such an expression of supplicating terror as perfectly overcame me. I immediately untied it, and restored it to life and liberty. The agonies of a prisoner at the stake, while the fire and instruments of torture are preparing, could not be more severe than the sufferings of that poor mouse; and, insignificant as the object was, I felt at that moment the sweet sensation that mercy leaves on the mind when she triumphs over cruelty." Is it not a pleasure to sympathize with a mind like this, so keenly sensitive, so poetically kind? 6. In 1803 Wilson wrote to a friend in Scotland that he found the confinement of the school-room injurious to his health, and that, for the purpose of gaining a little recreation, he was engaged in making a collection of American birds. This appears to be the first indication of his direct application to a science, his connection with which was destined to cover his name with world-wide fame. The real scheme which he had in view when he wrote this letter was to prepare an American Ornithology. 7. He determined that he would travel through the United States, obtain specimens of all the birds that he could discover, make drawings of them, and then trust to the future for some happy opportunity of placing his labors before the public. It is characteristic of the man that, when he came to this determination, he was in possession of the enormous fortune of seventy-five cents. Soon afterwards he communicated his plans to Mr. Bradford, a Boston bookseller, who, without any hesitation, approved them. He agreed to be the publisher of the work, and felt so much confidence in its success, that he volunteered to furnish the funds necessary for its completion. If there was a happy man in the world, it was Wilson. 8. Much of the material for the first two volumes was already completed. In various pedestrian tours he had made himself thoroughly familiar with all the birds of the Northern and Eastern States, had noted their habits, peculiarities, and organization, and had transferred their forms to paper. It was proposed now to publish the first volume with all possible dispatch, after which Wilson might start on his travels. He was to take a copy under his arm as a sample, and obtain subscribers through the country. 9. In 1808, the first volume made its appearance, and immediately Wilson set out in search of "birds and subscribers," as he says. It is unnecessary to add that he obtained a much greater proportion of the former than the latter. In other respects the journey was invaluable to him. Wherever he could find the proper kind of man, he cultivated him, and begged a correspondence on all ornithological matters. In this way he placed the entire feathered tribe under severe espionage. Not a strange wing could be raised without his knowledge. 10. After his Eastern tour he started for the South. Traveling on foot to Pittsburgh, Wilson bought a small skiff which he named the "Ornithologist," and in this he started alone to sail down the Ohio to Cincinnati, a distance of over five hundred miles. His stock of provisions consisted of some biscuit and cheese, and a bottle of cordial presented to him by a gentleman of Pittsburgh. His gun, trunk, and great-coat occupied one end of the boat, and conveniently at hand was a tin measure, with which he bailed the boat and took his beverage from the Ohio. Thus prepared, he bade adieu to the smoky confines of Pittsburgh, launched into the stream, and was soon winding away among the hills which everywhere inclose the noble river. 11. Far from being concerned at his novel situation, he felt his heart expand with joy at the novelties which surrounded him. He listened with pleasure to the whistling of the redbird on the banks as he passed, and contemplated the forest scenery as it receded, with increasing delight. The voyage lasted twenty-one days, and was marked by numerous adventures, of which Wilson wrote an exceedingly interesting account. At last he reached Cincinnati. From this city, Wilson crossed over to the Kentucky shore, and passing through that state he reached Nashville, Tennessee. After remaining there for some days, busily engaged in making a set of drawings of all the birds he had seen, he prepared himself for a journey through the wilder ness. 12. He was advised by many not to attempt it alone; that the Indians were dangerous, the swamps and rivers almost impassable without assistance. All sorts of arguments were used to dissuade him from going alone. He weighed all these matters in his own mind, and, attributing a great deal to vulgar fear and exaggerated reports, he equipped himself for the attempt. He had an excellent horse on which he could depend; a loaded pistol in each pocket, a loaded fowling-piece belted across his shoulder, a pound of gunpowder in his flask, and five pounds of shot in his belt. He next procured some dried beef and biscuit, and on the fourth of May left Nashville. 13. On the fourteenth day of his journey he arrived at Natchez, having overcome every obstacle alone, and without being acquainted with the country. From Natchez Wilson proceeded to New Orleans. The approach of the sickly season warned him not to tarry long in this city, and accordingly he embarked in a ship bound for New York, where he arrived at the end of July, 1800, and soon reached Philadelphia, laden with a light cargo of subscribers, and a much more valuable one of ornithological specimens. 14. Immediately on his return to Philadelphia he applied himself with fresh enthusiasm to his task; and by August had completed the eighth volume. The confinement and intense application which this demanded were more than his frame could sustain. He was seized with a fatal illness and died on the 23d of August, 1813, in the forty-seventh year of his age. 15. That the industry of Wilson was equal to his natural talents is proved by the fact that in little more than seven years, "without patron, fortune, or recompense," he accomplished more than the combined body of European naturalists had achieved in a century. We need no further evidence of his unparalleled industry than the fact that of two hundred and seventy-five specimens which were figured and described in his "American Ornithology," fifty-six species had not been taken notice of by any former naturalist. 1. THE condor of the Andes has been the subject of greatly exaggerated reports as to its dimensions. When it was first discovered by the Spanish conquerors of America, it was compared to the roc of Arabian fable, and by some even considered to be the identical bird," which is able to truss an elephant." One writer states that some of those killed by the Spaniards measured fifteen or sixteen feet from tip to tip of the extended wings. He adds that two will attack a bull and devour it, and that single individuals will slay boys of twelve years old. 2. Another writer improves upon this. He stretches the expansion of the wings to eighteen feet, a width so enormous that, as he says, the bird can never enter the forest; and he declares that a single one will attack a man, and carry off a stag. A modern traveler, however, soars far beyond these puny flights of imagination and gravely gives forty feet as the measurement, carefully noted, as he informs us, "with his own hand," from the actual speci men. 3. Humboldt dissipated these extravagances, though he confesses that it appeared to himself of colossal size, and it was only the actual measurement of a dead specimen that corrected the optical illusion. He met with no example that exceeded nine feet, and he was assured by many of the inhabitants of Quito that they had never shot any that exceeded eleven. 4. This estimate, however, appears to be below the reality; for Tschudi, a most careful and reliable authority, assigns to this bird in one place an expanse of " from twelve to thirteen feet," while in another he says: "I measured a very large male condor, and the width from the tip of one wing to the tip of the other was fourteen English feet and two inches, an enormous expanse of wing, not equaled by any other bird except the white albatross." So far from his "trussing an elephant," or even an ox, he cannot, |