Though effective for the time, as will presently appear, this appeal was quite fanciful, for Jean Audubon's ideas concerning the future of his son were of a more practical character, and he had no intention at this time of establishing him at "Mill Grove," which was soon to be sold. The friend to whom the following letter was addressed is implored to aid in finding a good American family in which his son could acquire the English language as a step to entering trade:[81] This will be handed to you by my son, to whom, I request you will render every service in your power, wishing that you shd. join Mr. Miers Fisher to procure him a good and healthy place where he might learn english. I come to point out to you Morristown, and look for a good and decent familly in that place to recommend him to her as your own Son. This service from you will deserve my everlasting gratitude. I am Sir, with consideration. Yr Mo ob Ser—. Mr. Miers Fisher, who evidently received a copy of this letter, no doubt considered his own family as good as the best, and in detaining young Audubon at his home, we must credit him with the desire of following the instructions thus received. "Mill Grove," which was finally reached in the spring of 1804,[82] was a new-found paradise to the young naturalist. Here, however, he was destined to spend but little over a year, though it was doubtless the happiest year of his life. The farm was then conducted by a Quaker, named William Thomas, who was installed as tenant with his wife and family. It was arranged, said Audubon, that he should receive from them a quarterly allowance in ready money, in a sum that "was considered sufficient for the expenditure of a young gentleman."[83] Well might any youth fond of wild life in the country have fallen in love with this secluded spot, the beauty and charm of which are suddenly revealed to the visitor of today as he approaches it from the old Philadelphia road. Standing high on the rugged banks of the Perkioming Creek, which empties into the Schuylkill River just below this point, the old house, facing west, commands a wide and diversified scene, extending from the living waters below, over bottom lands of the valley, to the dim, undulating lines of the Reading hills in the farther distance. This old landmark[84] of Colonial times remains today in perfect preservation, thanks to the never-failing care and interest of the present owner,[85] who has done all in his power to maintain its historic associations, and to keep the memory of the naturalist green in one of the few spots in America where material landmarks of his career have not been completely effaced. The place has had an interesting history, and though Audubon's occupancy was brief, it affected, as we shall see, his whole after-life.