1959
Published in English in Marx-Engels Collected Works, Volume 49


ENGELS TO LAURA LAFARGUE

AT LE PERREUX

London, 9 June 1892

My dear Löhr,

Your silence and Paul's is ominous—no news of any agreement signed on June 1st—are your intelligent capitalists after all recalcitrant? In the meantime Bax who is editor of Justice for 2 months, heard of your paper at Mottelers, where he met Bebel, Singer and our lot, and in spite of our precautions, cautions and remonstrances, has blabbed it out in last No.[1]

Well, I am likely to wait until I get news from you, fortunately the weather is so hot, that waiting is not so very difficult, and rather less so than any more active proceeding—in the meantime I am in the agreeable position to hand you a little cash viz. £2.18.4, one third of £8.15.- proceeds of 180 Marks sent by Dietz as share of honorarium, for Marx's heirs, of the German edition of the Misère de la Philosophie. The translators[2] have all at once come to the consciousness that, for the first edition of that work, Mohr's heirs were not paid anything, so I was called upon to say what they were to have for both editions now on the coming out of the 2nd edition. After some correspondence we agreed that of the 300 Marks paid for the second, the two translators were to have 2/5 =120 M. and the heirs 180 Marks = 3/5, which I believe is fair enough.[3] So herewith your cheque.

Tussy is in Plymouth for Gas Workers Annual Conference,[4] and Edward goes from there to Aberdeen, on an invitation to preach.[5]

I was in Manchester last week.[6] Poor Schorlemmer is dying. You know how changed he has been since that fall on boards the Flushing steamer which prevented his coming to Paris with Nimmy and Pumps. For the last two Christmases he could not come here. Even Easter he stopped at home and at last sent a letter: don't write, as I cannot reply! Then I wrote to Gumpert and learnt that he was getting weaker and that percussion brought out a dullness over the upper third of the right lung which, all other possibilities being excluded by the other symptoms, indicated the formation of a tumour. This diagnosis has turned out only too correct. Partial paralysis, oedema and low temperature of the right arm have set in in consequence of the pressure of the tumour on the vena cava and the plexus brachialis, while the left arm is relatively and the lower extremities perfectly free from these symptoms. His brain, too, is not quite clear, and sometimes very confused. At the same time he suffers no pain, hardly any uneasiness, and is gradually getting weaker. Gumpert thinks he may last some weeks yet, but may go off quite suddenly if any complication arises. It was impossible to converse with him more than 5-8 minutes, he wants rest, peace and quietness, and does not take any interest in anything. I hope he will be spared any sufferings. His mother is still alive, she is 81 years old.

Well, my dear girl, do give us news, even if they are not exactly what you would like them to be, we want to know what is going on.

Vaillant called here on Monday morning, but evaded all further invitations or occasions for meeting me, I shall try to find out what brought him here.

We had Bebel and Singer here for a fortnight, and were very jolly.[7] You will have received the Pall Mall interview we sent you.[8]

We also send you the Elend der Philosophie,[9] 2nd edition. Love from Louise, who would be thankful for an article,

and yours affectionately

F. Engels

Ditto to M. le député[10]

  1. ↑ On June 1892, Justice (No. 438), reported that a socialist daily was due to be published in France under the editorship of Jules Guesde and Paul Lafargue.
  2. ↑ Eduard Bernstein and Karl Kautsky
  3. ↑ See this volume, pp. 199 and 273.
  4. ↑ The annual congress of the National Union of Gas Workers and General Labourers of Great Britain and Ireland (see Note 164) was held in Plymouth at the beginning of June 1892. It decided that the Union should put up independent working-class candidates at parliamentary and municipal elections and take part in the 1893 International Socialist Workers' Congress in Zurich. The congress also discussed the Union's structure and finances.
  5. ↑ According to Justice of 18 June 1892 ('Socialism in Aberdeen'), Edward Aveling addressed socialist meetings in Aberdeen on 10 and 12 June.
  6. ↑ Engels visited Manchester on 2 to 4 June 1892 (see also this volume, pp. 435 and 436-37).
  7. ↑ August Bebel and Paul Singer visited Engels in London approximately between 14 May and 1 June 1892.
  8. ↑ On 28 May 1892 the Pall Mall Gazette (No. 8482) carried an interview with August Bebel and Paul Singer headlined 'The Prospects of Socialism'. In the interview, granted during their stay in London earlier in May (see Note 473), Bebel and Singer briefly characterised the working-class movement in Germany and emphasised the significance of the success scored by the French Workers' Party at the May 1892 municipal elections (see Note 429).
  9. ↑ Poverty of Philosophy
  10. ↑ Paul Lafargue