251 



of madness, more serious and more compromising; not 

 so royalistic in its tendency, but Bernese-aristocratic, 

 flavoured with some little railway interest (whether 

 the line by way of Neufchatel or Chaux de Fond is 

 to be patronized), that is to say, with share dab- 

 blings. And the heroic Count, who accomplishes the 

 coup d'etat a la Napoleon, comes inspired (?) from Ber- 

 lin, while we have a Minister at the Diet whom to- 

 day we deny ever to have acknowledged. How is 

 one to get out of this ? Such will be the case with 

 our three Transpontine possessions the Jade,* the 

 Zollern (the discovery of Columbus-Stillfried),t and 

 Neufchatel. I pity the Constantinopolitan Pourtales 

 who steps in between his dynasty (the Prussian 

 Grafenthum) and his official liberalism, engaged in 

 bitter feud. Fortunately the English Parliament is 

 silent just now. Yours faithfully, 



A. v. HUMBOLDT. 



CLXXVII. 



THE PRUSSIAN AMBASSADOR VON GEROLT TO 

 HUMBOLDT. 



New York, 25th August, 1856. 



My dearest, kindest sir, Since my last letter 

 to your Excellency of the 8th instant, I have 

 been rendered happy by your letter of the 27th 

 of July, from which I learn with the warmest sym- 

 pathy of your late indisposition. I return my most 

 heartfelt thanks for the news your Excellency has 

 kindly communicated, and hasten to send, according 



* The Bay of Jade, the projected Prussian war-port in the German Ocean. TR. 



t The principalities of Hohenzollern in S wabia, the cradle of the Royal house. 

 They were, with the consent of the princes, their owners, incorporated with 

 the Prussian monarchy by Friedrich Wilhelm IV. TR. 



