JOHN JAMES AUDUBON 73 



The mania for rambling about the country and collecting curiosi- 

 ties seemed to increase, and upon the return of his father from a 

 cruise abroad, Audubon was taken under his personal care. 

 Studies now became more obligatory, but without any marked 

 increase of interest upon his part or any lessening of his love of 

 outdoor life. At this period of his life he states that he had made 

 some drawings of French birds but apparently without any thought 

 or interest in ornithology, and simply because they appealed to 

 him as subjects upon which to exercise his artistic skill. 



When somewhat over seventeen years of age Audubon was sent 

 to America to look after the Pennsylvania estate at Mill Grove on 

 the Perkiomen not far from its juncture with the Schuylkill. His 

 father it seems despaired of making a student of him or of inter- 

 esting him in the career that he had planned for him and thinking 

 him old enough to enter seriously upon life intrusted him with 

 the responsibility of his American property. 



Audubon experienced a severe attack of sickness upon reaching 

 New York and after his recovery was temporarily the guest of his 

 father's agent, Miers Fisher, a Philadelphia Quaker, whose tastes 

 it may be imagined were totally different from those of the gay 

 young Frenchman in fact to quote Audubon "he was opposed 

 to music of all description, as well as to dancing, could not bear 

 me to carry a gun or fishing rod and indeed condoned most of my 

 amusements." 



After a short period of restless toleration of his uncongenial 

 surroundings Audubon was established as his own master on the 

 Mill Grove estate. Here, surrounded by nature, he indulged to 

 his heart's content all the pleasures that he so enjoyed. He de- 

 scribes himself at this time as "extremely extravagant." "I had 

 no vices," he says, "it is true, neither had I any high aims. I was 

 ever fond of shooting, fishing and riding on horse-back ; the raising 

 of fowls of every sort was one of my hobbies, and to reach the maxi- 

 mum of my desires in those different things filled every one of my 

 thoughts. I was ridiculously fond of dress. To have seen me 

 going shooting in black satin small clothes, or breeches, with 

 silk stockings, and the finest ruffled shirt Philadelphia could 



