AUDUBON’S ANEID 323 
of prosperity, and its population no doubt exceeded 
that of the present day; it now stands at about one thou- 
sand souls. Letters and journals of the period constant- 
ly refer to ““Beechwoods,” which was not the mansion 
house, though it undoubtedly belonged to the Robert 
Percy estate. There it was that the wife of the natural- 
ist lived, and there she started her school, for the benefit 
not only of the Percy boys and girls, but also of a lim- 
ited number of children of their wealthy neighbors; her 
own son, John Woodhouse Audubon, then eleven years 
of age, at this time received instruction at her hands. 
The parish of West Feliciana, at this early period, was 
one of the richest cotton-producing sections of the entire 
State; its care-free planters led an easy life until the 
“king”? was unceremoniously dethroned by a small, but 
not insignificant insect which has proved mightier than 
either fire or sword, namely, the boll-weevil; now many 
a fine old estate which has languished under the influ- 
ence of the pest could probably be bought for a song. 
“Beechwoods,” thus devoted to educational purposes, 
later came into the hands of Thomas Percy, but the 
house, like that of ‘““Weyanoke,” was long since burned 
to the ground. 
While Mrs. Audubon was establishing her rules and 
authority at the Percy school, the naturalist was paint- 
ing with Stein at Natchez, and he remained there with 
his elder son until the spring of 1823. At this period 
he wrote in his journal: “I had finally determined to 
break through all bonds, and follow my ornithological 
pursuits. My best friends solemnly regarded me as a 
madman, and my wife and family alone gave me encour- 
agement. My wife determined that my genius should 
prevail, and that my fina] success as an ornithologist 
should be triumphant.” 
