242 SAMUEL F1NLEY BREESE MORSE. 



daughter in the West Indies, his return to Pough- 

 keepsie in 1859 was made by the people a time 

 of rejoicing. Crowds flocked to the station to wel- 

 come him. The children of the public schools 

 joined in the procession, while bells rung, flags 

 waved, and bands played, as they followed the car- 

 riage of Professor Morse to the gateway of his 

 residence, which had been festooned with flowers 

 and evergreens. Was ever a man more honored ? 

 The world loves heroes, though it takes very little 

 pains to help men or women to achieve greatness. 



In 1866, Morse crossed the ocean again to give 

 his children the opportunity of study abroad. 

 He was now seventy-five years old, yet seemingly 

 as vigorous as ever. At the Paris Exposition he 

 was one of the cgmmittee upon telegraphic instru- 

 ments. At Diisseldorf, he was received with great 

 enthusiasm by the artists of the city. He pur- 

 chased there five valuable pictures, as he was now 

 in circumstances to be a patron of art. He also 

 purchased Allston's celebrated painting of " Jere- 

 miah," for seven thousand dollars, and gave it to 

 Yale College ; a portrait of Allston, at five hun- 

 dred dollars, he presented to the Academy of De- 

 sign. Thus did he remember the man who had 

 been his friend in his young manhood. 



Morse also gave to the Union Theological Semi- 

 nary, in the city of New York, ten thousand dollars, 

 endowing a lectureship on the "Belation of the 

 Bible to the Sciences," named in honor of his 

 father. 



