LINNEAN SOCIETY OF LOXDOX. 21 



Lesson, Isaac Lea, and others. The majority of these letters 

 refer to ornithological and malacological subjects ; but among the 

 biologists of the time were some of rather fierce and combative 

 disposition, and this spirit is sometimes reflected in their corre- 

 spondence. However, their impetuosity is tempered b^ a fair 

 amount of good-nature in their priA'ate letters, — much more so than 

 in their published writings ; and it is a curious psychological fact 

 that those who engaged in the fiercest quarrels show the greatest 

 anxiety to restore peace between their neighbours. The letters of 

 Vigors to Swainson are of particular interest, showing that the 

 relations between these two men, between whom soon a feud of im- 

 placable character was to break out, were origiually most amicable. 

 Vigors discusses at length his paper on the classification of Birds 

 which appeared in our Transactions, and asks Swainson's opinion on 

 the arrangement of certain orders on which he was working at the 

 time. He was anxious for Swainson's co-operation, urging him to 

 be a regular contributor to the ' Zoological Journal,' and to take 

 an active part in the proceedings of the Zoological Club of the 

 Linnean Society. In both respects Swainson disappointed him : 

 divergence of opinion as regards minor points in classification, 

 probably combined with other causes of no interest to us, com- 

 pleted the breach which subsequently proved to be a serious 

 impediment to Swainson in his investigations. 



Swaiuson's reputation as a scientific author had been well 

 established by this time ; but his name became known far and 

 wide when he engaged to write for various Encyclopaedias, issuing 

 in rapid succession a series of volumes on Zoology. To accomplish 

 this vei'y serious task, he had removed to the neighbourhood of 

 London, to St. Albans, where he continued to reside until he left 

 England. Erom the great number of correspondents of this 

 period I select two Ornithologists who by their fame claim our 

 attention, Audubon and Prince C. Lucien Bonaparte. 



Audubon's letters are rather disappointing : they contain chiefly 

 matter relating to his personal and domestic affairs, and little of 

 direct ornithological interest. The language in which they are 

 written is sometimes as fantastic and unnatural as are many of the 

 pictures on which he was engaged for his mammoth edition of the 

 ^ Birds of America.' The acquaintance between the two men com- 

 menced with an offer of Swainson to write a review of Audubon's 

 work. The review (in Loudon's Magazine) was highly eulogistic, but 

 probably would have been less so later on when Swainson became 

 better acquainted with Audubon's method. He observed a dis- 

 creet silence about the famous picture of " The Eagle and the 

 Lamb," which did not escape Audubon's notice. Shortly after 

 they paid a joint visit to Paris, where Audubon looked for sub- 

 scribers to his large and expensive work *, whilst Swainson 

 cultivated the friendship of the French Zoologists (particularlj'- of 



* In this he was so far successful that he obtained 14 additional subscribers, 

 which raised the total number to 144. 



