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65 Was not this to make the Americans suppose that Baron Schilling, Weber, Gauss, Steinheil, Cooke and Wheat-stone might have learnt from Samuel Morse the art of telegraphing by electro-magnetism? As it was also mentioned that Morse had his telegraph then near his lodgings, there came on the same day several curious persons to see " the wonder of the age." One of them was Dr. Daubeny, from Oxford, in England. Another was a young gentleman, Alfred Vail, who afterwards became very useful to Morse, for he, with his brother George, made at the Speedwell iron works near Morristown, in New Jersey, belonging to them, a much better instrument than that invented by Morse. Alfred Vail became, like Dr. Gale, Morse's partner.

On the day mentioned, the 2nd September, Morse's machine would not mark anything correctly. Great efforts were employed to make it do better, and two days later, on the 4th of September, Morse at last succeeded in getting by it the numbers representing five words and the date, marked. For this were wanted not less than sixty-two zig-zags, and fifteen straight lines on the slip of paper; the figure drawn on it, looking somewhat like a saw-blade, with teeth here and there broken out. They represented the following numbers: 215, 36, 2, 58, 112, 04,