xxviii LIFE OF WILSON. ' 
except three or four, I do not know them. I shall be extremely obliged to you 
for every hint that will assist me in this agreeable amusement. 
" I am very anxious to see the performances of your fair pupil ; and beg you 
would assure her from me that any of the birds I have are heartily at her ser- 
vice. Surely nature is preferable, to copy after, to the works of the best mas- 
ters, though perhaps more difficult; for I declare that the face of an owl, and 
the back of a lark, have put me to a nonplus; and if Miss Nancy will be so 
obliging as to try her hand on the last mentioned, I will furnish her with one 
in good order; and will copy her drawing with the greatest pleasure; having 
spent almost a week on two different ones, and afterwards destroyed them both, 
and got nearly in the slough of despond." 
To Mr. Wm. Bartram. 
" KiNGSESsiNG, March 31st, 1804. 
" I take the first few moments I have had since receiving your letter, to 
thank you for your obliging attention to my little attempts at drawing, and for 
the very affectionate expressions of esteem with which you honor me. But sorry 
I am, indeed, that afflictions so severe, as those you mention, should fall 
where so much worth and sensibility reside, while the profligate, the unthink- 
ing and unfeeling, so frequently pass through life, strangers to sickness, ad- 
versity or suffering. But God visits those with distress whose enjoyments 
he wishes to render more exquisite. The storms of affliction do not last for ever; 
and sweet is the serene air, and warm sunshine, after a day of darkness and 
tempest. Our friend has, indeed, passed away, in the bloom of youth and 
expectation ; but nothing has happened but what almost every day's experi- 
ence teaches us to expect. How many millions of beautiful flowers have 
flourished and faded under your eye ; and how often has the whole profusion 
of blossoms, the hopes of a whole year, been blasted by an untimely frost! 
He has gone only a little before us ; we must soon follow ; but while the feel- 
ings of nature cannot be repressed, it is our duty to bow with humble resig- 
nation to the decisions of the great Father of all, rather receiving with grati- 
tude the blessings he is pleased to bestow, than repining at the loss of those 
he thinks proper to take from us. But allow me, my dear friend, to withdraw 
your thoughts from so melancholy a subject, since the best way to avoid the 
force of any overpowering passion, is to turn its direction another way. 
" That lovely season is now approaching, when the garden, woods and 
fields, will again display their foliage and flowers. Every day we may expect 
strangers, flocking from the south, to fill our woods with harmony. The pencil 
of Nature is now at work, and outlines, tints, and gradations of lights and 
shades, that baffle all description, will soon be spread before us by that great 
master, our most benevolent friend and Father. Let us cheerfully participate 
in the feast he is preparing for all our senses. Let us survey those millions 
of green strangers, just peeping into day, as so many happy messengers come 
to proclaim the power and munificence of the Creator. I confess that I was 
always an enthusiast in my admiration of the rural scenery of Nature ; but, 
since your example and encouragement have set me to attempt to imitate her 
productions, I see new beauties in every bird, plant or flower, I contemplate ; 
