YOUNG AUDUBON'S CAVE 31 



and my eyes, colored it, finished it, without a thought of 

 hunger. My honest miller stood by the while, and was 

 delighted to see me pleased. This is what I shall call my 

 first drawing actually from nature, for even the eye of the 

 kingfisher was as if full of life whenever I pressed the lids 

 aside with my finger. 



" In those happy days of my youth I was extremely 

 fond of reading what I still call the delightful fables of 

 La Fontaine. I had frequently perused the one entitled 

 L'hirondelle et les petits oiseaux, and thought much of the 

 meaning imparted in the first line, which, if I now recollect 

 rightly, goes on to say that ' quiconque a beaucoup vu, peut 

 avoir beaucoup retenu.' To me this meant that to study 

 nature was to ramble through her domains late and early, 

 and if I observed all as I should, that the memory of what 

 I saw would at least be of service to me. 



" ' Early to bed and early to rise ' was another adage 

 which I thought, and still think, of much value; 'tis a pity 

 that instead of being merely an adage it has not become a 

 general law. I have followed it ever since I was a child, 

 and am ever grateful for the hint it conveyed. 



" As I wandered, mostly bent on the study of birds, and 

 with a wish to represent all those found in our woods to 

 the best of my powers, I gradually became acquainted with 

 their forms and habits, and the use of my wires was im- 

 proved by constant practice. Whenever I produced a 

 better representation of any species the preceding one was 



