| Author(s) | Karl Marx |
|---|---|
| Written | 10 December 1881 |
MARX TO JOHANN PHILIPP BECKER
IN GENEVA
[Postcard]
London, 10 December 1881
Dear Friend,
You may have already learned from the papers of my wife's death (she breathed her last on 2 December). You will find it natural enough that, during the first days following upon this irreplaceable loss, I should have been in no state to write letters; in fact, apart from her brother, Edgar von Westphalen, in Berlin you are the only one whom I have so far informed in person; other friends and acquain- tances have been notified by my youngest daughter.[1]
To the last my wife remained your loyal friend and was rightly in- censed by the party's failure to help you — a man who has, for so many years, been a staunch and heroic standard bearer — and your loyal spouse[2] in your struggle for existence.
I myself am still an invalid, but on the road to recovery; so serious a grip had pleurisy combined with bronchitis gained over me that for a time, i. e. several days, the doctors doubted whether I would pull through.
Farewell, dear friend. Regards to your wife.
K. M.
[On the side reserved for the address]
M.J. Ph. Becker, Chemin des Vollandes, Eaux Vives. Geneve {Switzerland)