880 Remarks on AudttborCs Birds of America, , 



ings of the unformed thought I How often, after such a night, 

 when far from my dear home, and deprived of the presence of 

 those nearest to my heart, 'wearied, hungry, drenched, and so 

 lonely and desolate, as almost to question myself why I was 

 thus situated, when I have seen the fruit of my labours on the 

 eve of being destroyed, as the water, collected into a stream, 

 rushed through my little camp, and forced me to stand erect, 

 shivering in a cold fit like that of a severe ague, when I have 

 been obliged to wait, with the patience of a martyr, for the rec- 

 tum of day, trying in vain to destroy the tormenting moschettoes, 

 silently counting over the years of my youth, doubting, per- 

 haps, if ever again I should return to my home and embrace 

 my family ; — how often, as the first glimpses of morning gleamed 

 doubtfully amongst the dusky masses of the forest trees, has 

 there come upon my ear, thrilling along the sensitive chords 

 which connect that organ with the heart, the delightful music 

 of this harbinger of day! And how fervently, on such occa- 

 sions, have I blessed the Being who formed the Wood Thrush, 

 and placed it in those solitary forests, as if to console me amidst 

 my privations ; to cheer my depressed mind ; and to make me 

 feel, as I did, that never ought man to despair, whatever may 

 be his situation, as he never can be assured that aid and de- 

 liverance are not at hand."" ^wf.fI>f 

 The biographies of the birds are simple, as they ought to be, 

 animated and interesting. The peculiar mode of flight is al- 

 ways given in detail; and the information which our author af- 

 fords on this subject, which has as yet received little investigar- 

 tion, is entirely new. The pursuits of the birds, their food, 

 their migrations, their nidification, and the other details of their 

 history, are described. Then follows a technical description, 

 including the form of the bill, the head, the feet, and other 

 parts ; the texture and form of the feathers ; the colours of 

 the various parts, and, lastly, the dimensions. The numerous 

 accessory objects represented in the plates are also briefly de- 

 scribed. 



ji7r<5ro relieve, as Mr Audubon saySj the; tedium of those, who 

 may have imposed upon themselves the task of following an 

 author through the jD^es of descriptive ornithology, he -has 



