A NEW ART BEGUN 3 
might actually make a living at taxidermy. In 
Rochester there was a famous institution, Ward’s 
Natural Science Establishment. At that time, and 
for years afterward, this establishment supplied the 
best museums in this country with nearly all their 
mounted specimens and also most of their other 
natural history collections. Professor Ward was the 
greatest authority on taxidermy of his day. It was 
to this place that Bruce suggested I should go. The 
step which he planned seemed a great venture to 
me, but I determined to try it. I went home from 
Brockport and told the family what Bruce had said 
and what I intended todo. I got up early next morn- 
ing—I didn’t have to wake up for I had hardly slept 
a wink—and walked three miles to the station to take 
the train to Rochester. When I reached there, I 
walked all over town before I found Ward’s Natural 
Science Establishment and the more I walked the 
lower and lower my courage sank. The Establish- 
ment consisted of Professor Ward’s house and several 
other buildings, the entrance to the place being an 
arch made of the jaws of a sperm whale. An ap. 
prentice approaching the studio of a Rembrandt or a 
Van Dyke couldn’t have been more in awe than 
I was. I walked up and down the sidewalk in front 
of the Professor’s house for a while until I finally 
gathered courage to ring the door-bell. I was ad- 
mitted to an elaborately furnished room, and after 
a little while Professor Ward came in. It had been 
a long time since I had had breakfast, but he hadn’t 
quite finished his, and this contrast seemed to increase 
