--- Title: Engels to Henry William Lee, [London], 16 April 1894 Description: Draft of Engels's reply to Lee, secretary of the Social Democratic Federation, who had invited him to lecture: Engels does not lecture anywhere and keeps aloof from the S.D.F. as long as the charges made against him in Justice are not withdrawn. Author: Friedrich Engels Date: 1894-04-16 URL: https://marxismo.school/archivo/marx-engels/cartas/originales/1894-04-16%20Engels%20to%20Henry%20William%20Lee --- *Draft of a letter from Friedrich Engels to Henry William Lee, secretary of the Social Democratic Federation, in London, [London], 16 April 1894; the place, in square brackets, is supplied by us. Manuscript preserved at the IISG (Karl Marx / Friedrich Engels Papers, inv. K 972), transcribed from the digital facsimile by the Escuela de marxismo, 2026 (double reading and collation with the image). Written in English. Diplomatic transcription: spelling, capitals and punctuation as in the manuscript; deletions as ~~text~~; interlinear additions inserted where marked, with a note; [?] after an uncertain reading. [Traducción al español](https://marxismo.school/archivo/marx-engels/cartas/1894-04-16%20Engels%20a%20Henry%20William%20Lee)* 16 April 94 Dear C. – Both you & the ~~[ilegible] [ilegible]~~ party who suggested to you the idea of my lecturing for you, must have been aware that I have so far made it a strictly[?] kept[?] to[^1] ~~never have been in the habit~~ of lecturing anywhere. But apart from that, I find myself in a peculiar position with regard to you, that is, if I rightly understand, the S.D.F.[^2] your letter You ~~must~~ cannot ignore that for a long series of years & up to a comparatively recent period[^3] „Justice“, the organ of the S.D.F., has constantly attacked me and brought all sorts of charges against me. While[^4] No attempt has ever been made to prove these charges, they[^5] ~~but nor~~ have never[^6] ~~they~~ been withdrawn ~~nor the responsibility for them [ilegible] declined by the S.D.F.~~[^7] ✝[^8]. In consequence I have been compelled ~~to~~ keep entirely aloof from ~~the~~ your[^9] S.D.F. & do not see how I can change my attitude ~~to [ilegible]~~ unless that difficulty is entirely removed. Yours faithfully ✝ nor has the S.D.F. ever disclaimed any responsibility for ~~what[?] Justice the contents of~~ what[^10] „Justice“ wrote. H. W. Lee Secy Soc. Dem. Fed.[^11] [^1]: «have so far made it a strictly[?] kept[?] to» written above the line, over the deleted words. [^2]: Below the initials «S.D.F.» the letters «oc», «em», «ed» are written, completing «Soc Dem Fed»; «the S.D.F.» and «your letter» are enclosed together in a line. [^3]: «& up to a comparatively recent period» written above the line. [^4]: «While» written above «No», which is not deleted. [^5]: «charges, they» written above the line. [^6]: «never» written above the line. [^7]: Written above the line and deleted. [^8]: The cross refers to the addition written below the closing formula. [^9]: «your» written above the line. [^10]: «what» written above the line. [^11]: The addressee's name and office, written by Engels at the foot of the draft.