LITTLE the help of these lads he was working out and proving 

 JOURNEYS his pedagogic theories. 



When Campe resigned his immediate tutorship he was 

 allowed to select his successor, and he chose a young 

 man by the name of Christian Knuth. 

 The mother was a member of this little university of 

 four persons ; Knuth, of course, was a member, for he 

 always considered himself more of a student than 

 teacher. When Campe resigned in favor of Knuth his 

 action was in degree prompted by his love and con- 

 sideration for the boys. Knuth was only a little past 

 twenty, and was able to enter into the out-of-door 

 sports and work of the youngsters better than the older 

 man. Knuth was their hero together they rode horse- 

 back, climbed mountains, excavated tunnels, mined for 

 ore, built miniature houses. " Knuth made every good 

 thing in Berlin available to us," wrote William years 

 afterward " we visited stores, factories, barracks and 

 schools, and became familiar with a thousand com- 

 monplace things never taught in schools and colleges." 

 C{ When Alexander was twelve years old, the father 

 died. This would have been a severe blow to the boys 

 were it not for Knuth, who seemed to stand to them 

 more as the real parent than did Major von Humboldt. 

 C{ Knuth was a business man of no mean ability. The 

 Baroness now trusted him with all of her financial af- 

 fairs. He called on the boys to help him in the details 

 of business, so the keeping of accounts and the eco- 

 nomical handling of money were lessons they learned 

 early in life. 

 104 



