110 AUDUBON THE NATURALIST. 



boundless freedom, lie found a congenial atmos- 

 phere, and enjoyed that simpathy which too 

 frequently failed him among men, in the melo- 

 dious language of the forest songsters. Contem- 

 plating, moreover, the wisdom and unerring 

 compassion of the Creator in the splendour of his 

 works, his constancy was renewed by reliance. 

 At night his rude couch was the verdure-fringed 

 margin of a brook, the interior of some untrav- 

 elled forest, or the soft sands of the sea-shore. 

 Aroused at early dawn, he was invigourated by 

 healthful sleep, to wander for days and weeks in 

 the pure air, partaking of his simple repasts 

 under the shelter of green boughs. As evening 

 approached, sending the birds to their retreats, 

 and darkness enshrouded the earth, the nat- 

 uralist, grateful to the Divine protection in his 

 solitude, knelt in prayer. Then as he dreamily 

 sunk into repose pleasant images of dear friends 

 and home filled his fancy, and kindly wishes his 

 heart. The strength of his physical constitution 

 was thus retained and even increased. To this 

 was doubtless owing much of that undiminished 

 energy and moral fortitude which enabled him 

 to combat so successfully the ordeals of his 

 career. The inability to publish his illustrations 

 in America was naturally a source of the deepest 

 regret. As the subject of his patriotic pride, the 

 scene of his efforts and discoveries, associated 



