Stories of Great Inventors Part 15

All this that our country might be truly "the land of the free and the home of the brave!"

[Ill.u.s.tration: S.F.B. MORSE.]

SAMUEL FINLEY BREESE MORSE.

If everything were now as it was in 1791, what a queer place this world of ours would be to us!

A hundred years ago!

Suppose we imagine ourselves living in the year 1800.

The railroads then were very few and poor.

"Fulton's Folly," the first steamboat, had not yet frightened the sailors in New York Harbor, with its long line of black smoke.

Lighting by means of gas was yet unknown.

Electric lights were not even dreamed of.

Even kerosene, which we think makes so poor a light, was then unused.

So there are many, many things, common and useful to us now, which were unknown to the world in 1800.

You have heard of the giant, Steam.

There is yet another giant which G.o.d has placed in the world for man's use.

This is Electricity.

Is it not strange that this great power should have been so long unused in the world?

Boys and girls can understand how useful this power now is.

So you will be interested in knowing something of the man who helped to introduce to the world this great giant, electricity.

The baby who was given this long name, Samuel Finley Breese Morse, was born in Charlestown, Ma.s.sachusetts.

The date of his birth was April 27, 1791.

He was called Samuel Finley for his great-grandfather.

His mother's name, as a girl, was Elizabeth Breese.

You will see that he won fame enough to cover each and every one of these names.

Finley Morse had, as he grew older, two brothers younger than himself.

Their names were Sidney E. Morse, and Richard Cary Morse.

Finley was sent first to an old lady's school.

He was but four years old when he started.

The school was very near his home.

The school mistress was known as, "Old Ma'am Rand."

She was an invalid and unable to leave her chair.

So she had a long rattan.

When the children did not mind, she could, with her long rattan, reach them at the further side of the room.

One punishment of Mrs. Rand's was to pin a naughty child to her dress.

As early as this part of his life, Finley Morse tried his hand at drawing.

He drew Mrs. Rand's picture upon a chest of drawers.

Instead of a pencil he used a pin.

So Mrs. Rand pinned him to her dress.

Of course he did not like that.

He tried to get away.

This tore the dress.

Then Mrs. Rand had to use her rattan.

When seven years of age Finley was sent to school at Andover.

He went to Phillip's Academy.

While there the father wrote letters to his boy.

He gave his boy good advice.

He told him about George Was.h.i.+ngton.

He also told him about another great man.