282 Burns, Miss Lawson’s Recollections. Auk 
’ July 
what he carried to Europe would suffice for a long time. Did he 
expect to procure subscribers? If so he surely made a mistake. 
I hope I. C. will prevail with the Library com. to subscribe for a 
copy; otherwise I fear that when one wants to examine the Ele- 
phant with a view of studying its character, one will not know 
where to find it.’ 
“ Another letter written by Ord about 1838, from the home of 
Waterton, Walton Hall, Wakefield, Eng.: ‘By the way, some of 
Waterton’s essays would amuse you vastly; he gives some terrible 
thrusts at Audubon. Lizars of Edinburgh, Audubon’s first engraver, 
was here a few days ago; if I had room I would tell you what he 
said of the great ornithologist whose reputation is sadly on the wane.’ 
“Here is an extract from a letter of Charles Lucien Bonaparte 
in reply to one from Lawson: ‘Rome, July 2, 1836. As to Audu- 
bon, although his work is not faultless; be sure you under rate him 
alittle too much. There is some merit in some of his plates, that of 
the Goldfinch appears to me very superior. Iam sorry to hear that 
he had such a bad reception in the U. 8S. I have got him several 
subscribers. I cannot take your wicked commission to Temminck 
for I have scolded him severely for not subscribing to the work at 
my recommendations. Some of Audubon’s plates are superior to 
Temminck’s, who vilifies them. As to Audubon’s new species, I 
shall never rely on that; slight variations do not make new species.’ 
“The only acquaintance I had with Nuttall,’ writes Miss 
Lawson, “was when I colored his plates in his continuation of 
Michaux’s work on the trees of America. You know the drawing 
and coloring of the original Michaux were exquisite. Nuttall had 
his coloring made up from other works, especially from Michaux. 
Nuttall himself was the least attractive of the Genus Homo I ever 
met. I could never imagine any Englishman so dirty and dis- 
orderly in his dress and appearance. I suppose he was a good 
botanist. I have heard young men who studied with him, speak 
of him with great respect as a teacher, but I thought his manners 
rough and abrupt.” 
In a five page reference to Dr. Coues’ criticism of some of her 
father’s work, Miss Lawson writes: “Never again will such en- 
graving be seen! The day of fine work of that kind is over; and 
except one or two English works on natural history, nothing has 
approached it.” 
