Samuel F. B. Morse, His Letters and Journals: In Two Volumes, Volume IIMorse, Samuel Finley Breese
History
Samuel F. B. Morse, His Letters and Journals: In Two Volumes, Volume II
Morse, Samuel Finley Breese
Morse, Samuel Finley Breese, 1791-1872; Telegraph
"You will be glad to learn, my dear daughter, that your father's health
was never so good, and probably before this reaches you he will be on the
ocean on his return. I think of leaving Paris in a very few days. I am
only waiting to show the Telegraph to the King, from whom I expect a
message hourly. The birth of a prince occupies the whole attention just
how of the royal family and the court. He was born on the 24th inst., the
son of the Duke and Duchess of Orleans. My rooms are as delightfully
situated, perhaps, as any in Paris; they are close to the palace of the
Tuileries and overlook the gardens, and are within half a stone's throw
of the rooms of the Duke and Duchess of Orleans. From my balcony I look
directly into their rooms. I saw the company that was there assembled on
the birthday of the little prince, and saw him in his nurse's arms at the
window the next day after his birth. He looked very much like any other
baby, and not half so handsome as little Hugh Peters.
"I received from the Minister of War, General Bernard, who has been very
polite to me, a ticket to be present at the _Te Deum_ performed yesterday
in the great cathedral of Paris, Notre Dame, on account of the birth of
the prince. The king and all the royal family and the court, with all the
officers of state, were present. The cathedral was crowded with all the
fashion of Paris. Along the ways and around the church were soldiers
without number, almost; a proof that some danger was apprehended to the
king, and yet he ought to be popular for he is the best ruler they have
had for years. The ceremonies were imposing, appealing to the senses and
the imagination, and not at all to the reason or the heart."
The king was Louis Philippe; the little prince, his grandson, was the
Count of Paris.
"_Paris, September 29, 1838._ Since my last matters have assumed a
totally different aspect. At the request of Monsieur Arago, the most
distinguished astronomer of the day, I submitted the Telegraph to the
Institute at one of their meetings, at which some of the most celebrated
philosophers of France and of Germany and of other countries were
present. Its reception was in the highest degree flattering, and the
interest which they manifested, by the questions they asked and the
exclamations they used, showed to me then that the invention had obtained
their favorable regard. The papers of Paris immediately announced the
Telegraph in the most favorable terms, and it has literally been the
topic of the day ever since. The Baron Humboldt, the celebrated
traveller, a member of the Institute and who saw its operation before
that body, told Mr. Wheaton, our Minister to Prussia, that my Telegraph
was the best of all the plans that had been devised.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account