Nor was his conversation
confined to his invention. A distinguished artist, an educated
gentleman, an observant traveler, it was delightful to hear him talk,
and at this late day I recall few more pleasant evenings than the only
one I passed in his company.
Of course, my first visit the next morning was to Mr. McLane to make
my report. By this time I had become almost as enthusiastic as Mr.
Morse himself, and repeated what had passed between us. I soon saw
that Mr. McLane was becoming as eager for the construction of the line
to Washington as Mr. Morse could desire. He entered warmly into the
spirit of the thing, and laughed heartily, if not incredulously, when
I told him that although he had been Minister to England, Secretary of
State, and Secretary of the Treasury, his name would be forgotten,
while that of Morse would never cease to be remembered with gratitude
and praise. We then considered the question as to the right of the
company to permit the line to be laid in the bed of the road--the plan
of construction at that time being to bury in a trench some eight or
ten inches deep a half inch leaden tube containing the wrapped wire
that was to form the electric circuit. About this there was, in my
opinion, no doubt, and it was not long after that the work of
construction commenced. I met Mr. Morse from time to time while he
lived, and often recurred to the evening's discussion at my house in
Baltimore.
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