be complete: his spirit of enquiry led him also into the domains of zoology, of ancient history, of numismatics, of archaeology[1]; in early years he was a brave soldier; and, in the last period of his active life, a respected diplomatist.
If, after some hesitation, I accepted, insufficiently equipped as I was, the honourable invitation to depict Charles von Hügel's life, I did so because I felt that, as a member of the Imperial Academy of Sciences, I was under a greater obligation than other members of the Hügel Memorial Committee to do honour to my late colleague.
The obvious difficulty of describing a life, active in so many and so various fields of activity, assures me—this I may assume—of the forbearance of this honourable assemblage.
Charles Alexander Anselm von Hügel[2], Baron of the German Empire and Banneret, was born at Ratisbon on April 25, 1795[3]. His father, Aloys Baron von Hügel, had been, since 1790, in the Austrian service. At the time of Charles' birth his father was the Concommissär of the Reichsversammlung[4], and at the close of his diplomatic career he was presented with the Grand-cross of the Order of St Stephen in recognition of the services which he had rendered to the State. He was a stern man, and in old age inclined to melancholy. On the other hand Charles' mother[5] is described as a woman who filled the house with brightness and brought refreshing good-humour
