Dear Kugelmann,

Since my last letter, neither Marx nor I have heard a word from you, and I can scarcely believe that you are so deeply stuck in some anteflexio uteri as to be entirely inaccessible. Also, I have a letter to send to Liebknecht and Marx advises me to forward it to you, since we have no exact address and do not know whether he is in Berlin or Leipzig; I therefore enclose it.

The German press is still silent about *Capital*, and yet it is of the utmost importance that something be done. I found one of the articles sent to you in the *Zukunft*; I am sorry not to have known that it was possibly intended for this paper; one could probably have adopted a bolder tone there. But that is of no consequence. The main thing is that the book should be discussed at all, again and again. And since Marx cannot move freely in the matter and is as bashful as a maiden, we others must simply do it. So be so kind as to let me know what success you have so far had in this matter, and which papers you think can still be used. Here we must, to speak with our old friend Jesus Christ, be harmless as doves and wise as serpents. The worthy vulgar economists always have sense enough to beware of this book and on no account to speak of it unless they must. And we must compel them to do so. If the book is discussed simultaneously in 15–20 newspapers — regardless of whether it is favourably or unfavourably, whether in articles, correspondence, or as letters to the editor below the line — merely as a significant phenomenon deserving attention, the whole pack will then take up the hue and cry of its own accord, and the Fauchers, Michaelis, Roschers, and Max Wirths will then just have to join in. It is our damned duty to get these articles into the papers, and as simultaneously as possible, especially into the European ones and also into the reactionary ones. In the latter one could draw attention to the fact that the vulgar gentlemen talk very big in parliaments and politico-economic assemblies, but here, where the consequences of their own science are brought to light, they obligingly hold their tongues. And so on. If you consider my assistance desirable, let me know for which paper you wish something — I am, as ever, at the service of the party and at hand. The letter to Liebknecht deals with the same business, and you will place me under an extraordinary obligation by forwarding it securely.

The Roman affair has again helped us along famously. The noble Bonaparte appears to me to be rattling his last wheeze mightily, and when this episode in France comes to an end, with England in a situation that grows daily more revolutionary, with Italy under the necessity of making a revolution — then the realm of the “Europeans” in Germany, too, will probably be at an end. Here in England the formation of a really revolutionary party is proceeding rapidly, and simultaneously with it the development of revolutionary conditions. Through the Reform Bill, Disraeli has dissolved the Tories and smashed the Whigs, without having done more than make the continuation of the old rut impossible. This Reform Bill is either nothing (and that is now impossible, the movement is too strong) or it must immediately entail quite other bills that go much further. Distribution of representation according to population, and the secret ballot, are the next consequences that must be drawn at once, and that puts an end to the whole old business here. That is Disraeli’s great merit: out of hatred for the country gentlemen of his own party and hatred for the Whigs, he has brought developments here into a current that can no longer be halted. You will be astonished, and even more astonished will be the German philistines, who regard England as buried, when they see what happens here once the Reform Bill is in force. The Irish are also a very significant ferment in the matter, and the London proletarians are declaring themselves more openly every day for the Fenians — therefore, what is unheard-of here and really magnificent, for a movement that is firstly violent and secondly anti-English.

Have you followed my medical advice and mounted a horse? Since my return I have again found the beneficent effects of riding very well confirmed, and you will see how rapidly all your complaints and scruples regarding drink vanish before one hour of daily riding. You owe this as a gynaecologist to science, for gynaecology is most intimately connected with riding or being ridden, and a gynaecologist must therefore be firm in the saddle in every respect.

Schorlemmer looked out for you in Frankfurt at the Natural Scientists’ Congress, but maintains you were not there.

So, dear friend, let me hear from you soon. The photograph of Lupus has been ordered and will be ready as soon as there is fine weather; here in winter, unfortunately, we rarely have daylight. Commend me most cordially to your wife, whom I do not know, and best greetings from

Your
F.E.
Address: Ermen & Engels, Manchester for F. E.

20 Nov. Since I wrote the above, Marx has communicated to me your letter to him, and I see from it, unfortunately, that in your region further press notices are scarcely to be counted on. Would it not be possible, through third parties perhaps, to get attacks on the book into the papers, whether from a bourgeois or from a reactionary standpoint? This seems to me a way out, and the articles would certainly be obtainable. Furthermore: what about scientific, or wholly or half belletristic, periodicals?

Regarding the *Rheinische Zeitung* I am writing to Cologne, in case nothing should yet have been done.

Büchner should also be able to place things in the papers; as for the articles, you can refer him to me if need be. Give him no peace.

I have not yet received the photographs, but they will certainly follow in a day or two.

Once more, most fraternally,
Your
F.E.