as well as in all
the vastness of their comprehension. As Senator, and as a member of the
House of Representatives, the obscure committee-room was as much the
witness of his laborious application to the drudgery of legislation, as
the halls of the two Houses were to the ever ready speech, replete with
knowledge, which instructed all hearers, enlightened all subjects, and
gave dignity and ornament to debate.

"In the observance of all the proprieties of life, Mr. Adams was a most
noble and impressive example. He cultivated the minor as well as the
greater virtues. Wherever his presence could give aid and countenance to
what was useful and honorable to man, there he was. In the exercises of
the school and of the college--in the meritorious meetings of the
agricultural, mechanical, and commercial societies--in attendance upon
Divine worship--he gave the punctual attendance rarely seen but in those
who are free from the weight of public cares.

"Punctual to every duty, death found him at the post of duty; and where
else could it have found him, at any stage of his career, for the fifty
years of his illustrious public life? From the time of his first
appointment by Washington to his last election by the people of his native
town, where could death have found him but at the post of duty? At that
post, in the fullness of age in the ripeness of renown, crowned with
honors, surrounded by his family, his friends, and admirers, and in the
very presence of the national representation, he has been gathered to his
fathers, leaving behind him the memory of public services which are the
history of his country for half a century, and the example of a life,
public and private, which should be the study and the model of the
generations of his countrymen."

At the conclusion of Mr. Benton's address, the following resolutions,
introduced by Mr. Davis, were passed by the Senate:--

"Resolved, That the Senate has received with deep sensibility the message
from the House of Representatives announcing the death of the Hon. JOHN
QUINCY ADAMS, a Representative from the State of Massachusetts.

"Resolved, That, in token of respect for the memory of the deceased, the
Senate will attend his funeral at the hour appointed by the House of
Representatives, and will wear the usual badge of mourning for thirty
days.

"Resolved, That, as a further mark of respect for the memory of the
deceased, the Senate do now adjourn until Saturday next, the tim