Letter to John De Morgan, around September 18, 1873

Author(s) Friedrich Engels
Written 18 September 1873


First published in: Marx and Engels, Works, First Russian Edition, Vol. XXVI, Moscow, 1935. Reproduced from the original. Published in English for the first time in Marx-Engels Collected Works, Volume 44


ENGELS TO JOHN DE MORGAN

IN LONDON

[Draft] [London, around 18 September 1873]

Dear Citizen!

On Monday[1] I found the letter from you which Miss Carroll had left at my house.[2] That day and Tuesday I was so much engaged on French refugee and International business that I could not attend even to the most pressing portion of my own affairs, nor find time to reply to the numerous letters found here on my return to town. Otherwise I should at once have written to you that I could not take the chair for her next Sunday.

On Tuesday as I was just on the point of going out on business which admitted of no delay and must be settled before 1 o'clock that day, Miss Carroll called again. It was half past twelve and I had above a mile to walk to the place. If a dozen of my oldest friends had arrived from the other end of the world, I could not have seen them at that moment where I had not five minutes to spare. I must have treated them as I treated Miss Carroll.

On telling her as politely as I could my momentous situation, she merely asked me categorically whether yes or no, I would take the chair for her; I regretted I could not, as I had an engagement for that evening, and again expressed my sorrow for having to leave her so abruptly; upon which she at once interrupted me, leaving me not even the time to ask her when and where I could have another interview with her, by saying that she was quite used to that sort of thing on the part of the London Internationals, and walked out of the house.

I felt sorry for her, attributing her behaviour to the exaggerated touchiness often brought on by misfortune. Unfortunately, the would-be insulting letter she wrote to me since, leaves me no room to doubts as to what is hidden behind all this virtuous indignation.

As to taking the chair on Sunday I was compelled to decline the honour.

1) because, as stated, I had a previous engagement; 2) because, contrary to your expectation, I do not recollect having heard Miss Carroll's name once before, nor could I get any further information from one or two others I asked.3 And I cannot be expected to take the chair for parties of whom I know nothing or next to nothing.

3) I never took the chair at a public meeting of Englishmen and do not intend doing so. When I once took the chair for you, that was at the meeting of a German private society of which I was a member.

At all events this little incident will not have been without its use, if you will see from it the impropriety of proposing people for chairmen using their names without having previously obtained their consent.

Yours fraternally

  1. ↑ 15 September
  2. ↑ A reference to John De Morgan's letter to Engels of 15 September 1873 introducing its bearer, reporter Ellen Carroll. De Morgan requested Engels to chair a meeting scheduled for 21 September, at which Miss Carroll was going to talk about the Paris Commune.