93 



Tt was not till the year 1805 that Mr. Spencc turned his attention 

 to the subject of Entomology, and the order then to which he then 

 devoted himself was the Coleoptera. His first letter to Mr. Kirby, 

 written within six months of his entering upon this new field of study, 

 shows a vast amount of observation and of critical acumen. In those 

 days the literature of Entomology was less voluminous than it now 

 is ; and the few standard authors on a group were more thoroughly 

 studied. Mr. Kirby, whose curiosity in regard to Mr. Spence had 

 already been excited by the sight of some letters which the latter 

 geutleman had written to a mutual friend, Mr. Marsham, was well 

 pleased to enter on a correspondence with so promising an incipient, 

 " who, so far from falling into the errors usual with beginners, determined 

 his species with the judgment and precision of the most experienced 

 naturalist." 



In June of the following year Mi*. Spence visited Mr Kirby at the 

 Rectory at Barham, and from that time they corresponded continually, 

 and the mutual friendships formed lasted through life. In 1808 the 

 idea of the popular ' Introduction to Entomology ' was first broached 

 by Mr. Spence, and being warmly taken up by his older friend was 

 successfully carried out, though so many books had to be read through 

 with the view of collating curious observations, that a longer time was 

 consumed in the preparation of the work than could have been anti- 

 cipated in the first instance, and it was not till the spring of 1815 

 that the first volume appeared. 



A work that is to live for many years needs a slower process of 

 birth than ephemeral productions. 



In 1818 Mr. Spence was subject to severe head-aches, which caused 

 an interruption to his entomological pursuits : he was ordered to lock 

 up his books and cabinets, and to be " for several years an idle man," 

 and he quilted Yorkshire with his family for the more genial climate 

 of Exmouth, where he remained several years ; but his health being 

 still far from reestablished he removed to the Continent in 1826, 

 visiting in succession most of the European capitals, and residing four 

 years in Italy. 



In 1833 Mr. Spence took considerable interest in the formation of 

 this Society, and at the first Meeting of the Society, in November of 

 that year, he was elected an Honorary English Member, and the bye- 

 laws expressly stipulated that no resident in Great Britain could be 

 an Honorary Member, except Mr. Kirby and Mr. Spence. Since 

 Mr. Kirby's death, in 1850, Mr. Spence has been our sole Honorary 

 English Member. 



