110 AUDUBON THE NATURALIST. 
boundless freedom, he found a congenial atmos- 
phere, and enjoyed that simpathy which too 
frequently failed him among men, in the melo- 
dious language of the forest songsters. Contem- 
plating, moreover, the wisdom and unerring 
compassion of the Creator in the splendour of his 
works, his constancy was renewed by reliance, 
At night his rude couch was the verdure-fringed 
margin of a brook, the interior of some untrav- 
elled forest, or the soft sands of the sea-shore, 
Aroused at early dawn, he was invigourated by 
healthful sleep, to wander for days and weeks in 
the pure air, partaking of his simple repasts 
under the shelter of green boughs. As evening 
approached, sending the birds to their retreats, 
and darkness enshrouded the earth, the nat- 
uralist, grateful to the Divine protection in his 
solitude, knelt in prayer. Then as he dreamily 
sunk into repose pleasant images of dear friends 
and home filled his fancy, and kindly wishes his 
heart. The strength of his physical constitution 
was thus retained and even increased. To this 
was doubtless owing much of that undiminished 
energy and moral fortitude which enabled him 
to combat so successfully the ordeals of his 
career, The inability to publish his illustrations 
in America, was naturally a source of the deepest 
regret, As the subject of his patriotic pride, the 
scene of his efforts and discoveries, associated 
