Did Morse know Delia?

Thinking about Delia Bacon….

Morse was part of the same circle as Hawthorne and Poe and Emerson. Was he also influenced by Delia? One of the biographies of Morse that I used in making models of his telegraph has a partial answer:

= = = = = START QUOTE:

It came out that he was inquiring into the French Semaphore Telegraph system, with a view to its introduction into America, although I believe he dismissed it as being too slow for us, and inapplicable to our wants, in spite of our very clear atmosphere. It was then that he used this expression: The French system would do better in our clear atmosphere than here; but it is too slow; lightning will scarcely be too fast.’

There was, on one occasion, another reference made to the conveyance of sound under water, and to the length of time taken to communicate the letting in of the water into the Erie Canal, by cannon shots, to New York, and other means, during which the suggestion of using keys and wires, like the piano, was rejected as requiring too many wires, if other things were available.

I recollect, also, that in our frequent visits to Mr. J. Fenimore Cooper’s, in the Rue St Dominique, these subjects, so interesting to Americans, were often introduced, and that Morse seemed to harp on them, constantly referring to Franklin and Lord Bacon. Now I, while recognizing the intellectual grandeur of both these men, had contracted a small opinion of their moral strength; but Morse would uphold and excuse, or rather deny, the faults attributed; Lord Bacon, especially, he held to have sacrificed himself to serve the queen in her aberrations; while of Franklin, the ‘great American’ recognized by the French, he was particularly proud.

= = = = = END QUOTE.

Not conclusive. Morse and Delia both spent plenty of time in Cooper’s salon, and Morse shared Delia’s positive view of Bacon. One thing for sure: This, author, used, up, all, the, commas, in, the, typecase.

= = = = =

Later, reading a collection of Cooper’s letters, an interesting parallel shows up.

Morse was a proto-tech-tyrant. He believed all the libertarian crap spewed by Locke and Paine. He loved sweatshop slavery and hated agrarian serfdom. In 1830 he wanted to smash Dixie, and he got his wish later. The conflict was carefully planned, just like today’s Color Revolutions, and it was funded and organized by the sweatshop owners, who were the tech tyrants of the time. The tech barons were developing nationwide Systems like telegraphs and railroads, and they needed a huge population of disconnected and mobile workers who hated the thought of permanent employment, permanent residence, and two-way loyalty.

Cooper was more European, with a better understanding of deep cultures, and tried to soften Morse’s Paine-Locke tendencies without inducing sales resistance.