Ryde, Friday, 18 September 1857 

Dear Marx, 

Your letter arrived yesterday afternoon, too late for me to get 
anything done for B. Moreover, I was in Portsmouth when the 
letter got here, so that more time was lost, otherwise I’d have been 
able to translate the Bem thing for you.* You seem to be having 
bad weather; here it’s persistently fine, only too hot; last week 
there was an occasional heavy shower, but apart from that it was 
fine and warm all the time. The climate here is really marvellous 
and the vegetation, except for things needing very hot sunshine, is 
so southern one might almost be in Naples. The hedges are laurel. 
I’m improving rapidly, the actual complaint is quite over, there’s 
no longer a sign of inflamed glands and my one concern now is 
the process—admittedly a lengthy one—of patching up, getting 
the sores to heal, and putting on flesh and fat. Bathing does me a 
great deal of good and I find I can swim like a fish again— proof 
of how well my treatment is going. I’ve been to see Pieper at 
Bognor; quite a nice little place, but not a patch on Ryde; I 
wonder how long he’ll stay there—he’s lucky, but for that very 
reason his ‘yeenius’ is again reasserting itself; he attributes his 
luck to personal merit and already half fancies himself king of 
Bognor. He’s coming over on Sunday and Steffen too, perhaps. I 
am going to Brighton sometime Next week and sailing from there to 
Jersey; Schramm is also going there,'* or so he writes. Why don’t 
you slip down to Brighton and, if it can be fitted in with the work, 
come to Jersey too? Anyhow the sea-trip would do you good. 
What do you think? I shall stay here until Tuesday at any rate, 
perhaps even longer: je verrai” 

As to Bem, all I should say is this: 

* At the battle of Iganin, where he commanded the artillery, he 
was noticed for the skill and perseverance with which he fought it 
against the superior Russian batteries. At Ostrolenka, he again 
commanded the artillery in this capacity‘; when the Polish army 

a See this volume, pp. 166-68. - > I shall see - ¢ as an artillery major 

had been finally repulsed in its attacks against the Russians who 
had passed the Narev, he covered the retreat by a bold advance 
with the whole of his guns.”* He was now created colonel, soon 
after general and called to the command in chief of the whole 
Polish artillery. When the Russians assaulted the entrenchments of 
Warsaw and took Wola, Bem advanced with forty guns against 
this, the principal work of the whole line, but the superior force 
of Russian artillery opposed to him prevented the Polish 
infantry from returning to the assault and compelled Bem to 
retire.** 

The other matters are quite trivial. I have no material to hand 
about Iganin; it was a quite unimportant engagement, the defence 
of a dam, rendered fruitless as usual by an outflanking move- 
ment—the 40 cannon of heavy calibre are certainly a figment, 
likewise the Russian retreat at Ostrolenka, which can only have 
referred to tirailleurs> and soutiens, or a couple of exposed 
battalions. What I have said above puts the thing in the most 
favourable light, for Diebitsch forbade any pursuit. 

Many thanks for the thing on bridges.4 Wholly adequate. 
On Sunday or Monday I shall be sending you ‘Battle’, ‘Battery’ 
and any other B’s I have finished, and then get on smartly 
with the remainder. [ shall also let you have something on 
Blicher one of these days, as soon as I’ve read through Miif- 
fling.* 

Which French generals and which of their exploits do you wish 
me to investigate more particularly? Allow me as much time as 
possible since I can’t work very well for more than 2 hours at a 
stretch. 

Your 
F. E.