London, 15 October 1884 

Dear Old Man, 

I sent off to you yesterday my little book on the origin of the family, 
etc., ‘and have today taken out a money order for five pounds. I trust 
you will get both very shortly. 

I was glad to hear from you that Bebel had visited you during the 
summer. Your opinion of him is exactly the same as mine. There is no 

* Karl Kautsky and Eduard Bernstein-> F. Engels, ‘Marx and Rodbertus’. - 
© The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State 

more lucid mind in the whole of the German party, besides which he 
is utterly dependable and firm of purpose. What is unusual is that his 
great oratorical talents — all the philistines recognise these and do so 
readily, while Bismarck told Behrens, a partner in his paper mill, that 
Bebel was the only orator in the whole of the Reichstag — have not 
trivialised him in any way.* Nothing of the kind has happened since 
Demosthenes. All other orators have been shallow-pated. 

Don’t worry about my health; it is a localised and sometimes 
troublesome complaint but there are no general after-effects what- 
ever and it is not even necessarily incurable; at worst it renders me 
unfit for active service though I may be able to mount a horse again 
in a few years’ time. Having been incapable of writing for the past 
4 months I have dictated instead, and am now pretty well done with 
the 2nd book of Capital; have also gone through the English transla- 
tion (as far as it has got — about */,ths of the whole) of the Ist book.*§ 
Moreover I have now discovered a device which is helping me to get 
more or less back on my feet again and I hope to make still further 
progress before long. Rather, my misfortune is that since we lost 
Marx I have been supposed to represent him. I have spent a lifetime 
doing what I was fitted for, namely playing second fiddle, and indeed 
I believe I acquitted myself reasonably well. And I was happy to 
have so splendid a first fiddle as Marx. But now that I am suddenly 
expected to take Marx’s place in matters of theory and play first fid- 
dle, there will inevitably be blunders and no one is more aware of that 
than I. And not until the times get somewhat more turbulent shall we 
really be aware of what we have lost in Marx. Not one of us possesses 
the breadth of vision that enabled him, at the very moment when ra- 
pid action was called for, invariably to hit upon the right solution and 
at once get to the heart of the matter. In more peaceful times it could 
happen that events proved me right and him wrong, but at a revolu- 
tionary juncture his judgment was virtually infallible. 

Marx’s youngest daughter” has married a really excellent Irish- 
man, Dr Aveling; they come here every Sunday. The other daughter,° 
whom you know, is also with me just now and sends you her kindest 
regards. She still talks a lot and fondly about the day she spent with 
you in Geneva. 

I trust your health is still progressing satisfactorily. But if anything 
should happen to you again, you must let me know at once, on the 

* Cf. this volume, pp. 199-200.-° Eleanor-* Laura Lafargue 

last occasion a great deal of time elapsed before I knew the least thing 
about it and you must not err in that way again. 

I shall hunt out your letters, etc.,!7° as soon as I can really get at 
the papers. Since May I have been physically incapable of doing so 
and just now there is so much urgent work to be attended to that 
I can’t even consider it. There are over 6 large boxfuls to be sorted 
out and not even the books are arranged in such a way as to enable 
me to make full use of them. 

Well, take care of your health (there’s no need to tell you to keep 
your chin up) and be assured of the good wishes 

Of your old friend 
F. Engels 

Borkheim sends his regards. He wrote to me a week ago— it’s al- 
ways the same old story with him. No change.