Sitting in Krakow’s Henryk Jordan Park, Luxemburg writes a personal letter to Luise Kautsky.

‘From Cracow’ (1905) by Rosa Luxemburg from Letters to Karl and Luise Kautsky from 1896 to 1918. Robert M. McBride and Company, New York. 1925.

Cracow, Aug. 10, 1905. care Mrs. Warschawska,¹ ulica Szlak 5.5.

Dearest Lulu:

To your surprise and my own I am now sitting in Krohkew, and am about to send you a birthday kiss from the beautiful Jordan Park on the shores of Mother Vistula. Unfortunately I am much disturbed by the circumstance that I don’t know where my thoughts and my wishes are to look for you: whether in the Tyrolese or in the Friedenau Alps. Through my sudden departure I am as though cut off from the world, and I don’t know whether or not you have replied to Friedenau to my question about your return. I deem it safer, nevertheless, to send this message of love into the rough mountains, though I should like to emphasize once more that you, my dear, must next time really pick out a handier and safer date for your birthday,— one that does not forever keep floating about in space, deceitfully and waggishly, somewhere between vacation and non-vacation, between the Tyrol and Schoneberg. I embrace you and “squeeze thee” together with your spectrum firmly to my heart and observe that I have taken the liberty of showing you a little palpable attention on the occasion of your birthday, in that I have quickly had a couple of rails laid between our two houses during your absence, so that we may at last hasten to each other with desired speed. I have personally observed the growth of this symbolical representation of the liaison of our hearts from day to day and with all my seven senses. The result of this and other similar circumstances was that I suddenly decided to hasten somewhere for my recuperation, at least for two weeks. I was all packed and ready to go to Clara—at least I had prepared Puck for this—when at the last moment Mrs. Warschawska enticed me to visit her out in the country, but before I arrived, the country had been changed into the City of Cracow, and here I am! Besides, this is the third night that I “haven’t closed an eye,”—in most terrible reality at that, and not merely in my dream, like Rebe Pawel.² For, I wasn’t the only living creature in the bed, but was treated as “obnoxious foreigner” by its hereditary inhabitants in such a fashion that I finally had to yield and take to flight from the “mattress vault.” And now, after all these sleepless nights, I am fidgety, feverish, and my heated imagination goes astray into entirely unwonted fields. You see, I dream incessantly—so vain have I become, just imagine!—of a beautiful new dress richly ornamented with tresses! People here show me the grave of Kosciuszko, the tombs of the Polish kings, the old alma mater Cracow and other highly “patriotic” objects, but I continue to think secretly, “Oh, how much I should like to have tresses here or there! Or else—be in Friedenau, far away from the beloved fatherland.”³

By heaven! I would give ten fatherlands for an existence without bedbugs.

I suppose Hans has written or told you how we went on one successful and one unsuccessful escapade. He intended to leave immediately thereafter and not return until you were back. I’ll tell you many a funny thing when we meet again. From Hans, the vice-sergeant of cavalry, I have already received a long, very dear letter which I shall show you later. Bertha, too, has left. I hope you will all return refreshed and happy. I shall return from the Cracow adventure about the 21st. Until then, a hearty embrace and kiss to you as well as all the rest from

Your
Rosa

Notes.

1. Her childhood chum. L.K.

2. Paul Axelrod, a Russian socialist leader, in whose insomnia Rosa had no faith. L.K.

3. A Jewish joke about a huckster plagued by lice who, in order to be able to scratch himself uninterrupted finds all sorts of subterfuges. L.K.

Letters to Karl and Luise Kautsky from 1896 to 1918 by Rosa Luxemburg. Edited by Luise Kautsky, Translated by Louis Lochner. Robert M. McBride and Company, New York. 1925.

Contents: Introduction by Luise Kautsky, Beginnings, 1896-1899, Incipient Friendship1900-1904, From the Imprisonment at Zwickau to the First Russian Revolution, The First Russian Revolution 1905-06, Up to the World War 1907-1914, Letters from Prison During the War 1915-1918, Postscript by Luise Kautsky, Appendix: Biography of Karl Kautsky. 238 pages.

PDF of book: https://www.marxists.org/archive/luxemburg/posthumous/lettersofrosaluxemburg-1922.pdf