[London,] 15 September [1857]

Dear Engels,

You must excuse my silence and non-acknowledgement of your
various packages, due firstly to a great deal of work and secondly
to numerous time-consuming errands in which ‘inner compulsion’
played no part whatever. I trust your health continues to improve
despite the bad weather, and have still not abandoned the Notion
that you will be taking iron in the end. Only I’m afraid all this
writing may be harmful to you.

I expect a letter from Dana on Friday. Today I sent him
‘Barclay’, ‘Berthier’, ‘Blum’, ‘Bourrienne’ 7202 and your contributions.* It is important that I should send off the 2nd lot of B’s next
week. I have certain queries to put to you in my next about the

a Engels’ description of Bem was partly reproduced in the article ‘Bem’ by Marx and
Engels. - > trestle-bridges - ¢ ‘Barbette’, ‘Bastion’ and ‘Bayonet’

French generals who are next on my list. As to Bem’s Polish prrps
have found the following*:

‘Distinguished himself at the battle of Iganin, when he engaged 40 Russian
heavy calibre cannon with 12 light and 4 heavy guns, and subsequently at the battle
of Ostrolenka.2°3 Here he galloped his battery up to the line of Russian
skirmishers, subjected the detachments which had crossed the Narev to devastating
fire, withstood a hail of shot from 80 guns, and forced the enemy to withdraw.
After this engagement promoted to colonel, shortly afterwards to command of the
entire artillery and, when the Polish forces were concentrating at Warsaw, to
general. During 5 and 6 September Bem committed all his guns to battle, siting his
field pieces between the separate defensive works of the outer line. On the 6th, he
advanced with 40 guns until he was just below Wola, already in Russian hands, but,
having neither infantry nor cavalry in support, was compelled to retire. When the
Polish army fell back on Praga during the night of the 7th, he occupied the bridge
with 40 guns. On the morning of the 8th, however, he was informed of the
agreement made with the Russians and of Malachowski’s order to proceed with the
artillery to Modlin. Cf. his memoir, Allgemeine Augsburger Zeitung, 1831, in which
he discusses recent developments and attacks Krukowiecki.’>

I don’t trust the above authority an inch and would therefore
ask you to investigate and to do me a short, amended version of
the passage concerned, if possible putting it straight into English.

I shall look up the information you ask for at the Museum
tomorrow.©

Your
K. M.