Page:Charles von Hügel (1903 memoir).djvu/57



How greatly the Viennese collections were enriched by his specimens may be seen from what Fitzinger says about them in his history of the Royal Natural History Museums. "Through these accessions all the sections of the natural history cabinet were very considerably enriched, as there were added not only a large number of mammals (some of them rare), fourteen hundred birds, very many reptiles and fishes, a great mass of insects, spiders, crustacea, shells, and zoophytes, as well as many radiata, soft molluscs and annelids, but also an exceptionally comprehensive collection of plants, fruits, and specimens of wood."

I cannot take upon myself to estimate Hügel’s diplomatic work. I must be content to point to Alfred von Reumont's sketch of the diplomatic career of Hügel: a memoir written warm-heartedly, but which as I have been assured on good authority is always within the bounds of truth and justice. Reumont was Prussian minister at Florence at the time when Hügel was Austrian ambassador there, so that he had an opportunity of observing Hügel very closely. According to Reumont's judgment Hügel’s diplomatic career was throughout an honourable one, and his steady conciliatory bearing won him respect even from those who opposed the policy which he had to represent. Reumont notes in his praise that he carried through with ability and success the negotiations which preceded the restoration of the Central Italian Duchies. On the other hand, Reumont thinks he did not clearly foresee the political situation which was preparing itself in Italy at the end of the fifties.