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The Veteran Von Humboldt.—The fol-
lowing is a translation of a letter from the
veteran Baron Alexander Humboldt to Sir
Roderick Murchison. The death of which it
treats was noticed in our Obitouary last week:
“Berlin, March 4, 1853. That I should be
destined—I, an old man of eighty three—to
announce to you, dear Sir Roderick, the sad-
dest news that I could have to convey:—to you
for whom M. De Buch professed a friendship
so tender; and to the many admirers of his
genius, his vast labours, and his noble cha-
racter! Leopold De Buch was taken from us
this morning by typhoid fever—so violent in its
attack that two days only of danger warned us.
He was at my house so lately as the 26th
ultimo, despite the snow and the distance between
us—talking geology with the most lively inte-
rest. That evening he went into society; and
on Sunday and Monday, the 27th and 28th, he
complained of a feverish attack, he be-
lieved was caused by a chilblain swelling
from which he had suffered for years. The
inflammation required the application of
leeches, but the pain and the fever increased.
He was speechless for thirty eight hours. * *
He died surrounded by his friends—most of
whom knew nothing of his danger
till Wednesday evening, the 2nd of March.
“He and I were united by a friendship of
sixty three years,—a friendship which never
knew interruption. I found him in 1791, in
Werner’s house in Freiberg, when I entered
the School of Mines. We were together in
Italy, in Switzerland, in France, —four months
in Saltzburg. M. De Buch was not only one
of the great illustrations of his age,—he was a
man of noble soul. His mind left a track of
light wherever it passed. Always in contact
with Nature herself,—he could boast of hav-
ing extended the limits of geological science.
I grieve for him profoundly, without him I
feel desolate. I consulted him as a master;
and his affection (like that of Gay Lussac and
that of Arago, who were also his friends) sus-
tained me in my labours. He was four years
my junior,—and nothing forewarned me of
this misfortune. It is not at the distance of a
few hours only from such a loss, that I can say
more respecting it. Pity me, and accept the
homage of my profound respect and affection-
ate devotion, Al. Humboldt. And my poor
countryman Overweg, in Africa:— What a
blessing to learn one day by means of the as-
tronomer Vogel the magnetic condition of the
interior of a vast continent!”