We hope to get some ready by the time the next
ship sails, and then we will furnish you with the best the country
affords.
From a letter of January 30, 1812, to his parents I select the following
passages:--
"On Tuesday last I dined at Mr. West's, who requested to be particularly
remembered to you. He is extremely attentive and polite to me. He called
on me a few days ago, which I consider a very marked attention as he
keeps so confined that he seldom pays any visits....
"I have changed my lodgings to No. 82 in the same street [Great
Titchfield Street], and have rooms with young Leslie of Philadelphia who
has just arrived. He is very promising and a very agreeable room-mate. We
are in the same stage of advancement in art.
"I have painted five pieces since I have been here, two landscapes and
three portraits; one of myself, one a copy from Mr. West's copy from
Vandyke, and the other a portrait of Mr. Leslie, who is also taking
mine.... I called a day or two since on Sir William Beechy, an artist of
great eminence, to see his paintings. They are beautiful beyond anything
I ever imagined. His principal excellence is in coloring, which, to the
many, is the most attractive part of art.
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