28 
MEMOIR OF DR. LATHAM. 
much service to him. Sir A. Lever was as liberal in rendering him assistance 
in his pursuits, as he had been desirous of obtaining his friendship, and he never 
failed to give him timely notice of any fresh accession to his museum. The fol¬ 
lowing letter is dated August, 1776 : 
Sir Ashton Lever to Mr. Latham. 
Dear Latham, —Having plundered Amsterdam, Leyden, Haarlem, the Hague, 
Rotterdam, Delft, Maesensluys, the Brill, and Helvoetsluys, I am now returned 
to England, and in consequence of the above voyage shall have some duplicates 
for you. You should see me soon, as I have wonderful things to tell you. 
Yours, with compliments to Mrs. L., 
Ashton Lever. 
By this time Mr. Latham had formed an acquaintance -with most of the lead¬ 
ing naturalists and collectors in England. His acknowledgements to these are 
placed on record by himself. Sir Joseph Banks, in particular, when he found 
him disposed to arrange materials for a work on Ornithology, handsomely gave 
up the whole of his splendid collection of draivings and specimens, for inspection 
and description. 
Thus encouraged and assisted, he published, in 1781, the first volume of his 
General Synopsis of Birds. This was followed, at irregular intervals, by five 
others. A Supplement , in two volumes, completed the undertaking in 1802. 
In 1775 Mr. Latham had been elected a Fellow of the Royal Society, of which 
he lived to be the “ Father,” or oldest member. In 1788 he was chosen a Cor¬ 
responding Member of the Medical Society of London. During this year he took 
a prominent part in the formation of the Linnsean Society, of which he was a 
member from the beginning. There already existed a Natural History Society, 
but it had not flourished, or been attended with any satisfactory results. Mr. 
Latham had formed an intimacy with Dr. (afterwards Sir J. E.) Smtth, who, on 
the death of Linnaeus, was fortunate enough to become the purchaser of his 
extensive library and collection. Conceiving that a Society formed for the purpose 
of promoting the principles and views adopted by the great Swedish naturalist 
might prove acceptable to the world in general, he communicated his sentiments 
to Dr. Smith. The suggestion was favourably received, and in consequence a 
meeting of a few scientific friends took place at Dr. Smith’s residence at Chelsea, 
where the proposal was made, and eagerly embraced by all present. The result 
was the immediate formation of the Linneean Society, of which Dr. Smith himself 
was with great propriety elected President. And here we cannot forbear 
quoting, from the Introductory Discourse, delivered by Dr. Smith at the first 
meeting of the Society, a passage which, while it asserts the benefits which 
