Troubles, indeed, came not singly, for, in addition to sorrows of a domestic nature, his friends one by one were taken from him by death, and on November 12, 1869, he writes to William Stickney, Esq., son-in-law of Amos Kendall:—
"Although prepared by recent notices in the papers to expect the sad news, which a telegram this moment received announces to me, of the death of my excellent, long-tried friend Mr. Kendall, I confess that the intelligence has come with a shock which has quite unnerved me. I feel the loss as of afatherrather than of a brother in age, for he was one in whom I confided as a father, so sure was I of affectionate and sound advice….
"I need not tell you how deeply I feel this sad bereavement. I am truly and severely bereaved in the loss of such a friend, a friend, indeed, upon whose faithfulness and unswerving integrity I have ever reposed with perfect confidence, a confidence which has never been betrayed, and a friend to whose energy and skill, in the conduct of the agency which I had confided to him, I owe (under God) the comparative comfort which a kind Providence has permitted me to enjoy in my advanced age."
In the following year he was called upon to mourn the death of still another of his good friends, for, on August 24, 1870, George Wood died very suddenly at Saratoga.
While much of sadness and sorrow clouded the evening of the life of this truly great man, the sun, ere it sank to rest, tinged the clouds with a glory seldom vouchsafed to a mortal, for he was to see a statue erected to him while he was yet living. Of many men it has been said that— "Wanting bread they receive only a stone, and not even that until long after they have been starved to death." It was Morse's good fortune not only to see the child of his brain grow to a sturdy manhood, but to be honored during his lifetime to a truly remarkable degree.
The project of a memorial of some sort to the Inventor of the Telegraph was first broached by Robert B. Hoover, manager of the Western Union Telegraph office, Allegheny City, Pennsylvania. The idea once started spread with the rapidity of the electric fluid itself, and, under the able management of James D. Reid, a fund was raised, partly by dollar subscriptions largely made by telegraph operators all over the country, including Canada, and it was decided that the testimonial should take the form of a bronze statue to be erected in Central Park, New York. Byron M. Pickett was chosen as the sculptor, and the Park Commission readily granted permission to place the statue in the park.
It was at first hoped that the unveiling might take place on the 27th of April, 1871, Morse's eightieth birthday; but unavoidable delays arose, and it was not until the 10th of June that everything was in readiness. It was a perfect June day and the hundreds of telegraphers from all parts of the country, with their families, spent the forenoon in a steamboat excursion around the city. In the afternoon crowds flocked to the park where, near what is now called the "Inventor's Gate," the statue stood in the angle between two platforms for the invited guests. Morse himself refused to attend the ceremonies of the unveiling of his counterfeit presentment, as being too great a strain on his innate modesty. Some persons and some papers said that he was present, but, as Mr. James D. Reid says in his "Telegraph in America," "Mr. Morse was incapable of such an indelicacy…. Men of refinement and modesty would justly have marvelled had they seen him in such a place."
At about four o'clock the Governor of New York, John T. Hoffman, delivered the opening address, saying, in the course of his speech: "In our day a new era has dawned. Again, for the second time in the history of the world, the power of language is increased by human agency. Thanks to Samuel F.B. Morse men speak to one another now, though separated by the width of the earth, with the lightning's speed and as if standing face to face. If the inventor of the alphabet be deserving of the highest honors, so is he whose great achievement marks this epoch in the history of language—the inventor of the Electric Telegraph. We intend, so far as in us lies, that the men who come after us shall be at no loss to discover his name for want of recorded testimony."
Governor Claflin, of Massachusetts, and William Orton, president of the Western Union Telegraph Company, then drew aside the drapery amidst the cheers and applause of the multitude, while the Governor's Island band played the "Star-Spangled Banner."
William Cullen Bryant, who was an early friend of the inventor, then presented the statue to the city in an eloquent address, from which I shall quote the following words:—
"It may be said, I know, that the civilized world is already full of memorials which speak the merit of our friend and the grandeur and utility of his invention. Every telegraphic station is such a memorial. Every message sent from one of these stations to another may be counted among the honors paid to his name. Every telegraphic wire strung from post to post, as it hums in the wind, murmurs his eulogy. Every sheaf of wires laid down in the deep sea, occupying the bottom of soundless abysses to which human sight has never penetrated, and carrying the electric pulse, charged with the burden of human thought, from continent to continent, from the Old World to the New, is a testimonial to his greatness…. The Latin inscription in the church of St. Paul's in London, referring to Sir Christopher Wren, its architect,—'If you would behold his monument, look around you,'—may be applied in a far more comprehensive sense to our friend, since the great globe itself has become his monument."
The Mayor of New York, A. Oakey Hall, accepted the statue in a short speech, and, after a prayer by the Reverend Stephen H. Tyng, D.D., the assembled multitude joined in singing the doxology, and the ceremonies at the park were ended.
But other honors still awaited the venerable inventor, for, on the evening of that day, the old Academy of Music on Fourteenth Street was packed with a dense throng gathered together to listen to eulogies on this benefactor of his race, and to hear him bid farewell to his children of the Telegraph. A table was placed in the centre of the stage on which was the original instrument used on the first line from Washington to Baltimore. This was connected with all the lines of telegraph extending to all parts of the world. The Honorable William Orton presided, and, after the Reverend Howard Crosby had opened the ceremonies with prayer, speeches were delivered by Mr. Orton, Dr. George B. Loring, of Salem, and the Reverend Dr. George W. Samson.
At nine o'clock Mr. Orton announced that all lines were clear for the farewell message of the inventor to his children; that this message would 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 Cornwellclicked 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 theFather 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."
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:—
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 showsMy 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 cullSuch only as shall soothe the mindAnd leave the harshest all behind.Bring not the thundering drum, nor yetThe harshly-shrieking clarionet,Nor screaming hautboy, trumpet shrill,Nor clanging cymbals; but, with skill,Exclude each one that would disturbThe fairy architects, or curbThe 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 flageoletAnd 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 Æolian 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 amachine, or was ita new fact in science?' The answer is: 'It was amachine.' 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 theapplicationof 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 WilliamCullen 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 manysavanshad 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.
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 andoperators.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 andPoughkeepsie 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 firstto experiment with the Daguerreotype in America, and, with ProfessorDraper, 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.
Abbott, Gorham, American Asiatic Society, ~2~, 443Abbott, J.S.C., from M. (1867) on Louis Napoleon in New York. ~2~, 451Abdul Mejid, decorates M., ~2~, 297Abernethy, John, personality, ~1~, 98, 99Abolitionism, M.'s antagonism, ~2~, 390, 415, 416, 418, 420, 430, 446Accidents to M., runaway (1828), ~1~, 293-295in 1844, ~2~, 232fall (1846), 268during laying of Atlantic cable (1857), 376, 377, 383breaks leg (1869), 480Acton, ——. and M. at Peterhoff (1856), ~2~, 363Adams, J.Q., and election to Presidency, Jackson's congratulations, ~1~,263and M.'s failure to get commission for painting for Capitol, ~2~, 28-30Adams, John, portrait by M., ~1~, 196Adams, Nehemiah, and Civil War, ~2~, 416Adams, William, and M.'s last illness, ~2~, 506at M.'s funeral, address, 511, 512at memorial services, 514Agamemnon, and laying of first Atlantic cable, ~2~, 378Agate. F.S., pupil of M., ~1~, 257, 275and origin of Academy of Design, 280Albany, M. as portrait painter at (1823), ~1~, 245-249Alexander I of Russia, in London (1814), appearance, anecdotes, ~1~,142-146Alexander II of Russia. M. on presentation to (1856), ~2~, 356-364attempt on life at Paris (1867), 455Allan, Sir Hugh, at banquet to M., ~2~, 473Allegorical painting, M. on, ~1~, 318Allegri, Gregorio, M. onMiserere, ~2~, 345Allston, Washington, M. desires to study under, ~1~, 21M. accompanies to England (1811), 31, 83journey to London, 86, 38on M. as artist, 46, 55, 56, 131and Leslie, 59, 156and death of wife, Coleridge's prescription, 59, 168and M., Interest, influence and criticism, 74, 76, 83, 86, 104, 162,197-199, 436and War of 1812, 89at premier of Coleridge'sRemorse, 96illness, 96and Dr. Abernethy, 98, 99M. on, as artist, 102, 105M. on character. 105, 108Dead Man restored to Life, 105, 122, 124, 148, 197, 199poems, 110on French school of art, 114at Bristol (1814), 142, 153, 156, 171painting for steamer, 289Uriel in the Sun, 307compliment to, 308M. and death, ~2~, 207, 208brush of, 207M. presents portrait and brush to Academy of Design, 436, 437Letters:to M. (1814) on Dead Man, Blücher, ~1~, 147with M. (1816) on sale of Dead Man, personal relations, 197, 198from M. (1819) on work at Charleston, Albton as R.A., 221to M. (1837) on rejection for government painting, ~2~, 32from M. (1839) on daguerreotype and art, 143with M. (1843) on telegraph act, illness, painting, 202Allston, Mrs. Washington, Journey to England, ~1~, 33, 35in England, health, 38death, 168Alphabet.SeeDot-and-dash.Alston, J.A., and M., ~1~, 208, 214, 215, 233to M. (1818-19) on portraits, 214, 224, 225Amalfi, M. at (1830), ~1~, 364-367American Academy of Art, condition (1825), ~1~, 276, 277and union with Academy of Design, ~2~, 23American Asiatic Society, ~2~, 443American Society for promoting National Unity, ~2~, 415Americans, M. on Cooper's patriotism (1832), ~1~, 426-428on European criticism, 428, 429Amyot, ——, and M.'s telegraph, ~2~, 122, 147Anderson, Alexander, and origin of Academy of Design, ~1~, 280Andrews, Solomon, from M. (1849) on aviation, ~2~, 299Angoulême, Duchesse d', in London (1814), ~1~, 138Annunciation, M. on feast at Rome (1830), ~1~, 341Arabia, transatlantic steamer (1857), ~2~, 384Arago, D.F., and M.'s telegraph, ~2~, 104, 107, 108, 255Art, conditions in America (1813), ~1~, 100, 101Boston and (1816), 197See alsoPainting.Atlantic cable, M. prophesies (1843), ~2~, 208, 209organisation of company, 341-843M. as electrician, 343, 347M.'s enthusiasm, 344attempt to lay cable across Gulf of St. Lawrence (1855), 345experiments of M. and Whitehouse, 348, 366Kendall's caution to M. on company, 372M.'s account of laying of first, 374-382parting of first, 382delay, offer to purchase remainder of first, 383M.'s forced resignation from company, 384M. on first message over completed (1858), his prediction of cessation,386, 387proposed, between Spain and West Indies, 404-406M. on final success, 451greeting of company to M. (1868), 469"Attention the Universe" message, ~2~, 75Australia, M.'s telegraph in, ~2~, 321Austria, testimonials to M., ~2~, 392Austro-Prussian War, influence of telegraph, ~2~, 463Aviation, M. on (1849), ~2~, 300, 301Avignon, M. at (1830), ~1~, 324, 325Aycrigg, J.B., and telegraph, ~2~, 187, 189from M. (1844) on ground circuit, 221Aylmer, Lord, and M.'s telegraph, ~2~, 124
Bain, Alexander, and telegraph, ~2~, 242, 3O4and ground circuit, 243Ball, Mrs.——, M.'s portrait and trouble with, letters from M. (1820),~1~, 231-234Balloon ascension at London (1811), ~1~, 49Baltic, transatlantic steamer (1856), ~2~, 347Baltimore, construction of first telegraph line, ~2~, 204-228Bancroft, ——, transatlantic voyage (1815), ~1~, 188Bancroft, George, and M. at Berlin, ~2~, 461Banks, N.P., at M.'s farewell message to telegraph, ~2~, 486at memorial services, 315Banquets to M., at London (1856), ~2~, 368, 369at Paris (1858), 396at New York (1869), 467-475Barberini, Cardinal, ~1~, 342Barrell, Samuel, at Yale, ~1~, 9. 10Battery, Gale's improvement of telegraph, ~2~, 55M.'s improvement, 182See alsoRelay.Beecher, Lyman, and M., ~1~, 238Beechy, Sir William, M. on, ~1~, 63Beggars, M. on Italian, ~1~, 330, 332, 341, 355, 363, 369Belgium, interest in M.'s telegraph, ~2~, 244and gratuity to M., 393Belknap, Jeremy, on birth of M., ~1~, 2Bellingham, John, assassinates Perceval, ~1~, 71execution, 72Bellows, H.W. from M. (1864) on Sanitary Commission, ~2~, 428Benedict, Aaron, and wire for experimental line, ~2~, 208Benevolence, as female virtue, ~1~, 323Bennett, J.G., at French court (1867), ~2~, 449Berkshire, Mass., M.'s trip (1821), ~1~, 238, 239Berlin, M. at (1866), ~2~, 365(1868), 461Bernard, Simon, and M., ~2~, 104and telegraph, 132Bern, Duchesse de, appearance (1830), ~1~, 316Bertassoli, Cardinal, death, ~1~, 347Bettner, Dr. ——, and Henry-Morse controversy, ~2~, 318Biddle, James, return to America (1832), ~1~, 430Biddulph, T.T., as minister, ~1~, 121Bigelow, John, farewell banquet to (1867), ~2~, 451Blaine. J.G., address at memorial services to M., ~2~, 514, 515Blake, W.P., to M. (1869) on M.'s report, ~2~, 475on Henry controversy, 475from M. on same, 478Blanchard, Thomas, machine for carving marble, ~1~, 245Blenheim estates, reduced condition (1829), ~1~, 307Bliss, Seth, and Civil War, ~2~, 416Blücher, G.L. von, at London (1814), appearance, ~1~, 146, 147Boardman, W.W., and telegraph, letters with M. (1842), ~2~, 173-177, 187,189.Bodisco, Alexander de, from M. (1844) on telegraph, ~2~, 240state dinner, 245Bologna, M. on, ~1~, 391Boorman, James, and Civil War, ~2~, 416Borland, Catherine, ~1~, 111Boston, and art (1816), ~1~, 197BostonRecorder, founding, ~1~, 208Boudy, Comte, and M.'s telegraph, ~2~, 112, 123Breese, Arthur, and marriage of daughter, ~1~, 228Breese, Catherine, marriage, ~1~, 229See alsoGriswold.Breese, Elisabeth A. (Mrs. Jedediah Morse), ~1~, 2Breese, Samuel, in navy, ~1~, 88under Perry, 140Breese, Sidney, and M., ~2~, 411Breguet, Louis, from M. (1851) on rewards for invention, ~2~, 313Brett, J.W., and Atlantic cable, ~2~ 343and M. in England (1856), 348, 349, 351from M. (1858) on withdrawal from cable company, 385and proposed Spanish cable, 406Bristol, England, M. at (1813, 1814), ~1~, 119. 121, 153, 163, 169-171Broek, M. van der, and gratuity to M., ~2~, 391Broek, Holland, M. on unnatural neatness, ~2~, 261-283Bromfield, Henry, and M. in England, ~1~, 39, 152from M. (1820) on family at New Haven, 234Brooklyn, N.Y., defences (1814), ~1~, 150Brooks, David, and telegraph, ~2~, 290Brougham, Lord, and M.'s telegraph, ~2~, 95, 125Brown, James, banquet to M., ~2~, 467Bryant, W. C., and The Club, ~1~, 282from M. (1865) on Allston's portrait, ~2~, 436at banquet to M., 472address at unveiling of statue to M., 484tribute to M., 508Buchanan, James, official letter introducing M. (1845), ~2~, 248M. on election (1856), 371Budd, T.A., and Perry's Japanese expedition, ~2~, 317Bulfinch, Charles, and M., ~2~, 188Bullock, A.H., sentiment for banquet to M., ~2~, 469Bunker Hill Monument, Greenough on plans, ~1~, 413Burbank, David, from M. (1844) on price for invention, ~2~, 235Burder, George, minister at London (1811), ~1~, 120Burritt, Benjamin, prisoner of war, M.'s efforts for release, ~1~,124-127Butler, Charles, at M.'s funeral, ~2~, 611