THE KNIGHT OF THE POLAR STAR 301 



history collection at his palace of Ulrichsdal, 1 and 

 Queen Louisa Ulrica, styled by Stoever in his consum- 

 mate manner ' the enthroned Minerva of the Swedish 

 sciences,' was forming a still more important museum 

 of shells and insects at her favourite summer palace of 

 Drottningholm. 2 At both of these places the services 

 of Linnaeus were in great request. Drottningholm 

 was within a few hours' sail down Lake Malar from 

 his own house at Upsala. 



These great people met on equal terms ; if Adolf 

 Frideric was Dei gratia King of the Swedes, Goths, 

 and Vandals, Lord in Norway, &c., Linnseus was ruler 

 of the empire of Natural History and sovereign of the 

 kingdom of Botany. His lifelong study was his warrant 

 of universal dominion. ' Their Majesties permitted 

 Linnseus to be in their private company the whole day 

 as if he had belonged to the Court, when the conversa- 

 tion turned wholly on natural history.' 3 The Court 

 enjoyed the freshness of his mind. 



He speaks 4 of receiving the commands of his gra- 

 cious sovereign to inspect his collections at Ulrichsdal. 

 He was obliged to be a courtier, he says, contrary to his 

 inclination ; principally, perhaps, because he was now 

 commencing a greater work, indeed his finest trophy 

 the ' Species Plantarum.' But he took this opportunity 

 to push the interests of science with royalty. 



1 In his chronological table drawn up for his memoirs, Linnaeus 

 says, '1751, Described the Queen's museum at Drottningholm; 

 1753, Described the King's museum at Ulrichsdal.' 



* Queen's Island. 8 Diary. 4 Ibid. 1752. 



