John James Audubon 5 



and mammals, nor to the magnitude of his contributions to science, but 

 also to the charm and genius of his personality — a personality that pro- 

 foundly impressed his contemporaries, and which, by means of his biogra- 

 phies and journals, it is still our privilege to enjoy. His was a type now 

 rarely met — combining the grace and culture of the Frenchman with the 

 candor, patience, and earnestness of purpose of the American. There was 

 about him a certain poetic picturesqueness and a rare charm of manner that 

 drew people to him and enlisted them in his work. His friend, Dr. Bach- 

 man of Charleston, tells us that it was considered a privilege to give to 

 Audubon what no one else could buy. His personal qualities and charac- 

 teristics appear in some of his minor papers — notably the essays entitled 

 'Episodes.' These serve to reveal, perhaps better than his more formal 

 writings, the keenness of his insight, the kindness of his heart, the poetry of 

 his nature, the power of his imagination, and the vigor and versatility of his 

 intellect. 



MONUMENT ERECTED TO AUDUBON IN TRINITY CEMETERY 

 NEW YORK CITY 



