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GODFREY LOWELL CABOT SCIENCE LIBRARY
HARVARD COLLEGE LIBRARY
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SAMUEL F. B. MORSE
mS LETTEBS AND J0UBNAI3
IN TWO VOLUMES
TOLl}lfEI
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SAMUEL F. B. MOBSE
HIS LETTERS AND JOURNALS
EDITED AND SDPFLBBfENTED BT HIS BON
EDWABD LIND MOBSE
ILLX78TRATED
WITH REFBODUCTIONS OV HIS PAINTINGS
AND WITH NOTES AND DIAGBAlfS
BEARING ON THE
INVENTION OF THE TELEGRAPH VOLUME I
BOSTON AND NEW TOBK
HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY
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1914
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COPYHIOHT, 19x4, BY SDWARD LXMD MORSS ALL RIGHTS KBSBRTBD
PubliMkid Havimhtr tqt4
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TO MY WIFE
WHOSE LOVING INTEREST AND APT CRITICISM
HAVE BEEN TO ME OF GREAT VALUE
I DEDICATE THIS WORK
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" It 18 the hour of fate» And those who follow me reach every state Mortals desire, and conquer every foe Save death. But th^ 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.'*
Inoalub, OpptrhmUy,
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PREFACE
Abthub Chbistopheb Benbon» in the introducUon 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 Ufe, 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 hap- pier than they found it, — in such cases, indiscriminate praise is not only foolish and untruthful, it is positively hannful and noxious. What one desires to see in the lives of others is some sort of transformation, some evi- dence 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 abo faint- hearted and unjust. It alienates sympathy. It substi- tutes 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 let- ters, 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
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X PREFACE
ahadows 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 corres* pondence, 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 in- ventor of the telegraph. I have tried to give credit where credit is due with r^ard to certain points in the invention, but I have also given the documentary evi- dence, 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 bom 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 correspond- ence, he was perfectly sincere in his beliefs, and un- falteringly 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
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PREFACE xi
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 ap- peared in Mr. S. Irenaeus Prime's bi<^graphy of Morse, but others are now printed for the first time, and I have omitted many which Mr. Prime included. I must ac- knowledge my indebtedness to Mr. Prime for the possi- bility of filling in certain g^M in the correspondence; and for much interesting material not now otherwise ob- tainable.
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 astound- ing. He would have been an eminent man in his day had he never invented the telegraph; but it is of absorb- ing interest, in following his career, to note how he was forced to give up one ambition after another, to suf- fer blow after blow which woidd have overwhefaned a man of less indomitable perseverance, until all his great
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PREFACE
energies were impelled into the one channel which ulti- mately led to undying fame.
In every great achievement in the history of progress one man must stand preeminent, one name must sym* bolize 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 campai^. 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 pro- duce the great result.
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As an invention the tel^raph was truly epoch-mak- ing. It came at a time when steam navigation on land and water was yet in its inf ancy» and it is idle to specu- late 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 dem- onstrated that this mysterious force could be har- nessed 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
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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 Lend Mobsb.
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CONTENTS
CHAFTEB I ATOL fr, 1791 — SEPTEMBER 8, 1810
Birth of & F. B. Mone. — Hb pumtt. -- Lettcn cl Dr. BclkiiH> and Ber. Mi. Wdit.— FliiDqM. Andover.— Fini letter.— Loiter tram hii father. — Religioui letter from Motm to hie brotfaen. — Lettera from the mother to her •oos. — Mone enters Yale, — ffie jomnej there. — Difficulty m kee^og up with hie daee. — Letter of waraiog from his mother. -Letters of Jedediah Itose to Bishop of London and Lmdl^ Murray. — Mono becomes more studious. — Bill of cg[penses. — Longing to travd and interest in dectricity.— Fhiladel- phiaandNewYoik. — Graduates from college. — Wishes to acoom- pany Allston to Khgiand, but submits to parents' desires • • • 1
CHAFTEB n OCTOBER 81, 1810 — AUGUST 17, 1811
Enters bookshop as deik. — Devotes leisure to painting.— Leaves shop. — Letter to his brothera on ^[ipointments at Yale. — Lettera from Joseph P. Rossiter. — Morse's first love affair. — P^ts ''Landmg of the Pilgrims." — Prepares to sail with Allsions for Engbnd. — Lettera of mtroduction from his father. — Dissgreeeble stage-ride to New York. — Sails on the Lydia. — Prosperous voyage. — Liverpool. — Trip to London. — Observations on people and cua- toms.-*- Frequently cheated. — Critkal time in En^and. — Dr. Lettson. — Sheridan's verse.— Longing for a tdegraph. — A ^lost 94
CHAFTEB in AUGUST M. 1811 * DECEMBER 1, 1811
Benjamin West. "~ George ill. -~- Mone begms his stumes. ""■ Intro* dneed to West. — Enthusiasms. — SmuggOng and lotteries. — Eng- lish appreciation of art. — Copley. — friendliness of West. — El|^ marbles.- Cries of London. — Custom in knocfcmg. — Witnesses balloon asoensipn. — Crowds. — Vamdiall Gardens. — St Bartholo- mesr's Fair. — iBfforts to be economicsl. — Signs of war. — BAails delayed. — Admitted to Boyal Academy. — Distmbanoes, riots, and orarden •••••'••••••••••4fl
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CHAPTER IV
JANUABY 18, 1812 — AUGUST «, 1812
Foliticil opinioiifl. — Charles R. Leslie's reminisceDoes of Mone, AUston, 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 eider 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 AUston the master. — Afternoon tea. — The eider Morse well known in Eurt^. — Lord Castlereac^.
— The Queen's drawing-room. — Kemble and Mrs. Siddoos. — Zadiaiy Macaulay. — Warning letter from his parents. — War declared. — Morse approves. — Gratitude to his parents, and to
CHAPTER V SEPTEMBER 20, 1812 — JUNE 18, 1818
Models the ''Dying Hercules." — Dreams of greatness. — Agsin ex- presses gratitude to his parents. — Begins painting of "Dying Her- cules." — Letter from Jeremiah Evarts. — Morse upholds ri^teous- ness of the war. — Henry Thornton. — Political discussions. — GO- bert Stuart. — William Tl^berf oroe. — James Wynne's reminiscenoes of Morse, Coleridge, Leslie, AUston, and Dr. Abemetfay. — 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 tar statuette of Hercules. — Mr. Dunlap's reminiscenoes. — Critics praise "Dying Hercules" 84
CHAPTER VI
JULY 10, 1818 — APRIL 8, 1814
Letter from the father on economies and political views. — Morse dep- recates lack of spirit in New England and rejoices at Wellington's victories. — Allsbon's poems. — Morse coatpof-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 infideb and actors. — BristoL — (^timism. — Letter on infidels and his own reli^ous observances. — Future of American art. — He is in good health, but thin. — Letter from Mr. Visger. — Benjamin Burritt, American prisoner. — Efforts in his behalf onsaooessfuL — Capture
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of Puis by the ADies. — Again cmncMen giatitode to parents. — Writes a play to CaiailesMatliews.-- Not produced . . . . lOB
CHAPTEB Vn BiAY 2» 1814 — OCTOBER 11^814
AUston writes enoouraffbogly to the parents. — Morse unwiOing to be mere portrait-painter. — Ambitious to stand at the head of his pro- fession.— Desires patronage from wealthy friends. — Delay in the mails. — Account of snftifo of Louis XVIII into Londcm. — 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 fttes. — Emperor Akiander, King of Prussia, Blttcher, PUtoff. — Wishes to go to Paris. — Letter from M. Van Sdiaick about battle of Lake Erie. — Disgusted with England 181
CHAPTEB Vra NOVEMBER 0» 1814 — APRIL 88. 1815
Does not go to Paris. — Letter of admonition from his mother. — His parents' eariy 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 economise, and tells of meanness of Dr. Pkrianan. — Writes of his own economies and industry. — Disgusted with Bristol. — Prophesies peace between England and America. — Estimates of Motbc's character by Dr* Romeyn and Mr. Van Sdiaick. — The father regrets reproof of son tat political views. — Death of Mrs. Allston. — Disagreeable experience in Bristol. — More economies. — Napoleon L — Peace 154
CHAPTER JX
MAY 8, 1815 — OCTOBER 18, 1815
Decides to return home in the fall. — Hopes to return to Europe in a year. — Ambitions. — Paints "Judgment of Jiq>iter." — Not allowed to compete for premium. — Mr. Russell's portrait. — Reproof of his parents. — Battle of Waterioo. — Wilberforce. — Painting oi "Dy- ing Hercules" received by parents. — Mudi admired. — Sails for home. — Dreadful voyage lasting fif ty-ei|^t days. — Extracts from his journal. — Home at last 175
CHAPTER X
APRIL 10, 1818 — OCTOBER 5, 1818
Veiy little success at home. — Portrait of ex-President John Adams. — Letter to Allston OB sale of his "Dead Man restoied to life." — Also
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apologiset for haalty temper. — Beaenind by Allstoii. — Hmnoroiis letter from Leslie. — Goes to Neir HMnpdiire to paint portraits. — Gxnoord. — Meets Miss Lucretia Walker. — Letters to his parents ooQoeming her. — EBs parents repty. — Engaged to Miss Walker. — His parents approve. — Many portraits painted. — Miss Walker's parents consent. — Suocess in Portsmouth. — Morse and his brother invent a pump. — Hi^^ endorsed by Prendent Day and 1^ Whit- ney. — Miss Walker visits Chariestown. — Morse's reli^ous convic- tions. — More success in New Hampshire. — 'V^ter in Charieston* South Carolina. — John A. Alston. — Success. — Returns north. — Letter from his unde Dr. FkJ^. — Maniage • • • • . .190
CHAFTEB XI NOVEMBER Id, 1818 — MARCH 81, 1881
Morse and his wife go to Charleston, South Carolma. — Hospitably en- tertained and many portraits painted. — Congratulates AUston on his election to the Royal Academy. — Receives commission to paint President Monroe. — Trouble in the parish at Chariestown. — Morse urges his parents to leave and come to Charleston. — Letters of John A. Alston. — Return to the North. — Birth of his first diild. — Dr. Morse and his family decide to move to New Haven. — Morse goes to Washington. — Paints the President under difficulties. — Hospitali- ties. — Death of his grandfather. — Dr. Morse appomted Indian Commissioner. — Maniage of Morse's future mother-in-law. — Charieston again. — Continued success. — Letters to Mrs. Ball. — liberality of Mr. Alston. — Spends the summer in New Haven. — Returns to Charieston, but meets with poor suocess. — Assists in founding Acadenty of Arts, whidi has but a short life. — Goes North
219
CHAFTEB Xn
MAY «8» 18S1 — DECEMBER 17, IftM
Accompanies BCr. 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 suc- cess. — Donates five hundred dollars to Yale.* — Letter from Mr. De Forest — New York "Observer." — Discouragements. — First son bom. — Invents marble-carving machine. — Goes to AllMmy. — Stephen Van Reossdaer. — Slif^t encouragement in Albany. — Longing for a home. — Goes to New York. — Portrait of Chancdlor Kent. -^Appointed attach^ to Legation to Mexico. — Hi^ hopes. — Takes affecting leave of his family. — Rouc^ journey to Washington. — Expedition to Mexico indefinitdy postponed. — Returns North. — Settles in New York. — Fairly prospeniua ••*•••. I
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CHAFTEB XTTT
JANUARY 4. 1885 — NOVEMBER 18, 1885
Suooen io Neir Yotk. — C^hoien to paint portrait of Lafayette. — Hope ol a permaiMiit home with hia family. — Meets Lafayette in Waafaing- ton. — MutuaDy attracted. — Attends FreaideBt's levee. — Begins portrait of Lafayette. — Death of his wife. — Crushed by the news. •— His attachment to her. — Epitaph composed l^ Benjunin fiiHiman.
— Bravely takes up his woric again. — Finishes portrait of Lafayette.
— Describes it in letter of a later date. -— Sonnet on death of Lafay- ette*s dog. — Rents a house in Canal Street* New York. — One of the founders of National Academy cf Design. — Tactful resolutions on organisation. — First thirty memben. — Morse elected first presi- dent. — Redected every year until 1845. — Again made president in 1861. — Lectures OB Art. — Popularity £50
CHAFTEB XIV JANUARY 1, 1886 — DECEBffiER 5, 1889
Success of his lectures, the first of the kind in the United States. —Diffi- culties of his position as leader. — Still longing for a home. — Very bogy but in good health. — Death of his father. — Estimates of Dr. Moise. —Letters to his mother. — Wishes to go to Eurt^ again. — Delivers address at first anniversary of National Academy of Dengn.
— Rofessor Dana lectures on electricity. — Morse's study of the subject — Moves to No. 18 Murray Street — Too bui^ to visit his family. -^ Death of his mother. — A remarkable woman. — Goes to central New York. — A serious accident. — Moral reflectknis. — Prepares to go to Eurt^. — Letter of John A. Dix. — Sails for Liverpool. — Rou|^ voyage. — Liverpool • 888
CHAPTER XV
DECEMBER 6, 1889 — FEBRUARY 6, 1880
Journey from Liverpool to London by coach. — Neatness of the cot- tages. — Trentham HaU. — Stratford-on-Avon. — Oxford. — Lon- dcm. — Charles R. Leslie. — Samuel Rogers. ' — Seated with Academi- cians at Royal Academy lecture. — Washington Irving. '—Turner. -^ Leaves London for Dover. — Canteibuiy Cathedral. — Detained at Dover by bad weather. — Incident of a former virit. — Channd steamer. — Boulogne-smvMer. — First impressions of Fkanoe. — Paris.- The Louvre.— Lafayette. — Cdd m Paris. — Contmental Sunday. — Leaves Paris for Biarseilles in diUgenoe. — Intense oold.
— Dijon. — IVench funeral. — Lyons. — The HAtd Dieu. — Avi- gnon. — Catholic churdi services. — Marseilles. — Toulon. — The navy yard and the galley slaves. — Disagreeable exprneood at an inn.
— The Riviera. — Genoa 804
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CHAPTER XVI
FEBRUABY 6, 1880— JUNE 15, 1890
Sena 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. — Note- books. — Ceremonies at the Vatican. — Pope Pius VUI. — Academy of St. Luke's. — St. Peter's. — Chiesa Nuova. — Painting at the Vat^ ican. — Beggar monks. — Festa of the Annunciation. — Soiree at Palacflo Simbaldi. — Passion Sunday. — Horace Yemet. — 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, Frendi, and Americans. — Lan- di's pictures. — Funeral of a young girl. — Trip to Tivoli, Subiaco. — Prooessioa of the Corpus Dommi. — Disagreeable experience . . 829
CHAPTER XVn JUNE 17. 1880 — FEBRUARY «, 18S1
Working hard. — Trip to Gouano. — Lake of Nend. — Beggars. — Curious festival of flowers at Gensano. — Night on the Campagna. — Heat in Rome. — Illumination of St. Peter's. — St. Peter's Day. — Vaults of the Church. — Feebleness oi Pope. — Morse and compan- ions visit Naples, Capri, and Amalfi. — Charms oi Amalfi. — Terrible acddent. — Flippancy at funerals. — Campo Santo at N^les. — Gruesome conditions. — Ubiquity of beggars. — Convent of St. Mar- tino. — Masterpiece oi Spagnoletto. — Returns to Rome. — Paints portrait of Tliorwaldsen. — P^^sented to him in after years by John Taylor Johnston. — Given to King of Denmark. — Reflections on the sodal evil and the theatre. — Death of the Pope. — An assassinatimi. -^ The Honorable Mr. Spencer and Catholicism. — Election of Pope Gregory XVI 854
CHAPTER XVm FEBRUARY 10, 1881 — SEPTEMBER 18. 1881
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 De- sign. — Leaves Rome. — Dangers of the journey. — Florence. — De- scription 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. — Cc^ies Tintoret's "Miracle of the Slave." — Thunder- storms. — Rdiections on the Fourth of July. — Leaves Venice. — Recoaro. — Milan. — Reflections on Catholicism and art — Como
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and Maggiore. — The Bigi. — Scfaafiluuuen and Hddelberg. — Evades the quaiaatine on Frendi border. — Tlirilling experience. — Paris ' 979
CHAPTER XIX
SEPTEMBER 18. 1881 — SEPTEMBER 21, 1888
Takes rooms with Horatio Cvreenougfa. — Political talk with Lafayette. — Riots m Paris. — Letters from Greenouc^. — Bunker Hill Monu- ment. — Letters from Fenimcffe Cooper. — Cooper's portnut by Ver> boeckhoven. — European criticisms. — Reminiscenoes of R. W. Habersham. — Hints tA an electric telegraph. — Not remembered by Morse. — Early esperiments in photogn^hy. — Painting of the Louvre. — Cholera in Paris. — Baran von Humboldt. — Morse pre- sides at Fourth of July dinner. — Proposes toast to Lafayette. — Let- ter to New York "Observer" on Fenimore Cooper. — Also on pride in American citiBeiiBhq>. — Works with Lafayette in behalf of Poles. — Letter from Lafayette. — Morse visits Lcmdon before sailing for home. ^ Sits to Leslie for head of Sterne 407
CHAPTER XX
Morse's life almost equally divided into two periods, artistic and scien- tific — Esthnate oi his artistic ability by Daniel Huntington. — Also l^ Samuel Isham. — His diaracter as revealed l^ his letters, notes, etc — End of Volume I 484
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ILLUSTRATIONS
ICoBSB THS Abtibt (Fhotogravure) • . • • FfontUpiee$ Painted by faimsdf in London aboot 1814.
HOUBX IN WHICH MOBSB WAS BOBN, IN CeABLBBTOWH, MaBS. ft
Bmv. Jbdbdiah Mobss and S. F. B. Mobsb — Elzsabbth
Ann MoBaa and Sidnst £• Mobsb 22
iVom portmits by a Mr. Saigent, who also painted portnits of the Washington famfly.
Thb TynsQ Hebculbb 106
P^ted by Mone in 181S.
Lbttxb of Mobsb to his PABENn» Octobbb 18, 1815 • 104
Mb. D. C. Db Fobbst — Mbs. D. C. Db Fobbst . . £44 From paintinga by Mone now in the gaDeiy oi the Yale Sdiool oltheFbeArti.
LUCBBTIA FtGKHBXNG WaLKBB, WoS OF S. F. B. MOBSB,
AND Two Childbbn 854
Painted by Movae.
Study fob Pobtbatt of Lafatbttb 268
Now in New York Public libraiy.
Euzabeth a. Mobsb • . • • • 204
Painted by Mone.
Jbbbmtah Etabtb 828
From a portrait painted by Morse and owned by Sherman £vart8,£flq.
Db Wrrr Clinton 860
Painted by Mone. Owned by the Metropolitan Muaenm, New York.
Hbmbt Clat .400
Paintedby Morse. Owned by the MetropolitaaMiiKum,N«wYoik.
ScsAN W. Mobsb. Eidbbt Dauohtbb of thb Abtist . 486
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SAMUEL F. B. MOUSE fflS LETTERS AND JOURNALS
CHAPTER I
APRIL 27, 1791 — SEPTEMBER 8, 1810
Birth of S. F. B. Morse. — His parenU. — Letters of Dr. BelkiiH> and Rev. Mr. Wells. — PhiUips, Andover. — First letter. — Letter from his father. — Reh^oos letter from Morse to his brothers. — Letters from the mother to her sods. — Morse eaters Yale. •— His journey there. — Diffi- culty in keeping up with his dass. — Letter of warning from his mother. — Letters of Jedediah Morse to Bishop of London and lindley Murray. -^ Morse becomes more studious. — BiQ of expenses. — Longing to travel and interest in electricity. — Philadelphia and New York. — Graduates from college. — Wishes to accompany AUston to England, but submits to parents' desires.
Samuel Finlet Bbeese Morse was bom in Charles- town, Massachusetts, on the 27th day of April, a.d. 1791. He came of good Puritan stock, his father, Jedediah Morse, being a militant clergyman of the Congregational Church, a fighter for orthodoxy at a time when Unitarianism was b^inning to undermine the foundations of the old, austere, childlike faith.
These battles of the churches seem far away to us of the twentieth century, but they were very real to the ' warriors of those days, and, while many of the tenets of their faith may seem narrow to us, they were gospel to the godly of that time, and reverence, obedience, filial piety, and courtesy were the rule and not the excep- tion that they are to-day.
Jedediah Morse was a man of note in his day, known and respected at home and abroad; the friend of Greneral Washington and other founders of the Republic; the
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2 SAMUEL F. B. MORSE
author of the first American Geography and Gazetteer. His wife, Elizabeth Ann Breese, granddaughter of Samuel Finley, president of Princeton College, was a woman of great strength and yet sweetness of char- acter; adored by her family and friends, a veritable mother in Israel.
Into this serene home atmosphere came young Fin- ley Morse, the eldest of eleven children, only three of whom survived their infancy. The other two were Sidney Edwards and Richard Carey, both eminent men in their day.
Dr. Belknap, of Boston, in a letter to a friend in New York says: —
''Congratulate the Monmouth Judge [Mr. Breese] on the birth of a grandson. • • • As to the child, I saw him asleep, so can say nothing of his eye or his genius peeping through it. He may have the sagacity of a Jew- ish rabbi, or the profundity of a Calvin, or the sub- limity of a Homer for aught I know. But time will show forth all things.''
This sounds almost prophetic in the light of future days.
The following letter from the Reverend Mr. Wells is quaint and characteristic of the times: —
My dkab uttle Boy, — As a small testimony of my respect and obligation to your excellent Parents and of my love to you, I send you with this six (6) English Guineas. They are pretty playthings enough, and in the Country I came from many people are fond of them. Your Papa will let you look at them and shew them to Edward, and then he will take care of th^n.
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o
a
0
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PHILLIFS, ANDOVER 8
and, by the time you grow up to be a Man, they will under Papa's wise management increase to double their present number. With wishing you may never be in want of such playthings and yet never too fond of them, I remain your affectionate friend,
Wic. Wells.
Mbdiobd, July 2, 179S.
Young Morse was sent away early to boarding-school, as was the custom at that time. He was taken by his father to Phillips Academy at Andover, and I believe he ran away once, being overcome by homesickness before he made up his mind to remain and study hard.
The following letter is the first one written by him of which I have any knowledge: —
AmwYSB, 2d August. 1709. Deab Papa, — I hope you are well I will thank you if you will Send me up Some quils Give my love to mama and NANCY and my little brothers pleas to kis them for me and send me up Some very good paper to write to you
I have as many blackberries as I want I go and pick them myself »
Samuel FiNLsnr Bbjqbse Mobsb
YouB Son 1799.
This from his father is characteristic of many writ- ten to him and to his brothers while they were at school and collie: —
Chablbbiowk, Fd>niary 21, 1801.
My deab Son, — You do not write me as often as you ought. In your next you must assign some reason
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4 SAMUEL R B. MORSE
for this neglect. Possibly I have not received all your letters. Nothing will improve you so much in epistolary writing as practice. Take great pains with your letters. Avoid vulgar phrases. Study to have your ideas per- tinent and correct and clothe them in an easy and gram- matical dress. Pay attention to your spelling, pointing, the use of capitals, and to your handwriting. After a little practice these things will become natural and you will thus acquire a habit of writing correctly and well.
General Washington was a remarkable instance of what I have now recommended to you. His letters are a perfect model for epistolary writers. They are writ- ten with great Uniformity in respect to the handwriting and disposition of the several parts of the letter. I will show you some of his letters when I have the pleasiu^ of seeing you next vacation, and when I shall expect to find you much improved.
Your natural disposition, my dear son, renders it proper for me earnestly to recommend to you to attend to one thing at a time. It is impossible that you can do two things well at the same time, and I would, there- fore, never have you attempt it. Never undertake to do what ought not to be done, and then, whatever you undertake, endeavor to do it in the best manner.
It is said of De Witt, a celebrated statesman in Hol- land, who was torn to pieces in the year 1672, that he did the whole business of the republic and yet had time left to go to assemblies in the evening and sup in com- pany. Being asked how he could possibly find time to go through so much business and yet amuse himself in the evenings as he did, he answered there was nothing so easy, for that it was only doing one thing at a time»
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LETTER FROM HIS FATHER 5
and never putting o£F anything till to-morrow that could be done to-day. This steady and undissipated attention to one object is a sure mark of a superior genius, as hurry, bustle, and agitation are the never-failing symp- toms of a weak and frivolous mind.
I expect you will read this letter over several times that you may retain its contents in your memory, and give me your own opinion on the advice I have given you. If you improve this well, I shall be encouraged to give you more as you may need it.
Your affectionate parent,
J. MOBSB.
This was written to a boy ten years old. I wonder if he was really able to assimilate it.
I shall pass rapidly over the next few years, for, while there are many letters which make interesting reading, there are so many more of the later years of greater historical value that I must not yield to the temptation to linger.
The three brothers were all sent to Phillips Academy to prepare for Yale, from which college their father was also graduated.
The following letter from Finley to his brothers was written while he was temporarily at home, and shows the deep religious bent of his mind which he kept through life: —
Chablbbtown» March 15, 1805.
Mt deab Bbothebs, — I now write you again to
inform you that mama had a baby, but it was bom dead
and has just been buried. Now you have three brothers
and three sisters in heaven and I hope you and I will
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6 SAMUEL F. B. MORSE
meet them there at our death. It is uncertain when we shall die, but we ought to be prepared for it» and I hope you and I shall.
I read a question in Davie's '^Sermons" the last Sunday which was this: — Suppose a bird should take one dust of this earth and carry it away once in a thou- sand years, and you was to take your choice either to be miserable in that time and happy hereafter, or happy in that time and miserable hereafter, which would you choose? Write me an answer to this in your next let-
lAsr* • • •
I enclose you a little book called the "Christian Pilgrim." It is for both of you.
We are all tolerable well except mama, though she is more comfortable now than she was. We all send a great deal of love to you. I must now bid you adieu. I remain your a£Fectionate brother,
S. F. B. MoRSB.
I am tempted to include the following extracts from letters of the good mother of the three boys as characteristic of the times and people: —
Chablestown, June 28, 1805. My dkab Son, — We have the pleasure of a letter from you which has gratified us very much. It is the only intelligence we have had from you since Mr. Brown left you. I began to think that something was the mat- ter with respect to your health that occasioned your long silence. • . . We are very desirous, my son, that you should excel in everything that will make you truly happy and useful to your fellow men. In particular by no means neglect your duty to your Heavenly Father.
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LETTERS FROM HIS MOTHER 7
Bemember, what has been said with great truth, that he can never be faithful to others who is not so to his God and his conscience. I wish you constantly to keep in mind the first question and answer in that excellent form of sound words, the Assembly Catechism, viz: — "What is the chief end of Man? ** The answer you will readily recollect is "To Glorify God and enjoy TTiwi forever.**
Let it be evident, my dear son, that this be your chief aim in all that you do, and may you be so happy as to enjoy Him forever is the sincere prayer of your affec- tionate parent. . . .
The Fourth of July is to be celebrated here with a good deal of parade both by Federalists and Jacobins. The former are to meet in our meeting-house, there to hear an oration which is to be delivered by Mr. Aaron Putnam, a prayer by your papa also. And on the hill dose by the monimient [Bunker Hill] a standard is to be presented to a new company called the Warren Phalanx, all Federalists, by Dr. Putnam who is the president of the day, and all the gentlemen are to dine at Seton's Hall, otherwise called Massachusetts HaU* and the ladies are to take tea at the same place. The Jacobins are to have an oration at the Baptist meeting- house from Mr. Gleson. I know nothing more about them. The boys are forming themselves into companies also; they have two or three companies and drums which at some times are enough to craze one. I can't help thinking when I see them how glad I am that my sons are better employed at Andover than beating the streets or drums; that they are laying in a good store of useful knowledge against the time to come, while these poor
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8 SAMUEL F. B. MORSE
boyd, many of them, at least, are leaming what they will be glad by and by to unlearn.
July SO, 1805.
My deab Sons, — Have you heard of the death of young Willard at Cambridge, the late President Wil- lard's son? He died of a violent fever occasioned by going into water when he was very hot in the middle of the day. He also pumped a great deal of cold water on his head. Let this be a warning to you all not to be guilty of the like indiscretion which may cost you your life. Dreadful, indeed, would this be to all of us. I wish you would not go into water oftener than once a wedk, and then either early in the morning or late in the after- noon, and not go in when hot nor stay long in the water. Remember these cautions of your mama and obey them strictly.
A young lady twenty years old died in Boston yes- terday very suddenly. She eat her dinner perfectly well and was dead in five minutes after. Her name was Ann Hinkley. You see, my dear boys, the great uncer- tainty of life and, of course, the importance of being always prepared for deaths even a sudden death, as we know not what an hour may bring forth. This we are sensible of, we cannot be too eoon or too weU pre- pared for that all-important moment, as this is what we are sent into this world for. The main business dt life is to prepare for death. Let us not, then, put o£F these most important concerns to an uncertain to- morrow, but let us in earnest attend to the concerns of our precious, never-dying souls while we fed our- selves alive.
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HE ENTERS YALE 9
In October, 1805, Finley Morse went to New Haven to enter college, and the next letter describes the jour- ney from Charlestown, and it was, indeed, a journey in those days.
Nbw Haybw, October 22» 1805. My deab Pabjgnts, — I arrived here yesterday safe and well. The first day I rode as far as Williams' Tav- ern, and put up there for the night. The next day I rode as far as Dwight's Tavern in Western, and in the morn- ing, it being rainy, Mr. Backus did not set out to ride till late, and, the stage coming to the door, Mr. B. thous^t it a good opportunity to send me to Hart- ford, which he did, and I arrived at Hartford that night and lodged at Ripley's inn opposite the State House. He treated me very kindly, indeed, wholly on account of my being your son. I was treated more like his o¥ni 8<m than a stranger, for which I shall and ought to be very much obliged to him. The next morning I hired a horse and chaise of him to carry me to Weathersfield and arrived at Mr. Marsh's, who was very glad to see me and begged me to stay till S. Barrell went, which was the next Monday, for his mother would not let him go so soon, she was so glad to see him. I was sorry to trouble them so much, but, as they desired it, and, as Samuel B. was not to go till then, I agreed to stay and hope you will not disapprove it, and am sorry I could not write you sooner to relieve your minds from your anxiety on my account, and am sorry for giving my good parents so much trouble and expense. You expend and have expended a great deal more money upon me than I deserve, and granted me agreat many of my re«
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10 SAMUEL F. B. MOBSE
quests, and I am sure I can certainly grant you one, that of being economical, which I shall certainly be and not get money to buy trifling things. I begin to think mon^ of some importance and too great value to be thro¥ni away.
Yesterday morning about ten o'clock I set out for New Haven with S. Barrell and arrived well a little before dark. I went directly to Dr. Dwight's, which I easily found, and delivered the letter to him, drank tea at his house, and then Mr. Sereno Dwight carried me to Mr. Davis's who had agreed to take me. While I was at Dr. Dwight's there was a woman there whom the Dr. reconmiended to Sam. B. and me to have our mend- ing done, and Mrs. Davis or a washerwoman across the way will do my washing, so I am very agreeably situated. I also gave the letter to Mr. Beers and he has agreed to let me have what you desired. I have got Homer's Iliad in two volumes, with Latin trans- lation of him, for $3.25. I need no other books at present.
S. Barrell has a room in the north college and, as he says, a very agreeable chum.
Next spring I hope you will come on and fix matters. I long to get into the collie, for it appears to me now as though I was not a member of college but fitting for college. I hope next spring will soon come.
My whole journey from Charlestown here cost me £2 16^., and 4(2., a great deal more than either you or I had calculated on. I am sorry to be of so much trouble to you and the cause of so much anxiety in you and es- pecially in mama. I wish you to give my very a£Fec- tionate love to my dear brotherst and tell them they
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DIFFICULTY IN SEEPING UP 11
must write me and not be homesick, but consider that I am farther from home than they are, 186 miles from home. I remain
Your ever affectionate son,
S. F. B. MoBSE.
It would seem, from other letters which follow, that he had difEiculty in keeping up with his class, and that he eventually dropped a class, for he did not graduate until 1810. He also seems to have been rooming outside of college and to have been eager to go in.
It is curious, in the light of future events, to note that young Morse's parents were fearful lest his vola- tile nature and lack of steadfastness of purpose should mar his future career. His dominating characteristic in later life was a bulldog tenacity, which led him to stick to one idea through discouragements and disap- pointments which would have overwhelmed a weaker nature.
The following extracts are from a long letter from his mother dated November 28, 1805: —
'^ I am fearful, my son, that you think a great deal more of your amusements than your studies, and there lies the difficulty, and the same difficulty would exist were you in college.
" You have fiUed your letter with requests to go iuto college and an account of a gunning party, both of which have given us pain. I am truly sorry that you appear so unsteady as by your ovm account you are. . . .
'^You mention in the letter you wrote first that, if you went into college, you and your chum would want brandy and wine and s^ars in your room. Ptayisthat
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12 SAMUEL F. B. MORSE
the custom among the students? We think it a very improper one, indeed, and hope the government of college will not permit it. There is no propriety at all in such young boys as you having anything to do with anything of the kind, and your papa and myself posi- tively prohibit you the use of these things till we think them more necessary than we do at present. • . .
"You will remember that you have promised in your first letter to be an economist. In your last letter you seem to have forgotten all about it. Pray, what do your gunning parties cost you for powder and shot? I beg you to consider and not go driving on from one foolish whim to another till you provoke us to withdraw from you the means of gratifying you in anything that may be even less objectionable than gunning."
These exhortations seem to have had, temporarily, at least, the desired effect, for in a letter to his parents dated December 18, 1805, young Morse says: "I shall not go out to gun any more, for I know it makes you anxious about me.''
The letters of the parents to the son are full of pious exhortations, and good advice, and reproaches to the boy for not writing oftener and more at length, and for not answering every question asked by the parents. It is comforting to the present-day parent to learn that human nature was much the same in those pious days of old, differing only in degree, and that there b hope for the most wayward son and careless cor- respondent.
The following letters from the elder Morse I shall include as being of rather more than ordinary interest, and as showing the breadth of his activity.
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LETTERS OF JEDEDIAH MORSE IS
Chabuestown, December 28, 1800. To THS Bishop of London,
Rev'd and Respbcted Sm, ^ I presume that it might be agreeable to you to know the precise state of the property which originally belonged to the Pro- testant Episcopal Church in Virginia.
I have with some pains obtained the law of that State respecting this singular business.
I find that it destroys the establishment and asserts that ^'all property belonging to the said (Protestant Episcopal) Church devolved on the good people of this Commonwealth (i.e., Virginia) on the dissolution of the British Crovemm^it here, in the same degree in which the right and interest of the said Church was therein derived from them," and authorizes the over- seers of the poor of any coimty " in which any ^ebe land is vacant, or shall become so by the death or removal of any incumbent, to sell all such land and ap- purtenances and every other species of property inci- dent thereto to the highest bidder" — "Provided that nothing herein contained shall authorize an appropria- tion to any religious purpose whatever.**
I make no comments on the above. I believe no other State in the Union has, in this respect, imitated the example of Virginia.
I take the liberty to send you a few small tracts for your acceptance in token of my high respect for your character and services.
Believe me, sir, unfeignedly.
Your obedient servant,
J. MOBSE.
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14 SAMUEL F. B. MOBSE
December 26» 1806. LiNDLEY Murray Esq.,
Dear Sir» — Your polite note and the valuable books accompanying it, forwarded by our friend Perkins, of New York, have been duly and gratefully received.
You will perceive, by the number of the "Panoplist** enclosed, that we are strangers neither to your works nor your character. It has given me much pleasure as an American to make both more extensively known among my countrymen.
I have purchased several hundred of your spelling books for a charitable society to which I belong, and they have been dispersed in the new settlements in our country, where I hope they will do immediate good, besides creating a desire and demand for more. It will ever give me pleasure to hear from you when convenient. Letters left at Mr. Taylor's will find me.
I herewith send you two or three pamphlets and a copy of the last edition of my " American Gazetteer'' which I pray you to accept as a small token of the high respect and esteem with which I am
Your friend,
J. Morse.
Young Morse now settled down to serious work as the following extracts will show, which I set down without further comment, passing rapidly over the next few years. He was, however, not entirely absorbed in his books but still longed for the pleasures of the chase: —
"May IS, 1807. Just now I asked Mr. Twining to let me go a-gunning for this afternoon. He told me you
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MORSE BECOMES MORE STUDIOUS 15
had expressly forbidden it and he therefore could not. Now I should wish to go once in a while, for I always intend to be careful. I have no amusement now in the vacation, and it would gratify me very much if you would consent to let me go once in a while. I suppose you would tell me that my books ought to be my amusement. I cannot study all the time and I need some exercise. If I walk, that is no amusement, and if I wish to play ball or anything else, I have no one to play with. Please to write me an answer as soon as possible."
June 7, 1807.
My deab Pabbnts, — I hope you will excuse my not writing you sooner when I inform you that my time is entirely taken up with my studies.
In the morning I must rise at five o'clock to attend prayers and, inmiediately after, recitation; then I must breakfast and begin to study from eight o'clock till eleven ; then recite my forenoon's lesson which takes me an hour.
At twelve I must study French till one, which is din- ner-time. Directly after dinner I must recite French to Monsieur Value till two o'clock, then begin to study my afternoon lesson and recite it at five. Immediately after recitation I must study another French lesson to recite at seven in the evening; come home at nine o'clock and study my morning's lesson until ten, eleven, and sometimes twelve o'clock, and by that time I am prepared to sleep. . . . You see now I have enough to do, my hands as full as can be, not five minutes' time to take recreation. I am determined to study and, thus far, have not missed a single word. The students call me by the nickname of "Geography."
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16 SAMUEL F. B. MORSE
'' June 18, 1807. Last week I went to Mr. Beers and saw a set of Montaigne's ^Essays' in French in eight volumes, duodecimo, handsomely bound in calf and gilt, for two dollars. The reason they are so cheap is because they are wicked and bad books for me or any* body else to read. I got them because they were cheap, and have exchanged them for a handsome English edition of 'GH Bias'; price, $4.50."
Li the fall of 1807 Finley Morse returned to college accompanied by his next younger brother, Sidney Ed- wards. In a letter of March 6, 1808, he says: '^ Edwards and myself are very well and I believe we are doing well, but you will leam more of that from our instruc- tors."
Li this same letter he says: —
**I find it impossible to live in college without spend- ing money. At one time a letter is to be paid for, then comes up a great tax from the class or society, which keeps me constantly running after money. When I have money in my hand I feel as though I had stolen it, and it is with the greatest pain that I part with it. I think every minute I shall receive a letter from home blam- ing me for not being more economical, and thus I am kept in distress all the time.
*'The amount of my expenses for the last term was fifteen dollars, expended in the following manner: —
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BILL OF EXPENSES 17
DokCti.
|
-Portage |
$2.05 |
|
|
Oil |
.50 |
|
|
Taxes, fines, etc |
8.00 |
|
|
Oysters |
M |
|
|
Washbowl |
.87* |
|
|
SkiUet |
.9S |
|
|
Axe $1.88 Catalogaes .12 |
1.45 |
|
|
Powder and shot |
1.1«J |
|
|
Cakes, etc. etc. etc. |
1.75 |
|
|
Wine, Thanks, day |
.20 |
|
|
ToU<m bridge |
.15 |
|
|
Chrindingaxe |
.06 |
|
|
Museum |
M |
|
|
Poor man |
.14 |
|
|
Carriage for trunk |
1.00 |
|
|
Pitcher |
.41 |
14.75} |
|
Sharpening skates |
.87§ |
Pydfor |
|
Circ. Library |
M |
cnttmg iraod .25 |
|
Portp^Mfs |
.57 |
|
|
Lent never to be returned ^ |
M |
$14.75} $15.00}
''In my expenses I do not include my wood, tuition bfllsy board or washing bills.'*
How characteristic of all boys of all times the ''etc., etc., etc./' tacked on to the ''cakes ** item, and how many boys of the present day would bewail the extravagance of fifteen dollars spent in one term on extras? In a postscript in this same letter he says: "The stud^its are very fond of raising balloons at present. I will (with your leave) when I return home make one. They are pleasant sights.'*
College terms were very different in those days from what they are at present, for September 5 finds the boys still in New Haven, and Finley says, "There is but three and a half weeks to Commencement."
In this same letter he gives utterance to these filial
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18 SAMUEL F. B. MORSE
sentiments: **I now make those only my companions who are the most religious and moral, and I hope sin- cerely that it will have a good effect in changing that thoughtless disposition which has ever been a striking trait in my character. As I grow older, I begin to think better of what you have always told me when I was small. I begin to know by experience that man is bom to trouble, and that temptations to do evil are as count- less as the stars, but I hope I shall be enabled to shun them."
This is from a letter of January 9, 1809: —
" I have been reading the first volume of Professor Silliman's 'Journal* which he kept during his passage to and residence in Eurq[>e. I am very much pleased with it. I long for the time when I shall be able to travel with improvement to myself and society, and hope it will be in your power to assist me.
**1 have a very ardent desire of travelling, but I con- sider that an education is indispensable to me and I mean to apply myself with all diligence for that purpose. Diligeniia vincit omnia is my maxim and I shall en- deavor to follow it. • • • I shall be employed in the va- cation in the Philosophical Chamber with Mr. Dwight, who is going to perform a number of experiments in ElecHcUy:'
It is, of course, only a curious coincidence that these two sentences should have occurred in the same letter, but it was when travelling, many years afterwards, that the first idea of the electric telegraph found lodg- ment in his brain, and this certainly resulted in improve- ment to himself and society.
In February, 1809, he writes: ''My studies are at
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INTEREST IN ELECTRICITY 19
present Optics in Philosophy, Dialling, Homer, beside disputing, composing, attending lectures etc. etc., all which I find very interesting and especially Mr. Day's lectures who is now lecturing on ElecbricUy.**
Young Morse's thoughts seem to have been gradually focusing on the two subjects to which he afterwards devoted his life, for in a letter of March 8, 1809, he says: "Mr. Day's lectures are very interesting. They are upon Electricity. He has given us some very fine experiments. The whole dass taking hold of hands formed the circuit of communication and we all re- ceived the shock apparently at the same moment. I never took an electric shock before. It felt as if some person had struck me a slight blow across the arms. . . • I think with pleasure that two thirds of this term only remain. As soon as that is passed away, I hope I shall again see home. I really long to see Charlestown again; I have almost forgotten how it looks. I have some thoughts of taking a view of Boston from Bun- ker's HiU when I go home again. It will be some pleasure to me to have some picture of my native place to look upon when I am from home."
And in August, 1809, he writes to his parents: "I employ all my leisure time in painting. I have a great niunber of persons engaged already to be drawn on ivory, no less than seven. They obtain the ivories for themselves. I have taken Professor Kingsley's profile for him. It is a good likeness of him and he is pleased with it. I think I shall take his likeness on ivory and present it to him as my present at the end of the year. ... I have finished Miss Leffingwell's miniature. It is a good likeness and she is very much pleased with it."
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20 SAMUEL F. B. MORSE
Nkw Haven, Bfay 29, 1810/ Mt deab Pabents, — I arrived in this place on Sabbath evening by packet from New York. I left Philadelphia on Thursday morning at eight o'clock and arrived in New York on Friday at ten. . • •
I stayed in New York but one night. I found it quite insipid after seeing Philadelphia. [The character of the two cities seems to have changed a trifle in a hundred years, for, with all her faults, no one could nowadays accuse New York of being insipid.] I went on board the packet on Saturday at twelve o'clock and arrived, as I before stated, on Sabbath evening. We had, on the whole, a very good set of passengers from New York to this place. .On Sunday we had two sermons read to us by one of them. Dr. Hawley, of this place, and in the evening we sang five psalms, and during the whole of the exercises the passengers conducted themselves with perfect decorum, although one of the sermons was one hour in length. • • •
June 25, 1810.
Mt dkab Parents, — I received yours of the 23d this day and receive with humility your reproof. I am extremely sorry it should have occasioned so many disagreeable feelings. I felt it my duty to tell you of my debts, and, indeed, I could not feel easy without. The amount of my buttery bill is forty-two or forty-three dollars.
Mr. Nettleton is butler and is willing I should take his likeness as part pay. I shall take it on ivory, and he has engaged to allow me seven dollars for it. My price is five dollars for a miniature on ivory, and I have en-
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GRADUATES FROM COLLEGE 21
gaged three or four at that price. My price for profiles is one dollar, and everybody is ready to engage me at that price. . • . Though I have been much to blame in the present case, yet I think it but just that Mr. Twin- ing should bear his part.
I had begun with a determination to pay for every- thing as I got it, but was stopped in this in the very beginning, for, in going to Mr. T. to get money, I have five times out of six found him absent, sometimes for the whole day, sometimes for a week or two weeks, and once he was absent six weeks and made no sort of provision for us. Mrs. T. is never trusted with money for us. Now in such case I am obliged by necessity to get a thing charged, and I have found by sad experi- ence that a bill increases faster than I had in the least
**Jvl/y SS, 1810. I am now released from college and am attending to painting. All my class were accepted as candidates for degrees. Edwards is admitted a member of <I>BK Society, and is appointed as mon- itor to the next Freshman Class. Richard is chosen as one of the speakers the evening before Commence- ment.
'^Edwards and Richard are both of them very steady and good scholars, and are much esteemed by the au- thority of college as well as their fellow students.
*^As to my choice of a profession, I still think that I was made for a painter, and I would be obliged to you to make such arrangement with Mr. Allston for my studying with him as you shall think expedient. I should desire to study with him during the winter, and.
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22 SAMUEL F. B. MORSE
as he expects to return to England in the spring, I should admire to be able to go with him/' In answer to this letter his father wrote: —
Chabisbtown, July 26, 1810.
Deab Finlet, — I received your letter of the 22d to-day by mail.
On the subject of your future pursuits we will con- verse when I see you and when you get home. It will be best for you to form no plans. Your mama and I have been thinking and planning for you. I shall dis- close to you our plan when I see you. Till then suspend your mind.
It gives us great pleasure to have you speak so well of your brothers. Others do the same and we hear well of you also. It is a great comfort to us that our sons are all likely to do so well and are in good reputation among their acquaintances. Could we have reason to believe you were all pious and had chosen the *'good part/* our joy concerning you all would be full. I hope the Lord in due time will grant us this pleasure.
''Seek the Lord/' my dear son, ''while he may be found."
Your affectionate father,
J. MOBSE.
September 8, 1810. Dear Mama, — Pi^a arrived here safely this even- ing and I need not tell you we were glad to see him. He has mentioned to me the plan which he proposed for my future business in life, and I am pleased with it, for I was determined beforehand to conform to his and your will in everything, and, when I come home, I
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AMBITION AND SUBMISSION 28
shall endeavor to make amends for the trouble and anxiety which you have been at on my account^ by^as- sisting papa in his labors and pursuing with ardor my own business. • • •
I have been extremely low-spirited for some days past, and it still continues. I hope it will wear off by Commencement Day. . . •
I am so low in spirits that I could almost cry.
It was no wonder that he was down-hearted, for he was ambitious and longed to carve out a great career for himself, while his good parents were conservative and wished him to become independent as soon as pos- sible. Their plan was to apprentice him to a bookseller, and he dutifully conformed to their wishes for a time, but his ambition could not be curbed, and it was not long before he broke away.
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CHAPTER n
OCTOBER Sh 1810 — AUGUST 17, 1811
Enters bookshop as clerk. — Devotes leisure to painting. — Leaves shop. — Letter to his brothers on appointments at Yale. — Letters from Jos^h P. Bossiter. — Morse's first k>ve affair. — Paints ''Landing of the Pil- grims." — Prepares to sail with AUstons for En^and. — Letters of introdu<y tion from his father. — Disagreeable stage-ride to New York. — Sails on the Lydia. — Prosperous voyage. — Liverpool. — Trip to London. — Ob- servations on people and custiHns. — Fluently cheated. — Critical time in England. — Dr. Lettsom. — Sheridan's verse. — Longing for a td^iaph. —" A i^bosL
After his graduation from Yale College in the fall of 1810» Finley Morse returned to his home in Charles- town, Mass., and cheerfully submitted himself to his parents' wishes by entering the bookshop of a certain Mr. Mallory.
He writes under date of October 81, 1810, to his brothers who are still at college: ''I am in an excellent situation and on excellent t^ms. I have four hundred dollars per year, but this you must not mention out. I have the choice of my hours; they are from nine till one-half past twelve, and from three till simset."
But he still clings to the idea of becoming a painter, for he adds: ^*My evenings I employ in painting. I have every convenience; the room over the kitchen is fitted up for me; I have a fire there every evening, and can spend it alone or otherwise as I please. I have bought me one of the new patent lamps, those with glass chimneys, which gives an excellent light. It cost me about six dollars. Send on as soon as possible any- thing and everything which pertains to my painting apparatus."
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CLERK IN A BOOKSHOP «5
The following letter was written at some time in 1810 or 1811. It was addressed to Mr. Sereno E. Dwig^t: —
''Mr. Mallory a few days since handed me a letter from you requesting me, if possible, to sketch a likeness of young Mr. Daggett. Accordingly I have made the at^ tempt and take the present opportunity of forwarding you the results. The task was hard but pleasurable. It is one of the most difficult imdertakings to endeavor to take a portrait from recollection of one whose coun- tenance has not been examined particularly for the pur<> pose. When I made the first attempt, not a single f ea* ture could I recall distinctly to my memory and I almost despaired of a likeness, but the thought of lessening the affliction of such a distressed family determined me to attempt it a second time. The result is on the ivory* I then showed it to my brothers, to Mr. Evarts, to Mr* Hillhouse, to Mr. Mallory, and to Mr. Read, all of whom had not the least suspicion of anything of the kind, and they have severally and separately pronounced it a like- ness of young Mr. Daggett. This encouraged me, and I made the two other sketches which are thought like- wise to be resemblances of him.
''If these or any one of them can be recognized by the afflicted family as a resemblance of him they have lost, it will be an ample compensation to me to think that I have in any degree been the means of alleviating their su£Fering. . . /'
On December 8, 1810, he writes to his brother: ''I have almost completed my landscape. It is 'proper handsome,' so they say, and they want to make me be* lieve it is so, but I shan't yet awhile."
This shows the right frame of mind for an artist.
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S6 SAMUEL F. B. MORSE
and yet, like most youtliful painters, he attempted more than his proficiency warranted, for in this same letter he adds: ""I am going to b^gin, as soon as I have fin- ished it [the landscape], a piece, the subject of which will be 'Marius on the Ruins of Carthage."^
On December 28, 1810, he writes: ''I shall leave Mr. Mallory's next week and study painting exclusively till summer/*
He had at last burst his bonds, and his wise parents, seeing that his heart was only in his painting, decided to throw no further obstacles in his way, but, at the cost of much self-sacrifice on their part, to further in every way his ambition.
Januaiy 15, 1811.
Mt dsab Brothers, — We have just received Richard's letter of the 8th inst., and I can have a pretty correct idea of your feelings at the beginning of a vaca- tion. You must not be melancholy and hang yourself. If you do you will have a terrible scolding when you get home again. As for Richard's getting an appoint* ment so low, if I was in his situation, I should not trouble myself one fig concerning appaintmenis. They cost more than they are worth. I shall not esteem him the less for not getting a higher, and not more than one millionth part of the world knows what an appointment is. You will both of you have a different opinion of ap- pointments after you have been out of college a short time. I had rather be Richard with a dialogue than Sanford with a dispute. If appointments at college decided your fate forever, you might possibly groan and wail. But then consider where poor I should come. [He got no appointment whatever.] Think of this.
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LETTEBS FROM JOSEPH P. BOSSITER 27
Richard, and donH hang youtsdf, [It may, perhaps, be well to explain that ''appointments'* were given at Yale to those who excelled in scholarship. ''Philosophi- cal Oration" was the highest, then came "High Ora- tion," "Oration," etc., etc.] I have left Mr. Mallory's store and am helping papa in the Geography. Shall remain at home till the latter part of next summer and then shall go to London with Mr. Allston.
The following extracts irom two letters of a college friend I have introduced as throwing some light on Morse's character at that time and also as curious examples of the epistolary style of those days: —
Nsw Havsk, Febniaiy 5, 1811.
Dear Fmuor, — Yours of the 6th ult. I received, together with the books enclosed, which I delivered personally according to your request.
Did I not know the nature of your disorder and the state of your gizzard^ I should really be surprised at the commencement, and, inde^, the whole tenor of your letter, but as it is I can excuse and fed for you.
Had I commenced a letter with the French HSlasI hSUu I it would have been no more than might reason- ably have been expected considering the desolate situa- tion of New Haven and the gloomy prospects before me. But for you, who are in the very vortex of f ashiour able life and surrounded by the amusements and bustle of the metropolis of New England, for you to exclaim, "How lonely I ami" is unpardonable, or at most admits of but one excuse, to wit, that you can plead the fed-
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28 SAMUEL F. B. MORSE
ings of the youth who exclaimed, *'Gods annihilate both time and space and make two lovers happy!"
You suppose I am so much taken up with the ladies and other good things in New Haven that I have not time to think of one of my old friends. Alas! Morse, there are no ladies or anything else to occupy my atten- tion. They are all gone and we have no amusements. Even old Value has deserted us, whose music, though an assemblage of '"unharmonious sounds," is infinitely preferable to the harsh grating thunder of his brother. f New Haven is, indeed, this winter a dreary place. I wrote you about a month since and did then what you wish me now to do, — I mentioned all that is worth mentioning, which, by the way, is very little, about New Haven and its inhabitants.
Since then I have been to New York and saw the Miss Radcliffs, and, in passing through Stamford, the Miss Davenports. The mention of the name of Davenport would at one time have excited in your breast emotions unutterable, but now, though Ann is as lovely as ever, your heart requires the^ influence of another Hart to quicken its pulsations. . • • Last but not least comes the all-conquering, the angelic queen of Harts. I have not seen her since she left New Haven, but have heard from her sister Eliza that she is in good health and is going in April to New York with Mrs. Jarvis (her sister) to spend the summer and perhaps a longer time, where she will probably break many a proud heart and bend many a stubborn knee. I fear, Morse, unless you have her firmly in your toils, I fear she may not be able to with- stand every attack, for New York abounds with elegant and accomplished young men.
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HIS FIRST LOVE AFFAIR S9
You mention tliat you have again changed your mind as to the business which you intend to pursue. I really thou^t that the plan of becoming a bookseller would be permanent because sanctioned by parental authority, but I am now convinced that your mind is so much bent upon painting that you will do nothing else e£Fectually. It is indeed a noble art and if pursued effectually leads to the highest eminence, fc»r painters rank with poets, and to be placed in the scale with Milton and Homer is an honor that few of mortal mould attain imto. ... I wish, Finley, that you would paint me a hand-* some piece for a keepsake as you are going to Europe and may not be back in a hurry. Present my re- spects to Mr. Hillhouse. His father^s family are well. Adieu.
Your affectionate friend,
Jos. P. ROSSITEH.
From this letter and from others we learn that young Morse's youthful affections were fixed on a certain charming Miss Jannette Hart, but, alas! he proved a faithless lover, for his friend Rossiter thus reproves him in a letter of May 8, 1811: —
*'0h! most amazing change! Can it be possible? Oh! Love, and all ye cordial powers of passion, forbid it! Still, stiU the dreadful words glare on my sight. Alas! alas! and is it, then, a fact? If so 'tis pitiful, 'tis wondrous pitiful. Cupid, tear off your bandage, new string your bow and tip your arrows with harder ada> mant. Oh! shame upon you, only hear the words of your exultant votarist — *Even Love, which accord- ing to the proverb conquers all things, when put in com*
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80 SAMUEL F. B. MORSE
petition with painting, must yield the pahn and be a willing captive.' Oh! fie» fie, good master Cupid, you shoot but poorly if a victim so often wounded can talk in terms like these.
*'Poor luckless Jannette! the epithets * divine' and 'heavenly' which have so often been applied to thee are now transferred to miserable daubings with oil and day. Dame Nature, your triumph has been short. Poor foolish beldam, you thought, indeed, when you had formed your masterpiece and named her Jannette^ that unqualified admiration would be extorted from the lips of prejudice itself, and that, at least, till age had worn off the first dazzling lustre from yoxu* favorite, your sway would have been unlimited and your exulta- tion immeasurable. My good old Dame, hear for your comfort what a foolish, fickle youth has dared to say of your darling Jannette, and that while she is yet in the first blush and bloom of virgin loveliness — 'next to painting I love Jannette the best.' Insufferable blas- phemy! Hear, O Heavens, and be amazed! Tremble, O Earth, and be horribly afraid!"
In spite of this impassioned arraignment, Morse de- voted himself exclusively to his art for the next few years, and we have only occasional references in the letters that follow to his first serious love affair.
We also hear nothing further of *'Marius on the Ruins of Carthage"; but in February, 1811, he writes to his brothers : "' I am painting my large piece, the land- ing of our forefathers at Plymouth. Perhaps I shall have it finished by the time you come home in the spring. My landscape I finished sometime since, and it is framed and hung up in the front parlor."
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PREPABES TO SAIL FOR ENGLAND 81
At last in July, 1811, the great ambition of the young man was about to be realized and he prepared to set sail for England with his friend and master, Washing- ton Allston. His father, having once made up his mind to allow his son to follow his bent, did everything pos- sible to further his ambition and assist him in his student years. He gave him many letters of introduction to well-known persons in Eni^and and France, one of which, to His Excellency C. M* Talleyrand, I shall quote in full.
Sib, — I had the honor to introduce to you, some years since, a young friend of mine, Mr. Wilder, who has since resided in your country. Your civility to him induces me to take the liberty to introduce to you my eldest son, who visits IJurope for the purpose of perfect- ing himself in the art of painting under the auspices ol some of your eminent artists. Should he visit France, as he intends, I shall direct him to pay his respects to you, sir, assured that he will receive your protection and patronage so far as you can with convenience afford them.
In thus doing you will much oblige. Sir, with high consideration
Your most ob'd*t. Serv't,
Jed. Mobsb.
Jn another letter of introduction, to whom I cannot say, as the address on the copy is lacking, the father says: —
''His parents had designed him for a different profes- rion, but his inclination for the one he has chosen waa
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S2 SAMUEL F. B. MORSE
80 strong, and his talents for it, in the opinion of some good judges, so promising, that we thought it not proper to attempt to control his choice.
^'In this country, young in the arts, there are few means of improvement. These are to be f oimd in their perfection only in older countries, and in none, perhaps, greater than in yours. In compliance, therefore, with his earnest wishes and those of his friend and patron, Mr. Allston (with whom he goes to London), we have consented to make the sacrifice of feeling (not a small one), and a pecuniary exertion to the utmost of our ability, for the purpose of placing him under the best advantage of becoming eminent in his profession, in hope that he will consecrate his acquisitions to the glory of God and the best good of his fellow men.'*
Morse arrived in New York on July 6, 1811, after a several days' joimiey from Charlestown which he describes as very terrible on account of the heat and dust. People were dying from the heat in New York where the thermometer reached 08^ in the shade. He says: —
**My ride to New Haven was beyond everything dis- agreeable; the sun beating down upon the stage (the sides of which we were obliged to shut up on account of the sun) which was like an oven, and the wind, in- stead of being in our faces as papa supposed, was at our back and brought into our faces such columns of dust as to hinder us from seeing the other side of the stage.
"I never was so completely covered with dust in my life before. Mama, perhaps, will think that I ex- perienced some inconvenience from such a f atigu*
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SAILS ON THE LYDIA SS
ing journey, but I never felt better in my life than now."
The optimism of youth when it is doing what it wants to do.
He had taken passage on the good ship Ly dia with Mr. and Mrs. Allston and some eleven other passengers, and the sailing of the ship was delayed for several days on account of contrary winds, but at last, on July IS, the voyage was begun.
Os BOABD THE LtDIA»
QiT Sambt Hook, July 15, 1811.
Mt dsab Parents, — After waiting a great length of time I have got imder way. We left New York Harbor on Saturday, 13th, about twelve o'clock and went as far as the quarantine groimd on Staten Island, where, on account of the wind, we waited over Simday.
We are now imder sail with the pilot on board. We have a fair wind from S.S.W. and shall soon be out of sight of land. We have fourteen very agreeable passen* gers, an experienced and remarkably pleasant captain, and a strong, large, fast-sailing ship. We expect from twenty-five to thirty days* passage. . . . We have a piano-forte on board and two gentlemen who play ele- gantly, so we shall have fine times. I am in good spirits, though I feel rather singularly to see my native shores disappearing so fast and for so long a time.
I am not yet seasick, but expect to be a little so in a few days. We shall probably be boarded by a British vessel of war. soon; there are a number off the coast, but thqr treat American vessek very civilly.
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84 SAMUEL F. B. MOBSE
He kept a careful diary of the voyage to England and again resumed it when he returned to America in 1815. The voyage out was most propitious and lasted but twenty-two days in all: a very short one for that time. As the diary contains nothing of importance relating to the eastern voyage, being simply a record of good weather, fair winds, and pleasant companions, I shall not quote from it at present.
It was all pleasure to the young man, who had never before been away from home, and he sees no reason why people should dread a sea voyage.
The journal of the return trip tells a different story, as we shall see later on, for the passage lasted fifty-seven days, and head winds, gales, and even hurricanes were encountered all the way across, and he wonders why any one should go to sea who can remain safely on land.
LivsBPOOL, August 7, 1811.
My dsab Parbktb, — You see from the date that I have at length arrived in England. I have had a most delightful passage of twenty days from land to land and two in coming up the channel.
As this is a letter merely to inform you of my safe ar- rival I shall not enter into the particulars of our voy- age until I get to London, to which place I shall proceed as soon as possible.
Suffice it to say that I have not been sick a moment of the passage, but, on the contrary, have never enjoyed my health better. I have not as yet got my trunks from the custom-house, but presumel shall meet with no difficulty.
I am now at the Liverpool Arms Inn. It is the same inn that Mr. Silliman put up at; it is, however, very
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LIVERPOOL 85
expensive; they charge the enonnous sum» I believe, of a guinea or a guinea and a half a day.
If I should be detained a day or two in this place I shall endeavor to find out other lodgings; at present, however, it is unavoidable, as all the other passengers are at the same place with me. You may rest assiued I shall do everything in my power to be economical, but to avoid imposition of some kind or other cannot be expected, since every one who has been in England and spoken of the subject to me has been imposed upon in some way or other.
You cannot think how many times I have expressed a wish that you knew exactly how I was situated. My passage has been so perfectly agreeable, I know not of a single circumstance that has interfered to render it otherwise, through the whole passage. There has been but one day in which we have not had fair winds. Mr. and Mrs. Allston are ^rfectly well. She has been sea- sick, but has been greatly benefited by it. She is growing quite healthy. I have grown about three shades darker in consequence of my voyage. I have a great deal to tell you which I must defer till I arrive in London. . . • Oh! how I wish you knew at this moment that I am safe and well in England.
Good-bye. Do write soon and often as I shall.
Your very affectionate son, Saml. F. B. Mobsb.
Everything was new and interesting to the young art- ist, and his critical observations on people and places, on manners and customs, ate naive and often very keen. The following are extracts from his diary: —
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S6 SAMUEL F. B. MORSE
'"As to the manners of the people it cannot be ex- pected that I should f onn a correct opinion of them since my intercourse with them has been so short, but, from what little I have seen, I am induced to entertain a very favorable opinion of their hospitality. The appearance of the women as I met them in the streets struck me on account of the beauty of their complexions. Their faces may be said to be handsome, but their figures are very indifferent and their gait, in walking, is very bad.
** On Friday, the 9th of August, I went to the Mayor to get leave to go to London. He gave me ten days to get there, and told me, if he found me in Liverpool after that time, he should put me in prison, at which I could not help smiling. His name is Drinkwater, but from the appearance of his face I should judge it might be Drink- brandy.
^' On account of his limiting us to ten days we prepared to set out for London immediately as we should be obliged to travel slowly. • . • Mr. and Mrs. Allston and myself ordered a postK^haise, and at twelve o'clock we set out for Manchester, intending to stay there the first night. . . • The people, great numbers of whom we passed, had cheerful, healthy countenances; they were neat in their dress and appeared perfectly happy. . . .
^^Much has been said concerning the miserable state in which the lower class of people live in England but especially in large manufacturing cities. That they are so unhappy as some would think I conceive to be erro- neous. We are apt to suppose people are unhappy for the reason that, were we taken from our present situation of independence and placed in their situation of depend-
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TRIP TO LONDON S7
enoe, we should be unhappy; not considering that con- tentment is the foundation of happiness. As far as my own observation extends, and from what I can learn on inquiry, the lower dass of people generally are contented. N.B. I have altered my opinion since writing this. . . .
*'Thus far on our journey we have had a very pleasant time. There is great difference I find in the treatment of travellers. They are treated according to the style in which they travel. If a man arrives at the door of an inn in a stage-coach^ he is suffered to alight without notice, and it is taken for granted that common fare will answer for him. But if he comes in a post-chaise, the whole inn is in an uproar; the whole house come to the door, from the landlord down to boots. One holds his hand to help you to alight, another is very officious in showing you to the parlor, and another gets in the baggage, whilst the landlord and landlady are quite in a bustle to know what the gentleman will please to have. This attention, however, is very pleasant, you are sure to be waited upon well and can have everything you will call for, and that of the nicest kind. It is the custom in this country to hire no servants at inns. They, on the contrary, pay for their places and the only wages they get is from the generosity of travellers.
''This circumstance at first would strike a person unacquainted with the customs of England as a very great imposition. I thought so, but, since I have con- sidered the subject better, I believe that there could not be a wiser plan formed. It makes servants civil and obliging and always ready to do anything; for, knowing that they depend altogether on the bounty of travellers, they would fear to do anything which would in the least
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88 SAMUEL F. B. MORSE
offend them; and, as there is a customary price for eadi grade of servants, a person who is travelling can as well calculate the expense of his journey as though they were nothing of the kind/*
**Londan, August 16, 1811. You see from the date that I have at length arrived at the place of my destination. I have been in the dty about three hours, so you see what is my first object. • . • Mr. and Mrs. Allston with myself took a post-chaise which, indeed, is much more expensive than a stage-coach, but, on account of Mrs. Allston's health, which you know was not very good when in Boston (although she is much benefited by her voyage), we were obliged to travel slowly, and in this manner it has cost us perhaps double the sum which it would have done had we come in a stage-coach. But necessity obliged me to act as I have done. I found my* self in a land of strangers, liable to be cheated out of my teeth almost, and, if I had gone to London without Mr. Allston, by waiting at a boarding-house, totally un- acquainted with any living creative, I should probably have expended the difference by the time he had arrived. ... I trust you will not think it extravagant in me for doing as I have done, for I assiue you I shall endeavor to be as economical as possible.
'*I also mentioned in my letter that I could scarcely expect to steer free from imposition sincenoneof my pred- ecessors have been able to do it. Since writing that letter I have found (in spite of all my care to the con- trary) my observation true. Li going from the Liver- pool Arms to Mr. Woolsey's, which is over a mile, I was under the necessity of getting into a hackney-coach. Upon asking what was to pay he told me a shilling. I
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CRITICAL TIME IN ENGLAND S9
offered him half a guinea to change, which I knew to be good, having taken it at the bank in New York.
""He tossed it into the air and caught it in his mouth very dexterously^ and, handing it to me back again, told me it was a bad one. I looked at it and told him I was sure it was good, but, appealing to a gentleman who was passing, I found it was bad. Of course I was obliged to give him othermoney. Whenlgotto my lodg* ings I related the circumstance to some of my friends and they told me he had cheated me in this way: that it was common for them to carry bad money about them in their mouths, and, when this fellow had caught the good half -guinea in his month, he changed it for a bad one. This is one of the thousand tricks they play every day. I have likewise received eleven bad shillings on the road between Liverpool and this place, and it is hardly to be wondered at, for the shilling pieces here are just like old buttons without eyes, without the sign of an impression on them, and one who is not accustomed to this sort of money will never know the difference.
'"I find, as mama used to tell me, that I must watch my very teeth or they will cheat me out of them."
**Friday, 16ih, 1811. This morning I called on Mr. Bromfield and delivered my letters. He received me very cordially, enquired after you particularly, and in- vited me to dine with him at 5 o^dock, which invitation I accepted. ... I find I have arrived in England at a very critical state of affairs. If such a state continues much longer, England must fall. American measures affect this country more than you can have any idea of. The embargo, if it had continued six weeks longer, it is said would have forced this country into any measures."
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40 SAMUEL R B. MORSE
** Saturday, 17{h. I have been unwell to-day in some degree, so that I have not been able to go out all day. It was a return of the colic. I sent my letter of intro- duction to Dr. Lettsom with a request that he would call on me, which he did and prescribed a medicine which cured me in an hour or two, and this evening I feel well enough to resume my letter.
""Dr. Lettsom is a very singular man. He looks considerably like the print you have of him. He is a moderate Quaker, but not precise and stiff like the Quakers of Philadelphia. He is a very pleasant and so- ciable man and withal very blunt in his address. He is a man of excellent information and is considered among the greatest literary characters here. There is one pe- culiarity, however, which he has in conversation, that of using the verb in the third person singular with the pronoun ill the first person singular and plural, as in- stead of *I show* or *we show,' he says *I shows,' *we shows,' etc., upon which peculiarity the famous Mr. Sheridan made the following lines in ridicule of him: —
*' If patients call, both one and all I bleeds 'em and I sweats 'em. And if they die, why what care I — I. Lettboh.
*'This is a liberty I suppose great men take with each other. . • •
"'Perhaps you may have been struck at the lateness of the hour set by Mr. Bromfield for dinner [5 o'clock!], but that is considered quite early in London. I will tell you the fashionable hours. A person to be genteel must rise at twelve o'clock, breakfast at two, dine at six, and sup at the same time, and go to bed about three o'clock
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LONGING FOB A TELEGRAPH 41
the next morning. This may appear extravagant, but it is actually practised by the greatest of the fashionables of London. . . .
''I think you ^will not complain of the shortness of this letter. I only wish you now had it to relieve your minds from anxiety, for» while I am writing, I can im- agine mama wishing that she could hear of my arrival, and thinking of thousands of accidents that may have befallen me, and I wish that in an instant I could com- municate the informaiion; but three thousand miles are not passed over in an instant and we must wait four long weeks before we can hear from each other."
(The italics are mine, for on the outside of this letter written by Morse in pencil are the words: —
*'A longing for the telegraph even in this letter.") *' There has a ghost made its appearance a few streets only from me which has alarmed the whole city. It ap- pears every night in the form of shriekings and groanings. There are crowds at the house every night, and, although they all hear the noises, none can discover from whence they come. The family have quitted the house. I sup- pose 'tis only a hoax by some rogue which will be brought out in time."
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CHAPTER m
AUGUST U, 1811 — DECEMBER 1, 1811
Benjamin West. — George HI. — Morae begins his studies. — Introduced to West. — Enthusiasms. — Smuggling and lotteries. — English apprecia- tion of art. — Copley. — Friendliness of West. — Elgin marbles. — Cries of London. — Custom in knocking. — l^tnesses balloon ascension. — Crowds. — Vauxhall Gardens. — St. Bartholomew's Fair. — Efforts to be eoononu- cal. — Signs of war. — Mails delayed. — Admitted to Boyal Academy. — Disturbances* riots* and murders.
At this time Benjamin West the American was Presi- dent of the Royal Academy and at the zenith of his power and fame. Young Morse, admitted at once into the great man's intimacy through his connection with Washington AUston and by letters of introduction, was dazzled and filled with enthusiasm for the works of the master. He consideredhim one of the greatest of painters, if not the greatest, of all times. The verdict of posterity does not grant him quite so exalted a niche in the temple of Fame, but his paintings have many solid merits and his friendship and favor were a source of great inspira- tion to the young artist.
Mr. Prime in his biography of Morse relates this in- teresting anecdote: —
''During the war of American Independence, West, remaining true to his native country, enjoyed the con- tinued confidence of the King, and was actually engaged upon his portrait when the Declaration of Independence was handed to him. Mr. Morse received the facts from the lips of West himself, and communicated them to me in these words: —
^**I called upon Mr. West at his house in Newman
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BENJAMIN WEST 43
Street one morning, and in conformity with the order given to his servant, Robert, always to admit Mr. Leslie and myself, even if he was engaged in his private studies, I was shown into his studio.
***AsI entered, a half-length portrait of George ID stood before me upon an easel, and Mr. West was sitting with back toward me copying from it upon canvas. My name having been mentioned to him, he did not turn, but, pointing with the pencil he had in his hand to the portrait from which he was copying, he said: —
" * "Do you see that picture, Mr. Morse?"
" * "Yes sir!'* I said; "I perceive it is the portrait of the Ejng."
" * "Well," said Mr. West, "the Kmg was sitting to me for that portrait when the box containing the Ameri- can Declaration of Independence was handed to him."
" * "Indeed," I answered; " what appeared to be the emotions of the King ? what did he say ?"
" * " Well, sir," said Mr. West, "he made a reply char- acteristic of the goodness of his heart," or words to that eflEect. "*Well, if they can be happier under the government they have chosen than under mine, I shall behappy.'"'"
On August 24, 1811, Morse writes to his parents: —
"I have begun my studies, the first part of which is drawing. I am drawing from the head of Demosthenes at present, to get accustomed to handling black and white chalk. I shall then commence a drawing for the purpose of trying to enter the Royal Academy. It is a much harder task to enter now than when Mr. Allston was here, as they now require a pretty accurate knowl- edge of anatomy before they suffer them to enter, and
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44 SAMUEL F. B. MORSE
I shall find the advantage of my anatomical lectures. I feel rather encouraged from this circumstance, since the harder it is to gain admittance, the greater honor it will be should I enter. I have likewise begun a large landscape which, at a bold push, I intend for the Exhibi- tion, though I nm the risk of being refused. • • •
*'I was introduced to Mr. West by Mr. Allston and likewise gave him your letter. He was very glad to see me, and said he would render me every assistance in his power.
'^ At the British Institution I saw his famous piece of Christ healing the sick. He said to me: * This is the piece I intended for America, but the British would have it themselves; but I shall give America the better one.' He has begun a copy, which I likewise saw, and there are several alterations for the better, if it is possible to be better. A sight of that piece is worth a voyage to England of itself. When it goes to America, if you don't go to see it, I shall think you have not the least taste for paintings.
"The encomiums which Mr. West has received 'on account of that piece have given him new life, and some say he is at least ten years younger. He is now likewise about another piece which will probably be superior to the other. He favored me with a sight of the sketch, which he said he granted to me because I was an Ameri- can. He had not shown it to anybody else. Mr. Allston was with me and told me afterwards that, however superior his last piece was, this would far exceed it. The subject is Christ before Pilate. It will contain about fifty or sixty figiu'es the size of life.
"Mr. West is in his seventy-sixth year (I think), but.
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to see him, you would suppose him only about five- and-forty. He is very active; a flight of steps at the British Gallery he ran up as nimbly as I could. ... I walked through his gallery of paintings of his own pro- ductions; there were upward of two hundred, consist- ing principally of the original sketches of his large pieces. He has painted in all upwards of six hundred pictures, which is more than any artist ever did with the exception of Rubens the celebrated Dutch painter. ... i
*'I was surprised on entering the gallery of paintings in the British Institution, at seeing eight or ten ladies as well as gentlemen, with their easeb and palettes and oil colors, employed in copying some of the pictures. You can see from this circumstance in what estimation the art is held here, since ladies of distinction, without hesitation or reserve, are willing to draw in public. . . •
"By the way, I digress a little to inform you how I got my segars on shore. When we first went ashore I —>
filled my pockets and hat as full as I could and left the rest in the top of my trunk intending to come and get them immediately. I came back and took another pocket load and left about eight or nine dozen on the top of my clothes. I went up into the dty again and forgot the remainder until it was too late either to take them out or hide them under the clothes. So I waited trembling (for contraband goods subject the whole trunk to seizure), but the custom-house officer, being very good-natured and clever, saw them and took them up. I told him they were only for my own smoking and there were so few that they were not worth seizing. *0h,' says he, *I shan't touch them ; I won't know they are here,* and then
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46 SAMUEL F. B. MORSE
shut down the trunk again. As he smoked, I gave him a couple of dozen for his kindness/'
What a curious commentary on human nature it is that even the most pious, up to our own time, can see no harm in smuggling and bribery. And, as another in- stance of how the standards of right and wrong change with the changing years, further on in this same letter to his strict and pious parents young Morse says: —
"I have just received letters and papers from you by the Galen which has arrived. I was glad to see American papers again. I see by them that the lottery is done drawing. How has my ticket turned out? If the weight will not be too great for one shipload, I wish you would send the money by the next vessel."
The lottery was for the benefit of Harvard College.
** September S^ 1811. I have finished a drawing which I intended to offer at the Academy for admission. Mr. Allston told me it would undoubtedly admit me, as it was better than two thirds of those generally offered, but advised me to draw another and remedy some de- fects in handling the chalks (to which I am not at all accustomed), and he says I shall enter with some Mat. I showed it to Mr. West and he told me it was an extraor- dinary production, that I had talent, and only wanted knowledge of the art to make a great painter."
In a letter to his friends, Mr. and Mrs. Jarvis, dated ^September 17, 1811, he says: —
**1 was astonished to find such a difference in the en- couragement of art between this country and America. In America it seemed to lie negleM;ed, and only thought to be an employment suited to a lower class of people; but here it is the constant subject of conversation, and
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the exhibitions of the several painters are fashionable resorts. No person is esteemed accomplished or well educated unless he possesses almost an enthusiastic love for paintings. To possess a gallery of pictures is the pride of every nobleman, and they seem to vie with each other in possessing the most choice and most numerous collection. ... I visited Mr. Copley a few days since. He is very old and infirm. I think his age is upward of seventy, nearly the age of Mr. West. His powers of mind have almost entirely left him; his late paintings are miserable; it is really a lamentable thing that a man should outlive his faculties. He has been a first-rate painter, as you well know. I saw at his room some ex- quisite pieces which he painted twenty or thirty years ago, but his paintings of the last four or five years are very bad. He was very pleasant, however, and agree- able in his manners.
"Mr. West I visit now and then. He is very liberal to me and giyes me every encouragement. He is a very friendly man; he talked with me like a father and wished me to call and see him often and be intimate with him. Age, instead of impairing his faculties, seems rather to have strengthened them, as his last great piece testifies. He is soon coming out with another which Mr. Allston thinks will far surpass even this last. The subject is Christ before Pilate.
"I went last week to Burlington House in Piccadilly, about forty-five minutes' walk, the residence of Lord Elgin, to see some of the ruins of Athens. Lord Elgin has been at an immense expense in transporting the great collection of splendid ruins, among them some of the original statues of Phidias, the celebrated ancient
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48 SAMUEL R B. MORSE
sculptor. They are very much mutilated, however, and impaired by time; still there was enough remaining to show the inferiority of all subsequent sculpture. Even those celebrated works, the Apollo Belvedere, Venus di Medids, and the rest of those noble statues, must yield to them. • • •
*'The cries of London, of which you have doubtless heard, are very annoying to me, as indeed they are to all strangers. The noise of them is constantly in one's ears from morning till midnight, and, with the excep- tion of one or two, they all appear to be the cries of distress. I don't know how many times I have nm to the window expecting to see some poor creature in the agonies of death, but found, to my surprise, that it was only an old woman crying * Fardin' apples,' or something of the kind. Hogarth's picture of the enraged musician will give you an excellent idea of the noise I hear every day under my windows. . . .
'"There is a singular custom with respect to knocking at the doors of houses here which is strictly adhered to. A servant belonging to the house rings the bell only; a strange servant knocks once; a market man or woman knocks once and rings; the penny post knocks twice; and a gentleman or lady half a dozen quick knocks, or any number over two. A nobleman generally knocks eight or ten times very loud.
^ "The accounts lately received from America look rather gloomy. They are thought here to wear a more threatening aspect than they have heretofore done. From my own observation and opportunity of hearing the opinion of the people generally, they are extremely de- sirous of an amicable adjustment of differences, and seem
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as much opposed to the idea of war as the better part of the American people. . • •
"In this letter you will perceive all the variety of feeling which I have had for a fortnight past; sometimes in very low, sometimes in very high spirits, and some- times a balance of each; which latter, though very desirable, I seldom have, but generally am at one ex- treme or the other. I wrote this in the evenings of the last two weeks, and this will account, and I hope apologize, for its great want of connection."
In a long letter to a friend, dated September 17, 1811, he thus describes some of the sights of London: —
"'A few days since I walked about four miles out of town to a village of the name of Hackney to witness the ascension of a Mr. Sadler and another gentleman in a baUoon. It was a very grand si^^t, and the next day the aeronauts returned to Hackney, having gone nearly fifty miles in about an hour and a half. The number of people who attended on this occasion might be fairly estimated at 800,000, such a concourse as I never before witnessed.
"When the baUoon was out of sight the crowd began to return home, and such a confusion it is almost impos- sible for me to describe. A gang of pic]q)Ockets had con- trived to block up the way, which was across a bridge, with carriages and carts, etc., and as soon as the people began to move it created such an obstruction that, in a few moments, this great crowd, in the midst of which I had unfortunately got, was stopped. This gave the pickpockets an opportunity and the people were plun- dered to a great amount.
**1 was detained in this manner, almost suffocated.
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50 SAMUEL F. B. MOUSE
in a great shower of rain, for about an hour, and, what added to the misery of the scene, there were a great many women and children crying and screaming in all directions, and no one able to assist them, not even having a finger at liberty, they were wedged in in such a manner. I had often heard of the danger of a Lon- don crowd, but never before experienced it, and I think once is amply sufficient and shall rest satif^ed with it.
*' A few evenings since I visited the celebrated Vaux- hall Gardens, of which you have doubtless often heard. I must say they far exceeded my expectations; I never before had an idea of such splendor. The moment I went in I was almost struck blind with the blaze of light proceeding from thousands of lamps and those of every color.
'"In the midst of the gardens stands the orchestra box in the form of a large temple and most beautifully illu- minated. In this the principal band of music is placed. At a little distance is another smaller temple in which is placed the Turkish band. On one side of the gardens you enter two splendid saloons illuminated in the same bril- liant mann^. In one of them the Pandean band is placed, and in the other the Scotch band. All around the gardens is a walk with a covered top, but opening on the sides under curtains in festoons, and these form the most splendid illiuninated part of the whole gardens. The amusements of the evening are music, waterworks, fireworks, and dancing.
** The principal band plays till about ten o'clock, when a little bell is rung, and the whole concourse of people (the greater part of which are females) run to a dark part of the gardens where there is an admirable decep-
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VAUXHALL GARDENS 51
tion of waterworks. A bridge is seen over which stages and wagons, m^i and horses, are seen passing; birds flying across and the water in great cataracts falling down from the mountains and passing over smaller falls under the bridges; men are seen rowing a boat across, and, indeed, everything which could be devised in such an exhibition was performed.
'"This continues for about fifteen minutes, when they all return into the illuminated part of the gardens and are amused by music from the same orchestra till eleven o'clock. They then are called away again to the dark part of the gardens, where is an exhibition of the most q[>lendid fireworks; sky-rockets, serpents, wheels, and fountains of fire in the greatest abundance, occupying twenty minutes more of the time.
^' After this exhibition is closed, they again return into the illuminated parts of the gardens, where the music strikes up from the chief orchestra, and hundreds of groups are immediately formed for dancing. Respect- able ladies, however, seldom join in this dance, although gentlemen of the first distinction sometimes for amuse- ment lend a hand, or rather a foot, to the general cheer- fulness.
** AU now is gayety throughout the gardens; every one is in motion, and care, that bane of human happiness, for a time seems to have lost her dominion over the hu- man heart. Had the Eastern sage, who was in search of the land of happiness, at this moment been introduced into Vauxhall, I think his most exalted conceptions of happiness would have been surpassed, and he would rest contented in having at last found the object of his wishes.
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62 SAMUEL F, B, MORSE
'"In a few minutes the chief orchestra ceases and is relieved in turn by the other bands, the company follow- ing the music. The Scotch band principally plays Scotch reels and dances. The music and this course of dancing continue till about four o'clock in the morning, when the lights are extinguished and the company disperses. On this evening, which was by no means considered as a full night, the company consisted of perhaps three thousand persons.
*'I had the pleasure a few days since of witnessing one of the oddest exhibitions, perhaps, in the world. It was no other than jS^ Bartholomew's Fair. It is held here in London once a year and continues three days. There is a ceremony in opening it by the Lord Mayor, which I did not see. At this fair the lower orders of society are let loose and allowed to amuse themselves in any lawful way they please. The fair is held in Smithfield Market, about the centre of the city. The principal amusement appeared to be swinging. There were large boxes capable of holding five or six suspended in large frames in sudi manner as to vibrate nearly through a semicircle. There were, to speak within bounds, three hundred of these. They were placed all round the square, and it almost made me giddy only to see them all in motion. They were so much pressed for room that one of these swings would clear another but about two inches, and it seemed almost miraculous to me that they did not meet with more accidents than they did.
"Another amusement were large wheels, about thirty or forty feet in diameter, on the circumference of which were four and sometimes six boxes capable of holding four persons. These are set in slow motion, and they
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ST. BARTHOLOMEWS FAIR «S
gradually rise to the top of the wheel and as gradually descend and so on in succession. There were various other machines on the same principle which I have not time to describe.
'"In the centre of the square was an 'assemblage of everything in the world; theatres, wild beasts, lusus naturcBf mountebanks, buffoons, dancers on the slack wire, fighting and swearing, podcet-picking and stealing, music and dancing, and hubbub and confusion in every confused shape.
**The theatres are worth describing; they are tempo- rary buildings put up and ornamented very richly on the exteriors to attract attention, while the interiors, like many persons' heads, are but very poorly furnished. Strolling companies of players occupy these, and be- tween the plays the actors and actresses exhibit them- selves on a stage before the theatre in all their spangled robes and false jewels, and strut and flourish about till the theatre is filled.
'"Then they go in and turn, perhaps, a very serious tragedy into one of the most ridiculous farces. They occupy about fifteen minutes in reciting a play and then a fresh audience is collected, and so they proceed throu^^ the three days and ni^^ts, so that the poor actors and actresses are killed about fifty times in the course of a day.
*'A person who goes into one of these theatres must not expect to hear a syllable of the tragedy. If he can look upon the stage it is as much as he can expect, for there is such a confused noise without of drums and fifes, clarionets, bassoons, hautboys, triangles, fiddles, bass-viob, and, in short, every possible instrument that
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54 SAMUEL F. B. MOBSE
can make a noise, that if a person gets safe from the fair without the total loss of his hearing for three weeks he may consider himself fortunate. Contiguous to the theatres are the exhibition rooms of the jugglers and buffoons, who also between their exhibitions display their tricks on stages before the populace, and show as many antics as so many monkeys. But were I to at- tempt a description of everything I saw at Bartholomew Fair my letter, instead of being a few sheets, would swell to as many quires; so I must dose it.
**I shall probably soon witness an exhibition of a more interesting nature; I mean a coronation. The King is now so very low that he cannot survive more than a week or two longer, and immediately on his death the ceremony of the coronation takes place. If I should see it I shall certainly describe it to you.''
The £jng, George m, did not, however, die until 1820.
In a letter of September 20 to his parents he says: *'I endeavor to be as economical as possible and am getting into the habit very fast. It must be learned by degrees. I shall not say, as Salmagundi says, — 'I shall spare no expense in discovering the most economical way of spending money,' but shall endeavor to practise it immediately."
** September SJ^f 1811. You will see by the papers which accompany this what a report respecting the capture of the U.S. frigate President by Melampus frigate pre- vails here. It is sufficient to say it is not in the least credited.
*'In case of war I shall be ordered out of the country. If so, instead of returning home, had I not better go to
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SIGNS OF WAB 55
Paris, as it is chei4)er living there even than in Lon- don, and there are great advantages there? I only ask the question in case of war. ... I am going on swim- mingly. Next week on Monday the Royal Academy opens and I shall present my dravmig."
** October SI, 1811. I wrote you by the Gal^i about three weeks ago and have this moment heard she was still in the Downs. I was really provd^ed. There is great deception about vessels; they advertise for a cer- tain day and perhaps do not sail under a month after. The Galen has been going and going till I am sick of hearing she has n't gone.**
** November 6, 1811. After leaving this letter so long, as you see by the different dates, I again resume it. Perhaps you will be surprised when I tell you that but yesterday I heard that the Galen is still vmid-bound. It makes my letters which are on board of her about five or six weeks old, besides the prospect of a long voyage. However it is not her fault. There are three or four hundred vessels in the same predicament. The vmid has been such that it has been impossible for any of them to get under weigh; but I must confess I feel con*^ siderably anxious on your account. . . •
'^I mentioned in one of my other letters that I had drawn a figure (the Gladiator) to admit me into the Academy. After I had finished it I was displeased with it, and concluded not to offer it, but to attempt another. I have accordingly drawn another from the LaocoOn statue, the most difficult of all the statues; have shown it to the keeper of the Academy and am admitted for a year without the least difficulty. Mr. Allston was pleased to compliment me upon it by saying that it was better
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66 SAMUEL F. B. MORSE
than two thirds of the drawings of those who had been drawing at the Academy for two years.'*
** November SB, 1811. I mentioned in my last letter that I had entered the Royal Academy, which informa- tion I hope will give you pleasure. I now employ my days in painting at home and in the evenings in drawing at the Academy as is customary. I have finished a landscape and almost finished a copy of a portrait which Mr. West lent me. Mr. Allston has seen it and compli- mented me by saying it was just a hundred times better than he had any idea I could do» and that I should as- tonish Mr. West very much. I have also begun a land- scape, a morning scene at sunrise, which Mr. Allston is very much pleased with. All these things encoiu*age me, and, as every day passes away, I feel increased en- thusiasm. . • •
'"Distresses are increasing in this coimtry, and dis- turbances, riots, etc., have commenced as you will see by the papers which accompany this. They are con- sidered very alarming."
^* December i, 1811. I am pursuing my studies with increased enthusiasm, and hope, before the three years are out, to relieve you from further expense on my account. Mr. Allston encoiu*ages me to think thus from the rapid improvement he says I have made. You may rest assured I shall use all my endeavors to do it as soon as may be. • . •
'"This country appears to me to be in a very bad state. I judge from the increasing disturbances at Nottingham, and more especially from the startling murders lately committed in this dty.
'"A few mornings since was published an account of
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the murder of a famfly consisting of four persons, and this moment there is another accoimt of the murder of one consisting of three persons, making the twelfth murder committed in that part of the city within three months, and not one of the murderers as yet has been discovered, although a reward of more than seven hun- dred pounds has been offered for the discovery.
'^The inhabitants are very much alarmed, and here- after I shall sleep with pistols at the head of my bed, although there is little to apprehend in this part of the city. Still, as I find many of my acquaintance adopting that plan, I choose rather to be on the safe side and join with them/*
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CHAPTER IV
JANUABY 18, 1812 — AUGUST 6, 181ft
Political opinions. — Charlefl R. Leilie'i reminiacenoes of Mone, Allstoo^ Emg, and Coleridge. — C. B. King's letter. — Sidney £. 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 with his father. — The Priuoe Regent. — Orders in Council. — Estimate of West — Alarming state of affairs in England. — Assassination of PeroeYsl* 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 weU known in £ur(^>e. — Lord Castle- leagh. ^ Tlie Queen's drawing-room. — Kemble and Mrs. Addons. — Zadiary Macaulay. — Warning letter from his parents. — War dedaied.
— Morse approves. — Gratitude to his parents, and to ADston.
The years from 1811 to 1816 which were passed by Morse in the study of his art in London are full of his- torical interest, for England and America were at war from 1812 to 1814, and the campaign of the allied Eu- ropean Powers against Napoleon Bonaparte culminated in Waterloo and the Treaty of Paris in 1815.
The young man took a deep interest in these affairs and expressed his opinions freely and forcibly in his let- ters to his parents. His father was a strong Federalist and bitterly deprecated the declaration of war by the United States. The son, on the contrary, from his point of vantage in the enemy's coimtry saw things from a dif- ferent point of view and stoutly upheld the wisdom, nay, the necessity, of the war. His parents and friends urged him to keep out of politics and to be discreet, and he seems, at any rate, to have followed their advice in the latter respect, for he was not in any way molested by the authorities.
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At the same time lie was making steady progress in his studies and making friends, both among the Ameri- cans who were his fellow students or artists of established reputation, and among distinguished Englishmen who were friends of his father.
Among the former was Charles R. Leslie, his room- mate and devoted friend, who afterwards became one of the best of the American painters of those days. In his autobiography Leslie says: —
"My new acquaintances Allston, King, and Morse were very kind, but still they were new acquaintances. I thought of the happy circle round my mother's fire- side, and there were moments in which, but for my obli- gations to Mr. Bradford and my other kind patrons, I could have been content to forfeit all the advantages I expected from my visit to England and return imme- diately to Ammca. The two years I was to remain in London seemed, in prospect, an age.
"Mr. Morse, who was but a year or two older than myself, and who had been in London but six months when I arrived, felt very much as I did and we agreed to take apartments together. For some time we painted in one room, he at one window and I at the other. We drew at the Royal Academy in the evening and worked at home in the day. Our mentors were Allston and King, nor could we have been better provided; Allston, a most amiable and polished gentleman, and a painter of the purest taste; and King, warm-hearted, sincere, sensible, prudent, and the strictest of economists.
"When Allston was suffering extreme depression of spirits after the loss of his wife, he was haunted during sleepless nights by horrid thou^ts, and he told me that
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diabolical imprecations forced themselves into his mind. The distress of this to a man so sincerely religious as AUston may be imagined. He wished to consult Coleridge, but could not summon resolution. He desired, therefore, that I should do it, and I went to Highgate where Coleridge was at that time living with Mr. GiUman. I found him walking in the garden, his hat in his hand (as it generally was in the open air), for he told me that, having been one of the Bluecoat Boys, among whom it is the fashion to go bareheaded, he had acquired a dis- like to any covering of the head.
"I explained the cause of my visit and he said: *A11- ston should say to himself, ^^ Nothing is me but my wiU. These thoughts, therefore, that force themselves on my mind are no part of ms and there can be no guilt in them." If he will make a strong effort to become indif- ferent to their recurrence, they will either cease or cease to trouble him.'
''He said much more, but this was the substance, and, after it was repeated to Allston, I did not hear h\m again complain of the same kind of disturbance.''
Mr. C. B. King, the other friend mentioned by Leslie, returned to America in 1812, and writes from Philadelphia, January 8, 1818: —
My dbab Fribnds, This will be handed you by Mr. Payne, of Boston, who intends passing some time in England. ... I have not been here sufficiently long to forget the delightful time when we could meet in the evening with novels, coffee, and mtisic by Morse, with the conversation of that dear fellow Allston. The reflection that it wiU not again take place, comes across
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my mind accompanied with the same painful sensation as the thought that I must die.
That Morse was not forgotten by the good people at home is evidenced by a letter from his brother, Sidney Edwards, of January 18, 1812, part of which I tran- scribe:—
Deab Brothsr, — I am sitting in the parlor in the armchair on the right of the fireplace, and, as I hold my paper in my hand, with my feet sprawled out before the fire, and with my body reclining in an oblique position against the back of the chair, I am penning you a letter such as it is, and for the inverted position of the letters ci which I beg to apologize.
As I turn my eyes upward and opposite I behold the family picture painted by an ingenious artist who, I un« darstand, is at present residing in London. If you are acquainted with him, give my love to him and my best wishes for his prosperity and success in the art to which, if report says true, he has devoted himself with much diligence.
Richard sits before me. writing to you, and mama says (for I have just asked her the question) that she is engaged in the same business. Papa is upstairs very much engaged in the selfsame employment. Four right hands are at this instant writing to give you, at some future moment, the pleasure of perusing the products of their present labor. Four imaginations are now em- ployed in conceiving of a son or a brother in a distant land. Therefore we may draw the conclusion that you are not universally forgotten, and consequently all do not forget you.
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62 SAMUEL F. B. MOBSE
I have written you this long letter because I knew that you would be anxious for the information it cx>n- tains; because papa told me I must write; because mama said I had better write; because I had nothing else to do, and because I had n't time to write a shorter. I trust for these special reasons you will excuse me for this once, especially when you consider that you asked me to write you long letters; when you consider that it is my natural disposition to express my sentiments fully; that I com* monly say most when I have least to say; that I promise reformation in future, and that you shall hereafter hear from me on this subject.
As to news, I am sorry to say we are entirely out. We sent you the last we had by the Sally Ann. We hope to get some ready by the time the next ship sails, and then we will furnish you with the best the country affords.
From a letter of January SO, 1812, to his parents I select the following passages: —
"On Tuesday last I dined at Mr. West's, who re- quested to be particularly remembered to you. He is ex- tremely attentive and polite to me. He called on me a few days ago, which I consider a very marked attention as he keeps so confined that he seldom pays any visits. . • •
"I have changed my lodgings to No. 82 in the same street [Great Titchfield Street], and have rooms with young Leslie of Philadelphia who has just arrived. He is very promising and a very agreeable room-mate. We are in the same stage of advancement in art.
" I have painted five pieces since I have been here, two landscapes and three portraits; one of myself, one a
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SIR WILLIAM BEECHY 6S
0(^y from Mr. West's copy from Vandyke, aad the other a portrait of Mr. Leslie, who is also taking mine. . • • I called a day or two since on Sir William Beechy, an artist of great eminence, to see his paintings. They are beautiful beyond anything I ever imagined. His prin- cipal excellence is in coloring, which, to the many, is the most attractive part of art. Sir William is considered the best colorist now living.
"You may be apt to ask, 'If Sir William is so great and even the best, what is Mr. West's great excellence?' Mr. West is a bad colorist in general, but he excels in the grandeur of his thought. Mr. West is to painting what Milton is to poetry, and Sir William Beechy to Mr. West as Pope to Milton, so that by comparing, or rather iUustrating the one art by the other, I can give you a better idea of the art of painting than in any other way. For as some poets excel in the different species of poetry and stand at the head of their different kinds, in the same manner do painters have their particular branch of their art; and as epic poetry excels all other kinds of poetry, because it addresses itself to the sublim^ feel- ings of our nature, so does historical painting stand pre- eminent in our art, because it calls forth the same feel- ings. For poets' and painters' minds are the same, and I infer that painting is superior to poetry from this: — that the painter possesses with the poet a vigorous imagination, where the poet stops, while the painter exceeds him in the mechanical and very di£Bicult part of the art, that of handling the pencil.
'^I gave you a hint in letter number 12 and a particu- lar accoimt in ntunber IS of the horrid murders commit- ted in this city. It has been pretty well ascertained from
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64 SAMUEL F. B. MOBSE
a variety of evidence tliat all of them have been cx>m- mitted by one man, who was apprehended and put an end to his life in prison. Very horrid attempts at robbery and murder have been very frequent of late in all parts of the city, and even so near as within two doors of me in the same street, but do not be alarmed, you have nothing to fear on my account. Leslie and myself sleep in the same room and sleep armed with a pair of pistols and a sword and alarms at our doors and windows, so we are sale on that score. • • •
'"Li my next I shall give you some account of politics here and as it respects America. The Federalists are certamly wrong in very many things. . • •
"P.S. I wish you would keep my letter in which I enumerate all my friends, and when I say, 'Give my love to my friends,' imagine I write them all over, and distribute it out to all as you think I ought, always particularizing Miss Russell, my patroness, my broth- ers, relations, and Mr. Brown and Nancy [his old nurse]. This will save me time, ink, trouble, and paper."
Concerning the portraits which Morse and Leslie were painting of each other, the following letter to Morse's mother, from a friend in Philadelphia and signed ""R. W. Snow," will be foimd interesting: —
My dear Friend, — I have this moment received a letter from Miss Vaughan in London, dated February 20, 1812, and, knowing the passage below would be inter- esting to you, I transcribe it with pleasure, and add my very sincere wish that all your hopes may be realized.
'^Dr. Morse's son is considered a young man of very promising talents by Mr. Allston and Mr. West and by
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HIS FATHER IN FINANCIAL STBATTS 65
those who have seen his paintings. We have seen him and think his modesty and apparent amiableness promise as much happiness to his friends as his talents may procure distinction for himself. He is peculiarly fortunate, not only in having Mr. Allston for an adviser and friend, but in his companion in painting, Mr. Leslie, a young man from Philadelphia highly recommended by my imde there, and whose extreme diffidence adds to the most promising talents the patient industry and desire of improvement which are necessary to bring them to perfection. They have been drawing each other's pic- tures. Mr. Leslie is in the Spanish costume and Mr.Morse in Highland dress. They are in an unfinished state, but striking resemblances.*'
This Highland lad, I hope, my dear friend, you will see, and in due time be again blessed with the interest- ing original.
At this time the good father was sore distressed finan* dally. He was generous to a fault and had, by endorsing notes and giving to others, crippled his own means. He says in a letter to his son dated March 21, 1812: —
"The Parkman case remains yet undedded and I know not that it ever will be. There is a strange mystery surrounding the business which I am not able to umravel. The court is now in session in Boston which is expected to decide the case. In a few days we shall be able to determine what we have to expect from this case. If we lose it, your mother and I have made up our minds to sit down contented with the loss. I trust we shall be enabled to pay our honest debts without it and to sup- port ourselves.
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66 SAMUEL F. B. MORSE
*' As to you and your brothers, I trust, with your edu- cation, you will be able to maintain yourselves, and your parents, too, should they need it in their old age. Prob: ably this necessity laid on you for exertion, industry, and economy in early life will be better for you in the end than to be supported by your parents. In nine cases out of ten those who begin the world with nothing are richer and more useful men in life than those who in- herit a large estate* . • •
"We have just heard from your brothers, who are well and in fine spirits* Edwards writes that he thinks of staying in New Haven another year and of pursuing general sciencey and afterwards of purchasing a planta- tion and becoming a planter in some one of the Southern States ! ! Perhaps he intends to marry some rich planter's daughter and to get his plantation and negroes in that way. This, I imagine, will be his only way to do it.
""The newspapers which I shall send with this will inform you of the state of our public affairs. We have high hopes that Governor Strong will be our governor next year. I have no belief that our tocar hawks will be able to involve the country in a war with Great Britain, nor do I believe that the President really wishes it. It is thought that all the war talk and preparations are intended to effect the reelection of Mr. Madison* The Henry Plot is a farce intended for the same purpose, but it can never be got up. It will operate"" against its pro- moters."
While the father was thus writing, on March 21, of the political conditions in America from his point of view, almost at the same moment the son in England was expressing himself as follows: —
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THE PRINCE BEGENT 67
''March SB, 181S. With respect to politics I know very little» my time being occupied with much pleasanter -subjects. I, however, can answer your question whether party spirit is conducted with such viruledce here as in America. It is by no means the case» for, although it is in some few instances very violent, still, for the most part, their debates are conducted with great coolnes&
"As to the Prince Regent, you have, perhaps, heard how unpopular he has made himself. He has disappointed the expectations of very many. Among the most un- popular of his measures may be placed the retention of the Orders in Council, which orders, notwithstanding the declarations of Mr. Perceval [the Prime Minister] and others in the Ministry to the contrary, are fast, very fast reducing this country to ruin; and it is the opinion of some of the best politicians in this coimtry that, should the United States either persist in the Non- Intercourse Law or declare war, this coimtry would be reduced to the lowest extremity.^
"Bankruptcies are daily increasing and petitions from all parts of the Kingdom, praying for the repeal of the Orders in Council, have been presented to the Prince, but he has declined hearing any of them. Also the Catho- lic cause remains undecided, and he refuses hearing anything on that subject. But no more of i>olitics. I am sure you must have more than sufficient at home.
"I will tiun to a more pleasant subject and give you a slight history of the American artists now in London.
^ Orders in CouncQ were issued by the soverdgn, with the advice of the Privy Council, in periods of emergency, trusting to their future ratification by Parliament. In this case, while promulgated as a retaliatory measure against Bonaparte's Continental System, they bore heaioly upon the com- merce of the United States.
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68 SAMUEL F. B. MORSE
''At the head stands Mr. West. He stands and has stood so long preeminent that I could relate but little of his history that would be new to you, so that I shall confine myself only to what has fallen imder my own observation, and, of course, my remarks will be few.
''As a painter Mr. West can be accused of as few faults as any artist of ancient or modem times. In his studies he has been indefatigable, and the result of those studies is a perfect knowledge of the philosophy of his art. There is not a line or a touch in his pictures which he cannot accoimt for on philosophical principles. They are not the productions of accident, but of study.
"His principal excellence is considered composition, design, and elegant grouping; and his faults were said to be a hard and harsh outline and bad coloring. These faults he has of late in a great degree amended. His out- ' line is softer and his coloring, in some pictures in which ' he has attempted ^th ^.color, is not surpassed by any artist now living, and some have even said that Titian himself did not stirpass it. However that may be, his pictures of a late date are admirable even in this particu- lar, and it evinces that, if in general he neglected that fascinating branch of art in some of his paintings, he still possesses a perfect knowledge of all its artifices. He has just completed a picture, an historical landscape, which, for deamess of coloring combined with grandeur of composition, has never been excelled.
"In his private character he is imimpeachable. He is a man of tender feelings, but of a mind so noble that it soars above the slanders of his enemies, and he ex- presses pity rather than revenge towards those who.
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ESTIMATE OF WEST 89
throu^ wantonness or malice, plan to undermine his character. No man» perhaps, ever passed through so much abuse, and none, I am confident, ever bore up against its virulence with more nobleness of spirit, with a steady perseverance in the pursuit of the sublimest of human professions. He has travelled on heedless of the sneers, the ridicule, or the detraction of his enemies, and he has arrived at that point where the lustre of his works will not fail to illuminate the dark r^ons of bar- . / barism and distaste long after their bright author has ceased to exist.
"Excuse my fervor in the praise of this man. He is not a common man, not such a one as can be met with in every age. He is one of those geniuses who are doomed in their lifetime to endure the malice, the ridicule^ and neglect of the world, and at their death to receive the praise and adoration of this same inconsistent world. I think there cannot be a stronger proof that human na- ture is always the same than that men of genius in all ages have been compelled to imdergo the same disap- pointments and to pass through the same routine of caliunny and abuse."
The rest of this letter is missing, which is a great pity, as it would be interesting to read what Morse had to say of Allston, LesKe, and the others.
Was it a presentiment of the calumnies and abuse to which he himself was to be subjected in after life which led him to express himself so heartily in sympathy with hismaster-West? And was it the inspiring remembrance of his master's calm bearing under these afflictions which heartened him to maintain a noble serenity under even greater provocation?
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70 SAMUEL F. B. MORSE
** April 21^ 1812. I mentioned in my last letter that I should probably exceed my allowance this year by a few pounds, but I now begin to think that I shall not. I am trying every method to be economical and hope it will not be long before I shall relieve you from further expense on my account. • • •
"With respect to politics they appear gloomy on both sides. • • • You may depend on it England has injured us sorely and our Non-Intercourse is a just retaliation for those wrongs. Perhaps you will believe what is said in some of the Federal papers that that measure has no effect on this country. You may be assured the effects are great and severe; I am myself an eye-witness of the effects. The country is in a state of rebellion from literal starvation. Accounts are daily received which grow more and more alarming from the great manufacturing towns. Troops are in motion all over the country, and but last week measures were adopted by Parliament to prevent this metropolis from rising to rebellion, by order- ing troops to be stationed round the city to be ready at a moment's warning. This I call an alarming period. Everybody thinks so and Mr. Perceval himself is fright- ened, and a committee is appointed to take into con- sid^ation the Orders in Council. Now, when you con- sider that I came to this country prejudiced against our government and its measures, and that I can have no bad motive in telling you these facts, you will not think hard of me when I say that I hope that our Non- Intercoturse Law will be enforced with all its rigor, as I firmly believe it is the only way to bring this country to terms, and that, if persisted in, it will certainly bring them to terms. I know it must make some misery at
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ASSASSINATION OP PERCEVAL 71
home, but it will be followed by a corresponding hap- piness after it. Some of you at home, I suppose, will call me a Democrat, but facts are stubborn things, and I can't deny the truth of what I see every day before my eyes, A man to judge properly of his country must, like judging of a pictm^, view it at a distance."
**May ISy 1812. I write in great haste to inform you of a dreadful event which happened here last evening, and rumors of which will probably reach you before this. Not to keep you in suspense it is no less than the o^ sasaination of Mr. Perceval^ the Prime Minister of Great Britain. As he was entering the House of Commons last evening a little past five o'clock, he was shot directly through the heart by a man from behind the door. He staggered forward and fell, and expired in about ten minutes. . . .
'^I have just returned from the House of Commons; there was an immense crowd assembled and very riot- ous. In the hall was written in large letters, 'Peace or the Head of the Regent.' This country is in a very alarming state and there is no doubt but great quanti- ties of blood will be spilled before it is restored to order. Even while I am writing a party of life Guards is patrolling the streets. London must soon be the scene of dreadful events.
''Last night I had an opportunity of studying the public mind. It was at the theatre; the play was 'Venice Preserved; or, the Plot Discovered.' If you will take the trouble just to read the first act you will see what rela« tion it has to the present state of affairs. When Pierre says to Jaffier, 'Cans't thou kill a Senator?' there were three cheers, and so through the whole, whenever any-
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72 SAMUEL F. B. MORSE
thing was said conoerning conspiracy and in favor of it» the audience applauded, and when anything was said against it they hissed. When Pierre asked the conspira- tors if Brutus was not a good man» the audience was in a great uproar, applauding so as to prevent for some minutes the progress of the performance. This I think shows the public mind to be in great agitation. The play of 'Venice Preserved' is not a moral play, and I should not ask you to read any part of it if I could better explain to you the feelings of the public.''
A few days later, on May 17, he says in a letter to his brothers: —
^'The assassin Bellingham was immediately taken into custody. He was tried on Friday and condemned to be executed to-morrow morning (Monday, 18th). I shall go to the place to see the concourse of people, for to see him executed I know I could not bear."
In a postscript written the day after he says: —
" I went this morning to the execution. A very violent rain prevented so great a crowd as was expected. A few minutes before eight o'clock Bellingham ascended the scaffold. He was very genteelly dressed; he bowed to the crowd, who cried out, 'God bless you,' repeatedly. I saw him draw the cap over his face and shake hands with the clergyman. I stayed no longer, but immedi* ately turned my back and was retiuming home. I had taken but a few steps when the dock struck eight, and, on turning back, I saw the crowd beginning to disperse. I have felt the effects of this sight all day, and shall probably not get over it for weeks. It was a dreadful sight. There were no accidents."
In spite of all these momentous occurrences, the
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STEPHEN VAN RENSSELAER 78
young artist was faithfully pursuing his studies, for in this same letter to his brothers he says: —
''But enough of this; you will probably hear the whole account before this reaches you. I am wholly absorbed in the studies of my profession; it is a slow and arduous undertaJdng. I never knew till now the difficulties of art» and no one can duly appreciate it unless he has tried it. Difficulties, however, only increase my ardor and make me more determined than ever to conquer them.
"Mr. West is very kind to me; I visit him occasions- ally of a morning to hear him converse on art. He ap- pears quite attached to me, as he is, indeed, to all young American artists. It seems to give him the greatest pleasure to think that one day the arts will flourish in America. He says that Philadelphia will be the Athens of the world. That city certainly gives the greatest en- couragement of any place in the United States. Boston is most backward, so, if ever I should return to America, Philadelphia or New York would probably be my place of abode.
''I have just seen Mr. Stephen Van Rensselaer, who you know was at college with us, and with whom I was intimate. He was very glad to see me and calls on me every day while I am painting. He keeps his carriage and horses and is in the first circles here. I ride out oc* casionally with him; shall begin his portrait next week."
Like a breath of fresh air, in all the heat and dust of these troublous times, comes this request from his gentle mother in a letter of May 8, 1812: —
'*Miss C. Dexter requests the favor of you to take a sketch of the face of Mr. Southey and send it her.
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V4 SAMUEL R B. MORSE
He is a favorite writer witib her and she has a great de- sire to see the style of his oountenance. If you can get it, enclose it in a genteel note to her with a brief account of him, his age and character, etc."
The next letter of May 25, 1812, is from Morse to his parents.
''I have told you in former letters that my lodgings are at 82 Great Titchfield Street and that my room-mate is Leslie, the young man who is so much talked of in Philadelphia. We have lived together since Decemb« and have not, as yet, had a falling out. I find his thoughts ci art agree perfectly with my own. He is enthusiastic and so am I, and we have not time, scarcely, to think of anything else; everything we do has a reference to art, and all our plans are for our mutual advancement in it. Our amusements are walking, aoac»u>mi% attending the theatres, and the company of Mr. Allston and a few other gentlemen, consisting of three or four painters and poets. We meet by turn at each other's rooms and converse and laugh.
''Mr. Allston is our most intimate friend and com- panion. I can't feel too grateful to him for his attentions to me; he calls every day and superintends all we are doing. When I am at a stand and perplexed in some parts of the picture, he puts me right and encourages me to proceed by praising those parts which he thinks good, but he is faithful and always tells me when anything is bad.
'' It is a mortifying thing sometimes to me, when I have been painting all day very hard and begin to be pleased with what I have done, on showing it to Mr. Allston, with the expectation of praise, and not only of praise
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ALLSTON THE MASTER 75
but a score of 'ezcenents*' 'well dones,' and 'admir- ables'; I say it is mortifying to hear him after a long silence say: 'Very bad, sir; that is not flesh, it is mud, sir; it is painted with brick dust and day.'
''I have felt sometimes ready to dash my palette knife through it and to feel at the moment quite angry with him; but a little reflection restores me; I see that Mr. Allston is not a flatterer but a friend, and that really to improve I must see my faults. What he says after this always puts me in good humor again. He tells me to put a few flesh tints here, a few gray ones there» and to dear up such and such a part by such and such colors. And not only that, but takes the palette and brushes and shows me how, and in this way he assists me. I think it one of the greatest blessings that I am imder his eye. I don't know how many errors I might have fallen into if it had not been for his attentions. . • .
''I am painting i)ortraits alone at present. Our sitters are among our acquaintances. We paint them if they defray the expease of canvas and colors. . . •
''Mama wished me to send some specimens of my painting home that you might see my improvement. The pictures that I now paint would be uninteresting to you; they consist merely of studies and drawings from plaster figures, hands and feet and such things. The portraits are taken by those for whom they are painted. I shall soon begin a portrait of myself and will try and send that to you."
*'June 8y 1812. Mama asks in one of her letters if we make our own tea. We do. The tea-kettle is brought to us boiling in the morning and evening and we make our own coffee (which, by the way, is very cheap here)
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76 SAMITEL F. B. MORSE
and tea. We live quite in the old bachelor style. I don't know but it will be best for me to live in this style through life; my prof ession seems to require all my time.
'"Mr. Hurd will take a diploma to you» with others to different persons near Boston. I suppose it confers some title on you of consequence, as I saw at his house a great number to be sent to all parts of the world to dis- tinguished men. I find papa is known here pretty ex- tensively. Some one» hearing my name and that I am an American, immediately asks if I am related to you. . . .
'*The Administration is at length formed, and, to the great sorrow of everybody, the old Ministers are re- elected. The Orders in Council are the subject of debate at the House of Commons this evening. It is an impor- tant crisis, though there is scarcely any hope of their repeal. If not, I sincerely hope that America will declare war.
''What Lord Castlereagh said at a public meeting a few days ago ought to be known in America. Respect- ing the Orders in Council, when some one said unless they were repealed war with America must be the con- sequence, he replied that, ' t/ the people would but support the Ministry in those measures for a short time^ America would he compelled to submiiyfor she was not able to go to war.* But I say, and so does every American here who sees how things are going with this country, that, should America but declare war, before hostilities commenced Great Britain would sue for peace on any terms. Great Britain is jealous of us and would trample on us if she could, and I feel ashamed when I see her supported
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THE QUEEN'S DRAWING-ROOM 77
through everything by some of the Federal editors. I wish they could be here a few months and they would be ashamed of themselves. They are injuring their country, for it is their violence that induces this Govern- ment to persist in their measm^ by holding out hope that the parties will change, and that then they can compel America to do anything. If America loses in this contest and softens her measures towards this country, she never need expect to hold up her head again/'
*^June 16, 1812. The Queen held a drawing-room a short time since and I went to St. James's Palace to see those who attended. It was a singular sight to see the ladies and gentlemen in their court dresses. The gentlemen were dressed in buckram skirted coats with- out capes, long waistcoats, cocked hats, bag-wigs, swords, and large buckles on their shoes. The ladies in monstrous hoops, so that in getting into their car* riages they were obliged to go edgewise. Their dresses were very rich; some ladies, I suppose, had about them to adorn them £20,000 or £S0,000 worth of diamonds.
'"I had a sight of the Prince Regent as he passed in his splendid state carriage drawn by six horses. He is very corpulent, his features are good, but he is very red and considerably bloated. I likewise saw the Princess Char- lotte of Wales, who is handsome, the Dukes of Kent, Cambridge, Clarence, and Cumberland, Admiral Duck- worth, and many others. The Prince held a levee a few days since at which Mr. Van Rensselaer was presented.
''I occasionally attend the theatres. At Covent Gar- den there is the best acting in the world; Mr. Kemble is the first tragic actor now in England; Cook was a rival and excelled him in some characters. Mrs. Siddons
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78 SAMUEL F. B. MORSE
is the first tragic actress, perhaps, that ever lived. She is now advanced in life and is about to retire from the stage; on the 29th of this month she makes her last appearance. Imustsayladmireher acting very much; she is rather corpulent, but has a remarkably fine face; the Grecian character is finely portrayed in it; she ex- cels to admiration in deep tragedy. In Mrs. Beverly, in the play of the 'Gamesters' a few nights ago, she so arrested the attention of the house that you might hear your watch tick in your fob, and, at the close of the play, when she utters an hysteric laugh for joy that her husband was not a murderer, there were different ladies in the boxes who actually went into hysterics and were obliged to be carried out of the theatre. This I think is proof of good acting. Mrs. Siddons is a woman of ir- reproachable character and moves in the first circles; the stage will never again see her equal.
''You must n't think because I praise the acting that I am partial to theatres. I think in a certain degree they are harmless, but, too much attended, they dissipate the mind. There is no danger of my loving them too much; I like to go once in awhile after studying hard ail day.
"Last night, as I was passing through Tottenham Court Road, I sawalarge collection of people of the lower class making a most terrible noise by beating on some- thing of the sounding genus. Upon going nearer and enquiring the cause, I found that a butcher had just been married, and that it is always the custom on such occasions for his brethren by trade to serenade the couple with marrcno-bonesaaid cleavers. Perhaps you have heard of the phrase 'musical as marrow-bones and cleavers'; this is the origin of it. If you wish to experi-
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ZACHARY MACAULAY 79
ence the sound let each one in the family take a pair of tongs and a shovel, and then, standing all together, let each one try to outdo the other in noise, and this will give you some idea of it. How this custom origin- ated I don't know. I hope it is not symbolical of the harmony which is to exist between the parties married/' Among those eminent Englishmen to whom young Morse had letters of introduction was Zachary Macaulay , editor of the "Christian Observer," and father of the historian. The following note from him will be found of a delightful old-time flavor: —
Mr. Macaulay presents his compliments to Mr. Morse and begs to express his regret at not having yet been so fortunate as to meet with him. Mr. Macaulay will be particularly happy if it should suit Mr. Morse to dine with him at his house at Clapham on Saturday next at five o'clock. Mr. M.'s house is five doors be- yond the Plough at the entrance of Clapham Common. A coach goes daily to Clapham from the Ship at Charing Cross at a quarter past three, and several leave Grace Church Street in the City every day at four. The dis- tance from London Bridge to Mr. Macaulay's house is about four miles.
S8d June, 1812.
In a letter from his mother of June 28, 1812, the anxious parent says: —
"Although we long to see you, yet we rejoice that you are so happily situated at so great a distance from our, at present, wretched, miserably distracted country, whose mad rulers are plunging us into an unnecessary
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80 SAMITEL F. B. MORSE
war witli a country that I shall always revere as doing more to spread the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ to the benighted heathen, and those that are famishing from lack of knowledge, than any other nation on the globe. Our hearts bleed at every pore to think of again being at war. We have not yet forgotten the Wormwood and gall of the last revolution.
"We hope you will steer clear of any of the difficul- ties of the contest that is about to take place. We wish you to be very prudent and guarded in all your conver- sation and actions and not to make yourself a party man on either side. Have your opinions, but have them to yourself, and be sure you do not commit them to paper. It may do you great injury either on one side or the other, and you are not in your present situation as a politician but as an artist."
tn this same letter his father adds: —
"The die is cast and our country plunged in war. • . . There is great opposition to it in the country. The papers, which you will have opportunity to see, will in- form you of the state of parties. Your mother has given you sound advice as respects the course you should pursue. Be the artist wholly and let politics alone. I rejoice that you are where you are at the present time. You will do what you can without delay to support yourself, as I know not how we shall be able to procure funds to transmit to you, and, if we had them, how we could transmit them should the war continue."
To this the son answers in a letter of August 6, 1312: —
"I am improving, perhaps, the last opportunity I shall have for some time to write you. Mr. Wheeler,
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an American* who has been here some time studying portrait painting, has kindly offered to deEver this to you,
"'Our political affairs, it seems, have come to a crisis, which I sincerely hope will turn to the advantage of America; it certainly will not to this country. War is an evil which no man ought to think lightly of, but, if ever it was just, it now is. The English acknowledge it, and what can be more convincing proof than the con- fession of an enemy? I was sorry to hear of the riotous proceedings in Boston. If they knew what an injury they were doing their country in the opinion of foreign nations, they certainly would refrain from them. I assert (because I have proof) that the Federalists in the Northern States have done more injury to their coimtry by their violent opposition measures than even a French alliance could. Their proceedings are copied into the English papers, read before ParUament, and drcidated through the country, and what do they say of them? Do they say the Federalists are patriots and are firm in asserting the rights of their country? No; they call them cowards, a base set: say they are traitors to their coun- try and ought to be hanged like traitors. These things I have heard and read, and therefore must beUeve them.
'' I wish I could have a talk with you, papa; I am sure I could convince you that neither Federalists nor Demo- crats are Americans; that war with this coimtry is just, and that the present Administration of our country has acted with perfect justice in all their proceedings against this country. . . .
'*To observe the contempt with which America is spoken of, and the epithets of a * nation ofcheatsj' * sprung
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from cormASy *jnisiUanim(may* * cowardly y* and such like, — these I think are sufficient to make any true Ameri- can's blood boil. These are not used by individuals only, but on the floor of the House of Commons. The good effects of our declaration of war begin to be perceived already. The tone of their public prints here is a little softer and more submissive. Not one has called in ques- tion the justice of the declaration of war; all say, 'We are in the wrong and we shall do well to get out of it as soon as possible.'
** I could tell you volumes, but I have not time, and it would, perhaps, be impolitic in the present state of affairs. I only wish that among the infatuated party men I may not find my father, and I hope that he will be neutral rather than oppose the war measure, for (if he will believe a son who loves him and his country better the longer and farther he is away from them) this war will reestablish that character for honor and spirit which our country has lost through the proceed- ings of Federalists.
*' But I will txim from this subject. My health and spirits are excellent and my love for my profession in- creases. I am painting a small historical piece; the sub- ject is 'Marius in Prison,' and the soldier sent to kill him who drops his sword as Marius says, * Durst thou hill Caius Marius f* The historical fact you must be familiar with. I am taking great pains with it, and may possibly exhibit it in February at the British Gallery.
*^ I never think of my situation in this coimtry but with gratitude to you for suffering me to pursue the pro- fession of my choice, and for making so many sacrifices to gratify me. I hope I shall always fed grateful to the
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best of parents and be able soon to show them I am so. In the mean time, if industry and application on my part can make them happy, be assured I shall use my best todeavors to be industrious, and in any other way to give them comfort. One of my greatest blessings here is Mr. Allston. He is like a brother to me, and not only is a most agreeable and entertaining companion, but he has been the means of giving me more knowledge (practical as well as theoretical) in my art than I could have acquired by myself in three years.
*'In whatever circumstance I am, Mr. Allston Tshall esteem as one of my best and most intimate friends, and in whatever I can assist him or his I shall feel proud in being able to do it.
'^Mr. and Mrs. Allston are well. I dined with them yesterday at Captain Visscher's, whom I have men- tioned to you before as one of our passengers. He is very attentive to us, visits us constantly, and is making us presents of various kinds every day, such as half a dozen best Madeira, etc. He came out here with his lady to take possession of a fortune of £80,000 and was immensely rich before, having married Miss Van Rens- selaer of Albany."
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CHAPTER V
SEPTEMBER 80, 181S — JUNE 18» 181S
Models the '* Dying Heicuka.*' — DieamB of greatnen. — A^iain expreMea gratitude to his parents. — Begins painting of "Dying Hercules." — Letter from Jeremiah Evarts. — Morse upholds righteousness of the war. — Henry Thornton. — Politicsl discussions. — Gilbert Stuart — T^Uiam IVilberforce. — James Wynne's reminiscences of Morse, Coleridge, Leslie, ABston, and Dr. Abemethy. — Letters from his mother and brother. — Letters from friends <m the state of the 6iie arts in America. — "The Dying Hercules " exhibited at the Boyal Academy. — Expenses of paint- ing.— Beoeives Adelphi Gold Medal for statuette of Hercules. — Mr. Dunlap's remimscenoes. — Critics praise "Dying Hercules."
The young artist's letters to his parents at this period are filled with patriotic sentiments, and he writes many pages descriptive of the state of affairs in England and of the effects of the war on that country. He strongly upholds the justice of that war and pleads with his parents and brothers to take his view of the matter. They, on the other hand, strongly disapprove of the American Administration's position and of the war, and are inclined to censure and to laugh at the enthusi- astic young man's heroics.
As we are more concerned with Morse's career as an artist than with his political sentiments, and as these latter, I fear, had no influence on the course of inter- national events, I shall quote but sparingly from that portion of the correspondence, just enough to show that, whatever cause he espoused, then, and at all times during his long life, he threw himself into it heart and soul, and thoroughly believed in its righteousness. He was absolutely sincere, although he may sometimes have been mistaken.
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MODELS THE DYING HERCULES 85
In a letter dated September 20, 1812, he says: —
''I have just finished a model in clay of a figure (the 'Dying Hercules')* my first attempt at sculpture. Mr. Allston is extremely pleased with it; he says it is better than all the things I have done since I have been in Eng- land put together, and says I must send a east of it home to you, and that it will convince you that I shall make a painter. He says also that he wiU write to his friends in Boston to call on you and see it when I send it.
''Mr. West also was extremely delighted with it. He said it was not merely an academical figure, but dis- played mind and thought. He could not have made me a higher compliment.
"Mr. West would write you, but he has been disabled from painting or writing for a long time with the gout in his right hand. This is a great trial to him.
** I am anxious to send you something to show you that I have not been idle since I have been here. My passion for my art is so firmly rooted that I am confi- dent no human power could destroy it. [And yet, as we shall see later on, human injustice so discouraged him that he dropped the brush forever.]
" The more I study it, the greater I think is its daim to the iq>pellation of ^ivoiney and I never shall be able sufficiently to show my gratitude to my parents for their indulgence in so greatly enabling me to pursue that profession, without which I am sure I would be miserable. If ever it is my destiny to become great and worthy of a biographical memoir, my biographer will never be able to charge upon my parents that bigoted attachment to any individual profession, the exercise of which spirit
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86 SAMUEL F. B. MORSE
by parents toward their children has been the ruin of some of the greatest geniuses; and the biography of men of genius has too often contained that reflection on their parents. If ever the contrary spirit was evident, it has certainly been shown by my parents towards me. Indeed, they have been almost too indulgent; they have watched every change of my capricious inclinations, and seem to have made it an object to study them with the greatest fondness. But I think they will say that, when my desire for change did cease, it always settled on painting.
''I hope that one day my success in my profession will reward you, in some measure, for the trouble and inconvenience I have so long put you to.
''I am now going to begin a picture of the death of Hercules from this figure, as large as life. The figure I shall send to you as soon as it is practicable, and also one of the same to Philadelphia, if possible in time for the next exhibition in May.
"I have enjoyed excellent health and spirits and am perfectly contented. The war between the two coun* tries has not been productive of any measures against resident American citizens. I hope it will produce a good effect towards both countries."
He adds in a postscript that he has removed from 82 Great Titchfield Street to No. 8 Buckingham Place» Ktzroy Square.
The following extract from a letter to Morse written by his friend, Mr. Jeremiah Evarts, father of William M. Evarts, dated Charlestown, October 7, 1812, is interesting: —
'"I am happy that you are so industriously and pros-
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peronsly engaged in the prosecution of your profession. I hope you will let polities entirely alone for many rea- sons, not the least of which is a regard to the internal tranquillity of your own mind. I never yet knew a man made happy by studying politics; nor useful, unless he has great duties to perform as a citizen. You will re- ceive this advice, I know, with your accustomed good nature."
The next letter, dated November 1, 1812, is a very long one, over eighteen large pages, and is an impas- sioned appeal to his father to look at the war from the son's point of view. I shall quote only a few sentences.
'' Your last letter was of October S, via Halifax, accom- panying your sermon on Fast Day. The letter gave me great pleasure, but I must confess that the sentiments in the sermon appeared very strange to me, knowing what I, as well as every American here does, respecting the causes of the present war. • . .'Tis the character of Englishmen to be haughty, proud, and overbearing. If this conduct meets with no resistance, their treat- ment becomes more imperious, and the more submis- sive and conciliating is the object of their imperiousness» the more tyrannical are they towards it. This has been their uniform treatment towards us, and this character pervades all ranks of society^ whether in public or pri- vate life.
'^The only way to please John Bull is to give him a good beating, and, such is the singularity of his char- acter that, the more you beat him, the greater is his respect for you, and the more he will esteem you. . . .
''If, after all I have now written, you still think that this war is unjust* and think it worth the trouble in
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order to ascertain the truth, I wish papa would take a trip across the Atlantic. If he is not convinced of the truth of what I have written in less than two months, I will agree to support myself all the time I am in Eng- land after this date, and never be a farthing's more ex- pense to you. • . • I was glad to hear that Cousin Samuel Breese ism the navy. I reaUy envy him very much. I hope one day, as a painter, I may be able to hand him down to posterity as an American Nelson. ... As to my letters of introduction, I find that a painter and a visitor cannot be united. Were I to ddiver my letters the acquaintance could not be kept up, and the bare thought of encountering the English reserve is enough to deter any one. . . . This objection, however, might be got over did it not take up so much time. Every moment is precious to me now. I don't know how soon I may be obliged to return home for want of means to support me; for the difficulties which are increasing in this country take off the attention of the people from the fine arts, and they withhold that patronage from young artists which they would, from their liberality, in other cir- cumstances freely bestow. . . .
'*You mention that some of the Ralston family are in Boston on a visit, and that Mr. Codman is attached to Eliza. Once in my life, you know, if you had told me this and I had been a very bloody-minded young man, who knows but Mr. Codman mi^t have been chal- lenged. But I suppose he takes advantage of my being in England. If it is as you say, I am very happy to hear it, for Elizabeth is a girl whom I very much esteem, and there is no doubt that she will make an excellent wife."
In a letter from his mother of July 6, ISIS, she thus
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reassures him: ''Mr. Codman is married. He married a Miss Wheeler, of Newburyport, so you will have no need of challenging him on account of Eliza Ralston/'
In a postscript to the letter of November 1, Morse adds: —
''I have just read the political parts of this letter to
my good friend Mr. A ^n, and he not only approves
of the sentiments in it» but pays me a compliment by saying that I have expressed the truth and nothing but the truth in a very clear and proper manner, and hopes it may do good."
Among young Morse's friends in England at that time was Henry Thornton, philanthropist and member of Parliament. In a letter to his parents of January 1, 181S, he says: —
''Last Thursday week I received a very polite invita- tion from Henry Thornton, Esq., to dine with him, which I accepted. I had no introduction to him, but, hearing that your son was in the country, he found me out and has shown me every attention. He is a very pleasant, sensible man, but his character is too well known to you to need any eulogium from me.
"At his table was a son of Mr. Stephen, who was the author of the odious Orders in Council. Mr. Thornton asked me at table if I thought that, if the Orders in Council had been repealed a month or two sooner, it would not have prevented the war. I told him I thought it would, at which he was much pleased, and, turning to Mr. St^hen, he said: 'Do you hear that, Mr. Stephen? I always told you so.'
" Last Wednesday I dined at Mr. Wilberf orce's. I was extremely pleased with him. At his house I met Mr.
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90 SAMUEL F. B. MORSE
Grant and Mr. Thornton, members of Parliament. In the course of conversation they introduced America, and Mr. Wilberforce regretted the war extremely; he said it was like two of the siame family quarrelling; that he thought it a judgment on this country for its wicked* ness, and that they had been justly punished for their arrogance and insolence at sea, as well as the Americans for their vaunting on land.
"" As Mr. Thornton was going he invited me to spend a day or two at his seat at Clapham, a few miles out of town. I accordingly went and was very civilly treated. The reserve which I mentioned in a former letter was evi- dent, however, here, and I felt a degree of embarrass* ment arising from it which I never felt in America. The second day I was a little more at my ease.
''At dinner were the two sons of the Mr. Grant I mentioned above. They are, perhaps, the most promis- ing young men in the country, and you may possibly one day hear of them as at the head of the nation. [One of these young men was afterwards raised to the peerage as Lord Glenelg.]
''After dinner I got into conversation with them and with Mr. Thornton, when America again became the topic. They asked me a great many questions respecting America which I answered to the best of my ability. They at length asked me if I did not think that the ruling party in America was very much under French influ- ence. I replied 'No *; that I believed on the contrary that nine tenths of the American people were prepossessed strongly in favor of this country. As a proof I urged the universal prevalence of English fashions in preference to French, and English manners and customs; the uni-
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versa! rejoicings on the suocess of the English over the French; the marked attention shown to English trav- ellers and visitors; the neglect with which they treated their own literary productions on account of the strong prejudice in favor of English works; that everything, in short, was enhanced in its value by having attached to it the name English.
" On the other hand, I told them that the French were a people almost universally despised in America, and by at least one half hated. As in England, they were es- teemed the common enemies of mankind; that French fashions were discountenanced and loathed ; that a Frenchman was considered as a man always to be sus- pected; that young men were forbidden by their par- ents, in many instances, to associate with them, they considering their company and habits as tending to subvert their morals, and to render them frivolous and insincere. I added that in America as well as every- where else there were bad men, men of no principles, whose consciences never stand in the way of their ambi- tion or avarice; but that I firmly believed that, as a body, the American Congress was as pure from corrup- tion and foreign influence as any body of men in the world. They were much pleased with what I told them, and acknowledged that America and American visitors generally had been treated with too much contempt and neglect.
'"In the course of the day I asked Mr. Thornton what were the objects that the English Government had in view when they laid the Orders in Council. He told me in direct terms, *ihe Unhersal numapoly of Commerce*; that they had long desired an excuse for such measures
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92 SAMUEL F. B. MORSE
as the Orders in Council, and that the French decrees were exactly what they wished, and the opportunity was seized with avidity the moment it was offered. They knew that the Orders in Council bore hard upon the Americans, but they considered that as merely tn^ cidental.
''To this I replied that, if such was the case as he re- presented it, what blame could be attached to the Ameri- can Government for declaring war? He said that it was urged that America ought to have considered the cir- cumstances of the case, and that Great Britain was fighting for the liberties of the world; that America was, in a great degree, interested in the decision of the con- test, and that she ought to be content to suffer a little.
'^I told him that England had no right whatever to infringe on the neutrality of America, or to expect be- cause she (England) supposed herself to have justice on her side in the contest with France, that, of course, the Americans should think the same. The moment America declared this opinion her neutrality ceased. 'Besides,' said I, 'how can they have the face to make such a declaration when you just now said that their ob- ject was universal monopoly, and they longed for an excuse to adopt measures to that end? * I told him that it showed that all the noise about England's fighting for the liberties of mankind proved to be but a thirst, a selfish desire for universal monopoly.
''This he said seemed to be the case; he could not deny it. He was going on to observe something respecting the French decrees when we were interrupted, and I have not been able again to resimae the conversation. I re- turned to town with him shortly after in his carriage,
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GILBERT STUART OS
where, as there were strainers, I could not introduce it again.
After tliis follow two long pages giving further reasons for the stand he has taken, which I shall not include, only quoting the following sentences towards the end of the letter: —
** You will have heard before this arrives of the glorious news from Russia* Bonaparte is for once defeatedy and will probably never again recover from it.
""My regards to Mr. Stuart [Gilbert Stuart]. I feel quite flattered at his remembrance of me. Tell him that, by coming to England, I know how more justly to ap- preciate his great merits. There is really no one in England who equals him.
'^Accompanying this are some newspapers, some of Cobbett's, a man of no principle and a great rascal, yet a man of sense and says many good things."
I have quoted at length from this letter in order that we may gain a clearer insight into the character of the man. While in no wise neglecting his main objects in life, he yet could not help taking a deep interest in public affairs. He was frank and outspoken in his opinions, but eourteous withal. He abhorred hypocrisy and vice and was imsparing in his condemnation of both. He enjoyed a controversy and was quick to discover the weak points in his opponent's arguments and to make the most of them.
These characteristics he carried with him through life, becoming, however, broader*minded and more tolerant as he grew in years and experience.
Morse's father had giv^i him many letters of intro- duction to eminent men in England. Most of these he
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94 SAMUEL R B. MORSE
n^lected to deliver, pleading in extenuation of his apparent carelessness tliat he could not spare tlie time from his artistic studies to fulfill all the duties that would be eiq>ected of him in society, and that he also could not afford the expenses necessary to a well-dressed man.
The following note from William Wilberf orce explains itself, but there seems to be some confusion of dates, for Morse had just said in his letter of January 1st that he dined at Mr. Wilberforee's over a week before.
Kbnbdcqton Gobb, Januuy 4, 1818.
Sib, — I cannot help entertaining some apprehension of my not having received some letter or some card which you may have done me the favor of leaving at my house. Be this, however, as it may, I gladly avail myself of the sanction of a letter from your father for introducing myself to you; and, as many calls are mere matters of form, I take the liberty of begging the favor of your company at dinner on Wednesday next, at a quarter before five o'clock, at Kensington Gore (one mile from Hyde Park comer), and of thereby securing the pleasure of an acquaintance with you.
The high respect which I have always entertained for your father, in addition to the many obliging marks of attention which I have received from him, render me desirous of becoming personally known to you, and enable me with truth to assure you I am, with good will, sir.
Your faithful servant,
W. WiLBEBFOBCB.
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JAMES WYNNE'S REMINISCENCES 05
Among Morse's friends in London during the period of his student years, were Coleridge, Rogers, Lamb, and others whose names are familiar ones in the literary world.
While the letters of those days give only hints of the delightful intercourse between these congenial souls, the recollection of them was enshrined in the memory of some of their contemporaries, and the following reminiscences, preserved by Mr. James Wynne and recorded by Mr. Prune in his biography, wiU be found interesting: —
^'Coleridge, who was a visitor at the rooms of Leslie and Morse, frequently made his appearance under the influence of those fits of despondency to which he was subject. On these occasions, by a preconcerted plan, they often drew him from this state to one of brilliant imagination.
** ' I was just wishing to see you,' said Morse on one of these occasions when Coleridge entered with a hesi- tating step, and repUed to their frank salutations with a gloomy aspect and deep-drawn sighs. 'Leslie and my- self have had a dispute about certain lines of beauty; which is right? ' And then each argued with the other for a few moments until Coleridge became interested, and, rousing from his fit of despondency, spoke with an eloquence and depth of metaphysical reasoning on the subject far beyond the comprehension of his auditors. Their point, however, was gained, and Coleridge was again the eloquent, the profound, the gifted being which his remarkable productions show him to be.
** * On one occasion,' said Morse, 'I heard him impro- vise for half an hour in blank verse what he stated to be a strange dream, which was full of those wonderful
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96 SAMUEL F. B. MORSE
creations that glitter like diamonds in his poetical pro- ductions/ 'All of which/ remarked I, 'is undoubtedly lost to the world/ 'Not all/ replied Mr. Morse, 'for I recognize in the "Ancient Mariner'' some of the thoughts of that evening; but doubtless the greater part, which would have made the reputation of any other man, perished with the moment of inspiration, never again to be recalled/
" When his tragedy of 'Remorse,' which had a run of twenty-one nights, was first brought out, Washing- ton Allston, Charles King, Leslie, Lamb, Morse, and Coleridge went together to witness the performance. They occupied a box near the stage, and each of the party was as much interested in its success as Coleridge himself.
"The effect of the frequent applause upon Coleridge was very manifest, but when, at the end of the piece, he was called for by the audience, the intensity of his emotions was such as none but one gifted with the fine sensibilities of a poet could experience. Fortunately the audience was satisfied with a mere presentation of him- self. His emotions would have precluded the idea of his speaking on such an occasion.
" Allston soon after this became so much out of health that he thought a change of air and a short residence in the country might relieve him. He accordingly set out on his journey accompanied by Leslie and Morse.
" When he reached Salt Hill, near Oxford, he became so ill as to be unable to proceed, and requested Morse to return to town for his medical attendant. Dr. Tut- hill, and Coleridge, to whom he was ardently attached.
" Morse accordingly returned, and, procuring a post-
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JAMES WYNNE'S REMINISCENCES 97
chaise, immediately set out for Salt Hill, a distance of twenty-two miles, accompanied by Coleridge and Dr. TuthiU.
"They arrived late in the evening and were busied with Allston until midnight, when he became easier, and Morse and Coleridge left him for the night.
"'Upon repairing to the sitting-room of the hotel Morse opened Knickerbocker's * History of New York,' which he had thrown into the carriage before leaving town. Coleridge asked him what work he had.
" *0h,' replied he, *it is only an American book.'
" *Let me see it,* said Coleridge.
" He accordingly handed it to him, and Coleridge was soon buried in its pages. Mr. Morse, overcome by the fatigues of the day, soon after retired to his chamber and fell asleep.
** On awakening next morning he repaired to the sit- ting-room, when what was his astonishment to find it still closed, with the lights burning, and Coleridge busy with the book he had lent him the previous night.
"*Why, Coleridge,' said he, approaching him, *have you been reading the whole night?'
" * Why,' remarked Coleridge abstractedly, * it is not kte.'
" Morse replied by throwing open the blinds and per- mitting the broad daylight, for it was now ten o'clock, to stream in upon them.
"" 'Indeed,' said Coleridge, 'I had no conception of this; but the work has pleased me exceedingly. It is ad- mirably written; pray, who is its author?'
""He was informed that it was the production of
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98 SAMUEL P, B. MORSE
Washington Irving. It is needless to say that, during the long residence of Irving in London, they became warm friends.
" At this period Mr. Abemethy was in the full tide of his popularity as a surgeon, and Allston, who had for some little time had a grumbling pain in his thigh, proposed to Morse to accompany him to the house of the distinguished surgeon to consult him on the cause of the ailment.
''As Allston had his hand on the bell-pull, the door was opened and a visitor passed out, immediately fol- lowed by a coarse-looking person with a large, shaggy head of hair, whom Allston at once took for a domestic. He accordingly enquired if Mr. Abernethy was in.
"'What do you want of Mr. Abemethy?* demanded this uncouth-looking person with the harshest possible Scotch accent.
*"I wished to see him,* gently replied Allston, some- what shocked by the coarseness of his reception. 'Is he at home?*
"'Come in, come in, mon,* said the same uncouth personage.
" 'But he may be engaged,' responded AUston. 'Per- haps I had better call another time.'
" ' Come in, mon, I say,* replied the person addressed; and, partly by persuasion and partly by force, Allston, followed by Morse, was induced to enter the hall, which they had no sooner done than the person who admitted them closed the street door, and, placing his back against it, said: —
'"Now, tell me what is your business with Mr. Aber- nethy. I am Mr. Abemethy.'
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LETTER FROM HIS MOTHER 99
*' ' I have come to consult you/ replied Allston, ' about an affection — *
***What the de'il hae I to do with your affections?* bluntly interposed Abemethy.
** 'Perhaps, Mr. Abemethy/ said Allston, by this time so completely overcome by the apparent rudeness of the eminent surgeon as to regret calling on him at all, 'you are engaged at present, and I had better call again/
"*De'fl the bit, de'il the bit, mon,' said Abemethy, 'Come in, come in/ And he preceded them to his oflSce, and examined his case, which proved to be a slight one, with such gentleness as almost to lead them to doubt whether Abemethy within his consulting-room, and Abemethy whom they had encountered in the passage, was really the same personage/'
While Morse was enjoying all these new experiences in England, the good people at home were jogging along in their accustomed ruts, but were deeply inter- ested in the doings of the absent son and brother.
His mother writes on January 11, 181S: —
"Your letters are read with great pleasure by your acquaintance. I do not show those in which you say anything on politics, as I do not approve your change, and think it would only prejudice others. For that reason I do not wish you to write on that subject, as I love to read all your observations to your friends.
"We cannot get Edwards to be a ladies' man at all. He will not visit among the young ladies; he is as old as fifty, at least."
This same youthful misogynist and philosopher also writes to his brother on January 11: "I intend soon writing another letter in which I shall prove to your
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100 SAMUEL F. B. MORSE
satisfaction that poetry is much superior to painting. You asserted the contrary in one of yoiur letters, and brought an argument to prove it. I shall show the fal- lacy of that argument, and bring those to support my doctrine which are incontrovertible."
A letter from his friend, Mrs. Jarvis, the sister of his erstwhile flame. Miss Jannette Hart, informs him of the marriage of another sister to Captain Hull of the navy, commander of the Constitution. In this letter, written on March 4, 1813, at Bloomingdale, New York City, Mrs. Jarvis says: —
*'I am in general proud of the spirit of my cotintry- men, but there is too httle attention paid to the fine arts, to men of taste and science. Man here is weighed by his purse, not by his mind, and, according to the pre- ponderance of that, he rises or sinks in the scale of in- dividual opinion. A fine painting or marble statue is very rare in the houses of the rich of this city, and those individuals who would not pay fifty potinds for either, expend double that sum to vie with a neighbor in a piece of furniture.
**But do not tell tales. I would not say this to an Eng- lishman, and I trust you have not yet become one* This, however, is poor encouragement for you to return to your native country. I hope better things of that country before you may return."
A friend in Philadelphia writes to him on May 8, 1813: —
** Your favor I received from the hands of Mr. King, and have been very much gratified with the introduc- tion it afforded me to this worthy gentleman. You have doubtless heard of his safe arrival in our city, and of his
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having commenced his career in America, where, I am sorry to say, the arts are not, as yet, so much patronized as I hope to see them. Those of us who love them are too poor, and those who are wealthy regard them but little. I think, however, I have already witnessed an improvement in this respect, and the rich merchants and professional men are becoming more and more liberal in their patronage of genius, when they find it among native Americans.
''From the favorable circumstances under which your studies are progressing; from the imrivalled talents of the gentleman who conducts them; and, without flattery, suffer me to add, from