﻿47 
  

  

  pcimission 
  to 
  leave 
  his 
  office 
  for 
  a 
  time, 
  and 
  to 
  assist 
  Dr. 
  Tieacli 
  in 
  

   the 
  arrangement 
  of 
  the 
  insects 
  in 
  the 
  British-Museum 
  collection. 
  

   For 
  the 
  last 
  half-century 
  he 
  had 
  devoted 
  the 
  whole 
  of 
  his 
  leisure 
  to 
  

   the 
  study 
  of 
  Natural 
  History, 
  particularly 
  Entomology, 
  and 
  had 
  formed 
  

   the 
  largest- 
  and 
  most 
  complete 
  collection 
  of 
  British 
  insects 
  ever 
  brought 
  

   together, 
  the 
  whole 
  preserved 
  in 
  the 
  most 
  admirable 
  order 
  ; 
  indeed, 
  

   the 
  surprise 
  manifested 
  by 
  Drs. 
  Boisduval, 
  Herrick-SchafFer, 
  and 
  other 
  

   foreign 
  entomologists, 
  whom 
  I 
  had 
  the 
  pleasure 
  to 
  accompany 
  to 
  Mr. 
  

   Stephens's 
  abode, 
  was 
  quite 
  unbounded. 
  From 
  the 
  great 
  value 
  of 
  

   this 
  collection, 
  as 
  containing 
  the 
  types 
  described 
  in 
  Mr, 
  Stephens' 
  

   ' 
  Illustrations,' 
  as 
  well 
  as 
  the 
  whole 
  of 
  the 
  Marshamian 
  types, 
  and 
  a 
  

   number 
  of 
  those 
  of 
  Francillon 
  and 
  Haworth, 
  it 
  is 
  greatly 
  to 
  be 
  

   desired 
  that 
  this 
  collection 
  should 
  not 
  be 
  broken 
  up, 
  but 
  should 
  be 
  

   purchased 
  entire 
  by 
  the 
  British 
  Museum, 
  where 
  it 
  would 
  remain 
  as 
  ac- 
  

   cessible 
  to 
  the 
  student 
  as 
  it 
  was 
  at 
  Mr. 
  Stephens' 
  residence 
  during 
  his 
  

   life-time. 
  As 
  may 
  easily 
  be 
  judged 
  from 
  what 
  has 
  been 
  already 
  stated, 
  

   Mr, 
  Stephens 
  was 
  a 
  most 
  indefatigable 
  collector 
  of 
  all 
  the 
  orders 
  of 
  

   insects, 
  combining 
  in 
  an 
  extraordinary 
  degree 
  practical 
  experience 
  in 
  

   the 
  field 
  with 
  the 
  knowledge 
  of 
  the 
  enlightened 
  student 
  and 
  scientific 
  

   reader 
  ; 
  during 
  the 
  last 
  twenty 
  years 
  he 
  had, 
  indeed, 
  spared 
  no 
  ex- 
  

   pense 
  in 
  forming 
  a 
  very 
  complete 
  entomological 
  library, 
  which, 
  like 
  

   his 
  collections, 
  was 
  accessible 
  to 
  any 
  person 
  who 
  wished 
  to 
  consult 
  it 
  

   for 
  scientific 
  purposes, 
  on 
  the 
  Wednesday 
  evening 
  in 
  each 
  week. 
  He 
  

   also 
  formed 
  a 
  collection 
  of 
  illustrations 
  of 
  the 
  transformations 
  and 
  ha- 
  

   bits 
  of 
  insects, 
  as 
  well 
  as 
  of 
  British 
  Crustacea, 
  &c., 
  which 
  last 
  were 
  a 
  

   few 
  years 
  ago 
  added 
  to 
  the 
  Hopean 
  collection 
  now 
  at 
  Oxford. 
  The 
  

   earnestness 
  with 
  which 
  he 
  studied 
  British 
  Entomology, 
  induced 
  him 
  

   to 
  reject 
  from 
  his 
  cabinet 
  every 
  specimen 
  not 
  indigenous, 
  barely 
  tole- 
  

   rating 
  foreign 
  examples 
  of 
  rare 
  or 
  doubtful 
  species, 
  which 
  he 
  kept 
  in 
  

   a 
  detached 
  cabinet. 
  This 
  fact 
  of 
  course 
  gives 
  a 
  greater 
  value 
  to 
  his 
  

   general 
  collection, 
  as 
  a 
  purely 
  national 
  one. 
  

  

  To 
  this 
  extraordinary 
  liberality 
  in 
  communicating 
  or 
  affording 
  infor- 
  

   mation 
  to 
  all 
  who 
  sought 
  it 
  at 
  his 
  hands, 
  Mr, 
  Stephens 
  added 
  a 
  mild 
  and 
  

   unpretending 
  demeanour. 
  That 
  in 
  his 
  zeal 
  for 
  extending 
  our 
  know- 
  

   ledge 
  of 
  British 
  Entomology 
  he 
  fell 
  into 
  the 
  error 
  of 
  regarding 
  many- 
  

   simple 
  varieties 
  as 
  distinct 
  species, 
  and 
  that 
  having, 
  as 
  he 
  supposed, 
  

   obtained 
  an 
  insect 
  agreeing 
  with 
  the 
  description 
  of 
  a 
  species 
  given 
  by 
  

   a 
  continental 
  writer, 
  he 
  subsequently 
  incorporated 
  such 
  description 
  

   with 
  his 
  own, 
  are 
  circumstances 
  which, 
  to 
  a 
  certain 
  extent, 
  are 
  to 
  be 
  

   regarded 
  as 
  imperfections, 
  now 
  that 
  our 
  extended 
  knowledge 
  enables 
  

   us 
  to 
  look 
  at 
  these 
  matters 
  in 
  a 
  clearer 
  point 
  of 
  view. 
  The 
  passage 
  

  

  