OBITUARY. 21 



Lionel de Niceville. 



The last Indian mail brought the sad news of the death, from 

 malarial fever, of Mr. Lionel de Niceville, the eminent lepi- 

 dopterist. For many years Mr. de Niceville worked unremittingly 

 and enthusiastically at Eastern Lepidoptera, devoting special 

 attention to the butterflies. His unrivalled knowledge, gained 

 not only by a study of the literature of the subject, but by years 

 of practical work and collecting in the field, he embodied in his 

 well-known book, ' The Butterflies of India, Burma, and Ceylon," 

 which unfortunately he has not lived to finish. Numerous papers, 

 however, in scientific journals testify to his industry and know- 

 ledge of Eastern butterflies. It is greatly to be regretted that 

 only three volumes of 'The Butterflies' have been published. 

 Vol. i. was written in collaboration with Col. Gr. F. L. Marshall ; 

 vols. ii. and iii. were written and published entirely by Mr. de 

 Niceville. It was unfortunate that the volumes were only issued 

 at long intervals, for, notwithstanding the popularity of butter- 

 flies with collectors, the work was published at a considerable 

 pecuniary loss to the author. 



Last year Mr. de Niceville accepted the post of Government 

 Entomologist at the Indian Museum, and it was characteristic of 

 him to enter on his work with the zeal and thoroughness he 

 showed in all things. Indeed, his sad death is in a manner 

 attributable to the keen sense of duty that led him, in spite of 

 warnings from friends, as to the deadly unhealthiness of the Terai 

 jungles in autumn, to proceed thither on purpose to investigate 

 the ravages of insect-pests in the tea-gardens. 



I do not attempt in this short notice any appreciation of 

 Mr. de Niceville's scientific work ; I write of him simply as a 

 friend whose untimely loss I, in common with the scores of friends 

 he had in India, deeply deplore. 



I made Mr. de Niceville's acquaintance in 1888, and in the 

 years that followed we were not only in constant correspondence, 

 but he paid several visits to me in Burma. In 1891 he accom- 

 panied me for the first time into the forests in Tenasserim on 

 a collecting trip, and a pleasanter fellow-traveller and more 

 cheery companion it would be difficult to find. I shall never 

 forget his almost boyish delight and enthusiasm on our first 



