b o o k his firft publication : in this catalogue o f Lapland plants»,
difpofed them according to the fyftem afterwards called
the Sexual.
Soon after his return he continued his le£tures upon botany
; and delivered others alfo upon mineralogy and the art
of affaying metals, which were the firft on that fubjecft ever
given at Upfala, and from which he acquired great applaufe.
But being not entitled from his ftanding in the univerfity to
read lcdiures» a formal complaint was lodged againft him
by profeffor Rofen, phyfician to the k in g ; and he had
the mortification to receive an exprefs prohibition from,
the academical confiftory. Linnaeus, who began to draw a
comfortable fubfiftence from thefe lectures, and faw no immediate
means of maintaining himfelf, was fo exafperated at
this proceeding, that he drew his fword upon the profeffor,,
and might have proceeded to violence if he had not been
prevented. In confequence o f this outrage, he would undoubtedly
have been expelled from the univerfity, i f his patron,
Olaus Celfius, had not compromifed the affair*.
In this jun&ure he was appointed to accompany the fons
o f Baron Reuterholm into Dalecarlia and Norway. During
this tour he improved his knowledge o f mineralogy,
by vifiting various mines and forges; and particularly at
Fahlun, where he read k ¿lures upon foffils and the art of
affaying, which were much frequented : at the fame time
he obtained the friendfhip o f Dr. More, the phyfician of
the place, to whofe daughter he betrothed himfelf. ft
being the cuftom at that time to take a degree in fome
foreign univerfity, and the fituation o f Linnaeus not being
adequate to fuch an expence, the young lady p refented
him with an hundred ducats = about £40. to take bis doc-
* F ab riciu s .
I tdr’s
&
tor’s degree at Harderwickin Guelderland *. With this view CHAr.
he commenced his journey in 173 5 , and proceeded to Co- ■ VvIT'
penhagen and Hamburgh, where he continued much longer
than he had at firft intended. At Hamburgh he gave a proof
of his accurate knowledge in natural hiftory, by difcovering,
that a celebrated fnake with feven heads, belonging to the
burgomafter Spreckelfen, and which had been long efteemed
a great wonder, was a mere impofition. Upon the firft
infpedlion, our naturalift perceived that the fix heads, not-
withftanding the art with which they were joined together,
were jaws o f weafels covered with the fkin o f fnakest.
Linnaeus, to whom 100 ducats appeared an immenfe fum,
thought his riches inexhauftible ; and, remaining for a con-
fiderable time at Hamburgh, where he was pleafed with his
fituation, he found himfelf, upon his arrival in Holland, reduced
to extreme neceflity, and unable to difburfe the ex-
pence of a doctor's degree; he therefore applied by letter to
Boerhaave, acquainting him that he was a perfon who had
devoted himfelf to the ftudy o f botany, but who laboured
under the moft fevere diftrefles. Boerhaave, the friend and
protedlor o f fcience, received Linnaeus in his garden : among
other topicks of converfation, he pointed out the Cratagus
Aria, and demanded, whether he had ever obferved that
plant; adding, that it had not yet been defcribed by any
writer ? Linnaeus anfwered, that it was a’ native o f Sweden,
and defcribed by Vaillant. Boerhaavefupported the contrary;
and, convinced o f the juftnefs of his affertion, becaufe he
had himfelf fuperintended the publication o f Vaillant’s work,
immediately brought the book to Linnaeus; who, without
heiitation, referred to the defcription, which accurately cor-
* F ab r ic iu s . fa& itiou s mon fterin Seba’ s M ufeum, V o l . I.
f The reader will find a p la te of this T a b le 10z ,
K k k a refpopded