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464

Mr. Gibson an architect, a friend of Bonyers dined with us and he and Bonyer came around to the monthly meeting at the club. First they went with Dewing, Sara & Mary up to see my pictures, but the gallery had closed before they reached there. There was an excellent notice of my collection in the "Mail & Express" by Mr. Darnett and many of my friends had been to see my pictures and all spoke encouragingly and in praise.

Sunday March 4" 1888. Cold as Winter again with high N.W. wind. Sara, Mary and I went to hear Mr. Williams at Dr. Rollins church, the first time I have been inside a church in a long time. We went around to the club after this service to see the pictures. About 4 o'clock Sara and I went over to Hoboken and made a call upon Mrs. Pychonska. We saw her, Edith, Marion and Eugene. It was very cold and the ferry boat was crowded with Germans. The ferry slip on the N.Y. side was packed with ice. On our way back we went to Fred Nortons to tea where we met John McEntee, Lily, Julia, and Fred and Annie. Aunt Christina also came in after tea and seemed very pleased to see us.

Monday 5. Still cold. There was a long and favorable notice of my collection in the Tribune this morning which ought to do me a great deal of good if such things are worth anything and I presume they are to many people. Still the pictures which these [[?]] praise most do not seem to be liked by picture buyers. I went up to the gallery and saw Somerville. He spoke hopefully. I am to make some notes in a catalogue for his use if he needs them. The Herald had rather an ill natured notice of my work. I also received a copy of the Washington Star with a reference to my collection. Mrs. Anderson called to see me and has invited Sara and me to dinner there next Sunday. I wrote Reid a note thanking him for the notice he had given me. Sara, Mary, Dewing and I went up to see my collection by gaslight as I had not seen it before. It looked very well. It was snowing hard and there were only a few people there. I left them (Sara & Mary) there and went up to Columbia College to an illustrated lecture on the Panama Canal. It was an interesting theme badly presented and was very unsatisfactory. The room was crowded and ill ventilated, the lecturer entirely confined to his notes and the photographs not selected judiciously. The views of the work all seemed to be distant ones whereas we wished for near and detailed ones.

Tuesday 6" Cold. Painted a little on two small pictures I have underway. Sara came in and went up to the gallery to take some of the private catalogues I had left and to see how the attendance was. She returned about 5.30 and said there were a good many people there and who looked as though they were buyers. She met Miss Nixon and Mrs. Butler. We went to Fred Nortons to dine at 6.30. Mary and Calvert, Lily, Julia Sara and I with Fred and Annie. Aunt Christina came in in the evening. We had a pleasant evening.

Wednesday 7" The sun arose clear this morning and everything seemed favorable for my sale which occurred at 8 o'clock in the evening. There was a fine large audience but the bidding was timid and spiritless and the whole 75 pictures realized only $6.375 including frames. I was in a measure prepared for this but still feel humiliated and injured. The only consolation is that I need the money and it is far better than borrowing. My pictures I did not seem able to sell and in my condition the money will make me more comfortable than the pictures. If it had not been for my personal friends I doubt if I could have got bids on all my pictures. Sam Coykendall bought 11 and Fred Norton three or four. John Forsyth and his wife and Miss Isabella Forsyth came down to the sale and bought. The Century 

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