239 



Varnhagen states in his Diary, llth August, 1855 : " About one 

 o'clock Humboldt called, looking very well, quite hale, fresh, and 

 in high spirits. If, a short time ago, as Dirichlet* thought, his looks 

 made a less gratifying impression, it was owing to indisposition, 

 which has vanished. First, the book of my cousin was introduced, 

 which he praises, and for which he thanks him in a letter. I was 

 not able to explain to him the expression Sorocaba. Humboldt has 

 only lately been decorated with the Great Brazilian Order, on 

 account of a sentence of arbitration which he had been requested to 

 pronounce between Brazil and Venezuela, concerning a considerable 

 tract of territory. ' In former times they wanted, in Rio de Janeiro, 

 to arrest me and to send me back to Europe as a dangerous spy. 

 The order for it is still shown there as a curiosity, and now I am 

 made arbitrator. I have of course decided in favour of Brazil, as I 

 was craving for the great Order, and the Republic of Venezuela has 

 none to give ! ' These words, uttered with the most humorous 

 irony, made me exclaim : ' How times are changed !' ' Yes/ he 

 at once rejoined ; ' the Warrant for my arrest, and now the great 

 Order!' ' Oh no,' I replied; 'I did not think of this personal 

 incident, but of the historical change ; in times of yore such arbitra- 

 tions were left to the Pope.' 



Humboldt saw the last two volumes of Stein's "Life" lying 

 in my room, and expressed his dissatisfaction at their arrange- 

 ment, the poor text, and the unsifted contents of the book; he 

 said, the golden snuff-box, with diamonds, which the King had 

 already sent to Pertz, far exceeded his deserts. Flagrant and 

 paltry injustice to old Prince Wittgenstein, on the part of 

 Stein. Pertz likewise was unjust to Wittgenstein. Stein's had 

 been anything but a firm character, no one had more readily 

 changed his opinions and views (which Beymef in his times 



* Professor of Mathematics at Berlin. TR. 



f Beyme was an enemy of Stein's. When Stein, in 1807, returned to 

 office, one of the conditions under which he accepted the situation of Chancellor 

 of State, was the removal of Beyme from about the person of the Monarch. 

 Beyme was therefore appointed President ol the Court of Exchequer (Kam- 

 mergericht) in Berlin, being succeeded as Cabinet Councillor by Albrecht 

 (mentioned before). It is therefore hardly fair to refer to Beyme's authority 

 in anything affecting Stem's character, TR. 



