IN ZALT-BOMMEL 

London, 6 May 1861" 
9 Grafton Terrace, Maitland Park, 
Haverstock Hill 

Dear Uncle, 

First, let me express my heartfelt thanks for the great friendship 
you have again shown me and the delightful hospitality extended 
to me under your roof. So as to avoid all suspicion of flattery, I 
shall make only the most fleeting allusion to the enormous 
pleasure I derived from consorting with a man of your experience 
who, on the one hand, observes the passing world with so 
humane, unbiassed and original an eye and, on the other, has 
preserved intact the fire and impetuosity of youth. 

My onward journey from Bommel went entirely according to 
plan. In Rotterdam I found Jacques” on the pier, spent a couple 
of hours chatting with him and then, the self-same day, hurried 
on to Amsterdam, where my business was speedily settled the next 
day. August‘ and family—this time with the addition of his wife’s 
niece from Rotterdam—were well and happy. August entrusted 
me with a special mission, namely to shake up Monsieur Jacques a 
little on my return to Rotterdam, for he is suffering plus ou moins* 

4 In the original: 1851 - > Jacques Philips - © August Philips - ¢ more or less 

from ‘world-weariness’, an illness which may simply be attributed 
to the fact that, unlike the great majority of mankind, he is 
self-critical and has not yet succeeded in adopting any definite 
political standpoint such as might be satisfactory to himself. On my 
return journey from Amsterdam I got to Rotterdam at half past 
nine at night, and had to board the streamer for London at 7 o’clock 
the following morning (Sunday).* In the short time I spent with 
Jacques it was not, of course, possible for me to answer all the 
questions he put to me or even touch very briefly on all the points 
he raised. Therefore, having previously consulted his employers, 
Jacques decided to continue our discussion in London. I arrived in 
the world capital on Monday and found the whole family well and 
cheerful. Jacques turned up last Wednesday” and left again 
yesterday morning, to the great regret of my family who would 
have liked to keep him here longer. We have arranged to conduct 
a kind of political correspondence with one another. 

You will recall, dear Uncle, how you and I would often remark 
in jest that nowadays the rearing of human beings lags far behind 
cattle rearing. Now, having seen the whole of your family, I must 
declare you to be a virtuoso at rearing human beings. Never in my 
life have I made the acquaintance of a finer family. All your 
children have independent characters, each one an individual, 
each with his own intellectual predilections, and all equally 
distinguished by their humane culture. 

Here in London there is great consternation over the course of 
events in America.“ The acts of violence which have been 
perpetrated not only by the secepep stares, but also by some of the 
CENTRAL OF BORDER states—and it is feared that all 8 sorper stares, 
namely Virginia, Kentucky, Missouri, North Carolina, Tennessee, 
Arkansas, Maryland, and Delaware, will side with the secession- 
ists—these acts of violence have rendered all compromise impossi- 
ble. There can be no doubt that, in the early part of the struggle, 
the scales will be weighted in favour of the South, where the class 
of propertyless white adventurers provides an -inexhaustible source 
of martial militia. In the long run, of course, the North will be 
victorious since, if the need arises, it has a last card up its sleeve in 
the shape of a slave revolution. For the North, the great difficulty 
is the question [of] How To GET THEIR FORCES TO THE South. Even an 
UNOPPOSED MARCH—in this season—of 15 MILES PER DAY, WOULD BE 
SOMETHING TRYING; but Charleston, the nearest attackable point, is 544 
miles from Washington, 681 from Philadelphia, 771 from New 

2 28 April 1861 - 1 May 

York and 994 from Boston, and the three last-named towns are 
the main operational bases against the South. The distance of 
Montgomery, the seat of the Sercessionisy Concress,”> from those 
same places is 910, 1,050, 1,130 and 1,350 mies respecrivety. A 
cross-country march would therefore seem to be qQurte ovr oF ‘THE 
question. (Use of the railways by the Norruern invapers would merely 
lead to their destruction.) Hence, all that remains is sea transport 
and naval warfare which, however, might easily lead to complica- 
tions with foreign powers. This evening the English government is 
to announce in the Commons what attitude it intends to adopt in 
such an eventuality. 

For myself personally, developments in America are naturally 
RATHER damaging since transatlantic newspaper readers have neith- 
er eyes nor ears just now for anything save their own affairs. 
However, I have received an advantageous offer from the Vienna 
Presse which I mean to accept provided certain ambiguities are 
satisfactorily cleared up.* I should have to write for it from 
London. My wife has a specific objection to our moving to Berlin, 
as she does not wish our daughters to be introduced into the 
Hatzfeldt circle, yet keeping them out of it altogether would be 
difficult. 

I have today had an extremely amicable letter from Lassalle. He 
has still heard nothing more from von Zedlitz, the Police President, 
regarding my renaturatisation. The conflict between police and 
public in Berlin has now, so Lassalle tells me, entered a new 
phase. 

With warm regards to you and yours from myself and the whole 
family, 

Your affectionate nephew 

K. Marx