Humboldt's Letters. 349 



Souci has no reason to be ashamed : " La Calif ornie r 

 qui a NOBLEMENT rcsiste & Tintroduction de Vesclavage^ 

 sera dignement representee par un ami de la liberte 

 et des progres de V intelligence."* The biography has 

 passages of a strange romantic interest. At one *lime 

 cold and hunger have driven a party to fury and almost 

 phrensy, when they all pray and sjng, and then an oath 

 from Fremont that there shall not in any case be a resort 

 to cannibalism. As soon as my own curiosity is satis- 

 fied I shall send you the book. For the present, you 

 may occupy yourself with the miracle performed by the 

 chaplain of an army division in Magdeburg, on a Mr. 

 Assemann, in Quedlinburg. I have lighted upon it in 

 my capacity of naturalist. It is to be found on p. 34. 

 Gratefully yours, A. v. HUMBOLDT. 



NOTE BY VARXHAGEN. The water color paintings by Hildebrandt, 

 that of Humboldt among them, were exhibited in the hall of the Art 

 Union, for the benefit of the poor. Price of admission, five silber- 

 groschen.f 



Suicide a Folly and a Crime ; Two Sermons by Dr. Crusius, Chap- 

 lain of a Division of the Army: Magdeburg, 1855. 8vo. The miracle 

 consists in this, that one, who under the qualms of a guilty conscience, 

 was long occupied with thoughts of suicide, was suddenly cured of 

 them, permanently, by an invocation of the name of Jesus. The 



* California, which has nobly resisted the introduction of slavery, 

 will be worthily represented by a Mend of liberty and of the progress 

 of intelligence. 



f About eleven cents. 



