Remarks on Wild Pigeons. 139 



the woods of America among the pigeons, and my ears 

 were filled with the sound of their rustling wings. After 

 sleeping a few hours, I rose and corrected it. Captain 

 Hall called a few hours after, read the article, and beg- 

 ged a copy : the copy was made, and sent to him at eight 

 o'clock that evening. 



"Captain Hall expressed some doubts as to my 

 views respecting the affection and love of pigeons, as 

 if I made it human, and raised the possessors quite 

 above the brutes. I presume the love of the mothers 

 for their young is much the same as the love of woman 

 for her offspring. There is but one kind of love j God 

 is love, and all his creatures derive theirs from his j only 

 it is modified by the different degrees of intelligence in 

 different beings and creatures." 



On February 20, he writes, in a long letter to his 

 wife : " It is impossible yet to say how long I shall re- 

 main in England ; at least until I have spent some months 

 in London. I am doing all I can to hasten my plans, 

 but it will take some time to complete them. The first 

 number of my birds will be published in March, and on 

 the fifth of the month the ballot takes place to decide my 

 election to the Royal Society, which, if successful, will 

 be of great advantage to me ; and whether successful or 

 no I shall leave Edinburgh five days after, to visit all the 

 principal towns in the three kingdoms, to obtain sub- 

 scribers for my work. 



^^ February 28. A few days of idleness have com- 

 pletely sickened me, and given me what is called the 

 blue-devils so severely, that I feel that the sooner I go 

 to work and drive them off the better. 



^^ March i. Mr. Kidd, a promising young artist in 

 landscape, only nineteen, breakfasted with me to-day, and 

 we talked on painting a long time, and I was charmed 

 with his talents, and thought what a difference it would 



