P. S.—I had just finished this note when yours of this morning reached
me. I shall keep it all my life, as well for its being a true historical
monument, as for the precious title of friend which you deign to give
me. It is true, alas! we shall see, if God grants us life, a great many
things; but may it be His will that we shall never see again events like
those which have already swept over our country, by sapping the power of
the King. Yet the Coalition works in this direction with all its might.
It is a fit of madness which reminds me of 1791. These plotters are
Girondists in embryo, whom we would have loved; and they will be the
first to be buried under the ruins of the edifice which they are
undermining.
Does it, then, require a great effort of reasoning to perceive that the
King is the cementer of all things, that he keeps us out of chaos, and
that upon his living or dying the state of affairs wholly depends? Let
us ask conscientiously, does our danger to-day come from him? Shall an
order of things, acquired with so much trouble, established with so much
labor—shall it be sacrificed to the renown of a few men, or to the vain
theories inapplicable to France, serviceable at the best only in
England, where they are consecrated by age, and, what is still better,
administered by the enlightened upper classes. D., who is a man of sound
intellect, writes me that he believes in the happy issue of the
ministerial crisis. Mr. Molé has changed his determination not to resume
office; he will do so if there is a majority of thirty-six or forty
votes secured to him. The Jacqueminot party, which is rendering great
service, is working for this.
Here are the adieux, the last ones of Mr. de Talleyrand at
Fontainebleau, on the 2d of June, 1838: “Adieu, my dear Bresson, stay at
Berlin as long as you can; you are well off there; do not try to be
better off. There will be much commotion in the world; you are young;
you will see it.” I quote these words for you, because they agree with
the spirit of your note, for which I thank you once more, and which will
become a family title to me.
NOTE BY HUMBOLDT.—_Letter of Count Bresson, French Ambassador at
Berlin._—I kept it on account of the few words of Talleyrand. I had
written to Mr. Bresson that the situation of France was very
serious, that I still believed in peace, because, besides the wisdom
of the rulers, there was an expectant treatment of want of energy
and timid prudence. That these things, however, could act only for a
limited time, and that those who were young, like him, would see in
action what was now spreading its deep roots, as the unconscious and
inarticulate desires of the nations.
79.
ARAGO TO HUMBOLDT.
PARIS, _August 19th, 1834_.
MY DEAR FRIEND—I cannot find words to tell you[38] how sorry I am at
having caused you a moment’s annoyance. Be persuaded, then, once for
all, that whatever wrongs, real or apparent, you may have experienced at
my hands, you will never suffer that of my forgetting how good you have
always been to me. The friendship which makes me so happy and proud, and
which I have shown to you, shall never be surpassed by yours for me. I
wanted, on the occasion of your kindly dedication, to give a public
evidence of my friendship, but various circumstances arising out of my
position, just now so very difficult and complicated, prevented. I hope,
however, that it is only delayed.
I am sorry to learn that your health is not satisfactory. Mine is very
bad; but I care little about it. All that I daily see in this vile world
of meanness, servility, and low passion, makes me look with indifference
on the events with which men are mostly pre-occupied. The only news that
could at present cure me of my spleen, would be that you were coming to
Paris. Why have I not found a single word of hope in your letter—even
for a distant future?
The scientific world here is in a dead calm. Everything has a desponding
look. I am going to-morrow to England with Mr. Pentland. Shall I come
back with more comforting notions?
Our observatory is elegant, and very commodious. The Ministry decided
that a director must be appointed, and I was chosen unanimously. I have
under my orders four or five youths, who have the title of assistants,
and a salary of 2,000 francs. Under this arrangement, we shall try to
achieve something out of the beaten track.
Adieu, my dear and excellent friend. Mathieu, who has not yet entirely
recovered from a severe disease in his eyes, charges me, as does his
wife also, to recommend him to your remembrance.
Always yours through life,
ARAGO.
80.
FOUR NOTES OF FREDERICK WILLIAM THE FOURTH TO HUMBOLDT.