From Cyprus he sailed to Rhodes and Scio, and thence to Smyrna, carrying
along with him an incredible quantity of curiosities in the three
kingdoms of nature, which he had collected in Egypt and the Levant. His
sole desire now was to return by the first occasion which should present
itself to Sweden; but his strength had been so much impaired by the
fatigue of travelling and the heats of Palestine, that he was
constrained to defer his departure from Smyrna. His disorder, however,
which was a confirmed consumption, proceeded rapidly; and although, as
is usual with persons labouring under that disease, he continued to
preserve hope to the last, his struggles were soon over. His death
happened on the 9th of February, 1752, in a small country-house in the
neighbourhood of Smyrna.
His friends in Sweden, by whom he was much beloved, were greatly
afflicted at the news of his death; and to add to their sorrow, they
learned at the same time, that having during his residence in the East
contracted a debt of one hundred and fifty pounds, his collections and
papers had been seized by his creditors, who refused to give them up
until the debt should be paid; and that thus his name and reputation
seemed likely to perish with his body. Neither Linnæus nor any other of
Hasselquist’s friends in Sweden were able to raise this small sum; when
the queen, being informed of the circumstance, generously advanced the
money from her own private purse; and therefore it is to the munificence
of this lady that we owe one of the most curious books of travels of its
kind that have ever appeared. In about a year after this the collections
and papers arrived at the palace of Drottningholm; and Linnæus, who was
no novice in these matters, declares that he was exceedingly surprised
at the number and variety of the curiosities, among which were the rarer
plants of Anatolia, Egypt, Palestine, and Cyprus; stones and earths from
the most remarkable places in Egypt and Palestine; the rarer fishes of
the Nile; the serpents of Egypt, together with its more curious insects,
drugs, mummies, Arabic manuscripts, &c.
The editing of Hasselquist’s manuscripts was confided to Linnæus
himself, and unquestionably it could not have been intrusted to better
hands. The work, in fact, remains, and will remain, a lasting monument
of the superior talents of the traveller, and of the taste, munificence,
and affection of his friends.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
LADY WORTLEY MONTAGUE.
Born 1690.—Died 1762.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account