sation at Washington; and even the most
determined advocates of General Jackson believed that he, and not Mr.
Adams, was in error, No one would, or could for a moment, believe that Mr.
Adams' had made a false report.'

"Whilst this controversy was pending, I called at the Presidential
mansion, one afternoon, when General Jackson, strange to say, happened to
be alone. He said that he was very glad to see me, because he would like
to hear, from one who had an opportunity of seeing more of the press than
he saw, what was the exact state of public opinion, in regard to the
controversy.

"'As far as I am capable of judging, Mr. President,' I replied, 'the
people appear to be unanimous in the opinion that there is a
misunderstanding, a misapprehension, between you and Mr. Adams; for no one
imagines, for a moment, that either of you would misrepresent facts! Mr.
Adams is a man of infinite method; he is generally accurate, and, in this
instance, it appears that he is sustained by his diary.'

"'His diary! don't tell' me anything more about his diary! Sir, that diary
comes up on all occasions--one would think that its pages were as
immutable as the laws of the Medes and Persians! Sir, that diary will be
the death of me! I wonder if James Monroe kept a diary! If he did, it is
to be hoped that it will be looked to, to see if it contains anything
about this Adams and Dan Onis treaty. Sir, I did not see it; I was not
consulted about it.'

"The old hero was exceedingly vehement, and was proceeding to descant with
especial violence, when he was interrupted by the entrance of Mr.
Secretary Woodbury, and I never heard another word about the matter. A
question of veracity between the parties was raised, and was never
adjudicated. Both went down to the grave before any definite light was
cast on the subject; but the world had decided that General Jackson was in
error." [Footnote: Reminiscences of the late John Quincy Adams, by an Old
Colony Man.]

CHAPTER XIII.

MR. ADAMS PRESENTS PETITIONS FOR THE ABOLISHMENT OF SLAVERY--OPPOSITION
OF SOUTHERN MEMBERS--EXCITING SCENES IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES--
MARKS OF CONFIDENCE IN MR. ADAMS.

In the meantime, during the years 1836 and 1837, the public mind in the
Northern States, became fully aroused to the enormities of American
slavery--its encroachments on the rights and interests of the free
States--the undue influence it was exercising in our national
councils--and the evi