INTRODUCTION. xi 



into a coach, to travel as fast as horses can speed, towards Bris- 

 tol, there to place myself on board that leviathan of the At- 

 lantic, " the Great Western," to be paddled to my own native 

 shores. But then, Reader, the remembrance of much kind- 

 ness, and the gratitude resulting from it, will ever warm my 

 heart. Whether far or near, I will ever try to communicate 

 with those dear friends, and with you too, good Reader, should 

 you be desirous of my doing so. 



Late in the month of July last, whilst I was engaged in ar- 

 ranging the notes now in this volume, under the title of an 

 Appendix, I had the great pleasure, one evening, of finding 

 myself in the company of my worthy friend Dr Bachman, of 

 Charleston, and of my eldest son, whose name you cannot fail 

 to recollect. The former had crossed the Atlantic, with the 

 view of re-establishing his health by rambling over Europe, 

 the latter had come from London to be my constant compa- 

 nion. The days which we enjoyed together were few, but de- 

 lightful ; and when, at the end of a fortnight, my friend left 

 us, I felt as if almost alone, and in the wilderness. August 

 came in course, and in that month my beloved wife and the 

 rest of my family joined me. My friend Macgillivray and 

 myself were up to the elbows among the birds which I had 

 brought in spirits with me from America, I acting as secretary, 

 he as prime minister. Under his kind tuition, I think I have 

 learned something of anatomy, which may enable me, at some 

 future period, to produce observations that may prove interest- 

 ing even to you, good Reader, for I promise that no sooner shall 

 I have returned to America, and procured specimens of any of 

 the species, whose digestive and respiratory organs have not 

 been described in this work, than I will try to examine them 



