^66 Life of Audubon, 



wishes for the completion of our respective journeys, we 

 parted, giving each other three most hearty cheers. 



"We were now, thank God, positively on the main 

 shore of our native land ; and after four days' confine- 

 ment in our births, and sea-sickness, and the sea and ves- 

 sel, and all their smells and discomforts, we were so re- 

 freshed, that the thought of walking nine miles seemed 

 nothing more than figuring through a single quadrille. 

 The air felt uncommonly warm, and the country, com- 

 pared with those we had so lately left, appeared perfectly 

 beautiful, and we inhaled the fragrance of the new mown 

 grass, as if nothing sweeter ever existed. Even the music 

 of crickets was delightful to my ears, for no such insect is 

 to be found either at Labrador or Newfoundland. The 

 voice of a blue jay sounded melody to me, and the sight of 

 a humming-bird quite filled my mind with delight. 



" We were conveyed to the main, only a very short dis- 

 tance, Ingalls and Coolidge remaining in the boat ; and 

 the rest took the road, along which we moved as lightly as 

 if boys just released from school. The road was good, or 

 seemed to be so ; the woods were tall timber, and the air, 

 which circulated freely, was all perfume ; and every plant 

 we saw brought to mind some portion of the United 

 States, and we all felt quite happy. Now and then as we 

 crossed a hill, and cast our eyes back on the sea, we saw 

 our beautiful vessel sailing freely before the wind, and as 

 she diminished towards the horizon, she at last appeared 

 like a white speck, or an eagle floating in the air, and we 

 wished our captain a most safe voyage to Quoddy. 



" We reached the shore opposite Pictou in two and a 

 half hours, and lay down on the grass to await the arrival 

 of the boat, and gazed on the scenery around us. A num- 

 ber of American vessels lay in the harbor loading with 

 coal. The village located at the bottom of a fine bay on 

 the north-west side looked well, although small. Three 



