Letter to Friedrich Engels, July 5, 1862

Author(s) Karl Marx
Written 5 July 1862


First published in Der Briefwechsel zwischen F. Engels und K. Marx, Bd. 3, Stuttgart, 1913
Printed according to the original
Published in English for the first time in Marx-Engels Collected Works, Volume 41


MARX TO ENGELS

IN MANCHESTER

[London,] 5 July [1862]

Dear Engels,

Best thanks for the £10 of which pars[1] I arrived today. I hear that Mr Gumpert was down here; didn't come to see me.

WELL, I SHALL TRY TO DO WITHOUT HIM.

Herewith 1 Press[2] and two very clever 'talks' by Lassalle.[3]

The enclosed letter from Lassalle was brought me by the Austrian 'Captain (retd.)' Schweigen, a worthy, stupid fellow. The joke is that Rüstow—with the added support of 2 Rüstow brothers—has proposed or is proposing so to use the National Association,[4] the Gymnastic Association, etc., as to have, at the crucial moment—in the smaller German states, at least—a ready-made militia commanded by Mr Rüstow to pit against the army. It's a damn silly plan. And, on top of that, the money for it is to come from London! I don't believe Lassalle shares these DELUSIONS. All he wants is to make himself seem important in the eyes of Schweigert, etc.

I hope that you, at any rate, will come to London IN THE COURSE OF THE SEASON. Little Jenny is no longer unwell, but has grown more delicate than her constitution warrants. Whatever happens, by the by, we must manage to arrange sea-bathing for her.

Is Lupus in Germany by now?[5]

What is the position with regard to the 'ASSOCIATES' of the BRITISH ASSOCIATION?[6] Are the old cards still valid? Lupus has got mine.

Salut.

Your

K. M.

  1. ↑ a part
  2. ↑ The Free Press.
  3. ↑ Ueber Verfassungswesen and Die Philosophie Fichte's und die Bedeutung des Deutschen Volksgeistes, Berlin, 1862.
  4. ↑ The German National Association (Deutscher National-Verein) was the party of the German liberal bourgeoisie favouring the unification of Germany (without Austria) under the aegis of the King of Prussia. The Association was set up in Frankfurt am Main in September 1859. Its supporters were nicknamed Little Germans.
  5. ↑ This refers to the speech Lassalle made in the Berlin criminal court on 16 January 1863. It was published as a pamphlet, under the title Die Wissenschaft und die Arbeiter. Eine Vertheidigungsrede vor dem Berliner Criminalgericht, Zürich, 1863.
  6. ↑ This probably refers to the Report of the Thirtieth Meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science; held at Oxford in June and July 1860, London 1861. The British Association for the Advancement of Science was founded in 1831 and still exists. It meets annually and publishes reports on these meetings. The Association's 31st annual meeting was held in Manchester between 4 and 11 September 1861. Marx, who was staying with Engels in Manchester at the time, attended the sittings of the Economic Science and Statistics Section.