THWABTED PLANS. 217 



and was sold by the last representative of that family, in 1763, 

 to Captain von Hollwede, through whose widow, Elizabeth von 

 Colomb, it passed into the hands of her second husband, Alex- 

 ander George von Humboldt, the father of the two brothers. 

 Major von Humboldt died in 1779, and was interred atRmgen- 

 walde, but his remains were afterwards removed to Falkenberg ; 

 the estate was sold by his heirs as early as 1793, for 72,000 

 thalers, of which sum 45,000 thalers remained as a secret 

 mortgage upon the estate until 1803. On the division of the 

 property after the death of their mother in 1796, all claim upon 

 this mortgage was relinquished by his brother William and his 

 step-brother 'Captain von Hollwede in favour of Alexander von 

 Humboldt, who shortly after endeavoured, without success, to 

 realise this property in preparation for his extensive travels. 



In addition to the 45,000 thalers from the estate at Eingen- 

 walde, Alexander von Humboldt inherited a mortgage upon the 

 property at Tegel of 8,000 thalers, besides various investments 

 and ready money, which brought up his inheritance to the sum 

 of 91,475 thalers 4 groschen. After deducting the sum of 

 6,100 thalers in payment of some debts, he remarks in his 

 journal, while still at Dresden : c The whole of my property 

 this June 16, 1797, amounts to the sum of 85,375 thalers 4 

 groschen, from which the yearly income will average 3,476 

 thalers.' 1 



This sojourn in Dresden, prolonged on account of the in- 

 creased illness of his sister-in-law through a relapse of fever, 

 occasioned a postponement of all their plans. ' It is likely to 

 prove an agreeable journey,' writes Schiller to Goethe on June 

 30, ' when before starting they must have already exceeded their 

 time I ' 



At length they were able to leave Dresden towards the end 

 of July, 1797. ' The Humboldts are gone,' Schiller writes to 

 Goethe on July 30, 'and have left you their heartiest greeting.' 

 It was at this period that the correspondence between Korner 

 and Schiller, quoted in pp. 187-189, took place relative to 

 the characters of William and Alexander von Humboldt. 



The sympathy of their friends followed the travellers in their 



1 [In English money, reckoning the thaler at 2s. lid., this amounted to 

 12 ; 450/., and his income to 506/.] 



