Europe becoming too small for his genius, he visited the tropics. He
sailed along the gigantic Amazon--the mysterious Orinoco--traversed the
Pampas--climbed the Andes until he stood upon the crags of Chimborazo,
more than eighteen thousand feet above the level of the sea, and climbed
on until blood flowed from his eyes and lips. For nearly five years he
pursued his investigations in the new world, accompanied by the intrepid
Bonplandi. Nothing escaped his attention. He was the best intellectual
organ of these new revelations of science. He was calm, reflective and
eloquent; filled with a sense of the beautiful, and the love of truth.
His collections were immense, and valuable beyond calculation to every
science. He endured innumerable hardships, braved countless dangers in
unknown and savage lands, and exhausted his fortune for the advancement
of true learning.