30 Life of Audubon, 



friend Rosier, less fond of rural sports, stuck to the 

 counter, and, as Audubon phrases it, " grew rich, and that 

 was all he cared for." Audubon's pursuits appear to have 

 severed him from the business, which was left to Rosier's 

 management. Finally the war of 1812 imperilled the 

 prosperity of the partners, and what goods remained on 

 hand were shipped to Hendersonville, Kentucky, where 

 Rosier remained for some years longer, before going 

 further westward in search of the fortune he coveted. 

 Writing of the kindness shown him by his friends at 

 Louisville, Audubon relates that when he was absent on 

 business, or " away on expeditions," his wife was invited 

 to stay at General Clark's, and was taken care of till he 

 returned. 



It was at Louisville that Audubon made the acquain- 

 tance of Wilson, the American ornithologist. Wilson, a 

 Scottish weaver, had been driven from Paisley through 

 his sympathies with the political agitators of that notable 

 Scottish town ; and finding a refuge in the United States, 

 had turned his attention to ornithology. From the pages 

 of Audubon's * Ornithological Biography' it may be inter- 

 esting to reproduce an account of the meeting between 

 the two naturalists. " One fair morning," writes Audu- 

 bon, " I was surprised by the sudden entrance into our 

 counting-room at Louisville of Mr. Alexander Wilson, the 

 celebrated author of the ' American Ornithology,' of whose 

 existence I had never until that moment been api^rised. 

 This happened in March, 18 10. How wxll do I 

 remember him, as he then walked up to me ! His long, 

 rather hooked nose, the keenness of his eyes, and his 

 prominent cheekbones, stamped his countenance with a 

 peculiar character. His dress, too, was of a kind not 

 usually seen in that part of the country ; a short coat, 

 trousers, and a waistcoat of gray cloth. His stature was 

 not above the middle size. He had two volumes under 



