To this Mr. Thornton replied:—­

DEAR SIR,—­You will perceive by the enclosed that there is, unhappily, no prospect of our effecting our wishes in respect to your poor friend at Bristol.  I shall be glad to know whether you have had any success in obtaining a passport for Dr. Cushing.

I am, dear sir, yours, etc. 
H. THORNTON.

The enclosure referred to by Mr. Thornton was the following letter addressed to him by Lord Melville:—­

SIR,—­Mr. Hay having communicated to me a letter which he received from you on the subject of Benjamin Burritt, an American prisoner of war in the depot at Stapleton, I regret much that, after consulting on this case with Sir Rupert George, and ascertaining the usual course of procedure in similar instances, I cannot discover any circumstances that would justify a departure from the rules observed toward other prisoners of the same description.

There can be no question that his case is a hard one, but I am afraid that it is inseparable from a state of war.  It is not only not a solitary instance among the French and American prisoners, but, unless we were prepared to adopt the system of releasing all others of the same description, we should find that the number who might justly complain of undue partiality to this man would be very considerable.

I have the honor to be, sir, your most obedient and very humble servant, MELVILLE.

This was a great disappointment to Morse, who had set his heart on being the means of securing the liberty of this unfortunate man.  He was compelled to bow to the inevitable, however, and after this he did what he could to make the unhappy situation of the prisoner more bearable by extending to him financial assistance, although he had but little to spare at that time himself, and could but ill afford the luxury of giving.

Great events were occurring on the Continent at this time, and it is interesting to note how the intelligence of them was received in England by an enthusiastic student, not only of the fine arts, but of the humanities, who felt that, in this case, his sympathies and those of his family were in accord:—­

April 6, 1814.

MY DEAR PARENTS,—­I write in much haste, but it is to inform you of a most glorious event, no less than the capture of Paris, by the Allies.  They entered it last Thursday, and you may conceive the sensations of the people of England on the occasion.  As the cartel is the first vessel which will arrive in America to carry the news, I hope I shall have the great satisfaction of hearing that I am the first who shall inform you of this great event; the particulars you will see nearly as soon as this.

I congratulate you and the rest of the good people of the world on the occasion. Despotism and Usurpation are fallen, never, I hope, to rise again.  But what gives me the greatest pleasure in the contemplation of this occurrence is the spirit of religion and, consequently, of humanity which has constantly marked the conduct of the Allies.  Their moderation through all their unparallelled successes cannot be too much extolled; they merit the grateful remembrance of posterity, who will bless them as the restorers of a blessing but little enjoyed by the greater part of mankind for centuries.  I mean the inestimable blessing of Peace.