Jludubon. 



459 



has again drawn him into the unfrequented wilds of the remote 

 shores of his native America. In April, 1824, he visited Phila- 

 delphia, which gave him an opportunity of exhibiting his draw- 

 ings, and forming a few valuable acquaintances. Dr. Mease pre- 

 sented him to Charles Lucien Bonaparte, one of the most learned 

 ornithologists of the present day, and to whom the world owes 

 the splendid continuation of Wilson's ornithology. By this gen- 

 tleman he was greatly encouraged to persevere in his pursuits, 

 with a view to future independence and eminence ; and after 

 exploring the State of New York, in " the wildest solitudes of 

 the pathless and gloomy forests," he after an absence of eighteen 

 months, returned to his family, then in Louisiana, and " explored 

 every portion of the vast woods around." 



But his port folio, at length, — after having been destro3''ed, as 

 he relates at page 13, — became full ; and remembering the en- 

 couragement he had received from his friend, Charles L. Bona- 

 parte, his somewhat ambitious mind was turned to Europe, 

 as the only country where his labours would be cherished. 



" America being my country, and the principal pleasures of my life having 

 been obtained there, I prepared to leave it, with deep sorrow, after in vain 

 trying to publish my Illustrations in the United States. In Philadelphia, 

 Wilson's principal engraver, amongst others, gave it as his opinion to my 

 friends, that my drawings could never be engraved. In New York, other 

 difficulties presented themselves, which determined me to carry my collec- 

 tions to Europe. 



"As I approached the coast of England, and for the first time beheld her 

 fertile shores, the despondency of my spirits became very great. I knew not 

 an individual in the country ; and although I was the bearer of letters from 

 American friends, and statesmen of great eminence, my situation appeared 

 precarious in the extreme. I imagined that every individual whom I was • 

 about to meet, might be possessed of talents superior to those of any on our 

 side of the Atlantic ! Indeed, as I for the first time walked in the streets of 

 Liverpool, my heart nearly failed me, for not a glance of sympathy did I 

 meet in my wanderings, for two days. To the woods I could not betake 

 myself, for there were none near. 



" But how soon did all around me assume a different aspect ! How fresh 

 is the recollection of the change ! The very first letter which I tendered 

 procured me a world of friends. The Rathbones, the Roscoes, the Traills, 

 the Chorleys, the Mellies, and others, took me by the hand ; and so kind 

 and beneficent, nay, so generously kind, have they all been towards me, that 

 I can never cancel the obligation. My drawings were publicly exhibited, 

 and publicly praised. Joy swelled my heart. The first difficulty was sur- 

 mounted. Honours which, on application being made through my friends, 

 Philadelphia had refused, Liverpool freely accorded. 



