“ austral à 1700. toises de hauteur sur l’Ocean Pacifique. Mon ami le C. Cuvier en donera la description anatomique. Ce serait abuser de Vos bontés que de Vous entretenir plus long tems et je me borne à Vous repeter les assurances de la profonde vénération avec laquelle je serai toute ma vie, Mr. le Président.”

Jefferson replied on May 28: “ I recieved last night your favor of the 24 ^th. and offer you my congratulations on your arrival here in good health after a tour in the course of which you have been exposed to so many hardships and hazards. the countries you have visited are of those least known, and most interesting, and a lively desire will be felt generally to recieve the information you will be able to give. no one will feel it more strongly than myself, because no one, perhaps views this new world with more partial hopes of it’s exhibiting an ameliorated state of the human condition . . . ”

The livraisons were sent to Jefferson from Paris as they appeared, through David Bailie Warden, the acting consul, at the request of Von Humboldt.

On April 8, 1808, Warden wrote to announce the impending publication: “. . . Mr Humboldt mentioned, to me the other day, that he proposes to offer you a copy of the statistical part of his work on South America, which will appear in the course of a week or two . . .”

Letters to Jefferson from Warden dated May 25, June 12, July 24, September 2 and November 24, 1808, all mention that parts of Von Humboldt’s work had been transmitted. The letter of July 24 requested corrections for a second edition: “I have the honor of informing you that I lately transmitted for you, by Mr. Barney of Baltimore, certain parts of Mr. Humbolts’ work, accompanied with a letter from him on this subject.

"The other day he expressed to me a strong desire to know from you whether he has committed an error in supposing that the importation of slaves into the united states is not totally interdicted, and also whether there be any facts or observations, concerning the united states, in the Statistical part of his work, which ought to be corrected in a second edition . . .”

On February 25, 1809, Jefferson wrote to Warden: “ . . . M ^r. Humboldt’s work is also received & in answer to his question stated in yours of July 24. I will observe that the importation of Slaves into the United States is totally & rigorously prohibited . . . ”

On March 8 Jefferson sent to Joseph Milligan for binding, such parts as he had received. The parts were bound in boards at a cost of 50 cents.

On March 6, 1809, Jefferson wrote from Washington to Von Humboldt: “ I recieved safely your letter of May 30. & with it your astronomical work & Political essay on the kingdom of New Spain, for which I return you my sincere thanks. I had before heard that this work had begun to appear, & the specimen I have recieved proves that it will not disappoint the expectations of the learned. besides making knon to us one of the most singular & interesting countries on the globe, one almost locked up from the knolege of man hitherto, precious addition will be made to our stock of physical science, in many of it’s parts. we shall bear to you therefore the honorable testimony that you have deserved well of the republic of letters . . . ”

On June 12, Von Humboldt wrote from Paris to Jefferson: “. . . J’ai l’honneur de vous presenter la seconde et la troisieme partie de mon ouvrage sur le Mexique. Le 2 ^d. 3 ^me et 4 ^me cahier de mon Recueil astronomique y compris le Nivellement des etudes. J’ajoute la traduction que l’en a faite de mes Tableaux de la Nature , traduction qui seroit bien mieux reussi en anglais . . .” [For the Tableaux de la Nature, see no. 646.]

More than a year later, on September 23, 1810, Von Humboldt wrote from Paris to Jefferson: “J’ai l’honneur de vous offrir la quatrieme et la cinquieme partie de mon ouvrage sur le Mexique comme une faible marque de ma vénération profonde et respectuese. [ sic -- Ed. ] Quoique ces ouvrages aient été ecrites sous des circonstances peu favorables à la tranquillité de mon esprit, je me ”