ent and to my excuse for my long silence. My argument goes to prove
that, unless there is a benevolent consideration in our discoveries, one
which enables us to rejoice that others are benefited even though we
should suffer loss, our happiness from any honor awarded to a successful
invention is exposed to constant danger from the designs of the
unprincipled. My excuse is that, ever since the receipt of your most
welcome letter, I have been engaged in preparing to repel a threatened
invasion of my rights to the invention of the Telegraph by a
fellow-passenger from France, one from whom I least expected any such
insidious design. The attempt startled me and put me on my guard, and set
me to the preparation for any attack. I have been compelled for some
weeks to use my pen only for this purpose, and have written much in the
hope of preventing the public exposure of my antagonist; but I fear my
labor will be vain on this point, from what I hear and the tone in which
he writes. I have no fear for myself, being now amply prepared with
evidence to repel any attempt which may be made to sustain any claim he
may prefer to a share with me in the invention of the Telegraph."

I have already shown that this claim of Dr. Jackson's was proved to be
but the hallucination of a disordered brain, and it will not be necessary
to go into the details of the controversy.

These were anxious and nerve-racking days for both Morse and Vail, and it
is small wonder that there should have been some slight friction. Vail in
his private correspondence makes some mention of this. For instance, in a
letter to his brother George, of January 22, 1838, he says:--

"We received the machine on Thursday morning, and in an hour we made the
first trial, which did not succeed, nor did it with perfect success until
Saturday--all which time Professor M. was rather _unwell_. To-morrow we
shall make our first exhibition, and continue it until Wednesday, when we
must again box up. Professor M. has received a letter from Mr. Patterson
inviting us to exhibit at Philadelphia, and has answered it, but has said
nothing to me about his intentions. He is altogether inclined to operate
in his own name, so much so that he has had printed five hundred blank
invitations in his own name at your expense."

On the other hand, this same George Vail, writing to Morse on January 26,
1838, asks him to "bear with A., which I have no doubt you will. He is
easily vexed. Trusting to y