86 THROUGH THE FIELDS WITH LINNAEUS 



directly away from Upsala. Most travellers, poor, 

 hurried, and unencumbered as he was, would have selected 

 the more direct route by Jonkoping up the Vettern and 

 Hjalmar lakes, whence a short road across country would 

 bring them to the Malar, giving direct water communi- 

 cation to the very quays of Upsala. I can only account 

 for Carl's choosing the longer and more expensive route 

 by his considering the land journey would afford him 

 better opportunities for study on the road. 1 I do not 

 purpose describing this line of country, because we shall 

 travel over all the region of the Vettern with him in 

 his later and less hurried tours. Carl's journey was of 

 necessity hurried, for, having only SI. sterling, repre- 

 senting his whole patrimony, to embark on life with, 

 he could not delay nor turn aside to visit objects or 

 places of interest. 



He arrived at Upsala, perhaps the poorest student 

 who ever entered her walls. 2 I do not deny it, but the 

 authorities have contradictory ways of making it out. 

 Stoever says ' he had 200 silver dollars, worth about 

 SI. sterling.' This might be so if they were German 

 silver dollars, but 200 thalers would be 30. 200 francs 

 would be nearer the mark, or Swedish kronor not so 

 very far off, but the Swedes did not reckon by kronor 

 in those days. I dare not contradict Stoever, lest I 

 should rue discovering inaccuracy in a German ; and 



1 His journey averaged thirty-two miles on each of the thirteen 

 days. 



2 Stoever. 



