{Algiers,] Tuesday, 18 April 1882 

Dear FRrep, 

Got your letter yesterday,?** likewise Tussy’s, together with the 
‘imperial’ remittance.* 

In my last letter to Laurachen’ I announced the arrival of our 
‘2 finest days’; but even before I had finished the letter, the sirocco 
(the official weather bulletins, like other French printed matter, 
spell it sometimes with one c, sometimes with 2) began to blow and 
the din served me as an overture to the ‘mouvements atmosphériques in- 
tenses‘ which had been predicted. I admitted to Laura that I was 
tired of such things — if not, indeed, tired of Africa, and was determined 
to turn my back on Algiers the moment Dr Stephann pip No longer 
‘WANT ME’ 

From the 14th April (afternoon) to the 17th April, gusts of wind, 
storms, heavy downpours, burning sunshine, continual ups and 
downs, now hot now cold (almost from one hour to the next). First 
thing this morning gloriously fine, but now, at 10 a.m, the wind is al- 
ready piping its maddening tune.—In its report—or rather fore- 
cast — yesterday, the meteorological office announced an ‘intense mouve- 
ment atmosphérique for 3-4 May, but more especially for 7-8 May (not 
having pro nunc‘ probed any further into the future); in addition, for 
the first week of this self-same May, it has promised us so catLep ‘sets- 
sismiques mouvements’* (apparently the periodicity of these ‘sismiques’ 
coincides with latent earth tremors). 

Dr Stephann called on the 16th (Sunday), percussed, and declared 
that there was no longer any trace of “pleurésie’ (as Far aS TO ‘rechute’s); 
on the other hand he was, he said, less satisfied with the bronchial 
condition (also on the left) than when he last examined me. However, 
he painted away with great vigour (a vigour I damned well had time 
to appreciate in the course of Sunday afternoon— 16 April—and 

* Engels had arranged the remittance through the bankers Kayser & Co. Kaiser 
= Emperor.-* See this volume, pp. 238-43.-* intense atmospheric disturbances - 
4 for the time being-° seismic disturbances-' pleurisy-* relapse 

night, and right into the small hours of Monday—17 April!).— 
Incidentally, Dr Stephann shares my view that bronchial trouble is 
inseparable from this weather and, such being the case, any prolon- 
gation of my stay here could only have unfavourable consequences. 
He thinks he will be able to let me leave, with a written diagnosis, at 
the end of April unless something unforeseen should happen—e.g. 
the weather here take a distinct turn for the better or, which seems 
unlikely, my health take a turn for the worse. All things being equal, 
then, I should leave on 2 May, being delivered back to Marseilles by the 
selfsame Said under the same Captain Mace (very nice chap) who 
brought me to Algiers, and from there should go and try my luck at 
Cannes, Nice or Menton. So don’t send me either letters or anything 
in the way of documents or newspapers from London, unless it be gust 
AFTER THE RECEIPT OF THESE LINES. But should I change my mind in the 
meantime, I shall at once notify you from here. 

I am afraid that ‘:row’ may arrive in Algiers after not only I, but 
also the Casthelaz ramity, have evacuated Africa; all the world’s pre- 
paring to take flight. You must excuse the meagreness of this missive. 
The night of the 16th to 17th April was sleepless because of the vigour 
of the painting; no pain from the 17th to the 18th April because the 
ASSISTANT DOCTOR * had already attended to me by 7 o’clock yesterday 
morning; but the itching due to the formation of new skin banished 
sleep for the 2nd night running. Since, in addition, 1 went for a stroll 
(2 whole hours) very early this morning, iw begryp* (I can no longer 
recall how the Dutch spell it, but I still hear the ui begreip!—— what it’s 
got to do with ‘concept’, God alone knows -— as enunciated in the old 
days at Zalt-Bommel *°* by Pastor Rothhaus’s* wife, since divorced 
and replaced by my cousin‘), iN ONE word, as you can conceive, J have 
got to lay my head on my pillow and make up for some sleep. Mean- 
while:— sleep, what would’st thou more? Only first let me tell you 
about the rotten trick played by the French authorities on a poor, 
thieving Arab, a poor, multiple assassin by profession. Only at the 
last minute — on THE Moment, as the infamous cockneys say, ‘TO LAUNCH’ 
the poor sinner ‘into ETERNITY’ did he discover that he wasn’t going to 
be shot but guillotined! This, in defiance of prior arrangements! In defi- 
ance of promises! He was guillotined despite what had been agreed. 
But that wasn’t all. The French having always permitted this hith- 

* Maurice Casthelaz-> You [can] conceive-° A. Roodhuizen-* Antoinette Philips 

137, Engels to Bernstein. 21 April 1882 247 

erto, his relatives had expected the head and body to be handed over 
to them so that they could sew the former to the latter and then bury 
the ‘whole’. Quod non!* Howls, imprecations and gnashing of teeth; 
the French authorities dug their heels in, the first time they had done 
so! Now, when the body arrives in paradise, Mohammed will ask, 
‘Where have you left your head? Or, how did the head come to be 
parted from its body? You’re not fit to enter paradise. Go and join 
those dogs of Christians in hell!’ And that’s why his relations were so 
upset. 

Your 
otp Moor 

On closer inquiry —I hadn’t asked him before— Stephann told 
me that, although he doesn’t speak German, he is the son of a Ger- 
man, His father emigrated to Algiers from the Palatinate (Landau).