CHAPTEK XV 



ALEXANDER WILSON, THE AMERICAN 



HIS PARROT 



THIS man, whom we have introduced among the earlier 

 incidents of Audubon's life, has had many tributes paid to 

 him by lovers of natural history and pilgrim poets. A 

 statue has been raised to him in his " ain toun," and his 

 grave, in the " auld kirkyard " of the Swedish Church in 

 Philadelphia, is still visited by lovers of nature. His was 

 a beautiful, self-forgetful life, and it was one that 

 Audubon, possibly with some little jealousy, closely fol- 

 lowed. 



Of Wilson's inspiration to become a naturalist, a writer 

 has well said : " There lives in Scotland a man of peace. 

 A poor Paisley weaver, in his damp, dull lodging, he 

 dreamed of nature, of the infinite liberty of the woods, 

 and of winged life. A cripple, his very bondage inspired 

 him with a love of light and flight." 



Wilson, like Audubon, loved birds for their own sake. 



He was a cripple in early life, and he could not see 

 many birds, so he bought pictures of them. His pictures 



made him long to follow them into the forest solitudes in 

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