Upon his return to Europe he was hailed as the second Columbus; as the
scientific discover of America; as the revealer of a new world; as the
great demonstrator of the sublime truth, that the universe is governed
by law. I have seen a picture of the old man, sitting upon a mountain
side--above him the eternal snow--below, the smiling valley of the
tropics, filled with vine and palm; his chin upon his breast, his
eyes deep, thoughtful and calm his forehead majestic--grander than the
mountain upon which he sat--crowned with the snow of his whitened hair,
he looked the intellectual autocrat of this world. Not satisfied with
his discoveries in America, he crossed the steppes of Asia, the wastes
of
Siberia, the great Ural range adding to the knowledge of mankind at
every step. H is energy acknowledged no obstacle, his life knew no
leisure; every day was filled with labor and with thought. He was one
of the apostles of science, and he served his divine master with
a self-sacrificing zeal that knew no abatement; with an ardor that
constantly increased, and with a devotion unwavering and constant as the
polar star.