LINNiEUS. 71 



"without encumbrances of any kind, and carried all 

 his baggage on his back," by which means alone he 

 was enabled to prosecute the objects he had in 

 view. Leaving Upsala by the northern gate, he 

 travelled for a considerable distance through fertile 

 corn-fields, bounded by hills, and the view termi- 

 nated by extensive forests. With respect to situa- 

 tion and variety of prospects, the young Swede 

 was of opinion that scarcely any city could stand 

 a comparison with this. At a short distance from 

 the gates he left, on the right. Old Upsala, the 

 place renowned for the worship of the primeval 

 gods of Sweden, and for the inauguration and 

 residence of her earliest king. Here, in days of 

 high antiquity, human sacrifices were offered at the 

 shrines of the pagan deities, and here our traveller 

 noticed the three large sepulchral mounds which 

 tradition has assigned to the bodies of Odin, 

 Frigga, and Thor. 



" Cheered with the song of the charming lark," 

 which attended his steps through the lowland, his 

 approach to the forest was welcomed by the red- 

 wing, " whose amorous warblings from the tops of 

 the spruce firs " appeared to him to rival the night- 

 ingale itself. As the summer was advancing, he 

 thought it not desirable to lose time by the way, 

 nor to stray far from the high road in the early part 

 of the tour ; but attentively observing what pre- 

 sented itself to him as he passed along, he noted 

 the various plants, animals, and insects, together 

 with the general features of the country. 



