A LIFE RECORD 71 



of more or less duration at Washington where he had 

 spent much time at the Smithsonian Institution and had 

 become acquainted with many of its force of scientific 

 workers. But in order to more thoroughly study the 

 bird collections at the Smithsonian he had planned for 

 some years to spend an entire winter in Washington, 

 thus supplementing his keen and accurate knowledge 

 obtained from field study by a careful comparison of 

 specimens in the Smithsonian museum. 



Accordingly it was decided that the winter of 1878 

 should be spent in Washington and on January 3 of that 

 year, in company with Mrs. Boardman, he left for the 

 national capital where they arrived January 5, taking 

 rooms at 1217 I Street. They remained at Washington 

 until April 5, when they started on the return home, 

 reaching Milltown, N. B., April 16. 



The winter spent in Washington was a most delightful 

 one to Mr. Boardman. He was at the Smithsonian nearly 

 every day engaged in study or in work in examining 

 the collections for his own benefit and instruction or in 

 assisting at naming and arranging the new things being 

 constantly received. He also attended the scientific 

 meetings as he records in his diary met the Institu- 

 tion workers Prof. Baird, Elliot, Henshaw, Ridgway, 

 Hayden, Myers, Coues and others and enjoyed the soci- 

 ety of his many friends at the national capital. He was 

 often at Prof. Baird's to dinner, spent many of his even- 

 ings there and made frequent visits to Senators Hamlin 

 and Edmunds, Mr. Blaine and other prominent person- 

 ages in Washington society. Mr. Boardman was widely 

 known as the Maine naturalist and had entrance to the 

 select scientific circle at that great centre of science, 



