Audubon. 467 



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we are able to do so, to give information of his progress and ad- 

 ventures. May our opportunities be frequent and fortunate, 

 until we can greet him again on our Atlantic shore. We most 

 sincerely hope, that the life of this adventurous and accomplished 

 naturalist will be spared. He has already done enough to se- 

 cure a lasting renown ; but such is his unextinguishable spirit, 

 that when his great work, the " Birds of America," is all en- 

 graved, it is only to be the precursor of a still greater ; a gallery 

 executed in oil, as large as life, of all the subjects of his masterly 

 drawings. This gallery is already in progress. What a splen- 

 did acquisition for the congress of the United States of America ! 

 Ere we leave, for a while, this attractive subject, we desire 

 to say one word more on the encouragement this magnificent 

 work has received in the native country of its gifted author. On 

 the arrival of Audubon in the United States, in September last, 

 we believe he had only six subscribers, including the national 

 library at Washington. Since that period, the number, we un- 

 derstand, has increased to twenty-four. Of these, we believe, 

 five are received in literary and scientific societies. Two copies 

 have been ordered by the legislature of the State of Louisiana, 

 and one by the legislature of S. Carolina. Philadelphia possesses 

 four copies, Baltimore three, Boston, we believe, one. New York, 

 we think, at least we have heard so, one. There is one sub- 

 scriber in Kentucky ; Charleston in S. Carolina, possesses three 

 copies. Where Audubon is known, he is sure to make friends, 

 and we have conceived a high idea of the intelligence and libe- 

 rahty to be found in the State of Georgia, from the fact, that in 

 a town with so limited a population as Savannah, he has no 

 less than seven subscribers. All these, which do not consti- 

 tute one fifth of the patronage Audubon deserves from the 

 United States, will greatly increase the opportunities which 

 individuals will have, of seeing this magnificent work. There 

 is but one obstacle to its perfect success, and that consists in 

 the duties the work is subjected to, on arriving in this country. 

 Those who have the spirit to appreciate and acquire it, de- 

 serve every praise, knowing as they do, that foreigners have 

 the privilege of possessing the works of their gifted countryman, 

 at a much less expense than they do themselves. We intend no 

 allusion to either tariff or anti-tariff opinions ; under any 

 laws, exceptions should be made in favour of works of ac- 



