London, 16 January 1861
9 Grafton Terrace, Maitland Park,
Haverstock Hill

Dear Lassalle,

D’abord,> my best if belated wishes for a Happy New Year.

My wife is now convalescing. Her illness resulted in my falling
seriously ill myself; and, at present, I am suffering from
inflammation of the liver. And a very nice New Year’s gift too!
Hitherto, the complaint has merely been chronic. Now it is
becoming acute.

This is the explanation for my silence, despite the very close
sympathy felt both by my wife and myself for your sufferings. I
hope that when you next write you'll have a better account to give
me of yourself. If you would care to send me a fairly detailed
report on your illness, I shall consult a doctor whom I regard as a
veritable aesculapian genius.“ However, he does not live here, but
in Manchester.

a Bettziech has ‘Calummie’ instead of ‘Calumnie’..Marx underlines the sixth letter
to draw attention to the misspelling. - > First. -¢ Dr Eduard Gumpert

I was greatly tickled by the Royal Prussian Amnesty *° which in

effect excludes all refugees from its indulgence. Gottfried Kinkel,
who has recently joined the National Association,*’’ could,
however, return, if a correct interpretation were put on the ‘act of
grace’. As for Bucher, Freiligrath, Borkheim, Zimmermann of
Spandau, and many others, they have long been ‘naturalised
Englishmen’.

Faucher, former London correspondent of the Neue Preussische
Zeitung, afterwards co-editor of the (Maxcursrer Scuoot””*) Morning
Star, by the by, with whom anyone can consort since he
does not conceal but, indeed, openly flaunts, a lack of character
typical of the Berliners, and who isn’t actually taken politically au
sérieux by any of his acquaintances,—believes that he can now
play the Prussian Cobden. Good luck to him. Such, at least, was
his plan when he left London.

One of my friends, J. Ph. Becker, is at present with Garibaldi in
Caprera. He has written, telling me that the Mazzinists were
almost exclusively responsible for the serious part of the south
Italian movement, that Garibaldi does not exactly possess a
superfluity of brains, and that the utmost confusion reigns in his
friends’ camp. Garibaldi, by the by, agrees with Mazzini in
believing that Cavour isn’t even well-intentioned with regard to
Victor Emmanuel, that he is rather Bonaparte’s direct tool and
that the Gaeta intervention,” as well as Farina’s appointment to
Sicily and Farini’s to Naples, etc., are nothing but carefully
calculated moves to compel Vic. Em. to make fresh territorial
concessions to France, and concessions in favour of Murat in
southern Italy. Which will succeed, and soon become manifest.

The slavery crisis in the United States will bring about a terrible
crisis in England in a year or two; the Manchester cotton Lords are
already beginning to tremble.

I seldom read German stuff. Recently, however, I happened
upon A. Bastian, Der Mensch in der Geschichte, etc. I think it’s a bad
book, formless and pretentious. His endeavour to explain psychol-
ogy in terms of ‘natural science’ amounts to little more than a
pious wish. His endeavour to explain history in terms of
‘psychology’, on the other hand, shows that the man does not know
what psychology is, or, for that matter, history.

Darwin's work” is most important and suits my purpose in that
it provides a basis in natural science for the historical class

* seriously - > Ch. Darwin, On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the
Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life. London, 1859.

struggle. One does, of course, have to put up with the clumsy
English style of argument. Despite all shortcomings, it is here that,
for the first time, ‘teleology’ in natural science is not only dealt a
mortal blow but its rational meaning is empirically explained.

I have lately had the opportunity of seeing rather more German
newspapers. Ghastly stuff. And, withal, a self-satisfied mediocrity
which is indeed nauseous.

Could you send me the 2nd volume of Eichhoff’s Polizei-
Silhouetten? Not to be had here.

Another thing I have just read is Walesrode’s Totenschau. Has
some nice tales! But lamely presented, though this is excusable in
view of the time of its publication.

Wishing you all good health, and with regards feoks my wife,

Your
K. M.

Mierostawski, who has just been in Paris, told my friend Schily
that things looked ‘bad’. At the same time, he expressed himself
most unfavourably with respect to ‘Klapka’. Yet I myself can’t
quite make up my mind about Mierostawski.

Bri d Schriften, Bd. III, Stutt- ; . fee
eae ne = Published in English in full for the
first time