ALMANAC WEATHER WISDOM.

"If you will take my advice, sir,"

price I do for many thousand ar- were," says Wood, near thirty ticles. But professed bargain-hun- thousand of them printed, besides ters often purchase old locks at the a sheet almanac for twopence, that stalls in Moorfields, when half the was printed for that year; and bewards are rusted off, or taken out, cause of the novelty of the said and give more for them than they almanac, and its title, they were all would have paid for new ones to vended. Its sale was so great, that any reputable ironmonger. And the Society of Booksellers in Lonwhat numerous instances of this don bought off the copy for the infatuation do we meet with daily future, in order to engross the profits at sales by auction, not of books in their own hands. only, but of many other articles, of which I could here adduce a variety of glaring instances. At the sale An English paper tells a pleasant of Mr. Rigby's books at Mr. Chris- anecdote of Partridge, the celebrated tie's, Martin's Dictionary of Natu- almanac maker, about one hundred ral History sold for fifteen guineas, years since. In travelling on horsewhich then stood in my catalogue back into the country, he stopped at four pounds fifteen shillings; for his dinner at an inn, and afterPilkington's Dictionary of Painters wards called for his horse, that he at seven guineas, usually sold at might reach the next town, where three; Francis' Horace, two pounds he intended to sleep. eleven shillings; and many others in the same manner. At Sir George said the hostler, as he was about to Colebrook's sale the octavo edition mount his horse, "you will stay of the Tatler sold for two guineas where you are for the night, as you and a half. At a sale a few weeks will surely be overtaken by a peltsince Rapin's History in folio, the two ing rain." first volumes only (instead of five) sold for upwards of five pounds! Í charge for the same from ten shillings and sixpence to one pound ten shillings. I sell great numbers of books to pawnbrokers, who sell them out of their windows at much higher prices, the purchasers believing that they are buying bargains, and that such articles have been pawned. And it is not only books that pawnbrokers purchase, but various other matters, and they always purchase the worst kind of every article they sell. I will even add, that many shops which are called pawnbrokers never take in any pawn, yet can live by selling things which are supposed to be kept overtime. (Lackington's Memoirs.)

FIRST ENGLISH ALMANAC.

The first almanac in England was printed in Oxford, in 1673. "There

"Nonsense, nonsense," exclaimed the almanac maker; "there is a sixpence for you, my honest fellow, and good afternoon to you."

He proceeded on his journey, and sure enough he was well drenched in a heavy shower. Partridge was struck by the man's prediction, and being always intent on the interest of his almanac, he rode back on the instant, and was received by the hostler with a broad grin.

“Well, sir, you see I was right after all."

"Yes, my lad, you have been so, and here is a crown for you; but I give it to you on condition that you tell me how you knew of this rain."

"To be sure, sir," replied the man; "why, the truth is, we have an almanac at our house called Partridge's Almanac, and the fellow is such a notorious liar, that whenever he promises us a fine day, we always know that it will be the

BOTANISTS AND BOTANY.

direct contrary. Now, your honour, looked at that before I brought this day, the 21st of June, is put your honour's horse out, and so down in our almanac in-doors as was enabled to put you on your 'settled fine weather; no rain.' I guard."

BOTANISTS AND BOTANY.

SIR J. E. SMITH-LINNÆUS'S HER-
BARIUM.

this, however, he and the rest of the ist, was, when a young man, a conparty rushed to the spot where the stant visitor at Sir Joseph Banks's, Nepeta was growing, and, to the no to whom he had recommended himsmall surprise of their fellow-pas-self by his taste for natural history. sengers, proceeded to pull large It was in this house, in 1783, that quantities of it, the hat being, of he learned from his patron that the course, a minor object of considera- library and natural history collection, though it was not left behind. tions of Linnæus had been offered Having thus detained the mail for to him for a thousand guineas. a few minutes, the party resumed After a life of labour and vicissitude, their seats, highly pleased with their Linnæus had died at Upsal, full of successful botanical adventure. honours and even of wealth, in 1778, in the seventy-first year of his age. He had twenty years before been elevated to the nobility, and asThe stranger whose predilections sumed the title of Von Linné. Still are botanical will not be long in greater honours were paid to his London till he turns aside from the memory after his death. His reheady current and distracting tur- mains were borne to their restingmoil of its great thoroughfares, into place in the cathedral of Upsal by the comparative seclusion and tran- members of his university, sixteen quillity of Soho Square, to pay a doctors of medicine, his former pupilgrim's homage at a shrine which pils, supporting the funeral pall.” A commands the veneration of bota-general mourning of the citizens nists from all quarters of the world. showed that his death was felt to In a quiet nook of the square is the be a public loss. King Gustavus II. suite of rooms occupied by the Lin- caused a medal to be struck in comnæan Society. The house formerly memoration of his name; and atbelonged to Sir Joseph Banks, and tended a meeting of the Royal was for many years the rendezvous Academy of Sciences at Stockholm, of the savans of England, and the held in honour of the memory of resort of scientific foreigners visiting the great naturalist. In his speech the metropolis. It is now the repo- from the throne, Gustavus lamented sitory of the herbarium of Linnæus, the death of Linnæus as a public that collection of plants which fur- calamity. It seems strange that in nished the illustrious Swede with so brief a period as five years after the materials for the construction these national tributes were paid to of the artificial method of classifica- his memory, a portion of his protion, with an ultimate view to the perty so identified with his scientific establishment of the more philoso- fame as his books and collections in phical system which has since taken natural history, should have been its place, founded on the natural offered for sale in England. But alliances of plants. It was in this although Linnæus, while he lived, collection that Linnæus studied the had enjoyed the esteem both of his characters of individual plants, and countrymen and of foreigners, and, accumulated the observations which after his death, was embalmed in have enabled succeeding botanists their remembrances, his honour and group them into families. happiness had been betrayed by the relative who, of all others, should have most dearly cherished them; whose tyrannical disposition and unnatural treatment of her own offspring had deprived his home of

to

There is a little history connected with the herbarium, which may prove interesting to other than botanical readers. Sir James Edward Smith, the eminent English botan

LINNÆUS'S HERBARIUM.

51

all that should have constituted it | Smith obtained the whole for 900 the sanctuary of his affections; and guineas: but the entire cost, includwhose sordid parsimony was now eager to convert his collections into money, and send away for ever, from the country which claimed him as the most distinguished of her sons, the priceless inheritance of his scientific treasures. The eldest son of Linnæus, who was sedulously following in the footsteps of his father, and had already proved himself not unworthy to share in his renown, was, in consequence of the mercenary conduct of his mother, obliged | to purchase, at her own price, the books and collections, including the herbarium, which were his own by birthright. He died in 1783, and his books, plants, &c., reverted to his mother and sisters. The offer of sale made to Sir Joseph Banks was at the instance of the mother, who was thus making merchandise a second time of the collections of the great naturalist. Sir Joseph declined to avail himself of the offer, but recommended the purchase to Smith, then a student of medicine. He made the purchase, and the possession of Linnæus's collections determined his future pursuit as a botanist. "Though enthusiasm and a love of fame," remarks Lady Smith in his memoirs, "had perhaps some influence, a love of science and of truth had greater still. He said to others, "The fairest flower in the garden of creation is a young mind, offering and unfolding itself to the influence of Divine wisdom, as the heliotrope turns its sweet blossoms to the sun;' and may it not be said of him that taste and virtue fixed his choice?" The number of volumes was upwards of 2000, including some valuable manuscripts; there were 3198 insects; 1564 shells; 2424 minerals; and 19,000 plants. Deducting a small herbarium which belonged to young Linnæus, and contained no species that were not included in the great collection,

ing the freight, ultimately amounted to £1088. Through the intervention of Sir John Jervis, afterwards Earl St. Vincent, and at this period one of the members for Great Yarmouth, an order was obtained from the Treasury passing the whole collection, except the books, free of Custom-house duty. It was in October, 1784, that a ship, named The Appearance, was freighted with the precious treasures. The vessel had just left the shores of Sweden, when King Gustavus III., who had been absent in France, returned to his dominions, and on learning that the herbarium and other monuments of the labours of the illustrious naturalist had been sent out of his native kingdom, he despatched a frigate to the Sound to intercept the voyage of The Appearance to England. But the latter vessel distanced her pursuer, and the valuable cargo was safely landed at the Custom-house of London. This singular race between the two vessels has been commemorated in a pictorial representation. The event is still remembered in Sweden, as we learned from a botanist of that country whom we found employed upon the herbaria of the Linnæan Society. Sir James Smith's own views of the conduct of the Swedish nation in allowing the herbarium and other collections to be sold to a foreigner, were expressed in the following terms, in a letter to Dr. Acrel, who had negotiated the bargain with him :- "Between ourselves, it is certainly a disgrace to the university (of Upsal) that they suffered such a treasure to leave them; but if those who ought most to have loved and protected the immortal name of Linné failed in their duty, he shall not want a friend or an asylum while I live or have any power, though ever so small, to do him honour." After

the death of Smith, the herbarium | is found at the summit of a majestic was purchased by the Linnæan uptowering pyramid, formed of Society of London, of which he was them." It was here where he the founder.

established his collections in every department of natural history, and, during the academical vacations, lectured eight hours a-day, communicating his discoveries "to a select audience, who lodged with the neighbouring peasantry, so as to be always present at these lectures, which were venerated as the sayings of an oracle." The pious and grateful spirit of the illustrious naturalist was shown in the inscrip

The herbarium of Linnæus contains only 10,000 species, which, along with duplicate specimens, are fixed upon 14,000 sheets of paper. At Kew, Sir William Hooker kindly showed us his herbarium, containing about 140,000 species of flowering plants alone, being the largest and completest collection in the world. The difference between the two collections shows the progress which has been made in descriptive tion over the entrance to his parbotany since the days of Linnæus. lour "Dum faveat Coelum,' The Swedish herbarium is contained "While it pleases Heaven." in three plain wooden cases or presses, the doors of which still retain impressions of a series of illustrations of the forms of leaves, which were cut in tin, and fastened upon the wood, and employed by Linnæus in lecturing to his class. A royal Swedish physician, M. Pontin, has described the country residence and lecture-room of Linnæus, at Hammarby, near Upsal, which he visited in 1834:-"The building containing Linnæus's dwelling-house consists of two houses, and is situated at the foot of a stony height, surrounded by large rocks, as if an earthquake had thrown the granite rocks around it. It was only here and there that a tree could find space enough to spring up among these rocky ruins; and yet the lecture-room of Linnæus, so well known to the world,

We took advantage of the obliging offer of the Curator to show us some of the more remarkable plants in the herbarium, and the simple style in which they were fastened upon very unpretending paper, with the names written on the back of the sheet.

Of all the collection, which plant could we select for examination so appropriate as the modest and beautiful Linnæa borealis! Sir James Smith, in the English Botany, observes that "Linnæus has traced a pretty fanciful analogy between his own early fate, and this 'little northern plant, long overlooked, depressed,abject, flowering early,'-and we may now add, more honoured in its name than any other." It was the favourite plant of Linnæus, who had it painted on his China vases and tea service.

CHEMISTS AND CHEMISTRY.

CAVENDISH-HIS ODDITIES.

The following anecdotes of this eccentric chemist, betwixt whom and Watt lies the merit of the discovery of the nature of water, are from the Life of the Hon. Henry Cavendish, by Dr. George Wilson:

"At this period (1785) Cavendish's reputation was widespread, in spite of his solicitous endeavours to prevent himself becoming famous. It may be well, therefore, to refer here to his position in London between the years 1783 and 1785, when his most remarkable chemi