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INTRODUCTION 



In the summer of 1867, the widow of John James Audubon, 

 completed with the aid of a friend, a memoir of the great natu- 

 ralist, and soon after received overtures from a London pub- 

 lishing house for her work. Accepting their proposition for 

 its pubHcation in England, Mrs. Audubon forwarded the MSS., 

 consisting in good part of extracts from her husband's journals 

 and episodes, as he termed his delightful reminiscences of 

 adventure in various parts of the New World. The London 

 pubHshers pi ced these MSS. in the hands of Mr. Robert 

 Buchanan, who prepared from them a single volume contain- 

 ing about one fifth of the original manuscript. 



The following pages are substantially the recently published 

 work, reproduced with some additions, and the omission 

 of several objectionable passages inserted by the London ed- 

 itor. Should Mrs. Audubon hereafter receive her manuscript, 

 containing sufficient material for four volumes of printed mat- 

 ter, and including many charming episodes " born from his 

 traveling thigh, " as Ben Jonson quaintly expressed it, 

 the American public may confidently look forward to other 

 volumes, uniform with this one, of the Naturalist's writings. 



I do not deem it necessary to say aught in commenda- 

 tion of the labors of the loving and gentle wife in preparing the 

 following admirable memoir of her grand and large-hearted 

 husband, — 



"That clieerful one, who k'noweth all 

 The songs of all the winijed choristers, 

 And iu one sequence of melodious sound, 

 Pours out their music." 



Her delightful volume will better speak for itself. Nor 

 do I deem it requisite to dwell at length on the works of 



