| Author(s) | Friedrich Engels |
|---|---|
| Written | 28 July 1892 |
ENGELS TO LUDWIG SCHORLEMMER
IN DARMSTADT
Ryde, Isle of Wight, 28 July 1892
The Firs, Brading Road
My dear Schorlemmer,
I had hardly expected that my forebodings about your mother would be realised so soon. But the blow she suffered from Carl's[1] death must nevertheless have been too much for the old lady, ailing and debilitated as she was; on the other hand she was certainly still too mentally alert for the news to have been concealed from her. So one family misfortune has been followed by another and we can only hope that this will be the last. I can sympathise only too well with you in your loss, for eighteen years ago I too lost my mother,[2] who was then 77, and I know what a peculiar bond is formed among the members of a large family by the maternal home and how irreplaceable this is, however united the children may be. The maternal home keeps the whole of that same younger generation together as one large family. Once the mother dies, each of these younger families feels much more independent and involuntarily tends to draw apart from the others. That is in the natural course of things but it is a drastic change none the less and when, in my case as in yours, the mother outlives the father by many years, this makes the added loss of the mother doubly distressing.
Please convey my sincere condolences to your brothers and their families.
To you yourself I send my wishes for your daughter's speedy and complete recovery.
I arrived here yesterday to spend ten days or so with my niece.[3] She also knew your mother and would like to add a line or two.
Yours very sincerely,
F. Engels
[From Mary Ellen Rosher]
I cannot let this letter from my uncle go off without sending to you and all your family my condolences on the death of your dear mother. With warm regards to you all from
Yours,
Ellen Rosher