Life and Public Services of John Quincy Adams Part 14

"Thou silent herald of Time's silent flight!

Say, couldst thou speak, what warning voice were thine?

Shade, who canst only show how others shine!

Dark, sullen witness of resplendent light In day's broad glare, and when the noontide bright Of laughing fortune sheds the ray divine, Thy ready favors cheer us--but decline The clouds of morning and the gloom of night.

Yet are thy counsels faithful, just and wise; They bid seize the moments as they pa.s.s--

s.n.a.t.c.h the retrieveless sunbeam as it flies, Nor lose one sand of life's revolving gla.s.s-- Aspiring still, with energy sublime, By virtuous deeds to give eternity to Time."

It is seldom that lines more pure and beautiful can be found, than the following on the death of children:--

"Sure, to the mansions of the blest When infant innocence ascends, Some angel brighter than the rest The spotless spirit's flight attends.

"On wings of ecstacy they rise, Beyond where worlds material roll, Till some fair sister of the skies Receives the unpolluted soul.

"There at the Almighty Father's hand, Nearest the throne of living light, The choirs of infant seraphs stand, And dazzling shine, where all are bright.

"The inextinguishable beam, With dust united at our birth, Sheds a more dim, discolored gleam, The more it lingers upon earth:

"Closed is the dark abode of clay, The stream of glory faintly burns, Nor un.o.bscured the lucid ray To its own native fount returns:

"But when the Lord of mortal breath Decrees his bounty to resume, And points the silent shaft of death, Which speeds an infant to the tomb,

"No pa.s.sion fierce, no low desire, Has quenched the radiance of the flame; Back to its G.o.d the living fire Returns, unsullied, as it came."

The heart which could turn aside from the stern conflicts of the political world, and utter sentiments so chaste and tender, must have been the residence of the sweetest and n.o.blest emotions of man.

Having taken final leave, as he believed, of the duties of public life, and retired to the beloved shades of Quincy, it was the desire and intention of Mr. Adams to devote the remainder of his days to the peaceful pursuits of literature. It had long been his purpose, whenever opportunity should offer, to write a history of the life and times of his venerated father, "the elder Adams." His heart was fixed on this design, and some introductory labors had been commenced. But an overruling Providence had a widely different work in preparation for him.

If Mr. Adams had been permitted to follow the bent of his own feelings at that time--if he had continued in the retirement he had so anxiously sought as a rest from the toils of half a century--the brightest page of his wonderful history would have remained forever unwritten. He would have been remembered as a discreet and trusty diplomatist, an able statesman, a successful politician, a capable President, and an honest and honorable man! This would, indeed, have been a measure of renown with which most men would have been content, and which few of the most fortunate sons of earth can ever attain. He was abundantly satisfied with it. He asked for nothing more--he expected nothing more this side the grave. But it was not enough!

Fame was wreathing brighter garlands, a more worthy chaplet, for his brow.

A higher, n.o.bler task was before him, than any enterprize which had claimed his attention. His long and distinguished career--his varied and invaluable experience--had been but a preparation to enable him to enter upon the real work of life for which he was raised up.

The world did not yet know John Quincy Adams. Long as he had been before the public, the ma.s.s had thus far failed to read him aright. Hitherto circ.u.mstances had placed him in collision with aspiring men. He stood in their way to station and power. There was a motive to conceal his virtues and magnify his faults. He had never received from his opposers the smallest share of credit really due to him for patriotism, self-devotion, and purity of purpose. Even his most devoted friends did not fully appreciate these qualities in him. During his long public service, he had ever been an object of hatred and vituperation to a cla.s.s of minds utterly incapable of estimating his talents or comprehending his high principles of action. In the heat of political struggles, no abuse, no defamation, were too great to heap upon him. Misrepresentation, duplicity, malignity, did their worst. Did he utter a patriotic sentiment, it was charged to hypocrisy and political cunning. Did he do a n.o.ble deed, worthy to be recorded in letters of gold--sacrificing party predilections and friendship to support the interest of his country, and uphold the reputation and dignity of its Government--it was attributed to a wretched pandering for the emoluments of office. Did he endeavor to exercise the powers entrusted to him as President in such a manner as to preserve peace at home and abroad, develop the internal resources of the nation, improve facilities for transportation and travel, protect and encourage the industry of the country, and in every department promote the permanent prosperity and welfare of the people--it was allowed to be nothing more than the arts of an intriguer, seeking a re-election to the Presidency.

Yea, it was declared in advance, that, "if his administration should be as pure as the angels in heaven," it should be overthrown. Did he exhibit the plain simplicity of a true republican in his dress and manners, and economy in all his expenditures, it was attributed to parsimony and meanness! A majority of his countrymen had been deceived as to his principles and character, and sacrificed him politically on the altar of prejudice and party spirit.

Throughout his life he had ever been a lover of man and of human freedom--the best friend of his country--the most faithful among the defenders of its inst.i.tutions--a sincere republican, and a true man. But blinded by political prejudice, a large portion of his fellow-citizens refused the boon of credit for these qualities. It remained for another stage of his life, another field of display, to correct them of this error, and to vindicate his character. It was requisite that he should step down from his high position, disrobe himself of office, power and patronage, place himself beyond the reach of the remotest suspicion of a desire for political preferment and emolument, to satisfy the world that John Quincy Adams had from the beginning, been a pure-hearted patriot, and one of the n.o.blest sons of the American Confederacy. His new career was to furnish a luminous commentary on his past life, and to convince the most sceptical, of the justice of his claim to rank among the highest and best of American patriots. Placed beyond the reach of any gift of office from the nation, with nothing to hope for, and nothing to fear in this respect, he was to write his name in imperishable characters, so high on the tablets of his country's history and fame, as to be beyond the utmost reach of malignity or suspicion! The door which led to this closing act of his dramatic life, was soon opened.

On returning to Quincy, one of the first things which received the attention of Mr. Adams, was the discharge of a filial duty towards his deceased parents, in the erection of a monument to their memory. The elder Adams in his will, among other liberal bequests, had left a large legacy to aid in the erection of a new Unitarian church in Quincy. The edifice was completed, and ex-President J. Q. Adams caused the monument to his father and mother to be erected within the walls. It was a plain and simple design, consisting of a tablet, having recessed pilasters at the sides, with a base moulding and cornice; the whole supported by trusses at the base. The material of which it was made was Italian marble; and the whole was surmounted by a fine bust of John Adams, from the chisel of Greenough, the American artist, then at Rome. The inscription, one of the most feeling, appropriate, and cla.s.sical specimens extant, was as follows:--

"LIBERTATEM AMICITTAM FIDEM RETINEBIS.

D. O. M.[Footnote: Deo, Optimo, Maximo--to G.o.d, the Best and Greatest.]

Beneath these Walls Are deposited the Mortal Remains of JOHN ADAMS, Son of John and Susanna (Boyalston) Adams, Second President of the United States.

Born 19-30 October, 1735.

On the fourth of July, 1776, He pledged his Life, Fortune, and Sacred Honor To the INDEPENDENCE OF HIS COUNTRY.

On the third of September, 1783, Be affixed his Seal to the definitive Treaty with Great Britain Which acknowledged that Independence, And consummated the redemption of his pledge.

On the fourth of July, 1826, He was summoned To the Independence of Immortality And to the JUDGEMENT OF HIS G.o.d This House will bear witness to his Piety.

This Town, his Birth-place, to his Munificence: History to his Patriotism; Posterity to the Depth and Compa.s.s of his Mind.

At his side Sleeps till the Trump shall sound, ABIGAIL, His beloved and only Wife, Daughter of William and Elizabeth (Quincy) Smith.

In every relation of Life, a pattern Of Filial, Conjugal, Maternal, and Social Virtue.

Born 11-22 November, 1744.

Deceased 28 October, 1818, Aged 74.

---------- Married 25 October, 1764.

During a union of more than half a century, They survived, in Harmony of Sentiment, Principle and Affection, The Tempests of Civil Commotion; Meeting undaunted, and surmounting The Terrors and Trials of that Revolution Which secured the Freedom of their Country; Improved the Condition of their Times; And brightened the Prospects of Futurity To the Race of Man upon Earth.

----------- PILGRIM: From lives thus spent thy earthly Duties learn; From Fancy's Dreams to active Virtue turn: Let Freedom, Friendship, Faith thy Soul engage, And serve, like them, thy Country and thy Age."

Mr. Adams had remained in the retirement of Quincy but little more than a single year, when the following paragraph appeared in the public prints throughout the country:--

"Mr. Adams, late President of the United States, is named as a candidate for Congress, from the district of Ma.s.sachusetts now represented by Mr.

Richardson, who declines a re-election."

It would be difficult to describe the surprise created by this announcement, in every quarter of the Union. Speculation was at fault.

Would he accept or reject such a nomination? By a large cla.s.s it was deemed impossible that one who had occupied positions so elevated--who had received the highest honors the nation could bestow upon him--would consent to serve the people of a single district, in a capacity so humble, comparatively, as a Representative in Congress. Such a thing was totally unheard of. The people, however, of the Plymouth congressional district in which he resided, met and duly nominated him for the proposed office. All doubts as to his acceptance of the nomination were speedily dispelled by the appearance of a letter from Mr. Adams, in the Columbian Sentinel, Oct., 15, 1830, in which he says:--

"If my fellow-citizens of the district should think proper to call for such services as it may be in my power to render them, by representing them in the twenty-second Congress, I am not aware of any bound principle which would justify me in withholding them. To the manifestations of confidence on the part of those portions of the people who, at two several meetings, have seen fit to present my name for the suffrages of the district, I am duly and deeply sensible."

In due time the election was held, and Mr. Adams was returned to Congress, by a vote nearly unanimous. From that time forward for seventeen years, and to the hour of his death, he occupied the post of Representative in Congress from the Plymouth district, in Ma.s.sachusetts, with unswerving fidelity, and distinguished honor. There can be no doubt that many of the best friends of Mr. Adams seriously questioned the propriety of his appearing as a Representative in the halls of Congress. It was a step never before taken by an ex-President of the United States. They apprehended it might be derogatory to his dignity, and injurious to his reputation and fame, to enter into the strifes, and take part in the litigations and contentions which characterize the national House of Representatives. Moreover, they were fearful that in measuring himself, as he necessarily must, in the decline of life, with younger men in the prime of their days, who were urged by the promptings of ambition to tax every capacity of their nature, he might injure his well-earned reputation for strength of intellect, eloquence and statesmanship. But these misgivings were groundless. In the House of Representatives, as in all places where Mr. Adams was a.s.sociated with others, he arose immediately to the head of his compeers. So far from suffering in his reputation, it was immeasurably advanced during his long congressional career. New powers were developed--new traits of character were manifested--new and repeated instances of devotion to principle and the rights of man were made known--which added a brighter l.u.s.tre to his already widely-extended fame.

He exhibited a fund of knowledge so vast and profound--a familiarity so perfect with nearly every topic which claimed the attention of Congress--he could bring forth from his well-replenished storehouse of memory so vast an array of facts, shedding light upon subjects deeply obscured to others--displayed such readiness and power in debate, pouring out streams of purest eloquence, or launching forth the most scathing denunciations when he deemed them called for--that his most bitter opposers, while trembling before his sarcasm, and dreading his a.s.saults, could not but grant him the meed of their highest admiration. Well did he deserve the t.i.tle conferred upon him by general consent, of "the Old Man Eloquent!"

Had Mr. Adams followed the bent of his own inclinations--had he consulted simply his personal ease and comfort--he would probably never have appeared again in public life. Having received the highest distinctions his country could bestow upon him, blessed with an ample fortune, and possessing all the elements of domestic comfort, he would have pa.s.sed the evening of his earthly sojourn in peaceful tranquillity, at the mansion of his fathers in Quincy. But it was one of the sacred rules in this distinguished statesman's life, to yield implicit obedience to the demands of duty. His immediate neighbors and fellow-citizens called him to their service in the national councils. He was conscious of the possession of talents, knowledge, experience, and all the qualifications which would enable him to become highly useful, not only in acting as the representative of his direct const.i.tuents, but in promoting the welfare of our common country. This conviction once becoming fixed in his mind, decided his course. He felt he had no choice left but to comply unhesitatingly with the demand which had been made upon his patriotism. In adopting this resolution--in consenting, after having been once at the head of the National Government, to a.s.sume again the labors of public life in a subordinate station, wholly divested of power and patronage, urged by no influence but the claims of duty, governed by no motive but a simple desire to serve his country and promote the well-being of his fellow-man--Mr. Adams presented a spectacle of moral sublimity unequalled in the annals of nations!

For many years Mr. Adams was a member, and one of the Vice Presidents, of the American Bible Society. In reply to an invitation to attend its anniversary in 1830, he wrote the following letter:--

"Sir:--Your letter of the 22d of March was duly received; and while regretting my inability to attend personally at the celebration of the anniversary of the inst.i.tution, on the 13th of next month, I pray you, sir, to be a.s.sured of the gratification which I have experienced in learning the success which has attended the benevolent exertions of the American Bible Society.

"In the decease of Judge Washington, they have lost an able and valuable a.s.sociate, whose direct co-operation, not less than his laborious and exemplary life, contributed to promote the cause of the Redeemer. Yet not for him, nor for themselves by the loss of him, are they called to sorrow as without hope; for lives like his shine but as purer and brighter lights in the world, after the lamp which fed them is extinct, than before.

"The distribution of Bibles, if the simplest, is not the least efficacious of the means of extending the blessings of the Gospel to the remotest corners of the earth; for the Comforter is in the sacred volume: and among the receivers of that million of copies distributed by the Society, who shall number the mult.i.tudes awakened thereby, with good will to man in their hearts, and with the song of the Lamb upon their lips"

"The hope of a Christian is inseparable from his faith. Whoever believes in the divine inspiration of the holy Scriptures, must hope that the religion of Jesus shall prevail throughout the earth. Never since the foundation of the world have the prospects of mankind been more encouraging to that hope than they appear to be at the present time. And may the a.s.sociated distribution of the Bible proceed and prosper, till the Lord shall have made 'bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our G.o.d.'

"With many respects to the Board of Managers, please to accept the good wishes of your friend and fellow-citizen, "JOHN QUINCY ADAMS."

On the 4th of July, 1831, at half past three o'clock in the afternoon, the venerable JAMES MONROE, fifth President of the United States, departed life, aged 73 years. He died at the residence of his son-in-law, Samuel L.

Gouverneur Esq., in the city of New York. His decease had been for some days expected; but life lingered until the anniversary of his country's independence, when his spirit took its departure to a better world.

Throughout the United States, honors were paid to his memory by hoisting of flags at half mast, the tolling of bells, firing of minute guns, the pa.s.sing of resolutions, and delivery of eulogies. He was, emphatically, a great and good man, respected and beloved by the people of all parties, without exception. There are few instances in the history of the world, of more remarkable coincidences than the death of three Presidents of the United States, who took most prominent parts in proclaiming and achieving the independence of our country, on the anniversary of the day when the declaration of that independence was made to the world. The noise of the firing of cannon, in celebrating the day, caused the eyes of the dying Monroe to open inquiringly. When the occasion of these rejoicings was communicated to him, a look of intelligence indicated that he understood the character of the day.

At this anniversary of our National Independence, Mr. Adams delivered an oration before the citizens of Quincy. It was an able and eloquent production. The following were the concluding paragraphs. In reference to nullification, which was threatened by some of the Southern States, he said:--

"The event of a conflict in arms, between the Union and one of its members, whether terminating in victory or defeat, would be but an alternative of calamity to all. In the holy records of antiquity, we have two examples of a confederation ruptured by the severance of its members, one of which resulted, after three desperate battles, in the extermination of the seceding tribe. And the victorious people, instead of exulting in shouts of triumph, came to the house of G.o.d, and abode there till even, before G.o.d; and lifted up their voices, and wept sore, and said,--O Lord G.o.d of Israel why is this come to pa.s.s in Israel, that there should be to-day one tribe lacking in Israel? The other was a successful example of resistance against tyrannical taxation, and severed forever the confederacy, the fragments forming separate kingdoms; and from that day their history presents an unbroken series of disastrous' alliances, and exterminating wars--of a.s.sa.s.sinations, conspiracies, revolts, and rebellions, until both parts of the confederacy sunk into tributary servitude to the nations around them; till the countrymen of David and Solomon hung their harps upon the willows of Babylon, and were totally lost amidst the mult.i.tudes of the Chaldean and a.s.syrian monarchies, 'the most despised portion of their slaves.'

"In these mournful memorials of their fate, we may behold the sure, too sure prognostication of our own, from the hour when force shall be subst.i.tuted for deliberation, in the settlement of our const.i.tutional questions. This is the deplorable alternative--the extirpation of the seceding member, or the never-ceasing struggle of two rival confederacies, ultimately bending the neck of both under the yoke of foreign domination, or the despotic sovereignty of a conqueror at home. May heaven avert the omen! The destinies, not only of our posterity, but of the human race, are at stake.

"Let no such melancholy forebodings intrude upon the festivities of this anniversary. Serene skies and balmy breezes are not congenial to the climate of freedom. Progressive improvement in the condition of man, is apparently the purpose of a superintending Providence. That purpose will not be disappointed. In no delusion of national vanity, but with a feeling of profound grat.i.tude to the G.o.d of our fathers, let us indulge in the cheering hope and belief, that our country and her people have been selected as instruments for preparing and maturing much of the good yet in reserve for the welfare and happiness of the human race. Much good has already been effected by the solemn proclamation of our principles--much more by the ill.u.s.tration of our example. The tempest which threatens desolation may be destined only to purify the atmosphere. It is not in tranquil ease and enjoyment that the active energies of mankind are displayed. Toils and dangers are trials of the soul. Doomed to the first by his sentence at the fall, man by submission converts them into pleasures. The last are, since the fall, the conditions of his existence.

To see them in advance, to guard against them by all the suggestions of prudence, to meet them with the composure of unyielding resistance, and to abide with firm resignation the final dispensation of Him who rules the ball--these are the dictates of philosophy--these are the precepts of religion--these are the principles and consolations of patriotism:--these remain when all is lost--and of these is composed the spirit of independence--the spirit embodied in that beautiful personification of the poet, which may each of you, my countrymen, to the last hour of his life, apply to himself,--

'Thy spirit, Independence, let me share, Lord of the lion heart, and eagle eye!

Thy steps I follow, with my bosom bare, Nor heed the storm that howls along the sky.'