Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1857-02-14
Correspondence of the Few York Tribune.
BAYARD TAYLOR IN NORTHERN BU.
RoPE.-AN HOUR WITH HUMBOLDT
Berlin, Nov. 25th, 1856.

it's streets aud saloons. bu, for the sake of seeing
and speaking with the worlds greatest living man
Alexander Won Humboldt. ID,
AT present, with his great age and his universal
renoyu, regarded as q thrOued monarch IN the
world Of science, his friends have been obliged,
per force, to protect him from the exhaustive hom-
age OF his thousands Of subjects. and, for his own
sake, to make difficult the ways Of access to him.
The friend and familiar companion OF the hlng,
he may be said, egually TO hold his own court, with
the privilege, hou ever, Of at any time breaking
through the formalities which only selfdefense
has rendered necessary. Some of my works, l
knew, had found their way into his hands. L was
at the beginning OF a journey which would proba,
bly, lead me through regions which his feet had
iraversed and his genius illustrated, and 1t was
not merely a natural curiosity which attracted me
toward him. l followed the advice Of some Ger.
man friends; and made use of no mediatory inau-
e1ce, but simply dispatched a note to him. stating
my name and object, ana asking for an interview.
Three days afterwards | received through the
city post II reply in his own hand, stating that, al
Though he was suffering from q cold which had TO-.
lowed his removal from Potsdam to the capital, he
would willingly receive me. and appointed O'Clock
to-day for the visit. | was punctual to the min
ute, and reached his residence in the Oranienburge
sirasse, az the clock struck. While in Berlin, he
lives with his servant, Seilert, whose name only i
found on the door. IL Was n plain twO-story house,
with a dull pink front, and inhabited, like most OF
the houses in German cities, by two or three fami-
lies. The bell.wire over Seifert's name came from
the second story. | pulled the heavy porte
cochere opened Of itself; and | mounted the steps
until | reached II second bell pull, over u plate In
scribed alexander Won Humbolt."
a stout, square.faced man of about fifty, whom
/ at once recognized as Seifer., opened the door
for me. "Aro you Herr Taylor" be asked; and
added, on receiving my reply, His Excellency is
ready to receive you" lie ushered me into a
room filed with stuffed birds and other objects of
49, a SO. H.. - 1.l..,r ,.A..1 x,an r
emily contained the gifts Of authors, artists snd
men IF science. | walked between two long tables
hpaped with sumptuous foios, to the further door,
which opened into the study. Those who have
seen the admirable colored Autograph Of Hide
brands picture, know precisely how the ROOM
looks. There was the plain table, the writing desk
covered with letters and manuscripts, the little
green sofa, and the same maps and pictures on the
drab-colored walls. The picture had been so long
hanging in my own room at home, that l at once
recognized each particular object.
Seifert went to an inner door, announced my
name, and Humboldt Immediately appeared. He
came up to me with a heartiness and cor
diality which made me feel that | was in the pres.
ence Of a friend, gave ne his hand, and inquired
whether we should converse in English or German.
letter." said he, was that of II German,
and you must certainly speak the language iamil-
iarly; but | am also in the constant habit of using
English" lie insisted on my taking one end of
tut plttH Stlui bcCl NlhS 'llh' ~ ioiSiy C"V hHNh
it himselr,-then drew up a plain, cane bottomed
chair, and seated himself beside it, asking me to
speak u little lOuded than usual, as his hearing
was not SO acute as formerly.
As | looked upon the majestic old man, the line
of Tennyson. describing Wellington, came into
my mind: ooh, good gray head, which all men
know" The first impression mnde by Humboldt's
face, is that of a broad and genial humanity. His
massive brow, heavy with the gathered wisdom OF
nearly q century, bends forward and overhangs
his Lreast, like Il ripe ear Of corn, but MS you lool
below it, a pair of clear blue eyes, almost as hrigh
and steady as those Of a child's meet your own
!, In those eyes You read that trust in man, that in
n mortal youth Of the heart which make the snow
@ of eighty-seven winters lie so lightly upon hi
. head. You trust him utterly at the first glance
and you feel that he will trust you, if you al
u worthy of it. | had approached him with n ma
Is ural feeling of reverence. but in five minutes
n FUND that | loved him, and could talk with biz
-, as freely as with IA friend of my own age. ii
nose, mouth and chin have the heavy Terton
character, whose genuine type always expresst
e an honest simplicity and directness.
" | was not surprised by the youthful character
/ his face. ! knew that he had been frequent
indisposed during the present year, and had bee
- told that lie was beginning tn show the marks
his extreme aye: but | should not have suspecte
n him Of being over seventy. five. His wrinkles al
NJ few and small, and his skin has "A smootbncss an
:. deiicacy rarely seen in old men. Ills hair; Il
Though NOW nlte, Is SslIl hDuUull ", MS SleV $40
d but firm. and his manner active almost To restles
ness. lie sleeps but four hours out of the twent
q four, reads auG REPLIES to his daily rain Of letter
, and suffers no single occurrence OF the least ilte
" est in any part of the world to escape his attentio
e | could not perceive that his memory, the first me
tai faculty to show decay, is at all impaired. |
talks rapidly, with the greatest apparent ease, ne
er h0sitating for ~ word, whether in English
German. and, in fact, seemed to be unconscio
Ii which language he was using, as he changed ii
IN or six times in the course of the conversation. |
did cot lemain in his chair more than ten minut
at a time, frequently getting up and walking abo
= the room, now and then pointing to a picture
er opening o book to Illustrate some remark.
lie began by referring to my Winter iourn
into Lapiand. "Why do you choose the Winter
he asked "Your experience will be very intere'
ing, it is true, but will you not suffer from the
we're cold ?" That remains to be seem" ar
wered. Il have tried all climates except t
Arctic, without the least injury. The last ty
re years Of my travels were spent in tropical cou
&c tries, and now ! wish to have the strongest posi-
BILE contrast" That is quite natural" he remar
ed, 'and | can understand hoY your object in ira
. ell must lead you to seek such Contrasts; but "
must possess a remarkably healthy organization
lyon doubtless know, from your own experience
said, that nothing preserves q mans vitality ill
travel Every true" he answered, eff it do
not kit at the outset. For my part, ! keep II
u health everywhere, like yourself. During fl
@ years in South America and the West Indies,
passed through the midst of block yomit and y
low fever untouched"
IL. ! spoke of my projected visit to Russia, and I
,v desire to ira verse the Russian-Tarta provinces
Central Asia. Tho Kirghiz steps, he said, w
ed very monotonous; fifty miles gave you tho pict,
he of a thousand; but the people were exceeding
he ~teresting. II ! desired to go there, | would hf
no difficulty in passing through them to the c
in nese frontier; but the southern provinces of Sibe
.bi he thought would repay NE best. The scent
among the Al tai mountains was very grand. FIR
his window in one of the Siberian towns, he b
nd counted eleven peaks covered with eternal snt
The Kirghizes, he added, were among the few
ces whose habits had remained unchanged
AL thousands Of years, and they had the remarka
MI peculiarly Of combining Il monastic with a
in madic life. They were partly Buddhist and pi
-, ly Mussa Imam, aud their monksh sects follow
the differ ent clans in their wanderings, carrying
I'd their devG tons in the encampments, inside OF a
he cred circle marked out by spears. lie had st
~ their ceremo MES, and was struck with their
semblance to those Of the Catholic Church.
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