CARL LINNAEUS. 57 



cept the ptarmigan. He says : "The little Alpine 

 variety of the ptarmigan was now accompanied by 

 its young. I caught one of these, upon which the 

 hen ran so close to me that I could easily have 

 taken her also. She kept continually jumping 

 round and round me, but I thought it a pity to 

 deprive the tender brood of their mother ; neither 

 would my compassion for the mother allow me long 

 to detain her offspring, which I returned to her in 

 safety." Tenderness to animals seems to be a 

 striking characteristic of great men and women. 



During the journey, he found a modest little 

 flower in the great northern forests, in the moss, 

 and this he named Linncea borealis, thinking it 

 was so like himself, expanding in obscurity. He 

 chose for his motto, Tantus amor florum, "So great 

 is the love for flowers." 



On his return to Upsala, he began courses of pri- 

 vate lectures in medicine, but so bitter was the 

 envy of the before-mentioned professor that the 

 archbishop was prevailed upon to prohibit private 

 lectures. Thus deprived of a livelihood. Linnaeus 

 turned his attention to mineralogy, visiting the 

 Swedish mines. The Governor of Dalecarlia was 

 so pleased with him that he engaged him to inves- 

 tigate the productions of his country. Here he 

 fell in love with the daughter of John Moraeus, a 

 well-to-do physician. 



Sara Elizabeth reciprocated the affections of the 

 young man, who was told by the father that he 

 must wait three years for a final answer ; for, in 



