210 ALEXANDER VON HUMBOLDT. 



more comprehensive work, ' Asie centrale ; Recherches sur les 

 Chaines de Montagnes et la Climatologie comparee,' was only 

 published twelve years later in three octavo volumes. They 

 were companion works, the first forming the sketch for the 

 fuller development of the subject in the latter work. It can 

 never have been Humboldt's intention to give to the results of 

 the Asiatic journey the literary prominence or elaborate and 

 comprehensive treatment he had bestowed on the results of 

 the American expedition. Many objections could be urged 

 against such a plan. His advanced age seemed to forbid a 

 second similar undertaking ; he had no longer any means to 

 expend ; and he had no hesitation in confiding to the younger 

 men of science by whom he was accompanied the working out 

 of important sections of the results that had been acquired. 

 He had, besides, already planned the great work of ' Cosmos,' 

 though as yet on a much more limited scale than it subse- 

 quently attained during those peaceful years of ' improbable ' 

 life, as he loved to designate them. 



The shorter expedition to Siberia was, moreover, vastly infe- 

 rior in importance to the American journey, both in its scien- 

 tific aspect and in its effect upon Humboldt, to whom it served 

 but to confirm, extend, and complete the fundamental ideas he 

 had acquired in the New World. He felt the importance of pub- 

 lishing as soon as possible the results of the Eastern expedi- 

 tion. When visiting Paris, in October 1830, he read before 

 the Institute a preliminary report, and furnished several trea- 

 tises for the Annales de Chimie et de Physique,' and for 

 Poggendorff's 'Annalen;' these papers, when collected and 

 enlarged by the addition of a valuable contribution from 

 Klaproth on Chinese literature and the Mongolian dialects, 

 constituted the 'Fragments de Greologie et de Climatologie 

 asiatiques.' 



In a few years the necessity of a new edition became apparent, 

 although the undertaking was postponed till the year 1839, 

 mainly on account of the ' Exainen critique ' being still in course 

 of publication. It was not, however, till 1843 that the work 

 made its appearance, as its progress had been interrupted by 

 various calls from home and ' by the grievous calamity which 

 befell the country' in 1840, as Humboldt was accustomed to 





