HIS CHILDHOOD. 5 



Welcoming the coming seasons, or watching 

 with special wonder and delight the return of 

 the bright-liveried birds to their retreats, were 

 employments which had for him an unequalled 

 charm. Such ecstacy even did he experience 

 when gazing on the shining pearly eggs, im- 

 bedded in softest down, among dried leaves, or 

 exposed on the burning weather-beaten shores of 

 the Atlantic, that an intimacy with such objects, 

 not of friendship merely, " but of ardent passion 

 bordering on frenzy," he felt assured must ac- 

 company his steps through life. This conviction 

 increased with advancing years, fostered by the 

 paternal companion who shared and sympathized 

 in all his congenial pursuits. He longed to un- 

 derstand nature, and the hidden agency by 

 which the spells of her enchantment were 

 wrought. In order for this he must ally him- 

 self with her — ^he must devote himself to her ; be 

 the constant companion of her changing moods. 

 Only through this allegiance could he make her 

 his. He resolved ; and wedded to this object 

 of his dearest desire, during life he cherished it 

 faithfully and well. Vicissitudes and trials had 

 only power to stimulate him in his course. Yet 

 disappointment awaited him for many years. 

 He was inspired with an ardent wish to possess 

 the productions of nature. This haunted him, 



and incited that creative impulse through which 

 1* . 



