54 MEMOIR OF DRURY. 



thing more." The volume in question did not ap- 

 pear till 1782, the delay being no doubt occasioned 

 by Drury's mercantile embarassments ; but the text, 

 as usual, was written by himself, with the aid of 

 Smeathman's notes. The greater number, and by 

 far the most interesting, of the insects figured, were 

 obtained by that collector at Sierra Leone and other 

 places on the western coast of Africa. Some of 

 these, such as the large and elegant Papilio Anti- 

 machus and the equally conspicuous Saturnia lucina, 

 continue unique even to the present day. A large 

 proportion of the plates in this volume were exe- 

 cuted by Moses Harris, but in a few instances other 

 artists were employed. 



Writing to Pallas in 1775, our author states that 

 he had ample materials in his collection to furnish 

 three other volumes; and that if he had time he 

 would continue the work with infinite pleasure, 

 " for surely," he adds, " Heaven gave me a relish 

 for these subjects to sweeten and allay the numerous 

 plagues and troubles I have lately been surrounded 

 with; but I must give up all thoughts (notwith- 

 standing the solicitations of my friends) of ever 

 engaging again in that employment. Notwith- 

 standing this determination, Mr. Haworth * assures 

 us that Drury, a short time before his decease, me- 

 ditated the publication of another volume, with a 

 view to embrace the gigantic and extraordinary in- 

 sects of Demerara ; this design, it is scarcely neces- 

 sary to add, was never accomplished. The work, as 

 * See Trans. Ent. Soc., 1807, vol. i. p. 34. 



