of Morse's fixed principles in life is referred to in a letter to
Judge E. Fitch Smith of February 4, 1858: "Yours of the 31st ulto. is
this moment received. Your request has given me some trouble of spirit on
this account, to wit: My father lost a large property, the earnings of
his whole life of literary labor, by simply endorsing. My mother was ever
after so affected by this fact that it was the constant theme of her
disapprobation, and on her deathbed I gave her my promise, in accordance
with her request, that _I never would endorse a note_. I have never done
such a thing, and, of course, have never requested the endorsement of
another. I cannot, therefore, in that mode accommodate you, but I can
probably aid you as effectually in another way."

It will not be necessary to dwell at length on further happenings in the
year 1853. Order was gradually emerging from chaos in the various lines
of telegraph, which, under the wise guidance of Amos Kendall, were
tending towards a consolidation into one great company. The decision of
the Supreme Court had not yet been given, causing temporary embarrassment
to the patentees by allowing the pirates to continue their depredations
unchecked. F.O.J. Smith continued to give trouble. To quote from a letter
of Morse's to Mr. Kendall of January 10, 1853: "The Good Book says that
'one sinner destroyeth much good,' and F.O.J. being (as will be admitted
by all, perhaps, except himself) a sinner of that class bent upon
destroying as much good as he can, I am desirous, even at much sacrifice
(a desire, of course, _inter nos_) to get rid of controversy with him."

Further on in this letter, referring to another cause for anxiety, he
says: "Law is expensive, and we must look it in the face and expect to
pay roundly for it.... It is a delicate task to dispute a professional
man's charges, and, though it may be an evil to find ourselves bled so
freely by lawyers, it is, perhaps, the least of evils to submit to it as
gracefully as we can."

But, while he could not escape the common lot of man in having to bear
many and severe trials, there were compensatory blessings which he
appreciated to the full. His home life was happy and, in the main,
serene; his farm was a source of never-ending pleasure to him; he was
honored at home and abroad by those whose opinion he most valued; and he
was almost daily in receipt of the news of the extension of the "Morse
system" throughout the world. Even from f