THE EUROPEAN JOURNALS 317 



under a palm-tree with their mothers; Paul inviting the 

 lovely child to cross a brook. In the stables are a hundred 

 beautiful horses, the choice of Arabia, Australasia, Nor- 

 mandy, Limousin, etc., each the model of his race, with 

 fiery eyes, legs sinewy and slender, tails to the ground, and 

 manes never curtailed. Among them still remain several 

 that have borne the great Napoleon. From here we 

 walked again through woods and gardens ; thus, my Lucy, 

 once more have I been at Versailles, and much have I 

 enjoyed it. 



September 15. France, my dearest friend, is indeed 

 poor ! This day I have attended at the Royal_Academy of 

 Sciences, and had all my plates spread over the different 

 large tables, and they were viewed by about one hundred 

 persons. " Beau ! bien beau ! " issued from every mouth, 

 but, " Quel ouvrage ! " " Quel prix ! " as well. I said 

 that I had thirty subscribers at Manchester ; they seemed 

 surprised, but acknowledged that England, the little isle 

 of England, alone was able to support poor Audubon. 

 Poor France ! thy fine climate, thy rich vineyards, and the 

 wishes of the learned avail nothing; thou art a destitute 

 beggar, and not the powerful friend thou wast represented 

 to be. Now I see plainly how happy, or lucky, or pru- 

 dent I was, not to follow friend Melly's enthusiastic love 

 of country. Had I come first to France my work never 

 would have had even a beginning ; it would have perished 

 like a flower in October. It happened that a gentleman 

 who saw me at Versailles yesterday remembered my face, 

 and spoke to me ; he is the under secretary of this famous 

 society, and he wrote for me a note to be presented to the 

 M inister of the Interior, who has, I am told, the. p_pwpr tr» 

 subscribe to anything, and for as many copies of any work 

 as the farmers of France can well pay for through the 

 enormous levies imposed on them. Cuvier, St. Hilaire, 

 and many others spoke to me most kindly. I had been 

 to Cuvier in the morning to talk with him and Parker 



