338 ALEXANDER VON HUMBOLDT. 



in twentyrseven clays. I left Mexico in February, 1 and sailed 

 by way of Havana to North America, where I was loaded with 

 marks of honour by Jefferson, the President of the States. My 

 expedition in both hemispheres, extending over a distance of 

 40,000 miles, has been favoured by fortune to an almost unpre- 

 cedented degree. I was never once ill, and I am now in better 

 health, stronger in body, more industrious, and gayer in spirits 

 than ever. I return laden with thirty cases of treasures of all 

 kinds, botanical, geological and astronomical, and it will take 

 me years to bring out my great work. My sectional drawings 

 of the Andes, based upon no less than 1,500 of my own measure- 

 ments, a botanical atlas, and a geological pasigraphy, consisting 

 of new symbols for expressing the various formations, will all 

 interest you exceedingly. I confess it was with a heavy heart 

 that I bade farewell to the bright glories of a tropical clime, yet 

 the thought of being within reach of you, of embracing you 

 once more, and of gathering the gold out of the quartz with you 

 by my side, possessed for me a still higher attraction. As soon 

 as I can get out of quarantine, I shall leave for Paris, that I may 

 begin my work immediately. I am particularly anxious to 

 commence the reduction of my astronomical observations. When 

 I shall see you, my dear Karl, and how soon, I cannot say. My 

 friends are all dispersed in Spain, Italy, and elsewhere. I quite 

 dread the first winter, everything will be so strange, and I shall 

 be some time in settling down again. But I shall be consoled 

 through everything by the thought of my safety. Pray re- 

 member me to your parents, to Fritzchen, Fischer, and Werner,, 

 for whom my veneration increases year by year, for I saw much 

 to substantiate his system during my travels in the southern 

 hemisphere. How shall I ever find time to write to them all !' 

 Remember me to Bohme, and to all our old friends. 



' Ever yours, 



6 HUMBOLDT. 



Duu cle Crillon, as my name, according to Paris custom, was announced at 

 the door, a scream was heard, and a lady fainted away. This lady was 

 Madame La Perouse, in whom grief at the loss of her husband had been 

 painfully reawakened by the announcement of my name, as of an apparition 

 from the world of shadows.' 

 1 More correctly, on March 7. 



