October 20. To Herr Wilhelm Graeber. I am quite sentimental; it 
is a difficult case. I remain here deprived of all merriness. With 
Adolf Torstrick, the bearer of this, the last merriness leaves. How 
I celebrated October the 18th can be read in my last epistle to 


? An allusion to Gustav Wurm.— Ed. 


> The back of the letter bears the inscription: “To Herr Wilhelm Graeber 
Berlin, Mittelstrasse, 3rd floor.” — Ed. 


To Wilhelm Graeber, October 20-21, 1839 475 


Heuser. Today beer-guzzling, tomorrow boredom, the day after 
tomorrow Torstrick is leaving, on Thursday the student men- 
tioned in the above-mentioned epistle will return, whereupon 
there will follow two merry days and then a lonely, horrible 
winter. Not a soul in this place can be moved to come on the 
booze, they are all philistines. Here I sit with all that is left of my 
jolly songs, and my cocky, would-be student air, alone in the great 
desert, without boozing companions, without love, without any 
fun, alone with tobacco, beer and two acquaintances who can’t 
drink. “My son, here is my spear, drink with it my beer. When 
you drink comme il faut, it pleases your old father so,” 7!” I want to 
sing, but to whom shall I give my spear, and I haven’t got the tune 
right, either. Only one hope remains for me, to meet you in 
Barmen in a year’s time, when I go home, and then, if too much 
of the pastor has not got into you and Jonghaus and Fritz, to go 
on the spree with you. 

21st. Today has been a dreadfully boring day. Half-dead from 
slaving in the office. Then choir practice, enormous enjoyment. 
Now I must see that I write you something more. Verses at the 
next opportunity, I have no time left to copy them. Didn’t even 
have anything interesting to eat, all boring. And it’s so cold you 
can’t bear it in the office. Thank God, tomorrow we have hopes 
of getting some heating. I should be getting a letter from 
your brother Hermann soon; he wants to test my theology and 
massacre my conviction. That comes of being a sceptic; the 
thousand hooks with which one hung on to the old come loose 
and hook on to something else, and then there are arguments. 
The devil take Wurm, don’t get a word from the fellow, he is 
becoming worse and worse every day. I suppose he is taking to 
drinking brandy. Now give Torstrick a friendly welcome, make 
him tell you about me if it interests you, and put good beer before 
him. 

Farewell.” 

Yours, Friedrich Engels