LEAD ITS NOT INTO TEMPTATION. 329 



circumstances 24s., 45s., 19s., 32s. 6cl., 50s. for single specimens of 

 bicolor, and 24s., 30s., 12s. and 14s. for tr/'tophus were prices as high as 

 could be expected, the 12 shilling tritophus being the Gravesend 

 specimen. The musculosa fetched some marvellous prices considering 

 all things, forty shillings as a rule for a pair of these and a pair of 

 vltellina. Fourteen vmsculosa in one collection in Britain ! I've hardly- 

 got over it yet. But if musculosa, 40s., what price l-alhum ? Eight 

 shillings, including 38 specimens of L. stra/ninea, T. elymi, &g. Oh ! 

 ye buyers, why this thusness ? Why is l-alhum thus shady and not 

 musculosa ? L. exigua, £1 15s. for a pair, but poor P. leucophcea is imder 

 the cloud of l-alhum and eight shillings buys three. Now comes a 

 fresh lot of C. dispar : males go again at £4 15s., £5, £5 5s., £5, 

 £4 10s., and £5 5s. apiece ; females at £5 10s., and £5 ; a total of 

 £o6 for 13 specimens. Then £2 15s. for a gueneei, £3 for another, 

 £] 15s. for a,dumerili, and 10s. for a pair oi palustris. A. ciuerea fails to 

 fetch Is. apiece, whilst eight A. agathina, seven ohelisca, eight var. 

 aqtiilina with 30 other specimens go at a little above Id. each. The price 

 of N. suhrosea (good, honest old subrosea) still goes up — £6 6s., £5 5s., 

 £4 10s., £3 5s., £2 5s. and £2 were given for pairs according to 

 condition, whilst excellent sohrina and neglecta found purchasers at 

 about 2d. each. Erythrocephnla varied from £1 to 8s. per pair, whilst 

 D. harrettu, in good condition, fetched about 7s. 6d. each, and 

 P. nigrocincta, 4s. Another test of veracity appears on the scene, and 

 satura and peregrina with about 30 other specimens go for 6s. a lot. 

 Very good price too for British peregrina. Poor peregrina ! evidently 

 the wanderer finds no rest for the sole of his foot in our island even 

 when " received alive " is added to it. X. conforrnis, £1 for four, and 

 X. zinckenii £1 10s. and £1 12s. 6d. for two specimens are eclipsed by 

 C. artemisice, which evaded Mr. Burney's eagle eye and was marked 

 •" very rare, the specimen was found in a series of absintkii and 

 had been overlooked by Mr. Burney." Delightful overlook — £2 ! 

 C. gnaphalii, a pound a pair, and £1 10s. for an Acontia Solaris. Plusia 

 bractea keeps up its price well, but what's wrong? Poor lunaris, joins 

 purpuraria, peregrina, ifcc. Eight shillings buys a British lunaris and a 

 series of craccce and pastinum ; but, mirabile dictu ! alclujmista, £2 5s. 

 and £2 for single specimens amaze one. The fraxini vary from 

 £1 12s. 6d. to £1 a pair, the latter from Messrs. Hodgkinson and 

 Parry. Salicalis, a big lot of insects with five of these for half-a- 

 sovereign, and another big lot of moths with emortualis, 6s. ; ramhurialis, 

 10s. per pair, but the rare lupulinalis with 72 other moths fetches only 

 7s. Poor lupulinalis! Poorer ostrinal Poorest pa?</a .' To go in 5s. lots, 

 why even catalaunalis reaches eight shilling lots. Well I why is it ? 

 The same collectors got some of these that got some of the high-priced 

 Sphinges and butterflies. But here are some good honest-looking 

 repandalis, "bred from Verbascum at Torquay," £1 Is. to £1 6s. each 

 these are worth. Are they ? I'm surely dreaming. My companion 

 nudges me. The sale is over. I start suddenly but I still dream. 

 I'm a poor man, but as I walk out of the sale room I offer up an 

 •earnest prayer, "Lead us not into temptation," and as it passes my lips 

 my companion whispers, " And half these buyers are lawyers." [The 

 sale here referred to occupied two days. Probably the bewildered state 

 ■of mind which our correspondent got into on the first day, led him to 

 forget the fact that there was a break. — Ed.]. 



