WEITLING AND MARX 113
Heinzen, a friend of the early days who later turned into an
enemy, considered him a sophist and mere dialectician, who
hopped like an "ape" from one Hegelian thesis and antithesis to
another.^13
Brussels in the 1840's harbored many refugees. Among them
were Freiligrath, "the trumpeter of the revolution"; Heinzen, who
was in exile because of his attacks on the Prussian bureaucracy;
Joachim Lelewel, a Polish refugee; Heinrich Burgers, a commu
nist, and many others. Marx spent three years among this group in
Brussels, and it was here that he met Engels, destined to become
his alter ego. Before discussing the violent differences that de
veloped among these expatriates, it is pleasant to recall that they
also had the capacity to enjoy the lighter side of life. They
gathered frequently in the city's coffeehouses, not only to discuss
their plans for reform and to issue revolutionary brochures, but
also to enjoy the camaraderie of such convivial occasions. Several
witnesses attest that Marx enjoyed his liquor but did not hold it
well, and according to Heinzen, he had to be taken home by his
friends on several occasions. Joseph Weydemeyer, an ardent dis
ciple, in a letter to his fiancee written in February of 1846, de
scribed the gay hours spent in the taverns or in sitting up all night
playing cards, and reported that in a four-handed game played by
Weydemeyer, Marx, his brother-in-law, and Weitling, the last-
named generally "got tired first."
Weitling arrived in Belgium shortly after he had lost his en
counter with Schapper in London. He must have realized that his
influence was declining, and his prison experiences had made him
unusually suspicious of treachery in the ranks. Engels described
him as "no longer the naive journeyman tailor, astonished by his
own talents," but "a great man, persecuted by the envious, sur
rounded by rivals, secret enemies and plots," the prophet harried
from country to country, carrying the recipe for the complete(^13) See Carl Wittke, Against the Current: The Life of Karl Heinzen (Chicago,
1945), 237-39. See also Bakunin's comments, in Tim Klein, 1848: Der Vorkampf
deutscher Einheit und Freiheit (Munich, 1914), 98.