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Alexander von Humboldt: „Letter to the President of the Academy of Sciences“, in: ders., Sämtliche Schriften digital, herausgegeben von Oliver Lubrich und Thomas Nehrlich, Universität Bern 2021. URL: <https://humboldt.unibe.ch/text/1832-Nouvelles_recentes_de-08-neu> [abgerufen am 25.04.2024].
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| Titel | Letter to the President of the Academy of Sciences | ||||
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| Jahr | 1832 | ||||
| Ort | London | ||||
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Nachweis in: The Literary Gazette; and Journal of Belles Lettres, Arts, Sciences, &c. 819 (29. September 1832), S. 618–619.
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| Sprache | Englisch | ||||
| Typografischer Befund | Antiqua; Spaltensatz; Auszeichnung: Kursivierung, Schriftgradverkleinerung; Schmuck: Kapitälchen. | ||||
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Statistiken
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|618|
Paris, Sept. 20.
Sir,
—The generous interest which the Insti-tute has always manifested whenever the nameof my friend and fellow-traveller, M. Bonpland,has been mentioned in its sittings, and the activekindness with which the Academy of Scienceshas taken part in the fruitless attempts thathave been made to obtain his deliverance, makeit my duty to address these lines to you. Morethan a year had elapsed since the receipt of thefirst news of the arrival of M. Bonpland in theProvincia de las Missiones. None of his lettershad reached Europe; and my uneasiness wasshared by the relations of M. Bonpland, whoreside at La Rochelle. At length I have beenso happy as to receive direct intelligence,through the kindness of Baron Delessert. Aletter from M. Bonpland, dated Buenos Ayres,May 7th, 1832, informs me that some lineswhich I wrote to him in July, last year, reachedhim in January, 1832, during his stay at Cor-rientes, situated near the conflux of the riversParana and Paraguay. “I have been hin-dered,” he says, “in all the plans which Iformed when I left France. An evil star hasattended me for fifteen years: I flatter myselfthat I shall be more fortunate now that I havequitted Paraguay. Restored to my friends, againable to communicate with civilisation and Eu-rope, I have resumed my ancient studies innatural history with the greatest activity, thatI may be able to return as soon as possible tomy country. My collections of Paraguay andthe Portuguese ought to have arrived at BuenosAyres in the month of March: I expect theirarrival with impatience (which cannot be longdelayed), and will immediately send them toEurope, addressed to the Minister for ForeignAffairs at Paris, with a request to have thecases delivered to the Museum of Natural His-tory. The Jardin des Plantes will receive notonly what I have recently collected, but whatherbaria I have saved at Corrientes and BuenosAyres, and, in particular, my general her-barium, and the geological series of the courseof our journey. I shall add to this collectionthe rocks which I have lately obtained, as wellas those which, in a few days, I may procurein the excursions which I shall make on MonteVideo, Maldonado, and Cabo Santa Maria. Iam here in the house of the Chevalier de An-gelis, a Neapolitan, who has received me withthe greatest hospitality, and whom you formerlysaw at Paris, in the circle of Countess Orloff.I find every facility for forwarding my collec-tions to France. The fertility of the soil, andthe luxuriance of the vegetation in the Portu-guese missions are such, that I feel myselfbound to return to them. I think that eventhose who desire my speedy return to Europe
|619| will not disapprove my undertaking this jour-ney. It would be cruel to come away withoutenriching botany with so many remarkableproductions. My collections will contain twonew species of convolvulus, the roots of whichhave all the good qualities of the orchis morio.I hope also that the School of Medicine willmake some trials of the use of those very bitterbarks belonging to three new species of a genuswhich belongs to the family of the quassiasimarouba. These barks have a taste of sul-phate of quinine, and act in the most beneficialmanner in dysenteries and other similar com-plaints. If I could receive, while I am here,some information respecting the efficacy of thesebarks, as observed at Paris, I would endeavour,before my departure, to make arrangements tosupply our hospitals.”
Such are the particulars which I have thoughtit my duty to extract from M. Bonpland’s let-ter, which make me regret other letters, writ-ten before, and which are probably lost. I takethis opportunity of communicating to the Aca-demy a geological fact, which has been knownto us here only a few days, and which is con-nected with other facts observed in Europe andin the interior of Asia. M. de Seckendorf hasfound in the Harz (Valley of Radau), in aquarry near the road leading to Harzburg,fragments of grauwacke (with petrification)embedded in granite. M. Hartmann, trans-lator of Lyell’s Geology, has just confirmed thetruth of this observation, and announces thathe will soon send specimens.
Berlin, Aug. 26th, 1832.
P.S. Just as I am closing my letter, I receivethe important news that Encke’s comet (of theshort period of three years three-tenths), wasobserved at Buenos Ayres at the beginning ofJune, 1832. M. Encke has been informed byM. Olbers, that a member of the TypographicBureau of Buenos Ayres, M. Massoti (perhapsthe same who was formerly at the observatoryat Milan, and also had published observationson the planetary orbits) observed the comet onthe 2d of June, 1832, at Buenos Ayres, 5° 30′civil time, in 56° 37′ 5″ right ascension, in11° 20′ 1″ south declination; which appearsnot to differ more than about two minutesfrom M. Encke’s calculations for the cometwith the short period observed by him.
Letter to the President of the Academy of Sci-ences, from Baron Alex. von Humboldt.