AUDUBON 41 



into the ocean, captured the bonnet, and had the good 

 fortune to be picked up himself by the yawl. On reach- 

 ing the deck he presented the bonnet with a graceful 

 obeisance and perfect sang froid, while the rival looked at 

 him as black as a raven. No more was heard of the 

 matter till dawn, when reports of firearms were heard ; 

 the alarm was general, as we feared pirates. On gaining 

 the deck it was found that a challenge had been given 

 and accepted, a duel had positively taken place, ending, 

 alas ! in the death of the rescuer of the bonnet. The 

 young lady felt this deeply, and indeed it rendered us all 

 very uncomfortable." 



The voyage ended, Audubon returned to Mill Grove, 

 where he remained some little time before his marriage 

 to Lucy Bakewell. It was a home he always loved, and 

 never spoke of without deep feeling. His sensitive nature, 

 romantic if you will, was always more or less affected by 

 environment, and Mill Grove was a most congenial spot 

 to him. 



This beautiful estate in Montgomery Co., Pa., lies in a 

 lovely part of the country. The house, on a gentle emi- 

 nence, almost a natural terrace, overlooks, towards the 

 west, the rapid waters of Perkiomen Creek, which just 

 below empties into the Schuylkill river, across which to 

 the south is the historic ground of Valley Forge. The 

 property has remained in the Wetherill family nearly ever 

 since Audubon sold it to Samuel Wetherill in 1813. The 

 present owner 1 delights to treasure every trace of the 

 bird lover, and not only makes no changes in anything 

 that he can in the least degree associate with him, but has 

 added many photographs and engravings of Audubon 

 which adorn his walls. 



The house, of the usual type of those days, with a hall 

 passing through the centre and rooms on either side, was 

 built of rubble-stone by Roland Evans in 1762, and in 

 1 Mr. W. H. Wetherill, of Philadelphia. ~( 



