MEMOIR OF LINNAEUS. 85 



description Dillenius looked at me with astonish- 

 ment. ' You must not leave me (says he) ; you 

 cannot depart to-morrow/ He kept me in his 

 house a month, and gave me whatever plants I 

 asked for Clifford, who received me on my return 

 to Holland with ecstasies of joy." 



Linnaeus, although remarkable for politeness, 

 which he never failed to show to strangers, ol 

 whom many were drawn hy his celebrity to visit 

 Upsala, had nevertheless a turn for pleasantry and 

 humour, which he sometimes indulged to humble 

 vanity, or rebuke conceited ignorance. The follow- 

 ing anecdote he used to relate to his students, as a 

 caution to them to take nothing for granted, even 

 on the word of their master, without due inves- 

 tigation : 



" A lady of quality came one day to visit his 

 collections at Upsala, followed by a small lion- 

 shaped dog, whose silky hair almost swept the 

 ground. The venerable Professor accompanied the 

 lady through his different curiosities, doing the 

 honours of the University with his accustomed 

 grace. The questions that she put to him on see- 

 ing so many animals, unknown and new to her, 

 were so absurd, that he could hardly refrain frn 

 laughing every time she opened her lips. At 

 length, to put an end to her queries, he thought 

 he might create a little amusement at the expense 

 of her ignorance. Fixing his eye attentively upon 

 the dog, he seemed to admire the ingenuity with 



