10 Bayrische Str.Leipzig.Apr. 14, 65. Dear Williams!

So you are all right again. Well, you had given us a tremendous fright; I really thought you had resolved on doing your enemies the only kindness, they have ever to expect from you, viz removing from this vale of sorrow.—

By the bye, mind what Kugelmann wrote you Siehe L. Kugelmann an Marx, 30.3.1866. in his professional capacity. He is an excellent physician.

Now about the Int. A. The six cards International Working Men’s Association. Member’s Annual Subscription Card [for 1866]. [London 1865]. Marx übersandte die Mitgliedskarten der IAA an Liebknecht mit seinem Brief vom 15. Januar 1866. Siehe Marx an W. Liebknecht, 15.1.1866 und Erl. are disposed of; for three I have not yet got the money; that for the other three I should send you now, if I had the amount ready. (you will get the 2 reichstaler with one of my next letters). The misfortune is, I am so overwhelmed with work (business-, domestic etc.) that I cannot well attend to those small matters, else I might have squeezed all the money out and disposed of many more cards. However I should like some more, as I have several people willing to join. The members here are all more or less influential men. In a short time I hope to have regular assistance and then better outward results will be shown. I say “outward”—for in reality things have progressed better, than could be expected. The workingmen of this town (and the same holds good for a great part of Germany); but yesterday the unthinking tools (and fools) of the “liberal” middle class, are now fighting under their own banner; of course there is much to be desired yet, still the separation of classes is taking place, the old fusion and confusion (Schulze's “Urbrei”) rapidly giving way to a clearer view of men and things. I am accused of having thrown the torch of discord in this “democratic” fools' paradise called Leipzig, where the workmen-wolves were grazing peacefully and “kemiedlig” (guess what it means) at the side of the capitalist-lambs “democrats” good and true all of them. Query? Who are the wolves and who the lambs? Omne simile claudicat.Jedes Gleichnis hinkt (lat.).) Unfortunately the pious scoundrels, whose bile I have stirred up, put something of a denunciatory character into their attacks, and I must take great care, if I want to avoid a repetition of my last Berlin experience.Zur Ausweisung Liebknechts aus Berlin siehe Erl. zu Marx an W. Liebknecht, 15.1.1866. In spite of the hatred these “Saechser” wear to Bismarck, they would take the slightest hint of his police, to send me into some other Deutsches Vaterland. And especially now they are so terribly afraid of the Pickelhauben.

Now I come to the principal drawback of the I. A. movement in Germany—the necessity of confining ourselves to individual memberships. The “Vereinsgesetze” have lately been carried out with great severity and strictness;Siehe Erl. zu W. Liebknecht an Marx, 21.1.1866. here in Saxony the “Arbeiterbildungsvereine” were offered (a few months ago) the “favour” of being allowed to form so called “Gauverbände”, that is, to establish a common organisation and correspondence; but to the “favour” the condition was added, that the societies should not have to meddle with politics, social questions etc. The delegates assembled to examine the “present” had sense and honour enough to decline the gift; but the consequence was that all the “Vereine” have since been put under a pretty close control. Under these circumstances it is quite impossible to found public sections of the I. A., and to make any considerable Propaganda under its firm. I have lectured about it, everybody is for it, but people don't see of what practical use it is, to join a society, that for them only exists as an ungraspable “idea”. The only way, to make practical direct propaganda for the I. A. would be the establishment of a German Press organ, Becker's Vorbote not being what is wanted. However, I won't dream of such things. Of course, I shall be able, or rather we shall be able to collect a small knot of workmen round the I. A. Banner, but on the whole I must confine myself to work for the principles; and that I have done successfully until now. I must use the existing societies, and before long I hope to have a great many of them at our disposition.

Oh! if we but had a review or a weekly paper, however small! And, as this cannot be, if it were but possible that, besides your Economy,Gemeint ist hier Karl Marx: Das Kapital; siehe Erl. zu Marx an J. Ph. Becker, zw. 9. u. 15.1.1866. some smaller works could be republished, before all Engels' Lage der arbeitenden etc. Friedrich Engels: Die Lage der arbeitenden Klasse in England. Nach eigner Anschauung und authentischen Quellen. Leipzig 1845. Liebknecht hatte schon mehrfach die Notwendigkeit angesprochen, diese Arbeit neu herauszugeben. Siehe z. B. MEGA2 III/13. Br. 200.61–64, Br. 210.59–61, Br. 221.5–7, Br. 260.26–27, Br. 299.8–9 und Br. 336.21–23. Siehe auch Erl. zu Marx an Engels, 10.2.1866. in a new Edition. That would be a splendid auxiliary to your work, something like a practical demonstratio ad oculos.Beweis durch Augenschein (lat.).

I told you already,—and you must neither forget nor neglect it—that I am on good terms with the South- and Middle german “Volkspartei”,Die Demokratische Volkspartei (1863–1866). that their organ, Eckard's “Deutsches Wochenblatt” Zum „Deutschen Wochenblatt“ (Mannheim) siehe auch Georg Eckert: Das „Deutsche Wochenblatt“ und die Internationale Arbeiter-Assoziation. In: Archiv für Sozialgeschichte. Bd. 4. Hannover 1964. S. 579–598. is unreservedly at our service,Siehe W. Liebknecht an Marx, 18.1.1866 und Erl. and that I have some other papers, that will take anything coming from us.

See, that notices announcing the appearance of the Economy are printed, and published in time; and as soon as the work is out, Engels ought to write a Review ...

You will have perceived that our FortschrittlerMitglieder der Deutschen Fortschrittspartei (1861–1884). are preparing to turn Bismarck's Parliament into a pretext, to run over to him. If he got Bonaparte's help for a war against Austria, or rather if he was allowed to join (as an active or passive ally) Bonaparte in a war against Austria, the whole Fortschrittsparty would be Bonaparto-Bismarckisch. But I don't think Bonaparte will get out of his Mexican scrapeDie französische Intervention in Mexiko 1861–1867. in time, for that last convention is only a miserable humbug.—As a reminiscence of the late War panic I will yet tell you, that I never witnessed a more wretched spectacle than those “liberal” (even “democratic”) Philisters cowering down like a flock of sheep, and with eyes shut waiting for the blow to fall down on their posteriors. And we “the nation of thinkers”! Lucus a non lucendo.Sprichwörtlich (lat.) für die Bezeichnung einer falschen Etymologie, die Herleitung eines Wortes aus seinem Gegenteil – Der Hain wird lucus genannt, weil es darin nicht hell ist (non lucet). Nach Marcus Fabius Quintilianus: De institutione oratoria. I, 6, 34.

Apropos German affairs are now rather interesting, would it not be possible for the “Commonwealth” to take (and pay moderately) a weekly letter from Germany? I am really at my wit's end; all my papers pay badly and irregularly, and those constant money-cares make me half ill. I have about 500 reichstaler a year certain, and want about two hundred more—by God a modest wish!—then I might manage to live—and to work ten times better than at present. You must know, that all German papers, that pay well, either belong to the “Reaction” or to the “Fortschrittler” and so I am sitting between two chairs. It is true, Keil, Brockhaus etc. asked me to write for them, but somehow I found it impossible.

Good bye. Write soon; mind your health; my love to all. My wife encloses a letter.Der Brief von Ernestine Liebknecht, vermutlich an Jenny Marx und geschrieben spätestens am 14. April 1866, konnte nicht ermittelt werden.

Yours trulyJ. Miller.

/ Dont' forget to send the papers regularly.— I am a Pechvogel; Weiss has been forced out of the Berlin “Reform” „Berliner Reform“. and Toby Hund aus dem traditionellen englischen Puppenspiel „Punch and Judy“, das dem deutschen Kaspertheater ähnlich ist. Von Marx, Engels und ihren Freunden wurde Toby als Spottname für Eduard Meyen benutzt. Der demokatische Journalist Eduard Meyen, der im Hamburger „Freischütz“ für Karl Vogt Patei ergriffen hatte, war von Marx in seiner Streitschrift „Herr Vogt“ mit dem Hund Toby auf dem Titelblatt des humoristischen Wochenblatts „Punch, or the London Charivari“ verglichen worden (siehe MEGA2 I/18. S. 253.4–255.40). has wormed himself in again. W. had just invited me, to write for the paper!— /