200 CouES: "Behind the Veil." 



he remembered) would wish to become public ; and, among many of 

 Audubon's own letters to various persons who are to-day historic in 

 ornithology, are others to him bearing the sigHatures of Swainson, 

 Richardson, MacGillivray, Vigors, Yarrell, and other eminent Eng- 

 lish authors. To one of these, from MacGillivray, I shall presently 

 recur. 



One dark spot in the history of American Ornithology is cast by 

 the cloud that passed over the intercourse between its two greatest 

 men, Wilson and Audubon. I must say, so far as I can judge, that 

 right rests with the latter in the matter of that Louisville meeting ; 

 for I feel sui'e that Audubon's version of the affair is more to the 

 point than Wilson's, — for each, you know, has printed it in his book. 

 Wilson, the patient, the long-suffering, the football of fortune, with 

 his sun setting upon a succes d'estime, so far as art was concerned, — 

 Audubon, then flashing toward the zenith with his marvellous mas- 

 tery of pen and pencil, — Wilson would have been more than human 

 if the iron of envy had not entered his soul, and Audubon would 

 have been less than humane had he not forV)orne. " There is a great 

 deal of human nature in mankind," some one has wittily said; and 

 to human nature let that account be scored, in charitable silence. 



As the work of Audubon progressed, the original quarrel proved 

 the fountain-head of a sti'eam, rendered turbid by the mixture of 

 money matters. But I have no desire to enlarge upon this ; the 

 precise parallel may be found on any business street of any busy 

 city. 



In examining some of Audubon's drawings, I was struck by the 

 width of the gulf, which might have been supposed unbridgeable, 

 between the mature productions of the illustrious artist and his early 

 efforts. Some of the latter are mere daubs, in fact, though obvi- 

 ously completed. Yet, faltering and unaccustomed as is the touch 

 of the hand, the germ of life is even there ; and we all know now 

 what flower and fruit were then in embryo. 



As Mr. Wade had gathered his materials for a definite purpose, I 

 did not feel at liberty to even ask for copies of any of the Audubon 

 correspondence, and thereby lessen the novelty of anything he 

 might wish to bring out. I have in my temporary possession, how- 

 ever, an unpublished letter of Audubon's, which I have the permis- 

 sion of the owner to print. It belongs to Dr. R. W. Shufeldt, of 

 the Army, who received it from Mrs. Audubon. It is written to 

 Dr. Richard Harlan, and is interesting as relating to the discovery 



