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f I' 



202 



AUDUBON 



asked me if it was my intention to publish, and wiien I 

 answered in the negative, his surprise seemed to increase. 

 And, truly, such was not my intention ; for until long after, 

 when I meet the Prince of Musignano in Philadelphia, I had 

 not the least idea of presenting the fruits of my labors to 

 the world. Mr. Wilson now examined my drawings with 

 care, asked if I should have any objections to lending him 

 a few during his stay, to which I replied that I had none; 

 he then bade me good-morning, not, however, until I had 

 made an arrangement to explore the woods in the vicinity 

 with him, and had promised to procure for him some birds 

 of which I had drawings in my collection, but which he 

 had never seen. 



It happened that he lodged in the same house with us, 

 but his retired habits, I thought, exhibited cither a strong 

 feeling of discontent or a decided melancholy. The 

 Scotch airs which he played sweetly on his flute made me 

 melancholy too, and I felt for him. I presented him to 

 my wife and friends, and seeing that he was all enthusiasm, 

 exerted myself as much as was in my power to procure 

 for him the specimens which he wanted. We hunted to- 

 gether, and obtained birds which he had never before seen; 

 but, reader, I did not subscribe to his work, for, even at 

 that time, my collection was greater than his. Thinking 

 that perhaps he might be pleased to publish the results of 

 my researches, I offered them to him, merely on condition 

 that what I had drawn, or might afterwards draw and send 

 to him, should be mentioned in his work as coming from 

 my pencil. I, at the same time, offered to open a corres- 

 pondence with him, which I thought might prove beneficial 

 to us both. He made no reply to either proposal, and be- 

 fore many days had elapsed, left Louisville, on his way to 

 New Orleans, little knowing how much his talents were 

 appreciated in our little town, at least by myself and my 

 friends. 



Some time elapsed, during which I never heard of him, 



