OFFICIAL EMPLOYMENT. 121 



his estimable character were genuine religious feeling, an ear- 

 nest, persevering endeavour to cultivate the purest affections, 

 an absence of all self-seeking, a susceptibility to everything 

 noble and beautiful, and inexhaustible kindness and gentleness. 

 He was distinguished for the lively interest he took in the sub- 

 ject of education, for the readiness witn which he acknowledged 

 merit in his subordinates, and the care with which he ever 

 selected only worthy and capable men for the appointments he 

 had to bestow. While in the service of the Brunswick-Hanoverian 

 Government he had brought the mining works in the Harz 

 Mountains to a flourishing condition, later in 1766, when in 

 the employ of the Elector of Saxony, he founded the School of 

 Mines at Freiberg, and since 1777 he had devoted himself to 

 the task of improving the condition of the Prussian mines and 

 smelting works, which were at that time at a very low ebb. 



Such was the state of the public service when Alexander von. 

 Humboldt, at the age of twenty-two, entered upon official 

 employment. The path to honour and dignity in the State lay 

 open before him, and, without waiting for any proof of his 

 ability, he was received with the highest expectations and in the 

 most flattering manner. 



The enjoyment experienced by Humboldt in the execution of 

 the commissions entrusted to him whereby his interest in science 

 and love of travel found constant gratification, may best be ga- 

 thered from his letters to his friends and recent fellow-students, 

 especially from his correspondence with Freiesleben ; and these 

 letters, together with some legal documents still preserved in 

 the Prussian and Bavarian archives, furnish the best means of 

 tracing the course of events in his official life. As early as 

 March 2, 1792, he wrote to Freiesleben from Berlin : 



' It was impossible for me to write sooner, as the mails for 

 Saxony only leave here on Tuesdays and Saturdays, and I arrived 

 so late on Monday evening that the post-office was already 

 closed. ... It is still quite uncertain how long I remain 

 here ; it must be decided now in the course of a few days. My 

 memoir on the salt works and their mode of management, and 

 my other literary efforts, have produced a sensation. The 

 minister has loaded me with encomiums. It seems as if every- 

 thing were conspiring to meet my wishes, and yet I regard the 



