HUMBOLDT'S FRENCH. 449 



"He commenced the conversation in English, with an 

 apology for his imperfect style, and spoke in that lan- 

 guage during a greater part of the interview. Truth 

 requires me to say that Mr. Humboldt knows, far better 

 than his too hasty admirers, his proficiency in that lan- 

 guage. Contrary to the assertion generally made so 

 loosely, I must agree with him that he does not speak it 

 perfectly, though well, and with great fluency. A foreign 

 accent made his English less intelligible than his French, 

 which he speaks elegantly, and like a native. In speak- 

 ing of the French savant, Nicolet, he adopted that lan- 

 guage, and his wit and playful humour appeared in a 

 very favourable light. . Here, for the first time, I recog- 

 nised the literary artist, whose taste and genius have won 

 undying renown, and in the quiet satire and richness of 

 the style that inimitable power of word-painting and 

 felicity of expression, which make the pages of his hun- 

 dred books so fascinating. I felt now the charm of that 

 eloquence which has convinced so many that age has not 

 affected the philosopher, either physically or mentally. 

 It was indeed surprising : there was all the fire and spirit 

 of thirty on the lips of the man of fourscore. He sat 

 generally with his head bowed on his breast, but when 

 he became interested would raise it and look on his 

 visitors, while a warm and genial smile would play 

 across his features. He has the expression of a man of 

 great goodness of heart, without weakness, and the 

 polished and simple manner of a veteran courtier. 

 There is nothing flabby about the face, the flesh being 

 firm and solid. His head is not remarkable for size, 

 but the forehead is high and smooth, without the pro- 

 tuberances which phrenologists usually assign to the 



