SIDELIGHTS ON CONTEMPORARIES 123 



cases of what he called "picking and stealing," in one of 

 which the Red-headed Pochard is declared to have been 

 copied from Audubon's Scaup Duck: "here the trick is 

 so shallow," he adds, "that detection cannot for a mo- 

 ment be at fault. You see that the Scaup Ducks have 

 been accurately outlined, then lifted from the original 

 'grounding,' and let down upon a new one, by Gould, 

 who found it safer for his pencil to adjust earth and 

 water differently beneath them, than to tamper in the 

 slightest degree with the proportions of the figures them- 

 selves." Suffice it to say that there is little or no sub- 

 stantial basis for such odious charges. 



Gould is said to have possessed a kind heart under 

 a rather gruff exterior. The following anecdote of his 

 methods comes at second hand from his friend and col- 

 laborator, Mr. Bowlder Sharpe. Mr. Gould was invited 

 to dine at a well known country estate, where were gath- 

 ered numerous representatives of wealth and aristocracy. 

 The attention of the ornithologist was soon directed 

 from the guests to a bird on the lawn, which he was 

 watching intently when dinner was announced ; abruptly 

 leaving the table with the remark that dinner was of 

 no consequence to him when he could study a bird, he 

 returned to the window and stood there munching a roll 

 or piece of bread. Of course the seated guests began 

 to inquire who the peculiar individual was, and were 

 quietly informed by their host that it was "Mr. Gould, 

 the famous ornithologist." The meal over, Gould se- 

 lected a promising looking young nobleman and began 

 to tell him about the habits of the bird which had so 

 fascinated him; "that species," he said, "I have described 

 in my Birds of Europe. Of course, you have seen my 

 Birds of Europe/' The nobleman was obliged to admit 

 that he had not. "Why," said Mr. Gould, "you must 



