Your Imperial Highness,’ when I last had the honour of seeing 
you, chanced to express some curiosity about Carl Marx and to ask 
me if I knew him. I resolved accordingly to take the first 
opportunity of making his acquaintance; but that opportunity did 
not arise till yesterday when I met him at luncheon and spent 
three hours in his company. 

He is a short, rather small man with grey hair and beard which 
contrast strangely with a still dark moustache. The face is 
somewhat round, the forehead well shaped and filled up—the eye 
rather hard but the whole expression rather pleasant than not, by 
no means that of a gentleman who is in the habit of eating babies 
in their cradles—which is I daresay the view which the Police 
takes of him. 

His talk was that of a well-informed nay learned man—much 
interested in Comparative Grammar which had led him into the 
Old Slavonic and other out of the way studies and was varied by 
many quaint turns and little bits of-dry humour, as when speaking 
of Hesekiel’s life of Prince Bismarck he always referred to it, by 
way of contrast to Dr. Busch’s book, as the Old Testament.” 

It was all very positif slightly cynical—without any appearance 
of enthusiasm—interesting and often, as I thought, showing very 
correct ideas when he was conversing of the past or the present; 
but vague and unsatisfactory when he turned to the future. 


a Victoria Adelaide Mary Louisa.— Ed. 

b See G. Hesekiel, Das Buch vom Grafen Bismarck, Bielefeld and Leipzig, 1869; 
M. Busch, Graf Bismarck und seine Leute wahrend des Kriegs mit Frankreich, Vols. 1-2, 
Leipzig, 1878.— Ed. 


Appendices 581 


He looks, not unreasonably, for a great and not distant crash in 
Russia; thinks it will begin by reforms from above which the old 
bad edifice will not be able to bear and which will lead to its 
tumbling down altogether. As to what would take its place he had 
evidently no clear idea, except that for a long time Russia would 
be unable to exercise any influence in Europe. 

Next he thinks that the movement will spread to Germany 
taking there the form of a revolt against the existing military 
system. 

To my question “But how can you expect the army to rise 
against its commanders?” he replied—you forget that in Germany 
now the army and the Nation are nearly identical. These Socialists 
you hear about are trained soldiers like anybody else. You must 
not think of the standing army only. You must think of the 
Landwehr—and even in the standing army there is much 
discontent. Never was an army in which the severity of the 
discipline led to so many suicides. The step from shooting oneself 
to shooting one’s officer is not long and an example of the kind 
once set is soon followed. 

But supposing I said the rulers of Europe came to an 
understanding amongst themselves for a reduction of armaments 
which might greatly relieve the burden on the people what would 
become of the Revolution which you expect it one day to bring 
about? 

Ah was his answer they can’t do that. All sorts of fears and 
jealousies will make that impossible. The burden will grow worse 
and worse as science advances for the improvements in the Art of 
Destruction will keep pace with its advance and every year more 
and more will have to be devoted to costly engines of war. It is a 
vicious circle—there is no escape from it. But I said you have 
never yet had a serious popular rising unless there was really great 
misery. You have no idea he rejoined how terrible has been the 
crisis through which Germany has been passing in these last five 
years.°"* 

Well I said supposing that your Revolution has taken place and 
that you have your Republican form of Government—it is still a 
long long way to the realization of the special ideas of yourself and 
your friends. Doubtless he answered but all great movements are 
slow. It would merely be a step to better things as your Revolution 
of 1688 was—a mere stage on the road.** 

The above will give Your Imperial Highness a fair idea of the 
kind of ideas about the near future of Europe which are working 
in his mind. 


582 Appendices 


They are too dreamy to be dangerous except just in so far as 
the situation with its mad expenditure on armaments is obviously 
and undoubtedly dangerous. 

If however within the next decade the rulers of Europe have 
not found means of dealing with this evil without any warning 
from attempted revolution I for one shall despair of the future of 
humanity at least on this continent. 

In the course of conversation Carl Marx spoke several times 
both of Your Imperial Highness and of the Crown Prince* and 
invariably with due respect and propriety. Even in the case of 
eminent individuals of whom he by no means spoke with respect 
there was no trace of bitterness or savagery—plenty acrid and 
dissolvent criticism but nothing of the Marat tone. 

Of the horrible things that have been connected with the 
International he spoke as any respectable man would have done. 

One thing which he mentioned showed the dangers to which 
exiles who have got a revolutionary name are exposed. The 
wretched man Nobiling, he had learned, had when in England 
intended to come to see him. If he had done so he said I should 
certainly have admitted him for he would have sent in his card as 
an employé of the Dresden Bureau of Statistics and as I occupy 
myself with Statistics it would have interested me to talk with 
him— What a pleasant position I should have been in he added if 
he had come to see me!!” 

Altogether my impression of Marx, allowing for his being at the 
opposite pole of opinion from oneself, was not at all unfavourable 
and I would gladly meet him again. It will not be he who whether 
he wishes it or not will turn the world upside down.