My dear Lafargue,

Herewith 25 English circulars.*22

When are you going to send me back the—deciphered—letter from
Lyons?* I wouldn’t like to seem negligent or in any way discourteous
towards French working men.

Since the Sozialdemokrat and the Berlin Volksblatt have published

See this volume, p.306

German translations, there is no further need for a separate edition to be
printed over here. In any case, which text ought we to use?

1) French text: The Socialist League of England?! and the Danish
Socialists ... have given their prior assent to the resolutions to be taken.

2) English text: W. Morris of the Socialist League and the Danes, etc.,
etc.

3) German text in the Berlin translation (probably Liebknecht’s): The
Socialist League and the Danes have made their excuses, and the Socialist
League has given prior assent to the resolutions, etc., (according to this
version the Danes did not assent).

Since the Possibilists have German friends in Paris and English ones
over here, it seems not unlikely that they will get wind of these discrepancies. That would be most undesirable, and we can only hope it won’t
happen; but you can also see what might result from yet another circular,“? featuring yourselves as ‘the whole of the French working class’—
the translations would again vary, for you may be sure that Liebknecht
would change that in the German.

A hundred English circulars go off to America tomorrow.

The Star hasn’t printed the circular yet. Massingham was out when
Bernstein called yesterday.

Aveling’s play went off better than I had hoped—it’s a sketch, very
well made, but ends, after the manner of Ibsen, without a solution—
something to which English audiences are not accustomed. The piece
preceded another—by Baby Rose and someone else***—a very free
English version of Conflicto entre dos deberes* by Echegaray. This one,
being strongly spiced with sensationalism, went down very well,
although ponderous and vulgar and in the English taste.

Yours ever,

EE.