398 Life of Auduhon. 



loved country. I strongly recommended George Lehman, 

 my former assistant, as he is in every respect one of the 

 best general draftsmen I know. I also recommended the 

 son of Dr. McMurtrie (how strange, you will say), and 

 young Reynolds, of Boston, as an entomologist. 



" The secretary paid me some compliments, and told 

 me the moment the expedition had been mentioned he 

 had thought of me, and Nuttall, and Pickering a glorious 

 trio ! I wish to God that I were young once more ; how 

 del ; ghted I would be to go in such company, learned men 

 and dear friends. He also took us to his house, to see 

 the work published by the French government, of the 

 voyages of L'Athalie, and presented by that government 

 to our own. It is a magnificent production, quite French, 

 and quite perfect. I next took John to the White House, 

 which is the vulgar name for the President's residence. 

 Mr. Earle introduced us, and John saw for the first time 

 that extraordinary man, General Andrew Jackson. He 

 was very kind, and as soon as he heard that we intended 

 departing to-morrow evening for Charleston, invited us to 

 dine with him enfamille. At the named hour we went to 

 the White House, and were taken into a room, where the 

 President soon joined us. I sat close to him ; we spoke 

 of olden times, and touched slightly on politics, and I 

 found him very averse to the cause of the Texans. We 

 talked also of the great naval expedition, European af- 

 fairs, &c. Dinner being announced, we went to the table 

 with his two nephews, Colonel Donaldson being in the 

 truest sense of the word a gentleman. The dinner was 

 what might be called plain and substantial in England ; 

 I dined from a fine young turkey, shot within twenty miles 

 of Washington. The general drank no wine, but his 

 health was drunk by Us more than once ; and he ate very 

 moderately, his last dish consisting of bread and milk. 

 As soon as dinner was over we returned to the first room 



