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Alexander von Humboldt: „A Letter from Humboldt on the Death of Bonpland“, in: ders., Sämtliche Schriften digital, herausgegeben von Oliver Lubrich und Thomas Nehrlich, Universität Bern 2021. URL: <https://humboldt.unibe.ch/text/1858-Neueste_Nachrichten_ueber-13-neu> [abgerufen am 13.02.2026].
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| Titel | A Letter from Humboldt on the Death of Bonpland | ||||
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| Jahr | 1858 | ||||
| Ort | Washington, District of Columbia | ||||
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Nachweis in: The National Era 12:607 (19. August 1858), S. [129].
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| Sprache | Englisch | ||||
| Typografischer Befund | Antiqua; Spaltensatz; Auszeichnung: Kursivierung, Kapitälchen. | ||||
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|129|
The Berlin correspondent of the Boston Journal sends the following letter of Alexandervon Humboldt, on the recent death of Bon-pland, his junior by about four years. Hum-boldt hoped he might not survive the warmestfriend of his early years; but it seems to bethe destiny of this venerable man to follow allhis friends to the grave, and to remain himselfthe sole representative of the times of his youth.
Conscious of the deep sympathy of numerousfriends in the
sorrow occasioned by the wide-spread report of the
death of my dear, noblefriend, and fellow traveller,
Bonpland, I consid-er it my duty to give at least a brief
notice ofthis event, for the particulars of which I amindebted to the kind services of Dr. Lallemant,author of an important paper on the diseasesof Europeans in the tropics. This talentedgentleman,
after leaving the Austrian Royalexpedition in the frigate
Novara, in Februaryof this year, for the purpose of doing a
kind-ness to myself, made the journey from RioJaneiro to Rio Grande, and thence, by way ofPorto Allegro. through the former Jesuit Mis-sion, to San
Borgia, under the erroneous im-pression that Bonpland, who
had gone there in1831, was still resident at that place. I
havereceived two letters from Dr.
Lallemant—onedated at San Borgia on the 10th of
April, theother written from the village of Umguaiana,after he had visited Bonpland at Santa Ana.An extended abstract of these letters havingbeen sent to
the editor of the widely read andinteresting botanical
journal, the Bonplandia,
in Hanover, the following briefer extracts mayhere suffice:
“In San Borgia,” writes Dr. Lallemant, “Ilived with an intimate friend of Bonpland, theVicar Gray,
with whom I visited the garden ofthe botanist, so long
cultivated with care, butnow lying waste and desolate. It
was near theclose of the year 1857 that the Vicar last
re-ceived letters from Bonpland; since when, in-telligence had come of his severe illness. Let-ters of inquiry still remained unanswered, and,notwithstanding the short distance between theplaces, the people of San Borgia were uncer-tain whether I should find your fellow-travellersyet in
the land of the living.
“In 1853, Bonpland had left San Borgia,and taken up
his residence upon his largerplantation of Santa Ana, where
he had long oc-cupied himself in the cultivation of
orangetrees. The residence of the aged scholar in
theEstancia of Santa Ana consists of two largebuildings, mere clay walls, bound together bybamboo sticks and a few beams, and thatchedwith straw. These buildings have doors, butno windows,
the light being admitted throughthe chinks between the
bamboo sticks. Des-pite the deep furrows which an eventful
life hadengraven in the beloved countenance, his eyehad not grown dim, nor lost any of its full-thoughted vivacity. But lively conversation,though started by himself, appeared to wearyhim much, and he suffered severely from achronic
affection of the bladder. The priva-tions he had so
strangely imposed upon him-self are by no means in
consequence of pover-ty, or of any necessity for abstinence,
but oflong custom, great self-control, and character-istic individuality.
“The Government of Corrientes has pre-sented to him an
estate valued at 10,000 Span-ish piastres, and he enjoys a
French pension of3,000 francs a year. He has never made
thepractice of medicine a source of pecuniaryprofit to himself. Though universally revered,he loves the solitude, and especially avoids allpersons who might offer him assistance or ad-vice. His scientific ardor has not yet abated,and his
collections and manuscripts are depos-ited in Corrientes,
where he has founded anational museum.
“On the following morning I found himvisibly worse,
and sinking away. The nighthad been a painful one. I
pressed him to tellme whether I might not, in some way, be
ofservice to him. But I fared no better than hisother friends—he would accept of no assistance.How gladly would I have persuaded him to re-turn once more to civilized society! But I, too,felt with
him that his time was past. He be-longs to the first half of
the nineteenth century,not to the second. I think that your
friendhimself was moved when I took his wastedhands in mine with the pressure of farewell.For three months now his attendants have re-marked his
failing strength, and perhaps theold man had the same
foreboding as myself atparting, that I might be the last
ambassador ofEuropean lineage who should penetrate thedepths of the wilderness, to offer him regard,love and thanks, in the name of that sciencewhich owes so much to his labors. I mountedmy horse and
rode northward through the ever-green plains. No path showed
my way, noguide disturbed me; I was alone with my sor-rowful thoughts over the departed Bonpland.
“Yet how cheerful the last letter I receivedfrom
Bonpland, bearing date the 7th of June,1857! ‘I
myself,’ he writes, ‘shall bring allmy
collections and manuscripts to Paris, anddeposit them in
the Museum. My journey toFrance will be exceedingly short.
I shall re-turn to my Santa Ana, where I lead a quietand happy life. Here shall I die, and mysepulchre and my grave shall be underneaththe shadow of
the many trees I have planted.Oh, how happy were I, my dear
Humboldt, couldwe meet once more, and recall our commonexperiences! On the 28th of August next, Ishall be eighty-four years old, and am yet fouryears
younger than you. A man lately diedin this vicinity who had
attained the age of onehundred and seven. What a prospect
for twotravellers who have already stepped beyond theeightieth year!’”
The cheering, almost life desiring tone ofthis letter,
contrasts strangely with the melan-choly representations of
Dr. Lallemant. Ac-cording to Herr v. Tschudi the report
wascredited in Montevideo on the 29th of May,that Bonpland had died at Borgia, the date ofhis death uncertain. Yet Dr. Lallemant hadspoken with him on the 18th of April, in SantaAna, and on
May 10 the report of his deathwas discredited at Porto
Allegro. Thus thereyet remains ground for hope that the
youngeris not to be first called away. Such remote-ness often stretches uncertainty to a painfulduration; such the solicitude felt for EdwardVogel in
Central Africa, and for AdolphusSchlagintwait in Central
Asia—the sorrowfullymissed!
A LETTER FROM HUMBOLDT ON THE DEATHOF BONPLAND.
The Berlin correspondent of the Boston Journal sends the following letter of Alexandervon Humboldt, on the recent death of Bon-pland, his junior by about four years. Hum-boldt hoped he might not survive the warmestfriend of his early years; but it seems to bethe destiny of this venerable man to follow allhis friends to the grave, and to remain himselfthe sole representative of the times of his youth.
HUMBOLDTS LETTER.
Alexander V. Humboldt.
Berlin, July 12, 1858.