Manchester, Monday, 15 December 1851 

Dear Marie, 

I got your letter on Saturday, the only day of the week on which 
I can never manage to write a private letter because we then shut 
up the office as early as noon; otherwise you’d have had an 
answer sooner. 

I’m sorry that you should have had so much illness in the house 
of late, but am glad to hear that things are now taking a better 
turn; I hope to see Hermann as well as little Titi fully recovered 
by the time I arrive. You should really have written to tell me all 
about it for, so long as I don’t hear, I have to assume that all is 
well; and besides you also owed me a letter in reply to the one in 
which I returned you your latch-key last summer.” 

I have as usual been well all this while, and am merely 
somewhat vexed by the onset of bad weather which prevents me 
going out into the country, this being a real necessity here in 
Manchester. For the past few days I have been aware of certain 
premonitory symptoms which lead me to believe that there may be 
a recurrence of the disagreeable tooth-ache I suffered from last 

winter, the more disagreeable in that it interferes with my 
customary bathing, etc. I hope, however, that the thing will pass 
off without too much inconvenience—at any rate I don’t intend to 
fret in advance about pain which I’m not yet suffering. 

By the end of this week I shall probably have put my current 
business in order and, this being a quiet time for us anyway, I 
shall see to it that I leave here on Saturday evening *” and, since 
the trains all arrive in London either too late at night or too early 
in the morning for one to drive across to Camberwell directly, I 
shall recuperate a while in the Euston Hotel and arrive at your 
place BErore DINNER TIME On Sunday. At any rate you can expect me at 
the Grove for dinner on Sunday, unless you get a letter to the 
contrary from me on Saturday morning. 

As for the- French, the jackasses can do what they like, it’s all 
one to me. 

My warm regards to Emil and Hermani and your children. 
Your description of your new maids has made me eager to see 
them. Nota bene, should you have too much sorner in the house on 
Sunday, thus making my company and any further inconvenience 
seem undesirable just now, you have only to write and send me an 
army order instructing me when to present myself, and I shall not 
fail to be punctual. 

Toujours* your 

Friedrich