The national Republican. [volume] (Washington City [D.C.]) 1866-1870, 1869-09-15


very considerably. Astronomy, botany,
physics and soology were cultivated by him
with equal srdor, and the newly discovered
science Of galvanism promised new revela-
Hons Of natural secrets, . promise which II
Afterwards faithfully fulfilled. The young
man who was instructed In the natural
sciences by the frst masters Of the times, an
expert In tho useof all scientific instruments
Of observation, now felt prompting, with all
The ardor Of youth, TO visit that part Of the
world beyond the great ocean. Fate throw
him into the cour.e OF Columbus. He
sailed from Spanish port In the year lTg9,
In company With his French friend Bonpland,
for the shores Of tropical America TO search
out the secrets Of nature and Of man.
In the primeval forests, on the savannas, on
The banks OF the gigantic streams-the Grin
,co, Amazon and Magdalen rivers upon the
ocaks Of the Andes OF Quito and Of Peru, and
alter In Mexico, nothing escaped his atten-
Ion, nothing Il foreign 70 his aims. Earth
luAkes, volcanoes with their manifold
lotioa and their changing temperature; the
rust Of the earth, with Its different strata
and minerals the daily and yearly move
ments Of heat, its increase and decrease,
varying ~ vo ascend and descend noun
tains; the animal and vegetable life, de-
pendent on changes OF temperature; the
hourly motion Of The magnetic needle; the
phenomsns Of electricity, either In the ma
jestic storms Of the tropics during the rainy
season or In the strokes Of the wonderful
electric Gals; the movements Of the stars and
the meteorites, the arrow poison Of the In
dlans; the physical and intellectual condl-
ton Of ths Indians, ~ well a. the political
and social relations Of the Spanish colonists.-
all this variety Of subjects occupied his
mind.
Bstwssn . country, perhaps the richest on
earth, and one Of tho richest minds Of any
time, there soon existed electio affinity. A
deep and never expiring love seized Hum
boldt for that country, whore, 10 use his own
words, 'qt Ia given 10 man to contemplate
ct the same time all the forms Of plants and
all the stars OF tho armament" Amer FIVE
years residence In this rich country, Hum
boldt returned 10 Europe q conqueror, laden
with the treasures Of knowledge. His duty
now was TO give those treasures to science
and 10 the world. Twenty years. hard labor
suficed to complete the work-at least its
main points, for was never wholly csm-
pleted. But notwithstanding its unfinished
state, Humboldps travelling record will
ever stand - invaluable In opening the
way for large discoveries In natural science,
and ~ the basis for the establishment Of the
theories OF tho magnetism Of the earth,
metooroloEy and the geography Of plants.
This scientific exploration Of the most i'm
portant part Of the New World might be
called the second discovery thereof. Des.
pite the difference Of the times and the char
acters, 1t IL hitting that Humboldt should be
placed side BY aide with the great men who,
with Columbus a. their laader, have famil.
iarized the people Of Europe with this New
World, and guided mankind TO the Pacific
OCEAN, pointing 10 out - tho last probable
neld for human history. How well Hum
boldt was acquainted with the path Of his pre-
dcccssors, tho Spanish conquerors, and how
much no was attracted By their aims and
their fate, 10 proven BY bis grand work on
the nautical discoveries OF the fifteenth
and sixteenth centuries. There 10 no work
In any language that contains, for instance,
such q nne historical portrait Of Columbus
as Is there painted BY the inimitable writing
OF Humboldt. These works were written in
the French language during 3 residence Of
twenty Year, In the French capital. At the
close Of that time Humboldt resolved again
10 take up his abode In his native city, Der.
lin. Before doing 90, however, he at the
Invitation Of the Car Of Russia visited the
mineral regions Of the Ural and Altai Noun,
tains In far-oh Asia. This work was success
fully and quickly executed, and We have tn,
results Of his labors In his subsequent writ
ings, and the book called The Geography oil
Central Asia.
A his American travels shed light ovei
the geography Of ths lsnds Of the future, &C
illuminod the writing about Asia the coun-
also doaned the way our progsnltors took to
go from Asia 70 Europe. Humboldt never
stepped TO field Of action without he let full
light fall upon II.
In brief outlines We have had before as the
picture Of the carly youth and manhood OF
this great man. We come now 10 speak OF
his maturer years and greatest work.
One thought had possessed him since hi
early youth. He had always considered the
universe as . grand unity, and 70 execute 9
picture Of the whole physical world-"na
ture as one, BY Internal power moving and
living . unit"-he regarded ~ the grea
duty Of his Life, on which all his energies
and labors should Be employed.
The great man hesitated long with the ex
ecution Of this thought, - the difficulties
attending scanned almost insurmountable. A
last the aged sage resolved 70 commence tn,
task, bringing 70 Il his immense knowledg
gained BY persevering and diligent study
and the ripe experience Of wsll.spent life
His years were extended and allowed tn
completion Of the same; 90 that We and GU
generation and posterity received that won
dorful book, " Cosmos "-"the book Of th
uuiNoh1o. SAuCS buo uAyu Vi no WOfl
has boou written alike scientific and artistic
To form faint idea Of tho contents OF "Cos
mos," follow me for short time In briei
review Of lie contents. "Cosmos" CON-
menccs with the far-on nebulp that surround
the island Of the world to which our earth
belongs. As In . garden, flowers grow up
here and there, and others open In full bloc
som, and, again, others droop and wither; &C
We see In the garden Of the world the nebulx
floating and aggregating. We SEQ world
partly developed, others decaying.
From the heights Of the nobule We dc.
scend to the so-called "milky way" thli
Herschel calculated 10 number about eighteel
millions Of distinct stars. Among those orb
that arc near 70 Us, whose light, travelling q
the rate Of 20 900 geographical miles In
second, uoeds from six 10 twelve years h
reach rs, the so-called double stars (system
composed Of one, two or moro bodies) pos
ssss the greatest attraction. Hundreds o
such systems arc already known, and ais,
hat they arc governed BY and subject to the
sane rules that govsrn our own. The Law
OF grayitstion proscribes 10 the greatest sur
a. well ~ 70 the smallest particle Of dust
their paths. AL those great systems Of suns
that Thousands Of years hence their relativ,
position will be entirely different from theil
present one, tho heavens presenting to tn,
observer therefore an entirely different as
pect. The comets, those light bodies o
which kepplor very truly remarks that NOR
Of them exist In the heavens than fshes II
the ocean-connne themselves either to on
system or visit several Systems throug
which they run. Then comes the innumel
able array Of shooting stars, ono of whie
Is closely connected with Humboldt's men
DRY, and should be named AFTER him. tt
same shower OF shooting stars that v
noticed last November, was seen by Hun
boldt In November, 1873, in South Americ,
As they again appeared In 1888, Humbolt
remembered the phenomenon and prophesie
their temperance In 1858.
From the consideration Of the nIsd star
Cosmos guides Us 10 the planets-to thos
masses that were separated As rings iron
the sun, revolving round It. From Neptune
the furthest Of tn known planets, Humboldt
guides us To the sun, the central body, who's
present condition shows Us In what state tn
earth and all the other planets must hay
been formerly. II was long journey iron
the furhest nebule to the sun, but 1t was re
muneratiye by reason Of It's magnitude a
well as by the proofs obtained Of the unit
Of the physical world-governing laws.
We return 10 Mother Earth. Matter az
gregated must develop warmth, Interior heat
While the crust Of the planet by radiation
ultimately gets to be rigid and cold, q reac
ton arises from the molten interior agains
the firm crust, and this we call volcanic &C