Marx-Engels Correspondence 1861
Source: MECW Volume 41, p. 292;
First published: abridged in Der Briefwechsel zwischen F. Engels und K. Marx, Stuttgart, 1913 and in full in MEGA, Berlin, 1930.
Dear Frederic,
I have had a letter from Vienna today. To start with, Friedländer wants me to send him 2 articles, 1 about the business in America (in which I am to provide a brief political and military résumé of the whole mess, for 1 or 2 leaders) and 1 on the situation in England. Later (i.e. when he has had these articles) he will let me have his further suggestions; and, in fact, I am to get £1 for each article, 10/- for mere news-letters. This is good pay by German standards and I shall have to agree to the thing, car il faut vivre. Since I should like to get the 2 sample articles off this week, you must do the military part about America for me. I will then fit it into the political part.
A week ago I made a serious start on my book [a second instalment to Critique of Political Economy]. Have heard nothing more of Lassalle, save what his cousin Friedländer (Lassalle does not and must not know anything about the transactions with the Presse) wrote and told me from Berlin, namely:
‘Since his return from Breslau, F. Lassalle has been partly busying himself with the affair of your naturalisation, whose satisfactory outcome I believe he prejudices by his excessive zeal and his memoranda tending to prove too much, and partly spending his time perusing and reading out loud the numerous letters that pour in from professors and privy councillors thanking him for a book so fine, so interesting and so witty, etc. These letters provide him with a grand opportunity to make conversation about his “excellent” book, thus proving that he is quite insensible to little titillations of this kind and wholly immune to vanity. The poor countess, who is fighting off a severe attack of influenza, finds it ever more difficult to play her official role of opposer, and I, too, am beginning to tire of acting as seconder.
So much for Friedländer.
As regards the goings-on in-the so-called National Association down here and Kinkel’s consequent downfall, I shall write tomorrow, having still to write to Berlin and Vienna today.
Salut. Regards to Lupus.
Cavour’s death! Qu'en pensez-vous? Garibaldi, the jackass, has made a fool of himself by a solidarity letter to the Yankees.
Your
K. M.