[London,] 2 February 1859 
Dear Frederick, 

The Constitutionnel wins since, according to The Times, the 
author was none other than Mr Boustrapa.*” 

Today came a letter (which I'll send you later) from Lassalle 
saying that the manuscript” has not yet arrived. Now take note: It 
went off on Tuesday (25); I was notified as early as 30th January 
by the packet company here that the manuscript had arrived in 
Berlin. Lassalle’s letter is dated 31 January. Hence the government 
has been holding back my manuscript for 3 or 4 days at least (if 
Duncker got the manuscript after Lassalle’s letter went off). Maybe 
Mr Stieber has been rummaging through‘ it, or Mr von Patow has 
been endeavouring to make a hasty acquaintance with economics. 

a This refers to Ferdinand von Westphalen, Jenny Marx’s stepbrother, who until 
October 1859 was Prussian Minister of the Interior. - » K. Marx, A Contribution to the 
Critique of Political Economy. - < Marx makes a pun on the name Stieber and the verb 
durchstébern (rummage through). 

Wrote to Lassalle straight off. Your philistines have intercepted the 

stuff you were sending me (for Tuesday). It didn’t arrive. I waited 

until 3 in the afternoon. Then I dashed off another article. 
Salut. 

Your 
K. M.