delivered a course
of lectures before that school on the affinity of those arts.

While in college Mr. Morse had paid special attention to chemistry and
natural philosophy; but his love of art seemed to be the stronger;
later, however, these sciences became a dominant pursuit with him. As
far back as 1826-'7, he and Prof. J. Freeman Dana had been colleague
lecturers at the Athenaeum in the City of New York, the former lecturing
on the fine arts, and the latter upon electro-magnetism. They were
intimate friends, and in their conversation the subject of
electro-magnetism was made familiar to the mind of Morse. The
electro-magnet on Sturgeon's principle--the first ever shown in the
United States--was exhibited and explained in Dana's lectures, and at a
later date, by gift of Prof. Torrey, came into Morse's possession. Dana
even then suggested, by his spiral volute coil, the electro-magnet of
the present day; this was the magnet in use when Morse returned from
Europe, and it is now used in every Morse telegraph throughout both
hemispheres.

On his second return to the United States he embarked from Havre on the
packet ship Sully, in the autumn of 1832 and in a casual conversation
with some of the passengers on the then recent discovery in France of
the means of obtaining the electric spark from the magnet, showing the
identity or relation of electricity and magnetism, Morse's mind
conceived, not merely the idea of an electric telegraph, but of an
electro-magnetic and chemical recording telegraph; substantially and
essentially as it now exists. The testimony to the paternity of the idea
in Morse's mind, and to his acts and drawings on board the ship is
ample. His own testimony was corroborated by all the passengers with a
single exception, Thomas Jackson, who claimed to have originated the
idea and imparted the same to Morse. However, there is little
controversy in regard to this matter at the present day as the courts
decided irrevocably in favor of Morse. The year 1832 is fixed as the
date of Morse's conception and realization, also, so far as drawings
could embody the conception of the telegraph system; which now bears his
name. A part of the apparatus was constructed in New York before the
close of the first year, but circumstances prevented its completion
before 1835, when he put up a-half mile of wire in coil around a room
and exhibited the telegraph in operation. Two years later he exhibited
the operation of his sys