HUMBOLDT IX 1850. 44/ 



Berlin on the 1st of Jannarj^, 1850 : " it Las been my 

 good fortune to see the patriarch of modern science, 

 Alexander Yon Humboldt. During the summer, and in 

 fact up to the last week, he resided in Potsdam, in the 

 royal palace ; when the king removed to Charlottenburg 

 he returned to his own residence in Berlin. One of his 

 friends, to whom I am already indebted for many kind- 

 nesses, offered to present me to him, and wrote a note to 

 solicit an interview. This is necessary, as casual visitors 

 are rarely or never admitted. The first post of the next 

 morning brought the answer, written evidently before 

 daybreak, and mailed before seven o'clock. He fixed 

 the hour at one o'clook on the 29th. But on that day 

 a second note informed us that Mr. Humboldt was unex- 

 pectedly called to attend some court ceremony at the 

 appointed hour, and so begged us to defer our visit until 

 the 80th, at the same hour. I mention this as an illus- 

 tration of his attention to small things. He does not 

 consider himself exempted from the performance of all 

 the minor duties of social intercourse. Exactly at the 

 appointed hour we were at his door. The house is plain 

 and comfortable, just like the other three-story houses 

 of Berlin, in its dull, clay-yellow colour. The entrance 

 is by a large carriage door, persons driving in and dc' 

 scending at the foot of the stairway. 



"Humboldt occupies the second floor. A tall, well- 

 fed servant in livery answered the bell, and ushered us 

 into a small anteroom, where we laid aside our cloaks 

 and hats, and waited until our visit should be announced. 

 "We had scarcely time to see that a large picture on wood, 

 after the old Flemish school, hung on the wall, and to 

 admire some stuffed birds, admirable specimens of taxi- 



