[London,} 28 April 1870 

Dear Frep, 

I visited Schapper again yesterday. I Fear HE Is Fast sinking. He 
himself spoke of his death as settled, even told me he had 
instructed his wife to have him buried next Sunday. It is 
consumption of the lungs. Schapper spoke and acted really d’une 
maniere distinguée.” As long as his wife and eldest son were in the 
room he conducted the conversation (he can only speak with 
difficulty) in French. Je ferai bient6t la derniére grimace.” He poked 
fun at old Oborski, who in the past few months has become a 
Catholic and says his prayers; ditto at Ruge, who once again 
believes in the immortality of the soul. In this case, he said, 
Schapper’s soul would play rough with Ruge’s soul in the 
hereafter. It gives him pleasure to make jokes about the old 
stories, meetings with Louis Bonaparte, Dr Conneau, Persigny, 
General Cavaignac etc., later Willich, etc. It comforts him that his 
daughter is married, his eldest son Karl is independent (a 
bookbinder), and each of the two younger ones already earning 
£1 per week (as goldsmiths). He hopes his brother (Nassau) will take 
in his youngest. He has left all his scant possessions to his wife, 
and she will live with the two younger boys. “Tell all our people 
that I have remained true to our principles. I am no theoretician. 
During the period of reaction I had my hands full bringing up my 

@ in a very composed manner - > I shall soon puil my last face. 

family. I have lived as a Harp worxinc worker, and die a 
proletarian.’ I gave him your greetings, and said that, had you 
believed the business was dangerous, you would have come up to 
see him. This obviously pleased him. Schapper is 57 years old. 
The true manliness of his character emerged once again clearly 
and strikingly. 

Leaving Schapper, I had to make a second sick-bed visit. 
Borkheim wrote me a few lines the day before yesterday, that he 
had been at home sick the whole week, would probably have to 
stay in bed another week, then to the country, etc. From the way 
his wife received me, I saw immediately that the matter was 
sérieux. He had had typhoid fever; seems now on the road to 
improvement. His lungs have certainly been affected. The English 
doctor—one of the hospital doctors here—predicted all this, and 
repeats now that he hopes, and is virtually sure, that he will get 
away with it this time, but that if Borkheim does not abandon his 
mad life, he has not as much as a year before him. 

The fact is that Borkheim studies Russian etc., with frenzy from 
4.30 or 5 in the morning until 9, then again from 7 in the evening 
until 11. You know he writes polemical letters to everybody under 
the sun and, since he came into possession of a considerable 
library, has wished to make himself a scholar by brute force. 

The doctor demands that he should chuck up everything except 
business for at least two years, and devote his leisure to light 
reading and other relaxations. Otherwise he is lost, and this inevitably. 
He has not the physical strength to do the work of two people. 

I saw him for about 10 minutes. He looked damnably fatigué and 
thin. I told him that, as long as you were tied to business, you had 
engaged yourself only very Moderately in other things. I did this on 
purpose, since I know he respects you very much. When I came 
downstairs to his wife in the partour I recounted the conversation 
to her. She said—and I promised to do what I could to this 
end—that you would do her the greatest favour by writing to her 
husband. First of all, it would cheer him up greatly—such a sign 
of attention on your part—-and second, he would take it to heart 
if you advised him not to ruin himself by extra work. 

It is my Feeling that Borkheim is, at the moment, hors de danger,? 
but he must watch out like the devil. Apropos. He is very annoyed 
with Liebknecht, for first printing the Bakunin letter and then 
writing to him (Borkheim) that he (Borkheim) must now answer. 

a out of danger 

Good old Wilhelm, always reapy to make siuNpers so that others 
must work! C'est un imbécile.* 

Flourens has already visited me at home several times. He is a 
very nice fellow. His predominant characteristic is audacity. But he 
is very wel] educated in the natural sciences. For a year he gave 
lectures on ethnology at Paris University, and was all over the 
place in Southern Europe, Turkey, Asia Minor, etc. Full of illusions 
and revolutionary impatience, BUT A VERY JOLLY FELLOW WITH ALL THAT, 
not one of the ‘damned serious’ school of men. His name has been 
proposed for our Counci., where he has twice assisted as a guest. 
It would be a very good thing if he were to stay here longer. It is 
WORTH WHILE working on him. If, however, Bonaparte grants an 
amnesty after the plebiscite, he will return to Paris. Yesterday 
evening, he and Tibaldi were given a banquet by the Frencn 
Freemasons’ lodge, the Frencu srancu,” etc. L. Blanc, Talandier, 
etc., also wanted to” take part. All the French revolutionary 
riff-raff here are courting him, but he is already prerry we. 
informed about these gentry. 

My best thanks for your explanation about the Irisu soc.° For fun 
I got hold of the return on Game Laws Convictions (ENGLAND AND 
Wares) for 1869. Total number of convictions: 10,345. These are 
thus the specific acrarian crimes of the English and Welsh. Why 

does not Mr Gladstone also suspend the constitution in England? 

You were right to smell a rat in Pigott’s letter. From the enclosed 
Flag of Ireland (etter of the Paris correspondent of The Irishman 
in it) one can see the fellow Pigott’s mauvaise foi*—since he knows 
we take The Irishman here—has the muck printed in the Flag. 

I am sending you, with the Flag, 5 numbers of Spanish organs 
of the International, viz. 2 Federacion, 1 Obrero and 1 Solidaridad. 

I shall only send off the copies of Marsetllaise on Saturday. First, 
I must make some notes from them about the Creuzot case, etc. 
for the Crntrat Counc. ! 

Last Tuesday* the Central Council > unanimously adopted my 
proposal (supported sy Mottershead '): to SEVER OUR CONNEXION WITH THE 
Bee-Hive anv To PUBLISH THAT RESOLUTION. Mr Applegarth sat opposite 
me while I was giving the reasons for my proposal, with a 
DIMINISHED HEAD. He and Odger on editorial committee of Bee-Hive. I 
denounced the paper as being sold to the bourgeois (S. Morley, 
etc.), mentioned particularly its treatment of our Irish resolutions 

a He is an idiot.- > in the original: will -¢ See this volume, p. 488. - 4 bad 
faith - ¢ 26 April - £ See this volume, p. 386.