Letter to Eduard Bernstein, August 9, 1888


ENGELS TO EDUARD BERNSTEIN[1]

IN LONDON

S.S.City of Berlin, between
Liverpool and Queenstown[2]

9 August 1888

Dear Ede,

Never has Berlin seemed to be so beautiful as on board this City of Berlin. If the young guard lieutenants[3] knew how good and plentiful the food is here, they'd instantly exchange the Berlin on land (or sand[4] ) for that on water. In 2Vi hours we should be at Queenstown and thence head for the open sea. Cordial regards to your wife,[5] the Schlüters, the Mottelers and Tauscher.

Your old friend,
The
General

  1. Engels wrote this letter on a post card. On the back was the address: E. Bernstein Esq., 4, Corinne Road, Tufnell Park, N. London.
  2. Modern name: Cobh
  3. Engels has Jardeleutnants (Berlin dialect), an allusion to William II
  4. The margraviate of Brandenburg, of which Berlin was the centre, was called the Sandbox {'Streusandbüchse') of the Empire.
  5. Regina Bernstein