Humboldt's Letters. 261 



friend. I ain also glad of your journey to Kiel, to the 

 little region where German spirit finds an expression 

 free and consistent. The state of public affairs is like 

 the water-bottle shaken by D'Alembert, in order to 

 produce a mixture of bubbles of different shapes. 

 " Calculez moi cela," he said, in irony of hydraulic 

 science, of which he was himself so great a professor. 

 Many a bubble will burst before the diplomatists find 

 time to calculate its evanescent figure. 



I shall render my heartfelt thanks to Herr von 

 Froloff. I made a futile effort to dissuade him from 

 inserting a mass of explanations and metaphors, in- 

 tended to facilitate comprehension. He wished to 

 accomplish what is absolutely impossible, and seemed 

 to have but little understanding of the form of compo- 

 sition. I shall say nothing more to him about all that. 

 Hybrids are never successful in literature. 



I was extremely unwell, confined to my bed even ; 

 but now, in spite of the dispersion of all matters of 

 interest, I am well, industrious, and not cheerful. 

 In friendship as of old, yours, 



A. v. HUMBOLDT. 



