Samuel F. B. Morse, His Letters and Journals - Volume I.

Samuel F. B. Morse, His Letters
and Journals
by Samuel F. B.
Morse

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Title: Samuel F. B. Morse, His Letters and Journals In Two Volumes,
Volume I.
Author: Samuel F. B. Morse
Release Date: February 10, 2004 [EBook #11017]
Language: English
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SAMUEL F.B. MORSE
HIS LETTERS AND JOURNALS
IN TWO VOLUMES
VOLUME I
[Illustration: Samuel F.B. Morse]
SAMUEL F.B. MORSE
HIS LETTERS AND JOURNALS
EDITED AND SUPPLEMENTED
BY HIS SON
EDWARD LIND MORSE
ILLUSTRATED WITH REPRODUCTIONS OF HIS PAINTINGS
AND WITH NOTES AND DIAGRAMS BEARING ON THE
INVENTION OF THE TELEGRAPH
VOLUME I
1914

TO MY WIFE WHOSE LOVING INTEREST AND APT CRITICISM
HAVE BEEN TO ME OF GREAT VALUE I DEDICATE THIS
WORK
"It is the hour of fate, And those who follow me reach every state
Mortals desire, and conquer every foe Save death. But they who doubt

or hesitate-- Condemned to failure, penury and woe-- Seek me in vain
and uselessly implore. I hear them not, and I return no more."
Ingalls, Opportunity.

PREFACE
Arthur Christopher Benson, in the introduction to his studies in
biography entitled "The Leaves of the Tree," says:--
"But when it comes to dealing with men who have played upon the
whole a noble part in life, whose vision has been clear and whose heart
has been wide, who have not merely followed their own personal
ambitions, but have really desired to leave the world better and happier
than they found it,--in such cases, indiscriminate praise is not only
foolish and untruthful, it is positively harmful and noxious. What one
desires to see in the lives of others is some sort of transformation, some
evidence of patient struggling with faults, some hint of failings
triumphed over, some gain of generosity and endurance and courage.
To slur over the faults and failings of the great is not only inartistic: it
is also faint-hearted and unjust. It alienates sympathy. It substitutes
unreal adoration for wholesome admiration; it afflicts the reader,
conscious of frailty and struggle, with a sense of hopeless despair in the
presence of anything so supremely high-minded and flawless."
The judgment of a son may, perhaps, be biased in favor of a beloved
father; he may unconsciously "slur over the faults and failings," and lay
emphasis only on the virtues. In selecting and putting together the
letters, diaries, etc., of my father, Samuel F.B. Morse, I have tried to
avoid that fault; my desire has been to present a true portrait of the man,
with both lights and shadows duly emphasized; but I can say with
perfect truth that I have found but little to deplore. He was human, he
had his faults, and he made mistakes. While honestly differing from
him on certain questions, I am yet convinced that, in all his beliefs, he
was absolutely sincere, and the deeper I have delved into his
correspondence, the more I have been impressed by the true nobility

and greatness of the man.
His fame is now secure, but, like all great men, he made enemies who
pursued him with their calumnies even after his death; and others,
perfectly honest and sincere, have questioned his right to be called the
inventor of the telegraph. I have tried to give credit where credit is due
with regard to certain points in the invention, but I have also given the
documentary evidence, which I am confident will prove that he never
claimed more than was his right. For many years after his invention
was a proved success, almost to the day of his death, he was compelled
to fight for his rights; but he was a good fighter, a skilled
controversialist, and he has won out in the end.
He was born and brought up in a deeply religious atmosphere, in a faith
which seems to us of the present day as narrow; but, as will appear
from his correspondence, he was perfectly sincere in his beliefs, and
unfalteringly held himself to be an instrument divinely appointed to
bestow a great blessing upon humanity.
It seems not to be generally known that he was an artist of great ability,
that for more than half his life he devoted himself to painting,