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281
Heroes of the Telegraph
·
John Munro
59
Morse
has
been
highly
honoured
and
rewarded,
not
only
by
his
countrymen,
but
by
the
European
powers.
The
Queen
of
Spain
sent
him
a
Cross
of
the
Order
of
Isabella,
the
King
of
Prussia
presented
him
with
a
jewelled
snuff-box,
the
Sultan
of
Turkey
decorated
him
with
the
Order
of
Glory,
the
Emperor
of
the
French
admitted
him
into
the
Legion
of
Honour.
Moreover,
the
ten
European
powers
in
special
congress
awarded
him
400,000
francs
(some
80,000
dollars),
as
an
expression
of
their
gratitude:
honorary
banquets
were
a
common
thing
to
the
man
who
had
almost
starved
through
his
fidelity
to
an
idea.
But
beyond
his
emoluments
as
a
partner
in
the
invention,
Alfred
Vail
had
no
recompense.
Morse,
perhaps,
was
somewhat
jealous
of
acknowledging
the
services
of
his
'mechanical
assistant,'
as
he
at
one
time
chose
to
regard
Vail.
When
personal
friends,
knowing
his
services,
urged
Vail
to
insist
upon
their
recognition,
he
replied,
'I
am
confident
that
Professor
Morse
will
do
me
justice.'
But
even
ten
years
after
the
death
of
Vail,
on
the
occasion
of
a
banquet
given
in
his
honour
by
the
leading
citizens
of
New
York,
Morse,
alluding
to
his
invention,
said:
'In
1835,
according
to
the
concurrent
testimony
of
many
witnesses,
it
lisped
its
first
accents,
and
automatically
recorded
them
a
few
blocks
only
distant
from
the
spot
from
which
I
now
address
you.
It
was
a
feeble
child
indeed,
ungainly
in
its
dress,
stammering
in
its
speech;
but
it
had
then
all
the
distinctive
features
and
characteristics
of
its
present
manhood.
It
found
a
friend,
an
efficient
friend,
in
Mr.
Alfred
Vail,
of
New
Jersey,
who,
with
his
father
and
brother,
furnished
the
means
to
give
the
child
a
decent
dress,
preparatory
to
its'
visit
to
the
seat
of
Government.'
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