| Author(s) | Karl Marx |
|---|---|
| Written | 30 November 1852 |
MARX TO KARL EDUARD VEHSE
IN DRESDEN
[Rough copy]
[London, end of November 1852] Sir,
No doubt you thought it unusual that I, a stranger, should have written to you like an old friend.[1] For this you must ascribe the blame to Weerth and Reinhardt. However, I realise that I was thoroughly mistaken. As an acquaintance of Campe's, that old usurer, perjurer and maid-wife-widower, you must have been aware that this individual is one of my mortal enemies, and hence you had no right to offer him my pamphlet,[2] thereby affording him the opportunity he desired of conveying his impertinences to me indirectly and at no risk to himself. I am not personally acquainted with the individual, although possessed of some specific information about him. The fact that I am engaged in a fight à mort[3] with the SHAM LIBERALS is enough to expose me to his intrigues which, il en peut être sûr,[4] I shall answer when the time is ripe.
In the second place you had no right whatever, upon receiving an inquiry from me, to write to Mr Bangya. So far as I am aware, it was I who introduced you to Mr Bangya, but in no sense did I present him as my confident in private matters. And it is strange to have Campe's insolence conveyed to me through a 3rd party whom Mr Campe—I have this on the authority of Weerth here and shall inform Bangya accordingly—declares to be a spy.
Should this letter cause you offence, you need only come to London; you know where I live and may be assured that you will always find me prepared to give you the satisfaction customary in such cases.
Dr K. Marx