During his Henderson period Audubon was in communication with his brother-in-law, Gabriel Loyen du Puigaudeau, who kept him informed in regard to all that transpired in their French home; on July 26, 1817, the naturalist had given him a power of attorney, the curious wording of which has already been noticed.[240] Whether deterred by the legal complications which soon followed, displeased by the mode of settlement, or for what other cause now unknown to us, Audubon seems to have severed all relations with his family at Couëron, or to have written to them only after long lapses of silence. On New Year's Day, 1820, Gabriel du Puigaudeau dispatched to him a friendly letter[241] of greeting:
I take the opportunity at the renewal of the year, to offer you the good wishes of the entire family. Our every desire is that you, your beloved wife, and dear children may be happy, that you may prosper, that you may enjoy good health, and this is the wish of your nieces also. But, awaiting the pleasure of seeing you all, by what fatality during the past eighteen months have I not had any news of you, why no reply to at least twenty letters that I have written to you? Can I have been so unfortunate that some one has given you any report that would prejudice you against me? I do not believe that there could exist any one who would be able to do this, at least with truth; if some one has really sought to estrange your friendship for me, act with frankness, and tell me your suspicions. I do not believe it would be difficult to destroy them, and I even promise that I would offer you no reproach for having momentarily believed it, should this after all have occurred. For what concerns our business affairs, I refer you to my letters which have preceded this.
This letter was sent to Henderson, Kentucky, more than a year after the naturalist had finally left that state; at the moment it was written he was making his way down the Ohio River to New Orleans in a flatboat, "the poorest man aboard," as he thought at the time. Writing in his journal on December 26, 1820, when they had touched at Natchez, Audubon said that on that day he had received letters from his wife, who was then at Cincinnati, written on November 7 and 14, and that the last "contained one from my brother, G. Loyen Dupuigaudeau, dated July 24, 1820." If the month in this instance was misnamed, this might have been the following letter, which was written at Couëron on the twenty-fourth of June, 1820, and sent to Henderson like the last.
Two years have passed without our having any news of you. What a long lapse of time, and in what anxiety are we plunged! In God's name give us some news about yourself, if it be but a word to set us at rest in regard to your condition. I should not know how to persuade myself that you were not on friendly terms with me, since I have given you no cause [for grievance]; if it is so, be generous enough to relieve me from this anxiety. The business matters of Mr. Audubon are at last concluded, and I await only the return of the papers from Cayes to set them in order with justice [to all].[242]
Profiting by an opportunity for New York, I have only time to refer to my letters of 15 September, 30 October, 19 December, 1818, 1st February, 15 April, 15 May, 3d August, 1819, in all their contents.
Madam Audubon is coming to live with us; she found herself isolated at "La Gerbetière," and was very dull there; I wish that she may be contented here. She does not cease to speak of you, and is as much astonished as I am that we receive no news of you.
The naturalist's elder son, Victor, visited Couëron about the year 1835, when his cousin, Gabriel Loyen du Puigaudeau the second, who was nearly of the same age, returned from military service to meet him. He was disappointed at the appearance of his father's old home, "La Gerbetière," which had not been occupied by the family for fifteen years.[243]
Rosa Audubon du Puigaudeau, the naturalist's sister, died at "Les Tourterelles" after August 3, 1842, leaving a daughter, Rose du Puigaudeau, who died without issue, October 20, 1881, and, if we are correctly informed, one son, Gabriel Loyen du Puigaudeau the second, who died at "Les Tourterelles," Couëron, June 23, 1892, when past his eightieth year; a daughter of this only son was married to Monsieur L. Lavigne, notary at Couëron. At the time of her uncle's death, his property, including the personal records of Lieutenant Jean Audubon, passed into the hands of Madame Lavigne, who is a grand step-niece of the naturalist, and who aside from her children, so far as known, is the only surviving member of his family in France.
At this point we must examine a little more carefully the peculiar status of what Audubon referred to as the "enigma" of his life. In some of his private journals and letters[244] he dramatically declared that a mystery had surrounded his early existence, which he was bound by a solemn oath exacted by his father never to reveal, and that this secret must be carried by him to the grave. If it be the duty of a biographer to make the true character of his subject known, the passage of time would now seem to sanction reference to many personal matters which a century ago should have been more rigidly guarded. I enter upon this task solely with the view of placing Audubon's character in a truer and fairer light.