The Grenada gazette. (Grenada, Miss.) 1885-18??, 1886-07-03
THE WORK or a BEETLE.


THE WORK OF A BEETLE.
How It Secured Freedom and 1dfs 10 u
Eminent French Scientist.
One day, nearly q hundred years ago
in the old French seaport town Of Dor
deaux, there was a little stir in q Ger
tain dark corner, and . beetle walked
out to take It's first look at the world
1t was not a specially handsome or re
markable beetle in appearance, and
yet it had quite a work to do. Not the
ordinary work Of such insects, howev'
er; though that is al important one,
the beetles of this family being scav'
engers, but the principal Network Of
this beetle was to w a man from
death. Perhaps when King David in
his Psalm called upon all Creeping
things'' ITO praise the Lord from the
EARTH" he may not have thought espe.
cially of beetles, yet this little insect
was to be the cause of much thanksgiv-
ing.
The house under which this beetle
had its home was a prison, known as
the Grande Seminaire, and in n Of
the cells of the prison was the man that
was to be rescued by the beetle. His
name was Pierre Latreille. Little
had he dreamed, as the cart that
bore him and his companions to
prison creaked along the road TO Bor-
deaux, that he should ever live to be
free again In his native land. For
those were evil days in France. Even
the good-natured, honest King himself,
poor Louis XVI, was powerless to
shield his wife and children from the
fury of the French people. The royal
family were already in danger, and the
%iniquities Of the two previous Louis
were being visited on their compare
lively innocent descendants. All OF
the nobility and clergy who refused to
take their oath on the new constitution
were thrown into prison, and it was
for this reason that Pierre Latreille and
his companions had been imprisoned
at Bordeaux.
1t is small wonder that Pierre was
sad as he sat in his prison cell with no
n to keep him company but an old
sick Bishop. No doubt Latreille often
thought, during the dreary prison days,
of his past life, his young boyhood in
his native town Of Brive, in the rich
plain by the river Correze. His family
had been poor, though distinguished,
and Pierre himself owed his education
to the kindness of friends. One of
these, a merchant, lent him some
books on natural history, and it was
from reading these that Pierre first
came to love the study Of insects.
When he was sixteen he was sent to
Paris, and there studied theology. but
upon his return to his native town he
began the study of insects again with
great zeal. He had even published
some Of his discoveries about insects,
and now, to all appearance, this study
must come to an end.
Out in the barber of Bordeaux ships
were making ready to take the prison
ers away from France. They were
condemned to exile in South America.
Still the prisons were emptied slowly,
and although it was June when La
treble vas first taken to Bordeaux, yet
days and months crept by and still
he lived within the Grande Seminaire.
The little beetle lived there, too, al
the prisoners did not know it
One day a surgeon came to Q the
Did Bishop in Latreille's cell. The
prison authorities had allowed the sur
econ to come daily and dress the
Wounds of this aged man. This par
ocular day, while the surgeon was in
he cell, the little beetle came out of q
rack in the boards and crawled into
he room. Latreille, looking around,
pied the beetle, caught it and began
o examine il. He seemed SO happy
'ver his discovery that the surgeon
ooked up and said: lis it a rare in
"Yes," said Latreille, who knew,
rom his previous studies, that it must
so.
I'm that case you should give II to
ae," said the surgeon; and he went on
0 explain to Latreille that he had q
who had a fine collection of in
and who would probably be much
leased to receive a rare one.
So Latreille gave up his beetle to the
nrgeon, and told him to carry 1t to his
and to be SURF and ask him the
anne Of it.
But when, the next day, the surgeon
lade his visit to the cell, he brought
news that his friend had looked at
lie beetle, and had given it as his
that this wal a new kind Of in
'ct that had never been described.
atreille rejoiced at this answer, not so
'uch because Of the discovery Of q new
as because the word brought
ack showed that the surgeons friend
as indeed a learned man. +,
in that case" thought Lstrcillo to
mself, ''he has probably read my /
'ok, and will be friendly toward me-"
80, as Latreille had neither pen nor I
per to write . note, he begged the I
IN OO nnNa mora - his fr;nnd .