OF BAROX HUMBOLDT. 61 



antiquity, it was always their faithful former 

 tutor and friend who managed in the interim 

 the property of the brothers at home with 

 parental care. Kunth endeavoured to assist 

 and to satisfy the aspirations of his pupils after 

 universality in knowledge, but did not for a 

 moment overlook the necessity of a profound 

 acquaintance with the separate branches. The 

 former tutor, Canape, had inspired them with a 

 love for languages and geography ; and Kunth 

 made these branches an important auxiliary in 

 their progressive acquaintance with general 

 knowledge. Both brothers very early mani- 

 fested their peculiar inclinations. The elder 

 brother selected mental philosophy, the study 

 of the higher results of human intellect and 

 feeling, and, of necessity, languages, the 

 natural expression of these results, the special 

 field for his labours. Alexander, on the other 

 hand, devoted himself more exclusively to the 

 various branches of the physical sciences. 



A sad calamity soon visited the family von 

 Humboldt, in which Kunth had been tutor 

 since 1777, in consequence of the death of 

 Major von Humboldt, in January, 1779. The 

 influence of the widowed Lady Humboldt 

 became henceforth more conspicuous ; and the 

 perfect confidence of this high-minded lady in 



