236 AUDUBON 



that I felt tears trickling down my cheeks as I gave praise 

 to the God who gave life to all these in a day. There was 

 a dew on the ground, the bees were gathering honey from 

 the tiniest flowerets, and here and there the Blackbird so 

 shy sought for a fibrous root to entwine his solid nest of 

 clay. Lapwings, like butterflies of a larger size, passed 

 wheeling and tumbling over me through the air, and had 

 not the dense smoke from a thousand engines disturbed 

 the peaceful harmony of Nature, I might have been there 

 still, longing for my Lucy to partake of the pleasure with 

 me. But the smoke recalled me to my work, and I turned 

 towards Newcastle. So are all transient pleasures fol- 

 lowed by sorrows, except those emanating from the 

 adoration of the Supreme Being. It was still far from 

 breakfast time ; I recrossed the Tyne and ascended the 

 east bank for a couple of miles before returning to my 

 lodgings. The morning afterward was spent as usual. 

 I mean, holdi»g up drawings to the company that came 

 in good numbers. Morning here is the time from ten to 

 five, and I am told that in London it sometimes lengthens 

 to eight of the evening as we term it. Among these vis- 

 itors was a Mr. Donkin, who remained alone with me when 

 the others had left, and we had some conversation ; he is 

 an advocate, or, as I would call it, a chancellor. He 

 asked me to take a bachelor's dinner with him at five ; I 

 accepted, and he then proposed we should drive out and 

 see a house he was building two miles in the country. I 

 again found myself among the rolling hills, and we soon 

 reached his place. I found a beautiful, low house of 

 stone, erected in the simplest style imaginable, but so 

 well arranged and so convenient that I felt satisfied he 

 was a man of taste as well as wealth. Garden, grounds, 

 all was in perfect harmony, and the distant views up and 

 down the river, the fine woods and castle, all came in 

 place, — not to satiate the eye, but to induce it to search 

 for further beauties. On returning to town Mr. Donkin 



