FATE OF COLLECTIONS 
345 
ing brother-in-law, Duse, who had the confidence of the 
women, held the same view, namely that the son should 
get the plants. In the end, an agreement was reached, 
that the younger Linne should have the herbarium, 
library, manuscripts, and the cabinets in which they 
were kept, but resign to his sisters his share in the 
Hubby property, by paying to them altogether 6,000 
dalers in copper, or 333 riksdalers 16 skillings [_£ 150]. 
Fortunately, this transaction was concluded before 
news came that Sir Joseph Banks, in London, was 
willing to buy the herbarium for 14 or 16,000 dalers in 
silver [£ 1,050 or £ 1,200], which “ cruel offer ” made 
the son as soon as possible remove the herbarium for 
safety into the town. It was also necessary, for the 
rats had caused terrible damage to the plants, also 
moth and mould had destroyed some, and to avoid 
further loss the younger Linne “ laboured from morn¬ 
ing till night so that by the evening he was as tired as 
a day labourer.” The remaining objects were brought 
from Hammarby in 1780, from the damp stone house 
or museum, and during Christmas in the same year, 
he busied himself upon those “ which the wood-mice 
had already begun to damage.” 
Thus Linne’s collections remained in Sweden, and 
were not at this time sold to England, but fate had 
decided that they should be in the future. After the 
death of the younger Linne from an apoplectic stroke 
on the 1 st November, 1783, they again came into the 
possession of his mother and sisters. Their wish was 
that the collections and library should realize the most 
that could be obtained for them. To this they were 
inclined, partly from necessity, or at least from the 
desirability of the sale being effected before the 
deceased’s house was taken over by some other person, 
partly because after the elder Linne’s death it was 
found that the collections without expert handling had 
suffered much damage. They therefore applied to the 
family’s intimate friend, J. G. Acrel, who took upon 
himself the responsibility of the sale. 
