; {London,] 6 November 1861 
Dear Frederick, 

You must excuse me for my failure to send a more prompt 
acknowledgement of the £5, ditto the wine. Very many thanks for 
both. It so happened that I have been very busy of late, on top of 
which I have had a great deal of domestic soruer. 

Once again, the Tribune’ front page calls attention to an article 
of mine as ‘most interesting’.2 Odd the way these Yankees?!” hand 
out festimonia to their Own correspondents. 

I had an answer from my old lady” yesterday. ‘Soft’ words, sur 
no casu. She also tells me what I have long known, namely that she 
is 75 and is suffering from many of the infirmities of old age. 

Up till now I have also been vainly trying to raise a Loan over 
here. The guarantors I was able to produce were not, as I had in 
any case already suspected, sufficiently respectable. Many chaps 
have been more fortunate in this line. E. g. that scoundrel Beta 
got £50 out of a Loan society on the guarantee of Mr—Edgar 
Bauer! 

Russia’s goings-on in Poland aren’t bad at all. No less nice are 
the crests and exprorts of handsome William.** 

You may perhaps have seen from the German, or also from 
some of the English newspapers, with what persistent importunity 
citizen and statesman Blind is ‘blossoming’ into a German Mazzini.‘ 

Apropos. While you were away,*™ I received avis‘ from Holland 
that Lassalle’s books* had not been received by my cousin.' 
Perhaps you would be so good as to make inquiries about it. 

Write soon, for I have an especial need of your letters during 
what is still a highly critical interlude for me. 

If you have a moment, could you write me a report on the 
Armstrong controversy **’ for the Presse? 

Salut. Your