Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1859-02-19

he oitcnsuspcctcd the nobcst men, and put
cro1ulouS faith in the mean and decc,ful. In
tenscy ambitions of place and power as he was.
he yet always sought TO rule his desire bv his
duty. But if hc sought only excellent things.
the spirit Of the search was not always com
mcndahlc his motive selfish, his manner harsh.
lie was not a magnanimous or noble man. lie
was suspicious and jealous of the nohlcs of men
before him in social rank and above him in pow-
er. lie attributes mean motives to all men
often to the noblest in the land. He docs this
in his earliest letters and his latest. A round
headed man, he was constantly fighter. This
appears in his diary and In his newspaper ar
ticles, before the Revolution and after it; even
in his own autobiography writ in his extreme
old age. lie was violent in wrath. which. when
reused, nothing, for the moment STAYED. He
was indiscriminatc as to the cause oft. 1t might
be the members of his Cabinet at the seat of
government. or his butcher at Quincy who
brought in his bill
impatient OF opposition, and greedy Of results,
he was not intensely desirous Of honor and an
plause. At Paris, in 1882, he was handsomely
compmcnted for his success in Holland. and
he writes in his journal-"A few of these COM
plimcnts would Kill Franklin, if thcy,came to
his ears Q.aughtcr) Franklin would have
thought of him as a schoolmastcr thinks Of a
compliment paid to one of his pupils Yet great
as his vanity was. think itncycr bent him aside
from his duty. Loving the praise of men he
never once stopped for it, never once hcsitated
to do even the most unpopular act, if he was
sure he was right; and hc never bowed that
head to escape the abuse that came from doing
the right thing.
let he was Intensely arrogant. Claiming so
much for himself, he abused his rivals OF
Samuel Adams and John Hancock he writes on
one oc aston "Ihcy will be sure of all the loaves
and fishes of the National and State Govern
mentS. as they hope" \ most atrocious calum-
ny. lie speaks Sueeringly of John Hancock
as "a man without head or heart-a mere shadow
OF a man; and yet Governor of old Massachu-
sctts" lie did not like to hear the praises of
Washington. One day. he dined with com
pany OF gentlemen in a town adjoining this
After the dinner, clergyman wished to help
him on with his cloak. lie objected, but the
clergyman said, Il cannot do too much for YOU,
when think what YOU and Washington have
done for the country" "WaShingtou and ne"
growlcd out the old man, "dont let me hear
you say that again! Washington was dolt ~
1t was momcntarv spasm Of wrath coming from
rash humor which his mother gave him." or
that came from somewhere else. At other times
he did justice to Washington. but always lit
Certainly, these are great vices, but he had such
virtues that he can afford to have them told. and
subtractcd from his merits He was so fearful
ly open, that it is himself who furnishes all the
evidence against himself. He defends Hancock.
and says, "lf he had vanity and caprice, so had
!. But these little chickering's Of pas
sion determine nothing concerning essential
characters'-hc said it right. They were vices
OF the surface; the deem hearts of the men, they
were pure and clean. clear down to the bottom.
Mr.. Adams had strong religious emotions.
but must pass over what had written on this
theme. he was not what is called an eloquent
man. lie had no rhetorical tricks; no traps
Ion applause no poetic images; nothing of what
call fine wrtns what school girls name ''pcr-
tcct'y srLENDD" tLaughtcr.D But he had
strong sense. philosophical opinions, condcnsa-
ton and readiness OF thought; the form is often
defective, mi>shappcn, the subsistence I. always
strong and good. Dcmo,thcno4 sal! "thu first
thing, the next thing, and the third thing in el-
ofucnce is e'3g," and john Adams had it to
the fall extent that Dcmosthcncs wanted. Yet
scarcely any of his speeches are left. Their
fam" survives only in tradition.
He hAd not much confidence in the people
no instinct of democracy. He leaned 10 aristo-
cratic forms of government SO. in the Con-
0N'NNN'A VI -'ARNNANIAuNNtAN' III ~ ut Nuulh
give the Governor an absolute negative in all
acts Of the legislature. and leave him to appoint
all the officers of the miitia,-thc Generals.
Colonels, Majors, Captains, clear down TO the
4th Coporas. lie insisted, however. on four
things in his plan Of ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Of the Legislative, Judicial and Executive pow
ers Of III. Government. The legislature must
have two branches, House and Senate the
Judiciary must be appointed during good be-
haNior, removable by impeachment or address
and the Executive must be one man, not
Council of men. Depend upon it, it was
greatman who made that generalization in l776.
He was often accused of fayoring mon
archy, and it was said he wished to establish
King and House Of Lords in this country
The charge is utterly false. When nobody else
bched it, he foresaw the future greatness of
America. In III he said, 1--WE are lcgisating
for population Of a hundred millions, which
will be here in no great time"
In 1880 DIR. Franklin wrote homo to his gov
ernment, "Nlr. Adams means well for his coun-
try; is always an honest man; often wise
man; and sometimes, and in some things, is
absolutely out of his senses" lie adds, IL
know that by asserting this, hazard mortal
enemy" The criticism was just, as the fear of
the consequences was true. But, weigh the
man in an even balance, his faults are chiefly
those OF will and temper, and lack of deco
rum; his virtues are patriotism, truthfulness,
moral courage, integrity. These, think, have
seldom been surpassed, rarely equalled in any
public man. lie had no prejudice against any
section of the country. Here he was superior
to Jefferson and Washington, who never did
Justice to New England.
lie was an intense patriot, and never hesitate
to sacrifice his own dearest wishes and fondest