290 ALEXANDER VON HUMBOLDT. 



rendered vacant by the death of Tieck in 1853. Bockh was 

 the first to propose Uhland as a suitable candidate ; Hum- 

 boldt's wishes centered upon Eaumer, ' Tieck's dearest friend,' 

 but fearing there was no chance of his election, he proposed to 

 Bockh to unite with him in favour of Uhland, in whose cause 

 he had been on the point of writing to him. On October 3, 

 1853, only six days after this resolution, he speaks of canvassing 

 actively for votes : ' I cannot but smile over my affection for 

 ^Eschylus-Uhland, who is in fact personally unknown to me. 

 I am writing the ninth letter on his account and he, forsooth, 

 is the greatest poet that Grermany can produce after Puss in 

 Boots ! ' * From the pardonable doubts as to Uhland's poetic 

 genius conveyed in these words, it may well be supposed that 

 Humboldt's interest in his election was mainly excited by the 

 circumstance that in the prevailing political reaction he was 

 a 'persona ingrata.^ On November 27, he wrote to Bockh : 

 ' To you, my dear friend, who first originated this sugges- 

 tion, so gratifying to liberal Grermany, I hasten to communicate 

 the intelligence which perhaps you have already surmised (since 

 I wrote nine letters on the subject), that Uhland has been 

 elected by sixteen votes out of twenty-two. ... As I just 

 now informed the king of the result, he remarked : " An 

 excellent choice ; I am much pleased." I am almost convinced 

 that even should the king change his mind, I shall still be able 

 to win the day nevertheless, I must beg of you not to write 

 just yet to Uhland, and in general society only to refer to the 

 nomination as being " much approved." It will have a good 

 effect upon his countrymen, inspiring them with right views.' 

 He then proceeded, while making use of a favourite expression, 

 ' a title is a handle,' to inquire the titles due to Uhland, as he 

 should have to write to him in announcing his election. On 

 December 5, at one o'clock in the day, the nomination was 

 presented to the king, and received the royal signature, ' not 

 wholly without protest.' At six o'clock on the same day, 

 Humboldt wrote ' in an affectionate tone ' to Uhland, 2 telling 

 him of the realisation of hopes that he had long cherished. 



1 [In allusion to Tieck, who had dramatised this popular fairy tale.] 



2 The correspondence between Humboldt and Uhland was published in 

 the German newspapers in November 1865. 



