356 AUDUBON, THE NATURALIST 



land, as it later did to his purse. His painting devices 

 are thus referred to in a journal entry for January, 

 1827: 



No one, I think, paints in my method ; I, who have never 

 studied but by piece-meal, form my pictures according to my 

 ways of study. For instance, I am now working on a Fox ; I 

 take one neatly killed, put him up with wires and when satisfied 

 with the truth of the position, I take my palette and work as 

 rapidly as possible ; the same with my birds ; if practicable I 

 finish the bird at one sitting, — often, it is true, of fourteen 

 hours, — so that I think they are correct, both in detail and 

 composition. 



When he was painting pheasants and needed a white 

 one as "a keystone of light" to his picture, a nobleman 

 sent word that he would be given "leave to see the pic- 

 tures" in his hall, but this Audubon characteristically 

 refused, being determined to pay no such visits without 

 invitation. 



On the 10th of September, 1826, Audubon left Liv- 

 erpool, in a hopeful mood, for Manchester, with the in- 

 tention of visiting the chief cities of England and Scot- 

 land. He was fortified with a bundle of letters to a 

 long list of distinguished people, including Baron von 

 Humboldt, General Lafayette, Sir Walter Scott, Sir 

 Humphry Davy and Sir Thomas Lawrence. His first 

 step proved a disappointment, and when he finally left 

 the City of Spindles six weeks later, he found himself 

 poorer than when he had entered it. At Manchester, 

 however, he added to his list of interested friends and 

 possible patrons, and acting upon their suggestion, 

 opened a subscription book for the publication of his 

 long meditated work, to be called The Birds of America. 

 The Rathbones, as well as other friends whose advice 



