Marx-Engels Correspondence 1855
Source: MECW Volume 39, p. 548;
First published: in Marx and Engels, Works, 1934.
My Dear Mrs Daniels,
It is impossible to describe the grief I felt on hearing that dear, unforgettable Roland had passed away. Although the latest news reaching me through Steffen had been far from reassuring, I did not for all that ever abandon hope of your excellent husband’s recovery. His was a sensitive, finely-tuned and altogether noble nature-character, talents and physical appearance in rare harmony. Seen amongst the others in Cologne, Daniels always seemed to me like the statue of a Greek god deposited by some freak of fate in the midst of a crowd of Hottentots. His premature decease is an irreparable loss not only to his family and friends but also to science, in which he gave promise of the finest achievements, and to the great, suffering mass of humanity, who possessed in him a loyal champion.
I am sufficiently acquainted with your heroic nature to be convinced that imperishable grief will not prevent you from remaining the loyal guardian of the beloved pledges left you by Roland. In his sons you will compensate the world twice over for the loss of the father.
The news of this new loss has revived in my wife such vivid memories of the death of our only little son that her state of mind does not permit of her writing to you just now. She is weeping and lamenting like a child.
Consolation I will not venture to offer you since I myself am and shall remain inconsolable for [the] loss of a friend who was more dear to me personally than any other. Grief such as this cannot be alleviated, but only shared. As soon as I get over my first stormy emotions, I shall send an obituary to the New-York Tribune for the many friends of the departed in America. It is to be hoped that circumstances will some day permit us to wreak upon those guilty of cutting short his career vengeance of a kind sterner than that of an obituary.
You will need no assurance on my part that you can always count on me as a loyal and devoted friend.
With my heartfelt sympathy,
Yours
K. Marx