LIFE OF WILSON. 
Ixix 
These essays in etching,* though creditable to Wilson’s inge- 
nuity and perseverance, yet by no means afforded satisfaction. He 
became now convinced that the point alone was not sufficient to 
produce the intended effect ; and that nothing short of the accura- 
cy of the graver would in any wise correspond to his ideas of ex- 
cellence. But in the art of engraving he had never been instructed ; 
and he could not command means sufficient to cover the expense 
of the plates even of a single volume, on the magnificent plan which 
his comprehensive mind had delineated. A proposition was now 
made to Mr. Lawson to engage in the work on a joint concern. 
But there were several objections which this gentleman urged, suf- 
ficiently weighty, in his opinion, to warrant his non-acceptance of 
the offer. Wilson, finding his schemes thus baffled, declared, with 
solemn emphasis, his resolution of proceeding alone in the publica- 
tion, if it should even cost him his life. I shall at least leaved 
continued he, “ a small beacon to point out where I perishecU^ 
To Mr. WM. BARTRAM. 
Jan. 27, 1806. 
“ Being in town on Saturday, I took the opportunity of calling 
on Mr. , who, in 1804, went down the Ohio, with one compa- 
nion, in a small bateau. They sometimes proceeded seventy miles 
in twenty-four hours, going often night and day. They had an 
awning ; and generally slept on board the boat, without ever catch- 
ing cold, or any inconvenience by moschetoes, except when in the 
neighbourhood of swamps. He describes the country as exceed- 
ingly beautiful. The object of their journey being trade, they had 
^ The two first plates of the Ornithology are those which the author etched hinfiself. The 
writer of this sketch has in his possession a proof of the first one, which he preserves as a relic 
of no small value. It is inscribed with the author’s name. 
VOL. IX. 
S 
