JOHN JAMES AUDUBON. 769 



words and constructions are of co.nmon occurrence. His life at Mill Grove was 

 in every way agreeable. He had ample means ; was gay and fond of dress ; 

 ridiculously fond, he says, for he used to hunt in black satin breeches, wear 

 pumps when shooting, and dress in the finest ruffled shirts he could import. 

 Yet with all this his mode of life was abstemious. " I ate no butcher's meat, 

 lived chiefly on fruits, vegetables, and fish, and never drank a glass of spirits 

 or wine until my wedding day. To this I attribute my continued good 

 health, endurance, and an iron constitution. All this time I was fair and rosy, 

 and active and agile as a buck." 



The misconduct of a partner, Da Costa, who had been sent out by the 

 elder Audubon, compelled him to hurriedly leave this " happy spot " and 

 hasten to France. He remained there four years, and after a term of service 

 in the Imperial navy as midshipman, sailed again for the western continent, 

 where he arrived safely, after his ship had been overhauled by a British priva- 

 teer. Once more at Mill Grove, he resumed his hunting, drawing, and love- 

 making with Lucy Bakewell. His house became a museum, the walls were 

 festooned with bird's eggs, the mantel-piece was covered with stuffed squirrels, 

 raccoons, and opossums, the shelves laden with fishes, frogs, and reptiles, and 

 the walls hung with paintings of birds. Patiently and with industry he ap- 

 plied himself to study, determined to make his sketches represent life. 

 " David," he writes, " had guided my hand in tracing objects of large size ; 

 eyes and noses of giants and heads of horses from the antique were my 

 models. These subjects I laid aside ; I returned to the woods of the new 

 world with fresh ardor, and commenced a collection of drawings." The idea 

 of an "Ornithological Biography" already took possession of his mind, and 

 he labored to produce lifelike pictures, giving the form, plumage, attitude, 

 and characteristic marks of his feathered favorites. He acquired, too, great 

 skill in stuffing and preserving birds. But these artistic instincts found little 

 favor in the eyes of Mr. Bakewell, who insisted on his obtaining some knowl- 

 edge of commercial pursuits. To this end he proceeded to New York, where 

 he lost his money, and continued as far as possible his favorite pursuits. His 

 rooms in the city became a laboratory, and the odor of his bird-flaying and 

 bird-stuffing achievements produced a visit from a constable who came to 

 abate the nuisance. Some of the specimens prepared by Audubon at this 

 period were made for Dr. Samuel Mitchel, one of the founders of the Lyceum 

 of Natural History, and were finally, it is believed, deposited in the New York 

 Museum. Unsuccessful in his commercial attempts, Audubon resolved to 

 " go West." He sold Mill Grove, married Lucy Bakewell, and set out for 

 Louisville, Kentucky. 



