366 ALEXANDEE VON HUMBOLDT. 



into one of those capacious pasteboard boxes, three of which are 

 represented at his feet in the small water-colour drawing of 

 Hildebrandt's, exhibiting an accurate representation of Hum- 

 boldt's study during the compilation of the third volume of 

 6 Cosmos.' l He had more than a dozen of these boxes, each 

 labelled with a comprehensive description of the contents, 

 such as : ' Isothermal Lines (not arranged), numerical data,' 

 6 Geographical Distribution of Plants and Animals,' &c. The 

 contents of these were sorted into cases and portfolios labelled 

 according to the division of the subject ; for instance, Box III. 

 inscribed : ' This has all been used in the third volume of 

 " Cosmos " ; astronomica,' is filled with memoranda classified 

 as follows: 'Telescopic Vision, Instruments Velocity of Light 

 Photometry Number of the Fixed Stars Single Stars 

 Stellar Clusters Milky Way and Magellanic Clouds Chinese 

 Observations, Star of Hipparchus New Stars Dark Masses 

 (Bessel),' &c. &c. Strange remarks are often appended to 

 these titles, for example ' black spots ; ' ' Holes ? a world of ap- 

 paritions ; last letter from John Herschel,' ' only one coal-sack.' 

 Interspersed with these are a thousand heterogeneous com- 

 ments, such as the derisive lines upon Berlin, already cited ; 2 

 but his feelings for the most part find expression in brief excla- 

 mations, as ' Patria,' or ' Alas, Patria ! ' deeply underlined or 

 followed by notes of admiration. The portfolios contained 

 numerous memoranda upon the subjects in question, quotations, 

 statistical data, as well as hints for further investigation ; as 

 for instance : ' It is stated somewhere by the Greeks that plants 

 are motionless animals ! ' These scraps of paper, of every 

 variety of form, are pasted together by the dozen, the corner 

 of one being fastened either over or under its neighbour, so as 

 to form the most wonderful serpent-like structure of erudition. 

 Many are marked ' already used,' ' very important,' or ' im- 

 mediate ! ' while some are inscribed ' Material for a new edition 

 of " Cosmos." ' At every turn we are struck by the thought 

 how much the labours of others have contributed to the com- 

 pilation of this great work. 



Letters of scientific import from all parts of the world lie 



1 See ' Briefe an Bunsen/ p. 147. 

 8 Vol. ii. p. 90. 



