DEBUT AS A NATURALIST 335 
drawings for a week, but found the show did not pay, 
and so determined to remove myself.” Audubon re- 
mained in Philadelphia until August, and while in doubt 
as to what step he should take next, he was cheered by 
a visit to “Mill Grove,” made in the carriage of his 
Quaker friend, Reuben Haines. To quote his journal: 
As we entered the avenue, which led to the farm, every 
step brought to my mind the memory of past years, 
and I was bewildered by the recollections until we reached the 
door of the house, which had once been the residence of my 
father as well as of myself. The cordial welcome of Mr. Wether- 
ill, the owner, was extremely agreeable. After resting a few 
moments, I abruptly took my hat and ran wildly to the woods, 
to the grotto where I first heard from my wife that she was 
not indifferent to me. It had been torn down, and some stones 
carted away; but raising my eyes towards heaven, I repeated 
the promise we had mutually made. We dined at Mill Grove, 
and as I entered the parlor I stood motionless for a moment 
on the spot where my wife and myself were forever joined. 
In this dramatic rehearsal the naturalist clearly im- 
plies that he was married in the parlor of his own home, 
but his excellent wife, who was surely in this instance 
the better authority, explicitly states that their marriage 
took place in her father’s house at “Fatland Ford.” 
Since Audubon was in the habit of sending extracts 
from his journal to his family, it is clear that errors 
of this sort were the simple result of an impulsive tem- 
perament; the moment his imagination pictured his 
wedding as having taken place in his old abode, down 
went the jotting in the journal, which was written at 
odd moments anywhere, often at late hours, and with 
no care in revision or thought of future publication. 
On August 1, 1824, Audubon recorded in his diary 
