{London,] 25 August 185} 
28 Dean Street, Soho 

Dear Engels, 

D’abord mes remerciements pour ton articles Despite all the bad 
things you say about it, it was splendid and has set sail unaltered 
for New York. You hit just the right note for the Tribune. As soon 
as we get the first number of it, I'll send it to you, and continue to 
do so regularly from then on. 

Maintenant,’ Y've got a whole load of émigré dung to forward to 
you and, should you know a farmer in the neighbourhood who 
requires the guano of these cleanly birds for manure, you can do a 
deal with him. 

Well, then, as you already know, the first official meeting of the 
fraternising émigrés took place on Friday, 8 August, the leading 
lights being: The ‘Damm’, who presided; Schurz, secretary, Goegg, 
two Sigels,© Fickler, Tausenau, Franck (the Austrian worthy), 

2 Catherine Shaw - > what a revelation! - © First, many thanks for your article (the 
reference is to F. Engels, Revolution and Counter-Revolution in Germany. Article 
I). - ¢ Now - © Albert and Franz Sigel 

Willich, Borkheim, Schimmelpfennig, Johannes Ronge, Meyen, 
Count Reichenbach, Oppenheim, Bauer (Stolpe),’ the intolerable 
Luders, Haug, A. Ruge, Techow, Schmolze (Bavarian lieutenant), 
Petzler, Bohler, Gehrke, Scharttner, Gohringer, etc., not, of 
course, forgetting Kinkel and Strodtmann. Thus the main cliques: 
1. Ruge-Fickler, 2. Kinkel, 3. Tausenau. Interspersed with other 
independent literary loafers and agreers. The real issue with 
which this great historical event*’’ was concerned was the 
following: Ruge-Fickler-Tausenau-Goegg-Sigel-Haug, etc., sought 
the election of an official committee, partly to denounce the mis- 
deeds of the reactionaries, partly to represent the émigrés, 
partly for ‘Action’—agitation as regards Germany. A further snag 
about that idiot, Ruge, was that he had been recognised as 
plenipotentiary vis-a-vis Ledru-Mazzini and, in addition to his 
name, was now in fact able to place an army at their disposal in 
the shape of the German refugee corps. Mr Kinkel (and with him, 
besides his saviour Schurz and his biographer Furz,> more esp. 
Willich, Techow, Schmolze, Schimmelpfenning), on the other 
hand, did not want a public institution of this kind, partly so as 
not to imperil his position vis-a-vis the bourgeoisie here in 
London —since it’s the guineas that count—partly so as not to 
have to more or less recognise Ruge vis-a-vis Mazzini-Ledru. 

From the start the Ruge-Fickler clique was furious to see that 
the meeting-room was full to overflowing. It had been agreed at a 
secret sitting that only notables were to be asked to attend. But the 
Kinkel clique had brought in le menu peuple so as to assure 
themselves of a majority. 

The sitting opened with the reading of a piece of rubbish from 
the Lithographische Correspondenz by General Haug, who at the 
same time declared that there must be spies present, that the 
document might be abused, etc. Willich, his pathos as yet 
unimpaired, seconded this and called on the miscreants to declare 
themselves. Thereupon Bauer of Stolpe (whom, by the way, I hold 
to be a regular spy) rose to his feet and declared he was unable to 
understand Willich’s virtuous horror since, at the first preparatory 
sitting, he had introduced Mr Scheidler without any opposition as 
editor of the Lithographische Correspondenz. 

This incident settled, Tausenau, with much cosily emotional 
grunting and groaning, doubtless under the impression that he 
was before a Viennese audience, made his proposal for nomina- 

4 Ludwig Bauer - > Adolf Strodtmann—a pun in the original: Schurz and Furz 
(fart) - © the small fry 

tions to the committee. In reply, Mr Meyen said that what he 
wanted was not deeds but voluntary lectures. As prearranged, 
Kinkel at once undertook to deal with America and its future, 
Oppenheim England, Schurz France, and Meyen Prussia. 
Tausenau’s proposal having met with a resounding defeat, he 
declared with emotion that, despite his failure, he would sacrifice 
his righteous anger on the altar of the fatherland and remain in 
the bosom of the fraternising. 

But the Fickler-Ruge clique immediately assumed the menacing 
and injured air of beautiful souls who've been cheated. 

At the end of the sitting Kinkel went up to Schabelitz (who was 
there purely in the capacity of our agent—and a very useful 
agent, too, since he enjoyed the confidence of all those worthies), 
declared him to be an honest democrat, declared the Basler 
National-Zeitung to be an excellent democratic paper and asked, 
among other things, about the state of its finances. Schabelitz: 
Poor. Kinkel: But aren’t the working men doing anything? 
Schabelitz: Everything we ask of them; they read the paper. Kinkel: 
The workers should do more. They don’t support us either as 
they ought to. And you know, we really do so much for the 
workers. We do everything we can to make them into ‘respect- 
able’.—you understand me, of course,—‘honourable citizens’. En 
voila une bonne!" 

The agreers’ meeting on the 15th was not well attended and 
was, as the English say, indifferent. 

Meanwhile great things were taking place—on the 17th—and 
the true course of the affair assumed, as our great A. Ruge would 
say, the following course: 

Mr Kinkel summoned Willich, Techow, Goegg, Sigel and a few 
others, and revealed to them that he had received £160 through 
Fischer from New Orleans and had been charged with disposing 
of this money in consultation with the above-named and with Mr 
‘Fr. Engels. Instead of the latter, he had invited Fickler who, 
however, had declared that he had nothing to do with the 
‘scoundrels’. Mr Kinkel was forced to show the letter from which it 
transpired that, anonymous and incognito, this money had already 
been at his lodgings for three weeks, unable to decide whether or 
not it should generously unbosom itself to the profane world. 
Though Kinkel spake with the tongues of angels, it availed him 
nothing. The Fickler clique realised that the Kinkel clique was 
doing some considerable angling on the side and would merely 

a That’s a good one! 

exploit the storm in the émigrés’ communal tea-cup to lure the 
‘goldfish’ away by stealth. And thus it was in vain that the great 
Heinzen had cast such lovelorn and plain-speaking glances at the 
£s collected in New Orleans! Goegg and Sigel left the conclave. A 
separate sitting of the Fickler-Ruge-Tausenau clique took place. 

For the South Germans had privily discovered that A. Ruge was 
an imbecile. They need him because he provides a channel to 
Ledru-Mazzini, and this patronage is of great importance to the 
South Germans. Tausenau appears to have opened their eyes for 
them and is now their real Leaver alongside Fickler. Tausenau is, in 
general, very much a_ wiseacre and intriguer, dabbling in 
diplomacy and equipped with the petty Jew’s flair for calculation; 
he believes in the imminence of the revolution. Hence his presence 
in this League. 

Ruge, in a tremendous rage over the lost £160, now revealed to 
his friends that, more than 12 months previously, Willich-Kinkel 
had sent Schimmelpfennig to Mazzini, saying that he was an 
emissary and .had come for money so that he could travel to 
Germany for the purpose of agitation. Mazzini gave him 1,000 fr. 
in cash and 5,000 fr. in his Italian notes on condition that in 12 
months’ time he would return the 1,000 fr. and ?/; of the Italian 
notes provided. On these Schimmelpfennig travelled round France 
and Germany. The 12 months elapsed but nothing more was 
heard of either Kinkel-Schimmelpfennig, or the 1,000 fr., or the 
Italian notes. Now, when the money had arrived from New 
Orleans, Kinkel had once more sent his envoys to Mazzini, not to 
pay, but to blow their own trumpets and enter into an alliance 
with, him. Mazzini had too much delicacy to remind them of their 
debt but told them that, since he had connections in Germany, he 
could not enter into any new ones. These gentlemen, A. Ruge 
went on, had also betaken themselves to Ledru-Rollin. But here 
Ruge had stolen a march on them: since Ledru-Rollin already 
considers himself President of the French Republic and has 
determined to wage war abroad forthwith, Ruge had presented 
Sigel to him as commander-in-chief of the German revolutionary 
army, whereupon Ledru-Rollin had embarked on a strategical 
discussion with Sigel. Another snub, then, for Kinkel-Willich. 

After these revelations of Ruge’s, therefore, the turpitude of the 
Kinkel-Willich clique was laid bare before the eyes of the bemused 
beautiful souls. Now was the time for action, but what action is 
Ruge capable of other than new combinations and permutations of 
his mouldy old Central Committee? Hence it was resolved to form 
an agitation club,*” not for debating, but ‘essentially for working’, 

productive not of worps but of works. and above all for inducing 
like-minded comrades to make financial contributions. To be 
composed of: Fickler, Tausenau, Franck, Goegg, Sigel, Hertle, J. 
Ronge, Haug, Ruge. You will immediately note the reconstruction 
Ruge-Ronge-Haug. But closer inspection reveals that the main 
components of the club are |. the western South German 
worthies, Fickler, Goegg, Sigel, Hertle, 2. the eastern South 
Germans, Tausenau, Haug, and Franck, and hence that the club 
has been formed mainly as a South German one in opposition to 
the ‘Prussians, and Ruge is only the umbilical cord maintaining the 
connection with the European Central Committee.*’* In fact, they 
now cal! the other societies simply ‘the Prussians. This agitation 
club nominated Tausenau to its executive authority and simulta- 
neously made him its Minister of the Exierior. This meant that the 
Central Ruge was completely ousted. But in order to sugar the pill 
for him, he was given a douceur in the shape of an acknowledg- 
ment that his position on the Centrai Committee was recognised, 
as also his previous activities and his representation of the German 
people in accordance with the wishes of the German people. You'll 
have seen this testimonium paupertatis* in print since it appeared in 
a notice, published in almost every English newspaper, in which 
the agitation society most humbly announces its birth to the 
European public and solicits its custom. Even this douceur was 
soured for poor Ruge by the fact that Bauer-Fickler imposed the 
intolerable conditio sine qua non’ that Ruge should desist ‘from 
writing and publishing his stupid stuff’. 

Before I go on, I should observe that, all unbeknown to the others, 
we are represented in the united democratic club by a working 
man called Ulmer who has fled from Cologne to join our League‘; 
he’s a man who, when he’s with us, is very quiet and taciturn and 
of whom we would never have believed that he would hold the 
united democrats in check. But indignatio facit poetam,’ and the 
silent Ulmer, or so he told me, has a genius’ for flaring up easily, 
whereupon he shakes all over and lets fiy like a Berserk. Despite 
his weedy tailor’s build, he is the best gymnast in Mainz, and has a 
considerable awareness of his physical strength and agility. In 
addition a communist’s pride in infallibility. 

On 22 August, then, the 3rd sitting was held. Meeting very well 
attended in anticipation of great row over the highly treasonable 

* certificate of poverty - » indispensable condition - © the Communist League - 
4 indignation makes the poet—adaptation of facit indignatio versum (indignation 
makes the verse), fuvenal, Satire, } 

agitation club. President: Meyen, Also present: R. Schramm and 
Bucher. The Kinkel clique proposed that a refugee committee be 
set up. For Mr Kinkel has no wish to make his exit from the 
public stage. Nor does he wish to compromise himself in the eyes 
of England’s aesthetic-liberal bourgeoisie. A refugee committee, 
besides being politico-philanthropic, is a source of funds, and thus 
combines all the desirable prerequisites. On the other hand, Ulmer 
and a certain Hollinger put forward a proposal that the refugee 
committee be elected at a general meeting of refugees, whereat the 
Kinkel clique began to harp on the danger that people (namely 
we, the unnamed) would kick up a row behind the backs of the 
assembly. But they also had enemies before them. Goegg, Sigel and 
his brother were the only members of the agitation club present. 
Goegg was elected to the refugee committee. This provided an 
opportunity, 1) to announce Tausenau’s resignation, 2) to reject 
the agitation club’s statement, 3) finally, after the conclusion of the 
debate, to announce their resignation in a body. Uproar. Techow 
and Schramm gave A. Ruge a fearsome dressing down. Altogether a 
great deal of abuse was hurled. Goegg replied to the others with 
assurance, launched a bitter attack on the ambivalent Kinkel, who, 
replying only through his satellites, stroked his beard like the 
Great Mogul and dictated to Schurz, who was constantly dancing 
attendance on him, notes which he then, like the agreers in Berlin, 
caused to be circulated among his trusties and, after the 
circulation, recorded his final vote. Only when Goegg said that the 
agitation club would publish its declaration in the English papers, 
did Kinkel answer majestically that he already controlled the whole of the 
American press and that steps had been taken to bring the whole of 
the French press likewise under his control within a very short space of 
time. 

Besides this scandal-laden theme, others were mooted which 
stirred up the most almighty turmoil in the bosom of the 
fraternising democrats. Fists were shaken and there was a great 
clamour and hullaballoo until, at 2 o’clock in the morning, the 
landlord put out the lamps, thus plunging the agreement-seekers 
into impenetrable darkness. The row pivoted on two people, 
Schramm and Ulmer. For in his diatribe against Ruge, Schramm 
simultaneously vented his wrath on the communists, which 
received much acclaim, launched a most virulent attack on Willich, 
and called the workers cowards. To this Ulmer replied; but, for 
his part and in company with Hollinger—Sigel’s friend— 
demanded the convening of a general meeting of refugees to elect 
a relief committee. He accused Willich, etc., outright of dissipating 

i 

and squandering refugee funds. Indescribable tumult. Up sprang 
Dietz, the. cockroach, stated that he was the treasurer of the Great 
Windmill Street**' refugee committee*” and demanded that the 
allegation be withdrawn. Ulmer declared that, should the gentle- 
men so desire, he would provide proof. He would withdraw 
nothing. Willich, in his usual manner, tried to mollify him and 
invited him to his lodgings for a private discussion. But Cato 
Ulmer stood his ground and would say nothing without witnesses. 
By the by, during Goegg’s speech Schimmelpfennig, who was 
sitting behind Ulmer, had kept on grunting and making noises 
until Ulmer, suddenly seized by his ‘genius’, turned round with 
clenched fist and roared at Schimmelpfennig: ‘If you don’t keep 
your mouth shut, you miserable penny-pincher, I'll chuck you out 
of the window.’ Schimmelpfennig turned white as a sheet but, 
discretion getting the better of a Prussian officer’s valour, he 
betook himself to the farthest corner of the room. 

Time and again in the course of this memorable séance Willich 
was so savagely assailed from all sides—by Goegg, Schramm, 
Hollinger, Ulmer, etc.—that on 6 occasions he declared he would 
have to resign if they refused to leave his worthy person alone. 

But now a new element enters the row which was all our 
doing. For, the ‘superior refugees’ as these gentlemen call 
themselves, had left the ‘inferior émigrés’ completely out of 
account. We had got Ulmer, Rumpf and Liebknecht to give these 
‘inferior émigrés’, who are faring very badly, a spicy account of 
the fact that the Great Windmill Street refugee committee had 
received 800 gulden from Wirttemberg, and that they were being 
well and truly diddled. So yesterday, there was a row at the sitting 
of the Windmill Street committee, praesidio Schapperi.? The 
refugees demanded to see the letters, accounts, etc. Willich, who 
had made the same demands as these jackasses’ when he was 
opposing us, tells them curtly that he and co. are answerable only 
to the Workers’ Society.” When a refugee comes too close, he tells 
him to stand back and keep his lice to himself. In return the man 
calls him an ‘empty-headed half-wit’. Schapper is asked to account 
for his hippopotamus’s belly and addressed as ‘Snapper’. Willich 
calls the landlord and asks him to eject one of the refugees. The 
latter says he will leave if they call a poticeman. The gents, he states, 
are rascals, and there the matter rests. Willich and Schapper 
declare that in the circumstances they will resign. 

These ‘inferior émigrés’ have now been told by Rumpf and 

a chaired by Schapper 

205. Marx to Engels. 25 August 1851. 443 

Ulmer that next Friday their interests will be placed before the 
general emigration society. They will proceed there en masse 
armed with clubs in order to assert their claims. I then let them 
know through Ulmer that Kinkel has received £160 on their 
behalf which he has secreted for weeks and is now proposing to 
share with Willich, and that in any case they are simply being 
used — et c’est vrai?—-as a trade-mark to bolster up the finances of 
these statesmen. Ulmer is to be the speaker and since Schramm, 
etc., are completely unaware of this surprise—the row should be 
edifying from every point of view. 

You may write a—belated but necessary—letter to Kinkel as 
soon as I have informed you about Friday’s sitting. What you 
must do forthwith, however, is write to Fischer in New 
Orleans, explaining the whole dirty business to him and letting 
him know that henceforward he should collect money only under 
the ‘Freiligrath trade-mark, which is quite popular. Our party of 
course needs it. It is the only active one, the only one to be in 
direct confrontation with the Federal Diet,‘’* God and the devil, 
and we have no money whatever for agitation. Again, money must 
be raised for our people in prison who are, for the most part, 
quite penniless. These two aspects, it seems to me, should be easy 
to explain to the man. If possible, by the way, he should make the 
collections in secret, since our efficiency can only be impaired by 
newspaper gossip. 

Vale faveque.” 

Your 

K. Marx 

25 August 

I should further remark that Schapper, that orthodox ox, is by 
no means prepared to consort with ‘unbelievers’; rather he has 
told Willich that he’d sooner have his skull split open than betake 
himself to ‘the curs’. 

If a few days sometimes elapse between letters, it is because I 
want to send you a fuller report.