THE INVITATION. 229 



terest the woods have ! How you long to explore 

 every nook and corner of them ! You would even 

 find consolation in being lost in them. You could 

 then hear the night birds and tlie owls, and, in your 

 wanderings, might stumble upon some unknown 

 specimen. 



In all excursions to the woods or to the shore, the 

 student of ornithology has an advantage over his 

 companions. He has one more resource, one more 

 avenue of delight. He, indeed, kills two birds with 

 one stone and sometimes three. If others wander, 

 he can never go out of his way. His game is every- 

 where. The cawing of a crow makes him feel at 

 home, while a new note or a new song drowns all 

 care. Audubon, on the desolate coast of Labrador, 

 is happier than any king ever was ; and on shipboard 

 is nearly cured of his sea-sickness when a new gull 

 appears in sight. 



One must taste it to understand or appreciate its 

 fascination. The looker-on sees nothing to inspire 

 such enthusiasm. Only a little feathers and a half- 

 musical note or two ; why all this ado ? " Who 

 would give a hundred and twenty dollars to know 

 about the birds ? " said an eastern governor, half 

 contemptuously, to Wilson, as the latter solicited a 

 subscription to his great work. Sure enough. Bought 

 knowledge is dear at any price. The most precious 

 things have no commercial value. It is not, youi 

 Excellency, mere technical knowledge of the birdi 

 »httt you are asked to purchase, but a new interest ii 



