even in the establishment which he had most at heart, he signed on the last day of his presidency, an act for the reduction of the naval force of the country.

Retiring to private life, he devoted himself to the cultivation of literary and philosophical studies. Henceforward he took no public part in political affairs. When, however, new difficulties arose in the foreign relations of the country, and Great Britain showed a dispotion to tread in the steps of France, by her aggressions on our neutral rights; Mr. Adams publicly expressed his approbation of the measures, adopted by Mr. Jefferson's administration in their defence.

In 1817, Mr. Adams was a member of the electoral college of Massachusetts; and in 1820, he was deputed, by his fellow-citizens of Quincy, to the convention for revising the constitution of his native state; a revision supposed to have been rendered necessary, by the separation of Maine. Of this convention he was elected president; but declined the chair, in consequence of his advanced age. In addition to the tribute of respect contained in this election, the convention passed the following resolutions:

"Whereas the honorable John Adams, a member of this convention, and elected the president thereof, has, for more than a half a century, devoted the great powers of his mind and his profound wisdom and learning to the service of his country and of mankind;

In fearlessly vindicating the rights of the North American provinces, against the usurpations and encroachments of the superintendant government;

In diffusing a knowledge of the principles of civil liberty, among his fellow subjects, and exciting them to a firm and resolute defence of the privileges of freemen ;

In early conceiving, asserting, and maintaining the justice and practicability of establishing the independence of the United States of America:

In giving the powerful aid of his political knowledge in the formation of the constitution of this his native state; which constitution became in a great measure the model of those which were subsequently formed:

In conciliating the favor of foreign powers, and obtaining their countenance and support in the arduous struggle for independence:

In negotiating the treaty of peace, which secured for ever the sovereignty of the United States, and in defeating all attempts to prevent it, and especially in preserving in that treaty the vital interest of the New England states:

In demonstrating to the world, in his defence of the constitutions of the several United States, the contested principle, since admitted as an axiom, that checks and balances in legislative power, are essential to true liberty :

In devoting his time and talents to the service of the nation; in the high and important trusts of vice president of the United States:

And lastly in passing an honorable old age, in dignified retirement, in the practice of all the domestic virtues, thus exhibiting to his countrymen and to posterity an example of true greatness of mind and of genuine patriotism:

Therefore resolved, that the members of this convention, representing the people of the common

wealth of Massachusetts, do joyfully avail themselves of this opportunity to testify their respect and gratitude to this eminent patriot and statesman, for the great services rendered by him to his country; and their high gratification that at this late period of life, he is permitted by divine providence to assist them with his counsel, in revising the constitution which forty years ago, his wisdom and prudence assisted to form :

Resolved, that a committee of twelve be appointed by the chair, to communicate this proceeding to the honorable John Adams, to inform him of his election to preside in this body, and to introduce him to the chair of this convention.”

Although unable to assume the office of presiding in the deliberations of the convention, Mr. Adams occasionally took part in its discussions; and had the satisfaction, in the final result, to perceive, in the small number of amendments proposed, and the still smaller number of them adopted by the people, the most satisfactory proof, that the constitution of the state, which he had in his youth the principal agency in forming, was deemed by the people after forty years trial, essentially adequate to the wants of the community, without need of material alteration.

Mr. Adams lived to enjoy the satisfaction of seeing his son elected to the chief magistracy of the United States. Rare as such an occurrence, under any circumstances must be, it is still more remarkable, when we duly consider the strong prejudice, which justly prevails in this country, against the hereditary transmission of office. It is unquestionably true, that the cir

cumstance that his father had been president of the United States, instead of promoting, would tend to prevent the elevation of any candidate to that office.

But the time and circumstances of Mr. Adams' death, are unquestionably not less interesting than any event in his life. It took place on the anniversary of the declaration of independence, at the close of the half century from that memorable era, in full consciousness of the character of the day; and with an allusion, in the last moments of life, to Thomas Jefferson, his illustrious fellow laborer, who also expired the same day.

Although we have almost wholly confined ourselves to Mr. Adams' political life and character, his literary reputation ought not to be overlooked. He was a sound scholar, versed in the ancient languages, and in many branches of general literature. His style of writing was forcible and perspicuous; and in the latter years of his life remarkably easy and elegant. He was the original proposer of the institution of the American academy of arts and sciences, a liberal patron of its library, and for several years its president. To his native town, he made donations and bequests toward the foundation and endowment of an academy and the building of a church.

In his person he was of middling stature; his manners were formed on the courtesy of the old school; industry enabled him to discharge honorably the almost innumerable duties that devolved on him after the revolution began; temperance procured him the blessing of a healthful old age;—and a long life passed in obedience to the laws of

virtue, under the sanctions of religion, prepared him for a death of peace and hope.

THOMAS JEFFERSON.

At Monticello, in the 34th year of his age, Thomas Jefferson, late president of the United States of America.

It was a very extraordinary circumstance, among those, which prepared the way for the American revolution, that the leading colonies of the north and south were equally embarked in it. Settled at different periods, from different causes, and by classes of men wholly unlike; and called to very different fortunes for a century after their foundation, the northern and southern colonies could scarcely have been expected to feel and act in concert on any question, much less, on one likely to call into exercise every description of local prejudice. The British govern

ment calculated on a want of concert between the different parts of the country. They thought the south would feel no sympathy with the distresses of the north, and that the north would look with jealousy on the character and institutions of the south. Among the numerous events, which occurred, to frustrate whatever hopes may have been built on this foundation, the simultaneous appearance, in Massachusetts and Virginia, of characters, corresponding in so many respects as those of Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, in their qualifications for the public service was not the least important.

Thomas Jefferson was descended from ancestors, who had been

settled in Virginia for some generations. His father, Peter Jefferson, was surveyor of the state, and from him Mr. Jefferson inherited what was then deemed an immense fortune. He was born near the spot, on which he died, in the county of Albemarle, on the 2d of April, (old style,) 1743. At this period, the society of Virginia presented very nearly the same division of ranks, that exists in England. There was the landed aristocracy, shadowing forth the order of the British nobility; the middle class of citizens, consisting principally of the yeomanry, and common to both countries; and a feculum of beings, as they were called by Mr. Jefferson, corresponding with the lowest class of the community in England.*

Mr. Jefferson, by birth, belonged to the aristocracy; but the idle and voluptuous life, that prevailed in that class of society, had no charms for him. From the first moment, his own character disclosed itself, he threw himself into the ranks of the people.

His youthful studies were pursued in the neighborhood of his father's residence, until he was removed in due time to William and Mary college, through which he passed, with the highest reputation for talent, industry, and scholarship. Selecting the profession of the law, he commenced and pursued its studies, under George Wythe, a master well worthy of such a pupil. In this school he acquired, as far as such things are matter of acquisition, that unrivalled neatness, system, and method in business, which, through

all his future life, and in every office which he filled, enabled him to accomplish the most arduous and multiplied duties, with precision, punctuality, and in the most perfect form of execution.

It is a prevalent error, that Mr. Jefferson made no figure at the bar. The case was far otherwise. There still remain, in his handwriting, a number of arguments, delivered by him at the bar, upon some of the most intricate questions of the law, which, if they should ever see the light, will, in the opinion of a most competent authority,* vindicate his claim to the first honors of the profession. It might, indeed, with all persons acquainted with the talents and perseverance of Mr. Jefferson, been admitted, as a matter of necessity, without any proof of the fact, that he must have been a profound adept, in the profession of his voluntary choice and pursuit. It is true, he was not distinguished in public debate. This was merely a physical defect. He want ed volume and compass of voice for a large assembly; and his voice, from the excess of his sensibility, instead of rising with his feelings and conceptions, sunk under their pressure, and became guttural and inarticulate. The consciousness of this infirmity, repressed any attempt, on the part of Mr. Jefferson, to speak in large deliberative assemblies. It is an additional proof of his intellectual ascendency, that he rose, in the morning of life, to the height of influence, from which he never afterwards descended, without having the command of what is ge

nerally considered the necessary instrument of controlling popular bodies.

Mr. Jefferson was still a student of law at Williamsburg, when, in 1766, the resolutions of Patrick Henry, against the stamp act, wère moved in the assembly of Virginia. He was present during the whole of the extraordinary and memorable debate, on this question, in the door of communication between the lobby and the house. He has left an account of the scene, in his own words. The opposition to the last resolution was most vehement. The debate, to use the strong expression of Mr. Jefferson, became "most bloody;" but it was carried by a single vote. "I well remember," continues Mr. Jefferson, in his account, "the cry of treason' by the speaker, echoed from every part of the house, against Mr. Henry. I well remember his pause, and the admirable address, with which he recovered himself, and baffled the charge thus vociferated."

It has been justly pointed out, as one of the beautiful features of the parallel, which has been run between Mr. Jefferson and Mr. Adams, that this interesting event in Mr. Jefferson's life took place, when he was of very nearly the same age, at which Mr. Adams, in 1761, had listened to the thrilling eloquence of James Otis, on the subject of writs of assistance.

From this time forward, Mr. Jefferson stood forward as a champion for his country. He adopted, as the motto of his seals," Ab eo libertas a quo spiritus," and "Resistance to tyrants, is obedience to

God." His first official participation in the counsels of the day, was as a member of the state convention of Virginia, which, in 1774, appointed the first delegates to the continental congress. On his way to Williamsburg, he fell sick; and, in consequence of this circumstance, sent forward to be laid on the table of the convention, a draft of instructions to the delegates, whom Virginia might send. This paper was read by the members, and published by them, under the title of "a summary view of the rights of independent Ameri

ca."

A copy of this work having found its way to England, it received, from the pen of Mr. Burke, such alterations as were necessary to suit it to the meridian of the opposition, in that country, and appeared in a new edition at London. This circumstance, as Mr. Jefferson afterwards learned, procured the insertion of his name in a bill of attainder, which, however, did not pass in parliament. The effect, which this work produced on lord Dunmore, the governor of Virginia, at the time of its appearance at Williamsburg, is still remembered, by the aged inhabitants of that place. He put no bounds to the expressions of his anger, or of his purpose of revenge.

In the year 1775, Mr. Jefferson, although, of course, one of the youngest members of the Virginia legislature, was designated to prepare the answer to what was called lord North's "conciliatory proposition." It remains on record, and possesses the characteristic marks of Mr. Jefferson's mind, and of the spirit of the time.

*Mr. Webster's Discourse.

In the same year, Mr. Jefferson was elected a member of the continental congress; but being deputed contingently, (to supply the place of Peyton Randolph,) he did not take his seat, at the commencement of the session. Five days after the appointment of general Washington, as commander-inchief of the American armies, Mr. Jefferson first took his seat as a member of the continental congress.

The circumstances of his designation the following year, to draft the declaration of independence, have been related in the preceding sketch of the life of Mr. Adams. The original draft, as brought by him from his study, and submitted to the other members of the committee, with interlineations in the hand-writing of Dr. Franklin, and others in that of Mr. Adams, was in Mr. Jefferson's possession, at the time of his death. The merit of this paper is Mr. Jefferson's. Some changes were made in it by the committee, and others by congress, while it was under discussion.

But none of these changes altered the tone, the frame, the arrangement, or the general character of the instrument. As a composition, the declaration is Mr. Jefferson's. It is the production of his mind; and the high honor of it belongs to him, clearly and absolutely.*

Although not participating in public debate, the influence of Mr. Jefferson over the minds of the members, through the channels of private intercourse, was early felt. "Though a silent member, (says his venerable copatriot,t) he was