90 Life of Audubon. 



folds of the finest lawn. The gentleman held in one 

 hand a cage full of richly-plumed nonpareils, whilst in the 

 other he sported a silk umbrella, on which I could plain- 

 ly read * Stolen from I,' these words being painted in 

 large white characters. He walked as if conscious of 

 his own importance ; that is, with a good dea} of pom- 

 posity, singing, * My love is but a lassie yet ;' and that 

 with such thorough imitation of the Scotch emphasis, that 

 had not his physiognomy suggested another parentage, I 

 should have believed him to be a genuine Scot. A nar- 

 rower acquaintance proved him to be a Yankee ; and 

 anxious to make his acquaintance, I desired to see his 

 birds. He retorted, ' What the devil did I know about 

 birds ? ' I explained to him that I was a naturalist, 

 whereupon he requested me to examine his birds. I did 

 so with some interest, and was preparing to leave, when 

 he bade me come to his lodgings and see the remainder 

 of his collection. This I willingly did, and was struck 

 with amazement at the appearance of his studio. Several 

 cages were hung about the walls, containing specimens of 

 birds, all of which I examined at my leisure. On a large 

 easel before me stood an unfinished portrait, other pic- 

 tures hung about, and in the room were two young pu- 

 pils; and at a glance I discovered that the eccentric 

 stranger was, like myself, a naturalist and an artist. The 

 artist, as modest as he was odd, showed me how he laid 

 on the paint on his pictures, asked after my own pursuits, 

 and showed a friendly spirit which enchanted me. AVith 

 a ramrod for a rest, he prosecuted his work vigorously, 

 and afterwards asked me to examine a percussion lock 

 on his gun, a novelty to me at the time. He snapped 

 some caps, and on my remarking that he would frighten 

 his birds, he exclaimed, ' Devil take the birds, there are 

 more of them in the market.' He then loaded his gun, 

 and wishing to show me that he was a marksman, fired 



