the rights of
Mr. Canning and maintain his own, and that he thought the best mode of
treating this topic in future would be by writing. Mr. Canning then
expressed himself as

"'willing to forget all that had now passed.' I told him that I
neither asked nor promised him to forget.... He asked again if he
was to understand me as refusing to confer with him further on
the subject. I said, 'No.' 'Would I appoint a time for that
purpose?' I said, 'Now, if he pleased.... But as he appeared to
be under some excitement, perhaps he might prefer some other
time, in which case I would readily receive him to-morrow at one
o'clock;' upon which he rose and took leave, saying he would come
at that time."

The next day, accordingly, this genial pair again encountered. Mr.
Adams noted at first in Mr. Canning's manner "an effort at coolness,
but no appearance of cheerfulness or good humor. I saw there was (p. 145)
no relaxation of the tone he had yesterday assumed, and felt that
none would on my part be suitable." They went over quietly enough some
of the ground traversed the day before, Mr. Adams again explaining the
impropriety of Mr. Canning questioning him concerning remarks made in
debate in Congress. It was, he said, as if Mr. Rush, hearing in the
House of Commons something said about sending troops to the Shetland
Islands, should proceed to question Lord Castlereagh about it.

"'Have you,' said Mr. Canning, 'any claim to the Shetland
Islands?' 'Have you any _claim_,' said I, 'to the mouth of
Columbia River?' 'Why, do you not _know_,' replied he, 'that we
have a claim?' 'I do not _know_,' said I, 'what you claim nor
what you do not claim. You claim India; you claim Africa; you
claim'--'Perhaps,' said he, 'a piece of the moon.' 'No,' said I,
'I have not heard that you claim exclusively any part of the
moon; but there is not a spot on _this_ habitable globe that I
could affirm you do not claim!'"

The conversation continued with alternations of lull and storm, Mr.
Canning at times becoming warm and incensed and interrupting Mr.
Adams, who retorted with a dogged asperity which must have been
extremely irritating. Mr. Adams said that he did "not expect to be (p. 146)
plied with captious questions" to obtain indirectly that which
had been directly denied. Mr. Canning, "exceedingly irritated,"
complained of the word "captious." Mr. Adams reta