JOHN JAMES AUDUBON 79 



scientific men; a continuation and a new edition of his Ornithology 

 were at that very time being published and it is not surprising 

 that another aspirant to ornithological fame should be looked 

 upon by many with rather small favor. Furthermore, the diffi- 

 culties that Wilson had encountered in publishing his work were 

 well known and the far greater size of Audubon's plates made 

 their publication seem well-nigh impossible even to those who were 

 entirely in sympathy with the undertaking. It is not surprising 

 that Audubon, full of enthusiasm and lacking in experience, was 

 much disheartened. But this visit in spite of its discouragements 

 was of vast benefit to the artist-naturalist. He made the acquaint- 

 ance of Charles Lucien Bonaparte. Edward Harris. Richard 

 Harlaji, George Orel. Charles A. LeSueur and_other members 

 of the Academy of Natural Sciences, several oF whom became 

 his close friends. Harris, especially, proved not only a friend but 

 on many occasions a benefactor both to Audubon and to his wife. 

 He was a wealthy and generous man and an ornithologist of no 

 mean ability, and the admiration that he felt for Audubon and the 

 unselfish interest in the successful outcome of his undertaking 

 have seldom been paralleled. Ord on the contrary became one 

 of Audubon's bitterest enemies7*"T5e had been the close friend 

 of Alexander Wjlsoji, and was at the time of Audubon's visit to 

 Philadelphia publishing another edition of the American Ornithol- 

 ogy, so that the prospect of a work so much more elaborate as 

 Audubon's promised to be no doubt aroused his jealousy. At the 

 same time Ord's criticism seems to have been sincere. We must 

 remember, that Audubon was at this time in no sense a scientific 

 man, but an artist with a strong love of nature and with a temper- 

 ament derived perhaps from his French ancestry, which impressed 

 his writings and perhaps his speech with a somewhat careless ex- 

 aggeration of style that did not at all appeal to Ord who was of 

 the qyart r 1nfTayja^ujflfe{ tvpf^ Audubon loathed the science of 

 the museums and nis knowledge of birds was what he derived 

 from close association with them in the forest. It is therefore 

 little to be wondered that Ord while he may have conceded Audu- 

 bon's artistic talents, resented his reception as an "ornithologist" 



