HOME LIFE. 3-i5 



the publication of bis works. In Paris be met witb every 

 facility for the prosecution of this undertaking, and bad the offer 

 of zealous co-operation from numerous scientific friends. He 

 had, however, in the first instance applied to Pictet at Geneva,, 

 with whom be had entered into correspondence about the ar- 

 rangement of his works, and their translation into English : for 

 indeed at one time he appears to have been more attracted to 

 Geneva as a residence than to Paris. 'It is quite possible,' he 

 once wrote to Pictet, ' that I shall some day come and settle 

 myself near you. Such a peaceful retirement forms one of my 

 brightest visions, for I love to indulge the hope that after having 

 explored the tropics, and contemplated the wonders of the uni- 

 verse, I may eventually seek repose upon the borders of your 

 lake.' . . . ' May fortune ever preserve the enviable peace of 

 your happy shores, where I hope one day to find a home a peace 

 so necessary to the active exercise of genius, and the develop- 

 ment of the social virtues.' l 



Geneva was, in fact, at that time the centre of much useful 

 effort in the cause of science. It is true that Horace Benedict 

 de Saussure (1740-1769) had passed away; but there were 

 still many distinguished men actively engaged in various 

 branches of scientific labour : the two brothers De Luc, the phy- 

 sicist Marc-Aug. Pictet (1752-1825), Pierre Prevost (1721- 

 1839), Jean Trembley (1749-1811), and tlie botanist Jean 

 Senebier (1742-1809), who was afterwards succeeded by the 

 elder Decandolle. 2 



Humboldt further wrote to Pictet on February 3, 1805 : 3 

 c I hasten to give you the list of the works we have in progress,, 

 which are all so far complete, that even in the event of my 

 death they could be published in a more or less perfect state. 

 For the convenience of the public, and for the sake of reducing 

 the labour of editorship, I propose publishing the results of 

 my travels in eleven distinct works.' 



Of these eleven works, the titles were to be as follows : 



1. Plantes equinoxiales. 



1 ' Le Globe, journ. geogr. de la Soc. de Geogr. de Geneve/ 1868, vol. viL 

 pp. L52, ]57. 



3 Peschel, ' Geschiclite der Geographic/ p. 501. 

 3 < Le Globe/ 1868, vol. vii. p. 158. 



