34 MEMORIAL TRIBUTE 



of all that beauty and glory which constituted for him 

 its supreme and abiding interest. 



The illustrations in his History of British Birds, 

 drawn by himself, and consisting principally of the 

 heads and feet of birds, besides being scientifically 

 accurate, are fine specimens of art, each being strik- 

 ingly expressive of the character of the species of bird 

 represented. As examples, nothing could be finer 

 than the head of the golden eagle, or of the sea eagle, 

 or of the raven, or the magpie. 



But these illustrations, good as they are, come far 

 short of his water -coloured drawings of birds in the 

 British Museum already referred to. They are beautiful 

 works of art, executed with great delicacy and care 

 in expression, in attitude, and in their natural surround- 

 ings, just as he had seen them with his own eyes. Yet 

 they are little known outside the walls of the Natural 

 History Department of the Museum. Modest as he 

 habitually was, he did realise that there were things 

 which he could do better than other people, and he 

 spoke the simple truth when he said that, in his day, 

 no one could draw a bird except Audubon and himself. 



But besides his work as conservator of the 

 Surgeon's Museum and all his own scientific and 

 literary work, he undertook, as has been said, to aid 

 Audubon in the preparation of his Ornithological 

 Biographies for the press. He was introduced by 

 Mr. James Wilson (Christopher North's brother) to 

 Audubon when that eminent American ornithologist 

 was arranging for the publication of his great work 



