LIFE ABROAD 
139 
to nothing. Linnaeus and his friends feared that the 
Burgomaster on his part would make trouble about 
it. So, probably on the advice of Dr. Jaenisch, who 
Linnaeus afterwards declared was his only true friend 
in Hamburg, he decided to continue on his journey. 
His fear of Anderson’s “ revenge ” may, however, 
have been superfluous, as the unveiling of the deceit 
does not seem to have occasioned great remark. At 
least Kohl relates shortly after, in a letter to Linnaeus, 
that since his departure, nothing more was heard 
about the Hydra; for it might be in the owners’ in¬ 
terest for the unpleasant discovery to be buried in 
silence. 
It was the 16th May when Linnaeus and his travel¬ 
ling companion bade farewell to their friends in Ham¬ 
burg and prepared to depart. They took their way 
to an inn in Altona, then a Danish town close by, and 
the next day early they stepped on board the Ham¬ 
burg vessel, paying one ducat [9s. 2d.] each for 
passage to Amsterdam. 
The yoyage began in a grievous storm of rain, 
succeeded by adverse wind which forced them to 
anchor during Whitsuntide; Whit-Monday they went 
to church, which was decked with leaves like a forest, 
hiding even the pulpit and altar. Naturally, oppor¬ 
tunity was taken to make observations in natural his¬ 
tory, noting that the frogs croaked far louder than in 
Sweden, and each had its own voice. Some sang as 
if they were lately fed, and some so badly, that one 
might die of melancholy. 
Sailing was resumed on the 20th, but the wind was 
unfavourable and progress slow, and more than once 
they were able to go ashore and obtain some objects 
of interest. Passing the coast of Groningen and 
West Friesland on the 30th, they practically left the 
sea, but, having experienced a violent thunderstorm, 
it was not till the 2nd June that they reached Amster¬ 
dam. Here Linnaeus spent a few days sightseeing 
and visiting Jan Burman and Seba; he was surprised 
