At the head of this class are Messrs.

Monroe and Morse.

The prize of history may be contended for by Mr.Northcote and Mr.Stothard.
We should award it to the former.

After these gentlemen Messrs.

Hilton, Turner, Lane, Monroe, and Morse follow in the same class." (London "Globe," May 14, 1813.) [Illustration: THE DYING HERCULES Painted by Morse in 1813] In commemorating the "preeminent works of this exhibition," out of nearly two thousand pictures, this critic places the "Dying Hercules" among the first twelve.
On June 13, 1813, Morse thus writes to his parents:-- "I send by this opportunity (Mr.Elisha Goddard) the little cast of the Hercules which obtained the prize this year at the Adelphi, and also the gold medal, which was the premium presented to me, before a large assembly of the nobility and gentry of the country, by the Duke of Norfolk, who also paid me a handsome compliment at the same time.
"There were present Lord Percy, the Margravine of Anspach, the Turkish, Sardinian, and Russian Ambassadors, who were pointed out to me, and many noblemen whom I do not now recollect.
"My great picture also has not only been received at the Royal Academy, but has one of the finest places in the rooms.