IN THE NORTH ATLANTIC 65 



\ 

 April 6, he wrote to Miss Maria Martin as follows: 



I told friend Bach, in my letter of yesterday that I knew 

 nothing of Mr. Pettigrue, connected with my business at 

 Charleston, and that if that gentleman had presented himself 

 before the court, it must have been for chanty's sake ; indeed, 

 from the conversations that passed between Friend B. & I re- 

 specting Mr. Dunker [Dunkin], it would have been absurd in 

 me to think for a moment of employing any other person 

 than Mr. D. 



In the letter just quoted Audubon said also that 

 he had spent all of the morning of the previous day 

 in going from shop to shop with friend Harris to pro- 

 cure some models for "the dear girls," but in vain; New 

 York with its two hundred and fifty thousand souls, 

 possessed but two drawing masters; "these instruct in 

 3 months" he added, "and starve for the nine of the 

 year." In reference to financial matters, he said that 

 he had managed to collect about c^OOO sterling, and had 

 sent 500 to Victor in bills of exchange, so that when they 

 reached London, they would be tolerably well off, con- 

 sidering that they were "naturalists from the wilds of 

 America." "Nothing starts the blues so effectually," he 

 continued, as "constant unemployment; for myself who 

 have done next to nothing since I left you, have had 

 horrors all around me; dreams of sinking and burning 

 ships at night, fears of lost drawings, & failures of sub- 

 scribers by day, have ever and anon been my compan- 

 ions." "Victor," he added, "has sent 6 boxes of pills, 

 which will be divided into 3 parts, the largest for G. 

 Ord." 



The Audubons finally sailed from New York on 

 April 16, 1834. On the preceding day the naturalist 

 sent his friend, Edward Harris, a parting letter, in 

 which he said: 



