From Sharpe's Magazine. BIOGRAPHICAL TABLEAUX OF ALEXANDER VON HUMBOLDT. FROM AUTHENTIC AND HITHERTO UNPUBLISHED DOCUMENTS. THE PATERNAL DWELLING. A CONSTELLATION shines in the firmament in the name of Humboldt; for it is impossible to speak of Alexander von Humboldt without thinking of his gifted brother Wilhelm, the great statesman, and the still greater etymologist. Frederick Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander Baron von Humboldt, the younger of these brothers, and the subject of the present paper, was born in Berlin on the 14th of September, 1769, in the same year with Napoleon, Wellington, Cuvier, Canning, Walter Scott, and Chateaubriand. Short as is the period of man's existence, the time allotted to those whose mission it was to rule or to enlighten the world has generally been still more circumscribed. Indeed, those who have accomplished the most extraordinary deeds have seldom attained a great age, but Alexander von Humboldt has been permitted to approach closely to the utmost limit of human life; to outlive his great contemporaries; to shine as an intellectual Pharos, longest and brightest at the turning point of two centuries, and to forestall the future in many of its most sacred intellectual efforts. Humboldt combines the privileges of noble descent with so much of true nobility, that he can dispense with an historic exhibition of his ancestry, and with a genealogical furbishing of his escutcheon. His father served in the Prussian army from 1736 until 1762, and attained the rank of major. In 1764, the king appointed him chamberlain to the Prince of Prussia, and in 1766 he married Elizabeth von Colomb Dowager Baroness von Hollweyle. Our hero and his brother were the issue of this marriage. He resigned his post at the court of the crown prince in 1769, and from that time lived without offre, but not uselessly. He converted Tegel, the family residence, by means of art and taste, into a little paradise. He was a philanthropist, affable, and most benevolent; and his death, at the age of fifty-nine, was deeply and generally regretted. Frederick the great reposed much confidence in Humboldt's father, who was, as adjutant to the Duke of Brunswick, frequently in personal communication with the king during the most eventful period of the Seven Years' War. In a letter about the fall of Wedel, Frederick writes: "I have told Humboldt every thing which can possibly be communicated at such a distance." Even after he had left the princely court of Potsdam, he retained the most entire confidence of his sovereign: and the British ambassador at the court of Prussia writes, in 1766, about Major von Humboldt as of a man "of good understanding and beautiful character," and as one of the first of those who may look forward to become ministers under the future king, William the Second. It is a curious coïncidence, that the mother of the scientific discoverer of America in the nineteenth century should bear the same name as the geographical discoverer in the fifteenth century. This excellent lady possessed, however, qualities which conduced much more to the advantage of her sons than the sound of her celebrated name. Apart from her great administrative talents, it was she who discovered and nurtured the rare capabilities of her children already at the most tender age; and her husband at his death committed their education to her charge with the most entire confidence. The mother of Humboldt possessed the happy faculty of interesting the tutors whom she engaged by means of her amiable confidence and high-mindedness in favor of their pupils. Tegel continued | ly selected for beautifying the royal garalso, after the death of Major von Hum- dens. The tenants of Tegel paid only a boldt, the same resort of the most elevated nominal rent, viz., £20 14s.; but they society. Even Goethe paid a visit to Tegel during his stay in Berlin in 1788. The brothers Humboldt were at that time nine and eleven years of age; and at a later period, when Wilhelm von Humboldt had retired there into almost monastic quiet and seclusion, for objective contemplation of art and science, the poet dignified the spot where a great spirit followed the instincts of his genius regardless of all worldly considerations. It is interesting to trace the various influences which have operated in the formation of any celebrated character. There can be, however, no doubt that the maternal nature operates most directly and substantially. The effect which the society of a lady like the Baroness von Humboldt must have had on the minds and characters of the brothers Humboldt, can scarcely be over-rated. In spite of ill-health and the constant mental depression to which she was subject, she never failed to have her sons and their mentor with her for some hours daily. It is also by no means improbable that Alexander von Humboldt's love for France, which he in after life regarded as his second fatherland, and whose language he speaks and writes as well as he does his mother tongue, may be ascribed to the traditions of his maternal ancestors, one of whom had left Burgundy after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes. There is no lack of information about Tegel, the childhood's home of Wilhelm and Alexander von Humboldt. Some two hours distant from Berlin, separated by a pine wood from the capital, lies a smiling oäsis in the sandy desert of the Mark Brandenburg-the village and castle of Tegel on the Hevel. The river expands here to a wide, beautiful lake, with several small islands and richly wooded banks. On the high, hilly terraces of the northern shore stands the castle, from which, looking southward, there is a fine view of the town and citadel of Spandau. Tegel was originally a huntingseat of the great Elector. During the childhood of Alexander von Humboldt it had one of the richest nurseries for exotic plants. It contained in 1786 about five hundred different kinds of North American trees alone. These were subsequent were bound to cultivate the silkworm, and plant annually 100,000 mulberry trees. Major von Humboldt, like his predecessors, complied with the terms of his contract, and expended a considerable sum in mulberry trees and in the improvement of the estate; but neither the mulberries nor yet the silk cultivation proved successful, and was at last entirely discontinued. Wilhelm von Humboldt writes in after life about Tegel to his friend, Charlotte Diede: "I live here, where I have spent my childhood and part of my youth; the country about is at least the most beautiful round Berlin. On the one side there is a great forest, and on the other rising hills covered with plants, and a view of an extensive lake intersected by several islands. The little spot which is my home is especially adapted to exhibit all the charms and afford all the pleasures which we derive from the view of great, beautiful, and varied foliage, through all the changing seasons. About the house stand old and broad shady trees, which surround it as with a green fan. Over the fields avenues run in different directions. In the park there is a thick and dark underwood. The lake is encircled by forests, and all the islands are bordered with trees and bushes." It is reasonable to infer that the objects which here surrounded Alexander von Humboldt must have fostered his innate love of nature. The childhood and youth of Alexander were spent in uninterrupted companionship with his brother Wilhelm, and their years passed as happily as might be expected from the pecuniary and otherwise most favorable circumstances of their pa rents. an During the winter, the family lived at Berlin in their own mansion, and in th summer occasionally at Ringwald, estate in the Neumark, but generally at Tegel. An An impression prevails that Campe, the author of the German versioon of Robinson Crusoe, was the first instruc tor of Alexander von Humboldt; but this seems to be at variance with truth; for Wilhelm von Humboldt mentions lim in a letter, written in December, 1822, to his friend, Charlotte Diede, as tutor to his step-brother, Hollwede, and as hav seas, as presented in charts, the wish for a view of the southern constellations which are denied to our firmament, drawings of palm trees and of the cedars of Lebanon in a pictorial Bible, may implant in the soul the first desire for travelling in distant countries. Were it permitted to me to recall personal reminiscences, to ask myself what caused the first impulse within me of an unconquerable longing towards the tropics, I would be obliged to name George Fors ing left Tegel about 1770 or 1771. Alexander was at that time about three years of age. Campe can therefore have had nothing to do with his education or the formation of his character. Nor is there any ground for the opinion that Campe's "Robinson Crusoe" has produced or even strengthened Humboldt's love of travel; it was not written until some nine years after he had left the Humboldt family, when Alexander was upwards of twelve years of age; and, in spite of its popularity, and of its having passed through near-ter's description of the South Sea Islands; ly fifty original editions since its first appearance in 1780, it is going too far to say, simply because it is possible that Humboldt may have read it, that Campe's "Robinson Crusoe," stripped as it is of the poetical feeling, the depth of thought, and the philosophic tendencies which characterize its great model, De Foe's immortal work, had a lasting influence on a mind like Humboldt's. Our best guide on this subject is the description given by Humboldt himself of the sensations and desires of his youth, as depicted by him at the commencement of his journey to the equinoctial regions of the New Continent. pictures by Hodges, exhibiting the banks of the Ganges, at the house of Warren Hastings in London; a colossal dragontree in an old tower of the Botanic Gardens near Berlin." Thus much by Alexander von Humboldt himself about the inclinations of his childhood and the desires of his youth. To this may be added, that the impressions which he received very early in England must have produced in him the most lively impulses, and created the firmest resolves in favor of his future great undertakings. The detailed description of this circumstance belongs, however, to a later period. Meantime it is sufficient to point towards the rare and happy coïncidence, that a youth from the Continent, gifted with the most lively fancy and the most rare abilities, and impelled by the most "I have," he says, "from my first youth felt a burning desire to travel in distant countries little frequented by Europeans. This desire characterizes a period of our existence in which it pre-intense eagerness after knowledge, should sents itself to us as a limitless horizon, where nothing has greater charm for us than the pictures of physical dangers and the strong emotions of the soul. Brought up have had the good fortune to possess as tutor, in a journey to England undertaken with a view to instruction, the celebrated companion of England's most celebrated navigator. On a journey through Great Britain in 1790, Humboldt was accompanied by George Forster, the fellow voyager of Captain James Cook. The youth of Alexander von Humboldt happened to fall at a time in which so much had been accomplished, and still greater results had been prepared for upon the wide field of geographical discoveries. All nations were, just at that period-in the second half of the last century-more than at any former era, inspired with a desire to perfect their knowledge of the countries and seas belonging to them, and to confirm their claims by means of scientific descriptions. The unfortunate enterprises of La Perouse, 1785-88; Entrecasteau, 1791-94; Blight, 1787, and Malaspina, 1789-93, were unable to weaken the desire for travel and discovery which Byron, Wallis, Carteret, Bougainville, decision: "Much sooner apothecary than and Cook had awakened. chamberlain." The perseverance with which Cook sailed three successive times round the world, (1768-71, 1772-75, 1776-79,) tore the veil from the unknown half of the globe, and kindled the civilized world with inspiration. The example set by Cook, and his companions Banks, Solander, Sparrman, and the two Forsters, stimulated to imitation, and led Vancouver and Flinders on the coast of New Holland and New Zealand. A gentleman named Kunth, comparatively little known among educationists, but who deserves the highest commendation for the services he rendered to the brothers Humboldt, was the master who directed the education of the two lads. He entered the family in 1777, at the age of 22. Wilhelm was then ten, and Alexander eight years of age, and continued in his post after the death of Major von Humboldt, in 1779. a small share in the mental superiority which both brothers reached in after life. Henriette Hertz mentions that when Alexander von Humboldt delivered his wonderful lectures to a mixed Berlin audience, in the winter of 1827-28, and having at one moment excited the admiration of his hearers to an extraordinary pitch, Kunth whispered to her: "From me he has certainly not learnt this." The spirit of exploration was, however, Kunth was no mean scholar. He had by no means confined to the ocean. considerable acquaintance with the GerCatharine of Russia received information man, Roman, and French literature, and about Northern Asia through the travels also with philosophy and history; but it of the St. Petersburg Academicians, is very likely that he did not personally Gmelin, Pallas, and Georgi. Themberg instruct his pupils much in any thing. He brought reports about Eastern Asia. The was always modest enough to claim only East India Company and the British ambassadors contributed to the knowledge of India, Persia, and Java. The most instructive revelations about the natural geography and history of Palestine, Syria, and Asia Minor were made by Niebuhr, Volney, Choiseul, Gouffer, and Le Chevalier; and, in fact, everywhere discoveries were made, and knowledge added and heaped upon the existing store; while national vanity, political interests, commercial speculations, and enthusiasm for knowledge and science, all tended towards opening for the European spirit of discovery free access in every direction, in every branch of science, and in all parts of the world, and stimulated it to still greater enterprise. What wonder, therefore, if the love of travel and the desire for knowledge and scientific discoveries of the boy, as of the youthful Humboldt, should have proceeded to develop themselves in continuously increasing intensity. In addition to these propensities, Humboldt had, from his earliest childhood, a great fondness for natural history, and he devoted himself with the most extraordinary ardor to the pursuit of physical instructions, so much so, that he was, as a child, playfully called "the little apothecary." On one occasion, his aunt, whose husband was a royal chamberlain, asked the boy, jocularly, whether he really intended to become an apothecary, and to occupy himself always with plants and stones, with herbs, small boxes and bottles. He replied with warm and sarcastic The real value of Kunth consisted in his persevering but judicious efforts to obtain for his pupils all that Berlin could yield for increasing their knowledge and improving their minds; and in these efforts he received the kindest and most considerate support from the Baroness. Thus the most able men were selected as tutors, and most of them occupied a high position in German literature; the chief of them were Engel, David Friedlaender, the pupil and friend of Mozes Mendelssohn; the mathematician Fischer, the botanist Willdenow, the jurist Klein, the political economist, Dohm, were all engaged in the instruction of Wilhelm and Alexander von Humboldt, and all retained, to the end of their existence, the friendship and grateful fondness of their pupils. Alexander received also, with the best results, instructions in the fine arts. He contributed to the first Berlin art exhibition in 1786, under the division Amateurs (No 290); a picture, "Friendship weeps o'er the ashes of a deceased," drawn in black chalk, after Angelica Kauffmann. His botanical, zoological, anatomical, and other drawings, as well as his cartho- | hood may have laid the foundation of that graphic works and landscape sketches, indomitable perseverance and assiduity are known to all who are acquainted with which distinguishes him, even at the preshis scientific labors; it is, however, not ent moment, is an interesting inquiry; generally known that he at a later period our own impression is, that the apparent amused himself by painting and drawing backwardness of Humboldt, and the still with Gerard at Paris; that he finished greater deficiency of the great men we some of the most severe studies from have mentioned, were in reality advantamodels as well as from life; and that he ges, as regards the formation of their produced some very good things, even in minds and characters, because they fosportrait painting. We have seen his por- tered thought and induced perseverance, trait, the size of life, in black chalk, drawn and that they were to be attributed rather by himself, with an autograph inscription, to their distinctive order of mind than to "Alexander von Humboldt, by myself, in mental weakness. Men like Albertus, the looking-glass;" this may be ranked Newton, Linne, and Humboldt, do not among the best portraits of himself. A belong to the naturally perceptive, but hasty but more remote view of the youth of rather to the naturally inquiring order of Alexander von Humboldt is obtained in men; hence, the first, from their earliest inthe biography of the formerly celebrated fancy, involuntarily see and remark all that Doctor at Berlin, who is still remembered is presented to them; their faculties are, under the name of "The Old Heim." In as it were, exterior, while the inquiring his diary, under the date 30 July, 1781, he mind is as necessarily interior, less able to says: "Rode to Tegel and dined with the acquire knowledge until the mind is capaBaroness von Humboldt; explained to the ble of an intellectual effort and a process young Humboldts the twenty-four classes of comparison; the first sees because he of plants according to the Linnæan system, cannot avoid it, the other because he which the eldest understood very easily, seeks; in the one case it is intuition, in and remembered the names directly." On the other design; in the one case curiosity, the 19th May, 1785: "Rode with the in the other inquiry: the one is perceptive, friends at Tegel Herrn Kunth and his cel- the other conceptive; it follows, therefore, ebrated pupils to Spandau, to examine that the first commences to learn when he minutely the Special Review." is able to feel, the other when he is able to contemplate, compare, and think; and, therefore, that precocious children are seldom the fathers of great minds, while great thinkers have seldom been early observers. Many great minds perish by the way; some, because their real powers are mistaken, and they are placed beyond the reach of development; others, because surrounding circumstances are adverse to their acquiring information, or exercising their faculties, and all because it is much more difficult to display thought than perception, the first being rarely understood and seldom appreciated. Wilhelm was sixteen and Alexander fourteen years of age at that time; we therefore suspect in the word " celebrated" pupils, an interpolation of modern politeness, for Alexander mentions himself, that his instructors quite despaired, during the first years of his childhood, that even moderate mental powers would ever be developed in him; but the divine light seemed to have entered his soul all at once. Instances might be given where the blossoming of some of the fairest flowers was delayed until a very late period. Albertus Magnus was so weak-minded in his childhood, that he seemed incapable of acquiring even the alphabet. Newton's genius was, in early youth, so obscured, that his mother took him from school, with the idea of making him a farmer. Linne's father had for similar reasons intended to apprentice his son to a shoemaker; and Molière only learned reading and writing in his fourteenth year. Alexander von Humboldt was, indeed, not so apparently devoid of parts, but he had to exert himself very much in order to acquire information. How far this necessity in child It is a well-known fact that contemplative powers must be mighty indeed to make themselves felt; and it is owing to this that many first-rate thinkers, but devoid perhaps of transcendent ability, or lacking opportunity, have never been able to accomplish much for themselves or the world. Fortunate is it for Humboldt that he lived in an age when scientific pursuits were so various as to afford room for a universalist, and when materialism is so much the order of the day, that even the |