148 IN THE DAYS OF AUDUBON 



the old French knitting-woman of ISTantes would become 

 true: " Seest thou the man diligent in his business? He 

 shall stand before kings I tell you, commodore, he shall 

 stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men." 



The king! It was in the luxury-loving, lazy times of 

 George IV, " the first gentleman in Europe," as he was 

 called. The weak, merry king only thought of to-day, and 

 never much of to-morrow, and more of his own comfort 

 than of his empire. Would such a king ever have an hour 

 to give to a book like the Birds of America? America! 

 what was America to him but a distasteful memory? But 

 the American birds were not to blame for that. 



Audubon first sought an introduction to the king 

 through Sir Kobert Peel, but Peel, well knowing the habits 

 of the king, caused the letter to be returned. 



The heart of Audubon sank, but it rose again. Was 

 not his perfect work, and what had the pious old French- 

 woman of Nantes said? The worth of his work and the 

 assurance in his soul that he had earned the fulfilment of 

 the Biblical law nerved him to a sudden resolution. 



" I made up my mind," he said, " to go directly to the 

 American minister, Mr. Gallatin, and to learn from him 

 how to proceed. Was there no mode of approaching the 

 king nearer than by passing his castle? I wanted to have 

 the opinion of one capable of deciding the matter. 



" So I entered Mr. Gallatin's presence. The minister 

 extraordinary said: 



