JOHN JAMES AUDUBON 107 
respectfully in our hands. I stepped 
forward, and with a bow tendered my 
credentials. ‘Pray, sir,’ said the man 
of golden consequence, ‘is this a letter of 
business, or is it a mere letter of intro- 
duction?’ This I could not well answer, 
for I had not read the contents of it, and 
I was forced to answer rather awkwardly, 
that I could not tell. The banker then 
opened the letter, read it with the man- 
ner of one who was looking only at the 
temporal side of things, and after reading 
it said, ‘This is only a letter of intro- 
duction, and I expect from its contents 
that you are the publisher of some book 
or other and need my subscription.’ 
‘Had a man the size of a mountain 
spoken to me in that arrogant style in 
America, I should have indignantly re- 
sented it; but where I then was it 
seemed best to swallow and digest it as 
well asI could. Soinreply to the of- 
fensive arrogance of the banker, I said I 
should be honoured by his subscription to 
