Note 244 — Chapter XVII · THE ENIGMA OF AUDUBON'S LIFE AND THE HISTORY OF HIS FAMILY IN FRANCE

These passages, which were shown to me by his granddaughter, Miss Maria R. Audubon, in 1914, but not for publication, occur in his journals under the following dates; June 4, 1826, at sea; March 15, 1827, at Edinburgh, after describing a visit of Lady Selkirk and her daughter; again on the 18th of March of the same or the following year; and on October 8, 1828, when writing to his wife from Paris and reflecting on the advisability of visiting his old home at Nantes. While these extraordinary passages are not quoted, out of deference to the wishes of his granddaughters, it seems only just to Audubon, in view of the revelations that have already been made, to add this brief reference to the incidents in question.