one man in the House whose judgment he was
unwilling to abide by," and that man was Mr.
Adams.]

Smooth water had by no means been reached when Mr. Adams was placed at
the helm; on the contrary, the buffeting became only the more severe
when the members were no longer restrained by a lurking dread of grave
disaster if not of utter shipwreck. Between two bitterly incensed and
evenly divided parties engaged in a struggle for an important prize,
Mr. Adams, having no strictly lawful authority pertaining to (p. 295)
his singular and anomalous position, was hard taxed to perform his
functions. It is impossible to follow the intricate and acrimonious
quarrels of the eleven days which succeeded until on December 16, upon
the eleventh ballot, R. M. T. Hunter, of Virginia, was elected Speaker,
and Mr. Adams was relieved from the most arduous duty imposed upon him
during his life. In the course of the debates there had been "much
vituperation and much equally unacceptable compliment" lavished upon
him. After the organization of the House, there was some talk of
moving a vote of thanks, but he entreated that it should not be done.
"In the rancorous and bitter temper of the Administration party,
exasperated by their disappointment in losing their Speaker, the
resolution of thanks," he said, "would have been lost if it had been
offered." However this might have been, history has determined this
occurrence to have been one of the most brilliant episodes in a life
which had many distinctions.

A few incidents indicative of respect must have been welcome enough in
the solitary fight-laden career of Mr. Adams. He needed some
occasional encouragement to keep him from sinking into despondency;
for though he was of so unyielding and belligerent a disposition, of
such ungracious demeanor, so uncompromising with friend and foe, (p. 296)
yet he was a man of deep and strong feelings, and in a way even
very sensitive though a proud reserve kept the secret of this quality
so close that few suspected it. His Diary during his Congressional
life shows a man doing his duty sternly rather than cheerfully,
treading resolutely a painful path, having the reward which attends
upon a clear conscience, but neither light-hearted nor often even
happy. Especially he was frequently disappointed at the returns which
he received from others, and considered himself "ill-treated by every
public man whom cir