294 ALEXANDER VON HUMBOLDT. 



He took fright at the night owl, the insignia of the Maximilian 

 order.' Quite unconscious of these witticisms, King Maximilian 

 wrote an autograph letter to Humboldt on December 21 : 'I 

 hope soon to present you, as the hero of science in Germany, 

 with the new order I have instituted in its honour : the deco- 

 rations are very nearly completed. In your case I can say with 

 truth it is the man who honours the order. With the highest 

 esteem, yours faithfully, Maximilian.' 



It may perhaps have excited some surprise that so much 

 space should have been allotted to the details of an affair 

 apparently so trivial, but in reality this encounter between 

 Humboldt, the ' Democratic Courtier,' and Uhland, the poet of 

 the people, was highly illustrative of Humboldt's character. In 

 passing judgment upon a tone of mind which refused to regard 

 life to use one of his favourite -expressions as an 'equalisa- 

 tion of conditions ' which everyone had to regulate for him- 

 self, he could find no more suitable terms than 'Cato-like 

 infatuation or folly.' Nor must it be forgotten that the insti- 

 tution of the Order of Merit occupied so large a portion of 

 Humboldt's time and thoughts during the latter part of his life 

 that, while he was best known intellectually as the Author of 

 < Cosmos,' his outward position and influence were most clearly 

 represented through his official duties as chancellor of this 

 order, which had been created especially on his account and 

 formed the most appropriate decoration to his person. It was 

 his opinion that the splendour of mental gifts, apart from 

 the stimulating effects produced on other minds, should in 

 this world of show be represented by some outward token of 

 honour an opinion from which he could not be moved by the 

 persevering attacks of irony. He has often been designated the 

 King of Science ! and he was undoubtedly so in the sense of 

 introducing into the sphere of intellectual life the distinctions 

 valued by courtiers, though preserving a freedom from court 

 trammels. That by so doing he was in danger of admitting an 

 inferior motive as an incentive to scientific labour, such as had 

 never before been usual in Germany, where science numbered 

 so many distinguished votaries, was an idea he steadfastly 

 refused to entertain. To obliterate the sad impression which 

 Humboldt's conduct in this affair is likely to produce, we shall 



