London, 26 August [1859] 

Dear Fred, 

“Das Volk’ is no more. I had already advanced to Hollinger the £2 
you sent at the end of last week, for otherwise last Friday’s issue (a 
week ago today) would not have come out. I have therefore paid it 
back to myself. In addition I owe Garthe £4 (for the paper) and 
asout £2 more to Lessner, £6 in all. Moreover in Hollinger’s case 
the deficit has accumulated—which doesn’t, of course, concern us| 
so immediately. However, it ought not to be allowed to grow any 
more. This can only be charged when the money for the 
subscriptions has come in. The French paper is not going to 
appear because of the amnesty.“ 

Borchardt, the braggart, wrote to say there was nothing doing in 
Manchester. First, because of the peace, then because of the 
amnesty. But more especially—and this was something he had not 
himself felt able to refute—because Das Volk was a scurrilous 
paper (oh, you idiot of a philistine!). I.e. not nice enough for the 
Steinthals and other such Ikeys. On the other hand a letter arrived 
at the same time from Lupus in which he spoke very highly of Das 
Volk. But the Fact is that as the paper improved, losses increased 
and readers fell off. Besides, that idiot Biskamp, with all sorts of 
people on at him, appeared to be jealous on account of his 
dwindling importance on the paper. 

Lastly, in view of Liebknecht’s ineptitude and Biskamp’s 
instability and weakness, it would have become increasingly 
necessary for me to intervene directly in the editorial work (for if 
sales were low among the louts, they were correspondingly high 
among the German diplomatic haute volée*? in London). Distances 
being what they are here, the thing was in any case taking up too 
much of my time, and my own circumstances ARE IN SUCH A DESPERATE 
STATE THAT I Must LOOK To THEM. 

4 upper crust 

That wretch Dronke hasn’t even subscribed for one copy. Your 
cousin Siebel, however, as you will see from the enclosed, is the 
Hermann’s bard under Beta’s management.* 

Salut. 

Your 
K. M.