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Monday April 2. 1883. I had a little conversation with my father and told him how troubled I am about our prospects. He says we will get along but does not tell me how. I have not his faith that things will take care of themselves and still my plans do not seem to amount to much. The man who is to build the water works here has been to my fathers twice to see if I will sell my place and once he called at my studio a few minutes before I left for home. He is to call at my studio again tomorrow. I wrote Sam Cuykendall a note telling him this and that I should offer him the same terms I had offered him. I presume he will think I do this to influence him to come to a decision. Calvert advised me to do it. Calvert Downing and I took a walk out on the Commons after dinner and he and I came down by the 6.16 train. I felt badly to bid Gussie good bye and so did she. Her parting with my mother will be a great trial to both of them and Mary too is coming home on Wednesday. I do not know how Sara is to get along. She and Mary have been thinking of a plan for Mary to take the management of the house this summer and to have all her family and the Booths and Harry Donaldson. This will entirely upset the whole household but we must do something and I told Sara I would make no objections although I can see very grave difficulties. Calvert and I went to the Century and had some supper. Bradford came and told me he had Earl Grosvenor at the Academy on Sunday and that he thought he would buy my large picture, but why has he not done it. I cant have much faith in it while I hope it may come to pass. He says $20,000 worth of pictures have been sold in two days, but none of mine are among the sales. 

Tuesday 3. The man who wants to buy my place [[strikethrough]] called [[/strikethrough]] may call today but did not. Sam Cuykendall however called early in the forenoon, touched very lightly on the subject of our property but talked about pictures and finally bought a little picture 12 x 14 I call "Sundown" as a wedding present for Minnie Cornell. He told me to sell my place if I could, that his wife did not want to go up on the hill and that they had about concluded to build where they are. Bradford came in the afternoon and told me Earl Grosvenor a son of the Duke of Westminster had bought my picture in the Academy "An Autumn Memory" for $1000 and he paid me the money in ten new crisp gold certificates for $100. each. How good they looked and what a power they possessed of lifting a load of anxieties

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---------- Reopened for Editing 2023-03-25 18:41:13