ENGELS TO JOHANN PHILIPP BECKER *+ 

Ramsgate, 17 August 1880 
Dear Old Man, 

Your postcard was not forwarded to me here °° until today and 
I immediately took out a money order for you for two pounds ster- 
ling, i.e. 50 frs and a few centimes (on which I wrote my London 
address). It goes without saying, of course, that we wouldn’t let you be 
thrown out of your house while we were restoring our health at the 
seaside here. There’s no need for you to make such a to-do about 
a few pence; that sort of thing is a matter of course between old com- 
rades-in-arms who have been fighting under the same flag for forty 
years and who hearken to the same trumpet-calls. 

We are all here — Marx, his wife and his daughters, together with 
husbands and children,’ and the visit is proving especially beneficial 
to Marx, who, I hope, will be completely refreshed. His wife has unfor- 
tunately been ailing for some time, but is as cheerful as could be ex- 
pected. I shall be returning to London next week but Marx ought to 
stay here as long as he possibly can. 

@ Laura and Paul Lafargue; Jenny and Charles, Jean, Henri and Edgar Longuet 

Apropos, I should perhaps add that there’s been a great muddle 
over the letters. Marx has never had letters of yours for safe-keeping, 
whereas Borkheim was supposed to have had some of yours and, 
when Mrs Marx was still in Geneva with you, you got her to ask 
Marx to get Borkheim to give them to him.* But now Borkheim de- 
nies ever having got any from you; so what the actual facts of the case 
are, we over here are unable to fathom. 

Well, I hope that, for the time being at least, you have extricated 
yourself from the worst of your predicament and will get a bit of 
peace. Kindest regards from us all, and in particular from, 

Your 
F. Engels