AN INCLINATION FOR SCIENCE. 17

making this touching request at parting—“ If you
should remember me when you arrive in your own
country, send me Drosera longifolia ; I am told it
is a common plant in England.” This Drosera is
the sundew, that well-known ornament of our
mossy bogs, which grows on the borders of ponds
and rivulets in moorland districts. Its beauty
consists in the form and appearance of the leaves,
which proceed immediately from the root, and
spread over the surface of the ground, each plant
forming a little circular plot of green, cup-shaped
leaves, thickly fringed with hairs of a deep rose
colour. These hairs support small drops or globules
of a transparent dew, which continues even in the
hottest part of the day, and in the fullest exposure
to the sun.

To return to Linneus. It is evident that he
was never so entirely happy as when searching
into the secret and hidden properties and workings
of nature. Hence, we are told, he reckoned it
among the choicest favours vouchsafed him by
Providence that he had been “inspired with an
inclination for science so passionate” as to become
the source of highest delight to him. This diligent
and minute observation was continually adding to
his knowledge and imparting some fresh light in
the study he loved. It is interesting to see him
carefully noting the observations he had personally