19 



out helping me to mend it ; and put me at my ease 

 about the title. 



Yours very faithfully, 



Monday. A. V. HlJMBOLDT. 



The besetting sins of my style are, an unfor- 

 tunate propensity to poetical expressions, a long par- 

 ticipial construction, and too great concentration of 

 various opinions and sentiments in the same sentence. 

 I think that these radical evils, inevitable as they are 

 from the construction of my mind, will be diminished 

 by strict simplicity and generalisation which exist 

 beside it (a soaring, if I may be vain enough to say so, 

 above observed results). A book on Nature ought to 

 produce an impression like Nature herself. The point, 

 however, to which I have especially, as in my "Aspects 

 of Nature/ 3 paid attention, and in which my style 

 differs entirely from Forster and Chateaubriand, is this, 

 that I have endeavoured in description to be trutJiful, 

 distinct, nay even scientifically accurate, without get- 

 ting into the dry atmosphere of abstract science. 



XVII. 



HUMBOLDT TO VARNHAGEN. 



Berlin, 28th October, 1834. 



You have comforted and cheered me by your kind 

 letter, and still kinder care. You have entered 

 thoroughly into the spirit in which I have approached 

 my task ; only the expression of my affectionate con- 

 fidence an evidence of the extent to which your talent 

 is appreciated by the Humboldt family has made you 

 too indulgent and complimentary. Your remarks 



c 2 



