348 THROUGH THE FIELDS WITH LINNAEUS 



He dearly loved Gieseke from whom Stoever gained 

 much material for his work and Ehrhart, a Swiss pupil. 



When Gieseke took leave of Linne, in the autumn 

 of 1771, he presented him a Swedish banknote for his 

 tuition fees ; but Linne declined acceptance. After 

 reiterated entreaties he asked Gieseke, ' Pray tell me 

 candidly, are you rich, and can you afford it can you 

 well spare this money on your return to Germany? 

 If you can, give the banknote to my wife. But should 

 you be poor, so help me God, I would not take a single 

 farthing from you ! ' This was his usual form of oath. 

 He would accept no fees from Ehrhart. l You are the 

 only Swiss that visits me ; I shall take no money of you, 

 but feel a pleasure in telling you all I know gratis.' 



His frugality was habit, not avarice. Fabricius 

 elsewhere states, ( After having given us lectures all the 

 summer round, we were not only obliged to urge him 

 to receive the fee due for these lectures, but even to 

 leave the money slyly upon his chest, as he had signi- 

 fied in a final and peremptory manner his resolution not 

 to take it.' Yet he loved to look at gold. 



Of the silly fable of his wife being unfaithful to him 

 I can find no justifiable trace. These French novel-like 

 fancies do not enter into the purer Swedish mind ; their 

 customs are not French, although they have equal native 

 politeness. Besides this, Swedish women of that time 

 had to toil and spin, and make the soap and candles, &c. 

 They had no time for acting like a French novel. The 

 only foundation for the tradition seems to be that while 



