340 ALEXANDEE VON HUMBOLDT. 



In the previous chapter, political events were carried up to 

 the outbreak of the French Eevolution of February 1848. 

 This event was the presage of a stormy agitation in Prussian 

 politics ; and it will naturally be asked how far the sympathies 

 of the zealous adherent to the 'ideas of 1789 ' were enlisted in 

 this widespread movement. Had this admiration ever been 

 of a practical character, or had Alexander von Humboldt 

 been as truly a ' man of the people ' as he was popularly repre- 

 sented to have been, it was to be expected that, in spite of his 

 great age, he would have played some part, if more representa- 

 tive than active, in the events of March and the following 

 months of 1848. But Arago's friend was by no means himself 

 an Arago ; of the passionate fire that gleamed in the eyes of 

 that child of the South, there was scarce a trace in the good- 

 humoured countenance of the man of science of the North ; it 

 might be almost unhesitatingly asserted that Humboldt would 

 never have accepted even an honorary position in the pro- 

 visional government, had such a proposal been made to him. 

 We have already noticed ' his sympathetic rejoicings with the 

 French ' upon hearing of the February Revolution in Paris ; on 

 March 12, he wrote to Varnhagen enclosing a poem by Frei- 

 ligrath in honour of the Republic; l but with him this was only 

 a theoretic play of fancy; he had no serious thought of a 

 Republic being established in his native land, any more than 

 he believed in France continuing without a monarchical govern- 

 ment. In what light the Revolution at Berlin was viewed by 

 him at the moment of the outbreak, or even immediately 

 before its occurrence, we have no means of ascertaining ; 

 Varnhagen and Humboldt failed to meet either on March 17 

 or 18. 2 In the attempt to chronicle the Revolution of Berlin, 

 it has been stated that Humboldt was one of those who in the 

 eleventh hour sought to conjure the king to allay the storm by 

 granting a concession. Information thus derived should be 



authorities, those of chief importance are the letters to Bockh, to the 

 Princess of Prussia, to Curtius, Dove, and Johannes Sehulze ; besides various 

 letters from numerous correspondents, either found among Humboldt's 

 papers or given by him previously to Seifert. 



1 Varnhagen's f Tagebiicher,' vol. iv. p. 274. 



2 Ibid. pp. 284-8. 



