London, 5 February 1884 

My dear Laura, 

I knew he* would turn up again. Received the Travailleur. Much 
amused that Paul and Guesde had ‘mangqué train’. 157 Hope soon to 
receive good news about the children,° Tussy is rather anxious about 
them; and hope you got over your cold. Nim has caught one just as 
bad as yours can be, I wanted her last night to take a hot whisky 
night-cap, but she declined, so you may think. Pumps is below, she 
called yesterday with Elsa, who looks as plain as ever (and quite as 
angular at the same time), they met Tussy and Aveling here, who 
called on business; Bradlaugh and Mrs Besant are furious at the new 

b 

* Paul Lafargue- ° ‘missed the train’- ° Jean, Edgar, Marcel and Jenny Longuet 

Socialist ‘rage’ in London which threatens to cut short their vittles, 
and so have opened an attack or two on Tussy and Aveling. Brad- 
laugh throws about the most mysterious innuendos about Mohr’s 
having preached assassination and. arson and having been in secret 
league with Continental governments,— but nothing tangible. 
I want to get him to come out a bit more, before I unmask my 
batteries. 

Nim and I are now busy among the books at Maitland Park.'*° 
There are a good many that would be uselessly heaped up in my 
place or at Tussy’s, indeed there will be no room here for more than 
half. Now there is a lot of good French books and valuable, which we 
thought might be more useful in your and Paul’s hands than any- 
where else, for instance: 

Mably, Oeuvres completes. 

Adam Smith in French (capital edition bound).’ 

Malthus — ditto.” 

Guizot, Histoire de la civilisation en France. 

All the books about the French Revolution (Loustalot,° deux amis de 
la liberté, etc., etc.). 

Now if you will have them we will send them to you free of charge. 
I cannot make out a complete list. Also if Paul wants any more Ame- 
rican official publications, there are lots —I shall require but a few. 
There are some other books of yours here (Old England Dramatists 
etc.) which can be sent same time. 

Please let me know soon, as time becomes pressing and we are in an 
awful embarras de richesses.° The Russian books we have promised to 
Lavroff, he is I think positively entitled to them, being Danielson’s 
next friend outside Russia. Another lot of duplicates, etc., we intend 
sending to Zurich— part for the Partei-Archiv,'** part for a biblio- 
théque de rédaction. The Blue Books !*! mostly to Sam Moore for use 
with the translation.© And a few ‘popular’ things to the Arbeiterve- 
rein here.)? 

Now if you or Paul should wish for any particular books besides, 
please say so, and we will forward everything not absolutely required 
here. 

2 A. Smith, Recherches sur la nature et les causes de la richesse des nations. - 
> T.R. Malthus, Essai sur le principe de population...-* Elisée Loustalot published 
a weekly Révolutions de Paris.-‘ difficulty over the sheer amount-° of the first vol- 
ume of-Capital into English (see Note 56) 

Yesterday I received a letter from a certain Nonne,* Kandidat der 
Philologie, was here some time ago, now in Paris, resides 56 Boule- 
vard de Port-Royal. He is a leading man amongst the German work- 
men in Paris who you recollect had a few years ago been coaxed 
round by Malon’s soft sawder, and were further pushed in that direc- 
tion by some stupid blunders of the Citoyen. They are now furious 
anti-Broussists since the ‘international Conference’ !!*; but still thick 
with Adhémar Leclére and his Cercle international.!? I have asked 
Paul several times to get into connection with the Paris Germans. 
They are not worth much, but they influence the German party as to Pa- 
nsian affairs. Since the Socialist Law,3’ these societies abroad have na- 
turally recovered an influence much above their merits, as they are 
the only bodies remaining in possession of a public organisation. It 
will be difficult for the Sozialdemokrat to go direct against them in its 
judgment of Parisian internal quarrels. So they are worth coaxing 
a bit, which will not be difficult, and as the man is your neighbour, 
I thought best to send him my card ‘pour introduire M. Nonné auprés de 
M. et M-me Lafargue’.? Whether anything will come of it I don’t know, 
anyhow I hope you will excuse the liberty I have taken. 

Sorry I could not see much of citoyen Robelet— he came, was seen 
and vanished again. 

Will Paul favour us with a few words about his mysterious adven- 
tures in la Province?'57 

What has become of the citoyenne Paule Mink '°*? The last reports 
were ‘gwelle se multipliait dans le midi© and, what after this is 
not so much to be wondered at, ‘qu’elle développait son sujet 
The outcome?? 

Yours affectionately, 
F. Engels 

Would you please forward as soon as ever possible another copy of 
Deville’s Capital? Kautsky is to translate it, but Meissner’s permis- 
sion is necessary and I cannot expect to get it unless I send him the 
original.* 

* For Engels’ reply see next letter.-” ‘to introduce. Mr Nonne to Mr and Mrs. La- 
Pan a 3 

fargue’-° ‘that she was being torn to pieces in the south’-¢ ‘that she was elaborating 
her subject’-° See this volume, p. 76. 

56. Engels to Nonne. Between 9 and 21 February 1884 97 

How about the new edition of the Misére de la philosophie? People 
keep bothering me about it. Has anything been done?!