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INTRODUCTORY REMARKS.

relations of the rocky masses of which the exterior of the earth is composed; and while each has thus contributed to the illustration of the wonderful constitution of our planet, the distinguished traveller whose discoveries form the subject of this volume stands alone as uniting in himself a knowledge of all these sciences. Geography, meteorology, magnetism, the distribution of heat, the various departments of natural history, together with the affinities of races and languages, the history of nations, the political constitution of countries, statistics, commerce, and agriculture,—all have received accumulated and valuable additions from the exercise of his rare talents. The narrative of no traveller, therefore, could be more interesting to the man of varied information. But as from a work like that of which the present volume constitutes a part subjects strictly scientific must be excluded, unless when they can be treated in a manner intelligible to the public at large, it may here be stated, that many of the investigations of which we present the results must be traced in the voluminous works which the author himself has published. At the same time enough will be given to gratify the scientific reader; and while the narrative of personal adventure, the diversified phenomena of the physical world, the condition of societies, and the numerous other subjects discussed, will afford amusement and instruction, let it be remembered that truths faithfully extracted from the book of nature are alone calculated to enlarge the sphere of mental vision; and that, while fanciful description is more apt to mislead than to direct the footsteps of the student, there is reflected from the actual examination of the material universe a light which never fails to conduct the mind at once to sure knowledge and to pious sentiment.

Frederick Henry Alexander Von Humboldt was born at Berlin, on the 14th of September, 1769. He received his academic education at Göttingen and

BIRTH AND EDUCATION OF HUMBOLDT.

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Frankfort on the Oder. In 1790 he visited Holland and England in company with Messrs. George Forster and Van Geuns, and in the same year published his first work, entitled "Observations on the Basalts of the Rhine." In 1791 he went to Freyberg to receive the instructions of the celebrated Werner, the founder of geological science. The results of some of his observations in the mines of that district were published in 1793, under the title of Specimen Flora Fribergensis Subterranea.

Having been appointed assessor of the Council of Mines at Berlin in 1792, and afterward directorgeneral of the mines of the principalities of Bareith and Anspach in Franconia, he directed his efforts to the formation of public establishments in these districts; but in 1795 he resigned his office with the view of travelling, and visited part of Italy. His active and comprehensive mind engaged in the study of all the physical sciences; but the discoveries of Galvani seem at this period to have more particularly attracted his attention. The results of his experiments on animal electricity were published in 1796, with notes by Professor Blumenbach. In 1795 he had gone to Vienna, where he remained some time, ardently engaged in the study of a fine collection of exotic plants in that city. He travelled through several cantons of Salzburg and Styria with the celebrated Von Buch, but was prevented by the war which then raged in Italy from extending his journey to that country, whither he was anxious to proceed for the purpose of examining the volcanic districts of Naples and Sicily. Accompanied by his brother William Von Humboldt and Mr. Fischer, he then visited Paris, where he formed an acquaintance with M. Aimé Bonpland, a pupil of the School of Medicine and Garden of Plants, who, afterward becoming his associate in travel, has greatly distinguished himself by his numerous discoveries in botany.

Humboldt, from his earliest youth, had cherished

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 acquaintance with the instruments best adapted for aiding him in his observations. Fortunate in possessing ample pecuniary resources, he did not experience 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 disappointments 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 country; 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 subsequently 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 associated 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 empire of Morocco, and ultimately to join the body of

GEOLOGY AND CLIMATE OF SPAIN.

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scientific men attached to the French army in Egypt. Accompanied by his friend Bonpland, he therefore betook himself to Marseilles, where he waited for two months the arrival of the frigate which was to convey the consul to his destination. At length, learning that this vessel had been injured by a storm, he resolved to pass the winter in Spain, in hopes of finding another the following spring.

On his way to Madrid, he determined the geographical position of several important parts, and ascertained the height of the central plain of Castile. In March, 1799, he was presented at the court of Aranjuez, and graciously received by the king, to whom he explained the motives which induced him to undertake a voyage to the New Continent. Being seconded in his application by the representations of an enlightened minister, Don Mariano Luis de Urquijo, he to his great joy obtained leave to visit and explore, without impediment or restriction, all the Spanish territories in America. The impatience of the travellers to take advantage of the permission thus granted did not allow them to bestow much time upon preparations; and about the middle of May they left Madrid, crossed part of Old Castile, Leon, and Galicia, and betook themselves to Corunna, whence they were to sail for the island of Cuba.

According to the observations made by our travellers, the interior of Spain consists of an elevated table-land, formed of secondary deposites,-sandstone, gypsum, rock-salt, and Jura limestone. The climate of the Castiles is much colder than that of Toulon and Genoa, its mean temperature scarcely rising to 59° of Fahrenheit's thermometer. The central plain is surrounded by a low and narrow belt, in several parts of which the fan-palm, the date, the sugar-cane, the banana, and many plants common to Spain and the north of Africa vegetate, without suffering from the severity of the winter. In the space

20

ARRIVAL AT CORUNNA.

included between the parallels of thirty-six and forty degrees of north latitude the mean temperature ranges from 62.6° to 68.2° Fahrenheit, and by a concurrence of favourable circumstances this section has become the principal seat of industry and intellectual cultivation.

Ascending from the shores of the Mediterranean, towards the elevated plains of La Mancha and the Castiles, one imagines that he sees far inland, in the extended precipices, the ancient coast of the Peninsula; a circumstance which brings to mind the traditions of the Samothracians and certain historical testimonies, according to which the bursting of the waters through the Dardanelles, while it enlarged the basin of the Mediterranean, overwhelmed the southern part of Europe. The high central plain just described would, it may be presumed, resist the effects of the inundation until the escape of the waters by the strait formed between the Pillars of Hercules, had gradually lowered the level of the Mediterranean, and thereby once more laid bare Upper Egypt on the one hand, and on the other, the fertile valleys of Tarragon, Valentia, and Murcia.

From Astorga to Corunna the mountains gradually rise, the secondary strata disappear by degrees, and the transition rocks which succeed announce the proximity of primitive formations. Large mountains of graywacke and graywacke-slate present themselves. In the vicinity of the latter town are granitic summits which extend to Cape Ortegal, and which might seem, with those of Brittany and Cornwall, to have once formed a chain of mountains that has been broken up and submersed. This rock is characterized by large and beautiful crystals of felspar, and contains tin-ore, which is worked with much labour and little profit by the Galicians.

On arriving at Corunna, they found the port blockaded by the English, for the purpose of interrupting the communication between the mother-country