8 Thi-: Wilson 1)Ulli:tix — Xo. (i'^. 



sometimes with that arrogance which l)clongs to pari'cmis." 

 To the poor Scotch naturahst, Audubon doubtless not only 

 appeared the accomplished sportsman-artist, but a wealthy 

 gentleman of leisure as well, yet so little interested in natural 

 science or the portraits of birds not of his own painting, that 

 he had not taken the trouble to look over more than a few 

 of the plates ! That this was characteristic of the gentleman 

 there is little doubt and that he was not at heart a scientist is 

 probably true. "It is singular how two minds possessing the 

 same taste can be so diversified as to differ in toto respecting 

 the same subject. During the whole time of Mr. Audubon's 

 residence in Paris, he only visited the ornithological gallery 

 twice ( while I was studying for hours almost daily) for the 

 purpose of calling on me ; and even then he bestowed that sort 

 of passing glance at the magnificent cases of birds which a 

 careless observer would do wdiile sauntering into the rooms. "^ 

 Wilson, however, took a keen interest in the contents of 

 Audubon's portfolio, being all enthusiasm, and recognized 

 two species as new to him ; but the v/eek's canvass in Louis- 

 ville produced not a single subscriber I No wonder poor 

 ^\Mlson, out of the bitterness of his heart, wrote in his diary : 

 "Science or literature has not one friend in this place," and 

 felt much the same as Audubon did many years later when 

 lack of appreciation seemed about to balk him in his great 

 undertaking. Audubon's apparent, though perhaps uncon- 

 scious antagonism to Wilson, is fully illustrated in the follow- 

 ing extract from his Ornithological lUography under the 

 head of Whooping Crane : "I had, in 1810, the gratification 

 of taking Alexander Wilson to some ponds within a few^ miles 

 of Louisville, and of showing him many birds of this species, 

 of which he had not previously seen any other than stuft'ed 

 specimens. I told him that the white birds were adults, and 

 that the grey ones were the young. Wilson, in his article on 

 the Whooping Crane, has alluded to this, but as on other 

 occasions, has not informed his readers whence this informa- 

 tion came." This is indeed a most trivial charge if it were 

 not an unjust one. Audubon being of the most ])ositive 

 ' Swaiiison's Taxidprmy. 



