68 MEMOIR OF DRURY. 



collecting instruments, or the addresses of his corre- 

 spondents, who continued to be numerous even to 

 the last. He died in London, in the house of his 

 son, William Drury, in the Strand, on the 15th 

 January, 1804, having nearly attained his seventy- 

 ninth year. He was buried in the vault under the 

 church of St. Martin's in the Fields, London. 



In every respect Drury's character was highly 

 estimable. His conduct in the various relations 

 of life seems always to have been most exemplary. 

 ,*His correspondence furnishes abundant proofs of the 

 warmth of his affections, the sincerity of his friend- 

 ship, and disinterested desire to promote the welfare 

 of others. He displayed the greatest liberality to 

 those who exerted themselves to do him a favour, 

 particularly in collecting objects in natural history ; 

 nor was his benevolence withheld from a necessitous 

 individual, even when the latter had proved ungrate- 

 ful for former kindnesses. Of the strictest honour 

 and integrity himself, his natural generosity often 

 led him to believe too readily in the existence of 

 the like qualities in others ; hence he became at 

 times the victim of the designing, as in the transac- 

 tions which caused the greatest commercial mis- 

 fortune of his life. He was singularly exact and 

 methodical in all matters of business, and of the 

 most regular habits. 



The love of natural history was deeply implanted 

 in his mind. We find him thus writing to General 

 Rengers, at the time when he had other matters of 

 pressing urgency to engross his attention : " There 



