366 THE LOST PORTFOLIO. 



of the wind, which blew with violence. We landed, and presently made 

 our way to the swamps, where we shot a number of those beautiful birds 

 called Boat-tailed Grakles. The mocking birds on the fence-stakes sa- 

 luted us with so much courtesy and with such delightful strains, that we 

 could not think of injuring them ; but we thought it no harm to shoot a 

 whole covey of partridges. In the swamps we met with warblers of vari- 

 ous kinds, lively and beautiful, waiting in these their winter retreats for 

 the moment when Boreas should retire to his icy home, and the gentle 

 gales of the south should waft them toward their breeding places in the 

 north. Thousands of swallows flew about us, the cat-birds mewed in 

 answer to their chatterings, the cardinal grosbeak elevated his glowing 

 crest as he stood perched on the magnolia branch, the soft notes of the 

 doves echoed among the woods, nature smiled upon us, and we were 

 happy. 



On the fourth of January we stopped at Bonnet Carre, where I en- 

 tered a house to ask some questions about birds. I was received by a 

 venerable French gentleman, whom I found in charge of about a dozen 

 children of both sexes, and who was delighted to hear that I was a stu- 

 dent of nature. He was well acquainted with my old friend Charles 

 Carre', and must, I thought, be a good man, for he said he never suffered 

 any of his pupils to rob a bird of her eggs or young, although, said he 

 with a smile, " they are welcome to peep at them and love them." The 

 boys at once surrounded me, and from them I received satisfactory an- 

 swers to most of my queries respecting birds. 



The sixth of January was so cold that the thermometer fell to 30°, 

 and we had seen ice on the running boards of our keel boat. This was 

 quite unlooked for, and we felt uncomfortable ; but before the middle of 

 the day, all nature was again in full play. Several beautiful steamers 

 passed us. The vegetation seemed not to have suffered from the frost ; 

 green pease, artichokes and other vegetables were in prime condition. 

 This reminds me that on one of my late journeys, I ate green pease in 

 December in the Floridas, and had them once a- week at least in my course 

 over the whole of the Union, until I found myself and my family feeding 

 on the same vegetable more than a hundred miles to thf North of the St 

 John''s River in New Brunswick. 



Early on the seventh, thousands of tall spars, called masts by the 

 mariners, came in sight ; and as we drew nearer, we saw the port filled 

 with ships of many nations, each bearing the flag of its country. At 



