BOOK VII. 



STEPPES AND DESERTS. 



" Let him," observes Humboldt, " who wishes to escape 

 from the storms of life, follow me into the depths of the 

 forests, across the deserts, or over the lofty summits of the 

 Andes." 



The illustrious philosopher was right, for face to face 

 with these great scenes of nature man feels his passions 

 and sorrows die out, and contemplation absorbs all his be- 

 ing. St. Bernard felt this deeply when he said to his disci- 

 ples, " Believe my experience of it : you will find in our 

 forests something more choice than in books ; the trees and 

 rocks will yield lessons preferable to those of the ablest 

 masters." 



The vast solitudes of nature themselves present their har- 

 monies and contrasts. Sometimes the deserts only repre- 

 sent a sea of sand, calm and boundless like that of Libya, 

 which fills the mind with a sense of infinitude. Sometimes, 

 as in the steppes of America and Asia, they are covered 

 with a carpet of verdure. Lastly, other deserts, as we see 

 in the Arabian chain, are wholly composed of a stony and 

 rugged soil, like the arid surface of a planet waiting for the 

 creation of organic life. 



