LEYDEN-THE FAT OF THE LAND 295 



meant tulips, which they adored. It seems that Gro- 

 novius had sent to Boerhaave a copy (or more likely the 

 original MS.) of the ' System of Nature,' which made 

 the great physician desire an interview with the young 

 Swede. Boerhaave, then in his sixty-seventh year, 

 received Carl with the greatest cordiality, and invited 

 him to his country seat, a mile out of Ley den. 1 All 

 elderly men relished the vigorous and far-reaching 

 conversation of young Linnaeus, and the freshness of his 

 views, so well calculated to rouse their own flagging 

 enthusiasm. Boerhaave, 2 one of the richest men in 

 Leyden, was extremely plain and active, and a thorough 

 Dutchman. His whole wardrobe consisted of two suits, 

 which he wore till threadbare. His Dutch-built figure, 

 standing in his old shoes, with his loose hair, and the 

 large crab-stick which he carried, made him look like 

 a common man. He was parsimonious, having been 

 brought up in a frugal school ; but he was very bene- 

 ficent to the poor. 3 



He had a botanic garden, and collection of exotics, 

 among which he pointed out one of the hawthorn family 

 (Cratcegus aria), and asked Carl if he knew that tree, 

 which seemed to be remarkable in Holland. Linnaeus 

 said he knew it well in Sweden, where it was common. 4 

 As Boerhaave's garden was stocked with all kinds of 

 trees that would bear the climate, Linnaeus had an 



1 Boerhaave was born at Voorhout, two miles from Ley den. 

 His father was minister there. 



2 Stoever. * Carr. 4 Diary. 



