Letter to Amélie Engel, around 1879-1880

Author(s) Friedrich Engels
Written 1879


First published in: Marx and Engels, Works, First Russian Edition, Vol. XXIX, Moscow 1946
Published in English for the first time in Marx-Engels Collected Works, Volume 45


ENGELS TO AMÉLIE ENGEL[1]

IN LONDON

[Draft]

[London, around 1879-1880]

Madame,

Many years of experience have impressed upon me the principle that under no circumstances should one give financial aid to strangers.

Moreover I cannot at this moment raise the sum you want. Were I able to do so, I should be under an obligation to use it, as I do every penny I can spare, for the relief of our German party comrades who are being persecuted by Bismarck.

Besides, since you have connections that will procure you audiences with princesses, you are unlikely to experience difficulty in extricating yourself from this momentary embarrassment.

Finally, I cannot refrain from mentioning that, while your visit came as a surprise to me, I have since then been equally certain of receiving a request of the kind contained in your letter.

Yours very truly

  1. ↑ The rough draft of this letter was written on the spare page of one Amélie Engel's letter to Engels, in which she asked for financial assistance. Nothing further is known about Engels' letter.