, 1873-06-15
From The London Ne,cx

:letternich and had IS fel1ow-students Earnest
Augustus, Duke OF Cumberland, afterwards King
of Hanover and Adolphus Frederick, Duke Of
Sussex, as we'll Us De Brogie and Saint Simon.
His brother William Was already on terms OF
friendly intercourse With Ill the most distin-
guiahed men in the University; and Alexander
received cordial welcome to their society The
French Revolution was then attracting the eyes
OF the whole world, And William 7on Humboldt
set OF to Paris, s to assist ut the obsequies Of
French despotisrn," while Alexander already
exhibited devotion to science which made him
comparatively careless ~ to political events
The most valuable result OF his stay at G6t-
tingen was the friendship formed With George
Forster, Heyne's son-in-lrw, OF whom Humboldt
speaks as hia j" distinguished taacher aud friend
Forster whs fifteen years older than Humboldt,
he had boen round the world With Capt. Cook
in his second voyage, ke was man Of almost
universal genius, and, Humboldt eays, intro
duced the modern book OF travels and the new
era Of scientific jonrneying. Humboldts first
journey was with Forster, ard it included France
and England Soon after his return he WAS ap-
pointed AssaBsoT OF Mines and Afterwards Coun-
Ee}lor Of Mines under the P1usaian Government,
and in the a1dor OF his lore OF sciences risked
his Life in studying and =aalyxing the gases
which are found beneath tho surface Of the
earth. Writing to Blumenbach in 1875, he de-
Hcribes some galVhnio experiments which had
been made on his own back Wounds were
see the efect-with results which are necessarily
painful, and on one occasion alarming. With
this enthusiasm for science, it is hardly sur
prsing to find Goethe writing in 1894 that The
3ong expected arrival Of Alexander Won Hum
ho1dt from Bayreuth WAS the signal for turning
our thoughts exclusively to SCIENCE" Loder
was then lecturing to empty benches On the con-
noction between the bones and the muscles and
-nA, ~ 1.o&t ~
says: I'VE three, in company With our friend
Meyer, used to wade Of 3 morning through
tho deepest snow to hear At IN al
most empty lecture.room this portion Of
Osteology was the result OF Humboldts influence
on his mind. One day Eckerman called On
Goethe, and Is he advanced to welcome him
Goethe exclaimed, " Alexander von Humboldt
hss been With me for some hours this morning
what. an extraordinary man he ia! Though
have known him so long an always struck with
fresh ama2ement in his company" and went on
in tho same strain to praise his wonderful versa-
ty' concluding He H., T remain hsre few
time the quarrel OF the Neptuniats and
Vulcanists, as they were called, MAS
Vulcanism, especially after his American jour
ney, when he had seen the effects of volcanic
action; Goethe was etrongly Neptuniat, and
said that II the other side iucensed him too
6E&SHuCn ne NOulu expose IH6l0 70 Ou1o4uys but,
IN 1881, Goethe gave in. He wrote that his
3ebrA system would have to be reorganized
afore he could believe that the Himalayas could
have been raised q, 600 feet, and still point in
- fexibly toward Heaven az though nothing
2 had happened; to him such u thought lay il
the misty regions OF trAnsubstantiation yet he
eaw, he said, with perfect nstonishment, that
what he could not receive WIS logically up
er7ztion to him. But Goethe Was imbued with
the antique spirit; Humboldt With the modern
temper. Schiller wrote Of Humboldt that he WAS
the 'tiInpersonation Of keen, cold reason, which
scrutiny; with no power OF imagination, no ten
der sympathy, no sentimental interest" These
tUo great men we're both among Humboldt'e
nearest friends; but their dislike OF the scien-
that method is, and how hard it is for poetic and
scientific genius to understand each other.
Humbo1dt's privilege WAS to bridge over the
historic interval between these scientific meth
ods. He belonged to two centuries he studied
the science Of the eighteenth century, and in
4'Kosmos" he tried to draw Il complete picture
Of it's condition in the middle Of the nineteenth
century. It WAS at the end Of tho last century
that he resolved on setting ont On that cele-
called the re-discovery Of America. The
Spanish colonies then included al Central
America, with the territory which non
forms tho States a ct Te.a' Flor
in fact, from SO degrees NORTH
latitude to a degrees south latitude. It is i'm
possible to follow him in his yehrs Of travel in
this then almost unknown region. Five years
we're occupied in the journey, and the splendid
added to OH knowledge. Somewhat later in life,
Humboldt made q similar journey into Aaiatic
Russia, with results which il smaller, we're still
;;o ct considerable sid value and importance e. Mean
Frederick William III, in 1914, and afterwards
accompanying that monarch On his journey
to Ai1, to London. to Rome, and Naples.
The Revolution OF July found him at Berlin,
formed the basis Of 'tEosmoe." At this time
Arago vrots from Metz that il the lectures were
not to be translated into French he. must learn
German to read them. Between the July reyo-
cepted several temporary diplomatic missions to
Paris and Kari Vogt describes his life in the
French capital:
The early morning hours, from I'LL IL, aro his CUR
OF Paris, climbing into IL the atdcs Of tho Quarter
Iatin searching out hale snthuxasts o. young
students Of scence occupied with special fnvestgn
ton. At Ii be breakfasta Il, the Cafe Prooope,
near the Odeon, at the 1afhAnd corner, By tho win
crowd The Afternoon he spends Il Menets % study 4
the Bbliothoque Richelieu: AZ Miguet never work.
;. md Ha;nbo1dt wofas g5sst DEL the former
library knd the attendants are entirely ut his dis
posal None but .cademicianA enter unan-
dimes 1t different place every day, but aivaya
with friends, and ueyar At N hotel or rastan-
rant Between ourselves, he Is great talker.
He tells story well, discouEses with much Wit and
intelligence that 1t IL q pleasure to listen to
him No Ffenchnan has more esprit. He never sita
long after dinner-haf hour It tho mos-And
then he takes his leave. He goes ut least TO 6Ee
receptions every evening" and on each occasion relates
the incidents with variations Altar he has ts1k
ed for about naf hour, he rises, makes bow, and
then retiring With some one into recess for few
cinu.es whispered conversation he slips away quietly
to the door. His carriage Wats below. At midnight
he drives home
When Frederick William the Fourth eamo to
the throne, Humboldt became his almost con-
slant companion. The King was . man OF sua-
ceptible temperament, master OF words, with =
living interest in all thlt vent on around him,
stable as water--a born dlettante full
OF schemes and inpules, but vaci11ating
and weak. Humboldt, who was born courtier,
and who once said Of himself, ''Iseek to please
everybody" was his chief companion. Ho kept
the Ring informed On all scientific and literary
subjects After day spent with Humboldt the
'Idse Of Alexander Won Humboldt: compiled In conn