The attempt startled me and put me on my guard, and set me to the preparation for any attack.

I have been compelled for some weeks to use my pen only for this purpose, and have written much in the hope of preventing the public exposure of my antagonist; but I fear my labor will be vain on this point, from what I hear and the tone in which he writes.

I have no fear for myself, being now amply prepared with evidence to repel any attempt which may be made to sustain any claim he may prefer to a share with me in the invention of the Telegraph." I have already shown that this claim of Dr.Jackson's was proved to be but the hallucination of a disordered brain, and it will not be necessary to go into the details of the controversy.
These were anxious and nerve-racking days for both Morse and Vail, and it is small wonder that there should have been some slight friction.

Vail in his private correspondence makes some mention of this.

For instance, in a letter to his brother George, of January 22, 1838, he says:-- "We received the machine on Thursday morning, and in an hour we made the first trial, which did not succeed, nor did it with perfect success until Saturday--all which time Professor M.was rather _unwell_.