The artists and their friends were, naturally, greatly incensed at this slur cast upon them, and an indignant and remarkably able reply appeared anonymously in the New York "Evening Post." The authorship of this article was at once saddled on Morse, who was known to wield a facile and fearless pen.

Mr.Adams took great offense, and, as a result, Morse's name was rejected and his great opportunity passed him by.

There can be no reasonable doubt that, had he received this commission, he would have deferred the perfecting of his telegraphic device until others had so far distanced him in the race that he could never have overtaken them.
Instead of his having been the author of the "Evening Post" article, it transpired that he had not even heard of Mr.Adams's resolution until his friend Fenimore Cooper, the real author of the answer, told him of both attack and reply.
This was the second great tragedy of Morse's life; the first was the untimely death of his young wife, and this other marked the death of his hopes and ambitions as an artist.

He was stunned.

The blow was as unexpected as it was overwhelming, and what added to its bitterness was that it had been innocently dealt by the hand of one of his dearest friends, who had sought to render him a favor.