178 Humboldt's Letters. 



at any rate, cold and wet, could produce an excitement 

 at the present time.* Peruse the manuscript, dear 

 friend, and send it back to-morrow, Tuesday, before two 

 o'clock. The steps which I intend taking will, however, 

 be unsuccessful. The proceeds of its representation 

 might, with propriety, be given to the inundated, and 

 thus the police might become a hydraulic power, or 

 even a drying machine. Yours, 



MONDAY. A. HT. 



Dl. 



HUMBOLDT TO 



BERLIN, September 6th, 1844. 



I UNDERSTAND as well as you do, my dear friend, that 

 the speechf in question must necessarily have produced 

 a great sensation and excitement in our " north," as 

 well as under the sluggish Pole. He really excels in 

 flowery eloquence. The figures which he presents are 

 hardly new ; but a certain delicacy of expression, and a 



* Humboldt refers here to a patriotic drama of Robert Prutz. 

 " Moritz von Sachsen," the representation of which was forbidden by 

 the Berlin police. Tr. 



f Of the King, at the inauguration of the Provincial States. 



