AUDUBON'S ^NEID 323 



of prosperity, and its population no doubt exceeded 

 that of the present day ; it now stands at about one thou- 

 sand souls. Letters and journals of the period constant- 

 ly refer to "Beechwoods," which was not the mansion 

 house, though it undoubtedly belonged to the Robert 

 Percy estate. There it was that the wife of the natural- 

 ist lived, and there she started her school, for the benefit 

 not only of the Percy boys and girls, but also of a lim- 

 ited number of children of their wealthy neighbors ; her 

 own son, John Woodhouse Audubon, then eleven years 

 of age, at this time received instruction at her hands. 

 The parish of West Feliciana, at this early period, was 

 one of the richest cotton-producing sections of the entire 

 State; its care-free planters led an easy life until the 

 "king" was unceremoniously dethroned by a small, but 

 not insignificant insect which has proved mightier than 

 either fire or sword, namely, the boll-weevil ; now many 

 a fine old estate which has languished under the influ- 

 ence of the pest could probably be bought for a song. 

 "Beechwoods," thus devoted to educational purposes, 

 later came into the hands of Thomas Percy, but the 

 house, like that of "Weyanoke," was long since burned 

 to the ground. 



While Mrs. Audubon was establishing her rules and 

 authority at the Percy school, the naturalist was paint- 

 ing with Stein at Natchez, and he remained there with 

 his elder son until the spring of 1823. At this period 

 he wrote in his journal: "I had finally determined to 

 break through all bonds, and follow my ornithological 

 pursuits. My best friends solemnly regarded me as a 

 madman, and my wife and family alone gave me encour- 

 agement. My wife determined that my genius should 

 prevail, and that my final success as an ornithologist 

 should be triumphant." 



