In the early days of 1852 death took from him one of his dearest friends, and the following letter, written in February, 1852, to Rufus Griswold, Esq., expresses his sentiments:—­

“I sincerely regret that circumstances over which I have no control prevent my participation in the services commemorative of the character, literary and moral, of my lamented friend the late James Fenimore Cooper, Esq.

“I can scarcely yet realize that he is no longer with us, for the announcement of his death came upon me most unexpectedly.  The pleasure of years of close intimacy with Mr. Cooper was never for a moment clouded by the slightest coolness.  We were in daily, I can truly say, almost hourly, intercourse in the year 1831 in Paris.  I never met with a more sincere, warm-hearted, constant friend.  No man came nearer to the ideal I had formed of a truly high-minded man.  If he was at times severe or caustic in his remarks on others, it was when excited by the exhibition of the little arts of little minds.  His own frank, open, generous nature instinctively recoiled from contact with them.  His liberalities, obedient to his generous sympathies, were scarcely bounded by prudence; he was always ready to help a friend, and many such there are who will learn of his departure with the most poignant sorrow.  Although unable to be with you, I trust the Committee will not overlook me when they are collecting the funds for the monument to his genius.”

It might have been said of Morse, too, that “his liberalities were scarcely bounded by prudence,” for he gave away or lost through investments, urged upon him by men whom he regarded as friends but who were actuated by selfish motives, much more than he retained.  He gave largely to the various religious organizations and charities in which he was interested, and it was characteristic of him that he could not wait until he had the actual cash in hand, but, even while his own future was uncertain, he made donations of large blocks of stocks, which, while of problematical value while the litigation was proceeding, eventually rose to much above par.

While he strove to keep his charities secret, they were bruited abroad, much to his sorrow, for, although at the time he was hard pressed to make both ends meet, they created a false impression of great wealth, and the importunities increased in volume.

It is always interesting to note the genesis of familiar words, and the following is written in pencil by Morse on a little slip of paper:—­

“Telegram was first proposed by the Albany ‘Evening Journal,’ April 6, 1852, and has been universally adopted as a legitimate word into the English language.”

On April 21, 1852, Mr. Kendall reports a mysterious occurrence:—­

“Our case in the Supreme Court will very certainly be reached by the middle of next week.  A most singular incident has occurred.  The papers brought up from the court below, not entered in the records, were on a table in the clerk’s room.  There was no fire in the room.  One of the clerks after dark lighted a lamp, looked up some papers, blew out the lamp and locked the door.  Some time afterwards, wishing to obtain a book, he entered the room without a light and got the book in the dark.  In. the morning our papers were burnt up, and nothing else.