Lynedoch, and after a sanguinary contest in that town,
retreated upon Irun—from which he was quickly
dislodged, and finally recrossed the Bidassao.
In the affair of the passage of the Nive, on the 9th
of December, 1813, and the battle of St. Pierre d’Irrube
on the 13th, Foy distinguished himself, and in the
hard fought battle of Orthez, on the 27th of February,
1814, he was left apparently dead on the field.
Before this period be had been made count of the empire,
and commander of the legion of honour. In March
1815, he was appointed inspector general of the fourteenth
military division; but on the return of Napoleon,
during the 100 days, he embraced the cause of the
emperor, and commanded a division of infantry in the
battles of Ligny and Waterloo, at the last of which
he received his fifteenth wound. This terminated
his military career. In 1819, he was elected a
member of the Chamber of Deputies, the duties of which
he discharged till his death in November 1825; and
from his first entrance into the chamber, was distinguished
for his eloquence, and quickly became the acknowledged
leader of the opposition—From Foy’s
History of the Peninsular War.
* * * *
*
ARCANA OF SCIENCE Museum of Natural History.
There is now exhibiting in one of the Saloons of “The
Egyptian Hall,” in Piccadilly, an interesting
collection of zoological rarities, stated to have
been assembled by M. Villet, at the Cape of Good Hope.
Some of the specimens, especially the birds, are really
beautiful; none but the smallest being cooped up in
glazed cases; but many are effectively placed on branches
of trees, whilst the quadrupeds are arranged with
still better taste. Among the latter is a fine
Hippopotamus, the Behemoth of Scripture. We are
happy to hear this exhibition has already been numerously
visited, since it augurs well of public taste and
intellectual curiosity.
Conchology.
Akin to the preceding exhibition in its claim to popular
attention, may be noticed a pleasing collection of
shells, now open to the public, a short distance from
Somerset House. To the mere tyro in zoology, shells
are attractive as the elegant sports of nature, in
the beauty, splendour, and intricacy of their colours
and structure; while their scientific arrangement
is one of the most delightful pursuits of refined
minds.
Grafting.
The quince, used as a stock, has the property of stunting
the growth of pears, of forcing them to produce bearing
branches, instead of sterile ones, and of accelerating
the maturity of the fruit.
Sirocco Wind.
