LIGHTNING-BUGS. 47 



CHAPTER VII. 



LIGHTNING-BUGS. 



GEN. COUNT DEJEAN, aide-de-camp to Napoleon, was 

 a most enthusiastic collector of beetles; and it is even 

 said of him that he would march his army out of its way to 

 pass through a good collecting locality. At all times during 

 the campaigns which he helped to render famous, his atten- 

 tion was riot taken from his favorite occupation ; and his 

 military cap was invariably conspicuous from the gorgeous 

 beetles that were there immolated. Every one in the army, 

 from the emperor clown to his men, was aware of what was 

 termed his weakness ; and the latter were constantly on the 

 lookout for specimens for their commander. At the battle 

 of Wagram, 1809, the general went into the combat with his 

 hat as usual ornamented with beetles, which he had received 

 that morning ; and, while standing near the emperor, a shot 

 from the enemy struck him upon the head, knocking him 

 senseless, and destroying his collection, the hat being com- 

 pletely torn in pieces. The emperor, thinking him fatally 

 wounded, hastened to his side, asking if he was still alive ; 

 upon which the general gasped out, " I am not dead ; but, 

 alas, my insects are all gone ! " 



The beetles are among the most interesting of all insects ; 

 and a study of them, though casual, will well repay my young 



