Wrote to Sara on Thursday on which day we received a letter from Lucy announcing their arrival at Apache after a very laborious and difficult journey of two weeks. Have received a letter from Menger in which he tells me my picture went to San Francisco on Aug 6th and is due there on Monday. Also received a letter from Cyrus Butler full of hope and enthusiasm for business and Art interests in the near future. I cannot share them wholly. Attended a meeting of the Common Council at which the annual assessment of taxes was to be considered. In this city we are assessed at the actual value of property while in the rest of the county the old rates have been adhered to or at best a slight increase thus unjustly largely increasing our share of taxation. The Mayor decided that the Council had no jurisdiction, which I think sound but a public sentiment has been aroused which must accomplish some plan of relief. Rachel Carle is here trying to do some thing in the way of coloring photographs by some new process, and while I feel sorry for her I confess it is very irksome to have to listen constantly to the troubles of others while we have so many anxieties of our own to bear. Wrote to Whittredge on the 12th and received a letter from home a few days ago. He has decided to go on the coast near Newport somewhere and was to go on Thursday. Will write me as soon as he gets settled. Received a letter from Church anxious to have me go to Maine in the region of Mt. Katahdin with him. As I had previously declined to go, thinking I dare say I could not afford it, he very delicately asks me to paint him a little sketch and to let him pay my expenses in return. I shall have to decline while I recognise his friendly intention. In the first place I must go somewhere to work and not to merely enjoy myself and in the second place it would be most embarrassing to go in this way. The anxious days are beginning to settle down upon me. Out of all the money I have earned the past year more than $6,000 I have almost nothing left to go sketching and we are so pressed here at home for money that I fear what little I have I shall have to draw on for our daily expenses here. I wish I could sell some of the pictures I have in various places, but there seems no likelihood of that and the future with its demands looms darkly ahead of me. I hope Whittredge will find a nice place to sketch and I shall try to join him and in work try to forget my anxieties. Wrote to Booth and to Lucy.
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