into any other public walk, I could not, upon the principle that has regulated my own conduct, disapprove of the caution which is hinted at in the letter. But he is already entered. The public, more and more, as he is known, are appreciating his talents and worth; and his country would sustain a loss if these were checked by over-delicacy on your part.

"With sincere esteem and affectionate regard,
"I am ever yours,
"GEORGE WASHINGTON."

With Washington's approval he was therefore continued in the important office of Minister Plenipotentiary, and sent by his father to Berlin instead of Portugal, where he had been commissioned by Washington, just before he closed his administration. He resided there between three and four years, and having effected with the government of Prussia an important treaty of commerce and renewed the treaty with Sweden, he returned to Philadelphia early in the autumn of 1801. During the seven years which he spent in the service of his country abroad, his influence had become more and more felt at home. He had shown himself in every way competent to discharge the important duties of his foreign commission, had enriched his mind with various learning, published letters of his travels in Silecia and other provinces, and conciliated favor toward our government wherever he went.

Shortly after his return the public estimation in which he was held at home was manifested by his being elected to the Senate of Massachusetts, from Boston. The next year, 1803, he was elected a Senator of the United States. In this election his posi tion was somewhat analogous to that of General Taylor's at this present. He had been absent during the organization of the two great political parties into which the people were divided, and was elected without pledging his support to either. Though he was supposed to be somewhat inclined towards the federal party, he was not prepared to say, nor was it probable he was asked the question, whether he would support this or that measure. His political doctrine probably was, "The greatest good to the greatest number," and in carrying it out he acted without restraint or fear of giving offence to any body. Accordingly, as naturally would be the case, he sometimes supported measures of the democratic party, which subjected him to the censure of the federalists. Notwithstanding he maintained a straightforward course, doing what he thought to be right, regardless of personal consequences. The resignation of his place in the Senate, in consequence of a vote of censure passed upon him by the federalists of Massachusetts, because he adopted views different from theirs, showed that patriotism, not partizan motives, actuated his movements at all times; that if he must bow to the will of his constituents in particulars, he would abandon his post. In this he manifested that noble independence of action which was ever a conspicuous trait in his cha

racter. This a great virtue, when united with discreet knowledge and conscious right! It places one, as it often did him, in unpleasant positions and, not unfrequently, in opposition to the cherished sentiments of those whom he might wish to please. It was at this period of Mr. Adams' political course that his moral courage was put to the test, and he was not then, nor ever after, found wanting in this respect. It was a virtue, as it were, born with him. It was inherited; but it lost none of its strength in the son.

After the resignation of his seat in the Senate of the United States, in 1806, he took the professorship of rhetoric, to which he had been previously elected, in Harvard College. He drew crowds to listen to the eloquence and learning displayed in his lectures. As a proof of their value, they were published by request, and are now read with pleasure and profit. Mr. Adams was not long suffered to hold a professorship. His country needed more his distinguished services. President Madison, with the approval of the Senate, appointed him, in 1809, as first minister plenipotentiary to the court of the Emperor of Russia. No man was better qualified to go upon this important mission. Twenty-eight years before he had become acquainted with the country while secretary to Mr. Dana. He had now added to age, refined learning and profound statesmanship. This gave him easy access to the learned Emperor, Alexander, who is said to have admitted him to an intimacy rarely enjoyed with despotic monarchs, even by their own ministers. His cordial reception shows the power of learning and its efficacy to persuade and conciliate even emperors towards republics. The wisdom and skill of Mr. Adams, manifested while at this court, resulted in great good to this country. It was through his influence that the Russian court proffered mediation to the American and English governments during the last war, which, though rejected by the English, resulted in an offer on the part of the latter to treat directly with the United States. Thus, although remote from the scene of war, Mr. Adams was among the first to set in motion causes that tended to pacification.

Mr. Madison saw this in 1814, and appointed Mr. Adams leading commissioner to negotiatiate a treaty of peace between this country and Great Britain. His colleagues were Jas. A. Bayard, Henry Clay, Jonathan Russell, and Albert Gallatin. That distinguished body negotiated the memorable treaty, at Ghent, which binds the two greatest nations into harmonious union, a union which it is to be hoped will be as lasting as the name of him who bore so important a part in its formation. He then, in conjunction with Messrs. Clay and Gallatin, negotiated a convention of commerce between the two governments, which holds to this day. Immediately thereafter, Mr. Adams received the appointment of minister plenipotentiary at the court of St. James. Here his conduct was signalized by courteous bearing and efficiency, as it had hitherto been, at the Russian court. He continued to represent the United States at the British court, until he was recalled by Mr.

Munroe, in March, 1817, to fill an important office in his cabinet, as Secretary of State. General Jackson's reply to a letter from President Monroe, informing him of his choice of Mr. Adams, is a testimonial in his favor, alike worthy of the man who wrote it and him of whom it was written. "I have no hesitation," he writes, "in saying you have made the best selection to fill the department of state that could be made. Mr. Adams in the hour of difficulty will be an able helpmate, and I am convinced his appointment will afford general satisfaction."

Mr. Adams, during the eight years of Mr. Munroe's administration, proved himself equal to what had thus been predicted of him. He at once gained the entire confidence of the executive board, and showed an ability to manage the affairs of the state at home, equal to his distinguished diplomatic services abroad. He was particularly efficient in all questions relating to the foreign policy of the government, and is to be regarded as the prime mover of many important measures adopted during Mr. Monroe's administration, respecting foreign affairs. By him the long standing disputes between our government and Spain were successfully terminated, and mutual harmony restored. The Floridas were added to our possessions. The Independence of the new republics of Spanish America was recognized by our government.

His great ability in discharging the duties of Secretary of State is strikingly manifest in his reports, which he made during the term of his office. Many of them are fraught with an interest and importance worthy of study at this day. They show a depth of research and clearness of elucidation, unsurpassed, unsurpassable. They bear the impress of a great mind laboring with great subjects; and whoever would thoroughly acquaint himself with a knowledge of some important points in our country's history, would do well to become familiar with them.

The reputation which Mr. Adams acquired during Mr. Monroe's administration early marked him as a candidate for the presidency. Henry Clay, William H. Crawford, and Andrew Jackson, each having strong claims for popular support, were also rival candidates. for the same office. Party and sectional interests were prevalent then as now, and consequently no choice was made by the electors. The votes stood thus: for General Jackson, 99, Mr. Adams, 84, Mr. Crawford, 41, and Mr. Clay, 37. The election was therefore made by the House of Representatives, and resulted in the choice of Mr. Adams; Mr. Clay and his party yielding in favor of Mr. Adams.

The reply which he made on being notified of his election, by a committee of the house, appointed to wait upon him, bears testimony to his magnanimity, and will be read at this time with interest. It was as follows:

"GENTLEMEN: In receiving this testimonial from the representatives of the people and States of this Union, I am deeply sensible

to the circumstances under which it has been given. All my predecessors, in the high station to which the favor of the house now calls me, have been honored with majorities of the electoral voices in their primary colleges. It has been my fortune to be placed, by the divisions of sentiment prevailing among our countrymen on this occasion, in competition, friendly and honorable, with three of my fellow-citizens, all justly enjoying, in an eminent degree, the public favor; and of whose worth, talents and services, no one entertains a higher and more respectful sense than myself. The names of two of them were, in the fulfilment of the provisions of the constitution, presented to the selection of the house, in concurrence with my own; names closely associated with the glory of the nation, and one of them farther recommended by a larger majority of the primary electoral suffrages than mine.

"In this state of things, could my refusal to accept the trust thus delegated to me, give an immediate opportunity to the people to form and to express, with a nearer approach to unanimity, the object of their preference, I should not hesitate to decline the acceptance of this eminent charge, and to submit the decision of this momentous question again to their determination. But the constitution itself has not so disposed of the contingency which would arise in the event of my refusal; I shall therefore repair to the post assigned me by the call of my country, signified through her constitutional organs; oppressed with the magnitude of the task before me, but cheered with the hope of that generous support from my fellow-citizens, which, in the vicissitudes of a life devoted to their service, has never failed to sustain me; confident in the trust, that the wisdom of the legislative councils will guide and direct me in the path of my official duty, and relying, above all, upon the superintending providence of the Being in whose hand our breath is, and whose are all our ways.

Gentlemen, I pray you to make acceptable to the house the assurance of my profound gratitude for their confidence, and to accept yourselves my thanks for the friendly terms in which you have communicated to me their decision."

Mr. Adams occupied the presidential chair from March 4th, 1825, to March 4th, 1829. During his administration party spirit ran high, and toward its close the popular current was fast setting toward General Jackson. Mr. Adams's friends were highly satisfied with his administration. and his political opponents could find no fault with his motives, or say aught to impeach his integrity in the discharge of the trying duties of his station. All selfishness was excluded from his political creed. He never would deviate a hair from the line of duty, how great soever might have been the result in his personal aggrandizement. All that he promised in his inaugural address he performed to the letter. His profound regard for the constitution is shown in the opening of this address. I appear," says he, "my fellow-citizens, in your presence and

in that of Heaven, to bind myself by the solemnities of a religious obligation, to the faithful performance of the duties allotted to me in the station to which I have been called.

"In unfolding to my countrymen the principles by which I shall be governed in the fulfilment of those duties, my first resort will be to that constitution which I shall swear, to the best of my ability, to preserve, protect, and defend.”

Soon after the election of General Jackson to the presidency of the United States, Mr. Adams returned to Quincy, his native place, to enjoy the pleasures of domestic peace in his family mansion. No spot was more delightful to him than this. Here he had passed his boyhood, amid scenes of surpassing beauty and of thrilling interest. On one side his eye ranged along the Atlantic, on the other, it traversed the distant Blue Hills. From Penn's Hill, he beheld the "smoke rising from burning Charlestown," and distinctly heard the booming cannon during the battle of Bunker Hill. "Penn's Hill," said he, in a letter from Europe, to his mother, "and Braintree North Common Rocks never looked and never felt to me like any other hill or any other rocks. Why? Because every shrub and every pebble upon them associates itself with the first consciousness of my existence that remains upon my memory. Every visit to them brings with it a resurrection of departed time, and seems to connect me with the ages of my forefathers." Such being his devotedness to his native town, he might well have desired to pass the remainder of his days there. He had enjoyed every honor his countrymen could bestow, or himself desire. Yet he was ready to yield up the pleasures of Quincy for the irksome duties of Congress and its stormy debates.

Accordingly we find him at the age of sixty-four, taking his seat in the House of Representatives at Washington, to become a life member of that body; for such regard with which he was held by the inhabitants of his native town, was sure to manifest itself by his re-election as often as one term after another of public service expired. Possessed of extraordinary native talents, that were cultivated to an extent seldom found in a statesman, dignified with age and experience, he carried into that body a weight of influence which, on every occasion, being thrown into the scale of equity, gave just balance on the side of humanity. The national records, for a succession of years, bear ample testimony to his great ability, enriched as they are with the refined strokes of his genius and profound learning. His reports, while chairman of committees on various occasions, reflect honor upon the American Congress, and the young man who would become well versed in the political history of his country, whatever be his political bias, will be amply rewarded by an attentive perusal of these documents.

Mr. Adams did not escape the full share of abuse meted out to those whose principles can not be shaken by corrup influences or the prospect of self aggrandizement. He put himself in opposition to every thing that savored of injustice. When