spirit, and was a cause of his determination to migrate to
America.

To raise funds for this purpose he became industrious and
economical, living for less than a shilling a week, and hoard-
ing the proceeds of his labor. He had read the advertisement
of a shipmaster who was to sail from Belfast; and on foot he
left Paisley, embarked at Port Patrick, and reached the
desired ship: but her complement of passengers was filled,
and Wilson, with a companion who left Paisley in company,
consented to sleep upon the deck. With such accommodations
the hardy poet crossed the Atlantic, and landed at Newcastle,
Delaware, on the 14th of July, 1794, in the 28th year of his age.

He was now in a strange land, with not a shilling in his
pocket. To enable him to reach Philadelphia, he borrowed a
small sum from a fellow passenger of the name of Oliver, and
feeling that he was free, shouldered his fowling piece, and
walked, light as air, thirty-three miles to the capital of Pennsyl-
vania. His love for American ornithology was kindled by a
redheaded woodpecker, the first bird he saw in the western
world.

After working as a copperplate printer, and at his old trade
of weaving in Philadelphia, he tried Shepherdstown in Vir-
ginia; but only finding employment as a weaver, he returned,



S38 HISTORY OF THE ARTS OF DESIGN

and in 1795 travelled through the north part of New Jersey
as a pedlar, keeping a journal, full of interesting observations,
and not only increasing his knowledge but his cash. He now
opened a school, and for several years followed the honorable
profession of a teacher, assiduously studying those branches
of learning in which he was deficient; and making himself a
mathematician, to the business of a teacher he was enabled to
add that of a surveyor.

The companion of his journey of emigration was his nephew,
William Duncan, whose mother had been compelled by poverty
to follow her son, bringing with her a family of small children.
To find an asylum for these, Wilson combined with Duncan,
and, by the aid of a loan, purchased a farm in Ovid, Cayuga
County, New York, where the son resided with his widowed
parent.

After changing his place of residence several times, Wilson's
good fortune placed him in a schoolhouse on the banks of the
beautiful Schuylkill, and but a short distance from the resi-
dence of the philosopher, philanthropist, and naturalist,
William Bartram, and within four miles of Philadelphia.

At a former period of my life, when the study of botany
filled a portion of my time, I made a delightful pedestrian ex-
cursion from Philadelphia to Bartram's botanic garden, in
company with Doctor Elihu H. Smith, my fellow student in
the science, and Charles Brockden Brown, now so well known
as a novelist. Although this has no connection with Wilson,
the reader may forgive the feeling which dictates it. We found
the botanist in his garden, dressed, as an European would say,
like a peasant, and spade in hand; but we found the simplicity
of a lover of nature and the courtesy of a gentleman under the
homely garb. Such was the man into whose vicinity, and
within the sphere of whose instruction, Wilson was now thrown.
Bartram was pleased to find in Wilson a lover of nature, and
an observer of the manners of birds, a subject dear to himself,
and they soon became intimate and ardent friends.

Mr. Alexander Lawson told me that he often accompanied
Wilson in his visits to Bartram, but the drudgery of a school,



BIRD PAINTING SUCCESSFUL 339

the confinement and the poverty that still haunted Wilson,
rendered him melancholy, and instead of the exercise which
might have cheered his mind, he played the flute and wrote
verses, only tending to increase the evil by dwelling on it. He
sometimes, in conversation, dwelt on his fruitless efforts and
disappointed hopes, and hinted at suicide. Lawson suggested
drawing to him he thought it impossible "if he could only
draw as well as Bartram, he should be delighted." "You shall
draw better, if you will follow my advice." Bartram had not
devoted much time, or shown much talent for delineating the
objects he loved to study and cultivate. Wilson consented to
try drawing; but on endeavoring to copy some small human
figures, he saw the imperfection of his work, and was confirmed
in his opinion that he could never draw. His friend suggested
flowers as subjects for his imitation: this was approaching
the goal at which he was destined to arrive. He was encour-
aged, and persevered. He then tried to draw a bird, from
nature delighted himself and surprised his friend. He now
approached his home his resting-place. Reeves's colors
were brought, and he painted, from nature, a bird he had shot.
Thus was he, as far as a man can be at this time of day in
civilized society, self-taught.

The study of ornithology went hand in hand with his prog-
ress in the art of designing the objects most interesting him.
He read, and was dissatisfied he sought the meadows, the
rivers, and the woods, and found all he wished he described
he painted and found himself a draughtsman and an
ornithologist. Then arose the desire to communicate to others.
He formed the plan of publishing, and communicated with
Bartram, who cautiously discouraged an undertaking that
might involve him in difficulties; but his mind had received its
impulse, and he had an answer for every objection.

Lawson approved of Wilson's scheme of making a collection
of all the birds of the Middle States, or even of the Union,
but saw more difficulties in bringing such a work to perfection,
and before the public, than the schemer did. However, Wilson
went on; and the time he had devoted, when not employed



340 HISTORY OF THE ARTS OF DESIGN

in teaching, to flute playing, verse making, solitude, and
despondency, was now employed in increasing his collection
of birds, of drawings, and knowledge of the nature, manners,
and history of the subjects.

Wilson's letters to Bartram exhibit him in a most amiable
point of light, and show that his studies at the schoolhouse
had not failed to improve his style: these letters are before
the public. Hoping that by some literary effort he might re-
lieve himself from the confinement and the drudgery of a
school, he sent some essays to my friend Charles Brockden
Brown, who then wrote for and conducted "The Literary
Magazine" for the proprietor, Conrad; and he contributed to
Denny's " Portfolio," but these efforts produced no change in
his situation.

In the month of October, 1804, Wilson, with two com-
panions, made a pedestrian tour to the falls of Niagara. This
produced on his return "The Foresters," published in the
" Portfolio." In 1805, Wilson was, like an honest man, inflicting
privations on himself to pay his debt to his friend: "I associate
with nobody, spend my leisure hours in drawing, wandering
through the woods, or playing on the violin." He was now
seriously employed in making a collection of all the birds of
Pennsylvania, and with all the ardor of genius conceived that
he might etch them himself, and then color them. Lawson
instructed him in etching, but he soon found not only that
much time must elapse before he could etch, but that the
graver must finish the work. Full of his project of publication,
he wished Lawson to join with him in it; but he saw objections
which Wilson could not, and declined. "I will proceed alone
then in the publication, if it costs me my life!"

The enthusiastic Wilson conceived hopes of visiting the
Mississippi under the auspices of Mr. Jefferson, but was dis-
appointed; but as a literary man he had better fortune in
1806, being engaged at a liberal salary by Mr. Samuel F.
Bradford as assistant editor. Mr. Bradford, six years after,
not only released Charles R. Leslie from the bonds of appren-
ticeship, but actively promoted that subscription which wafted



WILSON'S "AMERICAN ORNITHOLOGY' 3 341

him to Europe, being himself a liberal subscriber, and thus
smoothed the path by which a truly virtuous man has attained
the highest rank in the arts. Mr. Bradford thus opened the
way for Wilson to prosecute his favorite object, and shortly
after agreed to become the publisher of Wilson's Ornithology,
and furnish the requisite funds. Lawson was engaged as the
engraver, and admirably he acquitted himself.

In the month of September 1808, the first volume of the
"American Ornithology" made its appearance; and although
the prospectus had been before the public for two years, the
surprise and delight was as great as if it had never been an-
nounced; for no one could conceive that America could pro-
duce a splendid work on science that vied with the proudest
productions of the old world.

The author now set out on a journey to the eastward, in
search of subscribers. He went as far as Maine, and returned
through Vermont to Albany and Philadelphia, better freighted
with compliments than subscriptions. Almost immediately on
his return, he commenced a journey on the same errand to the
South, through Virginia, the Carolinas, and Georgia. When at
Charleston he had obtained a hundred and twenty-five sub-
scribers; at Savannah they had amounted to two hundred and
fifty, he says, "obtained at a price worth five times their
amount."

The second volume of the Ornithology was published in
January 1810, and in February the artist and author proceeded
to Pittsbiirg, and thence alone in a skiff down the Ohio. His
letters to Alexander Lawson, his friend and the engraver of his
birds, have been repeatedly published, and can alone give a
true idea of the man. He visited the numerous towns which
had even then sprung up in the wilderness, and every object
of interest he could hear of and approach. Near Louisville he
sold his skiff, and performed the journey to Natchez partly
on foot and partly on horseback. In his diary he says, "This
journey, four hundred and seventy-eight miles from Nashville,
I have performed alone, through difficulties which those who
never have passed the road could not have a conception of."



342 HISTORY OF THE ARTS OF DESIGN

He proceeded to New Orleans, and thence to New York and
Philadelphia.

Seven volumes of the Ornithology were published by the
extreme exertion of Wilson, the unremunerated expenditures
of S. F. Bradford, and the friendly labors of Lawson. The
United States were proud that such a work should originate
and be thus far perfected in the country Philadelphia, still
more delighted, claimed the honor of being its birthplace, yet
among all her learned and rich, the literati, the men of benevo-
lence, and the men of wealth among her thousands of high-
minded men, and well-minded men, only seventy became
subscribers for Wilson's Ornithology, "more than hah* of
whom," says his biographer, "were persons of the middle
class of society."

In 1812, Wilson was chosen a member of the "Society of
artists of the United States." In 1813, Mr. West sent him a
proof impression of his "Death of Nelson." The same year he
completed the letterpress of his eighth volume; but before the
plates were ready, on the 23d of August, 1813, a dysentery
put a period to his days, in the forty-seventh year of his age.

The admirable trait in Wilson's character is his undeviating
adherence to, and innate love of truth. He was strictly honor-
able in his dealings, and in all trials through life rigidly a
virtuous man. His fault, and I learn but of one, was irrita-
.bility; which perhaps counteracted, in some measure, the good
effect which his high moral character produced.

In person he was of the middle size, of a thin habit, his
features coarse, and a "dash of vulgarity in his physiognomy,"
which was forgotten when the intelligence of his eye was called
forth, or the charms of his intellect displayed in conversation.

Of his poetical and other essays I shall not speak; and I
hope my readers are too well acquainted with the merit of his
composition, in his descriptions of the subjects of his study and
his work, to need my eulogium.

His remains are deposited in the cemetery of the Swedish
Church, Southwark, Philadelphia.

The following is from a Scotch paper: "July 13, 1833,



HONORS AT PAISLEY 343

Wilson's anniversary. On Monday night the anniversary of
this celebrated ornithologist and poet was honored by a num-
ber of his townsmen at Paisley. Thomas Crichton in the chair,
Robert Lang, croupier." Crichton was the intimate friend and
correspondent of Wilson. The memory of the deceased Ameri-
can ornithologist was "drank in solemn silence" after a speech
from the chair. It is gratifying to record this testimony paid
to the worth of a man of virtue and talent by his townsmen
twenty years after his death.

My readers will be gratified by the perusal of a letter from
my friend Dr. Francis, just received, which (as well as other
matters relative to the arts) has so much original information
respecting Wilson, as to make it a most valuable appendix to
the foregoing memoir.

"Newport, September 8, 1834.

"Dear Sir, You will perceive that I breathe a new at-
mosphere, and I now purpose enjoying myself for some three or
four days at Newport, renowned for its salutiferous air as
the birthplace of Stuart and of Malbone, and the scene of
some of the most active and laudable operations of the cele-
brated Bishop of Cloyne. I have again visited Mrs. W - ,
where we had the gratification of seeing once more the * Hours,'
that exquisite work of genius and art by Malbone, which
commands unmeasured praise from untold visitors at this
place, who seek the opportunity of admiring this production of
the pencil, not surpassed, in all probability, by the work of
any foreign artist. We were also shown a number of unfinished
heads, in miniature, by the same extraordinary master; a
portrait of Mr. W T . in crayons, done by Malbone, and his own
portrait, a superior performance, kit-cat, in oil colors. From
this an indifferent copy was taken by Gimbrede and subse-
quently engraved. There are other works of value by the same
great artist to be seen in a distant part of the country; among
them one entitled 'Devotion,' and another 'The Birth of
Shakespeare,' of peculiar merits, in umbra. Malbone's life,
though short, was sufficiently long to secure to him a permanent
reputation. Miss Hall seems to me the only artist who has



344 HISTORY OF THE ARTS OF DESIGN

made a close approximation to his best efforts. His 'Hours'
has awakened the powers of many a worthy poet. Among
others, his personal friend, the late Dr. Farmer, wrote some
clever verses on it; tinged, however, rather too deeply with
his own sombre associations as well as with deep grief at the
premature death of the painter.

"We rode to the house where the Bishop of Cloyne once
resided. Somewhat more than a century has elapsed since
he occupied it; it was once a substantial wooden frame farm-
house of two stories, and the room which we considered as
the bishop's library, still retains its old Holland ornaments
of earthen figures round the mantel and fire- jambs. It is con-
templated soon to take down this venerated building, in which
case I have made an engagement to be supplied with a relic
to make two or three snuff boxes, one of which shall certainly
be reserved for you. And why not as well have a box of the
residence of the good bishop, as of the tree so famous for the
Indian treaty by Penn? The memorable line of the poet for
Berkeley, will apply with like verity to both these exalted
characters. At no great distance from the bishop's house are
the Paradise Rocks, seen projecting near the margin of the
sea; they are called by the people the Bishop's study. Here
he used to retire and write, and few places are more romantic,
or better calculated for health and inspiration. With your
present bodily ailings, you would do well to come hither for
a short time and finish your projected volumes. We shall have
fine green tea and flapjacks for your breakfast, water of the
spring of Dr. Franklin's temperature as your medicina mentis,
and coppices of verdant beauty for your eyes to gaze upon,
equal to any Humphrey Repton ever formed. It is affirmed,
as you probably will recollect, that the bishop wrote his
* Minute Philosopher ' in America; and this sequestered spot,
with its Paradise Rocks before us, is fitted for the contemplation
of the most ardent votary of Plato.

"If it were not too professional I might also dwell upon
the fact, that Newport is known in our medical annals as the
first place on the American continent where a public course




NIGHT-HAWKS
BY ALEXANDER WILSON

Prom the original drawing in the collection of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Cambridge. M.I-.



MEDICAL ANNALS OF NEWPORT 345

of anatomical lectures was given. They were delivered by Dr.
William Hunter so early as 1754. Dr. Hunter was by birth a
Scotchman, born in 1729, and like many others, engaged in
the cause of the pretender in 1745. After the fight of Culloden
he repaired to this country and settled at Newport, where he
died in 1777. He had received the earlier part of his education
under the elder Monro, and acted as surgeon's mate in the
contest just stated, his principal being Middleton; that Middle-
ton who was afterwards the eminent professor of medicine in
King's College, New York. There is an admirable portrait of
Hunter in the family mansion, done by Cosmo Alexander in
1769; and also one by the same artist, of rather inferior merits,
of Mrs. Hunter and her daughter. The curious who visit New-
port sometimes carry away with them some fragment of the
renowned ship 'Endeavor'; a portion of whose hull is still
to be seen at Wilkham's wharf. This vessel is associated with
the discoveries of Captain Cook, who, with Banks and So-
lander, made in her their first circumnavigation round the
world, about, I believe, 1769. I possibly may err a little in the
date, but I am too far off to consult the Redwood Library.
The 'Endeavor' was afterwards purchased as a whaler, and
used some time in that capacity, but being pronounced not
seaworthy, has been suffered to lie here and decay.

"I cannot, however, permit the present opportunity to pass
without addressing you a few lines relative to your ' History of
the Arts of Design in America.' Your laborious and minute
researches will probably leave little to be gleaned by your suc-
cessors, in those inquiries in which you have so long been
employed. The subject is of deep interest to all who feel a
becoming pride in the talents which our native artists have so
amply displayed, and on the reflection that Stuart, West, and
Trumbull; Allston and Newton are of American origin. It
seems to me that Wilson, the ornithologist, will have claims to
your notice, and if he falls within the scope of your work, you
will probably find it in conformity to your plan to precede
your account of him by some slight sketch of his predecessor,
in our natural history, the celebrated Catesby. Like Wilson,



346 HISTORY OF THE ARTS OF DESIGN

Catesby was an artist; his zeal and industry were scarcely
surpassed by Wilson, and his honesty and integrity in pre-
serving faithful memorials of the objects of his attention, have
been such as to secure the strongest approbation of experi-
enced and qualified observers. A copy of his natural history
may be seen in the library of the Rev. Dr. Hawks; it is in
two volumes, large folio; the edition by Edwards. The figures
of this work were originally etched by himself, and the colors
were done either by him or under his inspection. As the repu-
tation of this amiable, unassuming and excellent man has
been somewhat impugned by Gordon and others, I hope you
will allow me to give you the testimony of one of the best
judges now living, on his merits. Wilson often refers to Catesby
with suitable consideration, and with the ardor of a true
worshipper. We are to remember that Catesby 's plates do
not afford specific distinctions of all he saw; it was not his
object; his delineations of the various parts of a flower are
imperfect, but for the best of reasons; botanical science among
us had not yet received the aids of the Linnsean classification,
though Colden, on the banks of the Hudson, about that period,
took up with increased delight his investigation of plants,
excited by new feelings the inspiration of his Swedish master.
According then to the testimony of the best judges and most
eminent naturalists, no delineator of the works of the Creator
has excelled in merits Catesby, considering the time when he
published, and the circumstances in which he was placed.
Audubon, in speaking of him, remarked to me distinctly that
the utmost confidence might be placed in all his statements. 'I
have examined, him,' he added, 'with the closest severity, and
I have scarcely seen in his descriptions, so far as they go, a
single error. I confide in all he says. Others since his time have
enlarged upon certain parts of him with the additional ad-
vantages of modern and more precise science.' After the
triumphant declaration of Audubon let us no longer hear it
asserted that Catesby defaced nature, and that his magnificent
volumes cannot be consulted without regret and indignation.
"It was my happiness to be personally acquainted with



ORNITHOLOGY UNAPPRECIATED 347

Alexander Wilson. The first time I saw him was in the latter
part of October, 1808: he had just completed the first volume
of his Ornithology, and had come to New York to solicit sub-
scribers. The slender countenance he received to aid him in
his vast undertaking, was somewhat depressing to his feelings.
He stated briefly the great efforts he had made, the better to
justify his application for subscriptions. 'I determined,' said
he, ' to let the public see a perfect specimen of my work, before
I sought their pecuniary support, and I carry my volume with
me. I shall not abandon my design, however lukewarm it
may be looked upon: but cherish the hope that there is in
this widely extended and affluent country, a number of the ad-
mirers of nature sufficient to sustain me in my enterprise.
What pains me,' he further remarked, ' is the indifference with
which works in natural history are often regarded, by men of
cultivated understanding and rank in life. I have just re-
turned to your city, after a visit to Staten Island, to submit my
volume to your governor. He turned over a few pages, looked
at a picture or two; asked me my price; and while in the act
of closing the book, added, '"'I would not give a hundred dollars
for all the birds you intend to describe, even had I them alive.'*
Occurrences such as these distress me; but I shall not lack
ardor in my efforts.' - - This little incident I confess to you it
was sufficiently mortifying to hear. Moreover, the governor
of the State of New York is always presumed to be an en-
lightened character: by charter he is a member of the board
of regents, a body constitutionally created, who direct and con-
trol the intellectual pursuits of an empire state.

" Wilson on his subsequent visits to New York, seemed to be
in better spirits, both on account of the patronage he had
received, and the progress he had made in his work. He seized
moments of leisure he had, in closely examining books in natural
science, in different libraries to which he could obtain a ready
access. The American Museum, which had now been well
fitted up, was, however, his most gratifying resort. Scudder,
the founder of this institution was indeed a rough diamond;
but few could surpass his enthusiasm in studying the volume of



348 HISTORY OF THE ARTS OF DESIGN

nature, as he termed every subject in natural history. Wilson
was loud in his praises of the preservative talents of this artiste,
of materials in natural science: but at that day we had not
the experience and results of Waterton before us. Few greet-
ings could be more joyous, than that of these men; great
as was the disparity in their scientific knowledge and intellec-
tual culture. Scudder remarked, 'I have many curiosities here,
Mr. Wilson, but I myself am the greatest one in the collection ! '
Scudder continued, and stated the trials he had passed amidst
rocks and glens, referred to the time when he carried his
museum on his back, and exulted at the success which thus far
crowned him. He believed that a taste for nature's works was
more diffused: he said he had travelled thousands of miles, in
order to bring various objects of natural science together,
worthy of study. All this was listened to by Wilson with feel-
ings of great gratification: but when the museum-man added,
'Yet, notwithstanding all, and my success so far, I still find