the Colonies had suffered and endured, and by his matchless
eloquence told in prophetic words of the glories yet to be. In his speech
he paid just tribute to the genius of Samuel Adams, declaring that the
good that was to come from this "first of an unending succession of
Congresses" was owing to the work of Adams. And in after-years Adams
repaid the compliment by saying that if it had not been for the cementing
power of Patrick Henry's eloquence, that first Congress probably would
have ended in a futile wrangle.

The South regarded, in great degree, the fight in Boston as Massachusetts'
own. To make the entire thirteen Colonies adopt the quarrel and back the
Colonial army in the vicinity of Boston was the only way to make the issue
a success, and to unite the factions by choosing for a leader a Virginian
aristocrat was a crowning stroke of diplomacy.

John Hancock had succeeded Randolph as president of the second Congress,
and Virginia was inclined to be lukewarm, when John Adams in an
impassioned speech nominated Colonel George Washington as
Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army. The nomination was seconded
very quietly by Samuel Adams. It was a vote, and the South was committed
to the cause of backing up Washington, and, incidentally, New England. The
entire plan was probably the work of Samuel Adams, yet he gave the credit
to John, while the credit of stoutly opposing it goes to John Hancock,
who, being presiding officer, worked at a disadvantage.

But Adams had a way of reducing opposition to the minimum. He kept out of
sight and furthered his ends by pushing this man or that to the front at
the right time to make the plea. He was a master in that fine art of
managing men and never letting them know they are managed. By keeping
behind the arras, he accomplished purposes that a leader never can who
allows his personality to be in continual evidence, for personality repels
as well as attracts, and the man too much before the public is sure to be
undone eventually. Adams knew that the power of Pericles lay largely in
the fact that he was never seen upon but a single street of Athens, and
that but once a year.

The complete writings of Adams have recently been collected and published.
One marvels that such valuable material has not before been printed and
given to the public, for the literary style and perspicuity shown are most
inspiring, and the value of the data can not be gainsaid.

No one ever accused Ada