ALEXANDER WILSON. 35 



landscape, from both of which he turned with dis- 

 gust. At the suggestion of his friend Bartram, he 

 made another essay on birds and other objects in 

 Natural History, in which he succeeded- far beyond 

 his anticipations, whicli probably gave rise to that 

 Work we have already alluded to, and which turned 

 out, and has continued to be, second to none as yet 

 given to the world in any country; whether we 

 consider the excellence of the illustrations, or the 

 masterly manner in which the descriptions are 

 written. 



The scheme of illustrating the Ornithology of the 

 United States, he first divulged to the venerable 

 Bartram, who warmly responded to Wilson's feel- 

 ings on the subject, and which was soon after com- 

 municated to Mr. Lawson, the engraver of the 

 Work, who, although entering into his views also 

 with every desire to forward the undertaking by 

 his professional labours, yet somewhat damped the 

 ardour of our enthusiast by the calculations of the 

 expense attendant upon its commercial details and 

 probable prospects of remunerative success. In a 

 letter to Lawson he writes thus, c; I never was 

 more wishful to spend an afternoon with you. In 

 three weeks I shall have a few days vacancy, and 

 mean to be in town chief part of the time. I am 

 most earnestly bent on pursuing my plan of making 

 a collection of all the birds in this part of North 

 America. Now, I don't want you to throw cold 

 water, as Shakspeare says, on this notion, Quixotic 

 as it may appear. I have been so long accustomed 



