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.