Alexandre de HUMBOLDT - Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859, G - Lot 152

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Lot n° 152
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Alexandre de HUMBOLDT - Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859, G - Lot 152
Alexandre de HUMBOLDT - Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859, German naturalist, geographer and explorer) / Autograph letter signed, 2 p in-8, Berlin, September 28, 1858, to Amédée de Jonquières (name of the addressee written in another hand) - "I owe, Sir, to the benevolent interest you have in my work for the physical geography of the Ocean, the kind dispatch of the "Moniteur de la Flotte", the reading of which is as agreeable as it is informative. In offering you my sincere gratitude, I take the opportunity to communicate to you a small notice which is perhaps worthy of your attention. After having evoked the glorious memories of Bougainville's frigate "La Boudeuse" in No. 77 of your journal, you remain uncertain as to the fate of this vessel since 1779. When, in the hope of joining the Egyptian Expedition, I went to Marseilles in 1798 to embark on the Swedish frigate "Le Jaramas" which was to carry the Swedish Consul Mr. Skioldebrand to Algiers and to facilitate the means of reaching Egypt with the pilgrims of Mecca, sent by the way of Tunis, I made excursions from Marseilles to Hyères and to Toulon In the introduction to the "Relation de mon Voyage aux Régions équinoxiales du Nouveau Continent" (ed. 8 vd JT, 75) you will find the following: We did not feel (Mr. Bonpland and I) the courage to prolong our stay in Provence until the time when according to the latest sad news the "Jaramas" was to arrive. The country and especially the climate seemed delicious, but the appearance of the sea kept reminding us of our failed projects. We found in Toulon, sailing for the island of Corsica, the frigate "La Boudeuse", which had been commanded by Mr. de Bougainville in his voyage around the world. This illustrious navigator had honored me with a special kindness during my stay in Paris when I was preparing to follow Captain Baudin's Expedition. I cannot describe the impression that the sight of the ship that had led Commerson to the islands of the South Sea made on me. There are dispositions of the soul in which a painful feeling mingles with all that we feel. We still persisted in the idea of going to the coasts of Africa, we resolved to spend a part of the winter in Spain, the communication with Africa remaining open only by the ports of Carthage and Cadiz, it is the policy of the East to allow it. When these lines were given to print after my return from the Orinoco, the Cordillera and Mexico, I had the advantage of often seeing Mr. de Bougainville, preserving the most amiable and spiritual serenity of soul, at the meetings of the Bureau des Longitudes, which I often attended in front of at the affectionate invitation of Mr. de Laplace. The return of Mr de Bougainville from his circumnavigation of the Globe had however preceded my birth by four months! Please excuse, Sir, the incorrectness of the handwriting of an old man who has just entered his 90th year and accept the expression of my most distinguished feelings" [Humboldt had obtained from the Directory the authorization to join the Expedition of Egypt with the naturalist Aimé Bonpland. The Swedish frigate on which he was to embark did not arrive, so the two young scientists, tired of a long and vain wait, left Marseille to go to Spain where they spent the winter of 1798-99]
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