ught
it at once, now, before the competent authorities, especially under the
advantage of an introduction such as Mr. Drummond can give you to Lord
Brougham, a short delay in your proceeding to America may secure you this
desirable object immediately.

With every sincere good wish for your success and the credit you so
richly deserve, I am, dear sir,

Yours faithfully
ELGIN.

While it is futile to speculate on what might have been, it does seem as
if Morse made a serious mistake in not taking Lord Elgin's advice, for
there is no doubt that, with the influential backing which he had now
secured, he could have overcome the churlish objections of the
Attorney-General, and have secured a patent in England much to his
financial benefit. But with the glamour of the Russian contract in his
eyes, he decided to return home at once, and the opportunity was lost.

We must also marvel at the strange fact that the fear expressed by Lord
Elgin, that another might easily appropriate to himself the glory which
was rightly due to Morse, was not realized. Is it to be wondered at that
Morse should have always held that he, and he alone, was the humble
instrument chosen by an All-Wise Providence to carry to a successful
issue this great enterprise?

Regarding one of his other visitors, the Earl of Lincoln, it is
interesting to learn that there was another meeting between the two men
under rather dramatic circumstances, in later years. This was on the
occasion of the visit of the Prince of Wales, afterward Edward VII, to
America, accompanied by a suite which included, among others, the Duke of
Newcastle. Morse was invited to address the Prince at a meeting given in
his honor at the University of the City of New York, and in the course of
his address he said:--

"An allusion in most flattering terms to me, rendered doubly so in such
presence, has been made by our respected Chancellor, which seems to call
for at least the expression of my thanks. At the same time it suggests
the relation of an incident in the early history of the Telegraph which
may not be inappropriate to this occasion. The infant Telegraph, born and
nursed within these walls, had scarcely attained a feeble existence ere
it essayed to make its voice heard on the other side of the Atlantic. I
carried it to Paris in 1838. It attracted the warm interest, not only of
the continental philosophers, but also of the intelligent and
appreciative among the eminent nobles of Br