The Life, Travels and Books of Alexander Von Humboldt |
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Page 36
... appeared at every instant . The farther progress they made towards the south , the more frequent was this phenomenon , espe- cially near the Canaries . Forty leagues east of the island of Madeira a swallow perched on the topsail yard ...
... appeared at every instant . The farther progress they made towards the south , the more frequent was this phenomenon , espe- cially near the Canaries . Forty leagues east of the island of Madeira a swallow perched on the topsail yard ...
Page 37
... appeared stronger : the humidity , increasing the transparency of the air , seemed at the same time to have brought the objects nearer their view . They passed through the channel which divided the isle of Alegranza from Montaña Clara ...
... appeared stronger : the humidity , increasing the transparency of the air , seemed at the same time to have brought the objects nearer their view . They passed through the channel which divided the isle of Alegranza from Montaña Clara ...
Page 38
... appeared like perpendicular walls five or six hundred feet high . Their shadows , thrown over the surface of the ocean , gave a gloomy aspect to the scenery . Rocks of basalt , emerging from the bosom of the waters , wore the ...
... appeared like perpendicular walls five or six hundred feet high . Their shadows , thrown over the surface of the ocean , gave a gloomy aspect to the scenery . Rocks of basalt , emerging from the bosom of the waters , wore the ...
Page 40
... appeared in a break above the clouds , and the first rays of the sun , which had not yet risen , illu- mined the summit of the volcano . Humboldt and Bonpland hastened to the prow of the vessel to behold the magnificent spectacle , and ...
... appeared in a break above the clouds , and the first rays of the sun , which had not yet risen , illu- mined the summit of the volcano . Humboldt and Bonpland hastened to the prow of the vessel to behold the magnificent spectacle , and ...
Page 43
... appeared to them to be about fifty or sixty feet ; its circumference near the roots was forty - five feet . The trunk was divided into a great number of branches , which rose in the form of a candelabrum , and were terminated by tufts ...
... appeared to them to be about fifty or sixty feet ; its circumference near the roots was forty - five feet . The trunk was divided into a great number of branches , which rose in the form of a candelabrum , and were terminated by tufts ...
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Common terms and phrases
Alexander Alexander Von Humboldt animals appeared Aricagua arrived ascended Atabapo Atahuallpa banks beautiful Berlin birds boat boldt Calabozo canoe Caracas Caripe Cassiquiare cataracts cavern clouds coast Cordilleras Cotopaxi covered crater crevice crocodiles Cumana descended distance eggs Europe excursion eyes feet high fish forest formed ground Guacharo gulf of Cariaco height horizon Humboldt and Bonpland hundred feet Incas Indians inhabitants insects island jaguar journey land leagues light Llanos ment Mexico mines mission missionary monkeys morning mountains mouth mules narrow natives natural night observations Orinoco palm-trees Paris passed Pizarro plain plants porphyritic Quito reached regions remained Rio Negro river road rocks rose sail San Fernando savannahs scarcely seemed seen shore spot summit surface surrounded Tegel thick thousand tion torrent trees trunks turtles Uruana valley vapour vegetation village visited volcano voyage wind young Zambo
Popular passages
Page 54 - In the solitude of the seas, we hail a star as a friend from whom we have been long separated. Among the Portuguese and the Spaniards, peculiar motives seem to increase this feeling; a religious sentiment attaches them to a constellation, the form of which recalls the sign of the faith planted by their ancestors in the deserts of the new world...
Page 12 - Whene'er with haggard eyes I view This dungeon that I'm rotting in I think of those companions true Who studied with me at the U niversity of Gottingen, niversity of Gottingen.
Page 295 - He found them married to the women of this land, having a numerous posterity, and living in cities, which they had built. Our ancestors hearkened not to their ancient master, and he returned alone. We have always believed, that his descendants would one day come to take possession of this country. Since you arrive from that region, where the Sun rises, and, as you assure me, you have long known us, I cannot doubt, but that the king, who sends you, is our natural master.
Page 80 - Thus in every region of the earth a resemblance may be traced in the early fictions of nations, those especially which relate to two principles governing the world, the abode of souls after death, the happiness of the virtuous and the punishment of the guilty. The most different and most...
Page 54 - A traveller has no need of being a botanist, to recognise the torrid zone on the mere aspect of its vegetation ; and without having acquired any notions of astronomy, without any acquaintance with the celestial charts of Flamstead and de la Caille, he feels he is not in Europe, when he sees the immense constellation of the Ship, or the phosphorescent clouds of Magellan, arise on the horizon.
Page 162 - ... farther and farther from her hut and her native country. She succeeded in breaking her bonds, threw herself into the water, and swam to the left bank of the Atabapo. The current carried her to a shelf of rock, which bears her name to this day. She landed, and took shelter in the woods, but the president of the missions ordered the Indians to row to the shore, and follow the traces of the Guahiba. In the evening she was brought back. Stretched upon the rock...
Page 55 - Lataniers, conversed together for the last time ; and where the old man, at the sight of the Southern Cross, warns them that it is time to separate !"— DE HUMBOLDT'S Travels.
Page 416 - I had to go, for I had nothing left. The next morning as I was seated at breakfast, in front of the yard of the hotel where I lived, I saw the servant of Humboldt approach. He handed me a note, saying there was no answer, and disappeared. I opened the note, and I see it now before me as distinctly as if I held the paper in my hand. It said : " ' My friend, I hear that you intend leaving Paris in consequence of some embarrassments.
Page 460 - I still think,'' he remarked as he closed the book, " that Chimborazo is the grandest mountain in the world.
Page 290 - Those who witnessed this great catastrophe from the top of Aguasarco assert, that flames were seen to issue forth for an extent of more than half a square league, that fragments of burning rocks were thrown to...