OF THE LIFE OF LINN^US. 237 



« rarest articles. His herbarium contained even then 7000 specimens, 

 «' some of which were extremely scarce and curious. The plants are ar- 

 « ranged according to his own excellent system, and preserved in two 

 " presses divided into shelves, as he describes them in his Philosophia 

 " Botanica. His colle6lion of fishes which he kept pasted on paper, was 

 « also considerable. He had^ moreover, a numerous and choice col- 

 " leflion of stones and fossils. But nothing could be compared with 

 « his coUeftion of inse£ls, in which not a single inseft till then disco- 

 *' vered in Siveden was wanting; and which contained likewise a great 

 " number of rare specimens from ChhiUj Palestine^ Surinam ^di^d almost 

 ** from every quarter of the globe. He had also a good number of skele- 

 ** tons and stuffed animals of the most curious kinds. Plis library is very 

 ** numerous. In the hail of his dwelling house there are painted por- 

 ** traits of several celebrated naturalists and botanists, and the plans of 

 ** the most celebrated botanical gardens." 



In the spring of 1772, the Chevalier Murray paid a visit to Lin- 

 N.«us. — " Even then," says the Chevalier, when speaking of this visitj 

 « I found in that great man the same alacrity and vivacity of mind, and 

 *' the same zeal to promote his favourite science, which I had formerly 

 " admired in him as a youth, and as his disciple. With regard to 

 « his opponents, who wished to diminish his celebrity, I found in him 

 »* those sentiments of placability, and in general, that equity of opinion 

 " respefting the merits of other men, which, had they been heard, even 

 « by the most unjust and most rigorous critics, must necessarily have 

 «« conciliated to him their love and affeftion ♦. 



LlNN^US 



• Earn turn: in summo viro animi 'viriumque integritatem floremque, et ilium in scienua sua 

 hcupeletanda ardorem cognovt, quem juuenis olim et auditormiratus fueram ; et ilium simul 



in 



