Chapter IV (2)

The chancellor, Herr von Wegnern, communicated to me on the 27th ult. the letter which he received from your Excellency. This letter contains the first news I received since Nov. 7th, of last year, respecting the portrait by which our most gracious monarch intended to gratify a poor invalid: that your letter was extremely gratifying and consoling to me, is natural. It created the first ray of hope; it has unceasingly occupied me; it even gave rise to some kind of superstition, and I attributed my good health the whole month of December to the vivid hopes it had raised. This prospect of the restoration of my health, I thought, gave me hope of being able to indulge for a longer period in the pleasure which the dear picture of the “most highly revered one, affords me. I, however, do not indulge in the hope of this restoration,” since I find my own experience as frequently opposed to as in harmony with that of others, and the result of my reflections on this obscure subject, is simply this, that it is one of the innumerable questions, which are beyond the veil that separates us both from the great secrets of our own nature, and from those which nature in general interposes between first causes and perceptible phenomena. I did, however, excuse the rising superstition by recalling the indisputable truth, that vivid agreeable effects on the mind or soul react upon the body; but why did the reaction not endure in my case? Be this as it may, it is a fact that the portrait of the King always moved before my eyes during my restless nights; I hoped every day would bring me news of it. I perfectly understand that a care for the well-being of millions of subjects, equally dear to the heart of the monarch, rules the ruler himself and compels him to abandon, under the pressure of the moment, the arrangement of a succession of innumerable interests centring in him; I also fully understand that the King, although he is no more unmindful of the honors he intends bestowing than of those he has already awarded, has not been able to fix the exact moment of conferring the intended benefit upon me. I also know beyond all doubt, that I am standing upon a mine which may at any time explode, and that to-day has no power over to-morrow. I have, therefore, thought best to conceal entirely within my own breast the hope of possessing the dearest of pictures, and to betray nothing, even to my wife and daughters, until further news of the actual approach of the hoped-for object shall render me as secure in the certainty as the case permits. I have the utmost horror against the propagation of anything the truth of which maybe subjected to doubts by succeeding events; knowing from sad experience that it may not be sustained by the next moment, for which falsehood and misrepresentation are greedily lying in wait. I fear that the premature spreading of such news, moreover, may imply a sort of coercion (sit venia verbo) on the King. These reflections imposed profound silence on me. But when the letter of your Excellency to Herr von Wegnern spread the news without my co-operation, and when the realization of my hopes seemed near, this compulsory silence terminated, and I actually revelled in the idea of its possession. Next day, the 28th of January, I put down on paper the testamentary provision, which disposes of the picture after my death. I consider it the common property of our country, not only on account of its fundamental object, that of alleviating the sufferings of the sick man, but also for other reasons. I therefore do not leave it to my family; but in consequence of long and careful considerations, up to January 27th, to my native town of Minden, so that the highest military and civil functionaries of the province, together with the Mayor of the town, may decide further on the place and manner of its keeping. Moreover, on the 28th of January, I entered upon the execution of other plans relative to the fulfilment of my hopes, which entertained me in various ways during these last months. In order to receive the portrait of the “most highly revered” in a becoming manner, it is necessary to put the place where I shall keep it into the best state at my command. I have, therefore, condemned the present furniture and ornaments of my two rooms, and ordered new ones, as luxurious and tasteful (for a professor, of course) as I could decide upon. The directions for their manufacture were sent immediately, and with the opening of the navigation in spring I shall have everything I want. I shall blame no one who thinks me foolish in prosecuting plans for embellishing my residence at a moment when my leaving it for ever seems so highly probable. But if I delayed, the prospect of the arrival of the royal portrait would depress, instead of elevating me joyfully, as it does now, above much suffering. If I enjoy the sight of the picture even one day only, I shall pass through a fleeting, indeed, but beautiful “frontier scenery”—from this life into the other! One thing yet I shall add before I cease annoying your Excellency, by narrating the consequences following the invaluable expected gift of the most high Master. Mr. Chancellor von Wegnern has asked Professor Simson to express to me his wish to insert a notice of the picture in the papers. But I opposed it, partly for reasons stated above, and partly because such a notice would certainly be more appropriate after the receipt of the picture. In case I should be unable to write any more after its arrival, Simson knows what are to be the contents of the notice according to my wish.

Could I but once behold the fine appearance now presented of the comet of Biela! At our place, on the 11th of January, Wichmann could observe nothing, perhaps, or probably on account of the little clearness of the sky at that time; but on the 15th he saw distinctly both heads of the comet. On the following day he described to me orally what he had seen; but I did not get a clear idea of it, and was, on the contrary, of opinion, that what he called a second head of the comet, is an accumulation of nebulæ, as other comets too had shown at a greater or smaller distance from the real head. I asked of him to make for me, when it appeared again, a diagram of it, as accurate as possible. The state of the sky and the position of the comet, which was often very low, delayed the making of a diagram and measurement till the 26th of January. Since that time the second head of the comet has been traced as faithfully as possible. Our observations are the earliest of those known; since, they have directed their attention to it everywhere, and have measured it; there will become known, in spite of the bad season, a fine series of observations, which may, as I hope, permit us to draw reliable conclusions. As now developed, forces of polarity, I believe, must be recognised in it. The further developments will, I hope, enable us to advance beyond superficial conjectures like these.

The observations of the new planet can be made here so excellently by the heliometer, which is quite invaluable for this purpose, that their accuracy far surpasses that of the best meridian observations; of course its greatest usefulness will only be attained when the stars of comparison are equally well determined in their position. To this determination, then, the power of the meridian observations is directed about the planet itself. Dr. Busch, following my counsel, does not trouble himself. I have also requested Encke and Schuhmacher to assist in determining the positions of the stars. The former has already received from here a series of excellent observations, as a foundation for his calculation of the orbit, and he will soon receive the continuation of them. It is very fortunate that I have arranged my extensive investigations on the exact reduction of observations by my heliometer, and that these are published in the first volume of my “Astronomische Untersuchungen.” Without them, Wichmann would be unable to reduce them with exactness, as I can do nothing now, and the observations of the planet would thereby lose much of their interest, which exists only in the first period of observation, and therefore only when the observations are calculated immediately. I hope, that by proceeding on this basis, Encke’s calculations will acquire certainty, which will prove itself up to a few seconds at the reappearance of the planet.

At last an end of this!

In accustomed reverence to the end of life,
Your Excellency’s most obedient
F. W. BESSEL.

NOTE BY HUMBOLDT.—The last letter but one which I received from the
great and noble man.

112.
VICTOR HUGO TO HUMBOLDT.

_March 20th, 1845._

You have been kind enough, my Lord Baron, and illustrious colleague, to promise your acceptance of a copy of “Notre Dame de Paris,” and the further good office of offering it in my name to your august Sovereign, my sympathy with and admiration for whom are well known to you. To “Notre Dame de Paris” I add my solemn discourse before the Academy. It would make me happy to think that it gave you a little pleasure to receive this mark of my high and profound regard.

Yours,
VICTOR HUGO.

113.
FRIEDRICH RUECKERT TO HUMBOLDT.

BERLIN, _March, 1846_.

I had the misfortune of twice missing your Excellency when I called to give you my thanks for your great kindness, and at the same time to bid you a hearty farewell, as to-morrow I hasten to my rustic solitude. May God grant you many felicitous hours for the happy completion of your great work, for which I now am more heartily anxious than for any work of my own. For it is the monument of honor for Germany, her representative work before the nations of Europe; and I, as a German, feel proud that you did not write it in French. I would also ask your leave to introduce to you my eldest son, who is private tutor at the university of Jena; now, he may try his luck himself with you, as bearer of this letter. Finally, I beg of you that you will speak in my behalf with their Majesties, whom it was not my fortune to see this winter. May I yet be permitted to work something worthy of their approbation and of yours; but may you also be persuaded that it is not for me to appear in person before the public of the capital, but to shape my thoughts in the solitude and quiet of rural life, whither I am now permitted to withdraw, grateful for the highest favor of his Majesty, and with the purest reverence for you.

RUECKERT.

114.
ALEXANDER MANZONI TO HUMBOLDT.

(FROM THE FRENCH.)

MILAN, _Dec. 6th, 1844_.

MONSIEUR LE BARON:

I would not have hesitated to express my confidence in an august and perfect goodness; but, instead of a becoming confidence, it would have been an unpardonable presumption on my part to have dared to foresee under what ingeniously amiable form this goodness would deign to manifest itself. I have thus a second time acquired the precious right (I had almost been made to forget that it is a sacred duty), to beg your Excellency to lay at the feet of your noble sovereign the humble tribute of a gratitude which has become, if possible, more lively and more grateful. And at the risk of appearing indiscreet, I cannot refrain from availing myself of this opportunity to renew the respectful homage of the devotion which, as a dweller on this earth, and under this title, _nihil humani a me alienum putans_, I have long entertained. This homage would cease to be pure, and would thus lose its unique value if it involved the slightest sacrifice of my Catholic conscience, that is to say, of that which is the soul of my conscience. But, thank God, such is not the case; for, amid the character and the sign of the high destiny which I salute from afar, with a respectful joy, it is my privilege to admire and to love the development of the most excellent work of justice, which is the liberty of doing good.

My admiration for you, M. le Baron, if even it did not content itself with being the simple echo of so great a reputation, ought not to surprise you; for if, as I am daily told, there is not a learned man who has not something to learn from you, there are few unlearned men whom you have not taught something. In this connexion, and at the risk of abusing your indulgence, I cannot conceal from you my hope to have a memento of Humboldt—a memento less precious, no doubt, than those which I owe to his good-will, but which will also have its value. My fellow-citizen, Count Alexander Lito Modignani, in a journey made by him, entirely under your guidance, in North America, sought out, in the mountain of Quindia, the magnificent Ceroxylus at the season of the ripeness of their fruit, possessed himself of one, and was kind enough, on his return, to divide with me the seeds he gathered from it. Planted last spring, not one has yet sprung up; but on visiting them lately, I found them entirely sound, and in two of them a trace of vegetation was perceptible at the base. I should be happy, and even a little proud, to possess a memento, and that, I believe, a very rare one, of a people at once ancient and new, whom you have subjected to the victorious sway of science.

It is with the most profound respect, and, permit me to add, with that affection always so naturally entertained for a great man, and which it gives such pleasure to express, that I have the honor to be your Excellency’s most humble and most obedient servant,

ALEXANDER MANZONI.

NOTE BY HUMBOLDT.—Written to A. Humboldt on the occasion of a refusal
to accept the class of peace of the order _pour le merite_. I had
been commissioned to write to him, that it was not to interfere with
his liberty in any degree, that he was never to wear the cross, but
that a name so great and so beautiful as his must needs continue to
grace the list of the knights.

115.
THIERS TO HUMBOLDT.

(FROM THE FRENCH.)

PARIS, _August, 1845_.

Sir,—I take the liberty of introducing a young Frenchman, full of talents, of acquirements, and of thirst for knowledge. He desires to become acquainted with Germany, and Berlin in particular. I thought I could not direct him better than to the illustrious who does the honors of Berlin to strangers. Permit me to recommend him in a very special manner. Mr. Thomas is my particular friend, and the friend of all your friends of Paris. Be pleased to receive in advance all my thanks for the reception you will kindly accord him, and to receive the assurance of my attachment and of my high consideration.

A. THIERS.

116.
THE PRINCESS OF CANINO, LUCIEN BONAPARTE’S WIDOW, TO HUMBOLDT.

PARIS, _May, 1845_.

I send you, M. le Baron, a copy of my refutation of M. Thiers, in regard to the passages of that historian which assail the memory of my husband. The esteem which you bore him, as well as that of your dear brother and your estimable sister-in-law, both, to me, of sweet and noble memory, leads me to hope that you will receive with interest this token of all the sentiments I possess for you, M. le Baron, and in which I beg you to believe me. Yours affectionately,

THE PRINCESS OF CANINO,
Widow Bonaparte Lucien.

117.
DUCHESS HELENE D’ORLEANS TO HUMBOLDT.

TUILERIES, _Feb. 12th, 1845_.

I will not longer hold the treasure intrusted to my keeping, which was a source of great joy to me. Receive once more my sincerest thanks for this communication, and let me hope soon to find new material for thanks. You see, selfishness is unpardonably predominant in my character.

Your Excellency’s affectionate
HELENE.

118.
DUCHESS HELENE D’ORLEANS TO HUMBOLDT.

NEUILLY, _May 12th, 1845_.

Your Excellency must suffer me often to claim your services; but to-day I come to ask something great of you. I wish for myself and for my cousin of Weimar the instructive pleasure of visiting Versailles in your society; our plan is to go there on Thursday. For the evening, the King invites you for dinner and theatre in Trianon. If you have the courage to share our altered pilgrimage, I invite your Excellency to be here in Neuilly, Thursday, half-past 11, to accompany us on our journey. But if other occupations should prevent you from going, I ask an _open confession_.

I beg your Excellency to receive the expression of my sincerest esteem,

HELENE.

119.
DUCHESS HELENE D’ORLEANS TO HUMBOLDT.

WINTER OF 1845.

I had not the satisfaction to bid adieu to your Excellency, and to repeat to you my thanks for your excellent work; permit me to do it now in writing, whilst I send to you the lines for my beloved cousin, and receive once more the expression of the most heartfelt wish to greet again your Excellency, after a short interval, on French soil.

With most sincere esteem, your Excellency’s affectionate

HELENE.

120.
HUMBOLDT TO VARNHAGEN.

POTSDAM, _April 22d, 1846_.

It has afforded me a great relief being permitted to read before you, and while very much of the warm and friendly praises expressed by you are of course to be ascribed to the kindness of heart which prompts you to give pleasure to an old man, still there is a large margin for the unalloyed gratification of my love of approbation. The main object of my efforts is that of _composition_ in the precise sense of the word, the command of large masses of matter compounded with care and with an accurate knowledge of details. The management of our beautiful, pliant, harmonious, and drastic tongue is but a secondary consideration. I shall certainly find an opportunity of availing myself of your excellent advice for Flemming and Mad. de Sevigné. Seneca also, though I consider him a little bombastic (Quaest. natur.) I have taken home with me for perusal.

Now for the special purpose of these lines. The King said to me on going to bed yesterday, “Let Bettina know that she may make her mind easy in regard to the leading person.[47] No one ever thought of giving him up to the Russians.” “You should write her to that effect yourself,” said I. “Yes, I hope to do so,” was the answer. He spoke very kindly of Bettina.

With my old attachment, yours,
A. V. HUMBOLDT.

WEDNESDAY.

How sad is this eighth attack upon the King! Strange that ministers and cabinet councillors are never shot at! Such events are the more unpleasant, the more the probabilities or improbabilities of their recurrence baffle all attempts at calculation.

121.
HUMBOLDT TO VARNHAGEN.

POTSDAM, _May 18th, 1846_.

I send you, dear friend, to be added to your collection, a very remarkable letter from Prince Metternich, with a semi-theological conclusion, full of mind and rhetorical fervor, with a slight dread of pantheism at the close of the letter.

With unaltered friendship, yours,
A. V. HUMBOLDT.

122.
METTERNICH TO HUMBOLDT.

(From the French.)

VIENNA, _May 10, 1846_.

MY DEAR BARON—Inclosed is my vote.[48] I give it in good conscience, and absolve you from the crime of that electioneering to which the world is addicted. The King and his Chancellor are the sound appreciators of scientific merit, and I know how to designate the place which belongs to me in the avenue of science, and which, to my great regret, is far from the sanctuary.

What I have just told you, my dear Baron, is neither gasconade nor an excess of modesty; it is the unvarnished history of my life. You do not know this history, and I will relate it to you in a few words.

At the age at which life takes its direction, I contracted an inclination for the exact and natural sciences which I would permit myself to describe as irresistible, and a disgust for practical life which I would call unconquerable, if I had not overcome both this disgust and this inclination. It is fate that disposes of individuals, and their qualities as well as their defects decide upon their careers. Fate has separated me from the object of my choice, and has thrust me upon the road I should not have chosen. Once started, I submitted without losing sight of the goal of my wishes, and the result was that what I should have wished to regard as the aim of my life has become only the solace of it. The King has set the mark of a learned man upon me. I know to whom this is to be attributed. If it is a question of the heart, the King is not mistaken.

What you tell me of the forthcoming second volume of Cosmos, makes me look forward to the study of it with impatience; you are not to be read, you must be studied, and the place of a pupil suits me exactly. No one is more called upon than I am to do justice to your remark relative to the influence exercised by Christianity on the natural sciences,[49] as upon mankind in general and hence upon all science, for that remark has long since dawned upon my mind. It is correct in all respects, and its generating cause is simple as are all other truths, those which are, as well as those which are not understood, for the latter circumstance has no effect on the substance of a truth. Error leads to error, as truth is the guide to truth. As long as the mind remained in error in the sphere of thought which is the most elevated of all those attainable by the human mind, this deplorable state of things could not fail to react upon every quarter of the moral compass upon all intellectual and social questions, and to oppose to their development in the right direction, an insurmountable obstacle. _The good news_ once told, the position could not but change. It was not by bestowing divine honor on _effects_ that they could be traced to the fountain head of truth; the investigation continued to be confined to the abstract speculations of the philosophers, and to the rhapsodies of poets. The _cause_ once laid bare, the hearts of men were comforted, and their minds opened to conviction. Nevertheless, the latter still remained for a long time shrouded in the mists of pagan scepticism, until at last scholastic philosophy was unhorsed by experimental science. Do you admit the force of my reasoning? If you do, I have no doubt you will share my fears that true scientific progress is in danger of being checked by too ambitious spirits, who desire to rise from the effects to the cause, and who finding the approach cut off by the impassable barriers which God has set upon human intelligence, and finding themselves unable to advance, roll back upon themselves, and relapse into the stupidity of paganism, in seeking the cause in the effect!

The world, my dear Baron, is in a dangerous position. The social body is in fermentation. You would do me a great favor if you could teach me the nature of this fermentation, whether it is spirituous, acid, or putrid? I greatly fear that the _verdict_ will be for the last-named of these kinds, and it is not I who could teach you that these products are hardly beneficial.

Be pleased to accept the thanks of my household for your friendly memento, and the assurance of the continuance of my old attachment.

METTERNICH.

123.
HUMBOLDT TO VARNHAGEN.

BERLIN, _May 30th, 1846_.

Perhaps, my dear friend, it will not be without some interest to you to possess a copy of the poem of the Crown-Prince of Bavaria. The language is less crude than _that of_ Walhalla; and some passages show a good deal of feeling, if but little poetical fervor.

Yours,
A. V. HUMBOLDT.

SATURDAY.

124.
HUMBOLDT TO VARNHAGEN.

POTSDAM, _November 14th, 1846_.

What a splendid reception, my dear friend, have you given the fifth volume of my brother! Pardon me if, in the excessive bustle of the last few days upon the cold “historic hill,” I have not written some commendatory remarks. I also deplore the omissions to which you are kind enough to make me attentive. Perhaps they could be supplied in the next volume. It was supposed that the letters must be printed in the form in which my brother had prepared them for publication, and in which they were offered for sale. I believe no nation on earth can produce an instance of such a life devoted exclusively to the increase of the wealth of ideas! How inexpressibly I rejoice in the mere prospect of once more beholding a master-piece of your accurate, life-like, and withal delicate representations of social and diplomatic occurrences!

With unalterable attachment,

Your grateful
A. HUMBOLDT.

While it was not entirely wise in a monarch who is great in history to have yielded, under the influence of the atmosphere of Versailles, to the temptation of offsetting the memory of the barricades with a spectacle à la Louis XIV., throwing great difficulties in the way of the successor, and attaining nothing of value, the conduct of Palmerston, and of Albert and Victoria, on the other hand, is likewise clumsily ill-mannered. Meantime, the sober Americans are establishing a universal empire in the West, which already threatens the trade of China.

My MS. “On the Textile Fabrics of the Ancients,” pp. 106 and 113, appears also to have been lost among the papers of the lamented Wolf. The effect of the religious music, particularly on p. 323, contains much that is finely expressed.

In the year 1846 we find the following remark in Varnhagen’s diary: “The conversation turned upon the capacity of one of the younger princes, which was declared to be inferior. Humboldt was of a different opinion. ‘I do not agree with you,’ he said; ‘the young prince spoke to me the other day, finding me in waiting in the apartments of his mother, and asked, “Who are you?” “Humboldt is my name,” said I. “And what are you?” “A chamberlain to his Majesty the King.” “Is that all?” said the prince, curtly, turning on his heel. Is not that a proof of intelligence?’”

125.
HUMBOLDT TO VARNHAGEN.

BERLIN, _November 28th, 1846_.

I do not answer to-day, my dear friend, in regard to your splendid Memoirs. How everything succeeds in your hands! To-day I recommend you an able Frenchman, M. Galuski, who knows Germany better than we do, the author of an essay on A. W. Schlegel. He will stay but a few days. Preserve the autograph of Barante.[50]

A. V. HUMBOLDT.

SATURDAY.

126.
HUMBOLDT TO VARNHAGEN.

BERLIN, _December 6th, 1846_.

There will be perhaps some delay, my dear friend, in your receiving the “Cinq jours de Berlin,” in which I am spoken of by the Berliners (who are introduced as speaking themselves), as a tolerably pleasant tattler, but in which I am alluded to rather unkindly, as to my moral character. If all my speeches lack consistency, I apprehend for the durability of the system of the world, the Kosmos. Mr. Barrière will probably have called on you the sixth day, and you will have suggested all that to him. The paper contains some excellent things, Cracoviana, about the vote of Prussia and Mr. de Kanitz.

I send you for your autograph collection a flattering letter of Mignet, and a letter of mine, written in 1801, at Carthagena, in South America, at a turning point in my life, and addressed to “Citizen” Baudin, who, on board of the Perron, made a voyage round the world. This letter was written at a time when probably people in Europe had ceased to be addressed any more as “citizens.” Baudin, instead of doubling Cape Horn, and receiving me at Lima, went round the Cape of Good Hope to Australia.

Your old friend,
A. V. HUMBOLDT.

SUNDAY.

I inclose an excellent letter of my brother to Koerner, which will be published in the sixth volume; but you must return this copy.

127.
MIGNET TO HUMBOLDT.

PARIS, _July 1st, 1846_.

DEAR BARON, AND MOST ILLUSTRIOUS COLLEAGUE:

You will easily understand how happy and flattered I was at hearing, that the book “Antonio Perez and Philip II.” has interested you and obtained approval so distinguished as that of your King. The applause of a Prince, of so great genius and learning, who ranks among the most acute and most infallible of literary critics, could not be otherwise than of the greatest value to me. To make the book which was honored with this august approbation worthier of it, may I ask you, my dear and most illustrious colleague, to offer the work in the new form, more complete and more elaborate, which I have just given to it, to your sovereign? This is a respectful act of homage, which the King of Prussia, by the expression of his kind satisfaction, has encouraged me to render, and for which your goodness to me will obtain, I am very sure, a gracious reception.

I take also the liberty of sending to you, for your own library, a copy of this new edition. Documents, hitherto unknown and very curious, which have enabled me to exhibit the designs of Don John of Austria, the murder of Escovedo, and the disgrace of Perez, in their true light, make the first edition imperfect.

But I must hasten to speak of the first volume of Kosmos, which you sent me, and in which you have so admirably shown, if I may use one of your beautiful sentences, “the order of the universe and the magnificence of the order.” I read the book with the greatest pleasure and advantage. It is an exposition, full of the most absorbing grandeur, of the phenomena and laws of the universe, from those nebulous distances whence light comes to us only after a journey of two millions of years, to the revolutions which preceded the actual organization of our planet, and which enabled men to be born, to live, and to reign on its surface. To paint this great picture in its teeming variety and majestic harmony, one needs to be master, like yourself, of all sciences, to love nature earnestly, and to have studied her under every aspect. In addition he must unite a vivid imagination to an accurate and profound judgment. Finish quickly this charming work, for your own glory and for our instruction.

Accept, dear Baron, the assurance of my gratitude, my admiration, and my affectionate devotion.

MIGNET.

128.
HUMBOLDT TO BAUDIN.

CARTHAGENA, _April 12, 1801_.

CITIZEN!

When I embraced you for the last time in Helvetius Street, in Paris, on the eve of my departure for Africa and the East Indies, I had but a feeble hope of seeing you again, and of sailing under your orders. You have been told, no doubt, by our common friends, C. C. Jussieu, Desfontaines ... how the Barbaresques have prevented my departure for Egypt, how the King of Spain has given me permission to journey over his vast domains in America and Asia, to gather whatever may be useful to science. Independently, and always at my own expense, my friend Bonpland and I have wandered for two years through the territories lying between the coast, the Orinoco, the Casiquian, the Rio Negro, and the Amazon. Our health has resisted the frightful risks created by the rivers. In the midst of the forests we have talked of you; of our useless visits; on C. Francois, of Neufchatel; of our beguiled hopes. Just as we were starting from Havana for Mexico and the Philippines, the gratifying news reached us that your perseverance had overcome every obstacle. After making our calculations, we felt sure that you would touch at Valparaiso, at Lima, or at Guayaquil. We changed our plans at once, and in spite of the stormy gales of this shore, we started in a little pilot boat to look for you in the South Sea, to try whether by reviving up our old plans, we could join our labors with yours, and sail with you on the South Sea. A long passage of twenty-one days from the Havana to Carthagena, unfortunately hindered us from taking the route of Panama and Guayaquil. We fear that the wind has ceased blowing in the South Sea, and we have decided to continue our journey on land by the way of the River Magdalena, Santa Fe, Popajan, Quito....

I hope we shall arrive in June or early in July at the city of Quito, where I will wait for the news of your arrival at Lima. Have the kindness to write me a line, directed in Spanish, “al Sr. Baron de Humboldt, Quito; casa del Sr. Governador Baron de Carondelet.” In case I should hear nothing from you, my respected friend, I intend to visit Chimborasso, Losca, ... till November, 1801, and to come down in December or January, 1802, with my instruments, to Lima. You will perceive from all this, my revered friend, that the heat of the tropics has not made me sluggish, and that I am afraid of no sacrifice where useful and bold enterprises are to be prosecuted. I have told you now frankly what I want from you. I know that I ask more from you than I can return; it may also be that particular circumstances may prevent your taking us on board of your vessel.... In that case, my letter may embarrass you, the more, perhaps, since you honor me with your friendship. I beg you, therefore, to write to me frankly. I shall always be glad to have seen you once more, and shall never complain of circumstances, which often govern us in spite of ourselves and our wishes. Your frankness will be the highest proof of your regard for me. I should then continue on my route from Lima to Acapulco, Mexico, the Philippines, Surato, Bassora, Palestine, Marseilles. How much I should prefer, however, to make a voyage with you! Mr. Bonpland presents you his respects.

Greetings and unchangeable friendship,
ALEXANDER HUMBOLDT.

NOTE OF HUMBOLDT, WRITTEN LONG AFTER.—This letter to Captain Baudin,
written on my arrival at Carthagena (from the Havana), was returned
to me, Captain Baudin not having touched at Lima.

A. HUMBOLDT.

BERLIN, _Nov. 1846_.

129.
HUMBOLDT TO VARNHAGEN.

SUNDAY, _Feb. 21st, 1847_.

I do not recollect showing you a very beautiful letter of my brother, on the death of Schiller, dated “Rome, 1805.” It was discovered but lately, and will be published in the next volume of his works. I inclose a very amiable letter from Prince Metternich, received this week, also a stiff and unmeaning one from Prince Albert. Prince Metternich has published, at his own cost, a splendid description of his mineralogical collection at Koenigswart, having probably in view his election to the Presidency of the new Academy instead of Kolowrat. At the special request of Prince Albert I left a copy of Kosmos on his desk at Stolzenfels. He had the civility not to thank me. The “blackbird”[51] has improved his politeness in the present instance, and besides, he makes me talk of “roving oceans of light” and “sidereal terraces”—a Coburg version of my text, _quite English_—from Windsor, where terraces abound. In Kosmos I speak once of the “starry carpet,” page 159, in explaining the open spaces between the stars. He presents me a work upon “Mexican Monuments,” a copy of which I myself had purchased two years ago. A splendid edition of Lord Byron would have been in better taste. It is also strange that he does not mention “Queen Victoria.” Possibly my “Book of Nature” is not sufficiently Christian for her Majesty. You see that I am a severe critic of “princely epistles.”

Please return Metternich and Albert soon, as I have not yet replied to them; also Wilhelm’s letter at your leisure—it is the only copy I have. I gave the original to Schlesier, who was very anxious to possess something from my brother’s hand.

With old attachment, yours,
A. V. HUMBOLDT.

130.
METTERNICH TO HUMBOLDT.

VIENNA, _February, 1847_.

MY DEAR BARON:

I will begin this letter by congratulating you upon the new decoration, which the King has lately conferred upon you. The “_Eagle_” under whose wing—sub umbra alarum—you have executed so much will be a noble decoration on your breast. Suum cuique!

Now to what I wish to say further. You know, that I am no savan and that I have no pretension to be one; but notwithstanding this, you know that I am the friend of science, and in that capacity have furnished the means to some savans of publishing the little work of which I enclose the first copy to you. I hope you will approve of its execution. I think I am at the present the owner of the most complete collection of monuments[52] now existing of an epoch of which I cannot pretend to fix the age—and of which the “Gossau” conceals countless numbers. History written by man presents but an insignificant point when compared to that of which nature supplies the material. It was not I who christened one of the Ammonites after me—it is the doing of the editors of the opuscule.—I am, however, quite sure that neither my name nor even that of Ammon was known when my godson was alive.

Thousand sincere homages, my dear Baron,
METTERNICH.

131.
PRINCE ALBERT TO HUMBOLDT.

WINDSOR CASTLE, _February 17th, 1847_.

MY DEAR BARON:

I have been constantly impressed while gradually reading the first volume of your “Kosmos” with my desire to thank you for the high intellectual enjoyment, its study has afforded me.

I am really unable to give you an authoritative judgment on this excellent work, which I received from your hands, and to atone in some measure for this defect, as well as to give some substantial character to the expression of my thanks, I present you the accompanying work (Catherwood’s Views in Central America). It may serve as an appendix to your own great work on Spanish America, and thus become worthy of your attention. I do not dare to express the intense anxiety with which I look forward to the appearance of the second volume of “Kosmos.” May that Heaven, whose roving oceans of light and sidereal terraces you have so ably described, be pleased to preserve you to your country, to the world, and to “Kosmos” itself, for many years, in undisturbed vigor of mind and body. This is the sincere wish of your

Very devoted,
ALBERT.

132.
HUMBOLDT TO VARNHAGEN.

BERLIN, _February 27th, 1847_.

Here, at last, is my thankful letter to Carriere, containing three warm recommendations.

You were right in reprimanding me as to my extreme severity against the man of the “sidereal terraces.” I am severe only to the mighty ones of the earth, and this man impressed me very uncomfortably at Stolzenfels: “I know you feel great compassion for the Poles under the Russian sceptre; but, I am sorry to say, the Poles are as little deserving of our sympathy as the Irish.” “Mihi dixit;” and one is the handsome husband of the Queen of Great Britain!

I hasten to Potsdam to-day, in order to bring all the manuscripts here, which have fortunately arrived from Erfurt. Madame von Buelow writes, that they contain a long and very beautiful passage about our Rahel, and flattering things for you.

With old attachment,
A. V. H.

SATURDAY.

133.
HUMBOLDT TO VARNHAGEN.

BERLIN, _March 27th, 1847_.

I am more deserving than you would believe, dear friend! I am through with the first volume of the “Letters”[53] (Therese’s property). I had very little to correct, and only about four pages to suppress, viz. allusions to biscuits, household details, a few sarcasms against Duke Charles of Brunswick (which he would have answered with calumnies as to the lady’s virtue), and more such things. The letters are excellent both in thought and expression. They furnish a picture of a most remarkable life. Their contempt of all worldly happiness or unhappiness beyond the narrow circle of one’s own feelings, this mixture of scriptural and Christian dogmas, of stoical indifference to the affairs of the world, together with so much delicacy and gentleness in a correspondence, continued to the four last days of a life, and written by a trembling hand on ruled paper. The torments of love-sickness, _qui n’impatientent_, are left untouched, in order not to lessen the impression of that powerful individuality. I repeat, all that I struck out amounts to only five or six lines—all that I suppressed as dull or trivial, would not fill two printed pages. You will, however, see much, very much, in the manuscript stricken out, thus ∽∽∽∽∽∽∽∽ sometimes half pages; this is, however, not mine but the old lady’s doing. This “Daughter of the Pastor of Taubenheim”[54] had, perhaps, hysterical fits of prudery now and then. The different ink shows that I am a stranger to these obliterations.

The first volume has a beautiful passage on Therese, and says much in praise of the King of Bavaria. In the second volume a description of Rahel will please you. Of Bettina she speaks less approvingly, as Madame von Buelow told me. I shall try to modify it in this respect. I think the first volume will be ready for delivery next Tuesday, and the second will soon follow. I shall bring it myself, together with notes and facsimiles, all locked in a tin box, which must be shortened. Then you will be in possession of the whole treasure, and I “salvavi animam meam.” The thing will create much provoking but salutary scandal, and will elicit much conflicting criticism.

With sincerest friendship, yours,
A. V. HT.

Please don’t let the book be printed at Berlin, and have it (if possible) advertised before it is in the trade. My letters to Carriere will have duly reached you, I hope?

On the 30th March, 1847, Varnhagen wrote in his diary:—“Just when I returned home, Humboldt came in and brought a pack of manuscripts—the letters of his brother to Mrs. Diede. Humboldt regards affairs here as desperate, as I do myself. He consoles himself with the belief that the constitution presented, though good for nothing at first, may result beneficially. He expects violence of every description—atrocities committed by the police, popular rage, and military strokes. The King, however, Humboldt thinks, has no misgivings. He is in high spirits, having prepared his opening speech, and no longer minds the 11th of April, and its consequences. He never yet talked with Humboldt on constitutional affairs. As to Michelet, Eichhorn has instigated the King very much; but after all they will not find a reason to dismiss him, although the King would like very much to do it, and the Minister urges him on to it.”

On the 31st March Varnhagen adds: “Humboldt told me but yesterday that the King was firmly believing the restoration of Don Miguel, Don Carlos, the overthrow of the July dynasty, and that he would yet go to Paris, to salute the legitimate king. Also, that he, Humboldt, was deemed a Jacobin, who carried the tri-colored standard in his breeches pocket. As for myself, I was considered a royalist, but the King had prejudices against me. They think it strange that my old friend Canitz should not have enlightened the King on my behalf; that they did not ask my advice, and avail themselves of my services in the present situation. Wittgenstein also has talked in this manner with Humboldt. They forget only one thing: that I neither can nor will—the one and the other, with equal determination.”

The nobility is terribly excited; the change is remarkable; self-esteem is mightily roused. The devil himself could not have invented more efficacious ways of provoking the hostility of this whole class than this monstrous “Herrenstand.”

_A Dream._—I saw the King weeping bitterly, and crying: so far it has come. Well, I will resign! May my brother take charge of the whole, and be happier than I was!

March 27th, 1847, Varnhagen wrote the following repartee of Humboldt in his diary: “Humboldt recited, good-humoredly, that a certain Mr. Massow, in the Assembly, had characterized liberalism as a felony. He, Humboldt, was therefore a twofold felon, as Minister Bodelschwingh considered literary men felonious.”

On the 11th July, 1847, Varnhagen observes: “This morning Humboldt came in quite unexpectedly. He is in good health and spirits, and denies having been really sick. He says that the King lives in a whirlpool of pleasure, that he is often extravagantly gay; thinks no longer of the Chamber, except when reminded of it, when he becomes immediately grave and sullen. The ministers, however, are full of anger—Savigny and Eichhorn particularly so. Foremost, however, is Bodelschwingh, who is always exciting the King to strong measures. Canitz acts this time in a conciliatory and compromising spirit. Bodelschwingh cannot bear being deprived of the imaginary triumph of his visionary premiership by the Chambers. Humboldt is engaged on the final sheets of his second volume. He is going to Paris next September.”

134.

BERLIN, _Jan. 18th, 1849_.

If I appear slow, my dear Varnhagen, and rather laconic to-day in offering you my thanks for your friendly presents and your letter, and your congratulations, you will not ascribe it to a diminution of my true esteem and friendship. I have had but now the enjoyment of what you alone are entitled to call “A Plain Discourse.”[55]

How much more fearful, and at the same time hopeful, a turn events have taken. They only know how to oppose brute force to the impending danger, and are afraid themselves to pluck the proffered fruit.

Romuald’s “Vocation”[56] deserves, no doubt, the severest censure. What an abuse of his most eminent talents! We will talk about it as soon as I shall have done with the “Ordenstag[57]” and the annoyances of the Academy elections of my order. _La petite piece_ side by side with the great world’s drama.

With the old attachment,
Yours,
A. V. HT.

There never was nobler praise bestowed on the King than in “The Plain Discourse.”

The little work, “Plain Discourse to the Germans on the Duties of the Day. Berlin, 1848,” is from the pen of Varnhagen. A few months later, on the 10th of May, 1849, the author himself thus speaks of it in his diary: “I have been re-reading what I wrote in August last on Frederick William IV., and what I wrote in 1840, the day after he received the homage of his subjects. What strange sensations it provokes! Do what I will, awake or asleep, I cannot for a moment shake off the nightmare of consciousness of our political condition, although I know full well how ephemeral it is, how certain the retribution, and how bright the ultimate future. Arouse then, my country, arouse! Civil war is thy fate, but it is not thy choice. Go on thy way undaunted, and be the blood on the head of those who willed it not otherwise. At a time like this it is not the successes but the failures of the moment that are of profit to the people.”

This is the place to interpose another visit from Humboldt to Varnhagen. On the 12th of February, 1849, the latter wrote in his diary: “Humboldt called. He thinks it absurd in the ministers to talk of meeting the Chambers, when they cannot find men to make up their own number. Even Kuehlwetter disdains to join them. My opinion that the constitution imposed by the government is merely a husk concealing the germ of a new revolution, which will shortly burst forth, startled him a little; but he was much pleased with the notion that the King has been embroiled with the canon of logic for the last eight years past. He says the King was disposed to return to Canitz as Minister of Foreign Affairs! Eichhorn also vouchsafes his advice, and, like the lady of Privy Counsellor ——, talks of the Pietists as if he had never belonged to them.

“The ‘Staats Anzeiger’ publishes the Austrian note in regard to the German question. Austria will not withdraw, but will have a voice in the counsels of the empire, and will not tolerate a variety of things, such as popular sovereignty, or any leadership except its own. A fling at Prussia, a fling at Frankfort, and particularly at Gagern. There it is! Everything plays into the hands of the revolution!”

135.
HUMBOLDT TO VARNHAGEN.

POTSDAM, _August 16th, 1849_.

Whenever I enjoy the fancy of having written a few lines grateful to my ears, I always ask myself whether they would also please you, my valued friend. You know, or rather you do not know, that the Princess of Prussia has deposited a splendid album, with numerous autographs and painted initials, in those halls of the Chateau at Weimar which have been dedicated to Goethe, Schiller, and to Herder and Wieland, maligned by Schiller in his letters to Koerner. I have been compelled to write a preface, which Galuski has translated quite happily. The Grand-Duchess desired a French version for the benefit of foreign travellers who might open the album. Look upon this little memento of your friend with indulgence. There is blood on the horizon, and it makes me sad. I need not remind you of the friendship and esteem of

Yours,
A. V. HUMBOLDT.

SUNDAY.

136.
HUMBOLDT TO VARNHAGEN.

POTSDAM, _October 15th, 1849_.

I hope, my dear friend, that my “Views of Nature,” enlarged, and, for two-thirds of it, almost re-written, are at last in your hands! It was owing to an unfortunate confusion, occasioned by my long absence from Berlin, that this my favorite work was so long in reaching my favorite reader. Perhaps you will derive a brief pleasure from contrasting the picture of the nocturnal din of the words with that of the stillness of high noon—vol. i., pp. 333 and 337; or from glancing at the golden visions of young Astorpileo, vol. ii., 352.

In love and friendship, yours,

In haste.

A. V. HUMBOLDT.

Increase your collection of autographs by a very agreeable letter from the man who now lives in Brussels. The phrase “votre fortune morale” is used with great freedom. But the newspaper, all disfigured with bloodstains! What a, year, in which all the feelings of the heart run wild!

137.
METTERNICH TO HUMBOLDT.

(FROM THE FRENCH.)

RICHMOND, _Sep. 17th, 1849_.

MY DEAR BARON:

I see by to-day’s papers that the 9th of September, 1769, gave you to the world, and that thus you have just celebrated your eightieth birth-day. Had I been near you I would have joined your friends in offering my good wishes; at the distance which separates us, I approach you alone. Let me say in a few words that I render thanks to the giver of the faculties which have rendered your name imperishable. To be born is of little account; to make life valuable is excellent. You are numbered among the richest, and you have made a noble use of your moral fortune. May God preserve you in safety and in health!

Receive, my dear Baron, with the expression of a congratulation of which you do not doubt the sincerity, that of my sentiments of devotion and friendship, of a date as ancient as all that has a place between us!

METTERNICH.

138.
HUMBOLDT TO VARNHAGEN.

POTSDAM, _October 29th, 1849_.

MY DEAR FRIEND:

A German letter of the Duchess of Orleans, to whom I have sent all my writings for many years, and who is very fond of them. She writes a hand so cabalistic to my eyes, that I beg to avail myself of your diplomatic experience in decyphering, and to be favored with a legible copy. The purport appears to be of a political nature. It will not be without interest for you, and on this account I appeal all the more confidently to your good-nature.

Your faithful friend,
A. HUMBOLDT.

139.
HELEN, DUCHESS OF ORLEANS, TO HUMBOLDT.

Your Excellency will accept my most heartfelt thanks for the token of the remembrance, so valued by me, which you devote to the hours we passed in times but recently gone by, which the course of events, however, seems already to have thrust back into antediluvian periods.

I see with joyous gratitude that the conversations in my red saloon in the Tuileries and in St. Cloud, ever present to myself, still live in your recollection also, and thank your Excellency for this constancy of sentiments, doubly precious at a time like this.

The kindness of my beloved cousin had already enabled me to refresh myself by the perusal of your latest work, which is hailed as a fountain of health by so many hearts smitten by the rude hand of fate, and minds stunned by the wild confusion of public events; and my son has also found nourishment in it to assuage his thirst of knowledge. Nevertheless, I thank you most cordially for the jewel you have sent, which receives additional value from being accompanied by your letter.