204 



an active one, yet no disguised one, and the King might have heard 

 of it. To counteract this, Humboldt proposed, they should ask 

 Stahl for his signature as well. On the sole credit of his own name 

 he can no longer get anything from the King. What a state of 

 things ! Humboldt forced to make a stalking-horse of Stahl !" 



CXLYII. 



HUMBOLDT TO VARNHAGEN. 



Berlin, 5th February, 1852. 



I believe, my dear friend, that the letter which I 

 have just received will go far to confirm your ideas of 

 Paris. Graluski, the translator of the second volume 

 of " Kosmos," is a noble-hearted, talented man, and 

 well versed in philology ; but of very moderate love of 

 liberty. His account of his first impressions is rather an 

 unblushing confession of the fact. He was, moreover, 

 haunted by a dreadful fear of that which was to come. 

 It has ever been my opinion, that even the wildest 

 Republic can never do as great and lasting injury to 

 the intellectual progress of mankind, and to its con- 

 sciousness of its inherent titles of honour, as le regime 

 de mon oncle, le despotisms eclair e, dogmatique, mielleuoc, 

 which avails itself of all the contrivances of civilization 

 to make the will and caprice of one man paramount. 

 To heighten your disgust at such humiliation, which 

 threatens to spread like a pestilence, read in to-day's 

 (3rd February) " Journal des Debats " the reasons 

 which, according to the " Constitutional," render 

 necessary a list of candidates recommended for election. 

 In yesterday's " Spener's Grazette " there was an article 

 containing similar proposals with regard to our Second 

 Chamber. 



I hope soon to procure for you the " Histoire de 



