Samuel F. B. Morse, His Letters and Journals
by
Samuel F. B. Morse
Part 8 out of 9
be flashed to thousands of waiting operators all over the world, and that
answers would be received during the course of the evening. The pleasant
task of sending the message had been delegated to Miss Sadie E. Cornwell,
a skilful young operator of attractive personality, and Morse himself was
to manipulate the key which sent his name, in the dots and dashes of his
own alphabet, over the wires.
The vast audience was hushed into absolute silence as Miss Cornwell
clicked off the message which Morse had composed for the occasion:
"Greeting and thanks to the Telegraph fraternity throughout the world.
Glory to God in the highest, on earth peace, good will to men."
As Mr. Orton escorted Morse to the table a tremendous burst of applause
broke out, but was silenced by a gesture from the presiding officer, and
again the great audience was still. Slowly the inventor spelled out the
letters of his name, the click of the instrument being clearly heard in
every part of the house, and as clearly understood by the hundreds of
telegraphers present, so that without waiting for the final dot, which
typified the letter e, the whole vast assembly rose amid deafening cheers
and the waving of handkerchiefs.
It was an inspiring moment, and the venerable man was almost overcome by
his emotions, and sat for some time with his head buried in his hands,
striving to regain his self-control.
When the excitement had somewhat subsided, Mr. Orton said: "Thus the
Father of the Telegraph bids farewell to his children."
The current was then switched to an instrument behind the scenes, and
answers came pouring in, first from near-by towns and cities, and then
from New Orleans, Quebec, San Francisco, Halifax, Havana, and finally
from Hongkong, Bombay, and Singapore.
Mr. Reid has given a detailed account of these messages in his "Telegraph
in America," but I shall not pause to reproduce them here; neither shall
I quote from the eloquent speeches which followed, delivered by General
N.P. Banks, the Reverend H.M. Gallagher, G.K. Walcott, and James D. Reid.
After Miss Antoinette Sterling had sung "Auld Lang Syne," to the great
delight of the audience, who recalled her several times, Chief Justice
Charles P. Daly introduced Professor Morse in an appropriate address.
As the white-haired inventor, in whose honor this great demonstration had
been organized, stepped forward to deliver his, valedictory, he was
greeted with another round of cheering and applause. At first almost
overcome by emotion, he soon recovered his self-control, and he read his
address in a clear, resonant voice which carried to every part of the
house. The address was a long one, and as most of it is but a
recapitulation of what has been already given, I shall only quote from it
in part:--
"Friends and children of the telegraph,--When I was solicited to be
present this evening, in compliance with the wishes of those who, with
such zeal and success, responded to the suggestion of one of your number
that a commemorative statue should be erected in our unrivaled Park, and
which has this day been placed in position and unveiled, I hesitated to
comply. Not that I did not feel a wish in person to return to you my
heartfelt thanks for this unique proof of your personal regard, but truly
from a fear that I could use no terms which would adequately express my
appreciation of your kindness. Whatever I say must fall short of
expressing the grateful feelings or conflicting emotions which agitate me
on an occasion so unexampled in the history of invention. Gladly would I
have shrunk from this public demonstration were it not that my absence
to-night, under the circumstances, might be construed into an apathy
which I do not feel, and which your overpowering kindness would justly
rebuke....
"You have chosen to impersonate in my humble effigy an invention which,
cradled upon the ocean, had its birth in an American ship. It was nursed
and cherished not so much from personal as from patriotic motives.
Forecasting its future, even at its birth, my most powerful stimulus to
perseverance through all the perils and trials of its early days--and
they were neither few nor insignificant--was the thought that it must
inevitably be world-wide in its application, and, moreover, that it would
everywhere be hailed as a grateful American gift to the nations. It is in
this aspect of the present occasion that I look upon your proceedings as
intended, not so much as homage to an individual, as to the invention,
'whose lines [from America] have gone out through all the earth, and
their words to the end of the world.'
"In the carrying-out of any plan of improvement, however grand or
feasible, no single individual could possibly accomplish it without the
aid of others. We are none of us so powerful that we can dispense with
the assistance, in various departments of the work, of those whose
experience and knowledge must supply the needed aid of their expertness.
It is not sufficient that a brilliant project be proposed, that its modes
of accomplishment are foreseen and properly devised; there are, in every
part of the enterprise, other minds and other agencies to be consulted
for information and counsel to perfect the whole plan. The Chief Justice,
in delivering the decision of the Supreme Court, says: 'It can make no
difference whether he [the inventor] derives his information from books
or from conversation with men skilled in the science.' And: 'The fact
that Morse sought and obtained the necessary information and counsel from
the best sources, and acted upon it, neither impairs his rights as an
inventor nor detracts from his merits.'
"The inventor must seek and employ the skilled mechanician in his
workshop to put the invention into practical form, and for this purpose
some pecuniary means are required as well as mechanical skill. Both these
were at hand. Alfred Vail, of Morristown, New Jersey, with his father and
brother, came to the help of the unclothed infant, and with their funds
and mechanical skill put it into a condition to appear before the
Congress of the nation. To these New Jersey friends is due the first
important aid in the progress of the invention. Aided also by the talent
and scientific skill of Professor Gale, my esteemed colleague in the
University, the Telegraph appeared in Washington in 1838, a suppliant for
the means to demonstrate its power. To the Honorable F.O.J. Smith, then
chairman of the House Committee of Commerce, belongs the credit of a just
appreciation of the new invention, and of a zealous advocacy of an
experimental essay, and the inditing of an admirably written report in
its favor, signed by every member of the committee.... To Ezra Cornell,
whose noble benefactions to his state and the country have placed his
name by the side of Cooper and Peabody high on the roll of public
benefactors, is due the credit of early and effective aid in the
superintendence and erection of the first public line of telegraph ever
established."
After paying tribute to the names of Amos Kendall, Cyrus Field, Volta,
Oersted, Arago, Schweigger, Gauss and Weber, Steinheil, Daniell, Grove,
Cooke, Dana, Henry, and others, he continued:--
"There is not a name I have mentioned, and many whom I have not
mentioned, whose career in science or experience in mechanical and
engineering and nautical tactics, or in financial practice, might not be
the theme of volumes rather than of brief mention in an ephemeral
address.
"To-night you have before you a sublime proof of the grand progress of
the Telegraph in its march round the globe. It is but a few days since
that our veritable antipodes became telegraphically united to us. We can
speak to and receive an answer in a few seconds of time from Hongkong in
China, where ten o'clock to-night here is ten o'clock in the day there,
and it is, perhaps, a debatable question whether their ten o'clock is ten
to-day or ten to-morrow. China and New York are in interlocutory
communication. We know the fact, but can imagination realize the fact?
"But I must not further trespass on your patience at this late hour. I
cannot close without the expression of my cordial thanks to my
long-known, long-tried and honored friend Reid, whose unwearied labors
early contributed so effectively to the establishment of telegraph lines,
and who, in a special manner as chairman of your Memorial Fund, has so
faithfully, and successfully, and admirably carried to completion your
flattering design. To the eminent Governors of this state and the state
of Massachusetts, who have given to this demonstration their honored
presence; to my excellent friend the distinguished orator of the day; to
the Mayor and city authorities of New York; to the Park Commissioners; to
the officers and managers of the various, and even rival, telegraph
companies, who have so cordially united on this occasion; to the numerous
citizens, ladies and gentlemen; and, though last not least, to every one
of my large and increasing family of telegraph children who have honored
me with the proud title of Father, I tender my cordial thanks."
CHAPTER XL
JUNE 14, 1871--APRIL 16, 1872
Nearing the end.--Estimate of the Reverend F.B. Wheeler.--Early poem.--
Leaves "Locust Grove" for last time.--Death of his brother Sidney.--
Letter to Cyrus Field on neutrality of telegraph.--Letter of F.O.J. Smith
to H.J. Rogers.--Reply by Professor Gale.--Vicious attack by F.O.J.
Smith.--Death prevents reply by Morse.--Unveils statue of Franklin in
last public appearance.--Last hours.--Death.--Tributes of James D. Reid,
New York "Evening Post," New York "Herald," and Louisville
"Courier-Journal."--Funeral.--Monument in Greenwood Cemetery.--Memorial
services in House of Representatives, Washington.--Address of James G.
Blaine.--Other memorial services.--Mr. Prime's review of Morse's
character.--Epilogue.
The excitement caused by all these enthusiastic demonstrations in his
honor told upon the inventor both physically and mentally, as we learn
from a letter of June 14, 1871, to his daughter Mrs. Lind and her
husband:--
"So fatigued that I can scarcely keep my eyes open, I nevertheless,
before retiring to my bed, must drop you a line of enquiry to know what
is your condition. We have only heard of your arrival and of your first
unfavorable impressions. I hope these latter are removed, and that you
are both benefiting by change of air and the waters of the Clifton
Springs.
"You know how, in the last few days, we have all been overwhelmed with
unusual cares. The grand ceremonies of the Park and the Academy of Music
are over, but have left me in a good-for-nothing condition. Everything
went off splendidly, indeed, as you will learn from the papers.... I find
it more difficult to bear up with the overwhelming praise that is poured
out without measure, than with the trials of my former life. There is
something so remarkable in this universal laudation that the effect on
me, strange as it may seem, is rather depressing than exhilarating.
"When I review my past life and see the way in which I have been led, I
am so convinced of the faithfulness of God in answer to the prayers of
faith, which I have been enabled in times of trial to offer to Him, that
I find the temper of my mind is to constant praise: 'Bless the Lord, Oh
my soul, and forget not all his benefits!' is ever recurring to me. It is
doubtless this continued referring all to Him that prevents this
universal demonstration of kindly feeling from puffing me up with the
false notion that I am anything but the feeblest of instruments. I cannot
give you any idea of the peculiar feelings which gratify and yet oppress
me."
He had planned to cross the ocean once more, partly as a delegate to
Russia from the Evangelical Alliance, and partly to see whether it would
not be possible to induce Prussia and Switzerland and other European
nations, from whom he had as yet received no pecuniary remuneration, to
do him simple justice. But, for various reasons, this trip was abandoned,
and from those nations he never received anything but medals and praise.
So the last summer of the aged inventor's life was spent at his beloved
Locust Grove, not free from care and anxiety, as he so well deserved, but
nevertheless, thanks to his Christian philosophy, in comparative serenity
and happiness. His pastor in Poughkeepsie, the Reverend F.B. Wheeler,
says of him in a letter to Mr. Prune: "In his whole character and in all
his relations he was one of the most remarkable men of his age. He was
one who drew all who came in contact with him to his heart, disarming all
prejudices, silencing all cavil. In his family he was light, life, and
love; with those in his employ he was ever considerate and kind, never
exacting and harsh, but honorable and just, seeking the good of every
dependent; in the community he was a pillar of strength and beauty,
commanding the homage of universal respect; in the Church he walked with
God and men."
That he was a man of great versatility has been shown, in the recital of
his activities as artist, inventor, and writer; that he had no mean
ability as a poet is also on record. On January 6, 1872, he says in a
letter to his cousin, Mrs. Thomas R. Walker: "Some years ago, when both
of us were younger, I remember addressing to you a trifle entitled 'The
Serenade,' which, on being shown to Mr. Verplanck, was requested for
publication in the 'Talisman,' edited and conducted by him and Mr. Sands.
I have not seen a copy of that work for many years, and have preserved no
copy of 'The Serenade.' If you have a copy I should be pleased to have
it."
He was delicately discreet in saying "some years ago," for this poem was
written in 1827 as the result of a wager between Morse and his young
cousin, he having asserted that he could write poetry as well as paint
pictures, and requesting her to give him a theme. It seems that the young
lady had been paid the compliment of a serenade a few nights previously,
but she had, most unromantically, slept through it all, so she gave as
her theme "The Serenade," and the next day Morse produced the following
poem:--
THE SERENADE
Haste! 't is the stillest hour of night,
The Moon sheds down her palest light,
And sleep has chained the lake and hill,
The wood, the plain, the babbling rill;
And where yon ivied lattice shows
My fair one slumbers in repose.
Come, ye that know the lovely maid,
And help prepare the serenade.
Hither, before the night is flown,
Bring instruments of every tone.
But lest with noise ye wake, not lull,
Her dreaming fancy, ye must cull
Such only as shall soothe the mind
And leave the harshest all behind.
Bring not the thundering drum, nor yet
The harshly-shrieking clarionet,
Nor screaming hautboy, trumpet shrill,
Nor clanging cymbals; but, with skill,
Exclude each one that would disturb
The fairy architects, or curb
The wild creations of their mirth,
All that would wake the soul to earth.
Choose ye the softly-breathing-flute,
The mellow horn, the loving lute;
The viol you must not forget,
And take the sprightly flageolet
And grave bassoon; choose too the fife,
Whose warblings in the tuneful strife,
Mingling in mystery with the words,
May seem like notes of blithest birds.
Are ye prepared? Now lightly tread
As if by elfin minstrels led,
And fling no sound upon the air
Shall rudely wake my slumbering fair.
Softly! Now breathe the symphony,
So gently breathe the tones may vie
In softness with the magic notes
In visions heard; music that floats
So buoyant that it well may seem,
With strains ethereal in her dream,
One song of such mysterious birth
She doubts it comes from heaven or earth.
Play on! My loved one slumbers still.
Play on! She wakes not with the thrill
Of joy produced by strains so mild,
But fancy moulds them gay and wild.
Now, as the music low declines,
'T is sighing of the forest pines;
Or 't is the fitful, varied war
Of distant falls or troubled shore.
Now, as the tone grows full or sharp,
'T is whispering of the AEolian harp.
The viol swells, now low, now loud,
'T is spirits chanting on a cloud
That passes by. It dies away;
So gently dies she scarce can say
'T is gone; listens; 't is lost she fears;
Listens, and thinks again she hears.
As dew drops mingling in a stream
To her 't is all one blissful dream,
A song of angels throned in light.
Softly! Away! Fair one, good-night.
In the autumn of 1871 Morse returned with his family to New York, and it
is recorded that, with an apparent premonition that he should never see
his beloved Locust Grove again, he ordered the carriage to stop as he
drove out of the gate, and, standing up, looked long and lovingly at the
familiar scene before telling the coachman to drive on. And as he passed
the rural cemetery on the way to the station he exclaimed: "Beautiful!
beautiful! but I shall not lie there. I have prepared a place elsewhere."
Not long after his return to the city death once more laid its heavy hand
upon him in the loss of his sole surviving brother, Sidney. While this
was a crushing blow, for these two brothers had been peculiarly attached
to each other, he bore it with Christian resignation, confident that the
separation would be for a short time only--"We must soon follow, I also
am over eighty years, and am waiting till my change comes."
But his mind was active to the very end, and he never ceased to do all in
his power for the welfare of mankind. One of the last letters written by
him on a subject of public importance was sent on December 4, 1871, to
Cyrus Field, who was then attending an important telegraphic convention
in Rome:--
"Excuse my delay in writing you. The excitement occasioned by the visit
of the Grand Duke Alexis has but just ceased, and I have been wholly
engrossed by the various duties connected with his presence. I have
wished for a few calm moments to put on paper some thoughts respecting
the doings of the great Telegraphic Convention to which you are a
delegate.
"The Telegraph has now assumed such a marvellous position in human
affairs throughout the world, its influences are so great and important
in all the varied concerns of nations, that its efficient protection from
injury has become a necessity. It is a powerful advocate for universal
peace. Not that of itself it can command a 'Peace, be still!' to the
angry waves of human passions, but that, by its rapid interchange of
thought and opinion, it gives the opportunity of explanations to acts and
to laws which, in their ordinary wording, often create doubt and
suspicion. Were there no means of quick explanation it is readily seen
that doubt and suspicion, working on the susceptibilities of the public
mind, would engender misconception, hatred and strife. How important then
that, in the intercourse of nations, there should be the ready means at
hand for prompt correction and explanation.
"Could there not be passed in the great International Convention some
resolution to the effect that, in whatever condition, whether of Peace or
War between the nations, the Telegraph should be deemed a sacred thing,
to be by common consent effectually protected both on the land and
beneath the waters?
"In the interest of human happiness, of that 'Peace on Earth' which, in
announcing the advent of the Saviour, the angels proclaimed with 'good
will to men,' I hope that the convention will not adjourn without
adopting a resolution asking of the nations their united, effective
protection to this great agent of civilization."
Richly as he deserved that his sun should set in an unclouded sky, this
was not to be. Sorrows of a most intimate nature crowded upon him. He was
also made the victim of a conscienceless swindler who fleeced him of many
thousand dollars, and, to crown all, his old and indefatigable enemy,
F.O.J. Smith, administered a cowardly thrust in the back when his
weakening powers prevented him from defending himself with his oldtime
vigor. From a very long letter written by Smith on December 11, 1871, to
Henry J. Rogers in Washington, I shall quote only the first sentences:--
Dear Sir,--In my absence your letter of the 11th ult. was received here,
with the printed circular of the National Monumental Society, in reply to
which I feel constrained to say if that highly laudable association
resolves "to erect at the national capital of the United States a
memorial monument" to symbolize in statuary of colossal proportions the
"history of the electromagnetic telegraph," before that history has been
authentically written, it is my conviction: that the statue most worthy
to stand upon the pedestal of such monument would be that of the man of
true science, who explored the laws of nature ahead of all other men, and
was "the first to wrest electron-magnetism from Nature's embrace and make
it a missionary to, the cause of human progress," and that man is
Professor Joseph Henry, of the Smithsonian Institution.
Professor Morse and his early coadjutors would more appropriately occupy,
in groups of high relief, the sides of that pedestal, symbolizing, by
their established merits and cooperative works, the grandeur of the
researches and resulting discoveries of their leader and chief, who was
the first to announce and to demonstrate to a despairing world, by actual
mechanical agencies, the practicability of; an electro-magnetic telegraph
through any distances.
Much more of the same flatulent bombast follows which it will not be
necessary to introduce here. While Morse himself naturally felt some
delicacy in noticing such an attack as this, he found a willing, and
efficient champion in his old friend (and the friend of Henry as well)
Professor Leonard D. Gale, who writes to him on January 22, 1872:--
"I have lately seen a mean, unfair, and villainous letter of F.O.J.
Smith, addressed to H.J. Rogers (officer of the Morse Monumental
Association), alleging that the place on the monument designed to be
occupied by the statue of Morse, should be awarded to Henry; that Morse
was not a scientific man, etc., etc. It was written in his own peculiar
style. The allegations were so outrageous that I felt it my duty to reply
to it without delay. As Smith's letter was to Rogers, as an officer of
the Association, I sent my reply to the same person. I enclose a copy
herewith.
"Mrs. Gale suggests an additional figure to the group on the monument--a
serpent with the face of F.O.J.S., biting the heel of Morse, but with the
fangs extracted."
Professor Gale's letter to Henry J. Rogers is worthy of being quoted in
full:--
"I have just read a letter from F.O.J. Smith, dated December 11, 1871,
addressed to you, and designed to throw discredit on Morse's invention of
the Telegraph, the burden of which seems to be rebuke to the designer of
the monument, for elevating Morse to the apex of the monument and
claiming for Professor J. Henry, of the Smithsonian Institution, that
high distinction.
"The first question of an impartial inquirer is: 'To which of these
gentlemen is the honor due?' To ascertain this we will ask a second
question: 'Was the subject of the invention a _machine_, or was it _a new
fact in science_?' The answer is: 'It was a _machine_.' The first was
Morse's, the latter was Henry's. Henry stated that electric currents
might be sent through long distances applicable to telegraphic purposes.
Morse took the facts as they then existed, invented a machine, harnessed
the steed therein, and set the creature to work. There is honor due to
Henry for his great discovery of the scientific principle; there is honor
also due to Morse for his invention of the ingenious machine which
accomplishes the work.
"Men of science regard the discovery of a new fact in science as a higher
attainment than the application of it to useful purposes, while the world
at large regards the _application_ of the principle or fact in science to
the useful arts as of paramount importance. All honor to the discoverer
of a new fact in science; equal honor to him who utilizes that fact for
the benefit of mankind.
"Has the world forgotten what Robert Fulton did for the navigation of the
waters by steamboats? It was he who first applied steam to propel a
vessel and navigated the Hudson for the first time with steam and
paddle-wheels and vessel in 1807. Do not we honor him as the Father of
steamboats? Yet Fulton did not invent steam, nor the steam-engine, nor
paddle-wheels, nor the vessel. He merely adapted a steam-engine to a
vessel armed with paddle-wheels. The combination was his invention.
"There is another example on record. Cyrus H. McCormick, the Father of
the Reaping and Mowing Machine, took out the first successful patent in
1837, and is justly acknowledged the world over as the inventor of this
great machine. Although one hundred and forty-six patents were granted in
England previous to McCormick's time, they are but so many unsuccessful
efforts to perfect a practical machine. The cutting apparatus, the device
to raise and lower the cutters, the levers, the platform, the wheels, the
framework, had all been used before McCormick's time. But McCormick was
the first genius able to put these separate devices together in a
practical, harmonious operation. The combination was his invention.
"Morse did more. He invented the form of the various parts of his machine
as well as their combination; he was the first to put such a machine into
practical operation; and for such a purpose who can question his title as
the Inventor of the Electric Telegraph?"
To the letter of Professor Gale, Morse replied on January 25:--
"Thank you sincerely for your effective interference in my favor in the
recent, but not unexpected, attack of F.O.J.S. I will, so soon as I can
free myself from some very pressing matters, write you more fully on the
subject. Yet I can add nothing to your perfectly clear exposition of the
difference between a discovery of a principle in science and its
application to a useful purpose. As for Smith's suggestion of putting
Henry on the top of the proposed monument, I can hardly suppose Professor
H. would feel much gratification on learning the character of his zealous
advocate. It is simply a matter of spite; carrying out his intense and
smothered antipathy to me, and not for any particular regard for
Professor H.
"As I have had nothing to do with the proposed monument, I have no
feeling on the subject. If they who have the direction of that monument
think the putting of Professor H. on the apex will meet the applause of
the public, including the expressed opinion of the entire world, by all
means put him there. I certainly shall make no complaint."
The monument was never erected, and this effort of Smith's to humiliate
Morse proved abortive. But his spite did not end there, as we learn from
the following letter written by Morse on February 26, 1872, to the
Reverend Aspinwall Hodge, of Hartford, Connecticut, the husband of one of
his nieces:--
"Some unknown person has sent me the advance sheets of a work (the pages
between 1233 and 1249) publishing in Hartford, the title of which is not
given, but I think is something like 'The Great Industries of the United
States.' The pages sent me are entitled 'The American Magnetic
Telegraph.' They contain the most atrocious and vile attack upon me which
has ever appeared in print. I shall be glad to learn who are the
publishers of this work, what are the characters of the publishers, and
whether they will give me the name or names of the author or authors of
this diatribe, and whether they vouch for the character of those who
furnished the article for their work.
"I know well enough, indeed, who the libellers are and their motives,
which arise from pure spite and revenge for having been legally defeated
parties in cases relating to the Telegraph before the courts. To you I
can say the concocters of this tirade are F.O.J. Smith, of bad notoriety,
and Henry O'Reilly.
"Are the publishers responsible men, and are they aware of the character
of those who have given them that article, particularly the moral
character of Smith, notorious for his debaucheries and condemned in court
for subornation of perjury, and one of the most revengeful men, who has
artfully got up this tirade because my agent, the late Honorable Amos
Kendall, was compelled to resist his unrighteous claim upon me for some
$25,000 which, after repeated trials lasting some twelve years, was at
length, by a decision of the Supreme Court of the United States, decided
against him, and he was adjudged to owe me some $14,000?
"Mr. Kendall, previous to his decease, managed the case which has thus
resulted. The necessity of seizing some property of his in the city of
Williamsburg, through the course of the legal proceedings, has aroused
his revengeful feelings, and he has openly threatened that he would be
revenged upon me for it, and he has for two or three years past with
O'Reilly been concocting this mode of revenge.
"If the publishers are respectable men, I think they will regret that
they have been the dupes of these arch conspirators. If not too late to
suppress that article I should be glad of an interview with them, in
which I will satisfy them that they have been most egregiously imposed
upon."
This was the last flash of that old fire which, when he was sufficiently
aroused by righteous indignation at unjust attacks, had enabled him to
strike out vigorously in self-defense, and had won him many a victory. He
was now nearing the end of his physical resources. He had fought the good
fight and he had no misgivings as to the verdict of posterity on his
achievements. He could fight no more, willing and mentally able though he
was to confound his enemies again. He must leave it to others to defend
his fame and good name in the future. The last letter which was copied
into his letter-press book was written on March 14, not three weeks
before the last summons came to him, and it refers to his old enemy who
thus pursued him even to the brink of the grave. It is addressed to F.J.
Mead, Esq.:--
"Although forbidden to read or write by my physician, who finds me
prostrate with a severe attack of neuralgia in the head, I yet must thank
you for your kind letter of the 12th inst.
"I should be much gratified to know what part Professor Henry has taken,
if any, in this atrocious and absurd attack of F.O.J.S. I have no fears
of the result, but no desire either to suspect any agency on the part of
Professor Henry. It is difficult for me to conceive that a man in his
position should not see the true position of the matter."
This vicious attack had no effect upon his fame. Dying as soon as it was
born, choked by its own venom, it was overwhelmed by the wave of sorrow
and sympathy which swept over the earth at the announcement of the death
of the great inventor.
His last public appearance was on January 17, 1872, when he, in company
with Horace Greeley, unveiled the statue of Benjamin Franklin in Printing
House Square, New York. It was a very cold day, but, against the advice
of his physician and his family, he insisted on being present. As he
drove up in his carriage and, escorted by the committee, ascended to the
platform, he was loudly cheered by the multitude which had assembled.
Standing uncovered in the biting air, he delivered the following short
address:--
"MR. DE GROOT AND FELLOW-CITIZENS,--I esteem it one of my highest honors
that I should have been designated to perform the office of unveiling
this day the fine statue of our illustrious and immortal Franklin. When
requested to accept this duty I was confined to my bed, but I could not
refuse, and I said: 'Yes, if I have to be lifted to the spot!'
"Franklin needs no eulogy from me. No one has more reason to venerate his
name than myself. May his illustrious example of devotion to the interest
of universal humanity be the seed of further fruit for the good of the
world."
Morse was to have been an honored guest at the banquet in the evening,
where in the speeches his name was coupled with that of Franklin as one
of the great benefactors of mankind; but, yielding to the wishes of his
family, he remained at home. He had all his life been a sufferer from
severe headaches, and now these neuralgic pains increased in severity, no
doubt aggravated by his exposure at the unveiling. When the paroxysms
were upon him he walked the floor in agony, pressing his hands to his
temples; but these seizures were, mercifully, not continuous, and he
still wrote voluminous letters, and tried to solve the problems which
were thrust upon him, even to the end.
One of the last acts of his life was to go down town with his youngest
son, whose birthday was the 29th of March, to purchase for him his first
gold watch, and that watch the son still carries, a precious memento of
his father.
Gradually the pains in the head grew less severe, but great weakness
followed, and he was compelled to keep to his bed, sinking into a
peaceful, painless unconsciousness relieved by an occasional flash of his
old vigor. To his pastor, Reverend Dr. William Adams, he expressed his
gratitude for the goodness of God to him, but added: "The best is yet to
come." He roused himself on the 29th of March, the birthday of his son,
kissing him and gazing with pleasure on a drawing sent to the boy by his
cousin, Mary Goodrich, pronouncing it excellent.
Shortly before the end pneumonia set in, and one of the attending
physicians, tapping on his chest, said "This is the way we doctors
telegraph"; and the dying man, with a momentary gleam of the old humor
lighting up his fading eyes, whispered, "Very good." These were the last
words spoken by him.
From a letter written by one who was present at his bedside to another
member of the family I shall quote a few words: "He is fast passing away.
It is touching to see him so still, so unconscious of all that is
passing, waiting for death. He has suffered much with neuralgia of the
head, increased of late by a miserable pamphlet by F.O.J.S. Poor dear
man! Strange that they could not leave him in peace in his old age. But
now all sorrow is forgotten. He lies quiet infant. Heaven is opening to
him with its peace and perfect rest. The doctor calls his sickness
'exhaustion of the brain.' He looks very handsome; the light of Heaven
seems shining on his beautiful eyes."
On April 1, consciousness returned for a few moments and he recognized
his wife and those around him with a smile, but without being able to
speak. Then he gradually sank to sleep and on the next day he gently
breathed his last.
His faithful and loving friend, James D. Reid, in the Journal of the
Telegraph, of which he was editor, paid tribute to his memory in the
following touching words:--
"In the ripeness and mellow sunshine of the end of an honored and
protracted life Professor Morse, the father of the American Telegraph
system, our own beloved friend and father, has gone to his rest. The
telegraph, the child of his own brain, has long since whispered to every
home in all the civilized world that the great inventor has passed away.
Men, as they pass each other on the street, say, with the subdued voice
of personal sorrow, 'Morse is dead.' Yet to us he lives. If he is dead it
is only to those who did not know him.
"It is not the habit of ardent affection to be garrulous in the
excitement of such an occasion as this. It would fain gaze on the dead
face in silence. The pen, conscious of its weakness, hesitates in its
work of endeavoring to reveal that which the heart can alone interpret in
a language sacred to itself, and by tears no eye may ever see. For such
reason we, who have so much enjoyed the sweetness of the presence of this
venerable man, now so calm in his last sacred sleep, to whom he often
came, with his cheerful and gentle ways, as to a son, so confiding of his
heart's tenderest thoughts, so free in the expression of his hopes of the
life beyond, find difficulty in making the necessary record of his
decease. We can only tell what the world has already known by the
everywhere present wires, that, on the evening of Tuesday, April 2,
Professor Morse, in the beautiful serenity of Christian hope, after a
life extended beyond fourscore years, folded his hands upon his breast
and bade the earth, and generation, and nation he had honored, farewell."
In the "Evening Post," probably from the pen of his old friend William
Cullen Bryant, was the following:--
"The name of Morse will always stand in the foremost rank of the great
inventors, each of whom has changed the face of society and given a new
direction to the growth of civilization by the application to the arts of
one great thought. It will always be read side by side with those of
Gutenberg and Schoeffer, or Watt and Fulton. This eminence he fairly
earned by one splendid invention. But none who knew the man will be
satisfied to let this world-wide and forever growing monument be the sole
record of his greatness.
"Had he never thought of the telegraph he would still receive, in death,
the highest honors friendship and admiration can offer to distinguished
and varied abilities, associated with a noble character. In early life he
showed the genius of a truly great artist. In after years he exercised
all the powers of a masterly scientific investigator. Throughout his
career he was eminent for the loftiness of his aims, for his resolute
faith in the strength of truth, for his capacity to endure and to wait;
and for his fidelity alike to his convictions and to his friends.
"His intellectual eminence was limited to no one branch of human effort,
but, in the judgment of men who knew him best, he had endowments which
might have made him, had he not been the chief of inventors, the most
powerful of advocates, the boldest and most effective of artists, the
most discerning of scientific physicians, or an administrative officer
worthy of the highest place and of the best days in American history."
The New York "Herald" said:--
"Morse was, perhaps, the most illustrious American of his age. Looking
over the expanse of the ages, we think more earnestly and lovingly of
Cadmus, who gave us the alphabet; of Archimedes, who invented the lever;
of Euclid, with his demonstrations in geometry; of Faust, who taught us
how to print; of Watt, with his development of steam, than of the
resonant orators who inflamed the passions of mankind, and the gallant
chieftains who led mankind to war. We decorate history with our Napoleons
and Wellingtons, but it was better for the world that steam was
demonstrated to be an active, manageable force, than that a French
Emperor and his army should win the battle of Austerlitz. And when a
Napoleon of peace, like the dead Morse, has passed away, and we come to
sum up his life, we gladly see that the world is better, society more
generous and enlarged, and mankind nearer the ultimate fulfillment of its
earthly mission because he lived; and did the work that was in him."
The Louisville "Courier-Journal" went even higher in its praise:--
"If it is legitimate to measure a man by the magnitude of his
achievements, the greatest man of the nineteenth century is dead. Some
days ago the electric current brought us the intelligence that S.F.B.
Morse was smitten with, paralysis. Since then it has brought us the
bulletins of his condition as promptly as if we had been living in the
same square, entertaining us with hopes which the mournful sequel has
proven to be delusive, for the magic wires have just thrilled with the
tidings to all nations that the father of telegraphy has passed to the
eternal world. Almost as quietly as the all-seeing eye saw the soul
depart from that venerable form, mortal men, thousands of miles distant,
are apprised of the same fact by the swift messenger which he won from
the unknown--speaking, as it goes around its world-wide circuit, in all
the languages of earth.
"Professor Morse took no royal road to this discovery. Indeed it is never
a characteristic of genius to seek such roads. He was dependent,
necessarily, upon facts and principles brought to light by similar
diligent, patient minds which had gone before him. Volta, Galvani,
Morcel, Grove, Faraday, Franklin, and a host of others had laid a basis
of laws and theories upon which he humbly and reverently mounted and
arranged his great problem for the hoped-for solution. But to him was
reserved the sole, undivided glory of discovering the priceless gem,
'richer than all its tribe,' which lay just beneath the surface, and
around which so many _savans_ had blindly groped.
"He is dead, but his mission was fully completed. It has been no man's
fortune to leave behind him a more magnificent legacy to earth, or a more
absolute title to a glorious immortality. To the honor of being one of
the most distinguished benefactors of the human race, he added the
personal and social graces and virtues of a true gentleman and a
Christian philosopher; The memory of his private worth will be kept green
amid the immortals of sorrowing friendship for a lifetime only, but his
life monument will endure among men as long as the human race exists upon
earth."
The funeral services were held on Friday, April 5, at the Madison Square
Presbyterian Church. At eleven o'clock the long procession entered the
church in the following order:--
Rev. Wm. Adams, D.D., Rev. F.B. Wheeler, D.D.
COFFIN.
PALL-BEARERS.
William Orton, Cyrus W. Field,
Daniel Huntington, Charles Butler,
Peter Cooper, John A. Dix,
Cambridge Livingston, Ezra Cornell.
The Family.
Governor Hoffman and Staff.
Members of the Legislature.
Directors of the New York, Newfoundland and London Telegraph Company.
Directors of the Western Union Telegraph Company and officers and
operators.
Members of the National Academy of Design.
Members of the Evangelical Alliance.
Members of the Chamber of Commerce.
Members of the Association for the Advancement of Science and Art.
Members of the New York Stock Exchange.
Delegations from the Common Councils of New York, Brooklyn and
Poughkeepsie and many of the Yale Alumni.
The Legislative Committee: Messrs. James W. Husted, L. Bradford Prince,
Samuel J. Tilden, Severn D. Moulton and John Simpson.
The funeral address, delivered by Dr. Adams, was long and eloquent, and
near the conclusion he said:--
"To-day we part forever with all that is mortal of that man who has done
so much in the cause of Christian civilization. Less than one year ago
his fellow-citizens, chiefly telegraphic operators, who loved him as
children love a father, raised his statue in Central Park. To-day all we
can give him is a grave. That venerable form, that face so saintly in its
purity and refinement, we shall see no more. How much we shall miss him
in our homes, our churches, in public gatherings, in the streets and in
society which he adorned and blessed. But his life has been so useful, so
happy and so complete that, for him, nothing remains to be wished.
Congratulate the man who, leaving to his family, friends and country a
name spotless, untarnished, beloved of nations, to be repeated in foreign
tongues and by sparkling seas, has died in the bright and blessed hope of
everlasting life.
"Farewell, beloved friend, honored citizen, public benefactor, good and
faithful servant!"
The three Morse brothers were united in death as they had been in life.
In Greenwood Cemetery a little hill had been purchased by the brothers
and divided into three equal portions. On the summit of the hill there
now stands a beautiful three-sided monument, and at its base reposes all
that is mortal of these three upright men, each surrounded by those whom
they had loved on earth, and who have now joined them in their last
resting place.
Resolutions of sympathy came to the family from all over the world, and
from bodies political, scientific, artistic, and mercantile, and letters
of condolence from friends and from strangers.
In the House of Representatives, in Washington, the Honorable S.S. Cox
offered a concurrent resolution, declaring that Congress has heard--"with
profound regret of the death of Professor Morse, whose distinguished and
varied abilities have contributed more than those of any other person to
the development and progress of the practical arts, and that his purity
of private life, his loftiness of scientific aims, and his resolute faith
in truth, render it highly proper that the Representatives and Senators
should solemnly testify to his worth and greatness."
This was unanimously agreed to. The Honorable Fernando Wood, after a
brief history of the legislation which resulted in the grant of $30,000
to enable Morse to test his invention, added that he was proud to say
that his name had been recorded in the affirmative on that historic
occasion, and that he was then the only living member of either house who
had so voted.
Similar resolutions were passed in the Senate, and a committee was
appointed by both houses to arrange for a suitable memorial service, and,
on April 9, the following letter was sent to Mrs. Morse by A.S. Solomons,
Chairman of the Committee of Arrangements:--
DEAR MADAM,--Congress and the citizens of Washington purpose holding
memorial services in honor of your late respected husband in the Hall of
the House of Representatives, on Tuesday evening next, the 16th of April,
and have directed me to request that yourself and family become the
guests of the nation on that truly solemn occasion. If agreeable, be good
enough to inform me when you will likely be here.
The widow was not able to accept this graceful invitation, but members of
the family were present.
The Hall was crowded with a representative audience. James G. Blaine,
Speaker of the House, presided, assisted by Vice-President Colfax.
President Grant and his Cabinet, Judges of the Supreme Court, Governors
of States, and other dignitaries were present in person or by proxy. In
front of the main gallery an oil portrait of Morse had been placed, and
around the frame was inscribed the historic first message: "What hath God
wrought."
After the opening prayer by Dr. William Adams, Speaker Blaine said:--
"Less than thirty years ago a man of genius and learning was an earnest
petitioner before Congress for a small pecuniary aid that enabled him to
test certain occult theories of science which he had laboriously evolved.
To-night the representatives of forty million people assemble in their
legislative hall to do homage and honor to the name of 'Morse.' Great
discoverers and inventors rarely live to witness the full development and
perfection of their mighty conceptions, but to him whose death we now
mourn, and whose fame we celebrate, it was, in God's good providence,
vouchsafed otherwise. The little thread of wire, placed as a timid
experiment between the national capital and a neighboring city, grew and
lengthened and multiplied with almost the rapidity of the electric
current that darted along its iron nerves, until, within his own
lifetime, continent was bound unto continent, hemisphere answered through
ocean's depths unto hemisphere, and an encircled globe flashed forth his
eulogy in the unmatched elements of a grand achievement.
"Charged by the House of Representatives with the agreeable and honorable
duty of presiding here, and of announcing the various participants in the
exercises of the evening, I welcome to this hall those who join with us
in this expressive tribute to the memory and to the merit of a great
man."
After Mr. Blaine had concluded his remarks the exercises were conducted
as follows:--
Resolutions by the Honorable C.C. Cox, M.D., of Washington, D.C.
Address by the Honorable J.W. Patterson, of New Hampshire.
Address by the Honorable Fernando Wood, of New York.
Vocal music by the Choral Society of Washington.
Address by the Honorable J.A. Garfield, of Ohio.
Address by the Honorable S.S. Cox, of New York.
Address by the Honorable N.P. Banks, of Massachusetts.
Vocal music by the Choral Society of Washington.
Benediction by the Reverend Dr. Wheeler of Poughkeepsie.
Once again the invention which made him famous paid marvellous tribute to
the man of science. While less than a year before, joyous messages of
congratulation had flashed over the wires from the four quarters of the
globe, to greet the living inventor, now came words of sorrow and
condolence from Europe, Asia, Africa, and America mourning that inventor
dead, and again were they read to a wondering audience by that other man
of indomitable perseverance, Cyrus W. Field.
On the same evening memorial services were held in Faneuil Hall, Boston,
at which the mayor of the city presided, and addresses were made by
Josiah Quincy, Professor E.N. Horsford, the Honorable Richard H. Dana,
and others.
Other cities all over the country, and in foreign lands, held
commemorative services, and every telegraph office in the country was
draped in mourning, in sad remembrance of him whom all delighted to call
"Father."
Mr. Prime, in his closing review of Morse's character, uses the following
words:--
"It is not given to mortals to leave a perfect example for the admiration
and imitation of posterity, but it is safe to say that the life and
character of few men, whose history is left on record, afford less
opportunity for criticism than is found in the conspicuous career of the
Inventor of the Telegraph.
"Having followed him step by step from the birth to the grave, in public,
social and private relations; in struggles with poverty, enemies and
wrongs; in courts of law, the press and halls of science; having seen him
tempted, assailed, defeated, and again in victory, honor and renown;
having read thousands of his private letters, his essays and pamphlets,
and volumes in which his claims are canvassed, his merits discussed and
his character reviewed; having had access to his most private papers and
confidential correspondence, in which all that is most secret and sacred
in the life of man is hid--it is right to say that, in this mass of
testimony by friends and foes, there is not a line that requires to be
erased or changed to preserve the lustre of his name....
"It was the device and purpose of those who sought to rob him of his
honors and his rights to depreciate his intellectual ability and his
scientific attainments. But among all the men of science and of learning
in the law, there was not one who was a match for him when he gave his
mind to a subject which required his perfect mastery....
"He drew up the brief with his own hand for one of the distinguished
counsel in a great lawsuit involving his patent rights, and his lawyer
said it was the argument that carried conviction to every unprejudiced
mind.
"Such was the versatility and variety of his mental endowments that he
would have been great in any department of human pursuits. His wonderful
rapidity of thought was associated with patient, plodding perseverance, a
combination rare but mightily effective. He leaped to a possible
conclusion, and then slowly developed the successive steps by which the
end was gained and the result made secure. He covered thousands of pages
with his pencil notes, annotated large and numerous volumes, filled huge
folios with valuable excerpts from newspapers, illustrated processes of
thought with diagrams, and was thus fortified and enriched with stores of
knowledge and masses of facts, so digested, combined and arranged, that
he had them at his easy command to defend the past or to help him onward
to fresh conquests in the fields of truth. Yet such was his modesty and
reticence in regard to himself that none outside of his household were
aware of his resources, and his attainments were only known when
displayed in self-defense. Then they never failed to be ample for the
occasion, as every opponent had reason to remember.
"Yet he was gentle as he was great. Many thought him weak because he was
simple, childlike and unworldly. Often he suffered wrong rather than
resist, and this disposition to yield was frequently his loss. The
firmness, tenacity and perseverance with which he fought his foes were
the fruits of his integrity, principle and profound convictions of right
and duty.... His nature was a rare combination of solid intellect and
delicate sensibility. Thoughtful, sober and quiet, he readily entered
into the enjoyments of domestic and social life, indulging in sallies of
humor, and readily appreciating and greatly enjoying the wit of others.
Dignified in his intercourse with men, courteous and affable with the
gentler sex, he was a good husband, a judicious father, a generous and
faithful friend.
"He had the misfortune to incur the hostility of men who would deprive
him of his merit and the reward of his labors. But this is the common
fate of great inventors. He lived until his rights were vindicated by
every tribunal to which they could be referred, and acknowledged by all
civilized nations, and he died leaving to his children a spotless and
illustrious name, and to his country the honor of having given birth to
the only Electro-Magnetic Recording Telegraph whose line is gone out
through all the earth, and its words to the end of the world."
And now my pleasant task is ended. After the lapse of so many years it
has been possible for me to introduce much more evidence of a personal
nature, to reveal the character of those with whom Morse had to contend,
than would have been discreet or judicious during the lifetime of some of
the actors in the drama. Many attempts have been made since the death of
the inventor to minimize his fame, and to exalt others at his expense,
but, while these attempts have seemed to triumph for a time, while they
may have influenced a few minds and caused erroneous attributions to be
made in some publications, their effect is ephemeral, for "Truth is
mighty and will prevail," and the more carefully and exhaustively this
complicated subject is studied, the more apparent will it be that Morse
never claimed more than was his due; that his upright, truthloving
character, as revealed in his intimate correspondence and in the
testimony of his contemporaries, forbade his ever stooping to deceit or
wilful appropriation of the ideas of others.
A summary, in as few words as possible, of what Morse actually invented
or discovered may be, at this point, appropriate.
In 1832, he conceived the idea of a true electric telegraph--a writing at
a distance by means of the electromagnet. The use of the electro-magnet
for this purpose was original with him; it was entirely different from
any form of telegraph devised by others, and he was not aware, at the
time, that any other person had even combined the words "electric" and
"telegraph."
The mechanism to produce the desired result, roughly drawn in the 1832
sketch-book, was elaborated and made by Morse alone, and produced actual
results in 1835, 1836, and 1837. Still further perfected by him, with the
legitimate assistance of others, it became the universal telegraph of
to-day, holding its own and successfully contending with all other plans
of telegraphs devised by others.
He devised and perfected the dot-and-dash alphabet.
In 1836, he discovered the principle of the relay.
In 1838, he received a French patent for a system of railway telegraph,
which also embodies the principle of the police and fire-alarm telegraph.
At the same time he suggested a practical form of military telegraph.
In 1842, he laid the first subaqueous cable.
In 1842, he discovered, with Dr. Fisher, the principle of duplex
telegraphy, and he was also the first to experiment with wireless
telegraphy.
In addition to his electrical inventions and discoveries he was the first
to experiment with the Daguerreotype in America, and, with Professor
Draper, was the first in the world to take portraits by this means,
Daguerre himself not thinking it possible.
The verdict of the world, as pronounced at the time of his death, has
been strengthened with the lapse of years. He was one of the first to be
immortalized in the Hall of Fame. His name, like those of Volta, Galvani,
Ampere, and others, has been incorporated into everyday speech, and is
now used to symbolize the language of that simple but marvellous
invention which brings the whole world into intimate touch.
THE END
INDEX
Abbott, Gorham, American Asiatic Society, ~2~, 443
Abbott, J.S.C., from M. (1867) on Louis Napoleon in New York. ~2~, 451
Abdul Mejid, decorates M., ~2~, 297
Abernethy, John, personality, ~1~, 98, 99
Abolitionism, M.'s antagonism, ~2~, 390, 415, 416, 418, 420, 430, 446
Accidents to M., runaway (1828), ~1~, 293-295
in 1844, ~2~, 232
fall (1846), 268
during laying of Atlantic cable (1857), 376, 377, 383
breaks leg (1869), 480
Acton, ----. and M. at Peterhoff (1856), ~2~, 363
Adams, J.Q., and election to Presidency, Jackson's congratulations, ~1~,
263
and M.'s failure to get commission for painting for Capitol, ~2~, 28-30
Adams, John, portrait by M., ~1~, 196
Adams, Nehemiah, and Civil War, ~2~, 416
Adams, William, and M.'s last illness, ~2~, 506
at M.'s funeral, address, 511, 512
at memorial services, 514
_Agamemnon_, and laying of first Atlantic cable, ~2~, 378
Agate. F.S., pupil of M., ~1~, 257, 275
and origin of Academy of Design, 280
Albany, M. as portrait painter at (1823), ~1~, 245-249
Alexander I of Russia, in London (1814), appearance, anecdotes, ~1~,
142-146
Alexander II of Russia. M. on presentation to (1856), ~2~, 356-364
attempt on life at Paris (1867), 455
Allan, Sir Hugh, at banquet to M., ~2~, 473
Allegorical painting, M. on, ~1~, 318
Allegri, Gregorio, M. on _Miserere_, ~2~, 345
Allston, Washington, M. desires to study under, ~1~, 21
M. accompanies to England (1811), 31, 83
journey to London, 86, 38
on M. as artist, 46, 55, 56, 131
and Leslie, 59, 156
and death of wife, Coleridge's prescription, 59, 168
and M., Interest, influence and criticism, 74, 76, 83, 86, 104, 162,
197-199, 436
and War of 1812, 89
at premier of Coleridge's _Remorse_, 96
illness, 96
and Dr. Abernethy, 98, 99
M. on, as artist, 102, 105
M. on character. 105, 108
Dead Man restored to Life, 105, 122, 124, 148, 197, 199
poems, 110
on French school of art, 114
at Bristol (1814), 142, 153, 156, 171
painting for steamer, 289
Uriel in the Sun, 307
compliment to, 308
M. and death, ~2~, 207, 208
brush of, 207
M. presents portrait and brush to Academy of Design, 436, 437
_Letters:_ to M. (1814) on Dead Man, Bluecher, ~1~, 147
with M. (1816) on sale of Dead Man, personal relations, 197, 198
from M. (1819) on work at Charleston, Albton as R.A., 221
to M. (1837) on rejection for government painting, ~2~, 32
from M. (1839) on daguerreotype and art, 143
with M. (1843) on telegraph act, illness, painting, 202
Allston, Mrs. Washington, Journey to England, ~1~, 33, 35
in England, health, 38
death, 168
Alphabet. _See_ Dot-and-dash.
Alston, J.A., and M., ~1~, 208, 214, 215, 233
to M. (1818-19) on portraits, 214, 224, 225
Amalfi, M. at (1830), ~1~, 364-367
American Academy of Art, condition (1825), ~1~, 276, 277
and union with Academy of Design, ~2~, 23
American Asiatic Society, ~2~, 443
American Society for promoting National Unity, ~2~, 415
Americans, M. on Cooper's patriotism (1832), ~1~, 426-428
on European criticism, 428, 429
Amyot, ----, and M.'s telegraph, ~2~, 122, 147
Anderson, Alexander, and origin of Academy of Design, ~1~, 280
Andrews, Solomon, from M. (1849) on aviation, ~2~, 299
Angouleme, Duchesse d', in London (1814), ~1~, 138
Annunciation, M. on feast at Rome (1830), ~1~, 341
_Arabia_, transatlantic steamer (1857), ~2~, 384
Arago, D.F., and M.'s telegraph, ~2~, 104, 107, 108, 255
Art, conditions in America (1813), ~1~, 100, 101
Boston and (1816), 197
_See also_ Painting.
Atlantic cable, M. prophesies (1843), ~2~, 208, 209
organisation of company, 341-843
M. as electrician, 343, 347
M.'s enthusiasm, 344
attempt to lay cable across Gulf of St. Lawrence (1855), 345
experiments of M. and Whitehouse, 348, 366
Kendall's caution to M. on company, 372
M.'s account of laying of first, 374-382
parting of first, 382
delay, offer to purchase remainder of first, 383
M.'s forced resignation from company, 384
M. on first message over completed (1858), his prediction of cessation,
386, 387
proposed, between Spain and West Indies, 404-406
M. on final success, 451
greeting of company to M. (1868), 469
"Attention the Universe" message, ~2~, 75
Australia, M.'s telegraph in, ~2~, 321
Austria, testimonials to M., ~2~, 392
Austro-Prussian War, influence of telegraph, ~2~, 463
Aviation, M. on (1849), ~2~, 300, 301
Avignon, M. at (1830), ~1~, 324, 325
Aycrigg, J.B., and telegraph, ~2~, 187, 189
from M. (1844) on ground circuit, 221
Aylmer, Lord, and M.'s telegraph, ~2~, 124
Bain, Alexander, and telegraph, ~2~, 242, 3O4
and ground circuit, 243
Ball, Mrs.----, M.'s portrait and trouble with, letters from M. (1820),
~1~, 231-234
Balloon ascension at London (1811), ~1~, 49
_Baltic_, transatlantic steamer (1856), ~2~, 347
Baltimore, construction of first telegraph line, ~2~, 204-228
Bancroft, ----, transatlantic voyage (1815), ~1~, 188
Bancroft, George, and M. at Berlin, ~2~, 461
Banks, N.P., at M.'s farewell message to telegraph, ~2~, 486
at memorial services, 315
Banquets to M., at London (1856), ~2~, 368, 369
at Paris (1858), 396
at New York (1869), 467-475
Barberini, Cardinal, ~1~, 342
Barrell, Samuel, at Yale, ~1~, 9. 10
Battery, Gale's improvement of telegraph, ~2~, 55
M.'s improvement, 182
_See also_ Relay.
Beecher, Lyman, and M., ~1~, 238
Beechy, Sir William, M. on, ~1~, 63
Beggars, M. on Italian, ~1~, 330, 332, 341, 355, 363, 369
Belgium, interest in M.'s telegraph, ~2~, 244
and gratuity to M., 393
Belknap, Jeremy, on birth of M., ~1~, 2
Bellingham, John, assassinates Perceval, ~1~, 71
execution, 72
Bellows, H.W. from M. (1864) on Sanitary Commission, ~2~, 428
Benedict, Aaron, and wire for experimental line, ~2~, 208
Benevolence, as female virtue, ~1~, 323
Bennett, J.G., at French court (1867), ~2~, 449
Berkshire, Mass., M.'s trip (1821), ~1~, 238, 239
Berlin, M. at (1866), ~2~, 365
(1868), 461
Bernard, Simon, and M., ~2~, 104
and telegraph, 132
Bern, Duchesse de, appearance (1830), ~1~, 316
Bertassoli, Cardinal, death, ~1~, 347
Bettner, Dr. ----, and Henry-Morse controversy, ~2~, 318
Biddle, James, return to America (1832), ~1~, 430
Biddulph, T.T., as minister, ~1~, 121
Bigelow, John, farewell banquet to (1867), ~2~, 451
Blaine. J.G., address at memorial services to M., ~2~, 514, 515
Blake, W.P., to M. (1869) on M.'s report, ~2~, 475
on Henry controversy, 475
from M. on same, 478
Blanchard, Thomas, machine for carving marble, ~1~, 245
Blenheim estates, reduced condition (1829), ~1~, 307
Bliss, Seth, and Civil War, ~2~, 416
Bluecher, G.L. von, at London (1814), appearance, ~1~, 146, 147
Boardman, W.W., and telegraph, letters with M. (1842), ~2~, 173-177, 187,
189.
Bodisco, Alexander de, from M. (1844) on telegraph, ~2~, 240
state dinner, 245
Bologna, M. on, ~1~, 391
Boorman, James, and Civil War, ~2~, 416
Borland, Catherine, ~1~, 111
Boston, and art (1816), ~1~, 197
Boston _Recorder_, founding, ~1~, 208
Boudy, Comte, and M.'s telegraph, ~2~, 112, 123
Breese, Arthur, and marriage of daughter, ~1~, 228
Breese, Catherine, marriage, ~1~, 229
_See also_ Griswold.
Breese, Elisabeth A. (Mrs. Jedediah Morse), ~1~, 2
Breese, Samuel, in navy, ~1~, 88
under Perry, 140
Breese, Sidney, and M., ~2~, 411
Breguet, Louis, from M. (1851) on rewards for invention, ~2~, 313
Brett, J.W., and Atlantic cable, ~2~ 343
and M. in England (1856), 348, 349, 351
from M. (1858) on withdrawal from cable company, 385
and proposed Spanish cable, 406
Bristol, England, M. at (1813, 1814), ~1~, 119. 121, 153, 163, 169-171
Broek, M. van der, and gratuity to M., ~2~, 391
Broek, Holland, M. on unnatural neatness, ~2~, 261-283
Bromfield, Henry, and M. in England, ~1~, 39, 152
from M. (1820) on family at New Haven, 234
Brooklyn, N.Y., defences (1814), ~1~, 150
Brooks, David, and telegraph, ~2~, 290
Brougham, Lord, and M.'s telegraph, ~2~, 95, 125
Brown, James, banquet to M., ~2~, 467
Bryant, W. C., and The Club, ~1~, 282
from M. (1865) on Allston's portrait, ~2~, 436
at banquet to M., 472
address at unveiling of statue to M., 484
tribute to M., 508
Buchanan, James, official letter introducing M. (1845), ~2~, 248
M. on election (1856), 371
Budd, T.A., and Perry's Japanese expedition, ~2~, 317
Bulfinch, Charles, and M., ~2~, 188
Bullock, A.H., sentiment for banquet to M., ~2~, 469
Bunker Hill Monument, Greenough on plans, ~1~, 413
Burbank, David, from M. (1844) on price for invention, ~2~, 235
Burder, George, minister at London (1811), ~1~, 120
Burritt, Benjamin, prisoner of war, M.'s efforts for release, ~1~,
124-127
Butler, Charles, at M.'s funeral, ~2~, 611
Cadwalader, Thomas, return to America (1832), ~1~, 430
_Caledonia_, transatlantic steamer (1846), ~2~, 266
Calhoun, J.C., and M.'s effort for commission for painting for Capitol,
~2~, 28
California, graft in telegraph organisation, ~2~, 338, 339
Campagna, Roman, dangers at night, ~1~, 359
Campbell, Sir John, and M.'s application for patent, ~2~, 93, 98
Campo Santo at Naples, ~1~, 367-369
Camucoini, Vincenso, M. on, as artist, ~1~, 350
Canterbury, M. on cathedral and service, ~1~, 310-312
Cardinals, lying in state, ~1~, 344
Carmichael, James, and proposed Spanish cable, ~2~, 405
Caroline, Queen, palace, ~1~, 309
Carrara, M. on quarries (1830), ~1~, 333-336
Carter, William, courier, ~2~, 362
Cass, Lewis, and M. at Paris (1838), ~2~, 109, 111
Cass, Mrs. Lewis, from M. (1836) on lotteries, ~2~ 131
Castlereagh, Lord, and Orders in Council (1812), ~1~, 76
_Catalogue Raisonne_, ~1~, 196, 200
Causici, Enrico, at Washington (1825), ~1~, 263
_Ceres_, transatlantic voyage (1815), ~1~, 186-195
Chamberlain, Capt. ----, transatlantic voyage (1815), ~1~, 188
Chamberlain, ----, exhibition of telegraph in European centers, ~2~, 148,
149
drowned, 149
Champlin, E.H., American Asiatic Society, ~2~, 444
Chapin, C.L., and M.'s telegraph in Europe, ~2~, 255
Charivari, M. on, ~1~, 78
Charles X of France, New Year (1830), ~1~, 315
Charleston, M. as portrait painter at (1818-21), ~1~, 214-217, 216-225,
226-237
portrait of President Monroe, 222
M. and art academy, 235, 236
Charlestown, Mass., dual celebration of Fourth (1805), ~1~, 7
Jedediah Morse's church troubles, 223-225, 229
Charlotte Augusta, Princess, appearance (1814), ~1~, 137
Charlotte Sophia, Queen, appearance (1814), ~2~, 137
Chase, ----, and experimental line, ~2~, 209
Chase, S.P., presides at banquet to M., speeches, ~2~, 468-170, 475
Chauncey, Isaac, Cooper on, ~1~, 263
Chauvin, ---- von, and M. at Berlin, ~2~, 461
_Chesapeake_, U.S.S., defeat, ~1~, 109, 110
Chevalier, Michael, from M. (1868) on leaving Paris, ~2~, 464
Cholera, in Paris (1832), ~1~, 417, 422
political effect, 431
Christ before Pilate, West's painting, ~1~, 44, 47
Christ healing the Side, West's painting, ~1~, 44
Christian IX of Denmark, and M., ~2~, 465
Christy, David, from M. (1863) on slavery, ~2~, 426
Church and State, M. on union, ~2~, 458
Church of England, disestablishment in Virginia, ~1~, 13
M. on service, 311
Circuit, single, of M.'s telegraph, ~2~, 18, 102
ground, 221, 367, 470
Cisco, J.J., banquet to M., ~2~, 467
Civil War, M.'s hope of prevention, ~2~, 414, 418
his attitude during, 415, 424, 432
his belief in foreign machinations, 420
M. and McClellan's candidacy, 427, 429-431
M. and Sanitary Commission, 428
M.'s denunciation of rejoicing over success, 438-441
Claflin, William, and statue to M., ~2~, 483
Clarke, George, buys M.'s painting of Louvre, M.'s letter on this (1834),
~2~, 27, 28
Clay, Henry, and M.'s effort for commission for painting for Capitol, ~2~,
28
Clinton, ----, of Albany, and M. (1823), ~1~, 247
Club, The, of New York, ~1~, 282, 451
Coat of arms, Morse, ~1~, 110, ~2~, 268
Coffin, I.N., and lobbying for telegraph grant, ~2~, 164, 173
Cogdell, J.S., artist at Charleston (1819), ~1~, 221
and art academy there, 236
Colt, Daniel, gift to Academy of Design, ~1~, 384
Cole, Thomas, and origin of Academy of Design, ~1~, 280
at Royal Academy (1829), 308
to M. (1837) on presidency of Academy of Design, ~2~, 32
Coleridge, S.T., mental prescription for Allston, ~1~, 60
and hat-wearing, 60
and M., traits, 95, 96
premier of _Remorse_, 96
and _Knickerbocker's History of New York_, 97
Colfax, Schuyler, and banquet to M., ~2~, 468
at memorial services, 514
Color, M.'s theory and experiments, ~1~, 436
Colt, ----, with M. at Peterhoff (1856), ~2~, 357
Como, Lake of, M. at (1831), ~1~, 400
Concentration of effort, Jedediah Morse on, ~1~, 4
Concord, N.H., M. at and on (1816), ~1~, 201, 209
Congregational Church, Jedediah Morse and orthodoxy, ~1~, 4
Congress, M.'s painting of House (1822), ~1~, 240-242, 252
conduct of presidential election (1825), 263
resolution to investigate telegraph (1837), ~2~, 71
skeptical of M.'s invention, 72
exhibition of telegraph before (1838) but no grant, 81, 88, 103, 135,
137, 150
Smith's report on telegraph, 87
renewal of effort for telegraph grant without result (1841-42), 164,
166, 173-177
second exhibition of telegraph (1842), 185
workers for telegraph grant, 186, 189
bill for experimental line in House (1843), 190-195
passage of bill in House, 195
no action expected in Senate, 197-199
passage of act, 199-201
refuses to purchase telegraph, 228, 229, 232, 244, 245
memorial services to M., 513-516
Consolidation of telegraph lines, ~2~, 320, 326, 341, 405
M. on beneficent monopoly, 444
_See also_ Public ownership.
Constant, Benjamin, appearance (1830), ~1~, 316
Constitution, M. on loyalty, ~2~, 429
Cooke, O.F., rival of Kemble, ~1~, 77
Cooke, Sir W.F., telegraph, ~2~, 50
M. on telegraph and his own, 92, 93, 242
opposes patent to M., 93
proposition to M. rejected, 158
telegraph displaced by M.'s, 313
personal relations with M., 350
advocates use of M.'s telegraph, 368
presides at banquet to M., speech, 368, 369
Cooper, H., and M.'s application for British patent, ~1~, 98, 99
Cooper, J.F., characteristic remark, ~1~, 263
at Rome (1830), 338
read in Poland, 388
to M. (1832) on Verboeckhoven and portrait of C., 414
on criticisms, bitterness against America, 416
statement of M.'s hints on telegraph (1831), 418, 419
from M. (1849) on this, 420
at Fourth dinner at Paris (1832), 424
M. on principles and patriotism, 426-428
from M. (1832) on departure for America, Leslie's politics, ~2~, 3-5
from M. (1833) on illness, cares, conditions in New York, Cooper's
friends, art future, nullification, 21-24
and rejection of M. for painting for Capitol, 30
from M. (1849) on failure as painter, 31
from M. (1849) on newspaper libels, _Home as Found_, 304
M. on death and character, 314
Cooper, Peter, and Atlantic cable, ~1~, 343, 372
banquet to M., 467
at M.'s funeral, 511
Copenhagen. M. at (1856), ~1~, 351, 354
Copley, J.S., M. on, in old age. ~1~, 47, 102
Corcoran, W.W., telegraph company, ~2~, 247
Corcoran Gallery, M.'s House of Representatives, ~1~, 242
Cornell, Ezra, and construction of experimental line, ~2~, 214-216, 489
M. on benevolences, 442, 489
at M.'s funeral, 511
Cornell University, M. on founding, ~2~, 442
Cornwell, Sadie E., and M.'s farewell message to telegraph, ~2~, 486
_Corpus Domini_, procession at Rome (1830), ~1~, 352
Cox, S.S., resolutions on death of M., ~1~, 513
at memorial services, 515
Coyle, James, and origin of Academy of Design, ~1~, 280
Crawford, W.H., Edwards' charges against (1824), ~1~, 256
Cries of London, ~1~, 48
Crinoline, M. on, ~2~, 373
Crosby, Howard, and M.'s farewell message to telegraph, ~2~, 485
Cummings, T.S., and origin of Academy of Design, ~1~, 280
and M. as president of Academy, 280
on M.'s connection with Academy, 281
and commission to M. for historical painting, ~2~, 33
and telegraph, 74, 75
Curtin, A.G., banquet to M., ~2~, 467, 473
Curtis, B.R., telegraph decision, ~2~, 347, 370
Curtis, G.T., M.'s attorney, ~2~, 370
from M. (1860) on Smith's claim to gratuity, 409-411
and on law, 411
Daggett, ----, of New Haven, M.'s portrait (1811), ~2~, 25
Daguerre, L.J.M., and M. at Paris (1839), ~2~, 128-130
from M. on Sabbath, 128
burning of Diorama, 130
French subsidy, 130
from M. (1839) on honorary membership in Academy of Design, exhibition
of daguerreotype in New York, 141
reply, 142
and portraits, 145
Daguerreotype, inventor imparts secret to M., ~2~, 129
discovery made public, 143
M. on effect on art, 143, 144
experiments of M. and Draper, portraits first taken, 144-146
M.'s gallery, 146, 152
first group picture, 146
Daly, C.P., and M.'s farewell message to telegraph, ~2~, 486
Dana, J.F., M. and lectures on electricity (1827), ~1~, 290
friendship and discussions with M., 290
Dana, R.H., at memorial services to M., ~2~, 516
Danforth, M.L. and origin of Academy of Design, ~1~, 280
M. on, ~2~, 5
Dartmouth College, quarrel (1816), ~1~, 208
Date of invention of telegraph, ~2~, 12, 13
Daubeny, C.G.B., inspects early telegraph, ~2~, 54
Davenport, Ann, ~1~, 28
Davis, ----, of New Haven, M. rooms at house (1805), ~1~, 10
Davy, Edward, and relay, ~2~, 42
M. on telegraph, 101, 102
Day, Jeremiah, and M.'s pump, ~1~, 211
to M. (1822) on gift to Yale, 243
Dead Man restored to Life, Allston's painting, ~1~, 105, 122, 124, 148,
197, 199
Deadhead, M.'s characteristic telegraphic, ~2~, 445
Declaration of Independence, anecdote of George III and, ~1~, 42, 43
Decorations, foreign, for M., ~2~, 297, 298, 392, 393, 465
DeForest, D.C., to M. (1823) on portrait, ~1~, 243
Delaplaine, Joseph, and M., ~1~, 196
Democratic Convention, reports by telegraph (1844), ~2~, 224-226
Denmark, and M.'s telegraph, ~2~, 352
decoration for M., 393, 465
Dennison, William, banquet to M., ~2~, 467
De Rham, H.C., informal club, ~2~, 451
Desoulavy, ----, artist at Rome, escapes poisoning (1831), ~1~, 397
De Witt, Jan, concentration of effort, ~1~, 4
Dexter, Miss C., and sketch of Southey, ~1~, 73, 113
Dijon, M. at (1830), ~1~, 320
Diligence, described, ~1~, 319
Dining hour, English (1811), ~1~, 40
Discovery and invention, ~2~, 13
Dividends, M. on lack, 2, 311, 336.
Dix, J.A., to M. (1829) on letters of introduction, ~1~, 299
at M.'s funeral, ~2~, 511
Dodge, W.E., banquet to M., ~2~, 467, 473
Donaldson, R., M.'s painting for, ~1~, 338
Dot-and-dash code, conception for numbers with hint of alphabet, ~2~, 7,
11, 12, 17, 18
as recorded by first receiver, 39
numbers principle, dictionary, 61, 74
paternity of alphabet, 62-68
substitution of alphabet for numbers, 74-76
peculiar to M.'s telegraph, 93
M. on reading by sound, 457, 479, 480
Douglas, G.L., from M. (1862) on effort to prevent Civil War, ~2~, 418
Dover Castle, M. on, ~1~, 313
Drake, Mrs. ----, transatlantic voyage (1815), ~1~, 188
Draper, J.W., and daguerreotypes, ~2~, 145, 146
Drawing-room, M. on Queen Charlotte's (1812), ~1~, 77;
on Mrs. Monroe's (1819), 227
Dresden, M. at (1867), ~2~, 459
Drummond, Henry, and M.'s telegraph, ~2~, 95, 126
Dubois, John, at Rome (1830), ~1~, 340
Dunlap, William, on M.'s Dying Hercules, ~1~, 105, 106
on M.'s Judgment of Jupiter, 178, 179
and origin of Academy of Design, 280
Duplex telegraphy, Fisher's discovery (1842), ~2~, 185, 187
Durand, A. B., engraving of M.'s Lafayette, ~1~, 260
and origin of Academy of Design, 280
Dwight, S.E., and M., ~1~, 10
from M. (1811) on Daggett portrait, 25
Dwight, Timothy, and M., ~1~, 10
on Jedediah Morse, 287
Dwight's Tavern, Western, Mass., ~1~, 9
Dying Hercules, M.'s sculpture and painting, ~1~, 85, 86, 102-107, 119,
134, 185, 437, 2, 188
Edwards, Ninian, proposed Mexican mission (1824), and charges against
Crawford, ~1~, 253, 256
from M. on mission, 254
Electricity, M.'s interest at college, ~1~, 18
and in Dana's lectures (1827), 290
Henry on electric power, ~2~, 171
_See also_ Morse (S.F.B.), Telegraph.
Elgin, Earl of, and M.'s telegraph, ~2~, 95, 124, 128
to M. (1839) on patent, 126
Elgin Marbles, M. on, ~1~, 47, 2, 124
Elisabeth, Princess, appearance (1814), ~1~, 137
Ellsworth, Annie, and telegraph, ~2~, 199, 200, 217, 221
Ellsworth, Henry, and M. abroad, ~2~, 250
Ellsworth, H.L., marriage, ~1~, 112
and M.'s telegraph, ~2~, 69, 189
on telegraph in France, 108, 109
from M. (1843) on construction of experimental line, 217
Ellsworth, Nancy (Goodrich), ~1~, 112
Ellsworth, William, engagement, ~1~, 112
Emancipation Proclamation, M. on, ~2~, 424, 429
Embargo, effect in England, ~1~, 39
Emotion of taste, M. on, ~1~, 401
England, appearance of women, ~1~, 36;
wartime travel regulations (1811), 36
condition of laboring classes, 36
treatment of travellers, 37-39
critical condition (1811), effect of American embargo, 39, 56, 57, 63
dining hour, 40
attitude toward art, 46
unpopularity of Regent, crisis (1812), 67, 70, 71
assassination of Perceval, 71
Spanish victories (1813), 110
severe winter (1813), 123
economic depression (1815), 175
Liverpool (1829), 302, 303
stage-coach journey to London, 306-308
peasantry, villages, 306
Canterbury cathedral, church service, 310-312
Dover, 313
M. on social manners, 348
refusal of patent to M., ~2~, 93-99, 124, 126
coronation of Victoria, 100, 101
use of M.'s telegraph, 367
no share in gratuity to M., 393
M. on, and Civil War, 420
_See also_ London, Napoleonic Wars, Neutral trade, War of 1812.
English Channel, steamers (1829), ~1~, 314
(1845), ~2~, 250
Erie, Lake, battle, ~1~, 151
Esterhasy, Prince, M. on, at Peterhoff (1856), ~2~, 358
Evarts, Jeremiah, to M. (1812) on avoiding politics, ~1~, 86
Evarts, W.M., at banquet to M., ~2~, 472
Evers, John, and origin of Academy of Design, ~1~, 280
Experimental line, bill for, in Congress, ~2~, 189-201
route, 204
M.'s assistants, 204-206, 210, 214
wires, failure of underground, substitution of overhead, 205, 208-210,
214-216
trouble with Smith, 206, 207, 212, 213, 218
progress, 219
operation during construction, 219-221
completion, "What hath God wrought" message, 221-224
reports of Democratic Convention, 224-226
cost of construction, 227
incidents of utility, 227, 228
Fairman, Gideon, and study of live figure, ~1~, 101
Faraday, Michael, and Atlantic cable, ~2~, 343
Farewell message to telegraph, ceremony of sending M.'s, ~2~, 485-491
Farmer, M.G., and duplex telegraph, ~2~, 189
Farragut, D.G., and banquet to M., ~2~, 468
Faxton, T.S., from M. (1847) on salaries, ~2~, 274
Federalists, celebration of Fourth at Charlestown (1805), ~1~, 7
British opinion (1812), 81
_See also_ War of 1812.
Ferguson, ----, travel with M. (1831), ~1~, 395, 402
Ferris, C.G., and telegraph, ~2~, 177, 186, 189
Field, ----, pupil of M., ~1~, 258
Field, C.W., and consolidation of telegraph companies, ~2~, 341
organisation of Atlantic cable company, 341-343
from M. (1856) on experiments for cable, 348, 366
Kendall's distrust, 372
and M.'s retirement from cable company, 385, 386
from M. (1867) on a visit, success of cable, 450, 451
banquet to M., 467, 469
from M. (1871) on neutralizing telegraph, 497
at M.'s funeral, 511
at memorial service, 516
Field, D.D., and Atlantic cable, ~2~, 343
at banquet to M., 473
Field, M.D., and telegraph, ~2~, 342
Finley, J.E.B., and War of 1812, ~1~, 183
and M. at Charleston, 214, 220
to M. (1818) on portraits, 216
death, 225
Finley, Samuel, ~1~, 2
Fire-alarm, M.'s invention embodying principle, ~2~, 132
Fish, Hamilton, at early exhibition of telegraph, ~2~, 48
banquet to M., 467
Fisher, ----, artist at Charleston (1819), ~1~, 221
Fisher, J.C., and duplex telegraphy, ~2~, 185, 187
M.'s assistant at Washington, 186, 196
and construction of experimental line, dismissed, 204, 205, 210-213,
216
Fisher, J.F., return to America (1832), ~2~, 3
on conception of telegraph, 11
Fleas, M. on Porto Rican, ~2~, 406
Fleischmann, C.T., on Europe and M.'s telegraph (1845), ~2~, 254
Florence, M.'s journey to, during revolt (1831), ~1~, 385
M. at, 386, 390
Flower feast at Genzano, ~1~, 354-359
Forsyth, Dr. ----, American Asiatic Company, ~2~, 444
Foss, ----, and F.O.J. Smith, ~2~, 319
Fourth of July, dual celebration at Charlestown (1805), ~1~, 7
dinner at Paris (1832), 423-425
Foy, Alphonse, and M.'s telegraph, ~2~, 105, 109, 255
France, M. on attitude of Americans (1812), ~1~, 90, 91
M. on first landing in (1829), 314
on Sunday in, 318, 322
cold (1830), 317, 320
winter Journey across, by diligence, 318-326
funeral, 321, 322
M. on social manners, 348
quarantine (1831), M. avoids it, 402-405
Lafayette on results of Revolution of 1830, 430
patent to M., ~2~, 103
M.'s exhibitions and projects (1838), 104-134
renewed interest in M.'s telegraph, 240, 243, 244, 255, 256, 313, 351
M. on people, 256
testimonials to M., 392
_See also_ Napoleonic Wars, Paris.
Francesco Caracoiolo, St., M. on feast, ~1~, 352
Franklin, Benjamin, name coupled with M.'s, ~2~, 236, 237, 346, 469
M. unveils statue, 505
Franklin Institute, exhibition of telegraph, ~2~, 80
Fraser, Charles, artist at Charleston (1819), ~1~, 221
Frasee, John, and origin of Academy of Design, ~1~, 280
Frederick VII of Denmark, and M., ~1~, 373, ~2~, 353
Frederick III of Germany, battle of Koeniggraetz, ~2~, 463
Frederick William III of Prussia, at London (1814), ~1~, 146
Fredrick Carl, Prince, battle of Koeniggraetz, ~2~, 463
Frelinghuysen, Theodore, nomination for Vice-Presidency announced over
telegraph, ~2~, 219
Fremel, ----, and M.'s telegraph, ~2~, 111
French, B.B., telegraph company, ~2~, 247
French Academy of Science. _See_ Institute of France.
Frischen ,----, and duplex telegraphy, ~2~, 187
Fry, ----, and telegraph company (1844), ~2~, 236
Fulton, Robert, and art, ~2~, 471
_Fulton_, transatlantic steamer (1856), ~2~, 386
Funeral, M. on French, ~1~, 321, 322
on lying in state of cardinal, 344
on Roman, 350
on Italian, 366, 367
of M., ~2~, 311, 312
Fuseli, J.H., and M., ~1~, 179
Gale, L.D., first view of telegraph, ~2~, 41
aid to M. in telegraph, 53-59, 61, 70, 489
partnership in telegraph, 83
loses interest, 136, 139, 151
and subaqueous experiment, 183
and construction of experimental line, 204, 211, 210
Kendall as agent, 246, 326
and estrangement with Henry, 264
and extension of M.'s patent, 325
from M. (1854) on Kendall, 326
(1855) on trip to Newfoundland, 345
M.'s tribute, 471
from M. (1869) on receiving by sound, 479
to M. (1872) on Smith's last attack, 499
to Rogers on invention of telegraph, 500
from M. on Smith, 502
_Galen_, transatlantic ship (1811), ~1~, 55
Gallagher, H.M., and M.'s farewell message to telegraph, ~2~, 486
Gallatin, Albert, informal club, ~2~, 451
and Louis Napoleon at New York, 452
Galley slaves, at Toulon (1830), ~1~, 326, 327
Garfield, J.A., at memorial services to M., ~2~, 515
Gay-Lussac, J.L., and M.'s telegraph, ~2~, 108
Genoa, Serra Palace, ~1~, 329
Genzano, _festa infiorala_ (1830), ~1~, 354-359
George III, anecdote of Declaration of Independence, ~1~, 42, 43
expected death (1811), 54
George IV, unpopularity as Regent (1812), ~1~, 67, 71
appearance, 77
George, Sir Rupert, and American prisoner of war, ~1~, 126
Georgia, and nullification, ~2~, 23
Ghost, scare at London (1811), ~1~, 41
Gibbs. Mrs. A.J.C., child, ~1~, 112
Gibson, ----, artist at Rome, escape from poisoning (1831), ~1~, 397
Gintl, J.W., and duplex telegraph, ~2~, 187
Gisborne, F.N., and telegraph, ~2~, 342
Glenelg, Lord, and War of 1812, ~1~, 90
Gleson, ----, oration at Charlestown (1805), ~1~, 7
Goddard, Elisha, return to America (1813), ~1~, 107
Gonon, ----, visual telegraph, ~2~, 53, 166
Goodhue, Jonathan, informal club, ~2~, 451
Goodrich, Mary, drawing, ~2~, 506
Goodrich, Nancy, marriage, ~1~, 112
Goodrich, W.H., American Asiatic Society, ~2~, 444
presented at French court, 448-450
Goodrich, Mrs. W.H. (Griswold), from M. (1862) on prospect of Northern
success, ~2~, 419
at Paris (1866), 448
Gould, James, and M., ~1~, 238
Grant, Charles. _See_ Glenelg.
Grant, U.S., M. on candidacy (1868), ~2~, 465, 466
and banquet to M., 468
at memorial services, 514
Granville, Countess, M. on, at Peterhoff (1856), ~2~, 358
Granville, Earl, M. on, at Peterhoff (1856), ~2~, 362, 363
Gratuity, proposed foreign, to M., ~2~, 373
award, nations participating, 390, 391
commission to Broek, 391
niggardly, 392
M.'s acknowledgment, 394, 395
Smith's claim to share, 409-411, 423
share for Vail's widow, 422
Greeley, Horace, unveils statue of Franklin, ~2~, 505
Green, Norvin, from M. (1855) on effect of telegraph, ~2~, 345
Greenough, Horatio, and M. at Paris (1831), ~1~, 406
to M. (1832) on art future of America, poverty, religion, Bunker Hill
Monument, M.'s. domestic affairs, 412
Gregory XVI, election, ~1~, 378
coronation, 380, 381
policy, 383
Grier, R.C., telegraph decision, ~2~, 293
Griswold, A.B., from M. (1861) on being a traitor, ~2~, 418
Griswold, Catherine (Breese), marriage, ~1~, 228
in Europe with M. (1858), ~2~, 396
from M. (1858) on experiences in West Indies, 397, 406
(1866) on Paris quarters, 447
(1867) on presentation at court, 448
Griswold, H.W., marriage, ~1~, 228
Griswold, R.W., from M. (1852) on Cooper, ~2~, 314
Griswold, Sarah E., marries M., ~2~, 289, 290
Gros, A.J., M. on allegorical painting, ~1~, 318
Gypsies, M. on, ~1~, 310
Habersham, R.W., and M. at Paris (1832), on hints of telegraph, ~1~, 417,
418
on M.'s experiments with photography, 421
Halske, J.G., and duplex telegraph, ~2~, 187
Hamburg, M. at and on (1845), ~2~, 253, 254
(1856), 352
Hamilton, J.C., informal club, ~2~, 452
Hamlin, Cyrus, and telegraph in Turkey, ~2~, 298
Hanover, N.H., M. at (1816), ~1~, 209
Hare and tortoise fable applied to M. and brother, ~2~, 388, 389
Harris, Levitt, M. on, ~1~, 146
Harrison, Thomas, American Asiatic Society, ~2~, 444
Hart, Ann, marries Isaac Hull, ~1~, 112
Hart, Eliza, ~1~, 28
Hart, Jannette, and M., ~1~, 28-30, 112
Hartford, inn (1805), ~1~, 9
Harvard College, lottery (1811), ~1~, 46
Hauser, Martin, from M. (1863) on slavery, ~2~, 424
Haven, G.W., at Fourth dinner at Paris (1832), ~1~, 424
Hawks, F.L., and Civil War, ~2~, 416
Hawley, Dr. -----, of New Haven, sermon (1810), ~1~, 20
Hayne, R.Y., and M., ~1~, 252, 253
Henry, Joseph, and relay, ~2~, 42, 140, 141
share in M.'s telegraph controversy, 55-57, 261-266, 318, 329, 402, 405,
476-479, 500, 504
letters with M. (1839) on consultation, 138-141
to M. (1842) in praise of telegraph, 170-174
on electric power, 171
and construction of experimental line, 215
Smith on, as inventor of telegraph, 498, 499
Hepburn, H.C., and telegraph, ~2~, 296
Hillhouse, Joseph, to M. (1813) on M.'s family, social gossip, ~1~, 111
Hillhouse, Mary, ~1~, 111
Hilliard, Francis, referee on Smith's claim, ~2~, 411
Hilton, William, meets M., ~1~, 308
Hinkley, Ann, death, ~1~, 8
Hodge, Aspinwall, from M. (1872) on Smith's last attack, ~2~, 602
Hodgson, ----, proposed Mexican mission (1824), ~1~, 263
Hoffman, J.T., banquet to M., ~2~, 467;
at unveiling of statue to M., 483;
at M.'s funeral, 511
Holland, M. on Broek (1845), ~2~, 261-253
and gratuity to M., 393
Holmes, I.E., and telegraph, ~2~, 180
Holy Thursday at St. Peter's (1830), ~1~, 346, 347
Holy See, and gratuity to M., ~2~, 393
_See also_ Rome.
Holy Week in Rome (1830), ~1~, 344-347
Hone, Philip, owns M.'s Thorwaldsen, ~1~, 372
Hoover, R.B., and statue to M., ~2~, 482
Hopkins, J.H., and Civil War, ~2~, 416
Horsford, E.N., on invention of telegraph, ~2~, 14-17
on discovery of relay, 41, 42
at memorial services to M., 516
House, R.E., and telegraph, ~2~, 271. 276
House of Representatives, M.'s painting, ~1~, 240-242, 252
Houston, G.S., and telegraph, ~2~, 194
Howard, Henry, meets M., ~1~, 308
Howe, S.G., imprisonment at Berlin, ~1~, 430
Hubbard, R., pupil of M., ~2~, 156
Hull, Ann (Hart), ~1~, 112
Hull, Isaac, marriage, ~1~, 112
Humboldt, Alexander von, and M., ~1~, 423, ~2~, 104, 108, 365
inscription on photograph, 366
Hunt, W.G., and Atlantic cable, ~2~, 343
Huntington, Daniel, and M.'s House of Representatives, ~1~, 242;
estimate of M. as artist, 435-437
early view of telegraph, ~2~, 48
banquet to M., speech, 467, 473
at M.'s funeral, 511
Huntington, J.W., and telegraph, ~2~, 187, 199
Husted, J.W., at M.'s funeral, ~2~, 512
Hutton, M.S., and Civil War, ~2~, 416
Immigration, M.'s attitude, ~2~, 331-333
India, and M.'s telegraph, ~2~, 350
Indians, Jedediah Morse as special commissioner, ~1~, 228
Ingham, C.C., and portrait of Lafayette, ~1~, 261
and origin of Academy of Design, 280
to M. (1849) on Academy, ~2~, 306
Inman, Henry, and portrait of Lafayette, ~1~, 261
and origin of Academy of Design, 280
to M. (1849) on Academy, ~2~, 305
Institute of France, M.'s exhibition of telegraph, ~2~, 104, 107, 108, 256
M.'s membership, 393
Invention, Horsford on necessary elements, ~2~, 16
_See also_ Morse, S.F.B. (_Scientific career._)
Ireland, Mrs. ----, at Recoaro (1831), ~1~, 897
Irving, Washington, and Coleridge, ~1~, 97
and M. at London (1829), 309
Isham, Samuel, estimate of M. as artist, ~1~, 437, 438
Isle of Wight, M. on (1867), ~2~, 466
Italy, travel from Nice to Rome (1830), ~1~, 328-337
beggars, 330, 332, 341, 355, 363, 369
perils of travel, 332, 400
flower festival at Genzano, 354-359
M. at Naples and Amalfi, 364-370
condition of travel (1831), 391
to Venice by boat on Po, 391-393
M. at Venice, 393-396
testimonials to M., 2, 393
M. on conditions (1867), 468
_See also_ Rome.
Jackson, Andrew, congratulates Adams on election (1825), ~1~, 263
Jackson. C.T., voyage with M. (1832), ~2~, 3
talks on electrical progress, later claim of giving M. idea of telegraph,
6, 11, 58, 69, 78, 79, 121, 137, 274, 305
Jacobins, Federalist name for Republicans (1805), ~1~, 7
Jarvis, ----, with M. at Peterhoff (1856), ~2~, 357
Jarvis, S.F., to M. (1814) on war from Federalist point of view, ~1~, 157
Jarvis, Mrs. S.F. (Hart), 1, 28;
from M. (1811) on attitude toward art, Copley, West, Elgin Marbles,
London cries, knocking, American crisis, ~1~, 46
to M. (1813) on art in America, 100
Jay, P.A., and Cooper, ~2~, 22
informal club, 451
Jewett, J.S., on M. and Atlantic cable, ~2~, 386
Jewett, William, and origin of Academy of Design, ~1~, 280
Jocelyn, N., travel with M. on continent (1830-31), ~1~, 309, 317
from M. (1864) on attempt to paint, ~2~, 433
Johnson, Andrew, M. on, ~2~, 446
and banquet to M., 468
Johnson, Cave, and telegraph, ~2~, 192, 194, 225, 232
from M. (1845) on Vail, 275
Johnson, William, informal club, ~2~, 451
Johnston, J.T., and M.'s Thorwaldsen, from M. (1868) on it, ~1~, 372-374
Judgment of Jupiter, M.'s painting, ~1~, 178, 179, 196, 199, 215
Kane, J.K., telegraph decision, ~2~, 273, 293
Kane, James, and M., ~1~, 247
Kemble, J.P., M. on, as actor, ~1~, 77
Kendall, Amos, character as M.'s business agent, M.'s confidence, ~2~,
246, 326, 336, 372, 389, 409, 471, 481
first telegraph company, 247
progress, 247
and rival companies, 276
on Jackson's claim, 305
and Smith, 308, 309, 503
and consolidation of lines, 320
and extension of patent, 325
benevolences, 442
M. on death, 481
_Letters to M:_
(1849) on despondency, litigation, ~2~, 301
(1862) on destruction of evidence, 316
(1855) on California telegraph graft, 338
on suspicion of the Vails, 339
on sale of interests, trials of management, 340
(1857) on distrust of cable company, 372
(1858) on foreign gratuity, 392
(1859) on death of Vail, 400
_From M:_
(1847) on mercy to infringers, 272
(1861) on preparation against loss of suits, Smith, 311
(1852) on Smith's triumph, law expenses, 319, 320
(1854) on lack of dividends, 336
on Smith and extension of patent, 346
(1866) on same, 370
(1869) on honors and enmity, 406
on lawyers, 409
(1860) on Smith and gratuity, 410
on ball to Prince of Wales, 414
(1862) on foreign machinations in Civil War, 420
(1866) on telegraph monopoly, 444
Kendall, John, and M., ~2~, 323
Kennedy, J.P., and telegraph, ~2~, 189, 192, 193
Kent, James, M.'s portrait, ~1~, 247, 248, 250
and Cooper, ~2~, 22
informal club, 451
and Louis Napoleon at New York, 452
Kent, Moss, M.'s portrait, ~1~, 246
Key. _See_ Sender.
King, C.B., Leslie on, ~1~, 59
to M. (1813) on personal relations, 60
at premier of Coleridge's _Remorse_, 96;
return to America, 100, 101
King's (Liverpool) Arms Hotel, ~1~, 34, 302
Kingsley, J.L., M.'s profile, ~1~, 19
Kirk, E.N., and M.'s exhibition of telegraph at Paris, ~2~, 106, 133
Knocking, M. on custom at London, ~1~, 48
Know-Nothing Party, M.'s attitude, ~2~, 332, 337
Koeniggraetz, battle of, influence of telegraph, ~2~, 463
Krebs, J.M., and Civil War, ~2~, 416
Laboring classes, condition of English (1811), ~1~, 36
Lafayette, Marquis de, M.'s portrait, ~1~, 260-262, 264, 270, 272, 286
M.'s friendship, 262
to M. (1825) on bereavement, 266
from M. (1825) with sonnet, 273
and M. at Paris (1830), 316
and Revolution of 1830, 406
and Polish revolt, 408, 430
in 1831, 408
on American finances (1832), 423
M.'s toast to, at Fourth dinner at Paris (1832), 424, 425
to M. (1832) on state of Europe, nullification, Poles, political effect
of cholera, 430
M. and death, ~2~, 34
on Catholic Church and American liberties, 330
Lafayette, G.W., meets M., ~1~, 264
M.'s letter of sympathy (1834), ~2~, 34
Lamb, Charles, and M., ~1~, 95
at premier of Coleridge's _Remorse_, 96
Lancaster, ----, transatlantic voyage (1815), ~1~, 188.
Landi, Gasparo, M. on paintings, ~1~, 349, 350
Langdon, John, M.'s portrait, ~1~, 211
Languages, M. and foreign, ~1~, 372
Lasalle, ----, and M.'s telegraph, ~2~, 123
Latham, M.S., and telegraph in California, M.'s scorn of methods, ~2~,
338, 339
Law and lawyers, M.'s opinion, ~2~, 272, 320, 371, 409, 412
Lawrence, James, M. on defeat and death, ~1~, 109
Lawrence, W.B., informal club, ~2~, 452
Lectures, M.'s, on fine arts, ~1~, 281, 284, 285
Lee, G. W., gift to Academy of Design, ~1~, 384
Leffingwell, Miss ----, miniature by M., ~1~, 19
Legion of Honor, bestowed on M., ~2~, 391
Le Grice, Comte, and M., ~1~, 377, 385
_Leopard_, and laying of first Atlantic cable, ~2~, 378
Leslie, C.R., and M. at London (1811-15), ~1~, 59, 62, 65, 74
on Allston, King, Coleridge, 59, 60
as art student, 65
and Coleridge, 95, 96
Saul, 123
to M. (1814) on being hard up, Allston, war, 155
and Allston, 156, 168
life and economies as student, 159, 161, 162
to M. (1816) on _Catalogue Raisonne_, 199
reunions with M. (1829), 308
(1832), 433
(1856), ~2~, 351
M. sits for Sterne, ~1~, 433
M. on politics, ~2~, 4
anecdote of Victoria, 101
portrait of Allston, 436
Leslie, Eliza, travel with M. (1829), ~1~, 303
Leslie, J.R., tutor to M.'s children, ~2~, 447
from M. (1868) on presidential election, 465
Letter-writing, Jedediah Morse on, ~1~, 4
Lettsom, J.C., character, Sheridan's ridicule, ~1~, 40
Lincoln, Earl of. _See_ Newcastle.
Lincoln, Abraham, M.'s attitude, ~2~, 424, 429
M. leaves no reference to assassination, 437
Lind, Charles, M.'s grandson, ~2~, 219
art study at Paris, 448
Lind, Edward, Porto Rican estate, ~2~, 399
from M. (1867) on Paris Exposition, 453
Lind, Mrs. Henry, and M. at Hamburg, ~2~, 353
Lind, Susan W. (Morse), M.'s portrait, ~1~, 435
at New York (1844), ~2~, 219
from M. (1845) on Congress and purchase of telegraph, domestic
happiness, 244
on dinner at Russian minister's, 245
(1845) on experiences on Continent, 250-254, 256
M.'s visit to (1858), 397-400, 406
from M. (1865) on proposed statue, 442
(1871) on unveiling of statue, 492
_See also_ Morse, Susan W.
Liverpool, M. at (1811), ~1~, 34-36
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