| Author(s) | Friedrich Engels |
|---|---|
| Written | 1 December 1892 |
ENGELS TO LUDWIG SCHORLEMMER
IN DARMSTADT
London, 1 December 1892
My dear Schorlemmer,
My sincere thanks for your kind good wishes for a day that was happily spent.[1] Though I may not actually be fit for active service in the 'glorious army' as I enter on another year of my life, I am nevertheless in good health and, on the whole, robust and I think you are right in saying that for the time being I shall continue to pull my weight.
To go by your latest information on Anschutz, it would certainly be best if we were to hear no more of him. Old Pflüger—a nephew of mine used to work in his laboratory—is, so far as I can judge, a real philistine and if, on top of that, Anschütz's father was a Prussian officer, that makes matters even worse, The fact is that it will be difficult to find the right man for Carl's[2] biography, one who is not only a chemist but also a Social Democrat, and not only a Social Democrat but also a chemist and, what's more, a chemist who has made a close study of the history of his discipline since Liebig's day. Presumably we shall have to wait and see whether we can find that man or whether we must content ourselves with the two aspects of Carl being treated separately. I myself must above all else finally complete Volume II I of Capital and cannot see how I could break off just now—and on top of that there are also the proofs of the 2nd edition of Volume II!
And then, too, we live in very turbulent times, what with the military affair, 76 the impending crisis in Germany, the Panama scandals 60 and the crisis that has already set in in France as well as the crisis over Ireland that will almost certainly occur over here next spring. 77 In times like these my correspondence increases twofold and threefold and if, on top of everything else, one is forbidden on account of one's eyes to wield a pen by lamplight, how can one possibly manage? And as for daylight here in London in winter! We're glad if we get four or five hours of it and often there's none at all— gaslight all day because of the fog.
But it can't be helped and so long as things keep moving ahead in the outside world, one mustn't complain.
With my best compliments to your family,
Yours,
F. Engels
Best wishes from Mrs Kautsky. I almost forgot to tell you that Pumps gave birth to a baby girl a fortnight ago last Sunday; both are doing well.