us far carried on, a system of neatness in my
painting-room which I never could have with Henry. Everything has its
place, and every morning the room is swept and all things put in
order....

"I have as much as I can do in painting. I do not mean by this that I
have the overflow that I had in Charleston, nor do I wish it. A hard
shower is soon over; I wish rather the gentle, steady, continuing rain. I
feel that I have a character to obtain and maintain, and therefore my
pictures must be carefully studied. I shall not by this method paint so
fast nor acquire property so fast, but I shall do what is better, secure
a continuance of patronage and success.

"I have no disposition to be a nine days' wonder, all the rage for a
moment and then forgotten forever; compelled on this very account to
wander from city to city, to shine a moment in one and then pass on to
another."

In a letter of a later date he says:--

"I am going on prosperously through the kindness of Providence in raising
up many friends who are exerting themselves in my favor. My storms are
partly over, and a clear and pleasant day is dawning upon me."

CHAPTER XIII

JANUARY 4, 1825--NOVEMBER 18, 1825

Success in New York.--Chosen to paint portrait of Lafayette.--Hope of a
permanent home with his family.--Meets Lafayette in Washington.--Mutually
attracted.--Attends President's levee.--Begins portrait of Lafayette.--
Death of his wife.--Crushed by the news.--His attachment to her.--Epitaph
composed by Benjamin Silliman.--Bravely takes up his work again.--
Finishes portrait of Lafayette.--Describes it in letter of a later date.
--Sonnet on death of Lafayette's dog.--Rents a house in Canal Street, New
York.--One of the founders of National Academy of Design.--Tactful
resolutions on organization.--First thirty members.--Morse elected first
president.--Reelected every year until 1845.--Again made president in
1861.--Lectures on Art.--Popularity.

It is a commonly accepted belief that a particularly fine, clear day is
apt to be followed by a storm. Meteorologists can probably give
satisfactory scientific reasons for this phenomenon, but, be that as it
may, how often do we find a parallel in human affairs. A period of
prosperity and happiness in the life of a man or of a nation is almost
invariably followed by calamities, small or great; but, fortunately for
individuals and for nations, the converse is also true. The creeping
pendulum of fate, pausing