lxxviii AUDUBON THE NATURALIST 



taneous statements are taken to mean what they say, they 

 would be fatal to the theory that Audubon was a son of Marie 

 Antoinette. In spite of such protestations, on the other hand, 

 on August 6, 1826, Audubon writes in his journal of plans for 

 going to "Nantes to see my venerable stepmother," who had 

 died on October 18, 1821 ; and again in 1828 he spoke of this 

 estimable woman as if she were then alive, although she had 

 been dead seven years. This seems to show conclusively that 

 Audubon had been out of touch with his father's family for a 

 long time, although one must think that he had been notified 

 of his stepmother's death since he was a beneficiary under 

 her will. 



VI 



For some time I have been in correspondence with Stephane 

 Antoine Fougere, at one time mayor and now judge in the 

 civil courts of Les Cayes, which has a present population of 

 twenty thousand people and is one of the most important sea- 

 ports of the Republic of Haiti. By perpetuation of a carto- 

 graphical blunder this city is sometimes designated "Aux 

 Cayes," which means "At the Keys" or "Cays," and is appro- 

 priately placed at the head of a letter or other document writ- 

 ten at Les Cayes. 



In a recent letter Dr. Donald F. Rafferty, now of Pass 

 Christian, Mississippi, writes: "At the beginning of the World 

 War I was ordered to Haiti, and stationed at Les Cayes, in 

 charge of a French hospital. A friend sent me your book on 

 Audubon . . . and after reading it ... I loaned the book to 

 Mr. Uriah Cardozo, who returned it to me with the comment 

 that the author had not mentioned the fact that Audubon was 

 actually born aboard a schooner in the roadstead of Les Cayes. 

 Apparently the story had some foundation in fact as it was 

 common knowledge among the intelligentsia of Les Cayes." If 

 Audubon were actually born "on the sea," the fact might throw 

 some light on his statement that he "belonged to every country." 



The following information relating to Mademoiselle Rabin, 



