A TALE OF WRONG, 102 
neighbouring swamps and brakes facilitating his 
design. A few nights afterwards he had again 
the joy of embracing his beloved wife—the next 
day they wandered together. 
Through his caution and unwearied assiduity, 
he succeeded in obtaining one after another the 
children, till at length all the cherished objects 
of his affection were gathered, like a tender 
brood, beneath the sheltering wings of the bird, 
under his care. But with the joy of this re- 
newed protection was mingled a painful sense of 
responsibility, wandering in dreary wilds, where 
scarcely subsistence for one, much less for five 
human beings could be found. He was tor- 
mented, moreover, by dread of seizure, for he 
well knew that since his disappearance the for- 
est had been daily ransacked by armed pursuers. 
Yet driven by extreme privation he was com- 
pelled to brave discovery in search of a pre- 
carious provision of wild fruits and game. On 
one of these excursions, as was said, he had been 
surprised by-Audubon. After thus relating to 
him their secret, both, with tears in their eyes, 
implored his exertions on behalf of them and 
their children, who sweetly slumbering, ap- 
pealed by their helplessness and innocence ne 
less powerfully for protection. 
Most cordially Audubon promised them all 
the assistance in his power. On tle following 
