OA STENT PLETE CES OD SEE OE EE EE 
Count Eugene Keyserling. 
By the death of Count Eugene Keyserling of Germany, Natural 
Science lost one of its prominent and most ardent workers, Arachnology 
one of its masters. 
His loss is not only felt and deeply deplored in his Fatherland, it 
is on this side of the Atlantic more keenly appreciated than that of any 
other naturalist of his rank. For the last twenty-five years Count 
Keyserling has contributed more to the knowledge of that difficult and 
long neglected chapter, American Arachnology, than any other naturalist 
in this country or in Europe. 
Besides his many descriptive pamphlets on that subject Keyserling 
has left to us two works by which he set for himself a monument on 
this hemisphere: the Monographs on the American Laterigrade and 
Theridiide. He commenced a third monograph on the Zfeiride, but 
unfortunately postponed it, taking in hand the continuation of Dr. L. 
Koch’s great work ‘‘Die Arachniden Australiens,” Dr. Koch himself 
being compelled to retire on account of impaired eye sight. 
Count Eugene Keyserling, born on the 4th of April 1833, died, 
exactly 56 years old, on the 4th of April of this year, of tuberculosis of 
the brain. He was born in Pockroy in the Russian Baltic Province 
Curland and entered the university of Dorpat, in 1851, to study Natural 
Sciences. From 1856 to 1858 he visited different parts of the Russian 
Empire and in 1859 he participated in a Government Expedition to the 
Kaukasus, Armenia and Persia. In 1860 he went to England and then 
to Africa; but was, in Algeria, attacked by a fever, which compelled 
him to return to Europe. In 1864, after having spent some time in 
France, he intended to visit South America. Previous to his departure 
however, he visited Switzerland, where he made the acquaintance of a 
lady, whose attractions caused him to abandon his projected trip to this 
continent, and he married and settled down as a practical agriculturist, 
having bought a large estate in Silesia. Here he worked undisturbed 
and diligently on the Spider fauna of North and South America, re- 
ceiving specimens from his many friends on this side of the At- 
lantic. 
All American naturalists who had occasion to correspond with 
Count Keyserling are unanimous in their praise of his amiability, 
gentleness and liberality, and his untimely departure awoke in many 
hearts on this continent a deep sorrow and regret at having lost a good 
friend. 
