London, 30 November 1882 

Dear Moor, 

Encl. a letter from Bebel *°° received today. The ‘mystery’ which 
he is unable to understand all of a sudden and which may release 
them from the Anti-Socialist Law, '° is, of course, the outbreak of the 
crisis in Russia.* Curious that none of these people can get used to the 

a 

of Der Sozialdemokrat-” See this volume, pp. 414-15. 

213. Engels te Marx. 30 November 1882 39] 

idea that the impulse might come from that quarter. And it is not as 
though I haven’t explained this to him more than once. I regard his 
hopes for a new major crisis as premature — there could be an interim 
crisis as in 1842, and Germany, the most backward country indus- 
trially, which must content itself with the crumbs that fall to it from 
the demand of the world market, would certainly suffer worse than 
any other. 

Guesde was released in Montlugon immediately after the first hear- 
ing, and neither Bazin nor Lafargue was arrested; on the contrary, 
Bazin published in the Fgalité a letter to the chief of police of his ar- 
rondissement, objecting to the mouchards* that sniffed round his house 
and advising him of the times at which he could be arrested at 
home.* Those chaps have more luck than sense. I shan’t be able to 
read the Egalité until after the 5.30 post has gone; so it will reach you 
tomorrow by the 2nd post (2 nos). 

I have obtained, second-hand, Vom Entstehen und Untergange der 
polnischen Konstitution vom 3. Mai 1791, 1793, place of publication not 
given. This is the book you have mentioned so often in which the 
infamies perpetrated upon Poland by Frederick William II are 
described at length. Cost one whole mark! 

Hartmann’s battery for lighting 6 Swan incandescent lamps is ex- 
pected to be ready tomorrow. If the thing proves a success, i. e. pro- 
vides a steady light over an extended period, hence actual proof of the 
constant intensity of the current, it will at once. be exhibited in public 
and a company ‘founded’ to exploit it. Hartmann will also be show- 
ing sundry items at the Crystal Palace **' where a new electrical ex- 
hibition is shortly to be held. He and his backer, whom Percy‘ found 
for him, are highly enthusiastic about the invention. 

All well here. 

Your 
F.E.