London, 8 March 1885 

My dear Laura, 

Somehow or other I have to-night a few free moments and so sit 
down to write to you— hoping that nobody will drop in. For evening 
calls are getting rather frequent of late, more than is desirable some- 
times, when there is work to do. And the dictated portions of the Capz- 
tal* 1 am obliged to look over while the thing is fresh in my mind 
and the original at hand ready to correct mistakes. Moreover, there 
are still translations to revise (last week part of a Danish one of my 
Ursprung—very fair) and Russian pamphlets to decipher (Vera 
Zasoulitch has sent me one of Plechanoff, polemical against Lavroff 
and Tichomiroff, ° and wants me to give her my opinion, “ and besides 
these Russian quarrels are not uninteresting) and such like, so that 
besides the current small fry I have not had time to read a book for 
months. 

The 3rd book [of] Capital is getting grander and grander the deep- 
er I get into it, and I am only (having passed over entirely about 70 
pages, more or less superseded by a later manuscript) at page 230 
out of 525. It is almost inconceivable how a man who had such 
tremendous discoveries, such an entire and complete scientific revolu- 
tion in his head, could keep it there for 20 years. For the ms. I am 
working at, has been written either before, or at the same time as the 
Jirst volume; and the essential part of it is already in the old manu- 
script of 1860-1862.!7! The fact is, first the intricacies of the 2nd 
book (which he wrote last and which alone he touched after 1870) 
kept him fast, as he of course would have to publish his 3 books in 
regular order; and then, his Russian and American material for the 
theory of the rent of land would have required working up into 
the old manuscript and would probably have nearly doubled its 
size. 

* of the third volume - > The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State - 
© [Plekhanov] I. Taexanosn, Hawu pasnoznacia (Our Differences). - 4 See this volume, 
pp. 279-81. 

Here the two socialist bodies are so far jogging on alongside 
each other without collision, but the foreign department will very 
likely embroil them. You may have seen in No. 9 of the Sozialdemo- 
krat a letter from Varenholz, dictated by Hyndman. This rather schnod- 
drige* effusion required a reply which we have concocted and which 
will come, if possible, in next Saturday’s Sozialdemokrat. This time, of 
course, Aveling had to speak out, and that strong enough to stop 
Hyndman’s game once for all. °°’ 

We have Kautsky here whom I think you saw before, with 
a young Viennese wife, a nice little body.” They intend settling down 
here for the present — and live in Maitland Park; just out of the Cres- 
cent. So there is always some connection going on with the old 
place. 3°8 

Pumps and Percy are getting on as usual. On Sundays there is here 
now a great cardplaying company, some play whist if there are 4 to 
be got for that, the rest ‘Mariage’ and ‘Nap’, games introduced by 
the noble Percy. His firm had a law-suit which they lost but it is noth- 
ing serious, only I hope that it will damp poor Percy’s ardent faith in 
English law. The little ones are getting on very well upon the whole; 
Lily is very amiable and jolly. She has an extremely sharp ear and re- 
tentive memory for des jurons,© and you may be sure, that she finds 
many an opportunity to catch them. 

On Saturday’ Nim and Tussy as well as Pumps will go to High- 
gate. T cannot go, [ am still very changeable with respect to capacity 
for movement, and have just had a little bit of notice to keep quiet. 
Anyhow I shall continue working at the book which will be a monu- 
ment to him, made by himself, grander than any that other people 
could set for Mohr. Two years already on Saturday! And yet I can 
truly say that while I work at this book, I am in living communion 
with him. 

The 2nd book is getting on well. 13 sheets corrected. Will you 
please ask Paul to send me at once the address under which he writes 
to Danielson. I have had a letter from him and want to send the 
proof-sheets, but am not certain as to address which may besides 
have been changed. 

How is the Montceau Brenin Thévenin affair going on? 47° And 
has the Cri du Peuple cried his last? 

@ shabby -> Louise Kautsky-° swear-words-* 14 March 

Amitiés a Paul. 
Yours affectionately, 
F. Engels 

Nim’s love!