“As yet I have not had the least success in getting a proper position for Charles.  A more thankless, repulsive business than asking for a situation under Government I cannot conceive.  I would myself starve rather than ask such a favor if I were alone concerned.  The modes of obtaining even a hearing are such as to drive a man of any sensitiveness to wish himself in the depths of the forest away from the vicinity of men, rather than encounter the airs of those on their temporary thrones of power.  I cannot say what I feel.  I shall do all I can, but anticipate no success....  I called to see Secretary Toucey for the purpose of asking him to put me in the way of finding some place for Charles, but, after sending in my card and waiting in the anteroom for half to three fourths of an hour, he took no notice of my card, just left his room, passed by deliberately the open door of the anteroom without speaking to me, and left the building.  This may be all explained and I will charitably hope there was no intention of rudeness to me, but, unexplained, a ruder slight could not well be conceived.”

The affection of the three Morse brothers for each other was unusually strong, and it is from the unreserved correspondence between Finley and Sidney that some of the most interesting material for this work has been gathered.  Both of these brothers possessed a keen sense of humor and delighted in playful banter.  The following is written in pencil on an odd scrap of paper and has no date:—­

“When my brother and I were children my father one day took us each on his knee and said:  ’Now I am going to tell you the character of each of you.’  He then told us the fable of the Hare and the Tortoise.  ‘Now,’ said he, ‘Finley’ (that is me), ’you are the Hare and Sidney, your brother, is the Tortoise.  See if I am not correct in prophesying your future careers.’  So ever since it has been a topic of banter between Sidney and me.  Sometimes Sidney seemed to be more prosperous than I; then he would say, ‘The old tortoise is ahead.’  Then I would take a vigorous run and cry out to him,’ The hare is ahead.’  For I am naturally quick and impulsive, and he sluggish and phlegmatic.  So I am now going to give him the Hare riding the Tortoise as a piece of fun.  Sidney will say:  ’Ah! you see the Hare is obliged to ride on the Tortoise in order to get to the goal!’ But I shall say:  ’Yes, but the Tortoise could not get there unless the Hare spurred him up and guided him.’”

Both of these brothers achieved success, but, unfortunately for the moral of the old fable, the hare quite outdistanced the tortoise, without, however, kindling any spark of jealousy in that faithful heart.

While Sidney was still in Europe his brother writes to him on December 29, 1857:—­