LINNiEUS. 255 



who proceeded to Spain in 1751. During two years 

 he continued to collect and describe the plants of that 

 country. At the end of this period;, he was sent by 

 the government to travel through the different Spa- 

 nish settlements in South America. He had explored 

 the districts of Cumana, New Barcelona, and St Tho- 

 mas of Guyana, and was preparing to extend his 

 journey, when he was attacked by fever, and died in 

 the twenty-seventh year of his age. The professor, 

 who was much affected by the death of this zealous 

 and enterprising youth,, published an account of his 

 travels, under the name of Petri Loeflingii Iter His- 

 panicum. 



The next victim to the eager pursuit of knowledge 

 was Falk, a native of West Gothland, who, coming 

 to Upsal in 1751 to study natural history, was re- 

 ceived by Linnaeus into his house, and appointed to 

 take charge of the education of his son. In 1759, he 

 made a journey to Gothland, and afterwards went 

 to Copenhagen, in the hope of being sent to Arabia 

 along with Niebuhr and Forskal ; but not finding 

 his wishes gratified returned to college. In 1763, 

 through the recommendation of his master, he was 

 engaged by M. Kruse, first physician to the Empe- 

 ror of Russia, to take charge of his cabinet of na- 

 tural curiosities, and was proceeding to Petersburg 

 when he suffered shipwreck at Narva. In 1765, he 

 was appointed keeper of the botanic garden and 

 professor of the medical college ; but the assiduity 

 with which he pursued his studies rendered him 

 subject to a disease of the bowels, causing accessions 

 of melancholy. In one of these fits of hypochon- 

 driasis he shot himself, at Casan in Tartary, on the 

 night of the 20th March 1774. 



