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