and together with Hardenberg, signed the capitulation of Paris. Again he was the representative of Prussia at the congress of Vienna, and in 1815 he signed the treaty of peace between Saxony and Prussia, by which the latter power was aggrandized at the expense of the former. The following year he was sent to Frankfort, to undertake the delicate task of settling the complicated questions regarding territory to which the revolutionary wars had given rise among the German princes. He was interrupted in these labours by an order to repair to London, after which he was sent in 1818 to the congress at Aix-la-Chapelle, on the conclusion of which he resumed and completed his duties at Frankfort. In 1819 he was called into the Prussian ministry, and made a privy councillor. He felt obliged, however, to resign almost immediately on perceiving the reactionary tendency of Hardenberg's home policy, and on failing to convince the king that he ought to keep the promise made in 1813 to grant to the nation a liberal constitution. Thenceforward, quitting the scenes of political life, he devoted himself to literature and science, passing his days alternately at Tegel and at Berlin. As a member of the Prussian Academy of Sciences he took a very active part in the labours of the philological section. He had already published in 1816 a remarkable translation of the Agamemnon of Æschylus, in which not only the sense and poetry but also the metre of the original is reproduced and the singular flexibility of the German language triumphantly proved. In 1817 he issued "Corrections of Adelung's Mithridates, with additions," treating especially of that linguist's errors with regard to the Basque language. To carry his researches on this subject as far as possible, Humboldt passed some time among the Biscayans in their own country, and published in 1821, as the result of his studies, his celebrated book entitled "Researches on the subject of the Primitive Inhabitants of Spain as shown by the Basque Language." In this work the author endeavours to prove that Basque was the language brought from the east by the Iberians or first inhabitants of Spain. Although this theory has been disputed by more than one Basque scholar, the ability with which it is maintained, and the vast amount of information on collateral subjects contained in the work, have never been questioned. Humboldt also contributed many valuable papers on the languages of Asia to the Transactions of the Berlin Academy, and to the Journal of the London Asiatic Society. The publication of his ideas on the method of comparing languages, may be said to have commenced a new era in the science of comparative philology. The unfinished fragment of his work "On the Kawi Language" which was published a year after his death by his brother Alexander, had unfortunately not advanced so far as to contain anything upon the special subject indicated; but the book is rendered extremely valuable by an introduction which treats of "the diversity in the structure of languages, and of its influence on the intellectual and spiritual development of the human race." The philosophy of language is here treated with a masterly hand. In Humboldt's miscellaneous essays—such as those on "The Objects and Qualifications of Historians," "The New French Constitution," "Foreign Policy," and "The Male and Female Figure"—are to be discerned the same far-reaching thought and extensive learning which are found in his philological works. He was not a voluminous writer; his ideas having been carefully weighed are well packed. His "Letters to a Lady" already referred to, is a charming book in many respects. It gives interesting glimpses into the nature of the writer, and is full of wisdom and goodness.
The change which came over Humboldt after the death of his wife in 1830 is reflected in these letters. Her loss made a deep impression upon him, affecting him with a sadness that oppressed him during the few remaining years of his life. His death took place on the 8th of April, 1835, at the age of sixty-eight. His brother Alexander, in a letter to Varnhagen von Ense of the 5th April, 1835, speaks of the love, and trust, and clear intelligence of the dying man. "Think of me, often," were his words, "but always with cheerfulness. I have been very happy, and this has been a lovely day to me, for love is the highest happiness. Soon shall I be with mother, and have an insight into a higher existence." He bequeathed his valuable collection of manuscripts and rare books to the royal library at Berlin. His "Gesammelte Werke," edited by his celebrated brother, were published in 7 vols. 8vo, between the years 1841 and 1852. They contain, in addition to the works already named, a great number of sonnets written at various periods in the author's life, and on every variety of subject; also, a poem addressed to Alexander Humboldt. With the Agamemnon of Æschylus are republished the translation of Pindar's Odes His correspondence with Schiller was published under his own superintendence in 1830. Another small volume of Humboldt's letters was published by Haym in 1859. They are addressed to that eminent scholar and archæologist. Professor Welcker, of Bonn, who in 1806, when a young man of twenty-two, was introduced to the Prussian ambassador at Rome by Zoega, the Danish antiquary, and for a time dwelt under his roof as preceptor to his children. The acquaintance thus begun ripened into a sincere friendship; and not the least instructive of Humboldt's writings are the letters thus published. At the first meeting of the academy after Humboldt's death, M. Boeckh delivered a eulogium in honour of the deceased, and promised a more extended biography. Lives of the Brothers Humboldt have been written by Klencke and Schlesier, a translation of which work by Juliette Bauer into English was published in 1852.—R. H.
HUME, Alexander, a Scottish poet, was born about the year 1560, and was second son of Patrick, fifth baron of Polwarth. He was educated first at St. Andrews and afterwards in France, where he resided four years. On his return to his native country he studied law for some time; but abandoned the legal profession and went into the church. In 1598 he was appointed minister of Logie, near Stirling, and died there in 1609. He published a volume of "Hymns and Sacred Songs" in 1599. His poems are not of a high order; but they are marked by a deep feeling for the beauties of external nature, and display a purity of sentiment and a depth of piety which cannot fail to command respect. Mr. Campbell erroneously supposes Alexander Hume to have been the author of the Flyting addressed to the poet Montgomery, but this poem was written by his elder brother, Patrick.—J. T.
HUME, David, of Godscroft, a Scottish antiquarian and historical writer, is supposed to have been born about the period of the Reformation, and was a younger son of Sir David Hume or Home of Wedderburn, the representative of an old and powerful branch of the family of the earl of Home. David Hume was educated at the public school of Dunbar, and afterwards spent some time in France and at Geneva. He returned home in 1581, and became confidential secretary to the earl of Angus, one of the Ruthven lords. On the banishment of this faction, Hume accompanied the earl to England, and appears to have spent some time in London. In 1605 he published a treatise, entitled "De Unione Insulæ Britanniæ," in favour of the union between England and Scotland. In the same year he published his "Lusus Poetici," which were afterwards incorporated into the celebrated collection of Latin poems entitled "Deliciæ Poetarum Scotorum," edited by Arthur Johnson. Hume's principal work, "The History of the House and Race of Douglas and Angus," is supposed to have been written between 1625 and 1630. It is a valuable production, but heavy and prolix. A "History of the House of Wedderburn," and several other treatises from Hume's pen, still remain in manuscript. The time of his death is unknown. There was another David Hume of Wedderburn, a Latin poet, whose "Poemata Omnia" was printed at Paris in 1639; and a James Hume, author of a "Theorie des Planetes," Paris, 1637, and a Hebrew grammar, Hamburg, 1624. The latter is probably also the author of a "Methode Universelle pour faire et descrire toutes sortes de quadrans et d'horologes," &c., Paris, 1640.—J. T.
HUME, David, the metaphysician, politico-economist, and historian, was born in Edinburgh on the 26th of April, 1711, o.s. His father, who spelt his name Home according to old practice, was the proprietor of the small estate of Ninewells in Berwickshire, which was inherited by David's elder brother, John. They were of a good old stock, cadets of the earls of Hume; but it was a time when the Scottish gentry were poor and depressed—a period of transition from old feudalism to the affluence which the nation was to acquire by a well-earned participation in the wealth and commerce of England. Though of aristocratic birth, therefore, Hume's youth was a struggle; he had nearly all to do for himself, and was aided by but a scanty education. It is known that he spent at least one session at the university of Edinburgh. When but sixteen years old, we find him corresponding with a companion in the tone of an ardent and ambitious student. It was intended that he should follow some branch of the legal profession; but after a very brief effort, he
