THE YOUTH’S CABINET.

 

sociate traveler. From Paris, Humboldt
set out for Madrid, with a good collection
of instruments; for he had for several
years cherished the design of traveling
within the Tropics at his own expense.

In 1799 the court of Spain granted
him permission to travel through the
Spanish colonies in America. He im-
mediately sent for his young friend Bon-
pland, who lost no time in joining him,
and they set sail from Corunna, for Ame-
rica. The plan of travel which these two
friends sketched for themselves was laid
out upon a more extensive scale than that
of any journey before undertaken by pri-
vate persons. Five years was the period
in which they proposed to explore distant
regions; and in that space of time, prob-
ably no two individuals ever collected: so
much useful information, and returned home
so richly laden with rare specimens in the
different departments of science. They
took home with them, on their return in
1804, an herbarium containing more than
six thousand species of plants. The pre-
paration of the observations made during
this tour, and the publication of works
relating to it, occwpied the time of these
travelers for several years after their re-
turn home. The various works relating
to this journey comprised seventeen folio
and eleven quarto volumes, well illustrated.
The results of this expedition have been
of the highest importance to science. ~ In
natural history, especially, these observa-
tions of six years exceed anything that
has been presented by the most success-
ful investigators of this field during a
whole life-time. His valuable works on

the subject of plants, alone form an era in»

the history of botany.
In October, 1818, Humboldt visited

285

was a resident of Paris, and there devoted
himself to the sciences.

During the winter of 1822, the king
of Prussia called Humboldt to accompany
him on a journey through Italy. While
residing at Naples, his attention was di-
rected to inquiries concerning the forma-
tion of volcanoes, the result of which he
gave to the public in a small essay. On
finishing this tour he again returned to
Paris, where he remained till the latter
part of 1826, when he went to Berlin, and
delivered a course of lectures ‘on the phys-
ical constitution of the globe, which was
attended by the court and royal family.

He next undertook an important jour-
ney through Northern Asia, as far as the
borders of China. In this he was assisted
by the Russian government, which wished
to obtain, through him, more correct in-
formation respecting the character and
contents of the Ural mountains. On his
return, he published an account of his re-

 

searches in those regions.

In 1845 he published the first volume
of the “Cosmos,” and completed it in
1847. This is a valuable contribution to
physical science. Another work by him,
entitled “ Views of Nature; or, Contem-
plations on the Sublime Phenomena of
Creation,” has recently been published in
London.

Baron Von Humboldt’s renown has
extended over all parts of the civilized
world; and, at the present day, there is
not a man of science in Europe whose
name is more familiar. And this eminent
philosopher is still living, having attained
an age of more than fourscore years,
Well may he be called the patriarch of
modern science.

At the present time he is the friend

London. For several years afterward he | and companion of the king of Pruassia,