1813, to be forwarded
to his parents, it never reached them until over two years later. The
superstitious will say that the date of sending may have had something to
do with this.

Up to this time everything, except the attitude of England towards
America, had been _couleur de rose_ to the enthusiastic young artist. He
was making rapid progress in his studies and was receiving the encomiums
of his fellow artists and of the critics. His parents were denying
themselves in order to provide the means for his support, and, while he
was duly appreciative of their goodness, he could not help taking it more
or less as a matter of course. He was optimistic with regard to the
future, falling into the common error of gifted young artists that,
because of their artistic success, financial success must of necessity
follow. He had yet to be proved in the school of adversity, and he had
not long to wait. But I shall let the letters tell the story better than
I can. The last letter from him to his parents from which I have quoted
was written on August 12 and 26, 1813.

On March 12, 1814, he writes from London after his return from Bristol:--

"There is a great drawback to my writing long letters to you; I mean the
uncertainty of their reaching you.

"Mama's long letter gave me particular pleasure. Some of her
observations, however, made me smile, especially the reasons she assigns
for the contempt and hatred of England for America. First, I am inclined
to doubt the fact of there being so many _infidel_ Americans in the
country; second, if there were, there are not so many _religious_ people
here who would take the pains to enquire whether they had religion or
not; and third, it is not by seeing the individual Americans that an
opinion unfavorable to us is prevalent in England....

"With respect to my religious sentiments, they are unshaken; their
influence, I hope, will always guide me through life. I hear various
preachings on Sundays, sometimes Mr. Burder, but most commonly the Church
of England clergy, as a church is in my neighborhood and Mr. B.'s three
miles distant. I most commonly heard Dr. Biddulph, of St. James's Church,
a most excellent, orthodox, evangelical man. I was on the point many
times of going to hear Mr. Lowell, who is one of the dissenting clergymen
of Bristol, but, as the weather proved very unfavorable, uncommonly so
every Sunday I was there, and I was at a great distance from his church,
I was disappointed