CHAPTEE XV 



ALEXANDER WILSON, THE AMERICAN " ROBINSON CRUSOE " 



HIS PARROT 



This man, whom we have introduced among the earlier 

 incidents of Audubon's life, has had many tributes paid to 

 him by lovers of natural history and pilgrim poets. A 

 statue has been raised to him in his " ain toun," and his 

 grave, in the " auld kirkyard " of the Swedish Church in 

 Philadelphia, is still visited by lovers of nature. His was 

 a beautiful, self-forgetful life, and it was one that 

 Audubon, possibly with some little jealousy, closely fol- 

 lowed. 



Of Wilson's inspiration to become a naturalist, a writer 

 has well said : " There lives in Scotland a man of peace. 

 A poor Paisley weaver, in his damp, dull lodging, he 

 dreamed of nature, of the infinite liberty of the woods, 

 and of winged life. A cripple, his very bondage inspired 

 him with a love of light and flight." 



Wilson, like Audubon, loved birds for their own sake. 



He was a cripple in early life, and he could not see 



many birds, so he bought pictures of them. His pictures 



made him long to follow them into the forest solitudes in 

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