Reviews and Notices of BooJcs, 209 



REVIEWS AND NOTICES OF BOOKS. 



The Life, Travels, and Books of Alexander von Humboldt. "With an in- 

 troduction by Bayard Taylor. New York, Rudd & Carleton ; 

 Montreal, B. Dawson & Son, pp. 482. 



This is a very able and interesting account of the life and 

 labours of Humboldt. The author's signature is R. H. S., why 

 the full name is concealed, we cannot tell. The task undertaken 

 by him or her, is ably executed. Those who wish to know what 

 Humboldt did, and the foundation upon which his great fame 

 rests, will find the information desired in this volume. It does 

 not profess to be a biography of the great naturalist and philos- 

 opher, but it is a sketch taken from the most authentic sources of 

 the course of his life, from the cradle to the grave. It tells us 

 how and where his youth was spent, at what universities he stud- 

 ied, who were his teachers, what his favorite pursuits, his early 

 employments and thirst for foreign travel. A brief notice is given 

 of his travels and researches, in company with the botanist 

 Bonpland, in the regions of South America, during the early part 

 of the nineteenth century. It traces the course of Humboldt's 

 travels through Russia to the Ural Mountains, and through 

 northern Asia to the mines of the Altai. Finally, the author gives 

 a brief account of the character and cost of the great works 

 prepared and edited by Humboldt ; and concludes with agreeable 

 notices of his last days. The name of Humboldt has become a 

 household word in Europe and America. He is everywhere 

 known and acknowledged to be the prince of Modern Science. 

 For those who have not much leisure to peruse the works and to 

 make themselves familiar with the scientific researches of the late 

 Baron von Hu;nboldt, we would recommend the perusal of this 

 volume. It is agreeably written, and is worthy of a place in the 

 study or the family library. A. f. k. 



A first lesson in Natural History. By Actcea. (Mrs. Agassiz.) Boston, 

 Little, Brown, & Co. Montreal, B. Dawson «fc Son. Illustrated, 

 pp. 82. 



This little book has been prepared by its amiable and accom- 

 plished Authoress in the hope that it may be interesting to 

 Can. Nat. 4 Vol. V. 



