236 Humboldt's Letters. 



been told, no doubt, by our common friends, C. C. 

 Jussieu, Desfontaines . . . how the Barbaresques have 

 prevented my departure for Egypt, how the King of 

 Spain has given me permission to journey over his vast 

 domains in America and Asia, to gather whatever may be 

 useful to science. Independently, and always at my own 

 expense, my friend Bonpland and I have wandered for 

 two years through the territories lying between the coast, 

 the Orinoco, the Casiquian, the Rio Negro, and the 

 Amazon. Our health has resisted the frightful risks cre- 

 ated by the rivers. In the midst of the forests we have 

 talked of you ; of our useless visits ; on C. Francois, of 

 Neufchatel ; of our beguiled hopes. Just as we were 

 starting from Havana for Mexico and the Philippines, 

 the gratifying news reached us that your perseverance 

 had overcome every obstacle. After making our calcu- 

 lations, we felt sure that you would touch at Valparaiso, 

 at Lima, or at Guayaquil. We changed our plans at 

 once, and in spite of the stormy gales of this shore, we 

 started in a little pilot boat to look for you in the South 

 Sea, to try whether by reviving up our old plans, we 

 could join our labors with yours, and sail with you on 

 the South Sea. A long passage of twenty-one days 

 from the Havana to Carthagena, unfortunately hindered 

 us from taking the route of Panama and Guayaquil. We 

 fear that the wind has ceased blowing in the South Sea, 

 and we have decided to continue our journey on land by 



