THE MODERN CEMETERY. 
31 
THE MEGALITHIC HUMBOLDT MONUMENT, BERLIN. 
ate for him, since he began his career as a miner 
and geologist. The Archaeological studies of Herr 
Friedel pointed toward the same end, and I had 
the happiness to assist these slowly ripening projects 
with my most ardent sympathy. At the outset the 
intention was to construct the cairn with stones 
picked up on all the sites, in every part of the globe, 
which Humboldt had visited, or, at least which were 
connected with his studies. This plan was not with- 
out its attractions, it was finally abandoned, and, 
perhaps, not to the disadvantage of the monument; 
for, from an aesthetic point of view, it would have 
been a mixture of very heterogeneous elements that 
would have violated the geological conscience of 
Humboldt. Certainly it was better to confine the 
material to the products of this land itself. In the 
severe grandeur of its accomplishment the fundamen- 
tal idea now appears dignified and appropriate, 
and speaks to the heart with a truly antique simpilc- 
ity. 
On a gently sloping elevation rises the primitive 
structure of rough stones, vaguely recalling the Cyc- 
lopean walls of Greece or Italy. No trace of the 
hand of man is visible upon it. Two enormous 
longitudinal blocks seem to have been set, one up- 
on the other, by the arms of giants. A third, 
equally colossal, but round in shape, lies beside 
them, while a multitude of large and small stones 
advance unsymmetrically to the right and the left, 
in an irregularity which is at once harmonious and 
picturesque, the whole being a faithful copy of 
primitive Nature as revealed upon this very soil.. 
The upper of the two great monoliths was found 
near Charlottenburg. It is of a pure deep rose-color 
and strangely traversed by irregular blackish veins, 
which mingle upon its surface as in a my.stic design. 
With the other, placed at a lower level, it forms a 
little grotto, which is sealed with a slab of marble 
— the only trace of human art — bearing, in German, 
this inscription: 
To THE Memory of A. von Humboldt, 
THE City of Berlin. 
1869. 1887. 
A Lotus-blossom is sculptured beside it. The date 
1887 marks the completion of the monument, which, 
contrary to custom, was never inaugurated by any 
official solemnity, but only by a modest ceremony 
organized by the Historical Society of Berlin, with 
Herr Friedel, as president, at its head. 
