ANNOTATIONS AND ADDITIONS. 237 



tion proposed by the Royal Geographical Society of London 

 in November 1834, viz. the connection of the coast of Bri- 

 tish Guiana with the easternmost point which I had reached on 

 the Upper Orinoco. After many difficulties and much suffer- 

 ing, the desired object was completely attained. Robert Schom- 

 burgk arrived with his instruments on the 22d of February, 

 1839, at Esmeralda. His determinations of the latitude and 

 longitude of the place agreed more closely with mine than 

 I had expected would be the case (S. xviii. and 471). Here 

 let us allow the observer to speak for himself: " I want 

 words to describe the feelings which overpowered me as I 

 sprang to shore. My aim was attained ; my observations, 

 began on the coast of Guiana, were brought into connection 

 with those of Humboldt at Esmeralda : I frankly own, that 

 in the course of this enterprise, at a time when almost all my 

 physical powers had well nigh deserted me, and when I was 

 surrounded by dangers and difficulties of no common nature, 

 it was only by the recognition which I hoped for from him, 

 that I had been encouraged to press onward with unalterable 

 determination towards the goal which I had now reached. The 

 emaciated figures of my Indians and faithful guides told more 

 plainly than any words could do, what difficulties we had had 

 to surmount, and had surmounted/' After expressions so 

 kind towards myself, I must be permitted to subjoin the 

 following passage, extracted from my Preface to the German 

 Edition of Robert Schomburgk's Account of his Travels, pub- 

 lished in 1841. 



" Immediately after my return from Mexico, I notified 



