Humboldt's Letters. 81 



acknowledged master. The place of Jaeger, whose loss 

 was greatly to be regretted, is well filled by Endlicher 

 a man of eminent genius ; Baumgarten and Etting- 

 hausen, are savans of great distinction. The Polytech- 

 nic School goes on admirably and is training up savans, 

 and thoroughly educated mechanicians. Roesel is the 

 best optician of our time, and the young Voigtlander 

 follows in his footsteps. 



The establishment of Baron Charles Huegel has 

 opened a new and vast field to botany. The arts and 

 sciences advance quite to one's liking; all that is wanted 

 is a supervisor like yourself. 



You complain, my dear Baron, at finding yourself 

 the oldest of the foreign members of the Institute ; this 

 indeed is a dreary lot, but it is inevitable and quite 

 natural provided one does not commit the folly of 

 going off before the others. I have the same feeling 

 and that in a field which is certainly the greatest of all 

 fields. Of all the Kings and the Ministers of State in 

 office, between the year 1813 and the year 1815, the 

 King of Prussia and myself are the only survivors ! And 

 yet the time does not embrace more than a quarter 

 of a century so true is it that twenty-five years are 

 quite an historical epoch. Let us not lose courage at 

 such trifles, but go on as if they were nothing at all. 

 My sincerest homage, dear Baron. 



METTEKNICH. 

 4* 



