Karl Marx: A biography by David McLellan

LONDON

in Manchester, have observed with curious consistency in all matters

concerning me and the two gendemen. It is therefore better, so as not

to reduce our correspondence to a purely telegraphic one, for us both to

omit all references to your friends and proteges there.^166

When Engels replied in a conciliatory manner, Marx wrote:

You know that everyone has his momentary moods and nihil humani

etc. Naturally I never meant 'conspiracy' and such nonsense. You are

accustomed to some jealousy and basically what annoys me is only that

we cannot be together, work together, laugh together, while the 'pro-

teges' have you comfortably in their neighbourhood.^167

A great crisis was necessary for Marx to put his feelings on paper. When
his son was dying in 1855 he wrote to Engels: 'I cannot thank you enough
for the friendship with which you work in my stead and the sympathy
that you feel for the child.'^168 And soon afterwards: 'In all the frightful
sorrows that I have been through in these days the thought of you and
your friendship has always strengthened me, together with the hope that
we have still something purposeful to do in the world together.'^169
Engels was also on close terms with the rest of the Marx family: he
wrote from time to time to Jenny and sent cotton goods as presents, and
as 'Uncle Engels' he was very popular with the children. On occasion,
however, Marx did criticise Engels - particularly to Jenny. After Marx's
death his daughters Laura and Eleanor removed and destroyed those parts
of their parents' correspondence which contained passages that might
have hurt Engels.^170

IV. RESUMED ECONOMIC STUDIES

Considering his family circumstances, it is surprising that Marx got any

serious work done at all. His one secure refuge was the British Museum;

at home he would write up and collate the information he got there. His

working habits were no more regular than they had been in Brussels -

to judge by the report of a Prussian government spy:

In private life he is an extremely disorderly, cynical human being, and

a bad host. He leads a real gypsy existence. Washing, grooming

and changing his linen are things he does rarely, and he is often drunk.

Though he is often idle for days on end, he will work day and night

with tireless endurance when he has a great deal of work to do. He

has no fixed times for going to sleep and waking up. He often stays up

all night, and then lies down fully clothed on the sofa at midday and