HERBARIUM. 



51 



fill that should have constituted it 

 the sanctuary of his affections ; and 

 whose sordid parsimony was now 

 eager to convert his collections into 

 money, and send away for ever, 

 from the country which claimed him 

 as the most distinguished of her sons, 

 the priceless inheritance of his sci- 

 entific treasures. The eldest son of 

 Linnaeus, who was sedulously fol- 

 lowing in the footsteps of his father, 

 and had already proved himself not 

 unworthy to share in his renown, 

 was, in consequence of the merce- 

 nary conduct of his mother, obliged 

 to purchase, at her own price, the 

 books and collections, including the 

 herbarium, which were his own by 

 birthright. He died in 1783, and 

 his books, plants, &c., reverted to 

 his mother and sisters. The offer 

 of sale made to Sir Joseph Banks 

 was at the instance of the mother, 

 who was thus making merchandise 

 a second time of the collections of 

 the great naturalist. Sir Joseph 

 declined to avail himself of the offer, 

 but recommended the purchase to 

 Smith, then a student of medicine. 

 He made the purchase, and the pos- 

 session of Linnseus's collections de- 

 termined his future pursuit as a 

 botanist. " Though enthusiasm and 

 a love of fame," remarks Lady Smith 

 in his memoirs, " had perhaps some 

 influence, a love of science and of 

 truth had greater still. He said to 

 others, 'The fairest flower in the 

 garden of creation is a young mind, 

 offering and unfolding itself to the 

 influence of Divine wisdom, as the 

 heliotrope turns its sweet blossoms 

 to the sun ;' and may it not be said 

 of him that taste and virtue fixed 

 his choice?" The number of vo- 

 lumes was upwards of 2000, includ- 

 ing some valuable manuscripts; 

 there were 3198 insects ; 1564 shells; 

 2424 minerals ; and 19,000 plants. 

 Deducting a small herbarium which 

 belonged to young Linnaeus, and 

 contained no species that wer-e not 

 included in the great collection, 



Smith obtained the whole for 900 

 guineas : but the entire cost, includ- 

 ing the freight, ultimately amounted 

 to .1088. Through the interven- 

 tion of Sir John Jervis, afterwards 

 Earl St. Vincent, and at this period 

 one of the members for Great Yar- 

 mouth, an order was obtained from 

 the Treasury passing the whole col- 

 lection, except the books, free of 

 Custom-house duty. It was in 

 October, 1784, that a ship, named 

 The Appearance, was freighted with 

 the precious treasures. The vessel 

 had just left the shores of Sweden, 

 when King Gustavus III., who had 

 been absent in France, returned to 

 his dominions, and on learning that 

 the herbarium and other monu- 

 ments of the labours of the illustri- 

 ous naturalist had been sent out of 

 his native kingdom, he despatched 

 a frigate to the Sound to intercept 

 the voyage of The Appearance to 

 England. But the latter vessel dis- 

 tanced her pursuer, and the valu- 

 able cargo was safely landed at the 

 Custom-house of London. This 

 singular race between the two ves- 

 sels has been commemorated in a 

 pictorial representation. The event 

 is still remembered in Sweden, 

 as we learned fi*om a botanist of 

 that country whom we found em- 

 ployed upon the herbaria of 

 the Liunsean Society. Sir James 

 Smith's own views of the conduct 

 of the Swedish nation in allowing 

 the herbarium and other collections 

 to be sold to a foreigner, were ex- 

 pressed in the following terms, in a 

 letter to Dr. Acrel, who had nego- 

 tiated the bargain with him : "Be- 

 tween ourselves, it is certainly a 

 iisgrace to the university (of Upsal) 

 that they suffered such a treasure 

 to leave them; but if those who 

 ought most to have loved and pro- 

 tected the immortal name of Linne 

 failed in their duty, he shall not 

 want a friend or an asylum while I 

 live or have any power, though ever 

 so small, to do him honour." After 



