Philadelphia.
_Linnaean Medal._--Has any reader of "N. & Q." in his possession a Linnaean
medal? I mean the one by the celebrated Liungberger, ordered by Gustavus
III. in 1778. It is of great beauty, and now very scarce: the following is
a brief description.
It is of silver, two inches diameter. Obverse, a portrait of the
naturalist, very faithful and boldly executed, yet with the utmost delicacy
of finish. The face is full of thought and feeling, and the whole
expression so spiritual, that this medallion has a strange charm; you keep
looking at it again and again. The inscription is,
"Car. Linnaeus, Arch. Reg. Equ. Auratus."
On the reverse is Cybele, surrounded by animals and plants, holding a key
and weeping. Inscription,--
"Deam luctus angit amissi."
"Post Obitum Upsaliae, D. X. Jan. MDCCLXXVIII. Rege Jubente."
In the background is a bear, on whose back an ape has jumped; but the bear
lies quietly, as if he disdained the annoyance.
This was probably in reference to what he said in the preface to his
_Systema Naturae_: "I have borne the derision of apes in silence," &c.
Adjoining this are plants, and we recognise his own favourite flower, the
_Linnea borealis_.