I Never For A Day

Poor France, Thy Fine Climate, Rich Vineyards, And The Wishes Of The Learned Avail Nothing; Thou Art A Destitute Beggar, And Not The Powerful Friend Thou Wert Represented To Me.

I Never For A Day Gave Up Listening To The Songs Of Our Birds, Or Watching Their Peculiar Habits, Or Delineating Them In The Best Way I Could.

My Drawings At First Were Made Altogether In Watercolors, But They Wanted Softness And A Great Deal Of Finish.

Almost Every Day, Instead Of Going To School When I Ought To Have Gone, I Usually Made For The Fields, Where I Spent The Day.

But The Moment A Bird Was Dead, No Matter How Beautiful It Had Been In Life, The Pleasure Of Possession Became Blunted For Me.