[Manchester,] Thursday, 8 May* [1851] 
10 o'clock at night 

Dear Marx, 

I sent you today by the first post a Posr Orrice Orper for £5, 
which I hope you have received. 

Something’s décidément amiss with the English mails. First, the 
letter that arrived at your place open. Then your letter to me of 
the day before yesterday, with the defaced seal, which I returned 
to you. Now, today, Thursday the 8th, at 7 in the evening, I get 
your letter of the 5th, i. e. Monday, the one about the electricity 
business. This letter has three London postmarks dated the 6th 
(Tuesday), two of which prove that it was posted on Tuesday 
morning before 10 o’clock. Also a Manchester postmark dated the 
7th (yesterday) and, finally, two others of today’s date. In addition 
a defaced, badly patched up, unfamiliar seal which I return 
herewith for your inspection. I am sending the envelope straight 

4 The original has: June. - © decidedly 

off to the postmaster here, demanding an explanation as to why 
the letter was only delivered this evening instead of yesterday 
morning. Let me know by return exactly when it was posted and 
whether the seal is in order. We'll raise such a shindy as will give 
the scoundrels something to think about. That these fellows are 
capable of dirty tricks is apparent from today’s Daily News, which 
declares outright that Palmerston has asked Vienna and Berlin for 
spies to keep watch on the refugees, and duly goes on to give the 
English public a description of Messrs Stieber and Goldheim of 
Berlin.* It would be splendid if we could catch Grey in the act, just 
as Mazzini once caught Graham.‘ 

The fact that something untoward befell the letter is also 
evident from a mark they have made on it. In the address there is 
a cross before and after the word Manchester, thus: 

X Manchester X 

only with thicker strokes than mine. 
Keep any seals I return to you; we may perhaps need them. 
Tomorrow I'll write to you about the other points you raised; 
now I shall go straight out and post this letter and the one to the 
postmaster. My kindest regards to your wife. 

Your 
F. E. 

The letter has been so clumsily opened that the outline of the 
original, larger seal is still plainly visible. Sealing-wax is of little 
avail if, underneath, there’s no wafer to secure all four sides of the 
envelope. As it happens I have none here and, since I want this 
letter to reach you unopened, I have no alternative but to send it 
to Schramm,” who lives closer to you than Pieper, and through 
whom you at least have a chance of getting it quickly. 

Le tout considéré, it would, perhaps, be better to send it to 
Pieper, which I shall do.