PAINTS A PICTURE FOE GEORGE IV. 131 



as before, the party and pictures left together in a splendid 

 carriage with liveried footmen. I longed to know their names, 

 but as Sir Thomas was silent respecting them I imitated his 

 reticence in restraining my curiosity, and remained in mute 

 astonishinent. 



" The third call of this remarkable man was in consequence of 

 my having painted a picture, with the intention of presenting it 

 to the King of England, G-eorge IV. This picture was the 

 original of the ' English Pheasants Surprised by a Spanish Dog.' 

 I had shown it to Sir Walter Waller, who was his majesty's 

 oculist, and he liked the picture so much, and was so pleased 

 with my intention, as was also my friend Mr. Children, the 

 curator of the British Museum, that they prevailed on Sir 

 Thomas to come and see it. He came, and pushed off my roller 

 easel, bade me hold up the picture, walked from one side of the 

 room to the other examining it, and then coming to me tapped 

 me on the shoulder arid said, ' Mr. Audubon, that picture is too 

 good to be given away ; his majesty would accept it, but you 

 never would be benefited by the gift more than receiving a 

 letter from his private secretary, saying that it had been placed 

 in his collection. That picture is worth three hundred guineas : 

 sell it, and do not give it away.' I thanked him, exhibited the 

 picture, refused three hundred guineas for it soon after, kept it 

 several years, and at last sold it for one hundred guineas to my 

 generous friend John Heppinstall of Sheffield, England, and 

 invested the amount in spoons and forks for my good wife. 



" Without the sale of these pictures I was a bankrupt, before 

 my work was scarcely begun, and in two days more I should 

 have seen all Iny hopes of the publication blasted ; for Mr. 

 Havill (the engraver) had already called to say that:on Saturday 

 I must pay him sixty pounds. I then was not only not worth 

 a penny, but had actually borrowed five pounds a few days 

 before to purchase materials for my pictures. But these pictures 

 which Sir Thomas sold for me enabled me to pay my borrowed 

 money, and to appear full-handed when Mr. Havill called. Thus 

 I passed the Eubicon ! 



" At that time I painted all day, and sold my work during 

 the dusky hours of evening, as I walked through the Strand 

 and other streets where the Jews reigned ; popping in and out 



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