London, 12 February 1885 

My dear Lavrov, 

I hasten to reply to your questions. The item about the Neue 
Rheinische Zeitung. Revue, edited by Karl Marx, Hamburg and London, 
1850, is absolutely correct. It appeared in Heft* I-VI and was pub- 
lished by Schuberth in Hamburg. You yourself asked me a few 
months ago for information about the articles by Marx which ap- 
peared in the Revue on the subject of the February revolution and the 
events that followed it.! I possess only 3 of the instalments and have 
tried in vain to get hold of the complete set. ‘The other facts provided 
by Groß8 are also correct, if memory serves me aright (Tussy has got 
my copy, so I can’t compare it). Needless to say, I in no way agree 
with his silly strictures on Marx’s theories. He was recommended to 
me by the Viennese socialists and, in reply to some biographical ques- 
tions he put to me, I gave him the facts. 

The German translation of the Poverty contains just a few explana- 
tory notes by me,!! but also an article written by Marx in 1865 on 
Proudhon and his speech of 1847 on free trade. 

The 2nd volume of Capital is now being printed; yesterday I cor- 
rected the 4th sheet. The rest of the manuscript goes off from here 
in a fortnight’s time. The 3rd volume will be the most important 
one, and [ shall get to work on it as soon as the 2nd has been well 
and truly launched.— The English edition is dragging its feet, the 
two translators? being too busy with other matters to work at it 
with the proper ardour. It will be finished, I hope, come the sum- 
mer. 

I had already heard that you were having trouble with your eyes. 
Would it not be wise to give up working for a time so as not to tire 
your eyesight unduly? I find that, at our age, it is always best to tackle 
morbid symptoms when they first occur. Let’s hope that you will be 
able to let me have better news before too long. 

* issue - > Samuel Moore and Edward Aveling 

In the preface to the 2nd volume of Capital, I again revert to 
Rodbertus in order to show that the objections he raises against Marx 
result from his quite unbelievable ignorance of classical political 
economy.* 

Yours ever, 
F. Engels 

(Mezops Degoprrys )