V. I.

Lenin

64

To:   HIS MOTHER AND HIS SISTER ANNA

December 12, 1898

From Anyuta I have received Neue Zeit and the report of the Committee on Literacy, also a postcard dated
November 28. I am answering her on another page. Mail days
here are Tuesday and Friday, but that, of course, is not
what interests you. We receive Wednesday’s and Friday’s
newspapers, on the fourteenth day from the day of issue,
that is. It is, therefore, more convenient for you to write
on Tuesdays and Fridays (from Moscow, of course; about
Podolsk I do not know). Nadya and I have submitted an application to go to Minusinsk for Christmas and stay there
for a week. [5] We shall receive letters just the same, so
there is no need to change the address.

Yours,

V. U.

Anyuta,

Today I am sending a registered letter containing the third and fourth chapters of the “markets” to Mother’s
address. I have made a more exact calculation of how much
I have written; in the first four chapters there are about
500,000 letters. [1]

That is fewer than I imagined (and the second part will be less than the first). My fears were
groundless; the type that gives 2,000 letters to the page will be quite all right. I have nothing against an edition of two
separate volumes—decide yourselves with the publisher.
The only thing is the figures—the figures!—they will get
them all wrong unless they send me the proofs to correct. [2]

Please make two corrections to the manuscript: (1) in the Preface strike out everything from “As we know” in the
second sentence to “opponents’ views” in the third; in the
next sentence instead of “it seemed to us” write “it seemed
to the author”.

I think it might be rather dangerous to speak about “opponents” in the very first
paragraph. [6] (2) On page 44 cross out the footnote at tin end of Section
VI and in place of it write: “cf. V. Ilyin, Economic Studies ,
St. Petersburg, 1899, p.
30”. [7]

Please acknowledge receipt of these corrections.

Thanks for Neue Zeit and the report of the committee.
Is it possible to obtain the missing numbers of N.Z. for
1897–98; we have Nos. 7-8 and 11–24; Nos. 1-6 and 9-10 are
missing. I should very much like to have a full set for
1897–98.

You write that you received my letter of
November 15 [3] and did not receive the previous one about books. I no
longer remember exactly when I sent it, but I know for sure
that immediately after I received books from St. Petersburg
I sent you an ordinary letter with a list of misprints that distort the meaning and a request to distribute a few copies
among acquaintances, including another three for
Manyasha (in addition to one for herself), one to St. Petersburg,
not to the old man but to the Samaran, one to
Kokushka (I have not sent him one); and three for you, three for the Chicagoan, the author of The Factory (T.-B.) and
Markets (Bulgakov), [8] two for Grigoryev and Columbus
—I make it fourteen copies about which I wrote, as I remember, in the lost letter.

I was very surprised to learn from the doctor that the censor seems to have banned the translation of the Webbs’ book finally and unconditionally. How can that be? I am
of the opinion that it is a rumour—due to the translation
History of Trade Unionism , which is more zensurwidriges . [4]

Our translation is still in the press, isn’t it?

All the best,

V. U.

I wrote to the Statistics Department of the Zemstvo
Board of Tver Gubernia asking them to send me their summaries (Vol. XIII, Issue 1, 1897). They have not sent it,
canaille . Is there anyone of your acquaintance who could
get it? Krasnoperov (if he is there) would surely not refuse.