16 LIFE OF AUDUBON. 



arduously at what we may call forcible photographs in colours, 

 his first aim being fidelity, and his next, artistic beauty. How 

 much chagrin his failures cost him may be gleamed from the 

 lamentations he makes over his unsuccessful efforts in the 

 introductory address referred to above. Eegarding the means 

 he adopted to secure a faultless representation of the animals 

 he desired to transcribe, he writes :— " Patiently and with in- 

 dustry did I apply myself to study, for although I felt the 

 impossibility of giving Ufe to my productions, I did not abandon 

 the idea of representing nature. Many plans were successively 

 adopted, many masters guided my hand. At the age of seven- 

 teen, when I returned from France, whither I had gone to 

 receive the rudiments of my education, my drawings had assumed 

 a form. David had guided my hand in tracing objects of large 

 size : eyes and noses belonging to giants and heads of horses, 

 represented in ancient sculpture, were my models. These, 

 although fit subjects for men intent on pursuing the higher 

 branches of art, were immediately laid aside by me. I returned 

 to the woods of the new world with fresh ardour, and com- 

 menced a collection of drawings, which I henceforth continued, 

 and which is now publishing under the title of ' The Birds of 

 America.' " 



To resume the narrative of Audubon's journey back to Mill 

 Grove. Da Casta was dismissed from his situation, and Audubon 

 remained his own master. Mr. William Bakewell, the brother 

 of Lucy, has recorded some interesting particulars of a visit to 

 Mill Grrove at this period. He says : — " Audubon took me to 

 his house, where he and his companion Eosier resided, with 

 Mrs. Thomas for an attendant. On entering his room, I was 

 astonished and delighted to find that it was turned into a 

 museum. The walls were festooned with all sorts of birds' 

 eggs, carefully blown out and strung on a thread. The chimney- 

 piece was covered with stuffed squirrels, racoons, and opossums ; 

 and the shelves around were likewise crowded with specimens, 

 among which were fishes, frogs, snakes, lizards, and other 

 reptiles. Besides these stuffed varieties, many paintings were 

 arrayed upon the walls, chiefly of birds. He had great skill in 

 stuffing and preserving animals of all sorts. He had also a 

 trick of training dogs with great perfection, of which art his 



