THIRD AMERICAN TOUR 151 



other prominent characters, all extended a helping 

 hand. He visited Salem to deliver his letters, and was 

 successful in obtaining a number of subscribers; upon 

 invitation of the curator of the Natural History Society 

 there, he examined "the young collection of that new- 

 born institution," and had "the good fortune to find one 

 egg of the American bittern." On the 25th of Septem- 

 ber he wrote Harris: "Nuttall has arrived — he break- 

 fasted with me the other day — gave me 6 new species 

 of Birds and tells me that he will urge both Townsend 

 and the Society at Philadelphia to allow me to portray 

 all the species which they have procured within the 

 limits of our Territories." 



In Boston, September 27, 1836, Audubon made this 

 note in his journal: 6 "The citizens are all excitement; 

 guns are firing, flags flying, and troops parading and 

 John Quincy Adams is delivering a eulogy on the late 

 President Madison. The mayor of Boston did me the 

 honor to invite me to join in the procession, but I am 

 no politician and declined." He noted on the same day 

 also that Dr. Shattuck had completed the subscription 

 list of the Boston Society of Natural History "by pre- 

 senting me to his lady, who subscribed for one-tenth, 

 and the Dr. then put down his son George's name for 

 one-twentieth, making his own family one-fourth of the 

 whole, or two hundred and twenty dollars, for which 

 he gave me his cheque. Without the assistance of this 

 generous man, it is more than probable that the So- 

 ciety never would have had a copy of 'The Birds of 

 America.' ' Two days later he met Daniel Webster at 

 the rooms of the Historical Society, and on the same 

 evening at the home of Isaac P. Davis, where, said Au- 

 dubon, "we took tea, talked on ornithology and orni- 



6 See Lucy B. Audubon, ed., op. cit.; and Note, Vol. II, p. 29. 



