Delaware gazette. [volume] (Delaware, Ohio) 1855-1886, 1870-10-14
LETTER 70 TIE YOUNG
EOEWS,


am sorry 70 say that ner uncle must
die first. There are also two gentlemen
who are botanists. and are always lock-
/ ing about IN the lloIlows fer weeds and
! Posies to press. One OF them is an.
( American from Troy, New York. He
4 is sent here BY . school of mines, to
study and to work IN the Prussian mines,
+ when. he goes back he VIII be what IS
called "A skilled and and scientific min
eT. There are very few such in the
United States.
& The other gentleman / viii call the
/ musician. because the piano IS his es-
f Pecial forte, and because / do not
know anything else whatever to say
about him, except that he enjoys excur-
I sions very much.
drove to legal (TagelH. Il IS a very lit
tie village about one and . haHGcr4nan,
| or eight English Tn}ies I ON Berlin.
Although the sun vas shining very
i brightly when We started. each took an
umbrella and a shawl, because here It IS
/ apt to rain from two to six or eight times
a day-
/ The country was very fat and com
mon locking ali the way, and We would
not have known It from some Of
the poorest in Ohio, except for two or
| three things One was that there were
no fences Of course; but there were
] great fields of strange yellow flowers
and now and then an Immense wind
mil swinging its huge arms in the air at
a frightfuI rate. The yellow flowers are
/ for The sheep. Once We saw some
round snow-white houses Ike Esqui-
maux hnts of ice. These we're soldiers
tents and were made of linen.
Ily and by the country began. 70 look
fTesher and fresher, and fllen we saw
great patches Of tbs purple heather
such as grows. IN England and Scot
land and faTtheT on leve3y wild flow
ers. oi every color growing in tae mead
0rs. And the flowers made the botan-
lists SO uneasy that. perhaps they would
have given up Tegel altogether. if we
had not been 50 near it.
i Ne soon stopped before a green lane,
and BY the time we were al out of the
carriage the miner was back with his
handful Of pink and purple and yellow
| flowers, all Of which he knew by name
though to US they looked very strange.
At the end of the lane and on little
knoll, stood handsome house called
the palace of the Humboldt family, -
And this house with the park behind if
was what We had mainly. come TO
see.
will explain the reason why.
/ Once there were two brothers named
Humboldt. One was very great man
indeed. He was scientific man and
travelled a good deal.
In one of the Tegel palaces saw,
built into the wall of marble room, a
great rock crystal brought by Hum
boldt from South America.
The other Humboldt was not quite 50
great, but he was married to a lady who
was very charming in her home and in
society, and the two together, made such
an impression that they will be remem-
bered a great while. And this place was
their summer-residence
AS the first Humboldt was not mar
ried at all, he used to come here very
often; and these three charming people
living in such a lovely place, drew
around them other charming people and
altogether they had a wonderful little
society there among themselves, such as
very few persons ever have a chance tc
enjoy. It is quite enough for strangers
merely to sec the Places where they lived
and loved and were so wise and witty
and happy.
And this was what we did.
The house is built of white brick, and
is about the shape of a brick with the
broad side for the front But you know
a house. .Iazsk the shape of brick would
be very. stiff and@,a1ain. This has q
round tower at each square corner, and
has a bay window thrown out here and
there with other little irregularities tc
give It a graceful effect; and the con
trast of the cream-colored walls rising
through the green foliage is very pretty
and very cheerful.
AL around the house are grounds laid
out with walks and flowers. Behind It
walks and flowers and grass plats stretch
to a great distance and are closed in by
some woods. Just in front of these
woods IS the family burying ground.
There are two ways of getting to. it,
The one to the left is a long avenue
shaded with handsome Emetrecs, and
the one to the right IS a walk STRETCHING
away UP and down a hill or two, among
the trees and throughthe thickets, quite
a blind way indeed.
But at the top of one of these hills
there IS a broad open space with seats
and at the left great window cut in the
foliage, through which you look down
on the garden, the house, the avenue ot
lines and beyond upon what is called
the Tegel Sea. It IS a beautiful lake oil
very irregular shape, and several miles
in circumference. In the afternoon
sunshine, It looked as calm and as blue
as the sky itself. We rested upon the
seats and thought, there Humboldt sal
and looked upon all these things and
admired them just as we do. And this
thought did us a great deal of good.
So much good that several OF. us un-
dertook to run races with the English
. lady and she beat US.
By and by we came to an open space
walled about with gloomy cypress trees.
in the middle of this space and within
an iron railing, were six. or eight graves,
all just alike, covered with myrtle OF
ivy, and with little white stone at the
head Of each, with the name. and age OF
the person buried below, in letters OF
gilt. The railing at one end was semi
circular, and had a senicireular seat
within it for the friends to come and sit
on and look at the graves. In front OF
this seat was a tall plain monument. /
think It was round pillar of granite,
with marble figure standing upon the
top. And just before it, at the left, was
the grave Of tie Humboldt.
/ After staying here awhile, we walked
on 70 the WOODS ana tneTe we found a
path cut through the field to the Tegel
| Sea. Al the farther side of the field was
a great oak. with high seat overlook
ing the water. This was called Hum
bolts seat. From this we went on
around the field, and Just before we
reached the house again, there came up
a wild storm of wind and rain. The
east was black, the west all yellow, and
/ below the field was full of bright flowers.
We walked between these flowers and
the lake while the wind blew. The rain
fell, the sun shone, and there was a
double rainbow all at the same time.
Above us the trees twisted and groaned,
while millions of glittering leaves sent
down fresh showers of raindrops at every
step.
And the umbrellas were all tucked