208 THROUGH THE FIELDS WITH LINNAEUS 



and brought round matters so far that punishment was 

 changed into a bare reprimand. Linnaeus was now 

 spared penalty, but he still cherished the idea of ven- 

 geance. His fiery temper almost drove him to despera- 

 tion. Rising to a white heat, he still meditated the 

 design of stabbing Rosen if he met him in the streets. 



I can realise the transports of fury of Linnaeus because 

 I have twice seen men of these Northern nations give 

 way to fits of frenzy of the like sort. Once it was a gentle- 

 man who had quarrelled with some of his countrymen in a 

 railway-carriage about a mere trifle. Rendered speechless 

 by his own fury, all trembling with passion, he became an 

 amusing spectacle of pantomimic rage. The other case 

 was a more serious affair, and likely to become tragic. It 

 was a common man in the island of Gothland, who, in 

 an outburst of savage wrath only comparable to that of an 

 ancient Berserk, hurled the huge stones that lay about 

 the cliff in his madness at his enemy, who fled terrified 

 into a house near by. A woman came out and faced 

 the seeming maniac, crossing her arms proudly as if she 

 said, i You pass this threshold only over my body.' I must 

 do the furious Goth the justice to say that in his wildest 

 transports he hurled no stone against the woman a 

 noble-looking creature though at every minute the 

 demon repossessed him ; and he flung his body and the 

 great boulders about blindly and with renewed vehemence 

 as the thought of his wrongs rushed over him again. Such 

 was Linnaeus at this time ; a renewed personal struggle 

 with Rosen would have been like Molin's fine statue of 



