ive a judgment against me
or in his favor. Smith's purchase into the telegraph, the consideration
he gave, was his efforts to obtain a property in the invention abroad by
letters patent or otherwise. In _such_ property he was to share. No such
property was created there. What can he then claim? The monies that he
hazarded (taking his own estimate) were to the amount of some seven
thousand dollars; and this was an advance, virtually a loan, to be paid
back to him if he had created the property abroad. But his efforts being
fruitless for that purpose, and of no value whatever to me, yet procured
him one fourth patent interest in the United States, for which we know he
has obtained at least $300,000. Is he not paid amply without claiming a
portion of honorary gifts to me? Well, we shall see how legal men look at
the matter."

[Illustration: HOUSE AND LIBRARY AT 5 WEST 22'D ST., NEW YORK]

One legal man of great brilliance gave his opinion without hesitation, as
we learn from a letter of Morse's to Mr. Curtis, of July 14: "I had, a
day or two since, my cousin Judge Breese, late Senator of the United
States from Illinois, on a visit to me. I made him acquainted with the
points, after which he scouted the idea that any court of legal character
could for a moment sustain Smith's claim. He thought my argument
unanswerable, and playfully said: 'I will insure you against any claim
from Smith for a bottle of champagne.'"

It is a pity that Morse did not close with the offer of the learned
judge, for, in spite of his opinion, in spite of the opinion of most men
of intelligence, in defiance of the perfectly obvious and proven fact
that Smith had utterly failed in fulfilling his part of the contract, and
that the award had been made to Morse "as a reward altogether personal"
(_toute personelle_), the referees decided in Smith's favor. And on what
did they base this remarkable decision? On the ground that in the
contract of 1838 with Smith the word "otherwise" occurs. Property in
Europe was to be obtained by "letters patent" or "otherwise." Of course
no actual property had been obtained, and Smith had had no hand in
securing the honorary gratuity, and it is difficult to follow the
reasoning of these sapient referees. They were, on Smith's part, Judge
Upham of New Hampshire; on Morse's, Mr. Hilliard, of Boston; and Judge
Sprague, of the Circuit Court, Boston, chairman.

However, the decision was made, and Morse, with characteristic