Letters of Jenny Marx
Source: MECW Volume 39, p. 572;
First published: in Marx and Engels, Works, 1934.
Dear Mr Weydemeyer,
After a week of strenuous nocturnal labours, his days being taken up with domestic affairs, my husband’s eyes are so wretchedly sore that he cannot possibly write to you today and I must assume all secretarial functions. He asks me to tell you that he has been unable to read through the whole of Eccarius’ article, and that you yourself must correct the orphographic mistakes; for this admirable man, who writes excellently, has only just learnt his letters here and knows nothing of full-stops and commas. He is also sending you an article by a Hungarian [Bangya] who is familiar with the innermost secrets of the Hungarian émigrés. You yourself must decide whether you can use and publish it at this moment. At all events, it is essential to keep in with the man, since he has promised to provide us later on with original contributions by Perczel, Szemere, etc., whose intimate he is. My husband thinks you should, of course, correct the worst grammatical howlers that crop up in the article, but that a few peculiarities of style which might give it the stamp of a genuine Hungarian product could do no harm at all. He further requests you to return as soon as possible the five instalments of his paper on Napoleon [Eighteenth Brumaire] if you should not succeed in publishing it. We might, perhaps, be able to bring it out in a French translation, although it would really be a pity about the German version. He would greatly prefer it if you could succeed in America, since the piece is bound to sell and could also be distributed in Germany, providing as it does an historical appreciation of the most important event of the present day. I hope that there will soon he some good news from you, dear Mr Weydemeyer, to wit that your dear wife has come smoothly through the great catastrophe, and that two births have taken place under your roof — a son and a journal. My very warmest greetings to your dear wife.
Yours
Jenny Marx
So that it will not take so long, you might have each of the individual articles printed separately, because the thing is of immediate interest. Later, they could be combined into one. No. 5 goes off today. Next Friday he will be sending No. 6, the final instalment. As already mentioned, then, try to publish the work as a pamphlet. Otherwise, send the thing back, because come what may, we must get it published.
Many regards to Cluss also, and write soon telling us just how things are with you.
Lupus has just brought a brief scrawl on the latest events of the day in London.