238 PIONEERS OF SCIENCE IN AMERICA. 



termined to go to Italy and study the works of the old masters. 

 Accordingly, he secured commissions amounting to nearly three 

 thousand dollars for pictures to be painted abroad, and sailed 

 from New York, November 8, 1829. He was absent three years, 

 spending about two-thirds of his time in Rome and a year in 

 Paris. In the latter city he renewed his acquaintance with 

 Lafayette, and before returning to America crossed over to 

 London, where he met again several of his artist friends of 

 early days, and where he was duly honoured as the President 

 of the American National Academy of Design. 



We come now to the masterly application of science by 

 which Morse eclipsed his artistic triumphs. A younger art- 

 ist, Mr. R. W. Habersham, of Georgia, and James Fenimore 

 Cooper, were both intimate with Morse in Paris. Each of 

 these men has put on record most positive recollections that 

 Morse early in 1832 mentioned to him in conversation the idea 

 of conveying intelligence by means of electricity. The in- 

 ventor's own recollection did not carry his conception of a tel- 

 egraph back earlier than October, 1832, when he was returning 

 to America on board the packet Sully, in company with Hon. 

 William C. Rives, minister to France, Dr. Charles T. Jackson, 

 of Boston, and others. The incident which led up to the in- 

 vention is thus described by Morse's biographer, Dr. S. Irenaeus 

 Prime : 



" In the early part of the voyage conversation at the din- 

 ner table turned upon recent discoveries in electro-magnetism, 

 and the experiments of Ampere with the electro-magnet. Dr. 

 Jackson spoke of the length of wire in the coil of a magnet, 

 and the question was asked by some one of the company, < If 

 the velocity of electricity was retarded by the length of the 

 wire ? ' Dr. Jackson replied that electricity passes instantane- 

 ously over any known length of wire. He referred to experi- 

 ments made by Dr. Franklin, with several miles of wire in cir- 

 cuit, to ascertain the velocity of electricity ; the result being 

 that he could observe no difference of time between the touch 

 at one extremity and the spark at the other. At this point 

 Mr. Morse interposed the remark, ' If the presence of elec- 

 tricity can be made visible in any part of the circuit, I see no 

 reason why intelligence may not be transmitted instanta- 

 neously by electricity.' The conversation went on. But the 

 one new idea had taken complete possession of the mind of 



