16 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 



laid aside by me. I returned to the woods of. 

 the New World with fresh ardour, and com- 

 menced a collection of drawings, which I 

 henceforth continued, and which is now pub-i 

 lisliing under the title of The Birds of America, 

 "Every individual possessed of a sound heart, 

 listens with delight to the love-notes of the 

 woodland warblers. He never casts a glance 

 upon their lovely forms without proposing to 

 himself questions respecting them, nor does he 

 look on the trees which they frequent, or the 

 flowers over which they glide, without admiring 

 their grandeur, or delighting in their sweet 

 odours or their brilliant tints. 



In Pennsylvania, a beautiful state, almost 

 central on the line of our Atlantic shores, my 

 father, in his desire of proving my friend through 

 life, gave me what Americans call a beautiful 

 * plantation,' refreshed during the summer 

 heats by the waters of the Schuylkil River, 

 and traversed by a creek named Perkioming. 

 Its fine woodlands, its extensive fields, its hills 

 crowned with evergreens, offered many subjects 

 to my pencil. It was there that I commenced 

 my simple and agreeable studies, with as little 

 concern about the future as if the world had 

 been made for me. My rambles invariably 

 commenced at break of day ; and to return wet 

 with dew, and bearing a feathered prize, was, 



