Anecdotes of public men; by John W. Forney.

356 ANECDOTES OF PUBLIC MEN. resolution, I may again at the end of the week give a better account of myself. I wish, sir, you would give me in writing some instructions with regard to the use of my time, and advise me how to proportion my reading and play, and I will keep them by me and endeavor to follow them. With the present determination of growing better, I am, dear sir, your son, "JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. "P. S.-SIR,-If you will be so good as to favor me with a blank book, I will transcribe the most remarkable passages I meet with in my reading, which will serve to fix them upon my mind." Here we see the beginning of that extraordinary diary which was continued down to the period of his death in the Speaker's room of the House of Representatives, on the 23d of February, 1848. That great work has not yet seen the light, but is in process of preparation for publication by his son, Charles Francis Adams, and will be issued at an early day by the great house of J. B. Lippincott & Co., Philadelphia. The value of such a diary is proved by Mr. Seward's biography. It is in most cases infallible, and whenever Mr. Adams allowed a reference to be made to its pages, the evidence was decisive. Accurate and painstaking in every thing, living by rule, he stated a fact exactly as it occurred, and at the exact time, and from his authority there could be no appeal. Mr. Seward himself seems to have adopted John Quincy Adams as his model, at least in his later years. His late travels round the world, his steady refusal to intermix with passing politics, and his entire independence in the expression of his opinions, taken in connection with the general belief that.he is busy preparing his own memoirs, show that, unlike most retired statesmen, he is not insensible of the world's judgment, and that in his old age he is still keenly alive to the progress of his country. But he can leave no memento that will do him more credit than his "Life of John Quincy Adams," published in I849. [September 22, I872.]

/ 444
Pages

Actions

file_download Download Options Download this page PDF - Pages 355-359 Image - Page 356 Plain Text - Page 356

About this Item

Title
Anecdotes of public men; by John W. Forney.
Author
Forney, John Wien, 1817-1881.
Canvas
Page 356
Publication
New York,: Harper & brothers
[c1873-81]
Subject terms
Statesmen -- Biography. -- United States

Technical Details

Link to this Item
https://name.umdl.umich.edu/aan8043.0001.001
Link to this scan
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/moa/aan8043.0001.001/352

Rights and Permissions

These pages may be freely searched and displayed. Permission must be received for subsequent distribution in print or electronically. Please go to http://www.umdl.umich.edu/ for more information.

Manifest
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/api/manifest/moa:aan8043.0001.001

Cite this Item

Full citation
"Anecdotes of public men; by John W. Forney." In the digital collection Making of America Books. https://name.umdl.umich.edu/aan8043.0001.001. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed June 22, 2025.
Do you have questions about this content? Need to report a problem? Please contact us.