Manchester, 13 February 1861 

Dear Mother, 

I am returning herewith the contracts, 7 copies, duly signed, 
having kept the 8th here.”” I must say that, if it hadn’t been for 
your sake, I could have made up my mind to do so only with 
difficulty. It was hard for me thus to exclude myself for no valid 
reason or on no good pretext, or so it seemed to me, from the 
only family business that remains to us—remains with any 
certainty. I believe that I also had a right to it and that my 
brothers’ had no right to assume that I should, without more ado 
and for no reason at all, relinquish that right in their favour. What 
I demanded was certainly not unfair; moreover, I had put 
forward that demand quite early enough for it to be taken into 
account during the deliberations. Emil Blank conceded as much 
when he was here. But I was told absolutely nothing more, and 

a F, Engels, The Campaign for the German Imperial Constitution. - > Hermann, Emil 
and Rudolt 

not till the others had settled everything did they approach me 
with the demand that I agree to forgo my claim, basing that 
demand—in Emil’s* letter—on reasons which may be very 
businesslike, but which J, for one, would not have cared to bring 
up in this way vis-a-vis my brothers; and, by way of consolation, I 
am left with Emil’s assurance that Gottfr. Ermen, or so Emil is 
convinced, will not break his contract with me. This conviction is 
outweighed by that of our lawyer, who told Emil more than once 
that the contract qua contract affords me no legal guarantees. They 
have the business in Engelskirchen, and I have Emil’s conviction. 

Mother dear, I have swallowed all this and much more for your 
sake. Not for anything in the world would I contribute in the 
smallest way towards embittering the evening of your life with 
family disputes over inheritance. I believe that my conduct when I 
was at home,"" just like my letters, has amply demonstrated that I 
was very far from seeking to place obstacles in the way of any 
agreement and that, on the contrary, I gladly made sacrifices so 
that everything might be settled in accordance with your wishes. 
That is why I have signed the thing without more ado. Whatever 
the cost, I would not wish you to be plagued with such things any 
longer, or to worry about them. Nor shall I bear any grudge 
against my brothers, or so much as mention the matter to them, 
unless they absolutely force me to do so, for it has been settled, 
and I have no desire to parade my belief that I have made a 
sacrifice. But I considered it my bounden duty to tell you frankly 
what my motives were in this matter, and it goes without saying 
that I never remotely supposed you could, perhaps, have arranged 
matters more favourably for me. On the contrary, I know that, 
throughout the negotiations I, too, was always in your thoughts 
and that you did all you could for me. 

The matter is now settled, and that is that. You are unlikely ever 
to hear another word from me about it, and I need not say that, 
when Emil comes over here, I shall, as always, give him a fraternal 
welcome; though our views may have differed in this case, he is, 
nevertheless, a fine lad, who has always taken my interests over 
here very much to heart. 

The dressing-gown has arrived, and I am very glad of it as it’s 
freezing again, but the red epaulettes are a trifle outré for local 
taste. By the way, I now have the company of a young ratter, who 
has strayed into the house. 

a Emil Engels