The poor fellows were scrambling to the top of a hill on their hands
and knees.
Finley had taken no lessons in art, yet he drew many portraits.
The other boys were all delighted to have their pictures drawn by
him.
They paid him a dollar apiece.
This kept him in spending money.
He also painted upon ivory.
For these he had five dollars each.
So, when Finley Morse graduated from Yale college, he was more fond
of drawing and painting than of anything else.
Finley at this time was a fine looking boy.
He had a pleasant smile.
He was always courteous.
Every one liked him.
He was as fond of a frolic as any one.
At one time the college cooks did not do their work to suit the
boys.
So the boys gave them a mock trial.
They sent a report of the trial to the college president.
The bad cooks were dismissed.
Afterwards the boys had better things to eat.
At another time the boys went to a paper mill near by.
They bought a great quantity of paper.
This they made into a baloon.
It was eighteen feet in length.
They filled it with air, and sent it on its journey.
It sailed finely, and soon was out of sight.
They tried it again.
The second time it took fire and was soon nothing but ashes.
About this time Finley heard his first lecture upon electricity.
After graduating, he returned to his father's house in Charlestown.
There he wrote a letter to his brothers with a queer kind of ink.
The writing did not show at all until heated by fire.
His brothers had to write to him to find out how to read it.
About this time Finley made a new friend.
This friend was Washington Allston.
Mr. Allston was a great painter.
He learned to love Finley Morse.
Mr. Allston spent most of his time in London.
Finley begged his people to allow him to go to London with Mr.
Allston.
They finally gave their consent.
So Mr. Morse made his first voyage across the Atlantic.
They landed at Liverpool.
They had to go from there to London in a stage coach.
As soon as he arrived he wrote to his parents.
In his letter he said that he wished they could hear from each other
in an instant.
"But three thousand miles are not passed over in an instant.
So we must wait four long weeks before we can hear from each other
again."
Even then he longed for a telegraph.
In London he had the help of another great artist.
This was Benjamin West.
He, too, was an American.
Mr. Morse wished to become a student in the Royal Academy.
He had to make a drawing of Hercules.
Hercules, you know, was one of the heroes of early Greece.
The story is that he did very many brave deeds.
Finley's drawing was to be taken to Mr. West.
He worked very hard upon it for two weeks.
Then he went to Mr. West with it.