“Concerning my picture, all the artists of the establishment admired the effect and recognized the ‘excellent copy’ of Inness’ style and handling. They all seem to think that the picture is rather unnatural in its intensity but that the effect is wonderful. Well, it was yesterday that I brought it over. I had cut it out of the paper on which I drew it and pasted it neatly on a large piece of white stiff photograph board. Its appearance was thus greatly improved, as it had a margin of nearly six inches all around it. At noon time I took the sketch down to the ‘Aldine.’ I saw Mr. Sutton, the proprietor. He held the sketch off from him, looked at it through his hand, and pronounced it magnificent. I of course told him that it was a copy. He asked me if he had not met me before. I told him ‘yes’; that one year ago I came to him with my first drawings on wood, and that he did a great deal to encourage me at the time. He remembered me, remembered my little drawings and described both of them to me—told me that I had a tremendous eye for color, and he had noticed it when I first went to him. He said, ‘When you were here a year ago I told you to come to me when you began to do original work, did I not?’ I answered yes and told him a little of my experience since that time. Well we had a nice little talk and it ended in his giving me a large full page block with the order to put it on wood and he said that I must bring him some more sketches. I am to correct Inness’ unfinished style and make a more finished picture than the original is, as a painting. When it is done I will probably receive from 50 to 60 dollars for it.
“I begin it next week and as I cannot give Roberts’ time to it and will have to work evenings, will probably not finish it for two weeks or so.”
In the fall of this year he had a commission from the Appletons to visit Rhode Island on a sketching tour. It was his first attempt at anything of just this sort, and he was evidently nervous over his responsibilities. But his unfailing courage served him once more, and his naïve account of the trip and of the reception of its fruits is preserved in a letter to his mother:
“Brooklyn, N. Y., Sept. 23/72.
“My dear Mother:
“I returned from my trip on Thursday, but did not wish to write you immediately as I hoped to be able to send you more encouraging news by waiting a day or so. Many were the disadvantages which I labored under during all the time while I was away, being almost sick constantly. Nevertheless I worked through it all, hard and faithfully, and the result is ‘a perfect success,’ far exceeding my greatest anticipations. It was a very important period in my business career, and I felt the necessity of working hard, and, truth to say, I was confident of success, but not to any such degree as that with which I have met.
“My commission included Providence and Suburbs: Pawtucket; Providence Bay; Narragansett Bay; Rocky Point and Narragansett Pier, all of which I visited and sketched. During the first week I remained at the Central Hotel, Providence, where I had quite a pleasant room. It being the first time of my being sent upon work of this kind I was ignorant as to what would be expected of me and of course was much worried and anxious, and the one thing which troubled me most has been the one of all others which has made me so successful. Each day, (with my camp seat, umbrella and materials,) I would start out either on foot or in the cars, traveling nearly until evening and in no case did I bring home with me more than three sketches, and this number only once. It was this scarcity in my number of sketches that caused me to worry, but I still felt that what I had got were good; all through the day would I pass by little bits of landscape that I thought would compose rather prettily, but nevertheless I made up my mind (as I was not to be gone long) to sketch only such bits as I knew would be particularly attractive, and of course it would take nearly the whole day before I could find and sketch more than two. I imagined that this was a very small number, but did not see how I could do much better, as it took a great deal of time to walk about and select the prettiest views. Well, I worked on in this way for the whole week, and at the end of it I never realized more happily the fact that ‘seven times two made fourteen’ and I thought that if I could go home with twenty-eight sketches it would be certainly well enough as far as the number was concerned. But, again I was very much in doubt as to the merit of my sketches and as the other cause of anxiety was now partially removed, this took its place and troubled me. The next circumstance took the spirits right out of me and made me about sick. It commenced to rain and kept it up constantly until I left, and it was the meanest, wetest, rain that I ever knew of, and when it didn’t actually rain it ‘fogged’ and drizzled which was nastier yet. The blank sheet of my drawing paper would have been the best sketch of landscape during those days, as I could see scarcely more than this would represent. Even in the rain I went out and made a few sketches of places already decided upon and finally left Providence in disgust, on my way home down Narragansett Bay. I stopped over night at Rocky Point where I made two sketches, leaving for Newport on the following day (Tuesday). On Wednesday I went to Narragansett Pier when I also made two or three sketches, thence homeward.
“I came home with about twenty-two sketches. All here at the house thought them beautiful. Mr. Beard was perfectly surprised at their beauty and Mr. Bunce at Appleton’s pronounced them one of the ‘best lots of sketches he has yet had’ and complimented me on my ‘perfect success.’ He was very much pleased indeed, and admired them all, and gave vent to his admiration with loud praise; he called old and young Appleton and several other gentlemen to see them, all of whom pronounced them ‘very fine.’ I expected then that he would look them over and select about five of the prettiest for me to put on the wood. This was the most that I thought he would select. Mr. Beard, when I asked him, said that he thought they would select about five, as in other cases they had only taken about that number out of an equivalent stock of sketches. Judge of my complete surprise to see him select and count fifteen of them saying that he would have them all drawn for the ‘Picturesque America.’ This left only about six of the lot which he did not want, and he complimented me on the choice of my selections, saying ‘Generally a lot of sketches will come in, and I will look them over and reject two thirds of them, on account of the subjects not being interesting, the artists sketching whatever they come across that looks “pretty” and not hunting for the most interesting alone.’ This is the amount of what he said to me and finished it up by telling me that all of mine were of interest and composed well, which was the very thing I studied for and which most troubled me on account of the time it took and the consequent small number of my sketches. Mr. Bunce was perfectly delighted, and if I please him as well in my drawings on the wood, he will probably wish to send me off again, when I will in all probability receive ‘$40.00 per week and expenses.’ He gave me four large blocks nearly ‘full page’ to start on and the rest
