A BOYISH PROPENSITY. 127 



of it, during fifty years sparing neither pains nor 

 expense in procuring materials for a collection 

 which in course of time became very valuable 

 " his house being full of animals, insects especially, 

 vegetables and fossils, though without the least 

 confusion, everything being disposed in its proper 

 place and order. Both citizens and strangers (con- 

 tinues Boerhaave) viewed this collection with great 

 admiration ; and the greatest princes that passed 

 through Amsterdam visited it, as one of the things 

 best worth their attention in that famous city." 



The young Swammerdam was intended for the 

 Church, but, having no disposition for that calling, 

 induced his father to consent that he should be 

 brought up to the medical profession, and he re- 

 mained at home during his preparatory studies, 

 where he was frequently employed in cleaning, 

 arranging, and cataloguing the curiosities and 

 treasures we have spoken of. In this manner he 

 gradually acquired a deep-rooted love for the study 

 of natural history ; and very soon he began to make 

 a collection of his own, procuring specimens of 

 various kinds, " catching some, buying or bartering 

 for others, and disposing them in certain classes, 

 and comparing them with the accounts given by 

 the best writers." This boyish propensity " grew 

 with his growth," and though, in obedience to the 

 calls of duty, he attended to his anatomical and 



