THIRD AMERICAN TOUR 147 



nearly spent in revelry; but John and myself retired at two 

 o'clock. ... As a gleam of daylight appeared, my eyes 

 searched through the hazy atmosphere to catch a glimpse of 

 the land, and gradually Staten Island opened to my view ; then 

 the boat of the custom-house appeared, and soon he boarded 

 us, arranged the sailors and passengers on deck, and called 

 their names. Then followed breakfast, and soon another boat, 

 with a yellow flag flying, landed the health officer, and there 

 being no sickness on board, myself and John returned to Staten 

 Island in the doctor's boat, and were taken by the steamer 

 Hercules to the city.^ 



Audubon remained in New York from the 7th to 

 the 13th of September. On Sunday, the 12th, he wrote 

 to Edward Harris, in part as follows : ^ 



Auduhon to Edward Harris 



My dear Friend — 



. . • Whilst running over the interesting list of the Species 

 of Birds procured by Nuttall & Townsend in the Rocky Moun- 

 tains, and the shores of the Pacific, I became so completely 

 wrapt up with the desire to see these as soon as possible that I 

 have concluded to go to Philadelphia tomorrow by the 10 

 o'clock boat. I will stay at Harlan's for two or three days and 

 hope that you will meet me there, that I may have the pleasure 

 of pressing your hand and talking to you. 



You well know how anxious I am to make my work on the 

 Birds of our Country as compleat as possible within my power : 

 — you know that to reach this end I have spared neither time, 

 labours or money : you are also aware that although this under- 

 taking may never remunerate me, I am so enthusiastic as to 

 indulge in the hope that God will grant me life to eff^ect all this ; 

 but I am becoming old, and though very willing doubt whether 



^Lucy B. Audubon, ed., Life of John James Audubon, the Naturalist 

 (Bibl. No. 73), p. 385. 

 ' The Jeanes MSS. 



