THROUGH FINLAND. 
243 
wife of the prefident of the court of juftice: fhe underflands 
Italian and French, and has acquired a tafte for the beauties of our 
belt Italian poets. 
I faw at the houfe of the prefident a very intelligent and con- 
verfable clergyman. We had much converfation concerning the 
Finlanders, efpecially on the fubjedt of their poetry, and he men¬ 
tioned a variety of interefling particulars. Speaking of Linnaeus 
with whom he had been well acquainted at Upfala, he had much 
to fay on the character of the Swedifh naturalift, and dwelt par¬ 
ticularly on the extreme vanity which that great man feems to 
have carried to the mod difgufting length. He related to me 
fome anecdotes which gave ftrong indications of that weaknefs. 
A lady of the province of Upfala, who had never been beyond its 
boundaries, applied to a friend of Linnaeus for a letter of recom¬ 
mendation, that file might have an opportunity of making the 
acquaintance of this eminent character, and at the fame time fee 
his collection. The philofopher received her with much polite - 
nefs, and as he was fhewing her the mufeum, the good lady was 
fo filled with aflonifhment at the fight of an affemblage of fuch 
a number of different objeCts, upon each of w r hich Linnaeus had 
always fomething to remark, that file exclaimed with a figh, I no 
longer wonder that Lannceus is fo well known over the whole province 
of Upfala ! Linnaeus, who inftead of the province of Upfala expell¬ 
ed to hear the whole imiverfe, was fo, fhocked, that he would fliew 
her nothing more of the mufeum, and fent the lady away quite 
confounded at the change of his humour, and at the fame time 
I i 2 firmly 
