JOHN JAMES AUDUBON 73 

 (for I had none), but he had destroyed 

 the matter." 



During these days Audubon was very 

 busy writing, painting, receiving callers, 

 and dining out. He grew very tired of 

 it all at times, and longed for the solitude 

 of his native woods. Some days Ms 

 room was a perfect levee. "It is Mr. 

 Audubon here, and Mr. Audubon there j 

 I only hope they will not make a con- 

 ceited fool of Mr. Audubon at last." 

 There seems to have been some danger 

 of this, for he says : "I seem in a meas- 

 ure to have gone back to my early days 

 of society and fine dressing, silk stock- 

 ings and pumps, and all the finery with 

 which I made a popinjay of myself in 

 my youth. ... I wear my hair as long 

 as usual, I believe it does as much for 

 me as my paintings." 



He wrote to Thomas Sully of Phila- 

 delphia, promising to send him his 

 first number, to be presented to the 

 Philadelphia Society "an institution 



