Last words of Thomas Carlyle - Warburg Institute

266 LETTERS WRITTEN BY TH03IAS CARLYLE TOstill unattainable), Jomini, Archenholtz, Retzow, notto speak of Zimmermann, Nicolai, Denina, &c. &c.,'reporters ' enough,—I find the thing reported of stillhovering' at an immeasurable distance, and onlyrevealing itself to me in fitful enigmatic glimpses,not quite identical with any of the ' reports ' I haveheard!—Add to which, I have no definite literaryobject of my own in view, to animate me in thisinquiry; nothing but a natural human curiosity,and love of the Heroic, in the absence of other livelierinterests from my sphere of work at present : youmay figure I have not been a very victorious labourerfor the last seven or eight months.Nevertheless, I decidedly grow in love for my Hero,and go on ; and can by no means decide to throwhim up at this stage of the inquiry. That I shouldever write anything on F*° seems more and more unlikely; but perhaps it would be good that my readingupon him, which has been a kind of intermitting pursuitwith me all my life, should now finish and completeitself at last. Accordingly friend Neuberg, Ibelieve, has now another small cargo of Books on theroad for me ;opening :nay other wider schemes of inquiry areone way or other, I suppose, I ought to playthe game out.From Eaymann's* Kreiskarten,' and Stieler'swas published in a German translation 1783-1801 by Tempelhofiwhose notes became the principal source for Archenholtz 's Historyof the Seven Years' War.