"By the Frankfort paper sent you last week, and the extract I now send
you, you can give a very effective shot to the 'Tribune.' It is, perhaps,
worthy of remark that, while all the papers in New York were so forward
in publishing a _false_ account of O'Reilly's success in the Frankfort
case, not one that I have seen has noticed the decision just given at
Louisville _against_ him in every particular. This shows the animus of
the press towards me. Nor have they taken any pains to correct the false
account given of the previous decision."

Although no longer President of the National Academy of Design, having
refused reëlection in 1845 in order to devote his whole time to the
telegraph, Morse still took a deep interest in its welfare, and his
counsel was sought by its active members. On October 13, 1849, Mr.
Charles C. Ingham sent him a long letter detailing the trials and
triumphs of the institution, from which I shall quote a few sentences:
"'Lang syne,' when you fought the good fight for the cause of Art, your
prospects in life were not brighter than they are now, and in bodily and
mental vigor you are just the same, therefore do not, at this most
critical moment, desert the cause. It is the same and our enemies are the
same old insolent quacks and impostors, who wish to make a footstool of
the profession on which to stand and show themselves to the public....
Now, with this prospect before you, rouse up a little of your old
enthusiasm, put your shoulder to the wheel, and place the only school of
Art on all this side of the world on a firm foundation."

Unfortunately the answer to this letter is not in my possession, but we
may be sure that it came from the heart, while it must have expressed the
writer's deep regret that the multiplicity of his other cares would
prevent him from undertaking what would have been to him a labor of love.