The Sun.
London, England, 1867-08-16 00:00:00

711 E 701nUISE.

This is one of the most curious specimens of th e
fecundity of nature in inventing a variety of forms
and conditions of life. The tortoise, deprived of all
means of attack, is provided on the other hand
with the safest retreat imaginable ; a shield offering
resistance to the heaviest blows, and impenetrable
alike to the teeth of wild beasts and to the fangs
of poisonous reptiles. In the Journal des Connais-
sauces Medicales Dr. Deschamps devotes a curious
article to this slowest of all creatures, in locomotion
as well as in death. Francesco Redi having de-
prived a tortoise of its brain, found that it could
live six months without it. lie cut off the head of
another, but even this radical operation did not
prevent the heart from beating for 12 days after
The shield of this extraordinary denizen of our
globe is composed of three distinct layers: the first
is a bony plate forming part of the skeleton, the
next is a special osseiform envelope attached to the
plate, and the third is the valuable outer shell com-
posed of quadrangular, pentagonal, and hexagonal
plates, each of which is encircled with a series
of concentric grooves. Opinions differ as to the
origin and formation of the shell. Some imagine
it to be the result of the transsudation of the skin,
but they forget to show where the skin is. Others
consider it to be an epidermoid production, not un-
like those which in other animals constitute horns,
hoofs, &c., but here again there are difficulties, for
when one of the scales constituting the tortoiseshell
falls off, we see below a white plate quite equal to
it in surface and shape. Under the shell, therefore,
there lies its exact counterpart, with this single dif-
ference that the lines and grooves are inversely ar-
ranged. Dr. Deschamps, after a minute investiga-
tion, has arrived at the conclusion that this solid
envelope is a calcareous metamorphosis of the
derma, the fibres or elastic tissues having the pro-
perty of admitting of incrustation with calcareous
salts. It is well known that any osseous surface
exposed to the air mortifies, owing to the destruc-
tion of the periosteum, the membrane which supplies
calcareous matter. This is precisely what happens
when a scale of the tortoiseshell falls off ; the bone
below mortifies and falls off too, and both are rege-
nerated by the action of the skin, divided into fila-
ments which penetrate into all the grooves. In
order that this action may be safely performed
without any necrosis of the bone, the scale does not
fall off immediately, but opens very gradually like
the lid of a tobacco box, and thus affords time for
the reproduction of the new scale.

THE WORK OF THE SESSION.—Up to the present
time, including last night, the public acts exceed in number
100, and the local just beyond 200. There will be another
batch on the day of the prorogation. Last year the public
acts numbered 122, they will this year be about ten more ;
and the locals Were 363, this year they will be considerably
below that number.

THE LATE EMPEROR MAXl3llLlAN.—According to
intelligence received in Paris from Mexico, the following
is the official proclamation, by which the execution of the
late Emperor Maximilian was notified to the Mexican
people :—" Ferdinand Marnimilian von Hapsburg, a Grand
Duke of Austria and an ally of Napoleon 111. of France,
came to Mexico to rob the country of its independence and
of its institutions, and, although a more usurper of the
national sovereignty, assumed the title of Emperor. This
usurper having been captured by the Republican forces at
Queretaro on the 15th May, 1867, he was sentenced to
death by a military court-martial, with the concurrence of
the nation, and was shot for his crimes against the indo-
pondenco °Ulm nation, at Queretaro, on the 19th June,
1867, in company with Generals Miramon and Mejia.
Peace be to his ashes !"—Reuter's Express.

- -
LORD BROUGHAM.—The Carlisle Journal, report-
ing Lord Brougham's arrival at Brougham-hall, says :
" His Lordship appeared to be in a very feeble condition,
considerably more so than on his visit last year, and it
seemed to require all his exertions, with the assistance of
his valet, to get, out of the caiTiage. Having descended to
the platform he sat down on a chair until the train passed
op, his only inquiry being as to the state of the weather,
and he was then carried across the line on another chair
brought for the purpose. With the assistance of his valet
he walked the short distance to his carriage, which was
in waiting for him, and, having been assisted inside, be
was driven to Brougham-hall. We are informed that his
lordship was in as good health as could be expected, but
'ho was suffering from the fatigue occasioned by his jour-
ney from London. Lord Brougham will attain his nine-
tieth year on the 19th of September next."
t—Mr. William Cubitt,
of are St
oC nU R FROMAbbey,
Nol. )
folk,
theG *local lion, secretary of the
National Lifeboat Institution, was riding along the beach
iu that neighbourhood a few days since, when he heard
rt t 0 l
the shouts of a young man who had been bathing iu the
sea, and was being carried out by a strong current which
was setting out at the time. Mr. Cubitt immediately swam
his horse out, and fortunately succeeded in catching the
unfortunate youth by the hand just as he was shaking, and
in taking him safely ashore, thus rescuing him from a
watery grave.
NEWSPAPERS FOR CRIMINALS.--The Austrian
Afinister of Justice has just decided on a singular measure.
Henceforward a certain number of copies of the official
journals published in the empire will be distributed gra-
tuitously to-the criminals confined in the different prisons.