Chapter XVIII.

[323] Dr. Thomas Stuart Traill, after whom one of our common flycatchers was named, was a founder of the Royal Institution at Liverpool, and later a professor of medical jurisprudence at Edinburgh. When the keepership of the Department of Natural History in the British Museum became vacant through the resignation of Dr. Leech in 1822, Dr. Traill supported William Swainson for the position; when George J. Children received the appointment, he was disinclined to accept defeat, and entered upon a crusade against the Museum's trustees in a series of anonymous articles contributed to the _Edinburgh_ and _Westminster_ Reviews. Traill's exposure of the neglect which the natural-history collections had suffered in the custody of the British Museum paved the way to a separate Department of Zoology, which in the able hands of John E. Gray, and later in those of Sir Richard Owen, led to the present great Museum of Natural History at South Kensington.

[324] In dedicating the _Sylvia rathbonia_ Audubon said: "Were I at liberty here to express the gratitude which swells my heart, when the remembrance of all the unmerited kindness and unlooked-for friendship which I have received from the Rathbones of Liverpool comes to my mind, I might produce a volume of thanks. But I must content myself with informing you, that the small tribute of gratitude which it is alone in my power to pay, I now joyfully accord, by naming after them one of those birds, to the study of which all my efforts have been directed. I trust that future naturalists, regardful of the feelings which have guided me in naming this species, will continue to it the name of the _Rathbone Warbler_."

[325] Named after John Stevens Henslow, Professor of Botany in the University of Cambridge, whom Audubon had met in 1828, when Charles Darwin was still his pupil.

[326] This seal, the design of which has since been adapted for a bookplate, was long in use, and though at one time lost, is still in possession of the family. A copy of the large original, which was to serve as his first plate, was presented to the Royal Institution of Liverpool as an acknowledgment of its hospitality, for it had refused remuneration in any other form.

[327] See Note, Vol. I, p. 375.

[328] The plates as issued, untrimmed, measured 39½ by 29½ inches; see Bibliography, No. 1.

[329] See Note, Vol. II, p. 197. Incidentally it may be noticed that the "tiger swallowtail" in this plate was possibly added for effect, for few of our birds, which habitually hunt moths, ever prey upon butterflies. I have seen the cabbage butterfly and a few of the smaller kinds brought to the nests of the Chebec and Wood Pewee but never a "monarch" or "papilio"; yet some affirm that the Kingbird will attack the "monarch."

[330] Translated from _Études sur la Littérature et les Mœurs des Anglo-Americains au XIXe siècle_, "Audubon," pp. 66-106 (Paris, 1851). Philarète-Chasles, who wrote chiefly on American, English and European authors and books, has seventy volumes credited to him in the National Library at Paris.

[331] P. A. Cap, in _L'Illustration_ for 1851. Cap's hint was taken by Eugène Bazin, who translated copious selections from the _Ornithological Biography_, which were published in two volumes in Paris in 1857 (see Bibliography, No. 38).

[332] See Maria R. Audubon, _Audubon and his Journals_ (Bibl. No. 86).

[333] Audubon's copy of this oil painting remained in the possession of his family until a few years ago, when it was sold for a much greater amount. It now adorns the beautiful ornithological museum of Mr. John E. Thayer, at South Lancaster, Massachusetts; it represents a cock and hen turkey in life size, adapted from the subjects of his two most famous plates, and is in an admirable state of preservation. Mr. Thayer's collection also embraces Audubon's large canvas of the Black Cocks, from the Edward Harris estate, a charming study of the Hen Turkey, with landscape setting, and, also in oils, several smaller panels of Flickers and Passenger Pigeons, which, if not the work of the naturalist, are copies after his originals, and possibly made by Joseph B. Kidd. (See Vol. I, p. 446; and for a notice of Mr. Thayer's other Audubonian drawings, Vol. II, p. 227, and Appendix II.)

[334] Basil Hall (1788-1844), noted for his travels in China, Korea, and on the coasts of Chili, Peru and Mexico, visited the United States in 1827-28; his _Travels in North America_ appeared in 1829.

[335] See Chapter XXVIII.

[336] Maria R. Audubon, _op. cit._, vol. i, p. 204.

[337] Which I owe to the kindness of his granddaughter, Miss Maria R. Audubon; it is superscribed "Mrs. Audubon, St. Francisville, Bayou Sarah, Louisville, p Wm Penn;" it reached New Orleans on June 13, and is endorsed as answered on June 23.

[338] John Woodhouse Audubon at this time was in his fifteenth year, and this injunction regarding the internal anatomy of birds, to which ornithologists had hitherto paid but little attention, was given three years before his father made the acquaintance of MacGillivray. (See Chapter XXX.)

[339] See Chapter XXV.

[340] The work, as originally announced, was to appear in parts of 5 plates each, at 2 guineas a part, and in order to distribute the expense to purchasers it was expected to issue but 5 parts a year. The plates, to be engraved on copper, were of double elephant folio size, and printed on paper of the finest quality, all the birds and flowers to be life-size, and to be carefully colored by hand, after the originals; any subscriber was at liberty to take a part or the whole. It was stated in the prospectus of 1829, when 10 parts had been published: "There are 400 Drawings, and it is proposed that they shall comprise Three Volumes, each containing 133 Plates, to which an Index will be given at the end of each, to be bound up with the volume.... It would be advisable for the subscriber to procure a Portfolio, to keep the Numbers till a volume is completed." To avoid the expense entailed by copyright regulations in England, indices and all other letterpress were eventually omitted; the number of parts was extended to 87, or 435 plates, and the number of volumes to 4, a necessity imposed by the discovery of many new birds, even after the omission of the figures of the eggs, which Audubon had reserved for the close, and the undue crowding of many of his final plates. The "Prospectus" issued with the first volume of the text in 1831 contained a list of the first 100 plates, together with extracts of reviews by Cuvier and Swainson, and a list of subscribers to the number of 180. For further details, see Bibliography, No. 1, and Appendix III, No. 2.

[341] _Illustrations of British Ornithology_, by Prideaux John Selby. The British Museum copy of this work is in two large folio volumes (measuring about 25½ by 20½ inches), and was issued originally in numbers which appeared at irregular intervals. Vol. I, plates i-iv (of bills, heads, and feet), i-c (of land birds); most of the plates are by Selby, and many were etched by him and autographed, 1819-1821; plates xiv, xvi, and xx are by Captain R. Mitford, whose home, "Mitford Castle," near Morpeth, Northumberland, was visited by Audubon in April, 1827; published at Edinburgh by Archibald Constable & Co., and by Hurst, Robinson & Co., London, 1825(?)-1827. Volume II, plates i-ciii; printed for the Proprietor & published by W. H. Lizars, Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, Green & Longman, London; and W. Curry, Junr. & Co., Dublin, MDCCCXXXIV. Quaritch, in offering a copy in 1887, at £55, stated that there were 383 figures, in 221 colored plates, and that the published price was £105. Newton (_Dictionary of Birds_, p. 27) says that the first series of these "Illustrations" was published in coöperation with Sir William Jardine, in 3 volumes of 150 plates, in 1827-1835, after which a second series was started by them, and completed in a single volume of 53 plates, issued in 1843. This was the "job book" mentioned earlier in this chapter (see p. 358), but neither Jardine's nor Jameson's name is mentioned in the volumes which I have examined.

In a letter to Audubon, dated "Sept. 13h 1830 Twizel [l?] House," and postmarked "Belford," Selby said: "I expect to bring my own work to a conclusion during the course of this winter having only the plates of another Number to finish. I am happy to add that the Work is doing well & is more than paying itself. The second Vol: of letter press will appear with the last No."

Two volumes of text were published in 1825 and 1833 respectively; the first, after readjustment to fit the "quinarian doctrine," to which Selby was a temporary convert (see Vol. II, p. 94), was issued in a second edition at London, in 1841; the second volume bore the imprint of Lizars, who soon after began to work for Audubon.

Selby's plates were for the most part rather crudely drawn, etched and colored, and could be commended only as the work of amateurs who strove for accuracy.

[342] Among the sixty or more persons to whom Audubon carried written credentials at this time were the following: the Duke of Northumberland, Robert Peel, Sir Humphry Davy, Sir J. D. Aukland, Albert Gallatin, the American Minister, Sir Thomas Lawrence, David Wilkie, Dr. Buckland, Dr. Holland, Dr. Roget, Dr. Wollaston, William Swainson, Sir William Herschel, and his son, afterwards Sir John Herschel, John George Children, R. W. Hay, N. A. Vigors, Captain Cook, John Murray and Robert Bakewell (see Vol. II, p. 134).

[343] Probably the same that is referred to in his journals as "Mr. Hays, the antiquarian."

[344] J. G. Children (1777-1852) was early interested in chemistry, and at Tunbridge built a good laboratory, in which Humphry Davy conducted many of his early experiments, and while there was seriously injured in October, 1812. In 1824 Children discovered a method of extracting silver without the use of mercury. When Mr. Children, Senior, became insolvent through the failure of his bank, his son obtained a position at the British Museum; in 1816 he was librarian in the Department of Antiquities, but in 1823 he was transferred to a post in zoölogy which was eagerly sought by William Swainson; he was secretary of the Royal Society in 1826-27, and again in 1835-37. He resigned his position at the Museum in 1840, when Swainson was again an unsuccessful candidate, and was succeeded by J. E. Gray (see Note, Vol. I, p. 353). Children was not a productive zoölogist, but has been described as a lovable soul, who was never soured by illness or other misfortunes, and who was as zealous in his friendships as in science. See "A. A." (Anna Atkins), _Memoir of J. G. Children, Esq._ (Bibl. No. 175).

[345] In the account which follows, as well as in numerous instances in Chapter XXXII, I am most indebted to George Alfred Williams, who in "Robert Havell, Junior, Engraver of Audubon's _The Birds of America_," (Bibl. No. 232) (_Print-Collectors Quarterly_, vol. vi, no. 3, pp. 225-259, Boston, 1916), has given the only satisfactory account of the Havell family and the best analysis of the work of the great engraver.

[346] Mr. Charles E. Goodspeed, who recently sent me two of the original plates of the Prothonotary Warbler, one bearing the legend "Engraved by W. H. Lizars Edinr," and the other, "Engraved, Printed & Coloured, by R. Havell Junr," called attention to the identity of the two engravings. That these two impressions are absolutely identical in aquatint and line is proved by applying a magnifying glass to any part of their surfaces, and by counting and comparing the lines or dots within any selected area whatsoever; in short, they differ only in their legends, and in the coloring which was applied by different hands. That such methods should have been adopted for excluding Lizars' name is certainly surprising. In the first or Edinburgh impression of Lizars' original plate, the artist's legend reads: "Drawn by J. J. Audubon M. W. S.," and names of bird and plant appear at the bottom of the plate in three lines: "PROTHONOTARY WARBLER. _Dacnis protonotarius._ Plant Vulgo Cane Vine." In the London edition the corresponding designations are: "Drawn from nature by J. J. Audubon F, R, S. F, L, S.," and PROTHONOTARY WARBLER. _Sylvia Protonotarius._ Lath, Male. 1. Female, 2. Cane Vine.," in four lines.

[347] See Chapter XXXII.

[348] See _ibid._

[349] See Sir Walter Besant, _London in the Nineteenth Century_ (London, 1909).

[350] See Maria R. Audubon, _Audubon and his Journals_ (Bibl. No. 86), vol. i, p. 342, where the "Eagle and the Lamb" is reproduced.

[351] See Vol. I, p. 436.

[352] See Chapter XXVIII.

[353] The seventh which he had contributed to the scientific press of Europe, entitled "Notes on the Bird of Washington (Falco Washingtoniana), or Great Sea Eagle," now believed to have been mistaken by him for an immature stage of the true "bird of freedom," the White-headed Eagle. It was dated "London, April, 1828," and was published in Loudon's _Magazine_ for July of that year. See Bibliography, No. 23.

[354] From the originals in possession of the Linnæan Society of London. Swainson's scientific correspondence was taken with him to New Zealand, where it remained fifty years, until returned by his daughter, who sent it to Sir Joseph Hooker; it was finally purchased by a number of Fellows of the Society, and presented to its historical collections. It consists of 934 letters written by 236 correspondents, from 1806 to 1840. Of the 24 letters written by Audubon, and dated 9 April, 1829, to 11 January, 1838, none has been previously published. Dr. Albert Günther, who has given a summary of their contents (_Proceedings of the Linnæan Society_, 112th Session, 1900; Bibliography, No. 204) found them rather disappointing, since they dealt mainly with personal and domestic matters, and were written in a style characterized as "fantastic and unnatural." Through the kindness of my esteemed friend, George E. Bullen, Esq., of the Hertfordshire County Museum, St. Albans, and through the courtesy of the Council of the Linnæan Society and its secretary, Dr. Daydon Jackson, I am able to reproduce transcripts of the most interesting of these letters, which readers in America will, I believe, find interesting because of their personal details. I am indebted also for their good offices to John Hopkinson, F.L.S., and to William Rowan, Esq.

From the context of the nine letters which are here reproduced without change, it is evident that Audubon paid little attention to grammar, syntax, or orthography, but if the reader will compare the letters written before and after 1830, or before and after his first serious discipline in English composition (see Chapters XXIII and XXIX), he will find marked improvement in all these respects.

[355] Swainson's house has been kindly identified by my friend, Mr. George E. Bullen, to whom I am indebted also for an interesting photograph, taken from an old print. Mrs. Swainson, who died February 12, 1835, was buried in the parish church, with which she was closely identified, at London Colney, and a tablet to her memory is still to be seen there. Swainson probably preferred the historic associations of Tyttenhanger, a name originally applied to the manor and manor house of the Abbot of St. Albans, a famous abbey property acquired before the Conquest, with a history extending over six hundred years, but he did not live there. The oldest resident now on the spot, a man over ninety, told Mr. Bullen that as a boy he often collected butterflies, moths and other specimens of natural history which he took to "Highfield Hall," and was always paid by one of the Swainson children. Since Swainson's time the original house, which was approached by a long walk, has become almost unrecognizable, having received an addition to one side; the grass land which then surrounded it has been converted into beautiful lawns.

[356] See Bibliography, No. 95.

[357] See Chapter XXIX.

[358] See Vol. II, p. 130.

[359] See Note, Vol. I, p. 364.

[360] _Fauna Boreali-Americana; or the Zoology of the northern parts of British America_; Part Second, "The Birds;" by William Swainson and John Richardson (London, 1831).

[361] Maria R. Audubon, _op. cit._, vol. i, p. 306.

[362] See Vol. I, p. 3.

[363] Maria R. Audubon, _op. cit._, vol. i, p. 323.

[364] See Bibliography, No. 93a.

[365] The three volumes of this series bear date of 1832-33, but the preface is inscribed "Tittenhanger Green St. Albans, 24th July, 1829."

[366] Mary F. Bradford, _Audubon_ (Bibl. No. 85).

[367] Published originally by Ruthven Deane (Bibl. No. 218), _The Auk_, vol. xxii, 1905.

[368] See "The Great Pine Swamp," and "Great Egg Harbour," _Ornithological Biography_ (Bibl. No. 2), vol. i, p. 52, and vol. iii, p. 606.

[369] Though the year is not usually indicated on the originals, the following drawings probably belong to this period:

Black Poll Warbler, New Jersey, May. Wood Pewee Flycatcher, New Jersey, May. Small Green-crested Flycatcher, New Jersey, May. Golden-crowned Thrush, New Jersey, May. Warbling Flycatcher, _Vireo gilvus_, New Jersey, May 23. Yellow-breasted Chat, New Jersey, June 7. Sea Side Finch, Great Egg Harbour, June 14. Marsh Wren, New Jersey, June 22. Bay-winged Bunting, Great Egg Harbour, June 26. Canada Flycatcher, Great Pine Swamp, August 1. Pine Swamp Warbler, Great Pine Swamp, August 11. Black and Yellow Warbler, Great Pine Swamp, August 12. Hemlock Warbler, Great Pine Swamp, August 12. Autumnal Warbler, Great Pine Swamp, August 20. Connecticut Warbler, New Jersey, September 22. Mottled Owl, New Jersey, October.

[370] Though Audubon said that he spent only six weeks in the forest, the indications upon his drawings imply a longer period.

[371] At this time Audubon intended to figure, in full size and natural colors, the eggs of the "Birds of America," for which the concluding numbers of his plates had been reserved, but when the time came, these numbers had to be given over to new acquisitions, so the eggs were eventually crowded out.

[372] At one time in possession of Dr. R. W. Shufeldt, who received it from Mrs. Audubon; given verbatim by Elliott Coues (Bibl. No. 43), _Bulletin of the Nuttall Ornithological Club_, vol. v, 1880.

[373] Harlan's Hawk, or the Black Warrior, is now regarded as a southern variety of the Red-tailed Hawk, and is designated under the trinomen, _Buteo borealis harlani_.

[374] Published by Ruthven Deane (Bibl. No. 217), _The Auk_, vol. xxii, 1905.

[375] Thomas B. Thorpe (Bibl. No. 64), _Godey's Lady's Book_, vol. xlii, 1851.

[376] While in Paris in 1828, Audubon wrote on October 26 that he had received a call from "a M. Pitois, who came to look at my book, with a view to becoming my agent here; Baron Cuvier recommended him strongly, and I have concluded a bargain with him. He thinks he can procure a good number of subscribers. His manners are plain, and I hope he will prove an honest man." See Maria R. Audubon, _Audubon and his Journals_ (Bibl. No. 86), vol. i, p. 339.

[377] Henry Augustus Havell, a younger brother of Robert Havell, Junior; see Vol. II, p. 191.

[378] See Lucy B. Audubon, ed., _Life of John James Audubon, the Naturalist_ (Bibl. No. 73), p. 203. Since black slaves were the only domestics available in the South at that time, it is probable that the "servants" referred to were employed by Mrs. Audubon at her "Beechgrove" school.

[379] See Vol. I, p. 396.

[380] See Vol. II, p. 38.

[381] His correspondence with William Swainson from this point, and the history of his letterpress so far as that naturalist was concerned, will be unfolded later (see Chapter XXIX).

[382] See Chapter XXVIII, p. 87.

[383] See Chapter XXX.

[384] The first volume of the _Ornithological Biography_ in the European edition bears the imprint of "Adam Black, 55 North Bridge, Edinburgh;" in the four subsequent volumes this was changed to "Adam and Charles Black," while the entire work was printed by "Neill & Co., Printers, Old Fish Market, Edinburgh." See Bibliography, No. 2.

[385] _American Ornithology, or the Natural History of the Birds of the United States._ By Alexander Wilson and Charles Lucien Bonaparte. Edited by Robert Jameson ... Regius Professor of Natural History in the University of Edinburgh. Appearing as vols. lxviii-lxxi of _Constable's Miscellany_, 4 vols., 18mo., Edinburgh and London, 1831. This was the fourth (?) edition of Wilson's work, and the first (?) to appear in Europe; with portrait of Wilson and vignettes on titles engraved by Lizars, memoir of Wilson by W. M. Hetherington, and extracts from Audubon, Richardson, and Swainson.

The plates of this edition were issued in numbers, under title of _Illustrations of American Ornithology_; reduced from the work of Wilson; 18mo., Edinburgh and London (1831). In a notice of the first number which appeared in the _Caledonian Mercury_ (Edinburgh) for Oct. 29, 1831, it was stated that the plates were issued in small size to be bound up with Jameson's edition of the text, and that they were intended "for a different class of purchasers from those likely to take the folio edition, then being brought out by the publishers of Constable's Miscellany. The plates were engraved in line and executed in a very superior style, both plain and colored."

[386] _American Ornithology; or Natural History of the Birds of the United States_, by Alexander Wilson, with a Continuation by Charles Lucien Bonaparte, Prince of Musignano. The Illustrative Notes and Life of Wilson by Sir William Jardine, 3 vols., 8vo., London and Edinburgh, 1832.

The second (?) European edition of Wilson and Bonaparte, with 97 hand-colored plates engraved by Lizars. The _Caledonian Mercury_ in noticing the work, October 29, 1831, said: "It must be highly gratifying to the friends and connections of poor Sandy Wilson to see such honor, at last, paid to his memory in his native land."

[387] _Illustrations of the American Ornithology of Alexander Wilson and Charles Lucien Bonaparte, Prince of Musignano._ With the addition of numerous Recently Discovered Species, and Representations of the Whole Sylva of North America. By Captain Thomas Brown [etc., etc.]. Folio, with engraved title, engraved dedication, index, and 124 engraved and hand-colored plates. Edinburgh, Frazer & Co., 54 North Bridge, William Curry, Jun'r & Co., Dublin & Smith, Elder & Co., 65 Cornhill, London, MDCCCXXXV.

It is stated by the editor of this extraordinary work that he had added 161 birds, and that 87 have been considerably enlarged. There are 167 representations of American trees and shrubs, said to have been copied for the most part from Michaux' _Silva_. The striking _Hibiscus grandiflorus_ (plate xli) was taken without acknowledgment from Audubon's drawing of the Blue-winged Warbler (_The Birds of America_, plate xx). For the most part the figures of birds are redrawn from Wilson and Bonaparte and given new positions and backgrounds. A few of the plates, as that of the California Vulture (no. 1), bear the legend, "Drawn by Captn. Tho. Brown;" all are uneven, and many extremely poor in execution, the fourteen by W. H. Lizars being the best. J. B. Kidd, for a time associated with Audubon (see Vol. I, p. 446) is credited with four plates; other engravers employed on the work were James Turvey, who executed the elaborate title, Samuel Milne, James Mayson, R. Scott, J. & J. Johnstone, E. Mitchell, William Davie, S. A. Miller, John Miller, Audw. Kilgour, Wm. Warwick, and W. McGregor. Plate xiv, the Snowy Owl, _Strix nyctea_, engraved by the editor, has the interest of a caricature. Some plates show as many as fourteen birds in a medley of brilliant foliage, flowers and fruits. The violence of the coloring is often such as to destroy the effect of the best plates, and gaudy butterflies flit through the pages as if they were the common food of every species, not excluding the American grouse (see Note, Vol. I, p. 359).

Captain Brown's _Illustrations_ were said by a writer in the _Edinburgh Literary Journal_ for April 9, 1831, "to form a companion to the letterpress in _Constable's Miscellany_ (see Note, Vol. I, p. 442); price, colored, 15 shillings; plain, 10s. 6d. A few in elephant folio (same size as Selby's _British Ornithology_); colored, 1 guinea. To be completed in 10 parts, each containing 5 colored plates; 22 inches long by 17 inches broad, being considered more than double the size of the original work." The first number of this work was reviewed in the _London Literary Gazette_ for October 8, 1831, when it was said that in it were represented 25 birds, 13 forest trees, and 12 insects; the completed work would comprehend "all the forest trees of America, with their fruits, together with the principal insects of the country," as well as all the birds that had been discovered up to the time of issue.

Brown's piratical work must have had a very limited circulation, since it is now so rare that not even the British Museum possesses a copy, and, so far as known, it is not found in any public library of the United States. I was told at Wheldon's, the London shop devoted to works on natural history, that but two copies had ever been handled, and that they commanded a high price. The work was originally sold at £26. The only copy known to me is in the library of the Zoological Society in London, from which the present citation is made; on one of its fly-leaves is written this note: "I have seen the wrapper of No. 1 of this work. It is dated 1831. There is no information as to its contents. C. Davis Sanborn. 22.5.05." This copy was referred to by Dr. Theodore Gill; see _The Osprey_, vol. v, pp. 31 and 109 (Washington, 1900 and 1901). Dr. Walter Faxon has traced two other copies, one formerly in possession of Professor Alfred Newton, and another, but very imperfect set, in a private library at Tarrytown, New York. According to Faxon, a single brown paper wrapper preserved in the Tarrytown copy bears a full printed title, which differs, however, from that which was subsequently engraved for the completed work; for fuller citation, see "A Rare Work on American Ornithology," _The Auk_, vol. xx (1903), pp. 236-241.

Mr. Ruthven Deane has written me that several years ago he secured in New York a fragment of this work, consisting of the paper wrappers of four Parts, Nos. 1-4, the last three of which contained five plates each; there were in addition 10 scattered plates, making 25 plates in all; the price of "21 Shillings" is printed on each of the wrappers, which also bear the date "1831," but no titles.

Another pirated work, _Illustrations of the Genera of Birds_, by the same author, was begun in 1845, but met with even less success, and was never completed; this was taken from _A List of the Genera of Birds_, published in 1840 by George Robert Gray, and according to Alfred Newton (_A Dictionary of Birds_, London, 1896, p. 30, note) was "discreditable to all concerned with it."

[388] See Ruthven Deane (Bibl. No. 209), _The Auk_, vol. xviii (1901). The extract is from a letter dated "Edinburgh, 22 Warriston Crescent 7th May, 1831."

[389] Kidd, who was twenty-three at the time he began to work for Audubon, died in 1889, when he had attained his eighty-first year.

[390] See Chapter XXVII, p. 62.

[391] An indication of the time of this visit is given by the following inscription written in the copy of the first volume of the _Ornithological Biography_, which was presented to Cuvier at this time:

To Baron G. Cuvier, with the highest respect of the author.— Paris—17 th. May, 1831.

[392] On Wednesday evening, July 27, 1831, Audubon sent the following note to Mr. Harris: "Come to meet me _tomorrow, precisely_ at _twelve_ o'clock, at our lodgings, 121 Great Portland street."

[393] For the perusal of this letter the reader is indebted, as in so many other instances, to Mr. Ruthven Deane.