He was then struggling to support his family by his
attempts in the art of painting, in which he was self-taught; and it
immediately occurred to him that, if he could discover the secret of
making these cups, his toils and difficulties would be at an end. From
that moment his whole thoughts were directed to this object; and in one of
his works he has himself given us such an account of the unconquerable
zeal with which he prosecuted his experiments, as it is impossible to read
without the deepest interest. For some time he had little or nothing to
expend upon the pursuit which he had so much at heart; but at last he
happened to receive a considerable sum of money for a work which he had
finished, and this enabled him to commence his researches. He spent the
whole of his money, however, without meeting with any success, and he was
now poorer than ever. Yet it was in vain that his wife and friends
besought him to relinquish what they deemed his chimerical and ruinous
project. He borrowed more money, with which he repeated his experiments;
and, when he had no more fuel wherewith to feed his furnaces, he cut down
his chairs and tables for that purpose.
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