MEMOIR OF LINN^US. 83 



this he frowned and grew impatient. I was 

 anxious to get from him specimens for the Hortus 

 Cliff ortianus ; hut when I went to his house, I 

 found he had gone to London. When he came 

 home in the evening he was in hetter humour, and 

 promised to give me whatever specimens 1 might 

 desire. He kept his word; and I set out for 

 Oxford, having proved myself a tolerably good 

 purveyor for Clifford." 



At Oxford, Linnaeus formed an acquaintance 

 with several distinguished Naturalists; amongst 

 whom was Dr. Shaw, the learned author of Travels 

 in the Levant, who treated him with great kind- 

 ness. Dillenius at first gave him but a cold 

 reception; as he was persuaded that the young 

 Swede was a dangerous innovator, and had written 

 his Genera for the purpose of upsetting the esta- 

 blished doctrines of botanical science. 



" When I presented myself (continues he) to 

 Dillenius, I found him with Sherard, to whom 

 he remarked, * Here is the man who confounds 

 all botany.' I pretended not to understand what 

 he said. We then strolled for a short while toge- 

 ther in the garden, where I found, for the first 

 time, the Antirrhinum minus. I asked him its 

 name. ' How ! (exclaimed he), don't you know 

 that plant!' * No (I answered) ; but give me a 

 single flower, and I can soon tell you/ ; There 

 (said he), take one ;' which I did, and instantly 

 saw to what genus it ought to belong. 



