Digitalphilologie

Titel

Letter from Berlin, Prussia. Rumored Death of Amie Bonpland, the Botanist – Letter from Alexander V. Humboldt

Jahr

1858

Ort

Boston, Massachusetts

Nachweis

in: Boston Daily Journal 26:7842 (2. August 1858), [o. S.].

Sprache

Englisch

Typografischer Befund

Antiqua; Spaltensatz.

Identifikation

Textnummer Druckausgabe: VII.159
Dateiname: 1858-Neueste_Nachrichten_ueber-10-neu

Statistiken

Seitenanzahl:	1
Spaltenanzahl:	1
Zeichenanzahl:	14129

Weitere Fassungen
	Neueste Nachrichten über den Botaniker Aimé Bonpland (Berlin, 1858, Deutsch)
	Neueste Nachrichten über Aimé Bonpland von Alexander v. Humboldt (Hannover, 1858, Deutsch)
	Letzter Zusatz von Alexander v. Humboldt (Hannover, 1858, Deutsch)
	Neueste Nachrichten über den Botaniker Aimé Bonpland (München, 1858, Deutsch)
	Aimé Bonpland (Augsburg, 1858, Deutsch)
	Aimé Bonpland (London, 1858, Englisch)
	Aime Bonpland (Dublin, 1858, Englisch)
	Aime Bonpland (Dublin, 1858, Englisch)
	[Neueste Nachrichten über den Botaniker Aimé Bonpland] (Paris, 1858, Französisch)
	Letter from Berlin, Prussia. Rumored Death of Amie Bonpland, the Botanist – Letter from Alexander V. Humboldt (Boston, Massachusetts, 1858, Englisch)
	A letter from Humboldt on the death of Bonpland (New York City, New York, 1858, Englisch)
	A Letter from Humboldt on the Death of Bonpland (New York City, New York, 1858, Englisch)
	A Letter from Humboldt on the Death of Bonpland (Washington, District of Columbia, 1858, Englisch)
	Amie Bonpland–The Naturalist (Boston, Massachusetts; New York City, New York, 1858, Englisch)
	Extrait d’une Lettre de M. De Humboldt à M. F. Delessert (Paris, 1858, Französisch)
	[Extrait d’une Lettre de M. De Humboldt à M. F. Delessert] (Paris, 1858, Französisch)
	Une lettre de M. de Humboldt (Paris, 1858, Französisch)

|Seitenumbruch| [Foreign Correspondence of The Journal.] Letter from Berlin, Prussia.

Rumored Death of Amie Bonpland, the Botanist—Letterfrom Alexander V. Humboldt.

Berlin, July 16, 1858. To the Editor of The Boston Journal: Within a few days, letters have been received in Ber-lin from Montevideo, bringing painful rumorthat Amie Bonpland, the celebrated botanist, thebeloved friend and fellow-traveller of Alexander V.Humboldt, is no more. Should this rumor be con-firmed, and there is little occasion to question itstruth, Bonpland will have passed away, after an event-ful life of unremitted toil and research in the realmof natural science, at the ripe age of eighty-five; hewas still engaged, up to a short period previous to thetime of his reported death, in arduous agricultural andbotanical pursuits. The sorrow which this rumor hasdiffused throughout Europe, is but the natural regretwhich all men feel when a noble spirit departs fromamong them, and bears no resemblance to the griefawakened when a man of promise is cut down in thefullness of strength and expectation, to disappoint thehopes of the world. He had done work enough forone lifetime, and leaving mankind a noble legacy ofscientific results, has passed away to higher spheres oflabor. “Well done!” is the signet stamp upon therecord of his days. I have obtained from a gentleman of this city, whohas access to private sources of information, and espe-cially to the correspondence between Humboldt andBonpland, an interesting sketch of the life of thegreat botanist. To insert the whole of it here wouldswell my letter far beyond the prescribed limits, and Imust content myself with such brief references to cer-tain portions of his eventful history as will serve to il-lustrate the touching letter which Humboldt dedicatesto the memory of his lifelong friend. The intimacy of these two illustrious men began dur-ing Humboldt’s visit to Paris in May, 1798, shortlyafter Napoleon had sailed from Toulon upon his dis-astrous expedition to Egypt. Bonpland was aboutfour years his junior, finely cultivated in his profes-sion, ardent in temperament, and in him the maturerGerman found a man after his own heart. The grandresult of this fortunate acquaintance, was the journeythey performed together, during the years 1799—1804,through the American tropics, a journey which hasfurnished material, besides the more immediate scien-tific results, for some of the most magnificent descrip-tive passages of the Cosmos. Humboldt’s letters bearfrequent witness to the disinterested affection and de-votion of his fellow traveller, who in more than onedangerous adventure displayed that greatest of alllove, which is willing to sacrifice life itself for itsfriend. In health and sickness, in every privation, inevery pleasure incident to their long wanderings, thetwo friends were inseparable, and the lonely forestsof the Amazon and the Orinoco, the intimacy whichbegan in the gay capital of France ripened into afriendship, which after half a century receives its firstinterruption by the death of Bonpland. On his return to Europe, Bonpland was introducedto Josephine, and by her favor obtained the office ofSuperintendent of the royal gardens at Malmaison andNavarre. Here, in the sunshine of imperial favor, hepassed the happiest and palmiest days of his life. Butit was in darker days, when the divorced Empresscould no longer distribute royal patronage, that thetrue nobleness of his character appeared. He remain-ed the faithful friend of his fallen benefactress, and tohim she confided her most secret sorrows. After Josephine’s death, Bonpland, finding no placeof repose in Europe, emigrated in 1816 to BuenosAyres, taking with him a large number of fruit treesand a variety of other natural productions. He wasthere received with due honor, and soon afterwardreceived the appointment of Professor of Natural His-tory. His restless temperament soon incited him toundertake a journey through the interior of the con-tinent, a journey fraught with unhappy consequencesto himself and to science. For in passing through aportion of territory claimed by the Argentine Confed-eracy, he unfortunately incurred the jealousy of theDictator, Dr. Francia, by whom he was seized in themost dastardly manner and thrown in confinement.True greatness always rises above misfortune, andBonpland, denied a hearing by his persecutor, confinedto a small plantation, dressed in the clothing of aslave, and compelled to perform menial labor for hisdaily bread, nobly resigned himself to his destiny, andendeavored to make the best of it. He was alwaysready to give assistence to the sick, and by his gentle benevolence won the hearts of allwho knew him. Nor was his scientific ardorsuffered meanwhile to lie dormant. He madelarge additions to his collection of plants, and occu-pied himself a portion of the time in the distillationof brandy from honey. Notwithstanding the inter-cession of Alexander V. Humboldt and the remon-strances of France and England, he remained a cap-tive for nearly ten years. In 1831 he was releasedwithout the formality of a trial, and sent away fromthe country which had so long been his prison. Refusing the most pressing invitations to return toEurope, Bonpland lived until recently upon his estatein the village of San Borgia. Conforming in almostevery thing, except his ardor in the scientific pursuits, tothe habits of the natives, he married an Indian wo-man, and in the midst of the most enchanting regionin the new world built himself a quiet and happyhome. Here, surrounded by an affectionate family,revered by every one, and at perfect liberty, he con-ceived and carried into execution many schemes forthe advancement of agriculture, besides adding con-tinually to his immense collection of plants. But neither the charms of a simple life, nor the en-grossing nature of his pursuits, could wholly weanhis heart from the old associations. Though firmlyresolved to live and die upon his own estate in thenew world, he long cherished the hope of a flying visitto the old. He desired, with all the ardor of a life-long friendship, to see Humboldt once more, that hemight talk over “old times” with him. How deeplythis feeling was shared by his illustrious friend, I neednot say. For many years they have maintained a con-stant correspondence, and though separated thousandsof miles, each has felt a certain society in the life ofthe other. The senior by about four years, Humboldtfondly hoped that he might not survive the last, themost faithful, the noblest and best beloved of all thefriends of his long life. Yet so it must be. It is thedestiny of this venerable man to follow all his friendsto the grave, and to remain himself the sole represen-tative of the times of his youth. One after another,within a few years, the great men who started withhim and kept pace with him, have gone to their restand their final fame, and now Bonpland has left him.How deeply he feels this fresh bereavement, the fol-lowing letter affords touching evidence. It was writtenfor publication in the German papers, but I havelearned, from a private source, that the venerable mandesires its circulation in the journals of the UnitedStates, as a mark of respect and esteem both for Bon-pland and his “American friends”:

humboldt’s letter.

Conscious of the deep sympathy of numerousfriends in the sorrow occasioned by the wide-spreadreport of the death of my dear, noble friend and fel-low-traveler, Bonpland, I consider it my duty to giveat least a brief notice of this event, for the particularsof which I am indebted to the kind services of Dr.Lallemant, author of an important paper on the dis-eases of Europeans in the tropics. This talented gen-tleman, after leaving the Austrian royal expedition inthe frigate Novara, in February of this year, for thepurpose of doing a kindness to myself, made thejourney from Rio Janeiro to Rio Grande, and thenceby way of Porto Alegro through the former JesuitMission to San Borgia, under the erroneous impres-sion that Bonpland, who had gone there in 1831, wasstill resident at that place. I have received two lettersfrom Dr. Lallemant, one dated at San Borgia on the10th of April, the other written from the village ofUmguaiana, after he had visited Bonpland at SantaAnna. An extended abstract of these letters havingbeen sent to the editor of the widely-read and interest-ing botanical jonrnal, the Bonplandia, in Hanover, thefollowing briefer extracts may here suffice. “In San Borgia,” writes Dr. Lallemant, I lived withan intimate friend of Bonpland, the Vicar Gray, withwhom I visited the garden of the botanist, so longcultivated with care, but now lying waste and deso-late. It was near the close of the year 1857 that theVicar last received letters from Bonpland, since whenintelligence had come of his severe illness. Letters ofinquiry still remained unanswered, and notwithstand-ing the short distance between the places, the peopleof San Borgia were uncertain whether I should findyou fellow travellers yet in the land of the living. In1853 Bonpland had left San Borgia and taken up hisresidence upon his larger plantation of Santa Anna,where he had long occupied himself in the cultivationof orange trees. The residence of the aged scholar inthe Estancia of Santa Anna, consists of two largebuildings, mere clay walls, bound together by bamboosticks and a few beams, and thatched with straw.These buildings have doors, but no windows, the lightbeing admitted through the chinks between the bam-boo sticks. Despite the deep furrows which an event-ful life had engraven in the beloved countenance, hiseye had not grown dim nor lost any of its full-thought-ed vivacity. But lively conversation, though startedby himself, appeared to weary him much, and he suf-fered severely from a chronic affection of the bladder.The privations he had so strangely imposed upon him-self are by no means in consequence of poverty, or ofany necessity for abstinence, but of long custom, greatself-control, and characteristic individuality. The gov-ernment of Corrientes has presented to him an estatevalued at 10,000 Spanish piasters, and he enjoys aFrench pension of 3,000 francs a year. He has nevermade the practice of medicine a source of pecuniaryprofit to himself. Though universally revered, heloves the solitude, and especially avoids all personswho might offer him assistance or advice. His scien-tific ardor has not yet abated, and his collections andmanuscripts are deposited in Corrientes, where he hasfounded a national Museum. On the following morning I found him visiblyworse, and sinking away. The night had been a pain-ful one. I pressed him to tell me whether I might not,in some way, be of service to him. But I fared no bet-ter than his other friends—he would accept of no as-sistence. How gladly would I have persuaded him toreturn once more to civilized society! But I, too, feltwith him that his time was past. He belongs to thefirst half of the nineteenth century, not to the second.I think that your friend himself was moved when Itook his wasted hands in mine with the pressure offarewell. For three months now his attendants haveremarked his failing strength, and perhaps the oldman had the same foreboding as myself at partingthat I might be the last ambassador of European line-age who should penetrate the depths of the wildernessto offer him regard, love and thanks, in the name ofthat science which owes so much to his labors. Imounted my horse and rode northward through theevergreen plains. No path showed my way, no guidedisturbed me; I was alone with my sorrowful thoughtsover the departed Bonpland. Yet how cheerful the last latter I received from Bon-pland, bearing date the 7th of June, 1857! “I my-self,” he writes, “shall bring all my collections andmanuscripts to Paris, and deposit them in the Muse-um. My journey to France will be exceedingly short.I shall return to my Santa Anna, where I lead a quietand happy life. Here shall I die, and my sepulchreand my grave shall be underneath the shadow of themany trees I have planted. Oh, how happy were I, mydear Humboldt, could we meet once more, and recallour common experiences! On the 28th of August nextI shall be eighty-four years old, and am yet four yearsyounger than you. A man lately died in this vicinitywho had attained the age of one hundred and seven.What a prospect for two travelers who have alreadystepped beyond the eightieth year!” The cheerful, almost life-desiring tone of this letter,contrasts strangely with the melancholy representa-tions of Dr. Lallemant. According to Herr v. Tschudithe report was credited in Montevideo on the 29th ofMay that Bonpland had died at Borgia, the dateof his death uncertain. Yet Dr. Lallemant had spokenwith him on the 18th of April in Santa Anna, and onMay 19 the report of his death was discredited at PortoAllegro. Thus there yet remains ground for hope thatthe younger is not to be first called away. Such re-moteness often stretches uncertainty to a painful dura-|Spaltenumbruch|tion; such the solicitude felt for Edward Vogel inCentral Africa, and for Adolphus Schlagintweit inCentral Asia—the sorrowfully missed!

ALEXANDER V. HUMBOLDT.

Berlin, July 12, 1858.

It is a touching and noble sight—that of the “oldmaster of science,” as ther Germans delight to call him,turning with calm resignation from the graves of hisdearest friends, and quietly addressing himself oncemore to the great work of his life, from which nothingis suffered to divert his mind. He is still hale andfull of vigor, loves the society of congenial friends,and is especially pleased to receive visitors from Amer-ica. No other man of science ever won such a holdupon the heart of mankind, and though all the worldwill sympathize with him in his present bereavement,there is no one but will rejoice that he is still allowedto remain among us, the noblest man that lives.

S. S. C.

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