THE EUROPEAN JOURNALS 



277 



merits all my life, I should never have been as poor a man 

 as I have been ; but on the other hand I should never 

 have published the " Birds of America." America ! my 

 country ! Oh, to be there ! 



January 18. Spent the morning with Dr. Lambert and 

 Mr. Don,* the famous botanist; we talked much of the 

 plants and trees of America and of Mr. NuttalP while 

 opening and arranging a great parcel of dried plants from 

 the Indies. This afternoon I took a cab and with my 

 portfolio went to Mr. Children's. I cannot, he tells me, 

 take my portfolio on my shoulder in London as I would in 

 New York, or even tenacious Philadelphia. 



January 20. Oh ! how dull I feel ; how long am I to be 

 confined in this immense jail? In London, amidst all the 

 pleasures, I feel unhappy and dull ; the days are heavy, the 

 nights worse. Shall I ever again see and enjoy the vast 

 forests in their calm purity, the beauties of America? I 

 wish myself anywhere but in London. Why do I dislike 

 London } Is it because the constant evidence of the con- 

 trast between the rich and the poor is a torment to me, or 

 is it because of its size and crowd? I know not, but I long 

 for sights and sounds of a different nature. Young Green 

 came to ask me to go with him to see Regent's Park, and 

 we went accordingly, I rather an indifferent companion, I 

 fear, till we reached the bridge that crosses the waters 

 there, where I looked in vain for water-fowl. Failing to 

 find any I raised my eyes towards the peaceful new moon, 

 and to my astonishment saw a large flock of Wild Ducks 

 passing over me; after a few minutes a second flock 

 passed, which I showed my young friend. Two flocks of 

 Wild Ducks, of upwards of twenty each ! Wonderful in- 

 deed! I thought of the many I have seen when bent 



^ David Don, Scottish botanist, 1800-1840; at this time Librarian of 

 Linnaean Society. 



^ Ihomas Nuttall, botanist and ornithologist; bom in England 1786, 

 died at St. Helen's, England, September 10, 1859. 



