256 AUDUBON 



those beautiful denizens of the air; but the next moment 

 vanity gave me a pinch, and urged me to conceive that I 

 knew at least as much about birds as the august personage 

 in my presence. "Sir," replied I, "I am a student of 

 Nature, and admire her works, from the noblest figure of 

 man to the crawling reptile which you have in your 

 bosom." — "Ah!" replied he, "a-a-a naturalist, I pre- 

 sume!"— "Just so, my good sir," was my answer. The 

 gentleman gave me the cage; and I observed, from the 

 corner of one of my eyes, that his were cunningly inspect- 

 ing my face. I examined the pretty Finches as long as I 

 wished, returned the cage, made a low bow, and was 

 about to proceed on my walk, when this odd sort of being 

 asked me a question quite accordant with my desire of 

 knowing more of him: "Will you come with me, sir.? 

 If you will, you shall see some more curious birds, some 

 of which are from different parts of the world. I keep 

 quite a collection." I assured him I should feel grati- 

 fied, and accompanied him to his lodgings. 



We entered a long room, where, to my surprise, the 

 first objects that attracted my attention were a large 

 easel with a full-length unfinished portrait upon it, a 

 table with palettes and pencils, and a number of pictures 

 of various sizes placed along the walls. Several cages 

 containing birds were hung near the windows, and two 

 young gentlemen were busily engaged in copying some 

 finished portraits. I was delighted with all I saw. Each 

 picture spoke for itself: the drawing, the coloring, the 

 handling, the composition, and the keeping — all proved, 

 that, whoever was the artist, he certainly was possessed 

 of superior talents. 



I did not know if my companion was the painter of the 

 picture, but, as we say in America, I strongly guessed, 

 and, without waiting any longer, paid him the compli- 

 ments which I thought he fairly deserved. "Ay," said 

 he, " the world is pleased with my work. I wish I were so 



