PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION xv 



made public no statement bearing upon his being the Dauphin 

 of France. 



Audubon was quite human, with plenty of faults, which may 

 not always be excused, but with versatile talents which few 

 could match. He showed that dogged perseverance in attaining 

 his heart's desire which no poverty, no discords among family 

 or friends, no lack of education, and no handicaps or mis- 

 fortune could for more than a moment defeat or keep from 

 eventual success. With all his lacks and all his faults Audubon 

 was one of the most industrious and self-reliant among the 

 successful men of his age. No longer can John James Audubon 

 be called the "Melchizcdek of Natural History," for to-day 

 few men of his period are better known. Audubon was a man 

 of great personal charm with a gift for friendship. A man who 

 made and kept such friends as Edward Harris, William Mac- 

 Gillivray, the Reverend Dr. John Bachman, Dr. George Park- 

 man, and Dr. George Cheyne Shattuck must have had a good 

 heart. 



Textual errors in the plates of the first edition have been 

 corrected, and the bibliography has been extended to the present 

 time. Those who are interested in the octavo editions of The 

 Birds of America and of The Viviparous Quadrupeds of North 

 America should consult an article in The Auk (see Bibliogra- 

 phy, No. 245) for a more complete list of their perplexing issues. 

 The "Foreword and Postscript" of the present edition is repro- 

 duced in substance from a paper in The Auk for October, 1937. 



Francis H. Herrick. 

 Cleveland Heights, Ohio. 

 November 4, 1937. 



