JOHN JAMES AUDUBON 111 
In Salem he called upon a wealthy 
young lady by the name of Silsby, who 
had the eyes of a gazelle, but ‘‘when I 
mentioned subscription it seemed to fall 
on her ears, not as the cadence of the 
wood thrush, or of the mocking bird 
does on mine, but as a shower bath in 
cold January.”’ 
From Boston Audubon returned in 
October to New York, and thence went 
southward through Philadelphia to 
Washington, carrying with him letters 
from Washington Irving to Benjamin F. 
Butler, then the Attorney General of 
the United States, and to Martin Van 
Buren who had just been elected to the 
presidency. Butler was then quite a 
young man: ‘‘He read Washington 
Irving’s letter, laid it down, and 
began a long talk about his talents, 
and after a while came round to my 
business, saying that the Government 
allows so little money to the depart- 
ments, that he did not think it prob- 
