AT LE PERREUX 

London, 30 March 1891 

My dear Laura, 

Very many thanks for your kind offer to revise Ravé '°° gua en sera 
ravi*—but I am afraid you will not be ravie.? I have made him do 
me a sample—-two passages from the last chapter, pp. 121 and 
140, '9°— which I have looked over and now submit to you with my 
notes and suggested alterations. Please look it over and then decide 
for yourself, whether you will undertake the job. Like all professional 
translators he is the slave of his original and forgets that a phrase to be 
done from French into German and vice versa, has to be turned topsy- 
turvy. Moreover he does not understand the synonymic nuance ex- 
pressed by many German words; he knows what genus it belongs to, 
but not what species, much less what variety. But that, I am afraid, 
most translators will fail in. 

I shall write to Ravé that I have sent the manuscript to Monsieur 
Lafargue (whom he suggests as revisor) and that I cannot give him 
a definite answer until I hear from him. As he mentioned Paul, 
I thought it best not to mix_you up with the matter at the present stage. 

Jollymeier is coming to-night at last. At Christmas he had a cold 
and seems to have kept it until now. He intended coming last Thurs- 
day‘ but his cold got worse, and as the weather was bad, delayed 
from day to day. Yesterday it was nice and warm, but he did not turn 
up, today at last he writes announcing his arrival to-night aber sich- 
er." His deafness seems to bother him awfully. 

Sam arrived at Liverpool last Thursday week, and is with his par- 
ents at Bumford, will be here about end of this or beginning of next 
week. Had himself thoroughly examined on arrival by Gumpert who 
reports him perfectly sound, with only a small enlargement of the 
spleen, which is expected to be soon curable. 

Pumps and Percy are now staying at the old Roshers’, they have giv- 
en up their house and stored the furniture until their removal to 

* who will be delighted - > delighted - * 26 March - 4 for sure 

Ryde, Isle of Wight, whither Percy will go this week with his brothers 
to make the commercial arrangements for the new agency for Rosh- 
ers’ cement, artificial stone, and builders’ and gardeners’ materials 
generally. After that, he will take Pumps to select a house and then 
the transfer will take place. I do hope Percy will at last learn how to 
earn his own living, it’s a pretty penny they have cost me and the 
worst of it is there is no return in the shape of benefit to the party. Of 
course I shall have to go on subsidising for a year or two until the new 
business can be expected to begin paying. 

Annie has left us and is going to be married this week. We have 
taken two girls as I want Louise to help me in my work and not waste 
her time in the kitchen. The devil’s trouble it was to get girls but I 
believe we have been lucky —so far — that is the first week — we are 
satisfied. They are two girls who have been together and prefer to 
be again at one and the same place. 

The May demonstration will be a severe letting down to the Social 
Democratic Federation ?° and Hyndman. Their over-cleverness, in 
trying to play off the Trades Council' against the Lega] Eight 
Hours League, *°° has landed them between two stools. They quite 
forgot that this year the Trades Council has a quite different majority 
to that of last year. They wanted again two platforms for themselves, 
but will not get them, as they are represented neither on the Trades 
Council nor on the Legal 8 Hours Committee (they sent three dele- 
gates but these soon stayed away and their names were consequently 
struck off the roll). Moreover, Edward, in return for the slanderous 
attacks of Hyndman, '?° now takes the offensive and will have the 
matter brought before the East End branch of the Social Democratic 
Federation. Indeed, Hyndman seems already to show the white 
feather. 

Bernstein says he saw in La Justice that on the 1 May Committee 
in Paris the Broussists* applied for admission, that the Blanquists and 
Allemanists 5? were against, but that on Guesde’s motion they were 
admitted by a majority of 5. Can you give me any details? as contra- 
diction or confirmation? 7°! I hear nothing at all about Brousse and 
Co. now, are they merely lying in wait, or are they so completely 
down that they dare not stir? I should like to be well au courant of these 
matters, as the Brussels Congress '35 will very likely bring about 
a change in the relations of the Social Democratic Federation and the 
Possibilists with the Germans. If these two sets of intriguers go to 
Brussels and thereby publicly renounce their pretensions of being the 

only to be acknowledged parties in England and France, then the 
Germans will not be able to refuse entering into communication with 
them. And from Liebknecht’s way of acting at present, I should not 
wonder if he were to try to play the Possibilists off against you, and 
the Social Democratic Federation against us here, as a means of mak- 
ing you and us more pliant towards himself. 1 do not know if you read 
the Vorwérts, but here we are all disgusted with it. Never had a large 
party such a miserable organ. Anyhow, to be able to guard against 
possibilities, I have a particular interest just now in the doings, 
sayings and position of Brousse and Co. 
Kind regards from Louise. 

Ever yours, 

F.E. 

Will Paul hop over the water while at Calais?