1900.] on Bunsen. 447 



wander with Kirchhoff or Helmboltz, or some other of his intimate 

 friends, through the chestnut woods which cover the hills at the foot 

 of which the town lies. As the infirmities of age increased, and his 

 walking powers diminished, he was obliged to take to driving through 

 the woods along the charming roads which intersect the hills in all 

 directions. Writing became a difficulty, and in his latter days the 

 news of him came to me through our mutual friends, Quincke and 

 Konigsberger. One of the last letters I received from him is dated 

 June 4, 1890:— 



" .... I have been suffering for weeks from the after-effects of 

 influenza, and I am still so weak that I have to spend my days on the 

 sofa, and have scarcely strength to walk the few yards to dinner at 

 the Grand Hotel. When I think that next March I enter on my 

 eightieth year, I must resign myself to the fact that such a state 

 of things is inevitable. My hearing, too, becomes more and more 

 difficult, and my eyes are worse, so I have to deny myself all social 

 intercourse, and only see now and then one of my old friends who 

 comes to look me up. But in spite of all this, I can still feel the 

 humour of life." 



Rarely at any time or place has a University enjoyed the presence 

 of so remarkable a galaxy of eminent men as was enjoyed for many 

 years by the Carola Ruperto from about the middle of the present 

 century. The central figure of this illustrious band was Bunsen ; 

 round him were grouped, to name only some of his colleagues and 

 friends in the faculty of science, Kirchhoff, and after him Quincke ; 

 Helmboltz, and alter him Kuhne ; Fuchs, and after him Leo Konigs- 

 berger ; and last, but nut least, Hermann Kopp and Rosenbusch, and 

 the ever-to-be-lamented Victor Meyer ; whilst in other faculties were 

 Schlosser, Gervinus and Hausser, the historians and statesmen ; von 

 Mohl, the jurist and diplomatist ; Zeller, the theologian ; Vangerow, 

 the great Pandectanist ; and other scarcely less distinguished men who 

 at that time adorned the faculties of Philosophy, Medicine and Law 

 in the University of Heidelberg. 



Almost up to the last Bunsen continued to take a vivid interest in 

 the progress of scientific discovery, and, though suffering from pain 

 and weakness, ever preserved the equanimity which was one of his 

 lifelong characteristics. Three days before his death, so Quincke 

 writes to me, he lay in a peaceful slumber, his countenance exhibiting 

 the fine intellectual expression of his best and brightest days. Thus 

 passed away, full of days and full of honours, a man, equally beloved 

 for his great qualities of heart as he is honoured for those of his 

 fertile brain, the memory of whom will always remain green amongst 

 all who were fortunate enough to number him amongst their friends. 



[H. E. P.] 



