TAKES HIS DOCTORS DEGREE IN HOLLAND 279 



tall church towers, bulbous or spiry, most of them 

 copper-sheathed, and green with oxide, stand boldly up 

 above the great city. The rich residential part of Ham- 

 burg by the Alster Bassin is handsome, new, and 

 Parisian. Stoever would be the safest guide to Lin- 

 naeus's history here, as besides being an Altona man, he 

 was acquainted with Gieseke and the newspaper- writers, 

 and all the persons interested in Linnaeus's stay in 

 Hamburg, where he created a sensation of rather a Mr. 

 Verdant Green sort. But Carl's own diary is quite full 

 enough here, and more moderate in tone than one 

 would expect of a greenhorn. 



Professor Kohl and Dr. Janisch, and the licentiate- 

 in-law Sprekelsen, who held correspondence with the 

 best naturalists and botanists of the age, and who had a 

 beautiful garden, all showed him great civilities. 1 Here 

 Linnaeus employed his whole time inspecting the fine 

 gardens, museums, and everything else worthy of 

 attention. ' It was like coming suddenly into a large- 

 inheritance of unknown treasures ' : he had to settle down 

 to enjoy his new property. In a private library at 

 Hamburg he found the botanical work of Ray, which he 

 had long wished to see. 2 Among other things he was 

 shown the museum of the burgomaster Andersson, and 

 a monster which Hamburg gloried in possessing the 

 famous Siren lacertina, or stuffed Hydra with seven heads, 

 belonging to Andersson's brother. This rare master- 

 piece of nature had formerly been exhibited on an altar 

 1 Diaiy. 2 Brightwell. 



