Your good news about the patients has caused great joy generally here. The French branch you will, I hope, indeed bring to rest. Among this nation there again seems to prevail confusion enough to be sure to ride any eventual revolution once again into the mud. Wherever one looks among these fellows, everywhere stupidity. Apropos of Pyat, Blind must not be forgotten.

I think I told you that the Bradford Schiller Society (i.e. Dr Bronner) approached the local Schiller Institute here, to organise “lectures by famous Germans residing in England” there, here and in Liverpool. I immediately told the people that the whole thing revolved around Karl Blind, but that, for my part, they should go along with the plan sous réserve in order to convince themselves. Last week, accordingly, a letter arrives from Bradford with further communications. They had approached Prof. Goldstücker, Max Müller, K. Blind & A. Ruge! The first two had accepted only sous réserve of their time & health, the latter two, however, immediately & unconditionally, and Ruge had immediately inquired whether a historical or a philosophical theme would be preferred. In short, the bomb had burst, and the gentlemen received the answer that Goldstücker & Max Müller were quite welcome here, but that Blind & Ruge were out of the question. With that, the attempt falls to the ground as well.

Beust has again become more suspect to me of late. The Russians’ serious attempt, this spring, to let the Oriental business break loose, despite the fact that their railway is not yet finished, seems only to be explained by their wanting to take advantage of the presence of a Palmerston as Austrian Prime Minister for as long as it lasted. One version claims that he told the Czechs, by the way, that he was in possession of plans agreed on between Prussia & Russia for the event of the dissolution of Austria, and that according to these Bohemia would not become Russian, but would be sacrificed by the Russians.

I have read the conclusion of the Prussian war of 1866 (Main campaign). According to this, the South Germans were even stupider than was believed // and known; the blame, by the way, is distributed more evenly, so that Charles the Great of Bavaria appears as at least just as big an ass as Alexander the Great of Hesse.

Best greetings to your wife, the girls & the Lafargues
Your
F. E.