Ramsgate, 19 July 1877 
2 Adelaide Gardens 

Dear Moor, 

I too shall write to Wiede* saying that, owing to lack of time, I 
can make no promises, let alone keep them. Unfortunately one 
cannot give the true, or rather intrinsic, reasons which you so 
rightly adduce. Besides—what do we know about Mr Wiede’s 
ability to run a scientific review? Or even—on crucial occasions, of 
which surely there will shortly be more—about his reliability or 
merely his good will? 

Herewith the latest from Wilhelm.” As regards the manuscript,” 

all I told him in my reply was that I would send the letter to you.” 
While in the cachot‘*' he actually polished off three complete 
articles which appear in Nos. 80 and 81 of the Vorwdrts.“ Pitiable 
prevarication, a splendid example of how he would paraphrase 
your ‘Critique of the Programme’, turning it into a glorification of 
the same. I rebuffed his request for an article on the war, saying 
I had no wish to compete for space in the Vorwdrts with the 
worthy socialists of the future, or to give further cause for 
clamorous protests that I fill the paper with abstruse stuff of no 
interest to the bulk of the readers, who evidently prefer fantasy to 
fact.?*° 
' It’s only a pity that our people in Germany have stich 
lamentable opponents. If there were, on the bourgeois side, just 
one competent man with a knowledge of economics, he would 
soon put these gentlemen in their places and open their eyes to 
their own confusion. But what can be the upshot of a battle in 
which the only weapons on either side are commonplaces and 
philistian drivel! As a counterpart in Germany to the learned 
bourgeois noddle, a new German vulgar socialism is evolving that 
is a worthy successor to the old ‘true socialism’ of 1845.°% 

The Turks will have to hurry if the affair is to turn out 
satisfactorily. Should they allow the Russians in Bulgaria and on 

4 See this volume, p. 241. - > Wilhelm Liebknecht - © cell - a W. Liebknecht, ‘Das 
Ketzergericht in Berlin’, Vorwarts, No. 80, 11 July 1877; ‘Die Rothen wider die Blauen. 
I-Il’, Vorwdarts, Nos. 80 and 81, 11 and 13 July 1877. 

the southern slopes of the Balkans to establish a quadrilateral of 
Russian fortresses, the situation might become chronic there, 
and in that case a thrust towards Constantinople would not be 
impossible, i.e. one having an eye to the purely moral effect as in 
1828—or to treachery. And treachery would seem to be quite on 
THE CARDS. That treachery there was at Nikopol—otherwise of no 
great importance after the Russian crossing—seems clear to me. 
Never before have 6,000 Turks, with a ditch and wall in front of 
them, surrendered without assault—except at Varna in 1828.°° I 
get quite nervous, what with the newspapers arriving twice a day 
and bringing news of the Russians’ activity and the unfailing 
inaction of the Turks; it was no worse than this even in 1828 when 
there was no Turkish army at all. 

You really ought to go and see Gumpert and get him to give 
you something for your insomnia; he’s still there and the trip will 
do you good. Don’t let the thing go too far this time—I imagine 
you will be going to Karlsbad again in the middle of August, and 
until then you have a month which you would surely do better to 
spend in decent health. Things aren’t going too well here either.” 
Since yesterday, for no apparent reason, Lizzie has been extremely 
unwell; the magic powers of sea-bathing have failed her for the 
first time and I’m beginning to get seriously alarmed. 

Kindest regards to your wife, Tussy and Lenchen as well as the 
Longuets and Lafargues and yourself from us all. 

Your 
F. E.