Letter to Ludwig Kugelman, March 19, 1895

Author(s) Friedrich Engels
Written 19 March 1895


First published in: Marx and Engels, Works, First Russian Edition, Vol. XXIX, 1946
Printed according to the original
Published in English for the first time in Marx-Engels Collected Works, Volume 50


ENGELS TO LUDWIG KUGELMANN

IN HANOVER

London, 19 March 1895
41 Regent's Park Road, N. W.

Dear Kugelmann,

The eachets crampons[1] have arrived here safely and have already been put to use. The machine presents no difficulty to the doer-up of letters—whether it does to the opener thereof is something that could be elucidated for us by the German and Austrian postal authorities to whom we have already most humbly submitted several samples. Many thanks. Köller will, I hope, be obliged to introduce a Subversion Bill 428 for the subversion of these staples in the face of which the best intentions of the cabinets noirs[2] fail so ignominiously.

Thanks for your endeavours in the Bielefeld district. If there is anything of mine or, indeed of Marx's in the Dampfboot, it is likely to be anonymous. 558

No news from Livingston. 559 The cold suited me very well; it acted on me like a powerful tonic while it lasted, and I felt twenty years younger. On the other hand, it precipitated London as always back into an age of barbarism. The water pipes froze; we went on having water until the Company shut off supplies, whereupon the water froze in the mains. Ours was about four and a half to five feet down and when uncovered a fortnight after the thaw, was still completely frozen up. Then we had to wait another two days until our connecting pipe thawed out. At eight o'clock in the evening, a week ago today, the water at last came on again. We then discovered that the drains were blocked because of the inadequate flow of water. By the end of last week everything was back to normal again, after four weeks during which we had to have forty buckets of water a day carried up to the attic on the

fourth floor in order to keep the house supplied with water and prevent the boiler exploding every time the range was lit in the kitchen. There was no need for you to worry and take so much trouble over the duty on the staples; in this country all industrial products are duty-free. Many regards to you and your family from Louise and

Yours,

F. Engels

  1. ↑ A type of staple for closing letters.
  2. ↑ The name given in France to the office where letters of suspect persons were opened and examined before being forwarded to the addressees. (Trans.)