374 ALEXANDER VON HUMBOLDT. 



start before the completion of the works upon which he was 

 engaged, a task which was likely to occupy him till the 

 spring of 1829. With regard to the offer of means, he should 

 have no hesitation in availing himself of the emperor's muni- 

 ficence if his sojourn in Russia could be of service to the 

 interests of science. On this subject he expresses himself 

 more fully in a letter, dated January 10, 1829: 1 'I have 

 expended the whole of my inheritance (100,000 thalers) ; and as 

 I have sacrificed my fortune in the cause of science, I make 

 the confession without fear of blame. The king, with whom 

 I stand in a purely personal relationship, grants me a yearly 

 pension of 5,000 thalers, with a munificence greater than I, as 

 a scientific man, consulted only occasionally in the affairs of 

 administration, can in anywise deserve. So far, as I am but a 

 bad manager in household affairs, and am always too ready to 

 help young students, I have been spending yearly somewhat 

 over my income. It is therefore to be hoped that should I 

 be granted a safe return, and take up my residence again, either 

 in Berlin or Paris, I may not find that the expedition to the 

 waters of the Irtysch has placed me in a worse position or en- 

 cumbered me with heavier financial difficulties.' The cost of 

 the journey from Berlin to St. Petersburg and back, estimated 

 by him at about 3,000 thalers, he was anxious to defray from 

 his own resources ; but the minister empowered him to obtain 

 for this purpose the sum of 1,200 ducats at Berlin. On his 

 arrival at St. Petersburg, 20,000 roubles were placed at his 

 disposal for his personal expenses during the expedition. 2 



1 ' Im Ural und Altai. Briefwechsel zwischen Alexander von Humboldt 

 und Graf Georg von Cancrin, aus den Jahren 1827-1832 ' (Leipzig, 1869). 

 This pamphlet contains the correspondence between Humboldt and Count 

 C %icrin, prior to and during the course of the Asiatic expedition ; out 

 of J'^rty-three letters twenty-eight are from. Humboldt. The particulars 

 of the journey are derived mainly from the letters written by Hum- 

 boldt to his brother during the expedition, and from various unpublished 

 letters to Cancrin. The former were mostly written to cheer and console 

 his brother, grieving over the loss of his wife, and are characterised by the 

 tenderest expressions of feeling. ('To-morrow, my dearest brother, is 

 your birthday ; I shall celebrate it in Asiatic Ural amid the copper-mines 

 of Gummeschewskoi. I am deeply moved as I write these lines. How 

 gladly would I form one of your family circle to-morrow ! ) 



3 Of this sum, 7,050 roubles were in excess of his requirements ; and, 



