The Washington herald., 1916-08-31
AFTER-DINNER POLITICS.
Three Generations of Adamses.
By DIR. Il. j. EDWARDS.

In June. 1877. 1 met Charles Francis
Adams, having been invited by him to
call upon him at his house at Quincy,
Mass. A butler received me at the
door and showed me into a room
which appeared to be half library or
study and half reception room. He
said that Mr. Adams had not quite fin
ished his luncheon, and that IL would
entertain myself with a book or pic
lures until he could come he would be
pleased.
The pictures upon the wall furnish
ed ample entertainment One Of them
was a portrait of his grandfather.
John Adams. and another a portrait
OF his father. John Quincy Adams.
The family resemblance was strik-
ing Any one would have judged that
the picture Of the younger man was
that OF a son of the older. The por-
trait OF John Adams, our second Pres
ident, must have been painted after
he was 70 years Of age, although
IL was said of him that even as a
young man he looked old. Tho por-
trait OF his son. John Quincy Adams,
probably was painted when the latter
was President or shortly after his re-
tirement from the Presidential office.
was still looking at the portraits when
the door opened and there appeared a
man who seemed almost to have stepped
out Of the picture frame. He was Charles
Francis Adams. The resemblance be-
tween him and his father was remark
able. excepting that John quincy Adams
wore little tuft OF whiskers in front OF
each ear
had been tod by Frederick W. Seward
that his father William H Seward. first
met Charles Francis Adams in 1850. Mr.
Seward was greatly interested in the
younger Adams, partly because John
Quincy adams sometimes went to Utica
TO visit a sister who lived there and had
married man OF the name OF Johnson
1t was there that Mr.. Seward once met
John Quincy Adams
Then. aEa n Seward was greatly inter
ested in Charles Francis Adams because
h" had heen named in 1s4s as the candi-
date Of the Free Soil party for Vice Presi-
dent. Martin Van Buren having been
nominated by GIdt party for President
These nominations were made at Buffalo
and ratified at Utica, and they were
deemed Of especial Importance by Seward
because he believed that the Free Soil
party would split the Democracy Of New
York State ard in that way give the
vote OF the State 10 General Taylor. the
Wing candidate.
In 1880, Charles Francis Adams-who was
afterward 10 be our Minister TO Great
Britain and 10 be prominently associated
with the Liberal Republican nomination
for Presidon- IN 1s72-vistted Washington
for tho wint :.
"OnN evening my father thought # no
more than courtesy n call upon Mr
and Mrs. Adams" said Mr.. Seward. That
call hegRn an intimacy which. in part.
explains my fathers recommendation 20
President Lincoln OF the appointment OF
Charles Francis Adams as Minister to
Great Britain.
"A few moments after Mrs. Adams had
received my father and mother. the door
opened and in came a man whose re-
semblance TO John Quincy Adams was
80 striking that my father for a mo-
.,'nt was amazed II seemed almost a.
though John Quincv Adams had a par
eG in tn" flesh. Later. upon making care
ful inquiry, my father learned that
Charles Francis Adams vas d man Of
short stature as We're all the AdamseS.
but was nevertheless two inches TELLER
than his father. John Quincy Adams. who
in stature was the shOr,es, OF all our
Pres dents"
Copyright ,e,s. by thr McCur, NrvrareT
>yr1Ira's.