Ryde, 20 August 1892 

Dear August, 

Your letter of the 17th arrived this morning. I am replying at once 
because, tomorrow being Sunday and this being England, there 
would otherwise be no certainty of my note reaching you while you 
are still in St. Gallen. For I wanted to ask you to observe caution vis- 
a-vis K. Kautsky in regard to Ede. The latter is definitely on the 
mend, as his article in the Neue Zeit goes to show, °*? and we must do 
nothing that might interfere with this. Where his friendship with Ede 
is concerned, K. Kautsky isn’t exactly the soul of discretion and 
should his letters suggest to Ede that we were secretly conspiring to 
counteract his enthusiasm for Fabianism, °’ it might bring about a seri- 
ous relapse. Neurasthenics are mistrustful, and in my view his vexa- 
tion over the Lassalle business * was not only the first symptom of his 
illness but also quite definitely the cause of its onset. So we must see 
that there isn’t a recurrence. | also suspect that his unduly high opi- 

* See this volume, pp. 253-54, 316. 

nion of the Fasians is partly attributable to his illness and that this will 
subside provided we don’t keep harping on the subject. 

Yesterday at long last a letter arrived from the Witch in which she 
grumbles about my not coming. But how could I help it? And what 
would she have said if I had been stricken down in Engelskirchen or 
Zurich, as I surely would have been had I set out? And far worse 
stricken than here, where I could deal with the thing in good time. 
She also tells me that, whatever happens, she will accompany you to 
Berlin. 

I am very glad that I need not embark on the journey, if it comes 
off, before 7 September. That gives me a whole month’s rest, by 
which time I hope I’ll be fit to travel again. Since yesterday I 
have at last noted signs of improvement — very slight, but something 
at any rate. So we shall have to see. 

Apropos — have we still got lawyers in Cologne who are members 
of the party? I still don’t quite trust my Prussians and if I had the 
address of one such I should be armed against all eventualities. 

I was very distressed by what you wrote and told me about Vic- 
tor. °*7 Let’s hope you’ll be able to find some solution. His wife’s 
health also depends on this— worry about the future is said to have 
been largely responsible for her illness. I had no idea that things were 
so bad. But the Austrians are like the French and Irish, none of whom 
are capable of collecting contributions regularly. What is asserting it- 
self here is the Celtic blood of their forebears, the Norici, who 
were first Romanised and then Germanised. If you want to get an 
idea of how the General Council of the International fared with the 
French and their contributions, you should read Paul’s two Epis- 
tles — especially the second —- to the Corinthians, * throughout which 
he complains that /es cotisations ne rentrent pas. 

Couldn’t you vote the Austrian party a regular subsidy on condi- 
tion that it goes to Victor? He would, after all, soon be kicked out of 
Germany since, unlike K. Kautsky, he’d be obliged to work, not on 
a learned journal* but on a propagandist paper. 

The Lancashire cotton operatives are almost literally falling over 
each other to vote for the 8-hour day (48-hour week). Today the de- 
legates are meeting in Manchester. Yesterday in Preston, there were 
3,600 for and 600 against. But this is a question that Lancashire will 

@ 2 Corinthians, Ch. 7-9-° the contributions are not coming in-‘ Die Neue Zeit 

decide for the rest of England because last year it was still the seat of 
concerted opposition. 

It was Mrs Croesel (she’s even better than her husband) who told 
Tussy the stories about the London Independents’ Club.* But no 
harm will be done if we save the thing up until we are all back in Lon- 
don again. As regards the source of the money, there might still be 
some interest left over from the Guelph funds, ?*° and the stupidity of 
the police is beyond all bounds. At all events, Gilles had and may 
still have a great deal of money at his disposal. The other chaps are 
his men of straw. 

Today comes the pleasing news that William” refuses to have any 
truck with the proposal for a two-year period of military service. °*° 
But since this carrot has already been dangled before the noses of the 
philistines, even the National Liberals *!* will find it hard to relinquish 
it. And this means better chances for a dissolution of the Reichstag. 

What pitiful creatures these German bourgeois are! With the gov- 
ernment’s financial requirements increasing year by year, they could 
no be better placed to purchase a concession of political power in re- 
turn for each grant of supply, as the English have been doing in 
a small way from time immemorial. But they don’t want to; they leave 
all the power in the hands of the government and are content to hag- 
gle over a few paltry pence. 

Cordial regards to Mrs Julie‘ and to Mrs Frieda and husband. ¢ 

Your old friend, 
F.E. 

The Roshers send their kindest regards. 
I shall be staying here at any rate until the 31st. 3°