196 JOHN JAMES AUDUBON. 



our God, that he had preserved and prospered me 

 in my long absence, and once more permitted me to 

 approach these shores so dear to me, and which 

 hold my heart's best earthly treasures." 



He soon reached the Bayou Sara, and "came 

 suddenly on my dear wife : we were both overcome 

 with emotion, which found relief in tears." 



He remained with his wife three months, collect- 

 ing birds and making drawings, and then both 

 sailed together for England. 



During his absence he had been made a fellow 

 of the Royal Society of London, much to his 

 delight. Now that his " Birds of America " was 

 coming out, he began earnestly upon a new work, 

 "Ornithological Biography of the Birds of Amer- 

 ica," containing nearly three thousand pages, and 

 published for him by Mr. Black of Edinburgh. 

 Two publishers refused this famous work, and 

 Audubon published at his own expense. The first 

 volume was finished in three months, and Mrs. 

 Audubon copied it entire to send to America to 

 secure copyright. 



Audubon worked untiringly. He wrote all day 

 long, and " so full was my mind of birds and their 

 habits, that in my sleep I continually dreamed of 

 birds." 



The " Birds of America " received good reviews 

 in " Blackwood's Magazine," and elsewhere. Audu- 

 bon said, " I have balanced my accounts with the 

 " Birds of America,' and the whole business is really 

 wonderful; eight thousand pounds have passed 



