4 Baron Von Humboldt. 



description of the climate, productions, and physical face of the 

 countries, but rested them on continual series of meteorological and 

 hysometrical observations, to give to the whole a solid foundation. He 

 measured, for instance, the elevation of not less than 453 places, which 

 before his time in South America had only been done for 45 places. He 

 added numerous astronomical observations, by which a considerable 

 number of towns and villages were found to have been laid down very 

 incorrectly in the ancient maps. He also reviewed the existing con- 

 dition of society, both of the aborigines and the descendants of the 

 European settlers, and examined a great number of monuments 

 illustrative of the ancient state of civilization among several of the 

 nations inhabiting the New Continent. Even their languages he 

 subjected to examination. Subsequently to Humboldt's visit, these 

 countries have been opened to the access of European travellers and 

 have been visited by a great number of naturalists of all nations ; but 

 it appears from their publications, that he has taken so complete a 

 view of them and gathered so rich a harvest of facts, as to have left 

 for his successors only'very scanty gleanings. He is frequently blamed 

 on account of his bias for generalization, and for having from a few 

 observations abstracted laws of nature, which can only be known 

 when numerous observations have been made for many years together, 

 and at places much more distant from one another than those which 

 he visited. This blame is not quite without foundation ; but it must 

 be acknowledged, that he was the first who enlarged upon the ideas 

 of Pallas, and showed to what extent a traveller must carry his views, 

 who wishes to give a complete description of a country and its relation 

 to nature. 



The publication of his works on America, and the further pursuit 

 of his scientific researches, occupied his time up to 1818, when he 

 came to London, on purpose, as it was thought, to give his opinion 

 respecting the political condition of the Spanish settlements on the 

 New Continent; but nothing has publicly transpired on this affair. 

 About this time he conceived the plan of visiting India and Thibet, 

 and the king of Prussia granted him a considerable sum for the 

 execution of this scheme, but he soon abandoned it. He subsequently 

 devoted himself especially to geological researches, until 1822, when 

 he accompanied the king of Prussia to Italy. In 1826 he returned 

 from Paris to Berlin, where in the following year he delivered 

 lectures on physical geography, which were attended by persons of 



