MEMOIR OF LINNJ2US. 
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, ot 
whom many were drawn by 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, 
w r ere so absurd, that he could hardly refrain from 
laughing every time she opened her lips. At 
length, to put an end to her queries, he thought 
lie 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 
