18 JOURNEY TO SPAIN. 



an ardent desire to travel into distant regions little 

 known to Europeans ; and having at the age of 

 eighteen resolved to visit the New Continent, he 

 prepared himself by examining some of the most 

 interesting parts of Europe, that he might be enabled 

 to compare the geological structure of these two 

 portions of the globe, and acquire a practical ac- 

 quaintance with the instruments best adapted for 

 aiding him in his observations. Fortunate in pos- 

 sessing ample pecuniary resources, he did not expe- 

 rience the privations which have disconcerted the 

 plans and retarded the progress of many eminent 

 individuals ; but, not the less subject to unforeseen 

 vicissitudes, he had to undergo several disappoint- 

 ments that thwarted the schemes which, like all 

 men of ardent mind, he had indulged himself in 

 forming. Meeting with a person passionately fond 

 of the fine arts, and anxious to visit Upper Egypt, he 

 resolved to accompany him to that interesting coun- 

 try ; but political events interfered, and forced him 

 to abandon the project. The knowledge of the 

 monuments of the more ancient nations of the Old 

 World, which he acquired at this period, was sub- 

 sequently of great use to him in his researches in 

 the New Continent. An expedition of discovery to 

 the southern hemisphere, under the direction of 

 Captain Baudin, then preparing in France, and with 

 which MM. Michaux and Bonpland were to be asso- 

 ciated as naturalists, held out to him the hope of 

 gratifying his desire of exploring unknown regions. 

 But the war which broke out in Germany and Italy 

 compelled the government to withdraw the funds 

 allotted to this enterprise. Becoming acquainted 

 with a Swedish consul who happened to pass through 

 Paris, with the view of embarking at Marseilles on 

 a mission to Algiers, he resolved to embrace the 

 opportunity thus offered of visiting Africa, in order 

 to examine the lofty chain of mountains in the em- 

 pire of Morocco, and ultimately to join the body of 



