his course.
Having come to New Haven under the care of Rev. Jedidiah Morse, the
venerable father of the three Morses, all distinguished men, I
was commended to the protection of Finley, as he was then commonly
designated, and therefore saw him frequently during the brief period we
were together. The father I regard as the gravest man I ever knew. He
was a fine exemplar of the gentler type of the Puritan, courteous in
manner, but stern in conduct and in aspect. He was a man of conflict,
and a leader in the theological contests in New England in the early
part of this century. Finley, on the contrary, bore the expression of
gentleness entirely. In person rather above the ordinary height, well
formed, graceful in demeanor, with a complexion, if I remember right,
slightly ruddy, features duly proportioned, and often lightened with a
genial and expressive smile. He was, altogether, a handsome young
man, with manners unusually bland. It is needless to add that with
intelligence, high culture, and general information, and with a strong
bent to the fine arts, Mr. Morse was in 1810 an attractive young man.
During the last year of his college life he occupied his leisure
hours, with a view to his self-support, in taking the likenesses of
his fellow-students on ivory, and no doubt with success, as he obtained
afterward a very respectable rank as a portrait-painter. Many pieces of
his skill were afterward executed in Charleston, South Carolina."*

* Prime, "The Life of Samuel F. B. Morse, LL.D.", p. 26.

That Morse was destined to be a painter seemed certain, and when, soon
after graduating from Yale, he made the acquaintance of Washington
Allston, an American artist of high standing, any doubts that may have
existed in his mind as to his vocation were set at rest. Allston was
then living in Boston, but was planning to return to England, where
his name was well known, and it was arranged that young Morse should
accompany him as his pupil. So in 1811 Morse went to England with
Allston and returned to America four years later an accredited portrait
painter, having studied not only under Allston but under the famous
master, Benjamin West, and having met on intimate terms some of the
great Englishmen of the time. He opened a studio in Boston, but as
sitters were few, he made a trip through New England, taking commissions
for portraits, and also visited Charleston, South Carolina, where some
of his paintings may be seen today.