the whole period of his active life; and it is not too much to say that to it he was indebted not merely for the domestic happiness which ran so like a thread of silver through the most troubled currents of his days, but for the steady and unwavering support of all the highest purposes of his The other extraordinary blessing was the possession of

career..

a son who fulfilled in his career all the most sanguine expectations of a father. From his earliest youth John Quincy Adams had given symptoms of uncommon promise, and, contrary to what so frequently happens in such cases, every year, as it passed over his head, only tended the more to confirm the hopes that had been raised at the beginning. . . And the pleasure was reserved to the father, rarely enjoyed since time began, of seeing his son gradually forcing his way, by his unaided abilities, up the steps of the same ascent which he had trod before him, until he reached the last and highest which his country could supply. . . . And when this event was fully accomplished. whilst the son was yet in the full enjoyment of his great dignity so honorably acquired, it was accorded to the old patriarch to go to his rest on the day above all other days in the year, which was the most imperishably associated with his fame. Such things are not often read of, even in the most gorgeous pictures of mortal felicity painted in eastern story. They go far to relieve the darker shadows which fly over the ordinary paths of life, and to hold out the hope that, even under the present imperfect dispensation, it is not unreasonable to trust that virtue may sometimes meet with its just reward."

career.

the whole period of his active life; and it is not too much to say that to it he was indebted not merely for the domestic happiness which ran so like a thread of silver through the most troubled currents of his days, but for the steady and unwavering support of all the highest purposes of his The other extraordinary blessing was the possession of a son who fulfilled in his career all the most sanguine expectations of a father. From his earliest youth John Quincy Adams had given symptoms of uncommon promise, and, contrary to what so frequently happens in such cases, every year, as it passed over his head, only tended the more to confirm the hopes that had been raised at the beginning. . . And the pleasure was reserved to the father, rarely enjoyed since time began, of seeing his son gradually forcing his way, by his unaided abilities, up the steps of the same ascent which he had trod before him, until he reached the last and highest which his country could supply. . And when this event was fully accomplished. whilst the son was yet in the full enjoyment of his great dignity so honorably acquired, it was accorded to the old patriarch to go to his rest on the day above all other days in the year, which was the most imperishably associated with his fame. Such things are not often read of, even in the most gorgeous pictures of mortal felicity painted in eastern story. They go far to relieve the darker shadows which fly over the ordinary paths of life, and to hold out the hope that, even under the present imperfect dispensation, it is not unreasonable to trust that virtue may sometimes meet with its just reward."