Samuel F. B. Morse, His Letters and Journals - Samuel F. B. Morse
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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,
and that he is ranked with the best of our earlier painters.
In my selection of letters to be published I have tried to place much
emphasis on this phase of his career, a most interesting one. I have
found so many letters, diaries, and sketch-books of those earlier years,
never before published, that seemed to me of great human interest, that I
have ventured to let a large number of these documents chronicle the
history of Morse the artist.
Many of the letters here published have already appeared in Mr. S.
Irenaeus Prime's biography of Morse, but others are now printed for the
first time, and I have omitted many which Mr. Prime included. I must
acknowledge my indebtedness to Mr. Prime for the possibility of filling
in certain gaps in the correspondence; and for much interesting material
not now otherwise obtainable.
Before the telegraph had demonstrated its practical utility, its inventor
was subjected to ridicule most galling to a sensitive nature, and after
it was a proved success he was vilified by the enemies he was obliged to
make on account of his own probity, and by the unscrupulous men who tried
to rob him of the fruits of his genius; but in this he was only paying
the penalty of greatness, and, as the perspective of time enables us to
render a more impartial verdict, his character will be found to emerge
triumphant.
His versatility and abounding vitality were astounding. He would have
been an eminent man in his day had he never invented the telegraph; but
it is of absorbing interest, in following his career, to note how he was
forced to give up one ambition after another, to suffer blow after blow
which would have overwhelmed a man of less indomitable perseverance,
until all his great energies were impelled into the one channel which
ultimately led to undying fame.
In every great achievement in the history of progress one man must stand
preeminent, one name must symbolize to future generations the thing
accomplished, whether it be the founding of an empire, the discovery of a
new world, or the invention of a new and useful art; and this one man
must be so endowed by nature as to be capable of carrying to a successful
issue the great enterprise, be it what it may. He must, in short, be a
man of destiny. That he should call to his assistance other men, that he
should legitimately make use of the labors of others, in no wise detracts
from his claims to greatness. It is futile to say that without this one
or that one the enterprise would have been a failure; that without his
officers and his men the general could not have waged a successful
campaign. We must, in every great accomplishment which has influenced the
history of the world, search out the master mind to whom, under Heaven,
the epoch-making result is due, and him must we crown with the laurel
wreath.
Of nothing is this more true than of invention, for I venture to assert
that no great invention has ever sprung Minerva-like from the brain of
one man. It has been the culmination of the discoveries, the researches,
yes, and the failures, of others, until the time was ripe and the
destined man appeared. While due credit and all honor must be given to
the other laborers in the field, the niche in the temple of fame must be
reserved for the one man whose genius has combined all the known elements
and added the connecting link to produce the great result.
As an invention the telegraph was truly epoch-making. It came at a time
when steam navigation on land and water was yet in its infancy, and it is
idle to speculate on the slow progress which this would have made had it
not been for the assistance of the electric spark.
The science of electricity itself was but an academic curiosity, and it
was not until the telegraph had demonstrated that this mysterious force
could be harnessed to the use of man, that other men of genius arose to
extend its usefulness in other directions; and this, in turn, stimulated
invention in many other fields, and the end is not yet.
It has been necessary, in selecting letters, to omit many fully as
interesting as those which have been included; barely to touch on
subjects of research, or of political and religious discussion, which are
worthy of being pursued further, and to omit some subjects entirely. Very
probably another more experienced hand would have made a better
selection, but my aim has been to give, through characteristic letters
and contemporary opinions, an accurate portrait of the man, and a
succinct history of his life and labors. If I have succeeded in throwing
a new light on some points which are still the subject of discussion, if
I have been able to call attention to any facts which until now have been
overlooked or unknown, I shall be satisfied. If I have been compelled to
use very plain language with regard to some of those who were his open or
secret enemies, or who have been posthumously glorified by others, I have
done so with regret.
Such as it is I send the book forth in the hope that it may add to the
knowledge and appreciation of the character of one of the world's great
men, and that it may, perhaps, be an inspiration to others who are
striving, against great odds, to benefit their fellow men, or to those
who are championing the cause of justice and truth.
EDWARD LIND MORSE.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER I
APRIL 27. 1791--SEPTEMBER 8, 1810
Birth of S.F.B. Morse.--His parents.--Letters of Dr. Belknap and Rev. Mr.
Wells.--Phillips, Andover.--First letter.--Letter from his father.--
Religious letter from Morse to his brothers.--Letters from the mother to
her sons.--Morse enters Yale.--His journey there.--Difficulty in keeping
up with his class.--Letter of warning from his mother.--Letters of
Jedediah Morse to Bishop of London and Lindley Murray.--Morse becomes
more studious.--Bill of expenses.--Longing to travel and interest in
electricity.--Philadelphia and New York.--Graduates from college.--Wishes
to accompany Allston to England, but submits to parents' desires
CHAPTER II
OCTOBER 31, 1810--AUGUST 17, 1811
Enters bookshop as clerk.--Devotes leisure to painting.--Leaves shop.--
Letter to his brothers on appointments at Yale.--Letters from Joseph P.
Rossiter.--Morse's first love affair.--Paints "Landing of the Pilgrims."
--Prepares to sail with Allstons for England.--Letters of introduction
from his father.--Disagreeable stage-ride to New York.--Sails on the
Lydia.--Prosperous voyage.--Liverpool.--Trip to London.--Observations on
people and customs.--Frequently cheated.--Critical time in England.--Dr.
Lettsom.--Sheridan's verse.--Longing for a telegraph.--A ghost
CHAPTER III
AUGUST 24, 1811--DECEMBER 1, 1811
Benjamin West.--George III.--Morse begins his studies.--Introduced to
West.--Enthusiasms.--Smuggling and lotteries.--English appreciation of
art.--Copley.--Friendliness of West.--Elgin marbles.--Cries of London.--
Custom in knocking.--Witnesses balloon ascension.--Crowds.--Vauxhall
Gardens.--St. Bartholomew's Fair.--Efforts to be economical.--Signs of
war.--Mails delayed.--Admitted to Royal Academy.--Disturbances, riots,
and murders
CHAPTER IV
JANUARY 18, 1812--AUGUST 6, 1812
Political opinions.--Charles R. Leslie's reminiscences of Morse, Allston,
King, and Coleridge.--C.B. King's letter.--Sidney E. Morse's letter.--
Benjamin West's kindness.--Sir William Beechy.--Murders, robberies, etc.
--Morse and Leslie paint each other's portraits.--The elder Morse's
financial difficulties.--He deprecates the war talk.--The son differs
from his father.--The Prince Regent.--Orders in Council.--Estimate of
West.--Alarming state of affairs in England.--Assassination of Perceval,
Prime Minister.--Execution of assassin.--Morse's love for his art.--
Stephen Van Rensselaer.--Leslie the friend and Allston the master.--
Afternoon tea.--The elder Morse well known in Europe.--Lord Castlereagh.
--The Queen's drawing-room.--Kemble and Mrs. Siddons.--Zachary Macaulay.
--Warning letter from his parents.--War declared.--Morse approves.--
Gratitude to his parents, and to Allston
CHAPTER V
SEPTEMBER 20, 1812--JUNE 13, 1813
Models the "Dying Hercules."--Dreams of greatness.--Again expresses
gratitude to his parents.--Begins painting of "Dying Hercules."--Letter
from Jeremiah Evarts.--Morse upholds righteousness of the war.--Henry
Thornton.--Political discussions.--Gilbert Stuart.--William Wilberforce.
--James Wynne's reminiscences of Morse, Coleridge, Leslie, Allston, and
Dr. Abernethy.--Letters from his mother and brother.--Letters from
friends on the state of the fine arts in America.--"The Dying Hercules"
exhibited at the Royal Academy.--Expenses of painting.--Receives Adelphi
Gold Medal for statuette of Hercules.--Mr. Dunlap's reminiscences.--
Critics praise "Dying Hercules"
CHAPTER VI
JULY 10, 1813--APRIL 6, 1814
Letter from the father on economies and political views.--Morse
deprecates lack of spirit in New England and rejoices at Wellington's
victories.--Allston's poems.--Morse coat-of-arms.--Letter of Joseph
Hillhouse.--Letter of exhortation from his mother.--Morse wishes to stay
longer in Europe.--Amused at mother's political views.--The father sends
more money for a longer stay.--Sidney exalts poetry above painting.--His
mother warns him against infidels and actors.--Bristol.--Optimism.--
Letter on infidels and his own religious observances.--Future of American
art.--He is in good health, but thin.--Letter from Mr. Visger.--Benjamin
Burritt, American prisoner.--Efforts in his behalf unsuccessful.--Capture
of Paris by the Allies.--Again expresses gratitude to parents.--Writes a
play for Charles Mathews.--Not produced
CHAPTER VII
MAY 2, 1814--OCTOBER 11, 1814
Allston writes encouragingly to the parents.--Morse unwilling to be mere
portrait-painter.--Ambitious to stand at the head of his profession.--
Desires patronage, from wealthy friends.--Delay in the mails.--Account of
_entree_ of Louis XVIII into London.--The Prince Regent.--Indignation at
acts of English.--His parents relieved at hearing from him after seven
months' silence.--No hope of patronage from America.--His brothers.--
Account of fetes.--Emperor Alexander, King of Prussia, Bluecher, Platoff.
--Wishes to go to Paris.--Letter from M. Van Schaick about battle of Lake
Erie.--Disgusted with England
CHAPTER VIII
NOVEMBER 9, 1814--APRIL 23, 1815
Does not go to Paris.--Letter of admonition from his mother.--His
parents' early economies.--Letter from Leslie.--Letter from Rev. S.F.
Jarvis on politics.--The mother tells of the economies of another young
American, Dr. Parkman.--The son resents constant exhortations to
economize, and tells of meanness of Dr. Parkman.--Writes of his own
economies and industry.--Disgusted with Bristol.--Prophesies peace
between England and America.--Estimates of Morse's character by Dr.
Romeyn and Mr. Van Schaick.--The father regrets reproof of son for
political views.--Death of Mrs. Allston.--Disagreeable experience in
Bristol.--More economies.--Napoleon I.--Peace
CHAPTER IX
MAY 8, 1815--OCTOBER 18, 1816
Decides to return home in the fall.--Hopes to return to Europe in a
year.--Ambitions.--Paints "Judgment of Jupiter."--Not allowed to compete
for premium.--Mr. Russell's portrait.--Reproof of his parents.--Battle of
Waterloo.--Wilberforce.--Painting of "Dying Hercules" received by
parents.--Much admired.--Sails for home.--Dreadful voyage lasting
fifty-eight days.--Extracts from his journal.--Home at last
CHAPTER X
APRIL 10, 1816--OCTOBER 5, 1818
Very little success at home.--Portrait of ex-President John Adams.--
Letter to Allston on sale of his "Dead Man restored to Life."--Also
apologizes for hasty temper.--Reassured by Allston.--Humorous letter from
Leslie.--Goes to New Hampshire to paint portraits.--Concord.--Meets Miss
Lucretia Walker.--Letters to his parents concerning her.--His parents
reply.--Engaged to Miss Walker.--His parents approve.--Many portraits
painted.--Miss Walker's parents consent.--Success in Portsmouth.--Morse
and his brother invent a pump.--Highly endorsed by President Day and Eli
Whitney.--Miss Walker visits Charlestown.--Morse's religious
convictions.--More success in New Hampshire.--Winter in Charleston, South
Carolina.--John A. Alston.--Success.--Returns north.--Letter from his
uncle Dr. Finley.--Marriage
CHAPTER XI
NOVEMBER 19, 1818--MARCH 31, 1821
Morse and his wife go to Charleston, South Carolina.--Hospitably
entertained and many portraits painted.--Congratulates Allston on his
election to the Royal Academy.--Receives commission to paint President
Monroe.--Trouble in the parish at Charlestown.--Morse urges his parents
to leave and come to Charleston.--Letters of John A. Alston.--Return to
the North.--Birth of his first child.--Dr. Morse and his family decide to
move to New Haven.--Morse goes to Washington.--Paints the President under
difficulties.--Hospitalities.--Death of his grandfather.--Dr. Morse
appointed Indian Commissioner.--Marriage of Morse's future mother-in-law.
--Charleston again.--Continued success.--Letters to Mrs. Ball.--
Liberality of Mr. Alston.--Spends the summer in New Haven.--Returns to
Charleston, but meets with poor success.--Assists in founding Academy of
Arts, which has but a short life.--Goes North again
CHAPTER XII
MAY 23, 1821--DECEMBER 17, 1824
Accompanies Mr. Silliman to the Berkshires.--Takes his wife and daughter
to Concord, New Hampshire.--Writes to his wife from Boston about a
bonnet.--Goes to Washington, D.C.--Paints large picture of House of
Representatives.--Artistic but not financial success.--Donates five
hundred dollars to Yale.--Letter from Mr. De Forest.--New York
"Observer."--Discouragements.--First son born.--Invents marble-carving
machine.--Goes to Albany.--Stephen Van Rensselaer.--Slight encouragement
in Albany.--Longing for a home.--Goes to New York.--Portrait of
Chancellor Kent.--Appointed attache to Legation to Mexico.--High hopes.--
Takes affecting leave of his family.--Rough journey to Washington.--
Expedition to Mexico indefinitely postponed.--Returns North.--Settles in
New York.--Fairly prosperous
CHAPTER XIII
JANUARY 4, 1825--NOVEMBER 18, 1825
Success in New York.--Chosen to paint portrait of Lafayette.--Hope of a
permanent home with his family.--Meets Lafayette in Washington.--Mutually
attracted.--Attends President's levee.--Begins portrait of Lafayette.--
Death of his wife.--Crushed by the news.--His attachment to her.--Epitaph
composed by Benjamin Silliman.--Bravely takes up his work again.--
Finishes portrait of Lafayette.--Describes it in letter of a later date.
--Sonnet on death of Lafayette's dog.--Rents a house in Canal Street, New
York.--One of the founders of National Academy of Design.--Tactful
resolutions on organization.--First thirty members.--Morse elected first
president.--Reelected every year until 1845.--Again made president in
1861.--Lectures on Art.--Popularity
CHAPTER XIV
JANUARY 1, 1826--DECEMBER 5, 1829
Success of his lectures, the first of the kind in the United States.--
Difficulties of his position as leader.--Still longing for a home.--Very
busy but in good health.--Death of his father.--Estimates of Dr. Morse.--
Letters to his mother.--Wishes to go to Europe again.--Delivers address
at first anniversary of National Academy of Design.--Professor Dana
lectures on electricity.--Morse's study of the subject.--Moves to No. 13
Murray Street.--Too busy to visit his family.--Death of his mother.--A
remarkable woman.--Goes to central New York.--A serious accident.--Moral
reflections.--Prepares to go to Europe.--Letter of John A. Dix.--Sails
for Liverpool.--Rough voyage.--Liverpool
CHAPTER XV
DECEMBER 6. 1829--FEBRUARY 6, 1830
Journey from Liverpool to London by coach.--Neatness of the cottages.--
Trentham Hall.--Stratford-on-Avon.--Oxford.--London.--Charles R. Leslie.
--Samuel Rogers.--Seated with Academicians at Royal Academy lecture.--
Washington Irving.--Turner.--Leaves London for Dover.--Canterbury
Cathedral.--Detained at Dover by bad weather.--Incident of a former
visit.--Channel steamer.--Boulogne-sur-Mer.--First impressions of
France.--Paris.--The Louvre.--Lafayette.--Cold in Paris.--Continental
Sunday.--Leaves Paris for Marseilles in diligence.--Intense cold.--
Dijon.--French funeral.--Lyons.--The Hotel Dieu.--Avignon.--Catholic
church services.--Marseilles.--Toulon.--The navy yard and the galley
slaves.--Disagreeable experience at an inn.--The Riviera.--Genoa
CHAPTER XVI
FEBRUARY 6, 1830--JUNE 15, 1830
Serra Palace in Genoa.--Starts for Rome.--Rain in the mountains.--A
brigand.--Carrara.--First mention of a railroad.--Pisa.--The leaning
tower.--Rome at last.--Begins copying at once.--Notebooks.--Ceremonies at
the Vatican.--Pope Pius VIII.--Academy of St. Luke's.--St. Peter's.--
Chiesa Nuova.--Painting at the Vatican.--Beggar monks.--_Festa_ of the
Annunciation.--Soiree at Palazzo Sunbaldi.--Passion Sunday.--Horace
Vernet.--Lying in state of a cardinal.--_Miserere_ at Sistine Chapel.--
Holy Thursday at St. Peter's.--Third cardinal dies.--Meets Thorwaldsen at
Signor Persianis's.--Manners of English, French, and Americans.--Landi's
pictures.--Funeral of a young girl.--Trip to Tivoli, Subiaco.--Procession
of the _Corpus Domini_.--Disagreeable experience
CHAPTER XVII
JUNE 17, 1830--FEBRUARY 2, 1831
Working hard.--Trip to Genzano.--Lake of Nemi.--Beggars.--Curious
festival of flowers at Genzano.--Night on the Campagna.--Heat in Rome.--
Illumination of St. Peter's.--St. Peter's Day.--Vaults of the Church.--
Feebleness of Pope.--Morse and companions visit Naples, Capri, and
Amalfi.--Charms of Amalfi.--Terrible accident.--Flippancy at funerals.--
Campo Santo at Naples.--Gruesome conditions.--Ubiquity of beggars.--
Convent of St. Martino.--Masterpiece of Spagnoletto.--Returns to Rome.--
Paints portrait of Thorwaldsen.--Presented to him in after years by John
Taylor Johnston.--Given to King of Denmark.--Reflections on the social
evil and the theatre.--Death of the Pope.--An assassination.--The
Honorable Mr. Spencer and Catholicism.--Election of Pope Gregory XVI
CHAPTER XVIII
FEBRUARY 10, 1831--SEPTEMBER 12, 1831
Historic events witnessed by Morse.--Rumors of revolution.--Danger to
foreigners.--Coronation of the new Pope.--Pleasant experience.--Cause of
the revolution a mystery.--Bloody plot foiled.--Plans to leave for
Florence.--Sends casts, etc., to National Academy of Design.--Leaves
Rome.--Dangers of the journey.--Florence.--Description of meeting Prince
Radziwill in Coliseum at Rome.--Copies portraits of Rubens and Titian in
Florence.--Leaves Florence for Venice.--Disagreeable voyage on the Po.--
Venice, beautiful but smelly.--Copies Tintoret's "Miracle of the Slave."
--Thunderstorms.--Reflections on the Fourth of July.--Leaves Venice.--
Recoaro.--Milan.--Reflections on Catholicism and art.--Como and
Maggiore.--The Rigi.--Schaffhausen and Heidelberg.--Evades the quarantine
on French border.--Thrilling experience.--Paris
CHAPTER XIX
SEPTEMBER 18, 1831--SEPTEMBER 21, 1832
Takes rooms with Horatio Greenough.--Political talk with Lafayette.--
Riots in Paris.--Letters from Greenough.--Bunker Hill Monument.--Letters
from Fenimore Cooper.--Cooper's portrait by Verboeckhoven.--European
criticisms.--Reminiscences of R.W. Habersham.--Hints of an electric
telegraph.--Not remembered by Morse.--Early experiments in photography.--
Painting of the Louvre.--Cholera in Paris.--Baron von Humboldt.--Morse
presides at Fourth of July dinner.--Proposes toast to Lafayette.--Letter
to New York "Observer" on Fenimore Cooper.--Also on pride in American
citizenship.--Works with Lafayette in behalf of Poles.--Letter from
Lafayette.--Morse visits London before sailing for home.--Sits to Leslie
for head of Sterne
CHAPTER XX
Morse's life almost equally divided into two periods, artistic and
scientific.--Estimate of his artistic ability by Daniel Huntington.--Also
by Samuel Isham.--His character as revealed by his letters, notes, etc.--
End of Volume I
ILLUSTRATIONS
MORSE THE ARTIST (Photogravure)
Painted by himself in London about 1814.
HOUSE IN WHICH MORSE WAS BORN, IN CHARLESTOWN, MASS.
REV. JEDEDIAH MORSE AND S. F. B. MORSE--ELIZABETH ANN MORSE AND SIDNEY
E. MORSE
From portraits by a Mr. Sargent, who also painted portraits of the
Washington family.
THE DYING HERCULES
Painted by Morse in 1813.
LETTER OF MORSE TO HIS PARENTS, OCTOBER 18, 1815.
MR. D. C. DE FOREST--MRS. D. C. DE FOREST
From paintings by Morse now in the gallery of the Yale School
of the Fine Arts.
LUCRETIA PICKERING WALKER, WIFE or S. F. B. MORSE, AND TWO CHILDREN
Painted by Morse.
STUDY FOR PORTRAIT OF LAFAYETTE
Now in New York Public Library.