868 MISCELLANEOUS. 



Turpin, in his History of Siam, says : " There is a very 

 singular animal in Slam bred in the dung of ele- 

 phants. It is entirely black, its wings are strong, and its 

 head extremely curious : it is furnished On the top with 

 several points, in the form of a trunk, and a small horn in 

 the middle : it has four large feet, which raise it more than 

 an inch from the ground : its back seems to be one very 

 hard entire shell. It flies to the very top of the cocoa-trees, 

 of which it eats the heart, and often kills them, if a remedy 

 is not applied. Children play with them, and make them 

 fight. "1 



General Count Dejeau, Aid-de-camp to Napoleon Bona- 

 parte, was so anxious, says Jaeger, in his Ijife of Xorth 

 American Insects, to increase the number of specimens in 

 his entomological cabinet, that he even availed himself of 

 his military campaigns for this purpose, and was continually 

 occupied' in collecting insects and fastening them with pins 

 on the outside of his hat, which was always covered with 

 them. The Emperor, as well as the whole army, were ac- 

 customed to see General Dejeau's head thus singularly orna- 

 mented, even when in battle. But the departed spirits of 

 those murdered insects once had their revenge on him ; for, 

 in the battle of Wagram, in 1809, and while he was at the 

 side of Napoleon, a shot from the enemy struck Dejeau's 

 head, and precipitated him senseless from his horse. Soon, 

 however, recovering from the shock, and being asked by the 

 Emperor if he was still alive, he answered, " I am not dead ; 

 but, alas ! my insects are all gone !" for his hat was literally 

 torn to pieces."^ 



Professor Jaeger tells also the following anecdote of 

 another passionate naturalist : The celebrated Prince Paul 

 of Wiirtemberg, whom Mr. Jaeger met in 1829 at Port-au- 

 Prince, being one day at the latter's house, shed tears of 

 envy when he showed him the gigantic beetle Acttson, 

 which, only a short time before, had been presented to him 

 by the Haytien Admiral Banajotti, he having found it at the 

 foot of a cocoa-nut tree on his plantation."' 



While traveling in Poland, Professor Jaeger visited the 

 highly accomplished Countess Ragowska, at her country 

 residence, when she exhibited her fine, scientifically-arranged 



^ Pinkerton's Col. of Voy. and Trav., ix. 032. 



'^ Hist, of Ins., p. 53-4. 3 ii,id. 



I 



