But while in his leisure moments he could indulge in such hopeful dreams,
his chief care at that time, as stated at the beginning of this chapter,
was to earn money by the exercise of his profession. His important
painting of the Louvre, from which he had hoped so much, was placed on
exhibition, and, while it received high praise from the artists, its
exhibition barely paid expenses, and it was finally sold to Mr. George
Clarke, of Hyde Hall, on Otsego Lake, for thirteen hundred dollars,
although the artist had expected to get at least twenty-five hundred
dollars for it. In a letter to Mr. Clarke, of June 30, 1834, he says:--

"The picture of the Louvre was intended originally for an exhibition
picture, and I painted it in the expectation of disposing of it to some
person for that purpose who could amply remunerate himself from the
receipts of a well-managed exhibition. The time occupied upon this
picture was fourteen months, and at much expense and inconvenience, so
that that sum [$2500] for it, if sold under such circumstances, would not
be more than a fair compensation.

"I was aware that but few, if any, gentlemen in our country would be
willing to expend so large a sum on a single picture, although in fact
they would, in this case, purchase seven-and-thirty in one.

"I have lately changed my plans in relation to this picture and to my art
generally, and consequently I am able to dispose of it at a much less
price. I have need of funds to prosecute my new plans, and, if this
picture could now realize the sum of twelve hundred dollars it would at
this moment be to me equivalent in value to the sum first set upon it."

The change of plans no doubt referred to his desire to pursue his
electrical experiments, and for this ready money was most necessary, and