150 ALEXANDER VON HUMBOLDT. 



present to his imagination. The lectures upon physical geo- 

 graphy, the arrangements for their publication, which however 

 did not proceed very far, and the completion of the c Relation 

 historique,' delayed the accomplishment of his wishes for the 

 space of eighteen months a delay which secured him time for 

 many preparatory studies on scientific subjects, and on the 

 history of those countries through which he was to pass. In 

 his attempts to learn the Russian language he was by no 

 means successful, although he had been able to master without 

 difficulty most of the modern languages of Europe. On his 

 return to Berlin he proceeded without delay to work out the 

 results of the expedition, which were not completed for several 

 years ; and the eagerness with which he entered upon this new 

 occupation appears from a letter written by Zelter to Groethe 

 on February 2, 1830 : l ' Alexander von Humboldt is again at 

 Berlin, and receives only a limited number of his friends. He 

 is full to overflowing, like a seething pot. Rumour has spread 

 some wondrous tales, but I want to hear him for myself. How 

 rarely are they understood who speak under the influence of 

 inspiration ! ' 



The historical questions aroused by his expedition to Asia 

 appeared to Humboldt to possess an importance almost equal 

 to the results he had obtained in physical science. ' It is the 

 people,' he remarks in writing to Gruizot, on February 25, 1830, 2 

 ' especially the great nomad population, which has excited my 

 interest far more than the majestic rivers or the snow-capped 

 peaks. The imagination is led back to those primeval days 

 when whole nations were in perpetual migration. The history 

 of the past finds a striking exemplification in the fact that in 

 our own day one million three hundred thousand Kirghissians 

 are still leading a wandering life, transporting themselves on 

 their waggons. We have been certified of this by history, but 

 I have a mania for seeing everything with these old eyes of 

 mine.' Although Humboldt had promised Cancrin 3 not to 

 publish anything concerning the political and social condition 

 of the Russian Empire, occasional observations on the subject 



1 'Briefwechsel zwischen Goethe und Zelter/ vol. v. p. 386. 



2 De la Roquette, &c. vol. ii. p. 84. 



3 <Im Ural und Altai/ p. 74. 



