to contend with occasional fits of illness, for he writes
to his brother Sidney from Morristown on November 8, 1837:--

"You will perhaps be surprised to learn that I came out here to be sick.
I caught a severe cold the day I left New York from the sudden change of
temperature, and was taken down the next morning with one of my bilious
attacks, which, under other treatment and circumstances, might have
resulted seriously. But, through a kind Providence, I have been thrown
among most attentive, and kind, and skilful friends, who have treated me
more like one of their own children than like a stranger. Mrs. Vail has
been a perfect mother to me; our good Nancy Shepard can alone compare
with her. Through her nursing and constant attention I am now able to
leave my room and have been downstairs to-day, and hope to be out in a
few days. This sickness will, of course, detain me a while longer than I
intended, for I must finish the portraits before I return."

This refers to portraits of various members of the Vail family which he
had undertaken to execute while he was in Morristown. Farther on in the
letter he says:--

"The machinery for the Telegraph goes forward daily; slowly but well and
thorough. You will be surprised at the strength and quantity of
machinery, greater, doubtless, than will eventually be necessary, yet it
gives the main points, certainty and accuracy."

It may be well to note here that Morse evidently foresaw that the
machinery constructed by Alfred Vail was too heavy and cumbersome; that
more delicate workmanship would later be called for, and this proved to
be the case. The iron works at Morristown were only adapted to the
manufacture of heavy machinery for ships, etc., and Alfred Vail had had
experience in that class of work only, so that he naturally made the
telegraphic instruments much heavier and more unwieldy than was
necessary. While these answered the purpose for the time being, they were
soon superseded by instruments of greater delicacy and infinitely smaller
bulk made by more skilful hands.

The future looked bright to the sanguine inventor in the early days of
the year 1838, as we learn from the following letter to his brother
Sidney, written on the 13th of January:--

"Mr. Alfred Vail is just going in to New York and will return on Monday
morning. The machinery is at length completed and we have shown it to the
Morristown people with great _eclat_. It is the talk of all the people
roun