COLLEGE LIFE. 105 



To the historian Wattenbach at Heidelberg we owe the pub- 

 lication l of some letters received by his father from Hum- 

 boldt about this time. This gentleman was related to Biisch, 

 acted as his secretary, and, together with Humboldt, was an 

 inmate of his house. These letters contain the names of 

 several of his friend^ at that period, and they evince 

 the warm and lively recollection which Humboldt long pre- 

 served of the friendly relationships he maintained with his 

 companions at Hamburg. They are full of the ' lively wit ' to 

 which Forster refers, while the unpretending good nature 

 which is manifested throughout keeps in the background that 

 overwhelming superiority of which Humboldt must even then 

 have been conscious when in the society of his youthful com- 

 panions. 



The few weeks spent in Berlin, from the end of April tijj Of r ^ T| 

 June 11, were occupied by Humboldt in the pursuit of his, 

 favourite study, botany, and in experimenting with Hermh- <^ 

 stadt in his chemical laboratory, but his attention was chiefly 

 given to acquiring a more intimate acquaintance with minera- 

 logy in preparation for his visit to the School of Mines at 

 Freiberg. 



As a matter of courtesy more than of necessity, Humboldt 

 sought the permission of the minister Von Heinitz, Head of the 

 Department for the Regulation of the Mining and Smelting 

 Works, in the following terms : 2 



'Berlin: May 14, 1791. 



' Sir, The unbounded confidence inspired in me by the esti- 

 mation in which the character of your Excellency is universally 

 held, combined with the remarkable kindness with which you. 

 received my small work upon the nature of the basalts of the 

 ancients and the basalts of the Rhine, leads me to hope that 

 your Excellency will forgive my boldness in venturing to lay 

 before you a sketch of my future public life. 



' I have now attained an age when I cannot but wish to 

 enter upon some fixed sphere of labour, and devote to the 

 service of my country such limited powers as I possess. The- 



1 f Preussische Jahrbiicher/ vol. xvi. pp. 139-148. 



2 The original is preserved among the papers of the Royal Mining;- 

 Department at Berlin. x 



