Page:Passages from the Life of a Philosopher.djvu/215

Rh In one of my visits to Paris, Humboldt was sitting with me when a friend of mine, an English clergyman, who had just arrived in Paris, and had only two days to spare for it, called upon me to ask my assistance about getting access to certain MSS. Putting into Humboldt's hand a tract lying on my table, I asked him to excuse me for a few minutes whilst I gave what advice I could to my countryman.

My friend told me that he wanted to examine a MS., which he was informed was in a certain library in a certain street in Paris: that he knew nobody in the city to help him in his mission.

Humboldt having heard this statement, came over to us and said, "If you will introduce me to your friend, I can put him in the way of seeing the MSS. he is in search of." He then explained that the MSS. had been removed to another library in Paris, and proposed to give my friend a note of introduction to the librarian, and mentioned other MSS. and other libraries in which he would find information upon the same subject.

Many years after, being at Vienna, I heard that Humboldt was at Töplitz, a circumstance which induced me to visit that town. On my arrival I found he had left it a few days before on his return to Berlin. In the course of a few days, I followed him to that city, and having arrived in the middle of the day, I took apartments in the Linden Walk, and got all my travelling apparatus in order; I then went out to call on Humboldt. Finding that he had gone to dine with his brother William, who resided at a short distance from Berlin, I therefore merely left my card.

The next morning at seven o'clock, before I was out of bed, I received a very kind note from Humboldt, to ask me to breakfast with him at nine. In a postscript he added, "What