2 -VIEWS OF NATURE. 



reflected in the lower stratum of undulating vapour, a shore- 

 less ocean seems spread before us (3). Like a limitless 

 expanse of waters, the Steppe fills the mind with a sense oi 

 the infinite, and the soul, freed from the sensuous impres- 

 sions of space, expands with spiritual emotions of a higher 

 order. But the aspect of the ocean, its bright surface diver- 

 sified with rippling or gently swelling waves, is productive 

 of pleasurable sensations, while the Steppe lies stretched 

 before us, cold and monotonous, like the naked stony crust 

 of some desolate planet (4). 



In all latitudes nature presents the phenomenon of these 

 vast plains, and each has some peculiar character or phy- 

 siognomy, determined by diversity of soil and climate, and 

 by elevation above the level of the sea. 



In northern Europe the Heaths which, covered by one sole 

 form of vegetation, to the exclusion of all others, extend from 

 the extremity of Jutland to the mouth of the Scheldt, may 

 be regarded as true Steppes. They are, however, both hilly 

 and of very inconsiderable extent when compared with the 

 Llanos and Pampas of South America, or even with the 

 Prairies on the Missouri (5) and Copper River, the resort 

 of the shaggy Bison and the small Musk Ox. 



The plains in the interior of Africa present a grander and 

 more imposing spectacle. Like the wide expanse of the 

 Pacific, they have remained unexplored until recent times. 

 They are portions of a sea of sand, which towards the east 

 separates fruitful regions from each other, or incloses them 

 like islands, as the desert near the basaltic mountains of 

 Harudsch (6), where, in the Oasis of Siwah, rich in date- 

 trees, the ruins of the temple of Ammon indicate the venerable 

 seat of early civilization. Neither dew nor rain refreshes these 

 barren wastes, or unfolds the germs of vegetation within the 

 glowing depths of the earth; for everywhere rising columns 

 of hot air dissolve the vapours and disperse the passing clouds. 



Wherever the desert approaches the Atlantic Ocean, 



