London, 25 April 1876 
122 Regent’s Park Road, N. W. 

Dear Pauli, 

I really don’t know how we can thank you and your wife for all 
the kindness and friendship you have shown our Pumps,’ so much 
so that she evidently feels completely at home with you. If her 

a New-York Daily Tribune - > Hermann Meyer -° All yours - 4 See this volume, 
p. 104. 

10 -406 

year en pension remains in her memory as the happiest of her life, 
it is you and your dear wife she has to thank for it. 

She has told us of a nice little scheme which she devised when 
with you, and apparently with your help, aimed at bringing us all 
together at Whitsuntide. Unfortunately, as is usually the case with 
girls of her age, she has forgotten to tell us the most important 
thing of all, namely when in June her holidays begin. If I 
remember rightly, Miss Schupp said the holidays were in July, this 
being the hottest month of the year. So I shall first have to extract 
more accurate information from Mamsell Pumps on this point 
before I and my wife can come to any decision. 

I hardly need tell you that it would give us both great pleasure 
to spend Whitsuntide with you at Rheinau.'*? Unfortunately my 
wife always feels somewhat seedy in the springtime, and for that 
there is only one doctor—sea air, so I shall see whether I can’t 
send her there for a few weeks, in which case the trip to Germany 
would do her twice as much good. 

We were quite delighted when Pumps wrote to say that Mrs 
Pauli had decided to come to England with us. That is splendid, 
and we only trust that Pumps is voicing not simply a hope but a 
firm decision to be implemented without fail, even if the 
Whitsuntide excursion comes to nothing through Pumps having 
possibly made a miscalculation about her holidays, for after all the 
summer lasts a long time and she will have to be fetched whatever 
happens. However, we prefer to hope that Pumps is right and that 
the combined strategical operation will go off splendidly. Needless 
to say we shall do everything we can to make your wife’s stay here 
as agreeable as possible and to induce her to prolong it until you 
yourself come to fetch her. Projet contre projet!* Schorlemmer and 
Allman, if the latter hasn’t gone away, would also be summoned, 
and the former will probably spend a fortnight with us at the 
seaside as he did last year. So we shall regard the thing as settled, 
the only point at issue being whether it takes place a fortnight 
earlier or later. 

Schorlemmer was here for a few days in March; he looked very 
well and was very cheerful. 

We got Mrs Pauli’s letter in due course and were glad to learn 
that the pudding, after its long Odyssey, had arrived undamaged 
at its destination and had met with approval. 

@ Plan for plan! 

With warm regards from my wife and myself to you, your wife 
and the children. 

Most cordially yours, 

F. Engels