  The damping of the nuclear shell effect with excitation energy has been
measured through an analysis of the neutron spectra following the triton
transfer in the $^7$Li induced reaction on $^{205}$Tl. The measured neutron
spectra demonstrate the expected large shell correction energy for the nuclei
in the vicinity of doubly magic $^{208}$Pb and a small value for $^{184}$W. A
quantitative extraction of the allowed values of the damping parameter
$\gamma$, along with those for the asymptotic nuclear level density parameter
$\tilde{a}$, has been made for the first time.
