It was not long before he had a practical proof of the truth of this aphorism, for his “thorn in the flesh” never ceased from rankling, and now gave a new instance of the depths to which an unscrupulous man could descend.  On June 9, 1860, Morse writes to his legal adviser, Mr. George Ticknor Curtis, of Boston:  “You may remember that Smith, just before I sailed for Europe in 1858, intimated that he should demand of me a portion of the Honorary Gratuity voted to me by the congress of ten powers at Paris.  I procured your opinion, as you know, and I had hoped that he would not insist on so preposterous a claim.  I am, however, disappointed; he has recently renewed it.  I have had some correspondence with him on the subject utterly denying any claim on his part.  He proposes a reference, but I have not yet encouraged him to think I would assent.  I wish your advice before I answer him.”

It is difficult to conceive of a meaner case of extortion than this.  As Morse says in a letter to Mr. Kendall, of August 3, 1860, after he had consented to a reference of the matter to three persons:  “I have no apprehensions of the result except that I may be entrapped by some legal technicalities.  Look at the case in an equitable point of view and, it appears to me, no intelligent, just men could give a judgment against me or in his favor.  Smith’s purchase into the telegraph, the consideration he gave, was his efforts to obtain a property in the invention abroad by letters patent or otherwise.  In such property he was to share.  No such property was created there.  What can he then claim?  The monies that he hazarded (taking his own estimate) were to the amount of some seven thousand dollars; and this was an advance, virtually a loan, to be paid back to him if he had created the property abroad.  But his efforts being fruitless for that purpose, and of no value whatever to me, yet procured him one fourth patent interest in the United States, for which we know he has obtained at least $300,000.  Is he not paid amply without claiming a portion of honorary gifts to me?  Well, we shall see how legal men look at the matter.”

[Illustration:  HOUSE AND LIBRARY AT 5 WEST 22’D ST., NEW YORK]

One legal man of great brilliance gave his opinion without hesitation, as we learn from a letter of Morse’s to Mr. Curtis, of July 14:  “I had, a day or two since, my cousin Judge Breese, late Senator of the United States from Illinois, on a visit to me.  I made him acquainted with the points, after which he scouted the idea that any court of legal character could for a moment sustain Smith’s claim.  He thought my argument unanswerable, and playfully said:  ’I will insure you against any claim from Smith for a bottle of champagne.’”