JANUARY 18, 1812--AUGUST 6. 1812
Political opinions.--Charles E. Leslie's reminiscences of Morse, Allston,
King, and Coleridge.--C. B. King's letter.--Sidney E. Morse's letter.--
Benjamin West's kindness.--Sir William Beechy.--Murders, robberies, etc.
--Morse and Leslie paint each other's portraits.--The elder Morse's
financial difficulties.--He deprecates the war talk.--The son differs
with his father.--The Prince Regent.--Orders in Council.--Estimate of
West.--Alarming state of affairs in England.--Assassination of Perceval,
Prime Minister.--Execution of assassin.--Morse's love for his art.--
Stephen Van Rensselaer.--Leslie the friend and Allston the master.--
Afternoon tea.--The elder Morse well known in Europe.--Lord Castlereagh.
--The Queen's drawing-room.--Kemble and Mrs. Siddons.--Zachary Macaulay.
--Warning letter from his parents.--War declared.--Morse approves.--
Gratitude to his parents, and to Allston.
The years from 1811 to 1815 which were passed by Morse in the study of
his art in London are full of historical interest, for England and
America were at war from 1812 to 1814, and the campaign of the allied
European Powers against Napoleon Bonaparte culminated in Waterloo and the
Treaty of Paris in 1815.
The young man took a deep interest in these affairs and expressed his
opinions freely and forcibly in his letters to his parents. His father
was a strong Federalist and bitterly deprecated the declaration of war by
the United States. The son, on the contrary, from his point of vantage in
the enemy's country saw things from a different point of view and stoutly
upheld the wisdom, nay, the necessity, of the war. His parents and
friends urged him to keep out of politics and to be discreet, and he
seems, at any rate, to have followed their advice in the latter respect,
for he was not in any way molested by the authorities.
At the same time he was making steady progress in his studies and making
friends, both among the Americans who were his fellow students or artists
of established reputation, and among distinguished Englishmen who were
friends of his father.
Among the former was Charles R. Leslie, his room-mate and devoted friend,
who afterwards became one of the best of the American painters of those
days. In his autobiography Leslie says:--
"My new acquaintances Allston, King, and Morse were very kind, but still
they were _new_ acquaintances. I thought of the happy circle round my
mother's fireside, and there were moments in which, but for my
obligations to Mr. Bradford and my other kind patrons, I could have been
content to forfeit all the advantages I expected from my visit to England
and return immediately to America. The two years I was to remain in
London seemed, in prospect, an age.
"Mr. Morse, who was but a year or two older than myself, and who had been
in London but six months when I arrived, felt very much as I did and we
agreed to take apartments together. For some time we painted in one room,
he at one window and I at the other. We drew at the Royal Academy in the
evening and worked at home in the day. Our mentors were Allston and King,
nor could we have been better provided; Allston, a most amiable and
polished gentleman, and a painter of the purest taste; and King,
warm-hearted, sincere, sensible, prudent, and the strictest of
economists.
"When Allston was suffering extreme depression of spirits after the loss
of his wife, he was haunted during sleepless nights by horrid thoughts,
and he told me that diabolical imprecations forced themselves into his
mind. The distress of this to a man so sincerely religious as Allston may
be imagined. He wished to consult Coleridge, but could not summon
resolution. He desired, therefore, that I should do it, and I went to
Highgate where Coleridge was at that time living with Mr. Gillman. I
found him walking in the garden, his hat in his hand (as it generally was
in the open air), for he told me that, having been one of the Bluecoat
Boys, among whom it is the fashion to go bareheaded, he had acquired a
dislike to any covering of the head.
"I explained the cause of my visit and he said: 'Allston should say to
himself, "_Nothing is me but my will._ These thoughts, therefore, that
force themselves on my mind are no part of _me_ and there can be no guilt
in them." If he will make a strong effort to become indifferent to their
recurrence, they will either cease or cease to trouble him.'
"He said much more, but this was the substance, and, after it was
repeated to Allston, I did not hear him again complain of the same kind
of disturbance."
Mr. C.B. King, the other friend mentioned by Leslie, returned to America
in 1812, and writes from Philadelphia, January 3, 1813:--
MY DEAR FRIENDS, This will be handed you by Mr. Payne, of Boston, who
intends passing some time in England.... I have not been here
sufficiently long to forget the delightful time when we could meet in the
evening with novels, coffee, and _music by Morse_, with the conversation
of that dear fellow Allston. The reflection that it will not again take
place, comes across my mind accompanied with the same painful sensation
as the thought that I must die.
That Morse was not forgotten by the good people at home is evidenced by a
letter from his brother, Sidney Edwards, of January 18, 1812, part of
which I transcribe:--
DEAR BROTHER,--I am sitting in the parlor in the armchair on the right of
the fireplace, and, as I hold my paper in my hand, with my feet sprawled
out before the fire, and with my body reclining in an oblique position
against the back of the chair, I am penning you a letter such as it is,
and for the inverted position of the letters of which I beg to apologize.
As I turn my eyes upward and opposite I behold the family picture painted
by an ingenious artist who, I understand, is at present residing in
London. If you are acquainted with him, give my love to him and my best
wishes for his prosperity and success in the art to which, if report says
true, he has devoted himself with much diligence.
Richard sits before me writing to you, and mama says (for I have just
asked her the question) that she is engaged in the same business. Papa is
upstairs very much engaged in the selfsame employment. Four right hands
are at this instant writing to give you, at some future moment, the
pleasure of perusing the products of their present labor. Four
imaginations are now employed in conceiving of a son or a brother in a
distant land. Therefore we may draw the conclusion that you are not
universally forgotten, and consequently all do not forget you.
I have written you this long letter because I knew that you would be
anxious for the information it contains; because papa told me I must
write; because mama said I had better write; because I had nothing else
to do, and because I hadn't time to write a shorter. I trust for these
special reasons you will excuse me for this once, especially when you
consider that you asked me to write you long letters; when you consider
that it is my natural disposition to express my sentiments fully; that I
commonly say most when I have least to say; that I promise reformation in
future, and that you shall hereafter hear from me on this subject.
As to news, I am sorry to say we are entirely out. We sent you the last
we had by the Sally Ann. We hope to get some ready by the time the next
ship sails, and then we will furnish you with the best the country
affords.
From a letter of January 30, 1812, to his parents I select the following
passages:--
"On Tuesday last I dined at Mr. West's, who requested to be particularly
remembered to you. He is extremely attentive and polite to me. He called
on me a few days ago, which I consider a very marked attention as he
keeps so confined that he seldom pays any visits....
"I have changed my lodgings to No. 82 in the same street [Great
Titchfield Street], and have rooms with young Leslie of Philadelphia who
has just arrived. He is very promising and a very agreeable room-mate. We
are in the same stage of advancement in art.
"I have painted five pieces since I have been here, two landscapes and
three portraits; one of myself, one a copy from Mr. West's copy from
Vandyke, and the other a portrait of Mr. Leslie, who is also taking
mine.... I called a day or two since on Sir William Beechy, an artist of
great eminence, to see his paintings. They are beautiful beyond anything
I ever imagined. His principal excellence is in coloring, which, to the
many, is the most attractive part of art. Sir William is considered the
best colorist now living.
"You may be apt to ask, 'If Sir William is so great and even the best,
what is Mr. West's great excellence?' Mr. West is a bad colorist in
general, but he excels in the grandeur of his thought. Mr. West is to
painting what Milton is to poetry, and Sir William Beechy to Mr. West as
Pope to Milton, so that by comparing, or rather illustrating the one art
by the other, I can give you a better idea of the art of painting than in
any other way. For as some poets excel in the different species of poetry
and stand at the head of their different kinds, in the same manner do
painters have their particular branch of their art; and as epic poetry
excels all other kinds of poetry, because it addresses itself to the
sublimer feelings of our nature, so does historical painting stand
preëminent in our art, because it calls forth the same feelings. For
poets' and painters' minds are the same, and I infer that painting is
superior to poetry from this:--that the painter possesses with the poet a
vigorous imagination, where the poet stops, while the painter exceeds him
in the mechanical and very difficult part of the art, that of handling
the pencil."
"I gave you a hint in letter number 12 and a particular account in number
13 of the horrid murders committed in this city. It has been pretty well
ascertained from a variety of evidence that all of them have been
committed by one man, who was apprehended and put an end to his life in
prison. Very horrid attempts at robbery and murder have been very
frequent of late in all parts of the city, and even so near as within two
doors of me in the same street, but do not be alarmed, you have nothing
to fear on my account. Leslie and myself sleep in the same room and sleep
armed with a pair of pistols and a sword and alarms at our doors and
windows, so we are safe on that score....
"In my next I shall give you some account of politics here and as it
respects America. The Federalists are certainly wrong in very many
things....
"P.S. I wish you would keep my letter in which I enumerate all my
friends, and when I say, 'Give my love to my friends,' imagine I write
them all over, and distribute it out to all as you think I ought, always
particularizing Miss Russell, my patroness, my brothers, relations, and
Mr. Brown and Nancy [his old nurse]. This will save me time, ink,
trouble, and paper."
Concerning the portraits which Morse and Leslie were painting of each
other, the following letter to Morse's mother, from a friend in
Philadelphia and signed "R.W. Snow," will be found interesting:--
MY DEAR FRIEND,--I have this moment received a letter from Miss Vaughan
in London, dated February 20, 1812, and, knowing the passage below would
be interesting to you, I transcribe it with pleasure, and add my very
sincere wish that all your hopes may be realized.
"Dr. Morse's son is considered a young man of very promising talents by
Mr. Allston and Mr. West and by those who have seen his paintings. We
have seen him and think his modesty and apparent amiableness promise as
much happiness to his friends as his talents may procure distinction for
himself. He is peculiarly fortunate, not only in having Mr. Allston for
an adviser and friend, but in his companion in painting, Mr. Leslie, a
young man from Philadelphia highly recommended by my uncle there, and
whose extreme diffidence adds to the most promising talents the patient
industry and desire of improvement which are necessary to bring them to
perfection. They have been drawing each other's pictures. Mr. Leslie is
in the Spanish costume and Mr. Morse in Highland dress. They are in an
unfinished state, but striking resemblances."
This Highland lad, I hope, my dear friend, you will see, and in due time
be again blessed with the interesting original.
At this time the good father was sore distressed financially. He was
generous to a fault and had, by endorsing notes and giving to others,
crippled his own means. He says in a letter to his son dated March 21,
1812:--
"The Parkman case remains yet undecided and I know not that it ever will
be. There is a strange mystery surrounding the business which I am not
able to unravel. The court is now in session in Boston which is expected
to decide the case. In a few days we shall be able to determine what we
have to expect from this case. If we lose it, your mother and I have made
up our minds to sit down contented with the loss. I trust we shall be
enabled to pay our honest debts without it and to support ourselves.
"As to you and your brothers, I trust, with your education, you will be
able to maintain yourselves, and your parents, too, should they need it
in their old age. Probably this necessity laid on you for exertion,
industry, and economy in early life will be better for you in the end
than to be supported by your parents. In nine cases out of ten those who
begin the world with nothing are richer and more useful men in life than
those who inherit a large estate....
"We have just heard from your brothers, who are well and in fine spirits.
Edwards writes that he thinks of staying in New Haven another year and of
pursuing _general science_, and afterwards of purchasing a plantation and
becoming a planter in some one of the Southern States!! Perhaps he
intends to marry some rich planter's daughter and to get his plantation
and negroes in that way. This, I imagine, will be his only way to do it.
"The newspapers which I shall send with this will inform you of the state
of our public affairs. We have high hopes that Governor Strong will be
our governor next year. I have no belief that our _war hawks_ will be
able to involve the country in a war with Great Britain, nor do I believe
that the President really wishes it. It is thought that all the war talk
and preparations are intended to effect the reëlection of Mr. Madison.
The _Henry Plot_ is a farce intended for the same purpose, but it can
never be got up. It will operate against its promoters."
While the father was thus writing, on March 21, of the political
conditions in America from his point of view, almost at the same moment
the son in England was expressing himself as follows:--
"_March 25, 1812._ With respect to politics I know very little, my time
being occupied with much pleasanter subjects. I, however, can answer your
question whether party spirit is conducted with such virulence here as in
America. It is by no means the case, for, although it is in some few
instances very violent, still, for the most part, their debates are
conducted with great coolness.
"As to the Prince Regent, you have, perhaps, heard how unpopular he has
made himself. He has disappointed the expectations of very many. Among
the most unpopular of his measures may be placed the retention of the
Orders in Council, which orders, notwithstanding the declarations of Mr.
Perceval [the Prime Minister] and others in the Ministry to the contrary,
are fast, very fast reducing this country to ruin; and it is the opinion
of some of the best politicians in this country that, should the United
States either persist in the Non-Intercourse Law or declare war, this
country would be reduced to the lowest extremity.[1]
[Footnote 1: Orders in Council were issued by the sovereign, with the
advice of the Privy Council, in periods of emergency, trusting to their
future ratification by Parliament. In this case, while promulgated as a
retaliatory measure against Bonaparte's Continental System, they bore
heavily upon the commerce of the United States.]
"Bankruptcies are daily increasing and petitions from all parts of the
Kingdom, praying for the repeal of the Orders in Council, have been
presented to the Prince, but he has declined hearing any of them. Also
the Catholic cause remains undecided, and he refuses hearing anything on
that subject. But no more of politics. I am sure you must have more than
sufficient at home.
"I will turn to a more pleasant subject and give you a slight history of
the American artists now in London.
"At the head stands Mr. West. He stands and has stood so long preëminent
that I could relate but little of his history that would be new to you,
so that I shall confine myself only to what has fallen under my own
observation, and, of course, my remarks will be few.
"As a painter Mr. West can be accused of as few faults as any artist of
ancient or modern times. In his studies he has been indefatigable, and
the result of those studies is a perfect knowledge of the philosophy of
his art. There is not a line or a touch in his pictures which he cannot
account for on philosophical principles. They are not the productions of
accident, but of study.
"His principal excellence is considered composition, design, and elegant
grouping; and his faults were said to be a hard and harsh outline and bad
coloring. These faults he has of late in a great degree amended. His
outline is softer and his coloring, in some pictures in which he has
attempted truth of color, is not surpassed by any artist now living, and
some have even said that Titian himself did not surpass it. However that
may be, his pictures of a late date are admirable even in this
particular, and it evinces that, if in general he neglected that
fascinating branch of art in some of his paintings, he still possesses a
perfect knowledge of all its artifices. He has just completed a picture,
an historical landscape, which, for clearness of coloring combined with
grandeur of composition, has never been excelled.
"In his private character he is unimpeachable. He is a man of tender
feelings, but of a mind so noble that it soars above the slanders of his
enemies, and he expresses pity rather than revenge towards those who,
through wantonness or malice, plan to undermine his character. No man,
perhaps, ever passed through so much abuse, and none, I am confident,
ever bore up against its virulence with more nobleness of spirit, with a
steady perseverance in the pursuit of the sublimest of human professions.
He has travelled on heedless of the sneers, the ridicule, or the
detraction of his enemies, and he has arrived at that point where the
lustre of his works will not fail to illuminate the dark regions of
barbarism and distaste long after their bright author has ceased to
exist.
"Excuse my fervor in the praise of this man. He is not a common man, not
such a one as can be met with in every age. He is one of those geniuses
who are doomed in their lifetime to endure the malice, the ridicule, and
neglect of the world, and at their death to receive the praise and
adoration of this same inconsistent world. I think there cannot be a
stronger proof that human nature is always the same than that men of
genius in all ages have been compelled to undergo the same
disappointments and to pass through the same routine of calumny and
abuse."
The rest of this letter is missing, which is a great pity, as it would be
interesting to read what Morse had to say of Allston, Leslie, and the
others.
Was it a presentiment of the calumnies and abuse to which he himself was
to be subjected in after life which led him to express himself so
heartily in sympathy with his master West? And was it the inspiring
remembrance of his master's calm bearing under these afflictions which
heartened him to maintain a noble serenity under even greater
provocation?
"_April 21, 1812._ I mentioned in my last letter that I should probably
exceed my allowance this year by a few pounds, but I now begin to think
that I shall not. I am trying every method to be economical and hope it
will not be long before I shall relieve you from further expense on my
account....
"With respect to politics they appear gloomy on both sides.... You may
depend on it. England has injured us sorely and our Non-Intercourse is a
just retaliation for those wrongs. Perhaps you will believe what is said
in some of the Federal papers that that measure has no effect on this
country. You may be assured the effects are great and severe; I am myself
an eye-witness of the effects. The country is in a state of rebellion
from literal starvation. Accounts are daily received which grow more and
more alarming from the great manufacturing towns. Troops are in motion
all over the country, and but last week measures were adopted by
Parliament to prevent this metropolis from rising to rebellion, by
ordering troops to be stationed round the city to be ready at a moment's
warning. This I call an alarming period. Everybody thinks so and Mr.
Perceval himself is frightened, and a committee is appointed to take into
consideration the Orders in Council. Now, when you consider that I came
to this country prejudiced against our government and its measures, and
that I can have no bad motive in telling you these facts, you will not
think hard of me when I say that I hope that our Non-Intercourse Law will
be enforced with all its rigor, as I firmly believe it is the only way to
bring this country to terms, and that, if persisted in, it will certainly
bring them to terms. I know it must make some misery at home, but it will
be followed by a corresponding happiness after it. Some of you at home, I
suppose, will call me a Democrat, but facts are stubborn things, and I
can't deny the truth of what I see every day before my eyes. A man to
judge properly of his country must, like judging of a picture, view it at
a distance."
"_May 12, 1812._ I write in great haste to inform you of a dreadful event
which happened here last evening, and rumors of which will probably reach
you before this. Not to keep you in suspense it is no less than the
_assassination of Mr. Perceval,_ the Prime Minister of Great Britain. As
he was entering the House of Commons last evening a little past five
o'clock, he was shot directly through the heart by a man from behind the
door. He staggered forward and fell, and expired in about ten minutes....
"I have just returned from the House of Commons; there was an immense
crowd assembled and very riotous. In the hall was written in large
letters, 'Peace or the Head of the Regent.' This country is in a very
alarming state and there is no doubt but great quantities of blood will
be spilled before it is restored to order. Even while I am writing a
party of Life Guards is patrolling the streets. London must soon be the
scene of dreadful events.
"Last night I had an opportunity of studying the public mind. It was at
the theatre; the play was 'Venice Preserved; or, the Plot Discovered.' If
you will take the trouble just to read the first act you will see what
relation it has to the present state of affairs. When Pierre says to
Jaffier, 'Cans't thou kill a Senator?' there were three cheers, and so
through the whole, whenever anything was said concerning conspiracy and
in favor of it, the audience applauded, and when anything was said
against it they hissed. When Pierre asked the conspirators if Brutus was
not a good man, the audience was in a great uproar, applauding so as to
prevent for some minutes the progress of the performance. This I think
shows the public mind to be in great agitation. The play of 'Venice
Preserved' is not a moral play, and I should not ask you to read any part
of it if I could better explain to you the feelings of the public."
A few days later, on May 17, he says in a letter to his brothers:--
"The assassin Bellingham was immediately taken into custody. He was tried
on Friday and condemned to be executed to-morrow morning (Monday, 18th).
I shall go to the place to see the concourse of people, for to see him
executed I know I could not bear."
In a postscript written the day after he says:--
"I went this morning to the execution. A very violent rain prevented so
great a crowd as was expected. A few minutes before eight o'clock
Bellingham ascended the scaffold. He was very genteelly dressed; he bowed
to the crowd, who cried out, 'God bless you,' repeatedly. I saw him draw
the cap over his face and shake hands with the clergyman. I stayed no
longer, but immediately turned my back and was returning home. I had
taken but a few steps when the clock struck eight, and, on turning back,
I saw the crowd beginning to disperse. I have felt the effects of this
sight all day, and shall probably not get over it for weeks. It was a
dreadful sight. There were no accidents."
In spite of all these momentous occurrences, the young artist was
faithfully pursuing his studies, for in this same letter to his brothers
he says:--
"But enough of this; you will probably hear the whole account before this
reaches you. I am wholly absorbed in the studies of my profession; it is
a slow and arduous undertaking. I never knew till now the difficulties of
art, and no one can duly appreciate it unless he has tried it.
Difficulties, however, only increase my ardor and make me more determined
than ever to conquer them.
"Mr. West is very kind to me; I visit him occasionally of a morning to
hear him converse on art. He appears quite attached to me, as he is,
indeed, to all young American artists. It seems to give him the greatest
pleasure to think that one day the arts will flourish in America. He says
that Philadelphia will be the Athens of the world. That city certainly
gives the greatest encouragement of any place in the United States.
Boston is most backward, so, if ever I should return to America,
Philadelphia or New York would probably be my place of abode.
"I have just seen Mr. Stephen Van Rensselaer, who you know was at college
with us, and with whom I was intimate. He was very glad to see me and
calls on me every day while I am painting. He keeps his carriage and
horses and is in the first circles here. I ride out occasionally with
him; shall begin his portrait next week."
Like a breath of fresh air, in all the heat and dust of these troublous
times, comes this request from his gentle mother in a letter of May 8,
1812:--
"Miss C. Dexter requests the favor of you to take a sketch of the face of
Mr. Southey and send it her. He is a favorite writer with her and she has
a great desire to see the style of his countenance. If you can get it,
enclose it in a genteel note to her with a brief account of him, his age
and character, etc."
The next letter of May 25, 1812, is from Morse to his parents.
"I have told you in former letters that my lodgings are at 82 Great
Titchfield Street and that my room-mate is Leslie, the young man who is
so much talked of in Philadelphia. We have lived together since December
and have not, as yet, had a falling out. I find his thoughts of art agree
perfectly with my own. He is enthusiastic and so am I, and we have not
time, scarcely, to think of anything else; everything we do has a
reference to art, and all our plans are for our mutual advancement in it.
Our amusements are walking, _occasionally_ attending the theatres, and
the company of Mr. Allston and a few other gentlemen, consisting of three
or four painters and poets. We meet by turn at each other's rooms and
converse and laugh.
"Mr. Allston is our most intimate friend and companion. I can't feel too
grateful to Him for his attentions to me; he calls every day and
superintends all we are doing. When I am at a stand and perplexed in some
parts of the picture, he puts me right and encourages me to proceed by
praising those parts which he thinks good, but he is faithful and always
tells me when anything is bad.
"It is a mortifying thing sometimes to me, when I have been painting all
day very hard and begin to be pleased with what I have done, on showing
it to Mr. Allston, with the expectation of praise, and not only of praise
but a score of 'excellents,' 'well dones,' and 'admirables'; I say it is
mortifying to hear him after a long silence say: 'Very bad, sir; that is
not flesh, it is mud, sir; it is painted with brick dust and clay.'
"I have felt sometimes ready to dash my palette knife through it and to
feel at the moment quite angry with him; but a little reflection restores
me; I see that Mr. Allston is not a flatterer but a friend, and that
really to improve I must see my faults. What he says after this always
puts me in good humor again. He tells me to put a few flesh tints here, a
few gray ones there, and to clear up such and such a part by such and
such colors. And not only that, but takes the palette and brushes and
shows me how, and in this way he assists me. I think it one of the
greatest blessings that I am under his eye. I don't know how many errors
I might have fallen into if it had not been for his attentions....
"I am painting portraits alone at present. Our sitters are among our
acquaintances. We paint them if they defray the expense of canvas and
colors...."
"Mama wished me to send some specimens of my painting home that you might
see my improvement. The pictures that I now paint would be uninteresting
to you; they consist merely of studies and drawings from plaster figures,
hands and feet and such things. The portraits are taken by those for whom
they are painted. I shall soon begin a portrait of myself and will try
and send that to you."
"_June 8, 1812._ Mama asks in one of her letters if we make our own tea.
We do. The tea-kettle is brought to us boiling in the morning and evening
and we make our own coffee (which, by the way, is very cheap here) and
tea. We live quite in the old bachelor style. I don't know but it will be
best for me to live in this style through life; my profession seems to
require all my time.
"Mr. Hurd will take a diploma to you, with others to different persons
near Boston. I suppose it confers some title on you of consequence, as I
saw at his house a great number to be sent to all parts of the world to
distinguished men. I find papa is known here pretty extensively. Some
one, hearing my name and that I am an American, immediately asks if I am
related to you....
"The Administration is at length formed, and, to the great sorrow of
everybody, the old Ministers are reelected. The Orders in Council are the
subject of debate at the House of Commons this evening. It is an
important crisis, though there is scarcely any hope of their repeal. If
not, I sincerely hope that America will declare war.
"What Lord Castlereagh said at a public meeting a few days ago ought to
be known in America. Respecting the Orders in Council, when some one said
unless they were repealed war with America must be the consequence, he
replied that, '_if the people would but support the Ministry in those
measures for a short time, America would be compelled to submit, for she
was not able to go to war_.' But I say, and so does every American here
who sees how things are going with this country, that, should America but
declare war, before hostilities commenced Great Britain would sue for
peace on any terms. Great Britain is jealous of us and would trample on
us if she could, and I feel ashamed when I see her supported through
everything by some of the Federal editors. I wish they could be here a
few months and they would be ashamed of themselves. They are injuring
their country, for it is _their_ violence that induces this Government to
persist in their measures by holding out hope that the parties will
change, and that then they can compel America to do anything. If America
loses in this contest and softens her measures towards this country, she
never need expect to hold up her head again."
"_June 15, 1812._ The Queen held a drawing-room a short time since and I
went to St. James's Palace to see those who attended. It was a singular
sight to see the ladies and gentlemen in their court dresses. The
gentlemen were dressed in buckram skirted coats without capes, long
waistcoats, cocked hats, bag-wigs, swords, and large buckles on their
shoes. The ladies in monstrous hoops, so that in getting into their
carriages they were obliged to go edgewise. Their dresses were very rich;
some ladies, I suppose, had about them to adorn them £20,000 or £30,000
worth of diamonds."
"I had a sight of the Prince Regent as he passed in his splendid state
carriage drawn by six horses. He is very corpulent, his features are
good, but he is very red and considerably bloated. I likewise saw the
Princess Charlotte of Wales, who is handsome, the Dukes of Kent,
Cambridge, Clarence, and Cumberland, Admiral Duckworth, and many others.
The Prince held a levee a few days since at which Mr. Van Rensselaer was
presented."
"I occasionally attend the theatres. At Covent Garden there is the best
acting in the world; Mr. Kemble is the first tragic actor now in England;
Cook was a rival and excelled him in some characters. Mrs. Siddons is the
first tragic actress, perhaps, that ever lived. She is now advanced in
life and is about to retire from the stage; on the 29th of this month she
makes her last appearance. I must say I admire her acting very much; she
is rather corpulent, but has a remarkably fine face; the Grecian
character is finely portrayed in it; she excels to admiration in deep
tragedy. In Mrs. Beverly, in the play of the 'Gamesters' a few nights
ago, she so arrested the attention of the house that you might hear your
watch tick in your fob, and, at the close of the play, when she utters an
hysteric laugh for joy that her husband was not a murderer, there were
different ladies in the boxes who actually went into hysterics and were
obliged to be carried out of the theatre. This I think is proof of good
acting. Mrs. Siddons is a woman of irreproachable character and moves in
the first circles; the stage will never again see her equal.
"You mustn't think because I praise the acting that I am partial to
theatres. I think in a certain degree they are harmless, but, too much
attended, they dissipate the mind. There is no danger of my loving them
too much; I like to go once in awhile after studying hard all day.
"Last night, as I was passing through Tottenham Court Road, I saw a large
collection of people of the lower class making a most terrible noise by
beating on something of the sounding genus. Upon going nearer and
enquiring the cause, I found that a butcher had just been married, and
that it is always the custom on such occasions for his brethren by trade
to serenade the couple with _marrow-bones_ and _cleavers_. Perhaps you
have heard of the phrase 'musical as marrow-bones and cleavers'; this is
the origin of it. If you wish to experience the sound let each one in the
family take a pair of tongs and a shovel, and then, standing all
together, let each one try to outdo the other in noise, and this will
give you some idea of it. How this custom originated I don't know. I hope
it is not symbolical of the _harmony_ which is to exist between the
parties married."
Among those eminent Englishmen to whom young Morse had letters of
introduction was Zachary Macaulay, editor of the "Christian Observer,"
and father of the historian. The following note from him will be found of
a delightful old-time flavor:--
Mr. Macaulay presents his compliments to Mr. Morse and begs to express
his regret at not having yet been so fortunate as to meet with him. Mr.
Macaulay will be particularly happy if it should suit Mr. Morse to dine
with him at his house at Clapham on Saturday next at five o'clock. Mr.
M.'s house is five doors beyond the Plough at the entrance of Clapham
Common. A coach goes daily to Clapham from the Ship at Charing Cross at a
quarter past three, and several leave Grace Church Street in the City
every day at four. The distance from London Bridge to Mr. Macaulay's
house is about four miles.
23d June, 1812.
In a letter from his mother of June 28, 1812, the anxious parent says:--
"Although we long to see you, yet we rejoice that you are so happily
situated at so great a distance from our, at present, wretched, miserably
distracted country, whose mad rulers are plunging us into an unnecessary
war with a country that I shall always revere as doing more to spread the
glorious gospel of Jesus Christ to the benighted heathen, and those that
are famishing from lack of knowledge, than any other nation on the globe.
Our hearts bleed at every pore to think of again being at war. We have
not yet forgotten the wormwood and gall of the last revolution.
"We hope you will steer clear of any of the difficulties of the contest
that is about to take place. We wish you to be very prudent and guarded
in all your conversation and actions and not to make yourself a party man
on either side. Have your opinions, but have them to yourself, and be
sure you do not commit them to paper. It may do you great injury either
on one side or the other, and you are not in your present situation as a
politician but as an artist."
In this same letter his father adds:--
"The die is cast and our country plunged in war.... There is great
opposition to it in the country. The papers, which you will have
opportunity to see, will inform you of the state of parties. Your mother
has given you sound advice as respects the course you should pursue. Be
the _artist_ wholly and let _politics_ alone. I rejoice that you are
where you are at the present time. You will do what you can without delay
to support yourself, as I know not how we shall be able to procure funds
to transmit to you, and, if we had them, how we could transmit them
should the war continue."
To this the son answers in a letter of August 6, 1812:--
"I am improving, perhaps, the last opportunity I shall have for some time
to write you. Mr. Wheeler, an American, who has been here some time
studying portrait painting, has kindly offered to deliver this to you.
"Our political affairs, it seems, have come to a crisis, which I
sincerely hope will turn to the advantage of America; it certainly will
not to this country. War is an evil which no man ought to think lightly
of, but, if ever it was just, it now is. The English acknowledge it, and
what can be more convincing proof than the confession of an enemy? I was
sorry to hear of the riotous proceedings in Boston. If they knew what an
injury they were doing their country in the opinion of foreign nations,
they certainly would refrain from them. I assert (because I have proof)
that the Federalists in the Northern States have done more injury to
their country by their violent opposition measures than even a French
alliance could. Their proceedings are copied into the English papers,
read before Parliament, and circulated through the country, and what do
they say of them? Do they say the Federalists are patriots and are firm
in asserting the rights of their country? No; they call them _cowards,_ a
_base set;_ say they are traitors to their country and ought to be hanged
like traitors. These things I have heard and read, and therefore must
believe them.
"I wish I could have a talk with you, papa; I am sure I could convince
you that neither Federalists nor Democrats are Americans; that war with
this country is just, and that the present Administration of our country
has acted with perfect justice in all their proceedings against this
country....
"To observe the contempt with which America is spoken of, and the
epithets of a _'nation of cheats,' 'sprung from convicts,'
'pusillanimous,' 'cowardly,'_ and such like,--these I think are
sufficient to make any true American's blood boil. These are not used by
individuals only, but on the floor of the House of Commons. The good
effects of our declaration of war begin to be perceived already. The tone
of their public prints here is a little softer and more submissive. Not
one has called in question the justice of the declaration of war; all
say, 'We are in the wrong and we shall do well to get out of it as soon
as possible.'
"I could tell you volumes, but I have not time, and it would, perhaps, be
impolitic in the present state of affairs. I only wish that among the
infatuated party men I may not find my father, and I hope that he will be
_neutral_ rather than oppose the war measure, for (if he will believe a
son who loves him and his country better the longer and farther he is
away from them) this war will reestablish that character for honor and
spirit which our country has lost through the proceedings of
_Federalists_.
"But I will turn from this subject. My health and spirits are excellent
and my love for my profession increases. I am painting a small historical
piece; the subject is 'Marius in Prison,' and the soldier sent to kill
him who drops his sword as Marius says, '_Durst thou kill Caius Marius?_'
The historical fact you must be familiar with. I am taking great pains
with it, and may possibly exhibit it in February at the British Gallery.
"I never think of my situation in this country but with gratitude to you
for suffering me to pursue the profession of my choice, and for making so
many sacrifices to gratify me. I hope I shall always feel grateful to the
best of parents and be able soon to show them I am so. In the mean time,
if industry and application on my part can make them happy, be assured I
shall use my best endeavors to be industrious, and in any other way to
give them comfort. One of my greatest blessings here is Mr. Allston. He
is like a brother to me, and not only is a most agreeable and
entertaining companion, but he has been the means of giving me more
knowledge (practical as well as theoretical) in my art than I could have
acquired by myself in three years.
"In whatever circumstance I am, Mr. Allston I shall esteem as one of my
best and most intimate friends, and in whatever I can assist him or his I
shall feel proud in being able to do it.
"Mr. and Mrs. Allston are well. I dined with them yesterday at Captain
Visscher's, whom I have mentioned to you before as one of our passengers.
He is very attentive to us, visits us constantly, and is making us
presents of various kinds every day, such as half a dozen best Madeira,
etc. He came out here with his lady to take possession of a fortune of
£80,000 and was immensely rich before, having married Miss Van Rensselaer
of Albany."