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to get him to go pickerel fishing but he was not at home. They were at work on the ice clearing off the snow preparatory to cutting it and one of Stills boys told me it was 10 inches thick where it had not been disturbed. I came home by the Strand and I painted the rest of the day. Lily came up on Monday and I pained the veil in my picture and have it so far advanced now that I can finish it without having her again. Gertrude stood for the hand and arm which was not done.

Thursday 7. We had an exciting time burning out the chimnies today which I always regard as a dangerous operation. We took extra precautions however and had no accidents. It snowed a little this morning and tonight it is snowing hard. I received a letter from Hanover Putnam asking me how much I was going to charge them for my designs for "Among the trees" I replied that my price was $25 each (18 illustrations/$450) but that when I undertook it I resolved in my mind to accommodate the terms to him and he could pay me what he could afford to.

Friday 8" About four inches of snow fell last night and today has been a beautiful winter day. I painted all day and took a walk toward evening. The evening effects were charming and I felt anew the charm and beauty of winter, the landscape of which is always most beautiful and expressive under a grey sky. Wrote to Boughton. Received a letter from Julia Vaux telling me how much she liked her picture. Gertrude is ill with an influenza and called Dr Cuspell.

Sunday 10. It is very cold weather. This morning the mercury indicated 6° below 0 and it was probably as low as 10° during the night. Tonight it is 4° above.

Monday 11. It was very cold this morning but a bright beautiful day. I walked immediately after breakfast out to the Alms House and home by Fox Hall and enjoyed my walk exceedingly. Although the mercury was down to zero, I wore no overcoat and nothing about my neck or ears and only thin yarn mittens on my hands. I was in a fine glow when I came home. A man passed me with a team loaded with beds and housekeeping articles on his way to the ice house which they begin to fill today. Teams crowd on the ice to Rhinebeck today for the first time. Painted all day on the Frick footsteps which approaches completion. I have another subject for a single figure "Burning Christmas Greens" suggested by my burning the laurels on the snow the other day 

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