{London,] 26 August 1857 

Dear Engels, 

Herewith a note for you from Schramm. Drop him a line or 
two. I don’t suppose there’s much hope for him now. 

Lupus’ adventure most amusing. 

Why not go to Hastings, which is famed for its efficacy in cases 
like yours. It’s the only specific watering-place of the kind in 
England. The Isle of Man, in so far as I had the pleasure of 

seeing it in your company—not much of it, to be sure—is 
remarkable chiefly for its stench. 

The situation in regard to Dana is a little awkward. During the 
acute phase of your illness I thought it inopportune to keep you 
informed of the details of the affair. It was quite some time ago 
that Dana sent me the enclosed B list (in which there are only two 
non-military articles, ‘Blum’ and ‘Bourrienne’). On the same 
occasion he said that the sooner they got the contributions to the 
ensuing volumes, the better they would be pleased, while I, for my 
part, could always receive my fee immediately after sending in the 
articles. But what was I to do, at a time when the contributions to 
A could not be sent off, and any failure to respond to so urgent a 
request—on terms so favourable to myself—would inevitably have 
aroused suspicion? My only recourse was to refrain for a time 
from writing to New York, and then do so only at longish 
intervals —say, EVERY FORTNIGHT—-so that later on it would still be 
open to me to tell them with some plausibility that domestic 
Troubles and my own indisposition had made any sort of writing 
very difficult for me, as the paucity of my contributions to the 
paper also went to show. To send your B list to Dana in such 
circumstances would have been guirz inexpedient and would have 
placed me in an even more invidious position. In the meantime I 
had also learned that Major Ripley? had become co-editor of the 
Tribune, so that in case of need Dana had a pis aller for the 
Cyclopaedia. 

Wet, on 24 July I despatched your first pieces.'*' August was 
nearly upon us and your condition seemed to have deteriorated 
again. On 11 August another package arrived from you.? Instinct 
warned me that a letter from New York was now imminent and 
would place me in something of a quandary since your illness 
meant that it was OUT OF (THE] QUESTION to speed up the work. So in 
order to leave a loophole for myself, I sent the package off to 
Dana together with a letter’ in which I 1. informed him that the 
Bulk of the contributions had gone off on 7 August (to make him 
think the manuscript had gone astray), at the same time telling him 
that the tardiness and delay were due to an indisposition which had 
not yet quite sussipep. I -took this step because it covered any 
eventuality. Thus, when Dana protests (probably at the begin- 
ning of September) the manuscript for A either will or will 
not be ready. In the first case, he either will or will not still be 

a New-York Daily Tribune - » Marx seems mistakenly to identify George Ripley, editor 
of The New American Cyclopaedia, with the military writer Roswell Sabine 
Ripley. - © stop-gap - 4 the articles ‘Abatis’ and ‘Afghanistan’ 

q* 

able to use it. If the former, nothing will have been lost. If 
the latter, the blame will be seen to attach to the post office. If 
not reapy at all, then all the more need for him to be hood- 
winked. 

On 17 August" I received the enclosed letter from Dana. 

As regards B, there can now be no question of adding to the 
list; rather, it must be polished off as quickly as_ possible. 
Otherwise we'll have to abandon the whole thing. 

As a result my economic position has become completely 
untenable and even my position on the Tribune has grown 
precarious. 

Be so good as to return the plan of Delhi and write and let me 
know what you think of the InpiAn Arran.” 

Your 
K. M.