Hamburg, 13 April 1867 
Dear Frep, 

I arrived here at 12 o’clock noon yesterday. The boat left 
London on Wednesday* at 8 o'clock in the morning.*” In which 
fact you see the whole history of the voyage. The most fearful 
weather and gales. Having been confined for so long, I felt as 
voraciously tit as 500 hogs.” However, with aut that ritt-raff being 
sea-sick and falling about to left and right of us, it would all have 
become ennuyant‘ in time, if a certain nucleus had not held firm. It 
was a very ‘mixed’ nucleus, viz., a German ship’s captain, who bore 
a marked resemblance to yourself in his face, but a small fellow, 
he also had a good deal of your humour and the same 
good-natured frivolous twinkling of the eyes; a London cattle- 
dealer, a true John Bull, swine is every respect; a German 
clockmaker from London, a nice fellow; a German from Texas; 
and, the real protagonist, a German who had been roaming 
around Eastern Peru for 15 years, an area that has only recently 
been geographically charted, where, amongst other things, human 
flesh is still consumed in no mean quantity. An eccentric, energetic 
and high-spirited fellow. He had a most valuable collection of 
stone axes with him, etc., which merited being discovered in the 
‘caves’. One female personage as hanger-on (the other ladies were 
all seasick and vomiting in the ladies cabin), a toothless old hag with 
a refined Hanoverian accent, daughter of some primeval 
Hanoverian minister, von Baer or suchlike, she has now long been 
an improver of men, pietistic, concerned to raise the condition of 
the working class, acquainted with Jules Simon, full of spiritual 
radiance, with which she bored our swine rrienp to death. Wei! On 
Thursday evening, when the storm was at its worst, with all the 
tables and chairs adance, we were boozing en petit comité,* with that 
old hag of a woman lying on a couch, from which the movement 
of the ship—to divert her a trifle—occasionally tipped her onto 
the floor in the middle of the cabin. What was keeping this 
beautiful creature so spellbound in these inimical circumstances? 

410 April -> Cf. J. W. Goethe, Faust, Part I, Scene 5. - © boring - 4 in a small 
group 

Why did she not withdraw to the ladies’ chamber? Our savage 
German was regaling us with an enthusiastic account of the sexual 
depravities of savages. Voila le charme* for this delicate, pure, 
refined lady. One example: he was received in an Indian hut 
where the woman was giving birth that very day. The afterbirth is 
roasted and—supreme expression of hospitality—he is obliged to 
partake of the swerrsreap! 

I called on Meissner immediately upon our arrival. Clerk tells 
me he won’t be back before 3 o’clock (afternoon). I left my card 
and invited Mr Meissner to dine with me. He came but he had 
someone with him and wanted me to accompany him as his wife 
was expecting him. I declined but agreed that he should cal] on 
me at 7 o'clock in the evening. He mentioned en passant that 
Strohn was probably stil] in Hamburg. I therefore called on 
Strohn’s brother.” Our man had left for Paris THE very SAME MORNING. 
So, Meissner came round in the evening. A_ pleasant fellow, 
despite something Saxon about him, as his name suggests. After a 
brief parley, everything ax ricut. Manuscript taken straight to his 
publishing house, where it was put in a sare. Printing will start ma 
FEw pays and proceed apace. We then drank together, and he 
expressed his great ‘delight’ at making my esteemed acquaintance. 
He now wants that the book should appear in 3 volumes. In particular 
he is opposed to my compressing the final book (the historico-literary 
part) as I had intended. He said that from the publishing point of 
view and with the ‘dull’ mass of readers in mind, this was the part by 
which he was setting most store. I told him that, as far as that was 
concerned, I was his to command. 

Ar aut Events, in Meissner we have someone entirely at our 
disposal; he has great contempt for the whole pack of vulgar 
scribblers. I thought it prudent to delay presenting your .little 
sit.” Always keep the pleasantest surprises till last. 

And now adio, oLp soy. 

Your 
K. Marx 

Best compliments TO Mrs Burns!