112 WILD SCENES AND WILD HUNTERS. 
likely to subscribe. Science or literature has not one friend 
in this place.” 
We will not add to the gloom which has followed the illus- 
trious life of poor Wilson to his grave, by any officious com- 
ments upon the tenor of this short narrative. I will add, 
though, that it should be remembered, in forming any judg- 
ment of that strong, moody man, that he had bitter woes 
enough to contend with, not only in his friendless early 
days, but in the harsh isolation of his weary wanderings and 
unappreciated after-life, to have grown a gall beneath an 
angel’s wing. Withal, the bursts of sunshine and exultation 
which shone through his eloquent writings often, show that 
his inner self had fed healthfully sometimes upon the pure 
and peaceful teachings of his gentle pursuits. He wag a man 
whose profound genius, darkened by misfortune, was som- 
brely illuminated by a noble enthusiasm. He, too, may be 
accepted as a Hunter-Naturalist, but not as first among 
them all! To J. J. Audubon, undoubtedly, that high place 
belongs, though this has been disputed by many, and ever 
Christopher North has been found to assert them as “ equals.’ 
This cannot be admitted here. Then how stands the 
case ? 
When the noble work of Wilson, the unknown Scotchman, 
began to make its appearance, Ornithology among us was in 
its infancy, and the freshness of his hardy original genius was 
promptly recognized and keenly relished abroad, in contrast 
with the stale, unprofitable treatment of the predominant 
school of the Technicalists. 
It was at once perceived how much the attractiveness of 
his subject was heightened by the circumstances of his per- 
sonal intimacy and association with the creatures described in 
many of the conditions of natural freedom. 
His fine descriptions had a savor of the wilderness about 
them. His birds were living things, and Jed out the heart in 
yearning through the scenes of a primeval earth to recognize 
