As I Grew Up I Was Fervently

Thank God It Has Rained All Day. I Say Thank God, Though Rain Is No Rarity, Because It Is The Duty Of Every Man To Be Thankful For Whatever Happens By The Will Of The Omnipotent Creator; Yet It Was Not So Agreeable To Any Of My Party As A Fine Day Would Have Been.

The Fact Is I Am Growing Old Too Fast, Alas! I Feel It, And Yet Work I Will, And May God Grant Me Life To See The Last Plate Of My Mammoth Work Finished.

To Have Been Torn From The Study Would Have Been As Death; My Time Was Entirely Occupied With Art.

When The Bird And The Book Disagree, Believe The Bird.

I Can Scarcely Manage To Scribble A Tolerable English Letter. I Know That I Am Not A Scholar, But Meantime I Am Aware That No Man Living Knows Better Than I Do The Habits Of Our Birds.