You were kind enough to present me a copy of your “_Asie Centrale_.” I
call it _your_ because discoveries lawfully belong to those who make
them, and because it is often better to make a discovery than to become
the possessor of its results.
I have begun the perusal of the work, which is among those to which I
look for mental relaxation, just as minds differently constituted from
mine are apt to have recourse to light and futile productions. This is
really the case. I often feel the necessity of some relief from my
monotonous duties, and it is then that I seek fresh elements of life and
vigor in works of profound learning. A book, therefore, like yours, is
to me a source of the richest enjoyment. I learn, and I love to learn,
and I feel no jealousy of your great erudition.
What I most admire in your work is “the method.” You understand tracing
a line without ever losing sight of it, and therefore you arrive safely
at the end—which is not always the good fortune of those who start well
enough upon the road. Please send me the volumes complete—I shall
receive them with gratitude.
I pray you, dear Baron, accept the assurance of my highest consideration
and old attachment,