276 ANECDOTES. 



" When I got acquainted with Sir Charles LiNWiCUS, who was 

 *' then in his fifty-sixih year, increasing age had already furrowed his 

 " front with wrinkles. His countenance was open, almost constantly 

 . " serene, and bore great resemblance to his portrait in the Species Plan- 

 *• tarum. But his eyes, — of all the eyes I ever saw, — were the most 



beautiful. They certainly were but little, but darted a refulgent 

 "'splendor and a penetration of aspeft which I never observed before 

 " in any other man. It sometimes appeared to me, as if his looks would 



penetrate through the very innermost recesses of the heart. 



" His mind was remarkably noble and elevated, though I well know 

 " that some persons accused him of several faults ; the acuteness and 

 " energy of his mental faculties, even shone through his eyes. But his 

 " greatest excellence consisted in the systematical order, by which his 

 " thoughts succeeded each other. Whatever he said or did was faithful 

 " to order, to truth, and to regularity. In his youth his memory was 

 " uncommonly vigorous, but it began to sink early into decay. Even 

 « when I was with him, he could not sometimes remember the names 

 " of his dearest friends and relatives. I still recolleft to have seen him 

 " once very much embarrassed, when, after writing a letter to MorjEus, 

 " his father-in-law Zit Fahlun, he almost found it impossible to recolle6l 

 " his name. 



" His passions were strong and violent. His heart was open to every 

 " impression of joy; and he loved jocularity, conviviality and good 

 " living. He was an excellent companion, pleasant in conversation, 

 " full of strong hits of fancy and seasonable and entertaining stories j 



but at the same time, suddenly roused to anger and boisterous; the 

 " sudden effervescence of this fiery passion subsided however, almost 

 3 " as 



