160 IN THE DAYS OF AUDUBON 



war. But amid hard, rough councils rose the bulbuls' 

 songs, a bird that Byron has made famous. 



Nicholas left his silent kingdom to visit Queen Vic- 

 toria in 1844. He would there hear the skylark sing, ris- 

 ing from the meadows to the very " gates of God." 



In this visit to the island he was shown a very won- 

 derful book. 



" An American forester," said one of his hosts, " has 

 produced a truly magnificent work on birds. He has made 

 the birds of the Western world to live on paper. Here is 

 a volume." 



" I will examine it," said the emperor. " I have a pas- 

 sion for birds, and new birds interest me." 



He turned over the leaves of Audubon's American 

 Ornithology. He caught glimpses of what awaited the 

 world in the American forest lands for the first time. 



" This is truly a wonderful work," he said. " Audu- 

 bon? He is a French- American. Well, such work as this 

 ought to be rewarded. I must recognize it." 



What should he send to the life-painting Audubon? 



He was a man sparing of his gifts. A snuff-box was 

 a common present among the nobility then, a mark of high 

 distinction, especially one that was a work of art. 



Such snuff-boxes the emperor had for the appreciation 

 of men of genius. He ordered one to be sent to Audubon. 

 It was a work of art, probably of gold and gems, if the 

 traditional description of it be correct. The Czar's heart 



