128 IN THE DAYS OF AUDUBON 



relating his old experiences to the sick boy as he lay in the 

 wagon. 



There was a mocking-bird in New Orleans that used to 

 sing on the same chimney-top night after night until 

 twelve o'clock, when it would go to the Convent Gardens 

 to feast. Its song would ripple on the air as caught from 

 some paradise, until the watchman would pass by, saying: 



"All is well!" 



The bird on the chimney, too, would pause in its singing, 

 and, as if speaking to the household, would say: 



" All is well! " and then continue its rapturous melody. 



To Audubon such a voice came out of the life of 

 divine mysteries. He listened to bird songs with a double 

 ear. In his darkest hours he could hear this voice, " All is 

 well! " 



His dogs seemed to understand him, to follow his very 

 thought. 



He tells a story of a tremulous dog that lay by his side 

 in an hour of terror. 



This story was a favorite in the woods. It so pictures 

 the naturalist's life in the deep Indian forest that we should 

 relate it here. We follow Audubon's own language in 

 part, changing a few words for the sake of a free, inter- 

 pretative narrative. 



