46 Humboldt's Letters. 



HUMBOLDT TO YARITHAGEN. 



BERLIN, March 28th, 1830. 



A MIND like yours, my generous friend, understands, 

 in its mildness and fortitude, how to discover some 

 justification for everything. I do not fear, therefore, 

 to appear this morning again before you as a petitioner, 

 after a winter distracted by the dashing court-waves 

 and festivities. You are the only one in this harmony- 

 barren, genius-deserted city who possesses a harmony 

 of style and a sense of moderation in the utterance of 

 painful sentiments. May I beg you to cast a critical 

 glance over the inclosed sheets ?* The variations 

 played on the praise-chanting lyre for forty individuals 

 were a tedious, style-spoiling necessity. It was arranged 

 who should be invited to the great table. As for me, 

 I think I came out not quite awkwardly, by some indi- 

 vidual characteristics, and by a sort of graduation in 

 my praise. Allow me to call to-day, about eleven 



* Preface to Wilhelm von Humboldt's work about the Kawi lan- 

 guage. 



