{[London,] 26 January 1852 
28 Dean Street, Soho 

Dear Freiligrath, 

The verse you sent me to have a look at is delicious and 
expresses the corpus delicti in a masterly manner, but I believe it 
impairs the effect of the whole.** D’abord* is Kinkel a ‘German 

4 Things are moving. - b Shakespeare, Hamiet, Act I, Scene 4. - © Firstly 

poet’? I and a great many other bons gens* venture modestly to 
express some doubt upon this point. Then: will it not detract from 
the significant contrast between the ‘German poet’ and the 
‘commercial’ Babylon to deal yet again with the contrast between 
the ‘free’ and the ‘servile’ poet? The more so as the relationship of 
the puffed-up man of leiters to the world that confronts the ‘poet’ 
is already depicted exhaustively in Andersen. Since, as I see it, 
there is no intrinsic need to bring in Kinkel at this point, your 
verse would only provide our opponents with the opportunity of 
coming down on it as the expression of personal pique or rivalry. 
But as it is so felicitous and ought not to be wasted, you will—if 
you agree with my view in other respects—certainly have a chance 
of using it in a different context, in one of the later poetical 
letters. For the sketch is delicious. 

Since Engels-Weerth have not returned the copy of your first 
poem” which I sent them, all I had to offer red Wolff‘ yesterday 
were the few bits I knew by heart which, however, sufficed to 
bring on one of his fits of enthusiasm. 

Quant a notre ami“ Ebner,*° he has undoubtedly had letters from 
Pieper, the best proof being that Pieper possesses a reply from 
him. Besides, he wrote him another long letter quite recently, 
excusing my silence on the grounds of my indisposition. 

I have had a letter from Bermbach consisting of some 30 lines. 
He asks why he has not heard from me for so long. The answer is 
quite simple. I send about half a sheet to Cologne and, after a 
very long delay, receive in return a few lines, none of which ever 
answers my questions. For instance, never a word about Daniels’ 
state of health and the like. You will get this letter as soon as it 
comes back from Manchester. Engels is going to use it for articles 
for the English papers.‘ There is nothing of importance in the 
scrawl save the following: The Board of indicting magistrates, 
remarquez le bien,’ in view of the fact ‘that there was no actual 
evidence of an indictable offence’, rules that the investigation must 
start all over again.’' First then, on the basis of some stupid 
presumption, you have to spend 9 months in jug. Next, it 
transpires that there are no legal grounds for your being in jug. 
Conclusion: You must remain in jug until the examining 
magistrate finds himself a@ méme to present ‘actual evidence of an 
indictable offence’ and, if the ‘actual evidence’ is not forthcoming, 
in gaol you remain until you rot. 

@ good people - b FE, Freiligrath, ‘An Joseph Weydemeyer’, I. - © Ferdinand 
Wolff -¢ As for our friend - ¢ See this volume, p. 20. -f note it well - % in a 
position 

ll. Marx to Freiligrath. 26 January 1852 23 

Such shameless poltroonery is unbelievable. The main fault lies 
with the wretched ‘Press’ which utters not a word. A few articles in 
the Kolnische Zeitung, the National-Zeitung and the Breslauer 
Zeitung—and the Cologne Board of indicting magistrates would 
never have dared do anything of the sort. But the liberals and 
democrats, like the curs they are, rejoice at the removal of their 
communist rivals. Did we not stand up for the Temmes and every 
imaginable variety of democratic riff-raff whenever they found 
themselves in conflict with the police and the courts?* Not once 
does Kinkel, for whom Becker was a hearth and Bürgers a haven,” 
render them any thanks in the Lithographische Korrespondenz which 
he sustains with American funds. Les canailles! 

If I knew of a safe bourgeois address in Cologne, I would write 
to Mrs Daniels and endeavour to reassure her to some extent 
about political conditions. From what Pieper tells me, it would 
seem that every counter-revolutionary advance is exploited by the 
‘worthy citizens’ to alarm and vex her. 

Enclosed a note from Miss Jenny to Master Wolfgang.‘ 

Kind regards, 

Your 
K. M.