support
of himself and his three motherless children, and now this new
inspiration had come as a disturbing element. He was on the horns of a
dilemma. If he devoted himself to his art, as he must in order to keep
the wolf from the door, he would not have the leisure to perfect his
invention, and others might grasp the prize before him. If he allowed
thoughts of electric currents, and magnets, and batteries to monopolize
his attention, he could not give to his art, notoriously a jealous
mistress, that worship which alone leads to success.

An added bar to the rapid development of his invention was the total lack
(hard to realize at the present day) of the simplest essentials. There
were no manufacturers of electrical appliances; everything, even to the
winding of the wires around the magnets, had to be done laboriously by
hand. Even had they existed Morse had but scant means with which to
purchase them.

This was his situation when he returned from Europe in the fall of 1832,
and it is small wonder that twelve years elapsed before he could prove to
the world that his revolutionizing invention was a success, and the
wonder is great that he succeeded at all, that he did not sink under the
manifold discouragements and hardships, and let fame and fortune elude
him. Unknown to him many men in different lands were working over the
same problem, some of them of assured scientific position and with good
financial backing; is it then remarkable that Morse in later years held
himself to be but an instrument in the hands of God to carry out His
will? He never ceased to marvel at the amazing fact that he, poor,
scoffed at or pitied, surrounded by difficulties of every sort, should
have been chosen to wrest the palm from the hands of trained scientists
of two continents. To us the wonder is not so great, for we, if we have
read his character aright as revealed by his correspondence, can see that
in him, more than in any other man of his time, were combined the
qualities necessary to a great inventor as specified by Professor
Horsford earlier in this chapter.

In following Morse's career at this critical period it will be necessary
to record his experiences both as painter and inventor, for there was no
thought of abandoning his profession in his mind at first; on the
contrary, he still had hopes of ultimate success, and it was his sole
means of livelihood. It is true that he at times gave way to fits of
depression. In a letter to