LAST ILLNESS OF AVILLIAM VON HUMBOLDT. 423 



trembled. It was evident that one of u the German Dio- 

 scuri," as the brothers were called, was on his way to the 

 Silent Land. One by one the friends of his youth went 

 before him. First Niebuhr and Stein ; then Goethe and 

 Gentz, and then Hegel and Schleiermacher. Then it was 

 his turn. It was his custom to visit his wife's grave on 

 the anniversary of her birthday, and it cost him at last 

 his life ; for on one of these solemn festivals of his soul 

 he caught a severe cold, which hastened his death. 

 Three days before he died Alexander wrote concerning 

 him to their mutual friend, Varnhagen Yon Ense. Here 

 is his letter. 



" Berlin, 6 o'clock a.m., 6th April, 1835. 



" You, my dear Yarnhagen, who do not fear pain, but 

 consider it reflectively in the depth of the feelings, you 

 must receive a few words of love which the two brothers 

 feel for you in this mournful time. The dissolution has 

 not taken place yet. I left him at eleven o'clock last 

 night, and now hasten thither again. Yesterday was a 

 less painful day : he was in a half soporific condition, had 

 much and not very restless sleep ; and at each awaking, 

 words of love and consolation, and the clearness of his 

 great intellect, which comprehends everything, and ex- 

 amines its own condition. His voice was very weak, 

 hoarse, and sharp, like a child's, therefore the physician 

 applied leeches to the larynx. He is perfectly conscious. 

 ' Think often of me,' he said, the day before yesterday, 

 1 but always cheerfully. I have been very happy ; to-day 

 also was a happy da} 7- for me, for love is the greatest 

 happiness. I shall soon be with your mother, and com- 

 prehend the laws of the higher world.' I have no hope. 



