Dear Mohr,

A happy New Year! On Thursday midday I arrived back here after thoroughly ruining my stomach in Barmen with the countless gorgings. The people there are overjoyed, i.e., the philistines. The danger of war is now at last removed, Louis Napoleon has once again brilliantly demonstrated his superior wisdom by his clever yielding, Bismarck is again fit for work, confidence is returning, commerce is bound to revive, and so the year 1870 is bound to be an extremely blessed one for the German philistine. How these people can lose still more sense every year is incomprehensible to me. Old Hühnerbein, the tailor and revolutionary general, was very pleased to see me again. He still has a complete copy of the N. Rh. Ztg. in red binding, which is good to know. Sends you greetings; he has two very pretty daughters. I did not go to Solingen, and for the following reasons: 1) in the holiday season it would have been very difficult for me to get away for a day. 2) I could not very well have asked for a more detailed insight into the business without myself participating with a larger sum, which was not possible, and 3) as a party friend, I would have had to take the people’s word for many things and could not have insisted as strictly on the presentation of all documents and securities as a complete stranger; whereas Menke, on the basis of my report, might perhaps refrain from sending someone, and that would have saddled me with a responsibility which I prefer to decline. I am now waiting for an answer from you and shall then write to the people. Had I not been so worked to death, and, besides, worried about Lizzie, whom I left unwell and from whom I heard nothing the whole time, I would have looked in on you again on my return journey. Read almost no newspapers the whole time, but I see that the Hatzfeldt, through Mende, has had Schweitzer excommunicated again; things must now soon be up with Schw. I shall no doubt learn further details from you through the papers. In Cologne I visited Klein for a few moments. It was very cool; these people are philistinising to such an extent that we seem to embarrass them considerably. They now have an Anti-Ultramontane Society, which of course includes Crethi and Plethi (which according to Ewald’s translation means Cretans and Philistines). Best greetings,
Your F. E.