The Sun.
London, England, 1827-04-26 00:00:00

OSTRICH

Mr. Brookes, the celebrated anatomist, gave a
lecture yesterday evening at the house of the
Zoological Society, in Bruton-street, on the body
of the Ostrich, which his Majesty has presented
to the Society. The Lecture was attended by
Lord Auckland, Lord Stanley, Dr. Birkbeck,
and several other Noblemen and Gentlemen dis-
tinguished for their devotion to the interests of
science. The ostrich, which was a female, and
had been presented to his Majesty about two
years ago by Colonel Denham, was kept at
Windsor, and died about three weeks ego of
obesity, a disease which very frequently shortens
the lives of wild animals of every species, when
attempts are made to domesticate them.
Mr. Brookes commenced by observing, that
when he retired from the practice of anatomy, he
did not expect to appear again before the public ;
but, as the Noble Directors of the Society had
honoured him by considering that his services
might be of some use in forwarding that most
interesting science—zoology, he had only to re-
mark that he felt great pride' in adding his mite
of information to the mass with which the
Society was furnished from other sources. The
period had arrived when the science of natural

history bid fair to reach a height in this country
which would enable us to rival the establishment

founded for its promotion abroad. The founder
of the study of zoology in England was the great
John Hunter ; and he was followed by indivi-
duals well known to the scientific world, in
Edinburgh, Gottingen, and Amsterdam. In the
latter city the science of zoology was pursued
with great success by Professor Campar, who,
when he was in London, invited him (Mr. B.)
and a professional friend to breakfast, and treated
them with bones; consisting of the teeth of rats,
mice, and deer, served up in dishes made out of the
rock of Gibraltar. The fact was, that the Professor

had shortly before explored this celebrated rock in
search of bones, for the purposes of Comparative
Anatomy. The Learned Lecturer then entered into
a very minute account of the various peculiarities
of the ostrich, and described with great clear-
ness, the organs by which this extraordinary bird
was enabled to travel with such excessive speed.
This peculiarity he ascribed to the power of the
muscles, which passed from the pelvis to the
foot, and enabled the ostrich to stand in a ver-

tical position, and not like other birds resem-
bling it, on the toes ; for proof of the relation
between muscular power and extraordinary swift-
ness, Mr. Brookes mentioned that the Chief
Professor of the Veterinary College, had inform-
ed him, that upon dissecting the body of the
celebrated racer, Eclipse, one of the fleetest
horses ever seen in this kingdom, it was found
that he possessed muscles of unparalleled size.—
The Lecturer here produced an anatomical plate
of Eclipse, for the purpose of displaying his
,th
ex-
traordinary muscular power, and observed, at
if lie had not told his hearers that it represented
a race-horse, from the size of the muscles they
might conclude that he was sheaving them the
plate of a cart-horse. After relating many other
scientific facts, the Learned Gentleman conclu-
ded a most interesting lecture, which appeared
to have afforded very general satisfaction to a
numerous and highly respectable auditory.

PERUVIAN MINING COMPANY.--A meet-
ing of the Shareholders was held yesterday at the
City of London Tavern, for the purpose of con-
finning certain Resolutions passed at the last
meeting for reducing the nominal amount of ea-
pital from 1,000,0001. to 400,0001. and for
altering the number of Directors from twelve to
eight, which were agreed to unanimously.

REDHEIFER OUTDONE. -- (From a New
York Paper of March 24.)—An impostor by the
name of Greensburg Baxter, has been for some
days practising successfully upon the credulity
of the multitude by the exhibition of a (nomi-
nally) self-moving water wheel. A number were
found sufficiently credulous to be gulled into a
belief that perpetual motion was discovered, and
a company was forthwith formed, and the shares
all taken up at once. It is stated that so great
was the infatuation, that the shares actually rose
from a trifle to one thousand dollars. Suspicion
was excited at a meeting of the Directors on
Thursday evening,
and they determined upon
inspecting the mysteries of the machine on that
very night, instead of yesterday morning, when
Mr. Baxter was to have exhibited it, or rather
run off with his money, leaving it to exhibit it-
self. To the solicitations of the stock-holders
he gave nothing but evasions—and they deter-
mined to force open the door of the building
where it was exhibited, and the key to which he
pretended was lost. Upon prying up the floor,
a crank, pump, fly wheels, &c. were discovered,
and the mystery at once solved. The rage of
the curious was tremendous, and they proceeded
at once to the house of the impostor, whose wife
denied that he was in—the police-officers were
sent for, and the cunning artist safely lodged in
Bridewell. Those who thus sport with the po-
pular credulity ought to be severely punished—
and the public ought to rest satisfied that perpe-
tual motion cannot exist, and that any man who
pretends to have discovered it, should be consi-
dered as an impostor, unless he displays the whole
apparatus which he thinks (certainly without
cause) will produce it.