Success in any undertaking comes of patient, unremitting effort. You cannot have it, unless you resolutely concentrate your energies upon your work; and resolutely refuse to be diverted by other subjects, no matter how important or interesting. When something else thrusts itself in, and demands notice, you must be ready to say: “I pass that by. I am going ahead.”

Anna Wharton Seward Portrait by Frank Buchser
c. 1869
Oil on canvas portrait of Anna Wharton Seward, wife of Frederick Seward, and daughter-in-law of Sec. Seward. Painted by Swiss artist Frank Buchser, Ana served as the official hostess of Seward's Washington, D.C. residences. Anna was responsible for planning and organizing all of Seward's dinner parties that included guests from across the country and around the world.
