g hand to others, or to do a courteous act. So now we find him
writing to Daguerre on May 20, 1839:--

My dear sir,--I have the honor to enclose you the note of the Secretary
of our Academy informing you of your election, at our last annual
meeting, into the board of Honorary Members of our National Academy of
Design. When I proposed your name it was received with enthusiasm, and
the vote was _unanimous_. I hope, my dear sir, you will receive this as a
testimonial, not merely of my personal esteem and deep sympathy in your
late losses, but also as a proof that your genius is, in some degree,
estimated on this side of the water.

Notwithstanding the efforts made in England to give to another the credit
which is your due, I think I may with confidence assure you that
throughout the United States your name alone will be associated with the
brilliant discovery which justly bears your name. The letter I wrote from
Paris, the day after your sad loss, has been published throughout this
whole country in hundreds of journals, and has excited great interest.
Should any attempts be made here to give to any other than yourself the
honor of this discovery, my pen is ever ready for your defense.

I hope, before this reaches you, that the French Government, long and
deservedly celebrated for its generosity to men of genius, will have
amply supplied all your losses by a liberal sum. If, when the proper
remuneration shall be secured to you in France, you should think it may
be for your advantage to make an arrangement with the government to hold
back the secret for six months or a year, and would consent to an
exhibition of your _results_ in this country for a short time, the
exhibition might be managed, I think, to your pecuniary advantage. If you
should think favorably of the plan, I offer you my services
_gratuitously_.

To this letter Daguerre replied on July 26:--

MY DEAR SIR,--I have received with great pleasure your kind letter by
which you announce to me my election as an honorary member of the
National Academy of Design. I beg you will be so good as to express my
thanks to the Academy, and to say that I am very proud of the honor which
has been conferred upon me. I shall seize all opportunities of proving my
gratitude for it. I am particularly indebted to you in this circumstance,
and I feel very thankful for this and all other marks of interest you
bestowed upon me.

The transaction with the French Government being near