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 classical specimens extant, was as follows:

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,

He 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 JUDGMENT OF HIS GOD.
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 Compass of his Mind.

*Deo, Optimo, Maximo-to God, the Best and Greatest.

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 Massachusetts 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 class 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 sound 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 Massachusetts, 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 associated 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 lustre 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 assaults, could not but grant him the meed of their highest admiration. Well did he deserve the title 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 passed 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 constituents, 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 com