ALEXANDER WILSON. cv 



ever, with one advantage, — the constant expression of his thoughts 

 in this way gave him a facility of description, and flow of language, 

 which destroyed the dry and stiff character so often and so unavoid- 

 ably prevailing in scientific works. 



It is as an ornithologist that Wilson's fame will last for after ages. 

 There are two classes of naturalists, — who may be described as those 

 who see and study the habits of the living creatures in their natural 

 abodes, and describe or figure them under these circumstances ; and 

 those who receive the specimens in a state of preservation draw their 

 conclusions from the little they have been able personally to observe, 

 and learn the rest of their manners from the best authorities in their 

 power. These two methods of study are, indeed, nearly indispen- 

 sable to each other. To the general naturalist the first is impossible; 

 and what the one class observes, the other generalises and brings to 

 bear on the various facts seen and recorded by others. Wilson was 

 an observing naturalist ; and, perhaps, Nature never had a more 

 ardent pursuer. His object was to illustrate the different birds in 

 their various states, as closely to the truth as possible, and to describe 

 those parts of their manners which he could from actual observation, 

 throwing aside all hearsay evidence, and seldom indulging in any 

 theories of classification, or the scale they hold in Nature. It is from 

 these circumstances that his work derives its worth : the facts can 

 be confidently quoted as authentic, and their value depended on in 

 our reasonings upon their history — their migrations — their geogra- 

 phical distribution. 



In his private character Wilson bore a very high station. As a 

 youth, he was beloved by his acquaintances, and respected even by 

 those whom ill advice had made his temporary enemies. In the 

 New World, there existed an attachment of the warmest description 

 between him and those friends whom his literary attainments had 

 procured; and by them his memory continues to be fondly cherished, 

 and his talents to be held in great respect. In his birthplace, a 

 society has been formed by his admirers, who meet annually to talk 

 over past recollections, where the merits of his works, and the re- 

 membrance of the deceased poet and naturalist, are commemorated 

 in a speech or an ode. Among all his former friends who still enjoy 

 life, his name is welcomed with an enthusiasm which I have never 

 seen equalled. Paisley is justly proud of her late townsman. 



VOL. i. h 



