50 MEMOIR OF LATREILLE. 



which pleased him best, that is to say, not in the 

 galleries or ateliers of the Museum, nor in his own 

 confined chamber, but in the boundless extent of the 

 fields, in the woods and meadows. It was there, 

 under the vault of heaven, that the greatest number 

 and most valuable of his observations were made. 

 It was on his return from these frequent and labo- 

 rious excursions that he meditated on the relations of 

 the creatures he had studied, hastening, as soon as 

 he had entered, to verify anew and commit to writ- 

 ing the result of his thoughts and studies, which he 

 did on the corner of a pretty large table, which he 

 had scarcely ever time to put in order, and which 

 was almost always encumbered with books lying in 

 disorderly heaps, along with boxes of insects, pincers, 

 magnifying glasses, and all the other implements of 

 the entomologist. 



" He spoke with difficulty, owing to a mal-forma- 

 tion of the lower jaw, which advanced beyond the 

 upper ; but his conversation was lively, instructive, 

 and animated, indicating great sagacity, soundness 

 of judgment, and, above all, a candid, sincere, and 

 upright heart. 



" He was late in obtaining an appointment, which 

 at last secured him what every other person would 

 have considered a position of moderate importance, 

 but which was to him brilliant and splendid. 



" Respexit tamen, et longo post tempore vemt." 



Like the old man in Virgil, he might likewise have 

 reposed under the shade of his small possession, and 



