158 ALEXANDER VON HUMBOLDT. 



my peace of mind. Is it possible that you can really think of 

 me as a director ? I am alarmed at your expression, " I fear you 

 cannot escape." It has almost robbed me of sleep. I shall have 

 relinquished my position in Paris, and returned to my country 

 merely to become director of a picture gallery, to accept an ap- 

 pointment from Herr von Forbin, and to occupy myself with 

 subjects diametrically opposed to everything for which I have 

 acquired any reputation in the world. This would be too 

 humiliating, and I should refuse point blank, even were I nomi- 

 nated without my consent. You have yourself too much regard 

 for the European fame we both enjoy, in which neither of us can 

 suffer without injury to the other, to censure me for this deter- 

 mination. I would sooner quit the country than be exposed to 

 this danger. I intend not only to refuse the appointment of 

 director, but all presidencies and other permanent offices in any 

 commission whatever. My wish is to remain at the service of 

 the king in every matter of a transitory nature in such a posi- 

 tion as you now are and I shall be glad to assist you in duties 

 that may seem too onerous ; ' but a permanent post at the Mu- 

 seum he could not possibly accept, and this he had expressly 

 declared before leaving Berlin. In his position as counsellor 

 to the king he could accomplish much valuable service for the 

 Institution. The energetic remonstrances that he made on this 

 subject were not without result ; Count Briihl, the manager of 

 the Royal Theatre at Berlin, was appointed Director-General of 

 the Museum. Humboldt again refers to this subject in a tone 

 of some impatience in a letter to his brother from Moscow 

 dated November 5 : ' The statement I have already made, that 

 certain persons were unwilling that you should remain immured 

 at Tegel, means nothing .more than that certain persons were 

 anxious to gratify themselves and us at the same time. They 

 wished to see the places filled by us in order that those they 

 disliked should be kept out of them. Such is the world.' By 

 this he meant that it was only from hatred to Briihl that at- 

 tention had been directed to him. 6 1 rejoice at the nomination 

 of Count Briihl ; as for myself, I should have resisted to the 

 uttermost any proposal to appoint me to a permanent office.' 



The post of Director-General of the Museum of Berlin was 

 committed in 1840 to Von Hause, a member of the medical 



