suffered from occasional fits of despondency, is but natural, and he must
have given vent to his feelings in a letter to his true friend and able
business agent, Mr. Kendall, for the latter thus strives to hearten him
in a letter of April 20, 1849:--

"You say, 'Mrs. Morse and Elizabeth are both sitting by me.' How is it
possible, in the midst of so much that is charming and lovely, that you
_could_ sink into the gloomy spirit which your letter indicates? Can
there be a Paradise without Devils in it--Blue Devils, I mean? And how is
it that now, instead of addressing themselves first to the woman, they
march boldly up to the man?

"Faith in our Maker is a most important Christian virtue, but man has no
right to rely on Faith alone until he has exhausted his own power. When
we have done all we can with pure hands and honest hearts, then may we
rely with confidence on the aid of Him who governs worlds and atoms,
controls, when He chooses, the will of man, restrains his passions and
makes his bad designs subservient to the best of ends.

"Now for a short application of a short sermon. We must do our best to
have the Depositions and Affidavits prepared and forwarded in due time.
This done we may have _Faith_ that we will gain our cause. Or, if with
our utmost exertions, we fail in our preparations, we shall be warranted
in having Faith that no harm will come of it.

"But if, like the Jews in the Maccabees, we rely upon the Lord to fight
our battles, without lifting a weapon in our defence, or, like the
wagoner in the fable, we content ourselves with calling on Hercules, we
shall find in the end that 'Faith without Works is dead.' ... The world,
as you say, is '_the world_'--a quarrelling, vicious, fighting,
plundering world--yet it is a very good world for good men. Why should
man torment himself about that which he cannot help? If we but enjoy the
good things of earth and endure the evil things with a cheerful
resignation, bad spirits--blue devils and all--will fly from our bosoms
to their appropriate abode."

Another true and loyal friend was George Wood, associated with Mr.
Kendall in Washington, from whom are many affectionate and witty letters
which it would be a pleasure to reproduce, but for the present I shall
content myself with extracts from one dated May 4, 1849:--

"It does seem to me that Satan has, from the jump, been at war with this
invention of yours. At first he strove to cover you up with a F.O.G. o