London, Saturday, 13 October 1866 

Dear Friend, 

Since I wish to reply to you at once and your letter has arrived 
just before the Post closes (and no post goes from here tomorrow, 
Sunday), I shall summarise the quintessence of my Intercepted 
letter in a few words. (This confiscation of letters is certainly 

2 in which I played an important part (Virgil, Aeneid, H, 6)-> The Working 
Man - © See this volume, pp. 304-05. 

not at all pleasant, as I have not the slightest desire to make 
Mr Bismarck a confidant to my private affairs. If, on the other 
hand, he wishes to know my views on his policies, he can approach 
me direct, and I am sure I shall not mince my words.) 

My economic situation has deteriorated so much following my 
prolonged illness and the many expenses it entailed that IT am 
faced with a financial crisis in the immediate future, something 
which, quite apart from its direct effects on myself and family, 
would also be ruinous for me _ politically, especially here in 
London, where one must keep up appearances. What I wanted to 
find out from you was this: do you know anyone, or a few people 
(under no circumstances must the affair become public), who could 
advance me about 1,000 talers at an interest rate of 5 or 6% for at 
least 2 years? 1 am now paying 20-50% interest for the small 
sums I am borrowing, but for all that I can no longer keep the 
creditors at bay, with the result that the old firm is about to come 
crashing down about my ears. 

Since my penultimate letter to you* I have suffered another 
series of relapses and have consequently only been able to pursue 
my theoretical work very intermittently. (The practical work for 
the International Association goes on as ever, and there is a lot of 
it, as I am in fact having to run the whole Association myself.) I 
shall be sending the first sheets to Meissner next month, and will 
continue to do so until I go to Hamburg with the remainder 
myself. At all events, I shall take that opportunity to call on you. 

My circumstances (endless interruptions, both physical and 
social) oblige me to publish Volume One first, not both volumes 
together, as I had originally intended. And there will now 
probably be 3 volumes. 

The whole work is thus divided into the following parts: 

Book I. The Process of Production of Capital. 

Book II. The Process of Circulation of Capital. 

Book III. Structure of the Process as a Whole. 

Book IV. On the History of the Theory. 

The first volume will include the first 2 books. 

The 3rd book will, I believe, fill the second volume, the 4th the 
Srdft 

It was, in my opinion, necessary to begin again ab ovo‘ in the 
first book, i. e., to summarise the book of mine published by 
Duncker‘ in one chapter on commodities and money.” I judged 

4 See this volume, pp. 311-12.- > of the first volume of Capital-¢ from the 
beginning - 4 K. Marx, A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy.