In  justice  to  him  I  ought  to  add  that  were  he
living,  he  would  not  consent  to  the  publication  of  any
of  his  studies  or  sketches,  for  he  regarded  all  alike,
as  crude,  imperfect  work,  tentative  and  experimentive;
indeed,  they  are  to  be  viewed  only  as  an  untrained
boy's  efforts,  feeling  his  way  amid  uncommon  diffi-
culties to  the  career  of  an  artist.  But  they  help  to  con-
firm my  often  expressed  opinion  that  sooner  or  later
there  will  spring  up  an  American  school  of  art,  of  a
national  character,  as  vigorous  and  original  as  any  of
other  lands  in  the  past  centuries.  For  doubtless  there
are  many  others  of  our  youths  quietly  striving  to  this
end  and  biding  their  opportunities.
During  the  wearisome  seven  years  of  his  invalidism
he  never  showed  impatience  or  uttered  a  complaint.
Persevering,  quiet,  cheerful,  with  a  rare  feeling  for
humor  and  fun,  his  intellect  steadily  grew  brighter
and  more  profound  as  his  body  weakened.  Once  he
remarked  :  "I  am  so  decayed;  like  a  spoilt  egg,r  as  if
apologising  to  himself  for  not  doing  more,  adding  that
he  wished  no  more  visits  from  physicians.  "They  do  not
know  how  wre  feel  inside"  — telling  one  of  his  sisters


"I  have  no  fear  of  death;  I  shall  be  the  first  to  go."
However,  it  was  seldom  that  he  alluded  to  these
topics,  for  his  extreme  reticence  in  all  that  regarded
himself  was  a  characteristic  trait.  Art  was  ever  the
welcome  theme  and  the  discussion  of  whatever  related
to  it.
