Jenny Marx Correspondence 1869
Source: MECW, Volume 43, p. 543.
First published: in Movimento Operaio, Milan, 1955.
Dear Mr Kugelmann,
I would have replied long since to your friendly lines from Karlsbad, had I not been hoping day by day for more definite news from our dear travellers. Since their first and last letter front Liege, we have completely lost track of them. But I expect they will move in on you this week, probably after a bit of tacking hither and thither so I am sending for your joint reading today’s Times and an older number of The Pall Mall Gazette. There is a deathly silence in the press here about the Congress, apart from the quite confused twaddly article in Pall Mall, which I enclose. Today The Times has broken the ice for the first time with a very favourable factual and concise article, which will arouse great interest here, and particularly in France, because of the speech by the American delegate. I believe I can smell out our ‘George’, in various turns of phrase, expressions and ‘Eccariads’, if it is possible to ascribe so much tact to h im.
A real arsenal of newspapers and letters has accumulated here in the meantime; and I really don’t know whether they are worth the trouble and cost of sending overseas; their contents are mostly now so antiquated. Lessner wrote 3 very pleasant detailed letters about the Congress and Liebknecht 2 wishy — washy ones that would be better left unread. Eccarius conveys the curious fact that an American told him that he had heard from Mr Slack, the correspondent of the New — York Tribune in London, that ‘Bright had written to all London newspaper offices and requested them to publish no reports on our deliberations’. This would provide some explanation for the silence of the press.
But if The Times publishes a few more reports, the other bell-wethers will follow, and then the success of the Congress will be assured. In any case, it will have more success than that of the Eisenachers, the only effect of which seems to be to have helped ,our great master Ferdinand’ to obtain, in addition to his official ‘moniteur’, the Social-Demokrat a semi-official one in the form of Liebknecht’s sheet. Even in Basle they tried to push the wretched Schweitzer scandal into the foreground, so that one might have thought that the ‘Internationals’ had no other mission but to internationalise the principles of the ‘Man of Iron’ [referring to Lassalle’s ‘iron’ law of wages] without the strict organisation.
I shall send some private letters of interest to Hanover immediately, as soon as I hear that our dear ‘wanderers’ have reached you. Laura, with her husband and their delightful little chap, have been with us here just 4 weeks to the day; now they are beginning to prepare for their return to Paris. Unfortunately, mother and son are not as well as I might wish. The sweet little lad is suffering from the break — through of his first teeth, with all the usual symptoms. His friendly face has grown so narrow and small, and his shining little eyes stare out of his pale face twice as large and rich as usual. He is a cheerful, gentle lad, and we shall sorely miss the little monkey.
Please give my heartiest respects to your dear wife, give Fränzchen a kiss, and accept friendliest greetings from
Yours
Jenny Marx