Manchester, 15 May 1870 
Dear Moor, 

Mainz is not so bad, the Hessian Government is always at 
loggerheads with the Prussian Governor, and the Prussians have to 
declare a state of siege in the city before they can do anything. 
Darmstadt has too small a proletariat and, in addition, a small 
court, so one cannot count on anything. Mannheim, also, has a 
smaller proletariat than Mainz, and altogether I think it would be 
good to hold the congress under the noses of the Prussian 
soldiers. If it is broken up, then the whole show can move to 
Brussels; even those compromised in Prussia can get there via 
Strasbourg, Metz and Luxembourg in 24 hours; the others via 
Cologne or Saarbrticken-Luxembourg. Apropos, the International 
should try to obtain a footing in Luxembourg; there are many 
miners, tanners, etc., there. This must be done from Saarbrticken 
or Aachen; the committee* should be charged with this. 

Best thanks for the Celtica.” I shall take a few hours to look up 
further details in the Chetham Lisrary, where I shall probably find 
something. 

Ogygia”' is a horribly uncritical thing; here and there there are 
notes of some value, since the fellow had at his disposal old 
writings now lost, but in order to discover this you would have to 
plough through Irish Codices for at least 3 years. Dr Ch. 
O’Conor’s Scriptores are +° good sources, but mainly later ones; 
but he also published the Annals of Ulster with a Latin translation 
and, ditto, the first volume of the Annals of the 4 Masters, and I 
don’t know whether this is included there. But the Annals of the 4 
Masters, the main work, was edited and translated by Dr 
O’Donovan in 1856, and I have it here; I went through the first 
volume yesterday.©? 

Ware (Sir Jam. Ware, I think judge or something of the sort 
under Charles I) is by far the best of the older ones; he also had 
available to him, in translation, old writings now lost; he wrote in 
Latin (Waraeus), I have him in English and Latin. 

a the Brunswick Committee of the Social-Democratic Workers’ Party - > See this 
volume, pp. 515-16 - © more or less 

The continuous reading of Irish books, i.e., the parallel English 
translation, could not be stood without at least a superficial 
knowledge of the phonetic and inflexional laws of the language. I 
have discovered here a frightful Irish grammar from Anno 1773,* 
and ploughed through it the day before yesterday, thereby 
learning something, but the man himself had no idea of the real 
laws of Irish. The only good grammar is that by Dr John 
O’Donovan, mentioned above, the best Irologist of this century. 
When you go to the Museum? you should take it out in order to 
see what it would cost approximately (O’Donovan has the habit of 
publishing nothing except fat expensive quarto volumes): O’Dono- 
van’s Irish Grammar. In addition you might also look at: 

Genealogies, Tribes and Customs of Hy-Fiachrak, prinvep ror THE Irish 
ARCHAEOLOGICAL Society 1844 (presumably by O’Donovan), and 

Tribes and Customs of Hy-Many (ditto), to find out whether there 
is anything in them about social conditions, and whether these are 
fat expensive books: if not, and there is something in them, I shall 
acquire them. 

There exists, further, an edition (by O’Donovan) of Leabhar 
nag-Ceart (Boox or Ricuts), and if you could find an opportunity to 
take a look at it and tell me whether there is any prospect of 
results in it—-NB. only for social conditions, everything else is of 
no interest to me—and whether it is an expensive de luxe edition, 
I would be very much obliged. On the basis of the quotations I 
have, there is not much in it for my purpose. 

But this, I think, fairly well exhausts the relevant old literature, 
insofar as it has been published. 

Ogarev was already an editor of Kolokol with Herzen, and is 
quite an ordinary bourgeois and poet. If Bakunin should really 
receive the money, and not Ogarev, then Ogarev will certainly be 
fettered to him as a controller. 

In the last few days I have often been sitting at the quadrilateral 
desk in the small bow-window where we sat 24 years ago; I like 
this place very much; because of its coloured window the weather 
is always fine there.**° Old Jones the librarian is still around, but 
he is very old and does nothing more; I haven’t yet seen him there 
again. 

Best greetings. 

Your 
F. E. 

a Ch. Vallancey, A Grammar of the Iberno-Celtic, or Irish Language. - » the British 
Museum Library 

The letter from Wilhelm (which is returned, enclosed, 
together with the Brunswick one) is really the silliest thing I 
have ever read. What a dumb ox! Now I am wondering what reply 
he will give me. At the end I advised him to consider whether it 
were not fitting to first study something if you want to teach it. 

In which PariiaMenrary Paper can one see how much money is 
thrown away annually on the Commissioners FOR THE PUBLICATION OF THE 
ANCIENT Laws AND Institutes oF IreLanp ©°? This is a simply colossal job 
(in miniature). It would also be important to know how much of 
this money is allocated 1. as remuneration for the inactive 
commissioners, 2. as salaries for the actually-working UNDERSTRAPPERS, 
printing costs, etc. This must be given in some Parliamentary PAPER. 
The fellows have been drawing emoluments since 1852, and until 
now 2 volumes have been published! 3 Lorps, 3 judges, 3 priests, 1 
general, and I professional Irologist, now long dead.**!