spect to a fellow-
member, were many from the South, who within a few years had voted
to censure Mr. Adams, and had endeavored in every way to heap
obloquy upon him for his persistent course in presenting anti-
slavery petitions. Spontaneous in impulse, momentary in duration,
simple in form, it was yet one of the most striking tributes ever
paid to moral dignity and lofty character.

PUBLIC LIFE OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS.

Mr. Adams was nearing the end of his illustrious life, and a year
later was stricken down in the seat which had been so graciously
tendered him. His career was in many respects remarkable. He had
been minister to five different European courts, senator of the
United States, appointed to the Supreme Bench, had been eight years
Secretary of State, and four years President. His opportunities
were great, his advantages rare, his natural abilities strong. To
those he added a high standard of morality, and a love and endurance
of labor possessed by few. But it may fairly be doubted whether,
if his Presidency had closed his public life, his fame would have
attracted special observation. He would scarcely have ranked above
Monroe, and would have borne no comparison with Madison. In the
Senate he had made no impression. His service abroad was one of
industrious routine. His career as Secretary of State was not
specially distinguished. The only two treaties of marked importance
that were negotiated during his incumbency, were carried, on test
questions, by the Cabinet against his judgment. His dispatches
have been little quoted as precedents. His diplomatic discussions
were not triumphs. Indeed, he was not felicitous with his pen,
and suffers by contrast with some who preceded him and many who
followed him in that office. But in his sixty-fifth year, when
the public life of the most favored draws to a close, the noble
and shining career of Mr. Adams began. He entered the House of
Representatives in 1831, and for the remainder of his life, a period
of seventeen years, he was the one grand figure in that assembly.
His warfare against those who would suppress free speech, his heroic
contest in favor of the right of the humblest to petition for
redress of grievances, are among the memorable events in the
parliamentary history of the United States. The amplitude of his
knowledge, his industry, his unflagging zeal, his biting sarcasm,
his power to sting and des