The Life and Work of Friedrich Engels/Chapter 13
An End to "Sweet Commerce"
Towards the end of 1868 we find Engels concerned with the ending of his partnership in the cotton business, and it proves what a good man of business he must have been that his partner, Ermen, was willing to buy him out with a large sum of money in return for Engels binding himself not to open up a business in the same trade on his own account (a thing Engels would, in any case, not have dreamt of doing, as we have seen above).
However, Engels' one concern was that he should have enough to support Marx adequately, and as the sum offered him by Ermen would be sufficient to enable him to give Marx a regular £350 a year, besides paying for unforeseen incidental expenses—doctor's bills, etc., for about five or six years, he asks Marx to let him know the exact sum of his debts and whether if he (Engels) clears these completely first he could then manage to live on £350 (and extras) without making any further debts, as upon that depends how he will deal with Ermen's offer. What will happen after the five or six years he does not know. He will even then be able to assure Marx at least £150 a year, and he hopes that something else may turn up so as to enable him to make that sum larger, and that Marx's literary work may bring him in something. If £350 is not sufficient, Marx must let him know immediately what yearly sum would be enough. No wonder Marx replies that he is quite "knocked down" by Engels' goodness!
At last, July 1, 1869, Engels writes:—
"Hurrah! To-day I have done with sweet commerce and am a free man. … Gottfried (Ermen) has given way in everything. Tussy (Marx's youngest daughter Eleanor, who was spending a few weeks with Engels and his wife) and I have celebrated my first free day by taking a long country walk this morning. In addition, my eye (he had been troubled with his eyes for some time) is getting much better, and with a little care will be quite all right soon.
"The balances and lawyers will still tie me somewhat for a few more weeks—but this will no longer mean the enormous loss of time of hitherto. …"
To this Marx replies:—
"Best congratulations on your liberation from the Egyptian bondage! In honour of this event, I have taken a glass too much, bu late in the evening, not like the Prussian gendarmes before dawn. …"