SAMUEL FINLEY BREESE MORSE. 239 



Mr. Morse. It was as sudden and pervading as if he had re- 

 ceived at that moment an electric shock." 



The invention was already complete as to its main features 

 a current of electricity passing through a wire between two 

 places, and signals to be made at one terminus by making and 

 breaking the circuit at various intervals at the other. As soon 

 as opportunity offered Morse set about sketching in his note- 

 book details of apparatus and a scheme of dot-and-dash signals 

 for numbers and words. He showed his drawings to his fel- 

 low-passengers and to the captain of the ship, and told them 

 what he hoped to accomplish. Arrived in New York Morse 

 had before him the problem of devising an apparatus to em- 

 body his ideas. He could devote but little time or money to 

 the task, as he was dependent on his painting and his pupils 

 for a livelihood. Two or three years passed, during which he 

 experimented as he had opportunity. 



In 1835 he was appointed Professor of the Literature of the 

 Arts of Design in the University of the City of New York, and 

 a studio was assigned to him on the third floor in the north 

 wing of the original building in Washington Square. Here he 

 prosecuted his experiments, and here, in order to economize 

 his scanty means, he slept and took his meals, prepared by 

 himself. In January, 1836, he gave one of his colleagues at 

 the university, Prof. Leonard D. Gale, a private view of his first 

 practicable instrument, represented in Fig. 5. His transmitter 

 is shown in the lower part of the figure. He did not trust his 

 hand to move the key, O, at the proper intervals, but tripped 

 it by toothed " type " set in the rule, M, which was carried on 

 a belt of cloth passing over the wheels L, L. The key was 

 hung on an axle at N, and bore a weight at P. The circuit 

 was closed and broken by means of a bent wire attached to 

 one end of the key, by which it was dipped into and raised 

 from two cups of mercury, J, K, connected with the poles of 

 the battery, I. The receiver was a clumsy affair. For frame- 

 work it had a canvas-stretcher nailed upright against the edge 

 of a table. The paper ribbon was drawn from the roll, A, by 

 means of the clockwork, D, driven by the weight, E. The sus- 

 pended frame, F, carried an armature at a point opposite the 

 electro-magnet, h, and a weighted pencil in the tube, g. 



Prof. Morse worked on through 1836 and half of 1837, oc- 

 cupied mainly with trying various modifications of the mark- 



